daily news update chaeenel

An alarming heatwave in the sunless winter Arctic is causing blizzards in Europe and forcing scientists to reconsider even their most pessimistic forecasts of climate change. Although it could yet prove to be a freak event, the primary concern is that global warming is eroding the polar vortex, the powerful winds that once insulated the frozen north. The north pole gets no sunlight until March, but an influx of warm air has pushed temperatures in Siberia up by as much as 35C above historical averages this month. Greenland has already experienced 61 hours above freezing in 2018 - more than three times as many hours as in any previous year. Seasoned observers have described what is happening as “crazy,” “weird,” and “simply shocking”. “This is an anomaly among anomalies. It is far enough outside the historical range that it is worrying – it is a suggestion that there are further surprises in store as we continue to poke the angry beast that is our climate,” said Michael Mann, director of...

The Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras has been forced into an emergency cabinet reshuffle following the resignation of two ministers over housing benefit claims that have embarrassed Athens’ leftist-led coalition. The new lineup was announced on Wednesday as a new round of compliance talks between the debt-stricken country and bailout creditors began. The government spokesman said deputy prime minister Yannis Dragasakis would assume the key portfolio of economy and development minister, while Dimitris Vitsas would replace Yiannis Mouzalas as migration minister. Both are sensitive posts in a county that has battled bankruptcy and the European refugee crisis. In a surprise move, the Syriza party leader also brought the former leader of the Democratic Left party, Fotis Kouvelis, into government, giving him Vitsas’s post as deputy defence minister. The reshuffle was triggered by the resignation on Monday of economy minister Dimitris Papadimitriou and his wife, the alternate...

Police in Mexico’s corruption-plagued state of Veracruz set up units that used death squad-style tactics to abduct, kill and dispose of at least 15 people who they suspected of being drug cartel informers and drug runners, according to charges filed by state prosecutors. The allegations filed against the former top police commanders in Veracruz show all the signs of the human rights abuses of Mexico’s notorious anti-guerrilla counterinsurgency campaigns of the 1960s and 70s.Police in marked patrol cars picked up youths but never recorded their arrests. Instead they turned them over to specialized interrogation and torture squads working at the police academy itself, according to the indictment, and they were later killed and their bodies disposed of. While individual groups of corrupt cops have been known to turn youths over to drug cartels in several areas of Mexico, the Veracruz state case is notable for the rank of those accused: the former head of state security and the leaders of ...

The Slovakian journalist Ján Kuciak was investigating political corruption linked to an Italian mafia group at the time of his murder, according to a summary of his “last investigation” published on Wednesday. Kuciak and his fiancée, Martina Kusnirova, were found shot dead in their home last weekend in a killing that police have said is likely to have been related to his investigative work. The summary, published by the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), focuses on the alleged activities in Slovakia of people associated with the Italian organised crime group ’Ndrangheta. Entitled The Model, the Mafia and the Murderers, it was jointly published with the Czech Centre for Investigative Journalism (CCIJ), the Investigative Reporting Project Italy, and Aktuality.SK, a team of investigative reporters in Slovakia with whom Kuciak was working when he was killed. The report describes how the project began with an investigation into why the Slovakian prime minister, Robert...

A top US disarmament official has accused Russia of being on the wrong side of history on chemical weapon use in Syria, after reports of a chlorine attack in the besieged enclave of eastern Ghouta and the leaking of a UN reportinto the supply of related items from North Korea. The world’s chemical weapons watchdog is said to have opened an investigation into the latest reports of chemical attacks in Ghouta, where doctors said more than a dozen civilians had been treated for symptoms that matched those of exposure to chlorine gas.The investigation also comes a day after details of a UN report were leaked, which said North Korea had sent Syria more than 40 items used in ballistic and chemical weapons programmes in the five years from 2012 to 2017. Bashar al-Assad’s government was supposed to have given up its chemical weapons arsenal under a deal brokered in 2013 between the US and Russia, but the agreement does not include chlorine because of its industrial uses. A senior US disarmament...

Somewhere between childhood and now, many of us decided that theme parks were no longer for us because we weren’t kids anymore. Those huge machines that once turned us upside down and hurtled us along the tracks, while we screamed with delight — they are not the toys of grownups, we decided, without really thinking about it. So we got jobs and mortgages and, to break loose, we rolled around on top of a spiky pressure-point ball at yoga. But that doesn’t compare to weightlessly falling backwards with a sharp intake of breath at the peak of a rollercoaster loop. Where is the life-affirming after-effect of feeling briefly that you were falling from space? We need the rush again. The kids get it. They know that Walt Disney World Resort – with its six parks, sporting activities, and endless entertainment options – is the ultimate playground, where the only rule is to create as many magical moments as humanly possible. That’s why they still beg parents every year to put down their spreadshee...

How well do you know one of the world’s most magical tourist destinations? You may know your Space Mountain from your Splash Mountain, but this quiz will challenge even the biggest Disney fan’s knowledge of some of Walt Disney World Resort in Florida’s most weird and wonderful aspects. Source :- theguardian

Maybe you’ve found someone to look after the children, or perhaps you want a friends’ holiday with a difference, whatever the occasion, Walt Disney World Resort in Florida has so much for grownups to enjoy across all six parks. Embrace the thrill of the biggest rides and watersports, unwind with a massage for two, or quaff wine at an informative tasting, it’s all part of the experience – but not as you know it. Here are some of the best bits to pack into your holiday for grownup Disney-lovers. 1. The biggest rides You might now be able to glide past the height restrictions, but that doesn’t mean you won’t scream your face off – so good luck. Nothing beats the adrenaline rush of a rollercoaster roaring down a slope at an improbable speed, while G-forces exert unwieldy power over your body. Whether it’s Expedition Everest in Disney’s Animal Kingdom, Space Mountain in Magic Kingdom or the utterly jaw-dropping Twilight Zone Tower of Terror in Disney’s Hollywood Studios park, get that heart...

The White House communications director has resigned after a whirlwind three years in which the former model with zero political experience became one of the president’s closest aides. Source :- theguardian

Donald Trump holds a meeting with politicians on school safety after the Florida high school shooting and tells Republican senator Pat Toomey he is ‘afraid of the NRA’. Trump told the group that while the gun lobby have ‘great power over you people, they have less power over me’ Source :- theguardian

Toys R Us and Maplin have entered administration on the same day, putting more than 5,000 jobs at risk at two of the UK’s best-known retailers. Administrator Moorfields said it was managing an “orderly wind-down” of Toys R Us, which has about 3,000 staff, while PwC has been appointed to oversee the administration of Maplin, which employs 2,500 people. Labour called on the government to hold urgent talks with trade unions and the companies to ensure that jobs are safeguarded and address weakness in the retail sector. Moorfields said it still holds out hope of finding a last-minute buyer for all or part of Toys R Us, with its newer stores most likely to attract interest. Simon Thomas, a partner at Moorfields, said: “All stores remain open until further notice and stock will be subject to clearance and special promotions.” “We’re encouraging customers to redeem their gift cards and vouchers as soon as possible,” he said adding that customers should do so as soon as possible, before any st...

A late update: Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox have - finally - responded to Comcast’s offer.     New York, NY, February 27, 2018 - 21st Century Fox (“21CF”) notes the possible offer announcement made by Comcast Corporation (“Comcast”) for Sky plc (“Sky”).     21CF remains committed to its recommended cash offer for Sky announced on 15th December 2016.     We note that no firm offer has been made by Comcast at this point. A further statement will be made if appropriate. Source :- theguardian

The US economy “remains strong”, the Federal Reserve chairman, Jerome Powell, told Congress on Tuesday as he signaled the central bank is on course to carry on gradually increasing interest rates in the coming months.In his first congressional testimony since his appointment, Powell painted an upbeat picture of the country’s economic health and dismissed recent wobbles in the stock market. “Some of the headwinds the US economy faced in previous years have turned into tailwinds,” said Powell. He told Congress his “personal outlook for the economy has strengthened since December”. Powell managed to avoid controversy – one of the key aims of the Fed chair – ably deflecting politically charged questions about the US’s huge debts, the impact of Donald Trump’s recently announced $1.5tn tax cuts and income inequality. US stock markets barely moved during his testimony. The Fed is expected to raise rates three times this year. “Further gradual increases in the federal funds rate will best prom...

A few days ago, President Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela announced that his government had launched the petro, a new state-sponsored cryptocurrency. He claimed that $735m (£529m) worth of the new currency had already been sold, though observers are sceptical, unless state entities have been obliged to buy them. Even they will find it hard to do so, however, as the technology platform on which the petro will be traded has not yet been confirmed.International demand for the petro will not be helped by recent pronouncements from Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger, the “sages of Omaha” who still control Berkshire Hathaway. Speaking of cryptocurrencies in general, Buffett was scathing. “I can say almost with certainty that they will come to a bad end,” he declared in January, while noting for good measure that he would be glad to buy put options on every one of them. Munger is, if anything, even more hostile, characterising bitcoin in particular as “totally asinine” and a “noxious poison”. Not ...

Donald Trump’s huge tax cuts are a threat to the stability of the global economy, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund has warned. Christine Lagarde singled out Trump’s tax reforms as one of three risks that could destabilise the current economic recovery, especially given the boom in stock markets in the past year. “While the US tax reforms certainly will have positive effects in the short term, for the US and other countries around, it might also lead to serious risks,” Lagarde told the World Economic Forum in Davos. “That has an impact on financial vulnerability, particularly given the high asset prices that we see around the world, and the easy financing that it still available,” she added. She was speaking shortly after the US president told Davos that his tax reforms had created “a big, beautiful waterfall” of pay rises for US workers, as American companies passed the tax cut on. However, the IMF is concerned that cutting taxes will lead to a bigger US budget ...

Warren Buffett on Saturday reported a record quarterly and annual profit for his Berkshire Hathaway conglomerate, thanks in part to a $29.1bn boost “delivered” by the Republican tax cut. In his annual letter to shareholders, the billionaire investor wrote: “Berkshire’s gain in net worth during 2017 was $65.3bn.” “But,” he added, “2017 was far from standard: a large portion of our gain did not come from anything we accomplished at Berkshire. “The $65bn gain is nonetheless real – rest assured of that. But only $36bn came from Berkshire’s operations. The remaining $29bn was delivered to us in December when Congress rewrote the US tax code.” Buffett also lamented his inability to find big companies to buy, and said his goal was to make “one or more huge acquisitions” of non-insurance businesses to bolster results. Finding things to buy at a “sensible purchase price” had become a challenge, he wrote, and a major reason Berkshire was awash with $116bn of low-yielding cash and government bond...

An Alaska Republican and most senior member of the US House argued against gun control by wondering how many Jewish people “were put in the ovens” because they were not armed. Don Young, who has a history of off-the-cuff remarks, made the comments at a meeting last week in the state capital of Juneau when responding to a question about what the federal government and cities can do to stop school shootings. “How many millions of people were shot and killed because they were unarmed?” Young said at a meeting of the Alaska Municipal League, a lobbying group for local communities. “Fifty million in Russia because their citizens weren’t armed. How many Jews were put into the ovens because they were unarmed?” The comments were “taken entirely out of context,” a spokeswoman for Young, Murphy McCollough, said on Wednesday. “He was referencing the fact that when Hitler confiscated firearms from Jewish Germans, those communities were less able to defend themselves,” she said. “He was not implyin...

Congress on Wednesday began investigating allegations that an official at Ben Carson’s department of housing and urban development (Hud) was demoted for refusing to approve expensive redecorations to his office. Representative Trey Gowdy, a South Carolina Republican who chairs the powerful House oversight committee, asked Carson, the Hud secretary, for information on the allegations by Helen Foster, revealed by the Guardian on Tuesday. Gowdy told Carson in a letter that his committee wanted to “determine whether Hud adhered to the applicable spending limitations while redecorating your office” and instructed him to turn over files on decoration work and Foster’s demotion. Foster alleged to a whistleblower-protection watchdog that she lost her job as Hud’s chief administrative last year partly as retaliation for her refusal to exceed a $5,000 legal cap for spending on Carson’s office. She said she was told by Craig Clemmensen, who was Hud’s acting director while Carson went through the ...

The White House has admitted that it mishandled allegations of domestic abuse against a senior official who was forced to resign on Wednesday. John Kelly, the chief of staff, and press secretary Sarah Sanders at first defended staff secretary Rob Porter after media reports in which two ex-wives accused him of assault. But the mood rapidly shifted with the publication of photos showing one of the women with a black eye, making his departure as a key member of West Wing staff inevitable. “I think it’s fair to say that we all could have done better over the last few hours, or last few days, in dealing with this situation,” deputy press secretary Raj Shah, making his debut on the White House podium, told reporters. “But, you know, this was a Rob Porter that I and many others have dealt with, that Sarah had dealt with, that other officials including the chief of staff had dealt with, and the emerging reports were not reflective of the individual we had come to know.” Source :- theguardia...

Donald Trump defended Rob Porter, a White House aide who was forced to resign after two ex-wives accused him of domestic abuse Donald Trump leaped to the defence on Friday of a close White House aide who was forced to resign after two ex-wives accused him of domestic abuse. Staff secretary Rob Porter, who was initially defended by the White House, quit on Wednesday following the publication of photos that showed one of the women with a black eye. But two days after Porter’s departure, the US president was effusive in his support for Porter and failed to express any sympathy or concern for the two women who have given accounts of being assaulted.Speaking in the Oval Office, Trump said: “We wish him well, he worked very hard. We found out about it recently and I was surprised by it, but we certainly wish him well and it’s a tough time for him. “He did a very good job when he was in the White House. And we hope he has a wonderful career and he will have a great career ahead of him. But it...

A White House speechwriter resigned Friday amid allegations of domestic abuse, the second such departure this week. David Sorensen stepped down after his ex-wife, Jessica Corbett, told the Washington Post that Sorensen had physically and emotionally abused her during their two-and-a-half year marriage. Corbett said she had informed the FBI of the alleged abuse last fall. Sorensen denied the allegations, the Post reported, and claimed that he was abused by her. “Before we were contacted by the media, we learned last night that there were allegations,” the White House deputy press secretary, Raj Shah, said in a statement. “We immediately confronted the staffer, he denied the allegations and he resigned today.” Source :- theguardian

Pressure on White House chief of staff John Kelly was intensifying on Saturday after a series of missteps, most notably his defence of a senior official accused of domestic violence. Ominously Donald Trump has been grumbling about Kelly’s performance and weighing up possible replacements, according to media reports. Reports in the New York Times suggested that Kelly told staff on Friday he was willing to resign over his mishandling of the domestic violence allegations that led to staff secretary Rob Porter’s resignation, and that simultaneously Trump was now considering Mick Mulvaney, currently White House budget director and head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, as a possible successor. But a third chief of staff in just over a year, along with the rapid turnover of other officials, would only fuel perceptions of mismanagement. Source :- theguardian

Donald Trump on Saturday appeared to offer a new defense of a former White House aide who was forced to resign after two ex-wives accused him of domestic abuse. In a statement on Twitter, Trump said: “People’s lives are being shattered and destroyed by a mere allegation. Some are true and some are false. Some are old and some are new. There is no recovery for someone falsely accused - life and career are gone. Is there no such thing any longer as Due Process?” Porter, a key White House aide, left the administration on Wednesday after two ex-wives accused him of physical abuse. The allegations, first reported by the Daily Mail, included a photo of Porter’s first wife with a black eye that she said her ex-husband had given her. Source :- theguardian

Throughout Donald Trump’s campaign and relentlessly chaotic presidency, the single constant presence at his side, outside of his family, has been the 29-year-old former Ralph Lauren model and White House communications director Hope Hicks. While aides and advisers fall in and out of favor, Hicks has remained Trump’s Oval Office gatekeeper, companion and sounding board, offering consistent loyalty. But now Hicks has herself been cast into two plotlines currently playing out in the presidential daytime reality-soap. In one, Hicks features as a likely target in the special counsel Robert Mueller’s effort to acquire cooperating witnesses in the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. Hicks has reportedly been interviewed by Mueller’s investigators. Source :- theguardian

Ope Hicks, the White House communications director and longtime aide to Donald Trump, has announced her resignation. The White House confirmed news of Hicks’ departure on Wednesday, one day after Hicks testified before the House intelligence committee for nine hours as part of the panel’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. “There are no words to adequately express my gratitude to President Trump,” Hicks said in a statement. “I wish the President and his administration the very best as he continues to lead our country.” Hicks had served as the press secretary for Trump’s insurgent presidential campaign before taking on similar duties in the White House. She previously worked at the Trump Organization and went on to become Trump’s longest-serving political aide. Source :- theguardian

Early this month, Rod Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general, placed a delicate call to the White House. A hitch had developed that would further delay top security clearances for Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law. The call came at a bad time for the West Wing. Two days earlier, the resignation of the staff secretary, Rob Porter, had focused public attention on the fact that an unknown number of White House aides were still working with only interim clearance status. This after Donald Trump had won the presidency while repeatedly demanding that his opponent be thrown in prison for mishandling classified information. But as Rosenstein’s call made clear, the Kushner delay was especially problematic. Kushner was closer to the president than almost anyone else, with more responsibilities than any other aide, and his clearance application had raised more red flags within the intelligence community. Source :- theguardian

Jared Kushner has had his security clearance downgraded, according to reports on Tuesday, leaving the senior adviser and son-in-law to Donald Trump without direct access to top secret intelligence and sensitive documents that include the president’s daily brief. Kushner was notified of the downgrade in a memo on Friday, along with other White House aides who had access to the highest-level interim clearances, Politico and others reported on Tuesday. Kushner and the aides previously held what is known as Top Secret/SCI-level clearances, which provided them with unfettered access to classified information and some of the country’s most guarded secrets. The president has the unilateral authority to share classified information as he sees fit, including with his son-in-law, despite the clearance downgrade. The White House did not immediately return a request for comment when reached by the Guardian. One reason that Kushner has been unable to obtain clearance has been his extensive contacts...

Jared Kushner’s role as a senior adviser in Donald Trump’s White House has reached a pivotal moment after it was reported that the presidential son-in-law lost access to America’s top secrets and may be a target of foreign countries. The Trump administration was initially rocked by reports on Tuesday that Kushner, who previously enjoyed unfettered access to the country’s most classified and sensitive information, had his security clearance downgraded along with a host of other White House aides.Within hours came another bombshell – that Kushner was viewed as a possible target for manipulation by four countries due to his financial conflicts of interest and lack of experience in policy and politics. The fresh controversy over Kushner – who was already a subject of scrutiny as a potentially key figure in the Russia investigation – laid bare the ramifications of Trump’s decision to place his son-in-law in one of the most high-ranking positions in the White House. It also raised key questi...

The challenge was simple, if hefty. Those at the business end of the Honda Classic field had somehow to upstage Tiger Woods, whose standing as the only show in town was endorsed further by the claiming of colossal Sunday galleries. Tiger Mania is back. The alternative storyline proved decent enough. After a tie at eight under par a play-off ensued between Justin Thomas, seeking a sixth PGA Tour title since the start of last year, and Luke List, who was chasing a first. Thomas took one sudden-death hole to continue his stunning run.There was to be no dream scenario for Woods on this, his third PGA Tour start of the year. The 14-times major champion will be content with 12th place on reflection but this ferociously competitive animal offered frustration at not adding an 80th tour title to his CV. Given the circumstances, such success would have been extraordinary. “I feel very happy the way I played the entire week,” Woods insisted. “I gave myself a chance at it. I know it’s been a long ...

It began 16 months ago, before Harvey Weinstein and #MeToo and the tipping point of the US’s national reckoning with sexual assault, with an unsolicited email to the Indianapolis Star, which that morning had published a five-month investigation into the mishandling of sexual abuse allegations by the national governing body of gymnastics. It read: “I recently read the article titled ‘Out of Balance’ published by the IndyStar. My experience may not be relevant to your investigation, but I am emailing to report an incident that may be. I was not molested by my coach, but I was molested by Dr Larry Nassar, the team doctor for USAG. I was 15 years old, and it was under the guise of medical treatment for my back.”Tiger Woods seemed destined to be celebrated but not loved. If that appears harsh, the greatest golfer in a generation appeared perfectly at ease with that scenario himself. Until now. Woods’s complex relationship with US galleries conjures gallows humour. A string of relationships,...

It began 16 months ago, before Harvey Weinstein and #MeToo and the tipping point of the US’s national reckoning with sexual assault, with an unsolicited email to the Indianapolis Star, which that morning had published a five-month investigation into the mishandling of sexual abuse allegations by the national governing body of gymnastics. It read: “I recently read the article titled ‘Out of Balance’ published by the IndyStar. My experience may not be relevant to your investigation, but I am emailing to report an incident that may be. I was not molested by my coach, but I was molested by Dr Larry Nassar, the team doctor for USAG. I was 15 years old, and it was under the guise of medical treatment for my back.” Source :- theguardian

he US Olympic Committee chief executive Scott Blackmun is resigning for health reasons, the organization said on Wednesday, following months of sustained criticism in the wake of the sex abuse scandal involving former USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar. In a statement, the USOC cited Blackmun’s “ongoing health issues” related to prostate cancer, for which he has been receiving treatment. The group also announced new reforms aimed at protecting its athletes from abuse. The USOC, which announced the change less than a week after the end of the Winter Olympics, had resisted calls to fire Blackmun over the Nassar case. Blackmun, 60, did not attend the Games.“Given Scott’s current health situation, we have mutually agreed it is in the best interest of both Scott and the USOC that we identify new leadership so that we can immediately address the urgent initiatives ahead of us,” the USOC chairman, Larry Probst, said in a statement. “The important work that Scott started needs to continue and ...

I opened my eyes to see a clear blue sky and two men leaning over me to put a brace around my neck. I don’t know if I was already on the stretcher or if I was still on the pavement, but then there are plenty of things I don’t remember. As I would find out later, I had a brain injury. Was I badly hurt, I asked. I felt as though someone had smashed a plank of wood across the left side of my face. The two men on either side of me carefully lifted my upper body to finish fitting the brace, giving me a view of my legs. I wiggled my left toes, which were more obliging than my lips. It couldn’t be that bad, I decided. My spinal cord still worked. The man on my right – either an ambulance technician or a paramedic; I had no way of knowing – asked if I knew where I was. Was I … outside the Whole Foods? Did I know what happened, he asked. No. Wait … when the bronze car turned left in front of me, cutting me off, I hit the brakes on my bike. I remembered realising that it didn’t matter – I wouldn...

One of the NFL’s most pressing problems isn’t close to being solved as the league’s chief medical officer discussed a rise in the number of player concussions last season. Dr Allen Sills said there had been 291 reported cases of concussion last season compared with 250 in 2016, a 16% rise. In mitigation, the 2017 figures could have been affected by more players self-reporting concussions than in the past. However, Sills said that was not an excuse. “It’s not OK to simply stand behind that and say, ‘Well, the numbers are going up because we’re doing a better job,’” he said. “I think to me this is really a call to action to see what we can do to drive it down.”There was a huge rise – 73% – in concussions suffered during pre-season training camp practices. That could be attributed to players pushing hard as they try to make the roster for the new season. Dr Thom Mayer, the NFL Players Association’s medical director, said coaches needed to address the matter. “With 291 concussions, if we’r...

Pizza company Papa John’s has ended its official sponsorship of the NFL three months after its CEO blamed sluggish sales on players kneeling during the national anthem. In November, John Schnatter said “NFL leadership has hurt Papa John’s shareholders” and that the protests aimed at racial injustice in the States “should have been nipped in the bud a year and a half ago.” The company later apologized after white supremacists praised Schnatter’s comments and said: “We believe in the right to protest inequality and support the players’ movement to create a new platform for change. We also believe, as Americans, we should honor our anthem.” Source :- theguardian

About a minute into the official Black Panther trailer, I realise I’ve been holding my breath. Hunched over, nose close to the screen, it’s as if I’m subconsciously trying to fold my body into Marvel’s cinematic universe. If this is a baptism, I want full immersion. And if its record-breaking advance ticket sales are anything to go by, it seems I’m not the only one breathlessly awaiting the feature-length adventures of Wakanda’s king, T’Challa.Part of the excitement is because cinemagoers finally have a black superhero who doesn’t feel like a consolation prize. Director Ryan Coogler’s all-black cast far surpasses previous paltry offerings to the black and brown people whose dollars and pounds turn films into blockbusters, yet who rarely see themselves represented with any depth or diversity on the big screen. Not since the Blade trilogy, starring Wesley Snipes, has a hero of colour held the limelight. We have to go back to 1998, when the first part was released to critical acclaim and ...

Over the weekend, the internet was on fire again (shocker), this time over the Black Panther star, Michael B Jordan, and his housing situation. People just couldn’t believe a man of voting age would actually choose to live with his parents. Because somehow it makes more sense in America to rack up thousands of dollars in debt, move into a teenier-tinier Tiny House, or even continue living with a partner you kinda hate than to endure the shame of being a young adult crashing in your childhood bedroom. In fact, this sleeping arrangement is so degrading, the media has even coined a patronizing name for the losers who do it: boomerangs. They’re the millennials who’ve failed to live up to the idea of success our Protestant work ethic-obsessed society has shoved down their throats. They’re the ones finally doubting our long-held convictions that material gain, self-reliance, and that all important guiding principle – freeeeeeedoooooom – are what determine our sense of worth and give us purpo...

On 9 August 2016, when he was 22, Colten Boushie, a Cree man from the Red Pheasant First Nation was shot in the head by Gerald Stanley, a white farmer. Earlier this month, beneath a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II in Battleford, Saskatchewan, in Canada’s prairies, an all-white jury in a court presided over by a white judge found Stanley not guilty of second-degree murder and also not guilty of the lesser charge of manslaughter. According to the Stanley family, Boushie and his friends were trying to rob their farm. After an altercation, Stanley fired three shots. The third hit Boushie in the back of the head and killed him. Stanley claimed that the point-blank shot to Boushie’s head was a “freak accident”, possibly the result of an unlikely mechanical failure known as hang fire, according to his defense. That evening, a dozen law enforcement officers arrived at the home of Boushie’s mother, Debbie Baptiste. They told Baptiste that her son was “deceased”, accused her of drinking, and comm...

On Friday night a faction of the Turkish military tried and failed to stage a coup to overthrow Erdoğan, and tanks, helicopters and soldiers clashed with police and protesters in the streets of Istanbul and Ankara. Erdoğan delivered an iPhone address to the nation, calling on people to resist the coup and defend their democracy. Thousands turned out, and the president landed in Istanbul, where he denounced the “treason” by the rebellious faction.  Parliament was struck by at least one bomb, and graphic videos and photos social media showed clashes, surrenders and chaos. Helicopters fired at people on the ground, mobs grappled with soldiers, and tanks barreled through crowds or were overrun by protesters. On Saturday the defense minister said the control was fully in control of the government. At least 265 people were killed in the violence and at least 1,440 wounded. Prime minister Binali Yildirim said on Saturday that 161 “martyrs” were killed, including civilians and police....

The accusation by Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, that US-based cleric Fethullah Gülen is behind Friday night’s attempted coup is part of a familiar rhetoric and a long-running rivalry. So is there any truth in it? It is probably worth pointing out in the first instance that the traditional rivalry in Turkish society has been between secularists (including those in the army) who look to the modern state’s founder, Kemal Atatürk, and Islamists – not least Erdogan’s AKP party. The AKP has itself provoked a number of coups or attempts in Turkish history. And in many respects, Friday night looked to be another event in that tradition: a military coup driven from within Turkey’s armed forces. By Saturday morning Erdoğan had reasserted power and it was announced dozens of senior colonels and generals had been removed. Source :- theguardian

Italians head to the polls early next month in an election that most observers believe will result in a hung parliament with no outright winner. The Five Star Movement, led by 31-year-old Luigi Di Maio, is polling as the largest single party while a coalition of rightwing parties assembled by the 81-year-old Silvio Berlusconi, including his own Forza Italia and some further right groups, is close to 10 points ahead. But with 30 to 40% of voters still undecided, the final outcome is highly unpredictable – and an inconclusive one will only add to the instability. The election will also be held under new and untested electoral law in which just over a third of parliamentarians in the upper and lower house are elected by first-past-the-post (FPTP) and two-thirds by proportional representation (PR) via party lists. We’d like you to help us tell the story of the election including what outcome you hope for and how you think it might affect your life. Source :- theguardian

A Turkish court has sentenced six defendants, including three prominent journalists, to life in prison over allegations of involvement in a 2016 coup attempt, drawing fierce condemnation from the UN and press freedom advocates. The convictions followed a months-long trial during which the prosecution alleged that the journalists sent “subliminal messages” via TV appearances and newspaper columns urging the overthrow of the government, and that they maintained contact with members of the Fethullah Gülen network, a movement widely believed in Turkey to have orchestrated the coup attempt. The first conviction of media figures in relation to the failed putsch constitutes a major defeat for press freedom in the Nato member state, which has cracked down on dissent in the aftermath of the coup. At least 73 journalists remain behind bars, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, which ranks Turkey the world’s worst jailer of journalists, ahead of China and Egypt. Source :- theguard...

What’s the story and why does it matter? Europe’s fourth largest economy goes to the polls on Sunday 4 March under a new and untested electoral law, for a general election that most observers believe will result in a hung parliament with no outright winner. With a €2.3tn debt load representing 135% of its GDP and more than 20% of the eurozone’s total, persistent deficits, a still-stagnant economy, decidedly shaky banks and populism irrupting into its politics, Italy is seen as a risk not just to itself but to the EU – even if some parties’ earlier calls for a euro exit have faded. What are your hopes for Italy's election? Read more The Five Star Movement, led by 31-year-old Luigi Di Maio, is polling as the largest single party while a coalition of rightwing parties assembled by the 81-year-old Silvio Berlusconi, including his own Forza Italia and some further right groups, is close to 10 points ahead. But with 30 to 40% of voters still undecided, the final outcome is highly unpredi...

The prospects for the left in the upcoming Italian general election do not look good, divided as it is between the mainstream Democratic party (PD) and a variety of radical left groupings, many of which have come under the umbrella of Liberi e Uguali (Free and Equal), headed by senate president Pietro Grasso. The last opinion poll put the PD on 22.7% and Free and Equal on 5.4%. The electoral system, which distributes over a third of the seats according to first-past-the-post, will almost certainly ensure that the left pays dearly for its divisions. From one point of view, the unpopularity of the PD – which has been the mainstay of the governing coalition and which reached a high of 41% in the 2014 European election – is puzzling. The Italian economy is picking up. The government has received praise from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development and in other quarters for a series of structural reforms deemed essential to raising productivity and investment. The prime min...

We wish to draw your attention to the damage being done to the Republic of Turkey, to its reputation and the dignity and wellbeing of its citizens, through what leading authorities on freedom of expression deem to be the unlawful detention and wrongful conviction of writers and thinkers. In a Memorandum on the Freedom of Expression in Turkey (2017), Nils Muižnieks, then Council of Europe commissioner for Human Rights, warned:“The space for democratic debate in Turkey has shrunk alarmingly following increased judicial harassment of large strata of society, including journalists, members of parliament, academics and ordinary citizens, and government action which has reduced pluralism and led to self-censorship. This deterioration came about in a very difficult context, but neither the attempted coup, nor other terrorist threats faced by Turkey, can justify measures that infringe media freedom and disavow the rule of law to such an extent. “The authorities should urgently change course by...

I recently conducted a very scientific study in the pub with some straight male friends. “Have you ever wanted to experience pregnancy?” I asked. The answer was an emphatic “absolutely not”. In the interests of methodological rigorousness, I rephrased my question. “Do you ever feel sad you aren’t able to experience what it’s like to grow a human inside you?” Again, 100% of respondents answered with some variation of, “Hell, no.” My investigations were prompted by a scientific study published in the journal Human Reproduction. The official title of the study is Parity Associated With Telomere Length Among US Reproductive-Age Women, but a more accurate title would be Yet More Evidence That Pregnancy Is Torture. Not only does pregnancy mess with your hormones, it appears to mess up your DNA; giving birth may add the equivalent of 11 years to a woman’s biological age. This doesn’t necessarily mean having kids will send you to an early grave, just that giving birth seems to cause your cells...

When Richard Ojeda first comes into view, he barrels down the hallway like a bowling ball and with barely a pleasantry exchanged, he’s already on the attack. “I’m fit’na light a fire today!” are nearly the first words out of the West Virginia state senator’s mouth. He’s animated about a state supreme court justice accused of bilking taxpayers with a lavish office redesign, including a $32,000 couch. “You’re gonna see how I roll, just wait.” There is a wait indeed, as the session of the state senate dawdles on well into the night. Ojeda has to hold his fury until the last order of business around 8pm, and fellow lawmakers seem mostly uninterested by then in his dramatic call for impeachment. “I’m a military guy, and these guys mess with my military time,” he says of life as a legislator after more than two decades spent jumping out of planes with the US army, retiring as a major after tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. Ojeda is part of a wave of blue-collar and military-minded Democrats cha...

As Texas’s political parties choose their nominees for the November midterm elections, Democrats are seeing a rare surge of enthusiasm in a state long dominated by Republicans. The Democratic and Republican primary elections are on 6 March but many Texans are casting ballots in the two-week early voting period that runs through 2 March. Through the first week of early voting, the largest counties have returned almost 11,000 more Democratic votes than Republican. In those big counties in the last midterm primary, in 2014, Republicans surpassed Democrats by more than 100,000 votes. Democratic early votes are up 93% on 2014 in the largest counties that are tracked daily by the Texas secretary of state’s office. Republican votes are up about 17%. These numbers probably indicate higher Democratic turnout in November, Texas political experts say. It is not clear, however, that Democrats can convert such enthusiasm into election wins. “Given Donald Trump’s residence in the White House,” said ...

In a word, yes. Bitcoin was the first cryptocurrency, and is still the biggest, but in the eight years since it was created pretenders to the throne have come along. All of them have the same basic underpinnings: they use a “blockchain”, a shared public record of transactions, to create and track a new type of digital token – one that can only be made and shared according to the agreed-upon rules of the network, whatever they may be. But the flourishing ecosystem has provided a huge amount of variation on top of that. Some cryptocurrencies, such as Litecoin or Dogecoin, fulfil the same purpose as bitcoin – building a new digital currency – with tweaks to some of the details (making transactions faster, for instance, or ensuring a basic level of inflation). Others, such as Ethereum or Bat, take the same principle but apply it to a specific purpose: cloud computing or digital advertising in the case of those two. What exactly is a bitcoin? Can I hold one? A bitcoin doesn’t really exist ...

Bill Gates, the philanthropist and former chief executive of Microsoft, is concerned by the crytocurrency craze, saying that the anonymity offered by the new technology has “caused deaths in a fairly direct way”. Speaking during a Reddit AMA, Gates argued that “the government’s ability to find money laundering and tax evasion and terrorist funding is a good thing. “Right now cryptocurrencies are used for buying fentanyl and other drugs so it is a rare technology that has caused deaths in a fairly direct way.” In contrast to cash, which is also untraceable, cryptocurrencies can be used remotely, which removes another avenue of control, he added. Gates also suggested that investing in the sector is a bad idea: “I think the speculative wave around ICOs and cryptocurrencies is super risky”. In the group interview, Gates had harsh words for some other speculative technologies. Elon Musk’s Hyperloop concept, for instance, which involves using a railgun to fire a passenger compartment down a ...

The US Department of Housing and Urban Development (Hud) has agreed to spend $165,000 on “lounge furniture” for its Washington headquarters, in addition to a $31,000 dining set purchased for housing secretary Ben Carson’s office. The revelations on Tuesday of Carson’s expensive decor spending come as Donald Trump’s administration has proposed a cut of $6.8bn to Hud’s annual budget, or roughly 14% of its total spending, which would lead to reductions in programs aimed at poor and homeless Americans. Department officials signed a contract last September with an Indiana-based seller for the furniture, according to a federal procurement record. Raffi Williams, a spokesman for Hud, said in an email on Tuesday evening that further records on the lounge furniture contract were not immediately available. Earlier on Tuesday it emerged that the department had agreed to spend $31,000 on a dining table and accompanying items for Carson’s offices. Last week, Williams falsely denied to the Guardian ...

Lawmakers on Capitol Hill agree that the demand for action in the wake of the school massacre in Parkland, Florida, earlier this month, has shifted the debate around gun control in this country. What they still aren’t any closer to agreeing on is what to do about it. “I think we’re in new territory,” said Senator Jeff Flake, an Arizona Republican who is working on legislation to raise the age from 18 to 21 to purchase certain types of semi-automatic rifles. “It’s definitely different this time – I hope.” But even against the backdrop of a fiery grassroots movement, led by student survivors of the Parkland shooting, and a surge in public support for legislative action, the prospects for breaking decades of gridlock on one of the most politically contentious issues in Washington remain grim. “I don’t think we need more gun control. I think we need better idiot control,” Senator John Kennedy, a Republican from Louisiana, who is wary of even modest reforms, repeated to reporters on Tuesday...

Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc, one of the US’s largest sports sellers, is ending the sale of all assault-style weapons in its stores in the wake of the recent massacre at a high school in Florida. Later Wednesday, Walmart joined Dick’s in tightening company controls on gun sales, raising the minimum age at which customers could buy firearms and ammunition to 21 years. The US retail company, which stopped selling assault-style weapons in 2015, said in a statement that it was also removing items from its website resembling such weapons, including non-lethal airsoft guns and toys. “We take seriously our obligation to be a responsible seller of firearms and go beyond Federal law by requiring customers to pass a background check before purchasing any firearm,” Walmart said, adding: “Our heritage as a company has always been in serving sportsmen and hunters, and we will continue to do so in a responsible way.” Dick’s CEO Ed Stack, in an interview with ABC News on Wednesday, said the company woul...

Members of the Broward County Police Benevolent Association handed carnations to students as they entered Marjory Stoneman Douglas high school on Wednesday, two weeks after a former student gunned down 17 people inside the freshman building.For student Madison Geller, Wednesday offered an opportunity to get back into a routine, in spite of her fears. “When I walk in there, I’m going to replay the whole thing in my head. But we have to come here and try to learn,” the high school junior said. “This week we will try to be comfortable and get back into the same routine.” Angelyse Perez, a senior, said returning offers a chance for everyone to “get through this and be together”. “But I’m graduating,” she said. “I just want to get out of here.” Source :- theguardian

The late Rev Billy Graham on Wednesday received a rare tribute from the nation’s top political leaders under the Capitol Rotunda, with Donald Trump saying the “legendary” American figure deserved to be recognized in the place “where the memory of the American people is enshrined”.“Here lies America’s pastor,” said the Republican House speaker, Paul Ryan, gesturing to Graham’s casket under the eye of the dome, surrounded by family, friends, lawmakers and a ring of paintings of the nation’s founders. “He ministered to all walks, from some of the greats whose statues line this hall – Eisenhower, King, Ford and Reagan – to the everyday citizens lining up today to pay their respects.”The Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, added: “The man we recognize today shared the Gospel with more people, face-to-face, than anyone else in history.” As the leaders stood by the casket, Trump – who said his father was an admirer of Graham’s – reached out to touch the bare wood and Ryan bowed his head....

A Portuguese immigrant feels at home in New Jersey, but the fear of deportation and being separated from her children is paralyzing Maria – a pseudonym – says “it’s the little details you don’t think about” that make life difficult for her and other 11 million undocumented people living in the US. She routinely sees her three children noticing the differences between them and their classmates. “Other people get in the car, buckle the kids up, put the heat up and drive. I can’t do that.” In Portugal, Maria was a professional seamstress. A fine career, but she still couldn’t make ends meet. Working seven days a week only covered the basic bills and rent, even with a joint income. Her then husband sometimes worked construction or other odd jobs. “Anything else I grew on my own, like fruits, vegetables ... I had animals”. Portuguese citizens are one of 38 nationalities exempt from needing a tourist Visa. As a part of the Visa Waiver Program, they can lawfully remain in the US for up to 90 ...

A day after agents confirmed that more than 150 people in California were arrested in immigration raids, a federal immigration official lashed out at the Oakland mayor who gave a public warning ahead of the raids, saying it was “no better than a gang lookout yelling ‘police’”. The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) chief, Thomas Homan, speaking to Fox and Friends on Wednesday, said that the warning from the mayor, Libby Schaaf, helped about 800 people avoid arrest. He also said the justice department was looking into whether Schaaf obstructed justice. On Tuesday, Ice confirmed that agents arrested more than 150 people in California in a three-day sweep that covered cities from Sacramento to Stockton in California’s Central Valley agricultural heartland. About half of those arrested for being in the country illegally had criminal convictions, the agency said. Source :- theguardian

Police in Georgia have taken a high school teacher into custody after being called to an incident where they say he fired a gun in a classroom and then barricaded himself in. The Dalton police department tweeted that no children were hurt or in danger during the incident, which lasted for about an hour on Wednesday and caused the school to be evacuated. They provided no information about the teacher’s identity or what caused the situation. A police spokesman, Bruce Frazier, said the scene was secure. Students have been taken to the Northwest Georgia Center and officers are advising parents to go there to pick them up. Dalton high school’s website says the school has 2,000 students. Police confirmed at least one shot was fired during the incident, which took place over the course of about an hour. The teacher apparently fired a gun inside a classroom and barricaded himself there for about 30 minutes before he was taken into custody. Local TV station WRCB reported that no students were i...

Donald Trump has once again lashed out at his attorney general, tweeting that he found a plan by Jeff Sessions to use his department’s internal watchdog to review alleged surveillance abuses by intelligence teams “DISGRACEFUL!” Sessions announced on Tuesday that the Department of Justice’s inspector general, its internal watchdog, would investigate allegations that the FBI and the Department of Justice abused Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (Fisa) procedures to spy on a Trump campaign adviser. “We believe the Department of Justice must adhere to the highest standards in the Fisa court, and, yes, it will be investigated … The inspector general will take that as one of the matters he’ll deal with,” Sessions told reporters during a press briefing. On Wednesday morning, Trump attacked Sessions with a convoluted tweet. “Why is A.G. Jeff Sessions asking the Inspector General to investigate potentially massive FISA abuse. Will take forever, has no prosecutorial power and already late wi...

ared Kushner’s role as a senior adviser in Donald Trump’s White House has reached a pivotal moment after it was reported that the presidential son-in-law lost access to America’s top secrets and may be a target of foreign countries. The Trump administration was initially rocked by reports on Tuesday that Kushner, who previously enjoyed unfettered access to the country’s most classified and sensitive information, had his security clearance downgraded along with a host of other White House aides.Within hours came another bombshell – that Kushner was viewed as a possible target for manipulation by four countries due to his financial conflicts of interest and lack of experience in policy and politics. The fresh controversy over Kushner – who was already a subject of scrutiny as a potentially key figure in the Russia investigation – laid bare the ramifications of Trump’s decision to place his son-in-law in one of the most high-ranking positions in the White House. It also raised key questio...

Jared Kushner has had his security clearance downgraded, according to reports on Tuesday, leaving the senior adviser and son-in-law to Donald Trump without direct access to top secret intelligence and sensitive documents that include the president’s daily brief. Kushner was notified of the downgrade in a memo on Friday, along with other White House aides who had access to the highest-level interim clearances, Politico and others reported on Tuesday. Kushner and the aides previously held what is known as Top Secret/SCI-level clearances, which provided them with unfettered access to classified information and some of the country’s most guarded secrets. The president has the unilateral authority to share classified information as he sees fit, including with his son-in-law, despite the clearance downgrade. The White House did not immediately return a request for comment when reached by the Guardian. One reason that Kushner has been unable to obtain clearance has been his extensive contacts...

Donald Trump’s former campaign manager Paul Manafort pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to a new indictment brought against him in the investigation into alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 election and will face trial in September. Special counsel Robert Mueller, who is running the Russia investigation , is dialing up the legal pressure on Manafort, who has not opted to cooperate with investigators. Manafort’s former business partner Rick Gates, another Trump ex-campaign aide, decided last week to cooperate with the investigation. Manafort is facing two separate indictments on an array of charges, including conspiracy to launder money, filing false tax returns and failing to register as a foreign agent for lobbying work for the pro-Kremlin Ukrainian government of former President Viktor Yanukovych. Judge Amy Berman Jackson set Manafort’s trial to start on 17 September in the US district court for the District of Columbia. Manafort was Trump’s campaign manager for five months in 2016. He...

The White House communications director, Hope Hicks, acknowledged to a House intelligence panel that she has occasionally told “white lies” for Donald Trump but has not lied about anything relevant to the Russia investigation, according to those present for Hicks’ closed-door testimony. Hicks was interviewed for nine hours on Tuesday by the panel investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election and contact between Trump’s campaign and Russia. One of Trump’s closest aides, Hicks was his spokeswoman during the 2016 presidential campaign and is now White House communications director. Source :- theguardian

Lawyers in Trinidad and Tobago are challenging the conduct of the country’s top judge, following questions about his relationship with a man who was shot in an ambush and is now seeking asylum in the UK. The Law Association of Trinidad and Tobago is investigating allegations involving the chief justice, Ivor Archie, after local media queried his conduct in relation to Dillian Johnson, 36, who survived a night-time shooting outside his home in December. Johnson fled Trinidad to the UK three weeks after the shooting and says he fears for his life if he is forced to return. Questions have been asked about whether the married judge took Johnson with him to a four-day Commonwealth law conference in Guyana in 2016, and whether he used his office to lobby for state housing for people, including Johnson. It was also alleged that he proposed to his fellow judges that they swap their state-provided personal security officers for others provided by a company that employed Johnson as a consultant....

The Afghan president, Ashraf Ghani, has offered to recognise the Taliban as a legitimate political group as part of a process that he said could lead to talks to end more than 16 years of war. The offer, made on Wednesday at the start of an international conference aimed at creating a platform for peace discussions, is the latest signal from the western-backed government and the Taliban of greater willingness to consider dialogue. Ghani proposed a ceasefire and the release of prisoners as part of a range of options including elections, involving the militant group in the political process, and a constitutional review under a pact with the Taliban. “We are making this offer without preconditions in order to lead to a peace agreement,” he said in opening remarks to the conference attended by officials from about 25 countries involved in the so-called Kabul process. “The Taliban are expected to give input to the peacemaking process, the goal of which is to draw the Taliban, as an organisa...

North Korea sent Syria more than 40 items used in ballistic missile and chemical weapons programmes in the five years from 2012-17, a leaked UN report has said. The panel of experts monitoring sanctions against North Korea said its investigations into Pyongyang’s transfer of prohibited ballistic missile, conventional arms and dual use goods found the previously unreported shipments. It said an unnamed UN member state also reported evidence that Myanmar received a range of conventional weapons from North Korea including multiple rocket launchers and surface-to-air missiles in addition to ballistic missile systems. The US and other western nations have accused Syria of using chemical weapons in rebel-controlled areas, including recently in the Damascus suburb of eastern Ghouta, which Bashar Assad’s government denies. The more than 200-page report to the UN security council, which diplomats expect to be made public in mid-March, details “substantial new evidence” about North...

Thousands of mourning fans have lined the streets of Mumbai to pay their respects to Sridevi Kapoor, the celebrated Bollywood actor who drowned in a hotel bathtub in Dubai over the weekend. Her body was flown home on Tuesday night in a private plane owned by Anil Ambani, a Mumbai industrialist and entertainment baron. Sridevi obituary Read more Early on Wednesday morning, fans had begun lining up along a security fence outside a private club near Sridevi’s home where her body had been laid out. A string of luxury cars ferried family members, Bollywood stars and VIPs in through another gate, with squadrons of private guards keeping back crowds.One mourner, a man who gave his name only as Prashant, arrived at 7am, hours before anyone was to be allowed in. “No matter how long I have to wait, I will wait,” he said, clutching a small bouquet of flowers. “I’ll wait until I’m able to pay my respects.” “I saw all her movies,” he said, grief visible on his face. Source :- foxnews

Jared Kushner has had his security clearance downgraded, according to reports on Tuesday, leaving the senior adviser and son-in-law to Donald Trump without direct access to top secret intelligence and sensitive documents that include the president’s daily brief. Kushner was notified of the downgrade in a memo on Friday, along with other White House aides who had access to the highest-level interim clearances, Politico and others reported on Tuesday. Kushner and the aides previously held what is known as Top Secret/SCI-level clearances, which provided them with unfettered access to classified information and some of the country’s most guarded secrets. The president has the unilateral authority to share classified information as he sees fit, including with his son-in-law, despite the clearance downgrade. The White House did not immediately return a request for comment when reached by the Guardian. One reason that Kushner has been unable to obtain clearance has been his extensive contacts...

The EU’s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, has conceded that border checks within the UK may be necessary in the future as Brussels published a draft withdrawal agreement under which the Northern Ireland would effectively stay in the single market and customs union after Brexit. In a development that pushes the negotiations into a dangerous new phase, EU said the territory of Northern Ireland may be considered part of the EU’s customs territory after Brexit, with checks required on goods coming in from the rest of the UK, to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland. Under the draft withdrawal agreement, a raft of single market legislation would also apply to ensure the province stays in lockstep with laws of the Republic of Ireland that are relevant to the north-south flow of trade and in maintaining all parts of the Good Friday agreement that has kept the peace since 1998. Source :- foxnews

Broaddus was the victim of a random act of violence when someone threw a jar of sulfuric acid off an overpass. She was a Cable One employee for 27 years, but the incident inspired her to write the book “A Random Act,” which allowed her to spread her message of courage in the face of tragedy all over the country. She was even featured on her brother-in-law’s show. The acid came through the windshield and covered 70 percent of her body while she was dozing off in the passenger seat of a car heading to the airport. She recounted to Dr. Phil that it was her love for her three daughters that got her through. Source :- foxnews

There are few distinctions in Congress as high as the one afforded the late Rev. Billy Graham at the U.S. Capitol Wednesday and Thursday. Graham will “lie in honor” in the Capitol Rotunda. Note that Graham will “lie in honor,” not “in state.” We should refer to Graham as “lying in honor” rather than “lying in state.” There is little which distinguishes someone from “lying in honor” rather that in “state.” Officially, “lying in honor” is one step below “lying in state.” The pomp and circumstance is much the same. But it formally is one level below “state.” The Capitol Rotunda is considered to be the the most “holy” place in the American political experience. That’s why Congress reserves such ceremonies in the Rotunda for some of the country’s most-eminent citizens. Source :- foxnews

Director Lewis Gilbert, whose dozens of movies included three James Bond thrillers —"You Only Live Twice," ''The Spy Who Loved Me" and "Moonraker" — and the Swinging London classic "Alfie," has died at 97, colleagues said Tuesday. Bond producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson said in a statement that "it is with great sadness that we learn of the passing of our dear friend Lewis Gilbert." The Bond fan site "From Sweden With Love" said he died Friday in Monaco. Broccoli and Wilson said Gilbert was "a true gentleman" whose Bond films "are considered classics within the series." The British Film Institute's filmography lists 33 features directed by Gilbert between 1947 and 2002, making him the most prolific of British filmmakers. But, he acknowledged, most people remembered him for his 007 thrillers. "When I go around the world now when I'm working it's amazing — they're not int...

Bollywood actress Sridevi died over the weekend after she drowned in a hotel bathtub in Dubai, despite initial reports stating that she went into cardiac arrest at a family wedding. She was 54. Sridevi, said to be Bollywood’s first female superstar, was in the United Arab Emirates for her nephew’s wedding. She was found dead Saturday evening, the BBC reported. Dubai police confirmed on Tuesday the actress’ cause of death was “due to drowning in her hotel apartment’s bathtub following loss of consciousness.” Source :- foxnews

Chelsea Handler is in hot water. After Ivanka Trump scolded an NBC and MSNBC reporter for asking questions about her father’s sexual misconduct allegations, comedian and activist Handler fired shots at the first daughter over her response. As previously reported, Ivanka didn’t take too kindly to Peter Alexander’s line of questioning about the numerous women making allegations against her father, the president.“I think it’s a pretty inappropriate question to ask a daughter if she believes the accusers of her father when he’s affirmatively stated that there’s no truth to it. I don’t think that’s a question you would ask many other daughters,” she said in the interview. “I believe my father, I know my father." Soon after, Handler took to Twitter to share an image from a 1996 photo shoot for Vanity Fair that shows her sitting on her father’s lap, caressing his face and staring at him at his Mar-a-Lago estate. Source :- foxnews

The most important figure in the “Star Wars” universe, Mark Hamill, will be honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. However, his “Star Trek” rival wasn’t above taking a friendly jab at his inclusion in the neighborhood. William Shatner, who played Captain James T. Kirk on the original run of the hit science fiction series, took to Twitter to both congratulate Hamill and share some advice about joining the Walk of Fame club, of which he’s a member. “Congratulations! BTW ask for a star on the south side of the street. I’m on the north side and don’t want to devalue the neighborhood," he wrote. Source :- foxnews

The actor who played Samantha’s longest-running boyfriend on "Sex and The City" has weighed in on the Kim Cattrall-Sarah Jessica Parker feud — and what he says may surprise you. Jason Lewis played Samantha’s hunky model beau Smith Jerrod across 16 episodes of the series and both movies, filming the vast majority of his scenes with Cattrall. Despite this, the actor has revealed he’s firmly "Team SJP" in the ugly feud between the two stars that’s exploded in recent months, declaring that he has “nothing good to say” about his on-screen lover. Lewis appeared on KTLA 5 this week to talk about his new film "Half Magic" — but of course, the first thing his interviewer wanted to talk about was the Cattrall-SJP war of words. Source :- foxnews

On the same day that now-disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein used her in defense of himself in a sexual misconduct lawsuit, Meryl Streep has released a fiery statement condemning him for dragging her name into the muck. According to E! News, in a previous effort to show that not all the people who worked with Weinstein were aware of his propensity to allegedly sexually harass or assault the women he worked with, Streep said that he didn't exhibit any bad behavior with her. On Wednesday, his lawyers cited Streep and a handful of other A-listers as evidence that some women continued to work with him in a professional manner. “Harvey Weinstein’s attorneys’ use of my (true) statement ─ that he was not sexually transgressive or physically abusive in our business relationship ─ as evidence that he was not abusive with many OTHER women is pathetic and exploitive. "The criminal actions he is accused of conducting on the bodies of these women are his responsibility, and if there is ...