FBI director’s private jet use delayed investigations, Democrat alleges
The allegations came days after Patel was seen celebrating in Italy with the men's USA hockey team after their Olympics win.
Anger over plans to abolish New Zealand’s dedicated environment ministry
Critics say proposal to fold department into a new ‘mega ministry’ will dilute accountability and put nature protections at risk
New Zealand’s government is seeking to abolish its dedicated environment ministry to cut down on bureaucracy, a move critics say could dilute environmental protections.
Under the plan, the department would be folded into a new “mega-ministry” that will cover housing, urban development, transport, local government and the environment.
Continue reading...Floods and landslides in Brazil kill at least 30 after record rainfall – The Guardian
- Floods and landslides in Brazil kill at least 30 after record rainfall The Guardian
- Floods and landslides in Brazil kill at least 25 BBC
- Hope Fades In Search For Missing After Deadly Brazil Rains Barron's
- At Least 30 Dead After ‘Massive Landslide’ Wipes Out Hillside Neighborhood as 39 People Remain Missing People.com
- At least 23 dead as heavy rains unleash floods in southeastern Brazil Al Jazeera
Drones hammer Sudan’s gold and oil zone – the pivotal new front line
Intensified attacks in the Kordofan region have led to mass casualties as peace remains elusive.
Western analysts say Russia is losing 50,000 soldiers a month. A Meduza investigation suggests those estimates are based on manipulated data. – Meduza
- Western analysts say Russia is losing 50,000 soldiers a month. A Meduza investigation suggests those estimates are based on manipulated data. Meduza
- Ukraine Battlefield Dead Could Reach 500,000 in Fifth Year, Estimates Suggest The New York Times
- How Russia’s fatalities compare with Ukraine’s The Economist
- Russian Offensive Hampered by Losses, Western Officials Say Bloomberg.com
- Struggling Russian army now losing troops faster than it can replace them Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Half of Britons avoid calling GP when they are ill, survey finds
Most believe they will struggle to get an appointment, with over a quarter choosing to manage ailment themselves
Almost half the public delay or avoid contacting their GP surgery when they are ill, mainly because they think they will struggle to get an appointment.
Overall 48% of people across the UK did not bother to ask their family doctor for help – either initially or at all – when they got sick over the past year, a survey found.
Faster access to GPs and A&E are the public’s top priorities for the NHS.
Only 32% believe the NHS provides a good service nationally.
42% think the standard of NHS care has worsened over the past year and only 12% think that it has improved.
47% fear NHS care will decline further over the next year and just 15% expect it to get better
Continue reading...Marco Rubio briefs US lawmakers on Iran as Trump uses State of the Union to threaten nuclear programme
Secretary of state makes rare briefing to so-called ‘gang of eight’ as US deploys largest force of aircraft and warships to Middle East since 2003
Marco Rubio delivered a rare briefing to top US lawmakers on Iran, just a few hours before Donald Trump used his State of the Union address to say that Tehran would never be allowed to develop nuclear weapons.
Amid the largest deployment of aircraft and warships to the Middle East since the 2003 buildup to the Iraq war, Trump said he wanted to solve the confrontation with Iran through diplomatic means while claiming that Tehran was seeking to develop ballistic missiles that could reach the US, without providing further details.
Continue reading...Political outsiders are up against Thailand’s powerful patronage system, defeated MP tells BBC – BBC
Political outsiders are up against Thailand’s powerful patronage system, defeated MP tells BBC
The People's Party’s hopes were dashed on the rocks of the old-style patronage networks which dominate provincial politics.
Floods and landslides in Brazil kill at least 30 after record rainfall
Firefighters search for 39 people missing in debris after river burst and houses were swept away
Three firefighters pulled a man’s body from the mud amid the rubble of houses swept away in a landslide in south-eastern Brazil, where 30 people died and 39 were still missing on Tuesday after torrential rains.
A river in the state of Minas Gerais burst its banks and streets became raging currents of brown water after an overnight downpour in a region that has seen record rain this month.
Continue reading...US congressman refuses to resign after allegations of affair with staffer
Republican Tony Gonzales allegedly pressured Regina Ann Santos-Aviles, who died by suicide, into sexual relationship
US congressman Tony Gonzales refused growing calls to resign from his fellow Republicans on Tuesday amid a furore over allegations that he had an affair with a staffer who later died by suicide.
Gonzales has been accused of sending sexually explicit text messages in which he appeared to pressure the senior staffer to share images of herself and, eventually, coerced her into a sexual relationship.
In the US, you can call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org. In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org
Continue reading...Floods and landslides in Brazil kill at least 25
Hundreds of people have been displaced and dozens are missing, with rescue operations still ongoing in Juiz de Fora.
Russia opens probe of Telegram chief, claiming app has been used for terrorism – The Washington Post
- Russia opens probe of Telegram chief, claiming app has been used for terrorism The Washington Post
- Russia Moves Closer to Banning Telegram App, Saying It Foments Terrorism The New York Times
- Russia opens criminal case into Telegram founder Pavel Durov The Guardian
- Russia investigates Telegram founder Durov in a bid to subjugate the messaging app Reuters
- Russia launches terror probe into Telegram chief Pavel Durov politico.eu
Citizen scientists discover a Great Barrier Reef coral giant ‘like a rolling meadow’
Volunteer group Citizens of the Reef made the find as part of the Great Reef Census
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Citizen scientists have discovered what they believe is one of the largest coral colonies ever documented on the Great Barrier Reef.
The coral spans approximately 111 metres in maximum length and covers an estimated area of 3,973 sq m – about half the size of a soccer field.
Continue reading...Citizen scientists discover a Great Barrier Reef coral giant ‘like a rolling meadow’ – The Guardian
- Citizen scientists discover a Great Barrier Reef coral giant ‘like a rolling meadow’ The Guardian
- Great Barrier Reef: World’s largest coral colony discovered off Australian coast by mother-daughter team CNN
- Mother and daughter discover contender for world's largest known coral colony Australian Broadcasting Corporation
- Citizen scientists find largest known coral on Great Barrier Reef Oceanographic Magazine
- Mother and daughter stumble upon a coral reef the size of a soccer field - Happy Mag
Hungary blocks Europe’s aid for Ukraine on war’s fourth anniversary – The Washington Post
- Hungary blocks Europe’s aid for Ukraine on war’s fourth anniversary The Washington Post
- ‘Political sabotage’: EU leaders accuse Hungary of undermining support for Ukraine The Guardian
- Slovakia halts emergency power supplies to Ukraine over Russian oil dispute Al Jazeera
- Hungary, Slovakia spar with Ukraine over Druzhba pipeline DW.com
- EU accuses Hungary of disloyalty for vetoing €90bn loan to Ukraine Euronews.com
US military leaders meet with Anthropic to argue against Claude safeguards
Anthropic presents itself as most safety-forward AI firm and Pentagon has threatened penalties if it does not yield
US military leaders including Pete Hegseth, the defense secretary, met with executives from the artificial intelligence firm Anthropic on Tuesday to hash out a dispute over what the government will be able to do with the company’s powerful AI model. Hegseth gave Dario Amodei, the Anthropic CEO, until the end of the day on Friday to agree to the department’s terms or face penalties, Axios reported.
Anthropic, which presents itself as the most safety-forward of the leading AI companies, has been mired in weeks of disagreement with the Pentagon over how the military is allowed to use its large language model, Claude. US defense officials have pushed for unfettered access to Claude’s capabilities, while Anthropic has reportedly resisted allowing its product to be used for mass surveillance or autonomous weapons systems that can use AI to kill people without human input. The Department of Defense (DoD) has integrated Claude into its operations, but has threatened to sever the relationship over what its top brass perceives as roadblocks erected by Anthropic.
Continue reading...UK police conclude search at former home of King Charles’ brother Andrew – Reuters
- UK police conclude search at former home of King Charles' brother Andrew Reuters
- In Windsor, Some See Family Drama in the Andrew Accusations The New York Times
- Australian PM backs removing Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor from line of royal succession NBC News
- Australian PM backs removal of ex-Prince Andrew from succession line Al Jazeera
- As Andrew fell, Queen Elizabeth II held out hope, and Charles and William fumed The Washington Post
Norway’s King Harald admitted to a hospital on the Spanish island of Tenerife – AP News
- Norway’s King Harald admitted to a hospital on the Spanish island of Tenerife AP News
- King Harald of Norway, 89, Hospitalized During Vacation Abroad People.com
- Norway's King Harald stable in hospital in Tenerife, needs close monitoring, says physician Reuters
- Norwegian king will remain in Spanish hospital a few more days, doctor says AP News
- King Harald Hospitalized While on Vacation in Tenerife, Spain Town & Country Magazine
Spanish engineer reports flaw in ‘smart’ vacuums after gaining control of 7,000 devices
Sammy Azdoufal alerted New York-based outlet the Verge after he took control of DJI Romo devices around the world
A Spanish software engineer reportedly contacted a New York-based tech outlet recently to reveal he had remotely taken control of about 7,000 vacuums worldwide, in the process shedding light on a broad vulnerability with smart products, according to a cybersecurity expert.
The Verge reported that the situation came to light when Sammy Azdoufal was trying to reverse-engineer his new DJI Romo vacuum so that he could control it with his Playstation 5 gamepad.
Continue reading...