Not a parody: The Onion acquires Alex Jones’s InfoWars in auction
Satirical website buys platform of US conspiracy theorist, who has been ordered to pay $1.5bn to Sandy Hook families.
Sudan war death toll much higher than previously recorded, new study finds
Researchers estimate 60,000 deaths in Khartoum state in war's first 14 months, far higher than other assessments.
Jailed Bosnian Serb general says he aided and abetted Srebrenica genocide
Confession met with scepticism after other war criminals made similar statements to win early release from prison
A Bosnian Serb general jailed by the war crimes tribunal in The Hague for the 1995 Srebrenica massacre has confessed to having “aided and abetted the genocide”.
Survivors and families of the more than 8,300 people who died in the mass killing reacted with scepticism to the confession by Radislav Krstić, a corps commander who led the assault on the Muslim enclave of Srebrenica and oversaw the execution of captured men and boys.
Continue reading...Suspects nabbed for ‘man in bear suit’ insurance scam
Four people are accused of using footage of a fake bear damaging luxury cars to file false insurance claims in California.
South Africa’s government says it won’t help a group of illegal miners inside a closed mine – The Associated Press
- South Africa’s government says it won’t help a group of illegal miners inside a closed mine The Associated Press
- South African government refuses to help hundreds of illegal miners in disused shaft CNN
- South Africa Says It Won't Help Illegal Miners Inside Closed Mine Newsweek
- South African authorities blockade illegal mine with 4,000 people inside Al Jazeera English
- South African police in standoff with hundreds of illegal miners in disused shaft Reuters
India: Delhi shuts primary schools as hazardous smog worsens – BBC.com
- India: Delhi shuts primary schools as hazardous smog worsens BBC.com
- Thick smog shrouds Asian cities The Associated Press
- Smog crisis envelops Indian capital as Pakistan province declares emergency The Guardian
- Delhi govt enforces GRAP III measures, staggers office timings to battle severe pollution The Tribune India
- In Pics: Schools shut, Taj Mahal disappears as smog envelopes north India Hindustan Times
Delhi shuts all primary schools as hazardous smog worsens
Air pollution in the Indian capital is more than 50 times what is considered safe by the World Health Organization.
Israel rejects HRW accusations of ‘forcible transfer,’ ‘ethnic cleansing’ in north Gaza – The Times of Israel
- Israel rejects HRW accusations of ‘forcible transfer,’ ‘ethnic cleansing’ in north Gaza The Times of Israel
- Human Rights Watch accuses Israel of mass displacement in Gaza amounting to a war crime CNN
- Human Rights Watch accuses Israel of war crimes in Gaza Strip The Hill
- “Hopeless, Starving, and Besieged”: Israel’s Forced Displacement of Palestinians in Gaza | HRW Human Rights Watch
- Israel committing ethnic cleansing with mass forced displacements in Gaza, Human Rights Watch says NBC News
Israeli strikes intensify on three fronts as Lebanon talks reach critical stage
IDF hits Gaza, Syria and Beirut suburbs, as analysts say raids could be aimed at forcing hand of Hezbollah in negotiations
Israel has intensified its air offensives on three fronts, launching dozens of new strikes in Lebanon, Gaza and Syria as negotiations for a ceasefire on its northern border reach a critical point.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said about 30 targets had been struck in the southern suburbs of Beirut in 48 hours and described continuing efforts to “dismantle and degrade” the military capabilities of the militant Islamist organisation.
Continue reading...UK court sides with Icelandic firm over artist’s spoof corruption apology
Judge considering complaint by fishing firm Samherji rules artist Odee unlikely to be able to defend work as parody
The property rights of Iceland’s largest fishing company prevail over the right to artistic expression of an artist who spoofed the firm’s website to draw attention to a high-profile corruption scandal, London’s high court has ruled.
For his 2023 work We’re Sorry, the Icelandic artist Oddur Eysteinn Friðriksson, who goes by the moniker Odee, copied the corporate identity of Samherji, a major supplier to Britain’s fish and chips industry, and uploaded on to the spoof website a statement titled “Samherji Apologizes, Pledges Restitution and Cooperation with Authorities”.
Continue reading...Banana-phobe Swedish minister’s staff insisted on ‘no traces in the room’
Colleagues speak up in Paulina Brandberg’s support after leaked emails reveal efforts to spare her from the fruit
A Swedish government minister’s fear of bananas has become a national talking point after emails revealed that such is the strength of her aversion that aides try to clear rooms of the fruit before she enters.
Paulina Brandberg, the minister for gender equality and work life, has previously spoken out about her issue with bananas, describing it as “the world’s weirdest phobia”.
Continue reading...Hezbollah’s war with Israel cost Lebanon at least $8 billion — World Bank – The Times of Israel
- Hezbollah’s war with Israel cost Lebanon at least $8 billion — World Bank The Times of Israel
- New World Bank Report Assesses Impact of Conflict on Lebanon’s Economy and Key Sectors World Bank Group
- Israel-Hezbollah conflict cost Lebanon $8.5 billion, World Bank says Reuters
- What Can the Lebanese Government Do to Stop War Crimes? Human Rights Watch
- World Bank says war in Lebanon has caused billions in losses Yahoo! Voices
India’s capital New Delhi shuts all primary schools as air quality worsens
The pollution in New Delhi is likely to stay 'severe' on Friday, after which it will improve to 'very poor'.
Hamas official says group is ready for ‘immediate’ ceasefire – report – The Jerusalem Post
- Hamas official says group is ready for 'immediate' ceasefire - report The Jerusalem Post
- Hamas ready for Gaza ceasefire 'immediately' - but claims Israel has put forward no 'serious proposals' in months Sky News
- Claims Hamas called for end to war after Trump’s election are misleading VERIFYThis.com
- Jake Sullivan: 'Israel not delaying deal - Hamas is' Arutz Sheva
- Israel, US Say Hamas Blocking Hostage Deal AllSides
France’s new dictionary struggles to keep up with the times
The full ninth edition of the Dictionnaire de l’Académie Française has been presented to France's President Macron.
Tropical Storm Sara forms in Caribbean, threatening Central America
The late season storm is forecast to bring heavy rains to flood-prone Central America before moving east towards the US.
Almost half of Valencia’s flood victims were aged over 70, figures show
Police reveal ages and genders of the 216 people who died in Valencia, along with eight other victims elsewhere in Spain
Almost half of the 216 people known to have died in the catastrophic floods that hit the eastern Spanish region of Valencia at the end of October were 70 or above, according to a police analysis.
Figures from the data integration centre set up after the disaster show that 131 of the victims were male, 85 were female and 104 were aged over 70, including 15 aged over 90.
Continue reading...Diamond necklace linked to Marie Antoinette sells for $4.8m
Experts say some of the stones in the piece are a match with the original diamonds central to a royal scandal.
Iran Plans To Send Women Revolting Against Hijab Mandate To Psychiatric Facilities – NDTV
Gulag History Museum in Moscow temporarily closed ‘for safety reasons’
Kremlin critics fear move is part of Russia’s efforts to whitewash Soviet past and shut independent cultural institutions
Moscow’s award-winning Gulag History Museum announced its surprise closure on Thursday, a move critics attribute to the Kremlin’s efforts to whitewash Russia’s Soviet past.
The closure was officially put down to alleged violations of fire safety regulations but comes amid an intense campaign by Russian officials against independent civil society and those who question the state’s interpretation of history.
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