Trio of former Minneapolis officers found guilty of violating the civil rights of Floyd, murdered by Derek Chauvin in May 2020
A jury has convicted three former Minneapolis police officers of violating George Floyd’s civil rights.
Floyd, a Black man, was killed by white police officer Derek Chauvin. His video-taped death triggered widespread outrage and sparked anti-police brutality protests that spread across the US and the world.
Continue reading...New Brunswick officials say baffling disorder that causes memory loss and cognitive decline is from known neurological condition
After warning medical professionals to be on the lookout for a baffling neurological condition that produced memory loss, muscle wasting and severe cognitive decline, authorities in the Canadian province of New Brunswick have concluded that no such illness exists, a finding that has prompted skepticism and disbelief as families search for answers.
New Brunswick officials last year flagged a possible “cluster” of residents suffering from an unknown neurological syndrome, similar to those of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Symptoms were varied and dramatic: some patients started drooling, and others felt as though bugs were crawling on their skin.
Continue reading...Judge says Scotty David, who may have failed to disclose childhood abuse during jury selection, must return for court hearing
A juror in Ghislaine Maxwell’s criminal trial who might not have disclosed childhood sexual abuse during jury selection for the high-profile case will now be questioned publicly as Maxwell’s team seeks a retrial, court papers released on Thursday said.
One newly released document also includes the written questionnaire that Juror No 50 completed during the selection process. In response to the question “Have you or a friend ever been the victim of sexual harassment, sexual abuse, or sexual assault?” the juror marked the “no” box.
Continue reading...President takes aim at Russia’s largest banks and companies but is emphatic US troops will not engage in conflict in Ukraine
Joe Biden on Thursday unveiled a fresh round of what he said would be crippling sanctions on Russia after its invasion of Ukraine, declaring that Vladimir Putin “chose this war” and that he and his country would bear the consequences.
The harsh new sanctions target Russia’s largest banks and companies, effectively cutting them off from western financial markets, while imposing restrictions on the exports of advanced technology used to power the country’s military and tech sector.
Continue reading...'Putin is the aggressor. Putin chose this war, and now he and his country will bear the consequences,' said US president Joe Biden during an address at the White House. Biden described Russian president Vladimir Putin as an assailant who launched 'a war without a cause' and a misguided dream of recreating the Soviet Union. His comments come after Ukrainian forces battled Russian invaders on three sides after Moscow mounted an assault by land, sea and air, prompting tens of thousands of people to flee their homes. 'Putin's aggression against Ukraine will end up costing Russia dearly,' Biden said
Ukraine leaders warn world to wake up to Russian threat as west promises to make Putin international pariah
Ukraine was fighting for its survival after Vladimir Putin unleashed a punishing offensive on the country that left hundreds dead or injured, and world leaders warned that Moscow had embarked on a dangerous new era of imperial expansion.
The continent awoke to the shock of scenes it once believed it had left in the 20th century: helicopters strafing homes outside the capital, long lines of tanks ploughing ever deeper towards Ukraine’s heartland, roads choked with refugees, and civilians huddled in underground stations to escape bombardment.
Continue reading...Minutes after Vladimir Putin ended weeks of speculation by announcing a 'special military operation' at dawn on Thursday, explosions were heard near major Ukrainian cities, including the capital, Kyiv. According to Ukrainian officials, the initial wave of strikes appeared to involve cruise missiles, artillery and airstrikes, which struck military infrastructure and border positions, including airbases.
CNN's Matthew Chance was filmed reporting live from an airbase on the outskirts of Kyiv, where Russian airborne troops engaged in a firefight with the Ukrainian military
Military helicopters, apparently Russian, were filmed flying over the Dnieper river on the outskirts of the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, where they were met by Ukrainian counter fire. An ambitious attack by helicopters on the Hostomel military airbase on the outskirts of Kyiv was also recorded.
Russian forces have attacked Ukraine by land, sea, and air on a massive scale, bringing to a calamitous end weeks of fruitless diplomatic efforts by western leaders to avert war
Continue reading...Officials in western capitals concerned by ‘despotic mindset’ of Russian president and rambling Monday speech increased doubts
Vladimir Putin’s decision to launch a catastrophic new European war, combined with the sheer weirdness of his recent public appearances, has raised questions in western capitals about the mental stability of the leader of a country with 6,000 nuclear warheads.
They worry about a 69-year-old man whose tendency towards insularity has been amplified by his precautions against Covid, leaving him surrounded by an ever-shrinking coterie of fearful obedient courtiers. He appears increasingly uncoupled from the contemporary world, preferring to burrow deep into history and a personal quest for greatness.
Continue reading...Tens of thousands of Ukrainians are fleeing or preparing to flee the country after Russian leader Vladimir Putin began an invasion.
Videos and photos on social media show lines of cars moving out of cities and heading west, as well as numbers of people on foot near the southern and western borders while reports of casualties mount.
We spoke to Maria Romanenko and Alena Dalskaya-Latosiewicz from their cars as they tried to escape the conflict, as well as Romeo Kokriatski a Ukrainian-American, who says he hopes to stay in the capital, Kyiv, for as long as possible.
'I love my country. I don't want to leave,' said Romanenko
Ukraine foreign minister voices anger as EU leaders likely to decide against blocking Russia from international payments system
The EU faced furious remonstrations from Kyiv as Europe’s leaders looked set to hold back from imposing the potentially most damaging sanction on Russia, even as the Kremlin lay siege to Ukraine via land, air and sea.
Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, voiced his anger as EU heads of state and government appeared likely to decide against blocking Russia from an international payments system through which it receives foreign currency.
Continue reading...Analysis: Immediate options seem limited and fraught with risk, but if Putin wants less Nato, he may ultimately end up with more
In the wake of what the Nato secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, described as Russia’s “fully fledged invasion of Ukraine”, the west has to decide how to respond to what France’s Emmanuel Macron has called a turning point in European history.
Yet can the west now offer Ukraine more than a mixture of prayers, sanctions and diplomatic demarches? Throughout this conflict western intelligence has shown it has been able to predict Putin’s next step, but less capable of stopping it. Boris Johnson told the Ukrainian people “we are with you”, but what this western solidarity means in practice is now up for debate.
Continue reading...Some congressional Republicans have attempted to blame Joe Biden’s foreign policy for enabling Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
“These developments were not inevitable,” congressman Andy Barr said. “The Biden Administration’s weak and feckless foreign policy not only failed to deter this aggression, it invited this outcome.”
Continue reading...Latest updates: Iceland confirms no extra restrictions for unvaccinated; people in England who test positive for Covid no longer have to self-isolate
Hello everyone. It’s Léonie Chao-Fong here again, taking over the live blog from Tom Ambrose to bring you all the latest global developments on the coronavirus pandemic. Feel free to get in touch on Twitter or via email.
We start with the news that the Queen has postponed two scheduled virtual audiences on Thursday after her Covid-19 diagnosis, Buckingham Palace said.
The two virtual audiences that had previously been scheduled to take place today will now be rescheduled for a later date. Her Majesty is continuing with light duties. No other engagements are scheduled for this week.
Continue reading...This rotten organisation stood by while the 15-year-old skater and her Olympic dreams were publicly crushed
A fish rots from the head. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is the head of the Olympic movement, and it is rotten to the core. Long ago, this vile organisation abandoned its stated principles of “excellence, friendship and respect” to embrace greed, corruption and abuse.
For many, the enduring image of Bejing 2022 will not be one of Olympic glory, but the tragic and bizarre spectacle attending the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) and 15-year-old figure skater Kamila Valieva. Once again, the Russians got caught cheating: Valieva tested positive for a banned medication. Still the IOC allowed her to compete, and then stood by while this child and her Olympic dreams were publicly crushed. After her performance collapsed, her despicable coach humiliated her, badgering her about on-ice failures as Valieva left the rink.
Sarah Klein is a civil attorney and advocate for survivors of sexual abuse
Continue reading...People on the streets of Moscow express anger and a sense of hopelessness after Putin’s move
A dark, sombre mood filled the Moscow air on Thursday morning as Russians were coming to terms with the fact that their president had launched a broad military offensive targeting Ukraine.
“I am embarrassed for my country. To be honest with you, I am speechless. War is always scary. We don’t want this,” said Nikita Golubev, a 30-year old teacher.
Continue reading...Zahir Jaffer tortured and beheaded Noor Mukadam, in July last year, in case that sparked outrage over violence against women
A court in Islamabad has sentenced to death the tycoon’s son who raped and murdered Noor Mukadam, a case that sparked outrage in Pakistan.
Mukadam, 27, the daughter of a former Pakistani diplomat, was held captive, tortured and beheaded in July last year by Zahir Jaffer, a member of a well-known industrialist family.
Continue reading...Volodymyr Zelenskiy has called on Ukrainians who were able to defend the country from Russian forces to come forward, and said Kyiv would issue weapons to anyone who wanted to use them to defend the country's sovereignty.
Russian forces unleashed an attack on Ukraine on the orders of Vladimir Putin, who announced a 'special military operation' at dawn, amid warnings from world leaders that it could spark the biggest war in Europe since 1945.
Zelenskiy announced after the attack that Ukraine would rupture ties with Moscow
Continue reading...PM says ‘we will not just look away’ and Putin’s ‘barbaric adventure’ in Ukraine must end in failure
Boris Johnson has said that “a vast invasion is under way, by land, by sea and by air” in Ukraine, as he promised to impose “massive” sanctions that would “hobble” the Russian economy.
Speaking as world leaders scrambled to respond to the attacks that began in the early hours of Thursday morning, the UK prime minister said Russia had “attacked a friendly country without any provocation and without any credible excuse”.
Continue reading...Vladimir Putin announces a military operation in Ukraine with explosions heard across multiple cities and outside eastern regions held by Russian-backed rebels
Continue reading...