Sinclair Television said on Saturday it would delay airing an interview with a conspiracy theorist who claims baselessly that Dr Anthony Fauci, the country’s top infectious disease expert, created the coronavirus behind the current pandemic.
Related: A disgraced scientist and a viral video: how a Covid conspiracy theory started
Continue reading...Heard became ‘nervous wreck’ at auditions, fearing Depp’s reaction, acting coach says
Johnny Depp wanted Amber Heard “barefoot and pregnant – and at home”, her acting coach told the high court in London as she outlined her growing suspicions that the Pirates of the Caribbean actor was hitting his wife.
Kristina Sexton, Heard’s friend and then acting coach, said she had not seen Depp “hit, kick or throw anything” at Heard, but she was aware of the “volatility” of their relationship and had “overheard some serious fights” while waiting to start her coaching sessions.
Continue reading...Hopewell Chin’ono arrested after reporting on alleged profiteering in deals for coronavirus supplies
Lawyers for a prominent investigative journalist in Zimbabwe who was arrested this week have accused authorities of persecution after magistrates postponed a decision on bail for 24 hours, blaming a Covid-19 curfew.
Hopewell Chin’ono, an internationally respected reporter, recently published documents raising concerns that powerful individuals in Zimbabwe were profiting from multimillion-dollar deals for essential supplies to fight the coronavirus pandemic.
Continue reading...Makeup artist says she concealed Heard’s cut lip and bruises after alleged attack
Amber Heard had a cut lip and bruises that she said had been inflicted by Johnny Depp, who she said had tried to suffocate her with a pillow, Heard’s regular makeup artist has told a court.
Giving evidence via video link from California, Mélanie Inglessis said she was called by Heard to the Hollywood couple’s penthouse apartment in Los Angeles in December 2015 and helped to conceal the injuries so that Heard could appear on a US chat show the next day apparently unblemished.
Continue reading...Actor tells court she feared Depp would push her sister down the stairs like he allegedly did to Kate Moss
Amber Heard has admitted punching her ex-husband Johnny Depp, saying it was to prevent him from pushing her sister down a flight of stairs and claiming he had previously done this to his ex-girlfriend Kate Moss.
Giving evidence for a second day at the high court in London, Heard recalled an incident in March 2015 in the couple’s Los Angeles penthouse when she struck Depp because, she said, she wanted to protect her younger sister Whitney.
Continue reading...Two women have come forward with explosive new allegations of sexual misconduct at Fox News, claiming in a lawsuit that the former chief national correspondent of the cable channel, Ed Henry, subjected one of them to rape and sexual assault.
The federal lawsuit, lodged on Monday in the southern district of New York, accuses management at Fox News of failing to act over allegations of sexual impropriety against Henry dating back to as early as 2017. The channel fired its co-anchor earlier this month after details of the complaint surfaced.
Continue reading...Court hears testimony from actor’s ex-wife, who says he was abusive and violent
Johnny Depp threatened to carve and disfigure Amber Heard’s face if she left him, repeatedly demeaned her and often physically attacked her, she has told the high court.
Opening the defence case in the libel trial initiated by the Pirates of the Caribbean star, Heard said her former husband insulted her and on one occasion told her: “I’m going to have to watch you get raped.”
Continue reading...Video-sharing app suspends building plans, with British ban on Huawei 5G kit seen as factor
The Chinese social media firm TikTok has pulled back from talks to site the headquarters for its non-China business in the UK, threatening the creation of 3,000 jobs, as fears grow of a tit-for-tat trade war between London and Beijing.
Its parent company, ByteDance, which is based in Beijing, had spent months in negotiations with the Department for International Trade and No 10 officials to expand operations in addition to the near 800 employed by TikTok.
Continue reading...Details of father/daughter financial relationship disclosed as part of Mail on Sunday lawsuit
The Duchess of Sussex has blamed British tabloids for destroying her relationship with her father, claiming he received “significant payments” for providing quotes to newspapers and commentators.
Meghan’s lawyers said she and Thomas Markle “had a very close father/daughter relationship throughout her childhood and remained close until he was targeted three years ago by intrusive UK tabloid media”.
Continue reading...Challenged by an interviewer about his claim Joe Biden wants to defund the police, Donald Trump called for a copy of the policy charter Biden agreed with Bernie Sanders and released this week. The document did not prove his claim.
Related: 'The guy stinks and he’s a racist': Anthony Scaramucci on Donald Trump
Continue reading...Ex-partners Ryder and Vanessa Paradis say allegations against actor are ‘impossible to believe’
Two of Johnny Depp’s former partners, Winona Ryder and Vanessa Paradis, have said he was never abusive or violent towards them and that allegations he is a “wife-beater” were “impossible to believe”.
The two women had been due to give evidence at the high court in London on Thursday via remote video links from the US.
Continue reading...Kate James also says she often received abusive text messages from Johnny Depp’s ex-wife
Amber Heard’s former personal assistant has accused the actor of stealing her own experience of being a victim of sexual violence and twisting it into a different story.
In evidence given remotely from Los Angeles, Kate James also said she had regularly received a barrage of drunken, abusive and incoherent text messages from Heard between 2am and 4am.
Continue reading...Malcolm Connolly invented story that the actor damaged his hand himself, court hears
Johnny Depp’s bodyguard has said the actor initially made up an excuse after his wife allegedly severed his finger during a row because victims often try to protect their abusers.
Giving evidence in Depp’s libel action against the Sun over an article that labelled him a “wife beater”, Malcolm Connolly was questioned about an incident in 2015 when Depp and his then wife, Amber Heard, were in Australia for the filming of one of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. Depp has accused Heard of cutting off the tip of his finger when she hurled a vodka bottle, but wrote at the time that he had caused the injury himself.
Continue reading...The legislation imposed by China intends to make journalists tiptoe around ill-defined red lines. The need to hold power to account is growing
Beijing’s far-reaching security law was foisted on Hong Kong with breathtaking speed, sweeping aside guarantees of freedom of expression and freedom of the press overnight. Analogies of slow-boiling frogs and civil liberties suffering a “death by a thousand cuts” now feel redundant as independent media outlets scramble to future-proof themselves against vaguely worded legislation that carries a punishment of life imprisonment for crimes such as “subversion” and “collusion.”
I founded Hong Kong Free Press (HKFP) as a response to dwindling press freedoms after cutting my teeth reporting on the pro-democracy Umbrella Movement. As a non-profit, it was the city’s first crowdfunded outlet – transparent, impartial, governed by an ethical code and built to resist censorship. But it was all based on the free press guarantees in the city’s mini-constitution.
Continue reading...Sampaio, of Brazil, describes moment’s significance: ‘Being trans usually means facing closed doors to people’s hearts’
The model Valentina Sampaio has made history by becoming the first openly transgender model to be featured in Sports Illustrated’s swimsuit issue.
The 23-year-old Brazilian has been selected as a model for the issue that will be released on 21 July.
Continue reading...Exclusive: discovery of two ancient mummies filmed for Channel 5 documentary
She was the fabled queen of ancient Egypt, immortalised over thousands of years as a beautiful seductress. But, despite her fame, Cleopatra’s tomb is one of the great unsolved mysteries.
Some believe she was buried in Alexandria, where she was born and ruled from her royal palace, a city decimated by the tsunami of 365AD. Others suggest her final resting place could be about 30 miles away, in the ancient temple of Taposiris Magna, built by her Ptolemaic ancestors on the Nile Delta.
Continue reading...Tuckman, a ‘sensitive and tenacious reporter’ who loved Mexico, had been undergoing cancer treatment
Jo Tuckman, who for many years reported for the Guardian in Mexico, has died aged 53.
Jo had been undergoing treatment for cancer since falling ill last year, and died at her home in Mexico City on Thursday afternoon, surrounded by close friends.
Continue reading...Court hears allegation that film star was too intoxicated to recall assaulting Amber Heard
The film star Johnny Depp has been accused in court of suffering “blackouts” and having no recollection of his violent past because of his excessive drinking and drug-taking.
During his second day in the witness box at the high court in London, the 57-year-old actor faced allegations that his self-destructive behaviour and jealousy of his ex-wife Amber Heard led him to assault her repeatedly in the course of their four-year relationship.
Continue reading...One of the most prominent journalists in the Philippines has been convicted of ‘cyberlibel’ in a court process condemned by human rights groups. Journalist Carmela Fonbuena in Manila describes the chilling effect the verdict has had on free expression
Maria Ressa is one of the most prominent journalists in the Philippines with decades of experience as a print and TV reporter. She is also the executive editor of Rappler, an online news site.
Continue reading...Two-year audit praises some decisions but criticises lack of action over Trump posts
Facebook’s decisions over the last nine months have resulted in “serious setbacks for civil rights,” according to the damning conclusion of a two-year-long audit commissioned by the social network to review its impact on the world.
The final report, which focuses primarily on decisions made since June 2019, praises Facebook’s move to ban American advertisers from using its tools for housing and employment discrimination, and the company’s belated decision to ban explicit support for white nationalism.
Continue reading...