| Airbus experts probe plane crash that killed 97 in Pakistan Posted: 26 May 2020 02:22 AM PDT  Pakistan announced Tuesday that Airbus experts have opened a probe into last week's plane crash that killed 97 people when an Airbus A320 went down in a crowded neighborhood near the airport in the port city of Karachi. Initial reports have said the Pakistan International Airlines jet crashed after an apparent engine failure. The Airbus experts and engineers are also to visit the crash site, according to Abdul Hafeez, a spokesman for PIA.
|
| Netanyahu becomes the first Israeli prime minister to stand trial over corruption and fraud cases Posted: 25 May 2020 12:15 AM PDT  Last year, Netanyahu was indicted on bribery, fraud, and breach of trust charges as part of three separate corruption cases.
|
| Trump threatens to move Republican National Convention out of North Carolina Posted: 26 May 2020 04:43 AM PDT  The Republican National Convention in Charlotte is expected to kick off August 24.
|
| 'I hit the trifecta': She was battling cancer. Then came coronavirus and the complications. Posted: 26 May 2020 05:40 AM PDT  In the age of COVID-19, cancer hospitals like Memorial Sloan Kettering have been forced to reimagine how to care for patients like 27-year-old Eliza Paris.
|
| A rare two-faced cat named Biscuits and Gravy was born in Oregon Posted: 25 May 2020 06:45 AM PDT  Biscuits and Gravy, or Biscuit for short, eats and breathes from two separate mouths and noses. It's known as a Janus cat, after the Roman god.
|
| COVID-19 deaths in Sweden top 4,000: Public Health Agency Posted: 25 May 2020 05:10 AM PDT  The death toll from the outbreak of the novel coronavirus in Sweden has topped 4,000, statistics published by the Public Health Agency showed on Monday. The data published on the agency's website showed that deaths from COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, had risen to 4,029 from 3,998 a day earlier while the number of confirmed cases amounted to 33,843 up from 33,459. Sweden has taken a soft-touch approach to fighting the virus, leaving most schools, shops and restaurants open and relying on voluntary measures focused on social distancing and good hygiene.
|
| US urges probe into alleged ethics breach at African Development Bank Posted: 25 May 2020 08:53 AM PDT  The US Department of the Treasury has called on the African Development Bank (AfDB) to carry out an independent probe into alleged ethics breaches by its president, Akinwumi Adesina. In a letter obtained by AFP on Monday, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin expressed "deep reservations" about the outcome of an internal inquiry clearing Adesina, and urged the appointment of an independent outside investigator. The letter, dated May 22, was sent to the chair of the AfDB's board, Ivorian Planning and Development Minister Niale Kaba.
|
| ‘Please, I can’t breathe’: US police officer filmed with knee on neck of motionless man who later died Posted: 26 May 2020 07:12 AM PDT  A man has died after a Minneapolis police officer detained him by putting his knee on his neck, in an arrest captured on camera by a member of the public.The clip, filmed on Monday, showed a black man lying on the ground, motionless, and a white police officer, resting his knee on top of the man's neck.
|
| India combats locust attack amid Covid-19 pandemic Posted: 26 May 2020 07:13 AM PDT  An invasion by desert locusts has hit large swathes of India and Pakistan in the middle of pandemic.
|
| Editorial: Nearly 100,000 Americans have died from COVID-19. As a nation, it's time to mourn and honor them Posted: 26 May 2020 03:00 AM PDT  100,000 might be just a number, but it's a staggering amount of loss. America needs to find some way to mourn the dead, even as the pandemic still rages.
|
| Trump's senior economic adviser referred to Americans returning to work as 'human capital stock' Posted: 25 May 2020 10:41 PM PDT  States are slowly lifting lockdown measures put in place to curb the coronavirus outbreak, which has killed close to 100,000 people in the US.
|
| China denies using virus to grow presence in South China Sea Posted: 24 May 2020 08:34 PM PDT  A look at recent developments in the South China Sea, where China is pitted against smaller neighbors in multiple territorial disputes over islands, coral reefs and lagoons. China's foreign minister is dismissing claims that the country is exploiting the coronavirus outbreak to expand its footprint in the South China Sea, labeling such accusations as "sheer nonsense." State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi told reporters at a news conference on Sunday that China was cooperating closely on anti-virus efforts with Southeast Asian countries, several of whom have overlapping territorial claims with China in the strategically vital waterway.
|
| Oklahoma woman missing since April following Facebook post that indicated she believed she had coronavirus Posted: 25 May 2020 02:38 PM PDT  Talina Galloway, 53, of Wagoner, Oklahoma, was last heard from by her boss on March 27, 2020. Her last Facebook post was dated April 7. In the post, the posted stated she believed she had coronavirus but did not want to go to the hospital. Her purse and wallet were left at home. Her car was still in the driveway. She has a distinct tattoo of a sun symbol on her right wrist. The Wagoner County Sheriff's Office is investigating.
|
| Russia’s Pushing a Quack COVID Cure All Over Africa Posted: 25 May 2020 01:40 AM PDT  ABUJA, Nigeria—U.S. President Donald Trump is not the only figure threatening the World Health Organization while endorsing dubious coronavirus treatments. In Africa, news outlets and social media posts notorious for spreading Russian-created disinformation and conspiracy theories are leveling all sorts of allegations against the WHO, ranging from incompetence to fraud.At the center of the attacks is what appears to be a coordinated campaign promoting an herbal concoction the Moscow-backed government of Madagascar claims will cure COVID-19. The attacks on the WHO intensified when the agency released a statement on May 4 warning Africans against using untested remedies for treatment of the coronavirus after the Malagasy government began to extoll—and export in large quantities—an untested herbal infusion sometimes bottled like soda that's called Covid-Organics. The main component for the tonic is artemisia annua, known as sweet wormwood, which has been shown to have some therapeutic value against malaria (PDF).Russians Are Using African Troll Factories—and Encrypted Messaging—to Attack the U.S.The WHO announced its support for traditional medicines if they are "scientifically proven" to be effective, but warned pointedly that "the use of products to treat COVID-19, which have not been robustly investigated can put people in danger, giving a false sense of security and distracting them from hand washing and physical distancing which are cardinal in COVID-19 prevention."The herbal remedy's biggest booster is Malagasy President Andry Rajoelina, a 45-year-old media entrepreneur elected in 2018 with help from Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose meddling, as detailed by the New York Times, was blatant even by Kremlin standards. (Rajoelina denies getting any assistance.)Covid-Organics has not gone through clinical trials. An aide to Rajoelina told the BBC the tonic was "tried out" on fewer than 20 people over three weeks before it was launched in April—a "test" that does not even begin to meet scientific or medical standards.Rajoelina's response? He accused the West of condescending behavior toward traditional African therapy, telling French media that the product would have been globally accepted "if it was a European country that had actually discovered this remedy.""[Madagascar] has come up with this formula to save the world," said Rajoelina, who claims the herbal tonic cures COVID-19 patients within 10 days. "No country or organization will keep us from going forward."Rajoelina has gained lots of support in East Africa, especially in Tanzania (another country that has established deep ties with the Kremlin in recent years). Its controversial leader, President John Pombe Magufuli, has openly endorsed Covid-Organics and also insinuated recently that the WHO artificially inflated the number of COVID-19 cases in his country.All this parallels, however weirdly, the kinds of assertions and statements made by the U.S. president about miracle cures—ranging in his case from hydroxychloroquine to household bleach, thought not yet Covid-Organics—as well as the failings of a World Health Organization he says is under China's thumb. And the similarities in the narrative are not entirely coincidental. Many of the African sites spreading these stories also are enthusiastic supporters of Trump. A number of Tanzanian newspapers have criticized the WHO for its refusal to approve Covid-Organics. A pro-government publication, Tanzania Perspective, particularly, reported that Rajoelina accused the WHO of offering him a $20 million bribe to poison the herbal tonic. A spokesperson for the Malagasy president later denied that wild claim, but not until it had gone viral on social media across the continent, including broadcasts on WhatsApp by such groups as One Africa, One Success (OAOS), a platform for African students studying in Russia that has been used to spread disinformation and conspiracy theories targeting the U.S. and defending Trump.Members of the OAOS have also claimed in their messages that Bill Gates has prevented the WHO from approving coronavirus therapies—including hydroxychloroquine—that supposedly have proven to be effective in Africa, a narrative that has been picked up by high-profile politicians in the continent and extended to Covid-Organics."Madagascar claims to have a herbal-based cure for Covid 19," tweeted Femi Fani-Kayode, a former Nigeria aviation minister and a die-hard Trump supporter. "Why is it that the @BillGates-controlled @WHO refuses to take Africans seriously even where some of these 'cures' have yielded appreciable positive results?"Back in Madagascar, numerous media outlets, some of which were used by Russia to publish fawning articles about Rajoelina to help him win the 2018 presidential election, have accused the WHO of ineffectiveness, claiming that the agency is being manipulated by certain high powers to undermine Madagascar's coronavirus treatment discovery."What you see mostly in the papers is that the WHO doesn't care about finding a coronavirus cure," Thierry Pam, a French freelance journalist living in Madagascar, told The Daily Beast. "No one says anything good about the WHO."One social media post that went viral across Africa in late April claimed that Putin actually ordered a million doses of Covid-Organics and called on Africans not to listen to the WHO. Agence France Presse (AFP) reported the story was totally bogus. There was never such an order, Madagascar's authorities denied it, and, officially at least, Russia usually supports WHO efforts to address the pandemic. But disinformation campaigns often are at odds with officially stated policies because their objectives are different. The focus of Russia's activities has been to drive a wedge between Africa and other international players, whether the U.S., European nations, or China. The Covid-Organics controversy is potentially just another tool to create resentment, as reflected in President Rajoelina's assertions that his country's "cure" for the pandemic is being ignored by the West because it is from Africa.Much of the news that people in Madagascar see or listen to is content created by media outlets set up by the operations of Yevgeny Prigozhin, a close ally of Putin who was indicted by Special Counsel Robert Mueller for allegedly financing the Internet Research Agency that worked to influence the U.S. 2016 presidential election.A leaked document viewed last year by The Guardian revealed that Russia "produced and distributed the island's biggest newspaper, with 2 million copies a month." The Russians also run a French-language news service, Afrique Panorama, based in Madagascar's capital Antananarivo, according to The Guardian's report.Madagascar is one of Africa's poorest nations, with about 80 percent of its 25 million people living on less than $2 per day, but it has managed to ship tens of thousands of doses of Covid-Organics to several countries, including Nigeria, Tanzania, Comoros, Senegal, Guinea Bissau, Chad and Equatorial Guinea. Many of these reportedly have been sent for free, leading to suggestions that Madagascar may have gotten Russia's help to produce large amounts of the drug. Since his election, Rajoelina has promoted closer ties with Moscow. Most notably, he has strengthened his military cooperation and allowed a company owned by Prigozhin, which had acquired a major stake in a government-run firm that mines chromium under Rajoelina's predecessor, to keep control of the operation. This despite protests by workers complaining of canceled benefits and unpaid wages.Meanwhile, in a country where tests have been very limited, and some of those marred by controversy, hundreds of people are now known to be infected with the virus, and the numbers are rising rapidly. The first two confirmed COVID-19 deaths were reported just this week.Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
|
| Baby gorilla injured at Seattle Zoo Posted: 25 May 2020 07:28 AM PDT  A baby gorilla was badly injured at a Seattle zoo on Saturday when he was caught in a skirmish between his family group members, zookeepers said.
|
| Virus traps poor foreign workers in deserted Maldives Posted: 25 May 2020 08:34 PM PDT  Tens of thousands of impoverished foreign labourers have been left stranded and ostracised in one of the world's most densely packed cities as the tourist paradise of the Maldives battles coronavirus. Like Singapore, which recorded a large number of coronavirus cases among migrants living in tightly-packed dorms, the Maldives is heavily dependent on foreign labour. About half of the 150,000 people in the two square kilometres that make up the capital, Male, are workers from Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka living in teeming alleys that are a haven for the virus.
|
| Brazil surpasses U.S. in daily coronavirus death toll Posted: 25 May 2020 03:55 PM PDT  Brazil daily coronavirus deaths were higher than fatalities in the United States for the first time over the last 24 hours, according to the country's Health Ministry. Brazil registered 807 deaths over the last 24 hours, whereas 620 died in the United States. Brazil has the second worst outbreak in the world, with 374,898 cases, behind the U.S. with 1.637 million cases.
|
| White woman called police on black man in dog row Posted: 26 May 2020 05:56 AM PDT  The woman has now been suspended from her job at an investment firm in New York City.
|
| Beijing says it will unilaterally impose national laws in Hong Kong 'without delay' as thousands take to the streets in protest Posted: 25 May 2020 07:41 AM PDT  Critics worry that the new laws could hurt Hong Kong's independence and the city's position as a financial center.
|
| Atlanta is home to 2 potential contenders for Biden's VP Posted: 25 May 2020 09:10 PM PDT  Neither public rivals nor personal friends, Keisha Lance Bottoms and Stacey Abrams spent years climbing parallel ladders at Atlanta City Hall and the Georgia Capitol. Bottoms, the 50-year-old Atlanta mayor, is a top surrogate for Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee. Abrams is the 46-year-old voting rights activist who nearly became the first black female governor in American history.
|
| Coronavirus: Shoppers berate woman for not wearing face mask inside store Posted: 26 May 2020 06:43 AM PDT  A group of shoppers was seen on video shouting at a woman in a Staten Island ShopRite for apparently not wearing a facemask amid the coronavirus pandemic, reports said.In a video posted on Facebook over the weekend, customers can be seen shouting at a woman who is not wearing a facemask in the store.
|
| A last resort to save tourist season: 'Travel bubbles' emerge as solution to Europe's summer woes Posted: 25 May 2020 01:40 AM PDT  Facing the loss of a significant part of their economies, some countries in Europe are banding together to ease travel restrictions and avoid quarantines.
|
| 50 billion years of animal evolution under threat from human activity, study says Posted: 26 May 2020 06:23 AM PDT  Fifty billion years of evolutionary history is under threat from human activity, according to a new study which suggests some of the most threatened areas contain the most unique animals. Branches of the tree of life will be cut by the loss of animals such as the Mary River turtle, native to Queensland, Australia, recognisable by its punk-like algae 'hair', whose evolution stretches back 40 million years. The turtle, which breathes out of its genitals underwater and doesn't reach sexual maturity for 25 years, is threatened by the pet trade. Other highly evolutionarily distinct species include the Aye-aye lemur, which are found only on the island of Madagascar, where in 1990 Gerald Durrell embarked on a rescue mission to save dwindling numbers of the long-finger and bushy-tailed primate from the effects of deforestation.
|
| ‘Fox & Friends’ Confronts Kayleigh McEnany With Chris Wallace Criticism Posted: 26 May 2020 08:17 AM PDT  Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace didn't get the chance to confront White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany directly this weekend. So Fox & Friends host Brian Kilmeade did it for him. About halfway through her appearance on that show Tuesday morning, Kilmeade brought up a comment McEnany made during her Friday press conference. "Boy, it's interesting to be in a room that desperately wants to seem to see these churches and houses of worship stay closed," she told reporters, some of whom objected in the moment to that blatant condescension.As Kilmeade put it, "Some of the press got insulted," before reading McEnany part of what Wallace said about her comments on his Sunday show. "Let me just say, Sam Donaldson and me in the Reagan White House, we were pretty tough on the White House press secretaries and we never had our religious beliefs questioned or were lectured on what we should ask," Wallace said. Kilmeade left out the part where Wallace said that in his six years covering the White House he "never saw a White House press secretary act like that."Kayleigh McEnany: Trump Supports Vote by Mail 'For a Reason'—Just Not a Pandemic"Were you questioning the religious beliefs of the press?" Kilmeade asked her directly. "No, I never questioned the religious beliefs of the press," she insisted, before adding, "Many of our journalists are great men and women of faith." McEnany said her comments were merely trying to draw attention to the fact that "it was a bit peculiar" that she was asked so many questions about why the Trump administration was pushing to reopen churches across the country during a pandemic. "I've never been asked why a liquor store was essential," she added. Of course, while Wallace likely would have thrown a few follow-up questions at McEnany's nonsensical answer, the Fox & Friends hosts moved right along to the next topic. Seth Meyers Exposes New Trump Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany's Breathtakingly Stupid Coronavirus TakeRead more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
|
| Indian drones pursue locusts as swarms destroy swathes of crops Posted: 26 May 2020 08:51 AM PDT  Huge swarms of desert locusts are destroying crops across western and central India, prompting authorities Tuesday to step up their response to the country's worst plague in nearly three decades. "Eight to 10 swarms, each measuring around a square kilometre are active in parts of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh," the government's Locust Warning Organisation's deputy director K.L. Gurjar told AFP. The insects caused massive damage to seasonal crops in both states, devastating many farmers already struggling with the impact of a strict coronavirus lockdown.
|
| Italy reports 92 coronavirus deaths on Monday, just 300 new infections Posted: 25 May 2020 09:03 AM PDT  Deaths from the COVID-19 epidemic in Italy climbed by 92 on Monday, against 50 the day before, the Civil Protection Agency said, while the daily tally of new cases dropped to just 300 from 531 on Sunday. Sunday's daily death toll did not include fatalities from the worst-affected Lombardy region, due to technical problems. It was not immediately clear if Lombardy's deaths from Sunday had been added on Monday, when the region reported 34 new fatalities.
|
| Daytona beachside shooting wounds at least 5 people Posted: 25 May 2020 03:05 PM PDT  About 200 young people were observed in a helicopter video dancing, partying and gathering on the sidewalk in the middle of the street.
|
| The UK is reviewing Huawei's role in its 5G network again, and it's a new sign it could still cave to US pressure Posted: 26 May 2020 02:20 AM PDT  The UK defied pressure from the Trump administration in January by announcing it would allow Huawei to build "non-core" parts of its 5G network.
|
| Coronavirus: Joe Biden emerges from quarantine on Memorial Day Posted: 26 May 2020 01:59 AM PDT  The US Democratic presidential candidate makes his first public appearance in more than two months.
|
| Chinese media says Wuhan had live virus Posted: 25 May 2020 07:21 AM PDT  The Chinese virology institute at the centre of US allegations it may have been the source of the COVID-19 pandemic has three live strains of bat coronavirus on-site, but none match the new global contagion, its director has said.
|
| US couple waits 2 1/2 months in lockdown to visit Pompeii Posted: 26 May 2020 06:35 AM PDT  An American couple waited a lifetime plus 2 ½ months to visit the ancient ruins of Pompeii together. Colleen and Marvin Hewson, retirees from Michigan, were first in line when the archaeological site reopened to the public Tuesday following Italy's coronavirus lockdown. "We have been patiently waiting since then for the ruins to open," Colleen Hewson said as the couple got the chance to stroll through the ruins of the Roman city destroyed in A.D. 79 by a volcanic eruption, trailed by journalists capturing another milestone in Italy's reopening.
|
| India detains pigeon on suspicion of spying for Pakistan Posted: 26 May 2020 02:55 AM PDT  An intrepid Pakistani 'spy' pigeon is facing a life behind bars in India. The allegation was made after Geeta Devi, a resident of the Kathua district of Indian-administered Kashmir, reported a bird - painted pink and carrying a coded ring tagged to its foot - flew into her home on Sunday night. The Indian Border Security Force passed the pigeon on to the police, who launched an investigation and logged the animal as a 'Pak Suspected Spy.' Officials in Kathua said the bird had flown across the border and they would try to decipher the message. "The pigeon, suspected to have been trained in Pakistan for spying, has a ring with alphabets and numbers written on it," a police source told the Times of India. "Though birds have no boundaries and many fly across international borders during migration, a coded ring tagged to the captured pigeon's body is a cause for concern as migratory birds don't have such rings."
|
| Hong Kong leader tries to reassure investors rattled by China law Posted: 26 May 2020 01:51 AM PDT  China's plans to impose a new security law on Hong Kong will not erode freedoms, the city's leader said Tuesday, as she tried to reassure international businesses and foreign governments alarmed by the proposal. Chief Executive Carrie Lam said the controversial law would "only target a handful of lawbreakers" but she would not be drawn on what actions and opinions would be deemed illegal once the legislation is passed. Beijing wants to enact legislation banning secession, subversion, terrorism and foreign interference in the international finance hub after months of massive, often-violent pro-democracy protests last year.
|
| U.S. small firms leave $150 billion in coronavirus stimulus untapped Posted: 26 May 2020 03:17 AM PDT  When the U.S. government first rolled out forgivable loans to small businesses in early April under the Paycheck Protection Program, loan officers at Bank of the West in Grapevine, Texas worked nights and weekends to process a tsunami of applications. On May 15 the bank stopped taking applications for PPP loans. All told, the SBA says it had approved $512.2 billion in PPP loans as of May 21.
|
| Church opens doors to Muslim worshippers so they can have a place to pray Posted: 24 May 2020 01:41 PM PDT  "It is a great sign and it brings joy in Ramadan and joy amid this crisis," said Mohamed Taha Sabry, the mosque's imam.
|
| Memorial Day: Biden wears face mask for first public appearance in 10 weeks but Trump refuses to Posted: 25 May 2020 10:42 AM PDT  Joe Biden has appeared in public for the first time in more than two months to mark Memorial Day.In contrast to Donald Trump who has not worn masks during public appearances, both Mr Biden and his wife Jill Biden wore black face masks to lay a wreath a memorial for World War II and Korean War veterans in Delaware.
|
| Coronavirus outbreak: Caribbean tourism struggles as visitors stay home Posted: 24 May 2020 05:11 PM PDT  Tourism is vital to the Caribbean but visitors are absent amid the coronavirus pandemic.
|
| Transgender bathroom ban heard by federal appeals court Posted: 26 May 2020 06:40 AM PDT  A Virginia school board defended its transgender bathroom ban before a federal appeals court Tuesday, as a transgender man who was barred as a student from using the boys' bathrooms at his high school argued that the policy discriminated against him and violated his constitutional rights. A judge ruled last year that the Gloucester County School Board had discriminated against Gavin Grimm, but the board appealed that ruling to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond. David Corrigan, a lawyer for the school board, said school officials treated Grimm with respect after he began transitioning from female to male during high school, accommodating his request to use male pronouns and to be called by his new name.
|
| Minister Quits as Britain Boils Over With Rage Against Boris Johnson and His Lockdown-Breaking Aide Posted: 26 May 2020 03:58 AM PDT  The most serious political crisis that Boris Johnson has faced as British prime minister is getting worse.Johnson has become a lightning rod for the fury of the British public—frustrated and restless after nine weeks of lockdown restrictions—after his decision not to sack his top aide who was forced to admit that he traveled hundreds of miles during the pandemic, despite suspecting that both he and his wife had COVID-19.After days of Johnson trying to excuse the actions of Dominic Cummings, as well as an extraordinary televised press conference where Cummings emerged from the shadows in an unsuccessful attempt to draw a line under the crisis, a government minister has now resigned with a furious letter which condemns both the prime minister and his mastermind.The furious row began on Friday when two newspapers—the Daily Mirror and The Guardian—reported that Cummings drove 264 miles from London to his parents' estate in Durham, even though he feared that he and his wife had the coronavirus. He later admitted to a separate trip after his family's 14-day period of isolation to Barnard Castle, a beauty spot around 30 miles away from Durham.Cummings and Johnson insist no law was broken—but that's not really the point. People in Britain have been told to stay at home as much as possible and, if displaying symptoms, to stay inside for two weeks. Those rules have forced people to stay away from their loved ones for months, even if they were seriously ill or dying, and to deal with incredibly difficult circumstances without help.Cummings' excuse—that he had to drive to Durham because he thought he and his wife were getting sick and needed possible back-up childcare from his teenage niece—does not comfort anyone who was also struggling to look after their children while sick, but thought they had no option but to stay home and help prevent further spread of the deadly virus.There has been an outpouring of public anger, despite Johnson and Cummings attempts to explain away the scandal. Cummings repeatedly refused to apologize for breaking lockdown rules during his highly unusual press conference Monday. He told the public: "I don't regret what I did … reasonable people might disagree."Cummings also provided a truly laughable excuse for his separate trip to Barnard Castle. He said that he wanted to test that his eyesight was good enough to allow him to drive back to London following his illness, so he packed his wife and child into the car and drove to the castle in an incredibly risky experiment.The lack of contrition and flimsy excuses were, unsurprisingly, not effective. At least 20 lawmakers from Johnson's Conservative party have called on Cummings to quit and, on Tuesday, a junior minister resigned from government in protest at the scandal.Douglas Ross wrote: "While the intentions may have been well meaning, the reaction to this news shows that Mr Cummings interpretation of the government advice was not shared by the vast majority of people who have done as the government asked."Ross added: "I have constituents who didn't get to say goodbye to loved ones; families who could not mourn together; people who didn't visit sick relatives because they followed the guidance of the government. I cannot in good faith tell them they were all wrong and one senior adviser to the government was right."Ross was only a junior minister, but he's been strongly supportive of Johnson since he stood for party leader. That he decided to resign and breathe new life into a story that Johnson and Cummings hoped they had drawn a line under shows that the matter is far from over.Meanwhile, Britain's Office for National Statistics reported Tuesday that there have been 60,000 excess deaths recorded across the U.K. since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.Britons are grieving and angry but, for now, are still largely following the rules given to them by their government. But, the longer Cummings stays in his post, more people will questions why there should be one rule for them and another for their leaders.Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
|
| South Sudan: an unexplored Eden of biodiversity Posted: 25 May 2020 06:22 PM PDT  The light plane banked sharply to circle back over the plains. "There's only a few hundred left in the world," said Albert Schenk, of the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), surveying the landscape below. This is South Sudan: one of Africa's wildlife Edens, a global biodiversity hotspot wedged between the continent's tropical jungles and dry, desolate deserts.
|
| India has low coronavirus death rate but worries about migrants on the move Posted: 26 May 2020 02:29 AM PDT  India on Tuesday recorded a total of 145,380 coronavirus infections and a death toll of 4,167, comparatively low figures for the world's second-most populous country. Health ministry officials said that India's death rate stood at 0.3 deaths per 100,000 people, compared to what they said was a world average of 4.4. "We have surprisingly found a low fatality rate in India, which is very good," said Balram Bhargava, director general of the Indian Council of Medical Research, in New Delhi.
|
| Multi-state manhunt ongoing for UConn senior accused of killing two, abducting one Posted: 26 May 2020 09:19 AM PDT  Peter Manfredonia, a University of Connecticut senior, is a suspect in the killing of two people.
|
| The private jet version of the Boeing 787 can cost more than $200 million and fly over 18 hours. Take a look at some its most luxurious designs. Posted: 25 May 2020 05:43 AM PDT  The BBJ 787 Dreamliner is like the hybrid of private jets costing over $200 million. The jet can fly over 18 hours with a bedroom and shower onboard.
|
| Obama administration economist predicts 'best jobs and growth numbers ever' ahead of the election Posted: 26 May 2020 08:01 AM PDT  An Obama administration economist has reportedly left Democrats concerned about President Trump's re-election prospects with his prediction about the state of the economy leading up to November.Speaking to a group of Republican and Democratic officials in early April, Politico reports Jason Furman, who was chair of the Council of Economic Advisers under former President Obama, surprisingly asserted that "we are about to see the best economic data we've seen in the history of this country."As the coronavirus pandemic takes a devastating toll on the U.S. economy, bringing the unemployment rate to the highest level seen since the Great Depression, Furman continues to predict a "partial rebound" on the horizon, comparing the situation to the economic aftermath following a natural disaster and telling Politico that "you could easily have one to two million jobs created a month in those four reports before November."He added, "And then toward the end of October, we will get GDP growth for the third quarter, at an annualized rate, and it could be double-digit positive economic growth. So these will be the best jobs and growth numbers ever." This assumes re-openings continue across the country and a second wave of coronavirus doesn't prompt major lockdowns. Although Politico notes that a "rebound won't mean that Trump has solved many underlying problems," Democrats are reportedly "spooked" by the idea that the president "could be poised to benefit from the dramatic numbers" ahead of the 2020 election, with one former Obama White House official pointing to Trump's positive polling on the economy and arguing, "This is the challenge for the Biden campaign. If they can't figure this out they should all just go home." Read the full report at Politico. More stories from theweek.com Trump shares disturbing meme of Biden's campaign in a coffin Trump keeps falsely accusing Joe Scarborough of murder, and it's long past weird We've all been saying Steve Buscemi's name wrong
|
| Coronavirus in South Africa: Smokers fume at cigarette ban Posted: 25 May 2020 04:28 PM PDT  The government is to ease lockdown restrictions and allow the sale of alcohol - but not cigarettes.
|
| British farmers 'will go out of business' in UK-US trade deal, Theresa Villiers warns Posted: 25 May 2020 06:31 AM PDT  British farmers "will go out of business" as a consequence of a trade deal with the United States, former environment secretary Theresa Villiers has warned. Admitting that she had "great fears" about "unfettered competition between domestic farmers and US imports", she said it would be very difficult for domestic farmers to compete on price. Ms Villiers, who left her Cabinet post in February's reshuffle, said she was concerned about the impact of a deal on the rural economy and the union "because of the significance of livestock farming in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales". International Trade Secretary Liz Truss has insisted that she would not do a trade deal with the US if it "does not benefit every sector of UK agriculture". However, opponents of practices such chlorine-washing chicken and hormone-injected beef fear farming standards may be bargained away in negotiations. The Government is being urged to enshrine guarantees into the Agriculture Bill by the opposition benches and many of its own MPs. Ms Villiers argued that an amendment to the bill would give certainty to farmers "that our negotiators wouldn't be able to give way" on standards.
|
No comments:
Post a Comment