Month: August 2020

Read More About four years before the Beirut port explosion that killed dozens of people and injured thousands, a U.S. government contractor expressed concern to a Lebanese port official about unsafe storage there of the volatile chemicals that fueled last week’s devastating blast, American officials said Tuesday. There is no indication the contractor communicated his…

Read More The conclusion of this two-part documentary charted the end of the Soviet Union to the Clinton years and beyond, with the former US president joining a superb cast of talking heads It’s been so long since I experienced it – either personally or simply as a possibility in the wider world – that…

Read More Wednesday: medical experts say NSW needs tighter restrictions on indoor gatherings as clusters grow. Plus, Harris makes history as Biden’s running mate Good morning, this is Emilie Gramenz bringing you the main stories and must-reads on Wednesday 12 August. Continue reading…Wednesday: medical experts say NSW needs tighter restrictions on indoor gatherings as clusters…

Read More LONDON, Aug 11 (IPS) – “With advertisements removed in Grenoble you can see the city’s beauty and the mountains beyond. Adverts create obstacles. Without them you can breathe,” explains Khaled Gaiji, national mobilisation coordinator of the French anti-advertising organisation Résistance à l’Agression Publicitaire (Resistance to Advertising Aggression, or RAP). “Advertising is like an…

Read More As businesses across downtown Chicago try to retool and rebuild after widespread looting and vandalism brought damage to the area on Sunday night, and amid continued demonstrations supporting the Black Lives Matter movement, activists and community members in the city worry that residents’ already contentious relationship with the city’s police department is being…

Read More Some three out of four Latinos in the U.S. haven’t heard of the term ‘Latinx,’ but its use may grow. Some three out of four Latinos in the U.S. haven’t heard of the term ‘Latinx,’ but its use may grow.

Read More Convicting all the suspects would also have offered the police a measure of redemption ​Convicting all of the suspects in the racist gang of five or six people that killed Stephen Lawrence would have delivered justice for his family, and some measure of redemption for the Metropolitan police. Scotland Yard’s decision to close…

Read MoreOne family’s house has already been demolished, and the same is expected to happen to more than 30 other buildings.One family’s house has already been demolished, and the same is expected to happen to more than 30 other buildings.

Read More After a powerful blast on Aug. 4 killed more than 200 people in Beirut and left 300,000 homeless, Gaëlle Moutran did what many young people in Beirut felt compelled to do in the ensuing days: film what was happening around her. With her iPhone, Moutran, a scenographer working in film and art, documents…

Read More After a powerful blast on Aug. 4 killed more than 200 people in Beirut and left 300,000 homeless, Gaëlle Moutran did what many young people in Beirut felt compelled to do in the ensuing days: film what was happening around her. With her iPhone, Moutran, a scenographer working in film and art, documents…

Read More Many have taken jobs in new industries, while others are underemployed and struggling with bills Coronavirus – latest updates See all our coronavirus coverage The true consequences of the coronavirus lockdown on employment are becoming clear, as official figures show that almost three-quarters of a million jobs have been lost from company payrolls…

Read More During a TIME100 Talks discussion on Tuesday, award-winning actress and producer Eva Longoria discussed her role in new coalition Momento Latino, which aims to support the Latino community during — and in the aftermath of — the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic has deepened long-standing inequalities apparent between white and Latino populations in the…

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Read More S&P edges towards all-time record with oil prices and hospitality stocks rising as investor optimism rebounds US stock markets moved closer to record highs on Tuesday after investors bet on a fresh round of government spending to lift the economy and counter the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. The S&P 500, seen as…

Read More For nearly a week, Mona Zahran had to sleep on a couch pulled across her apartment’s front door. Beirut’s massive explosion knocked her doors off their hinges and shattered her windows, and she feared looters would take advantage of the chaos that has hit the Lebanese capital since. A few months ago, Zahran…

Read MoreThe Hong Kong paper’s holding company sees its stock rise fourfold in a day after its owner’s arrest.The Hong Kong paper’s holding company sees its stock rise fourfold in a day after its owner’s arrest.

Read More Carmen Best, city’s first Black police chief, said retirement would be effective 2 September Seattle’s police chief has announced she is stepping down, a move made public the same day the city council approved reducing the department by as many as 100 officers. The council on Monday had approved a reduction in the…

Read MorePolice say the lab, built in a converted stables, is the largest ever found in the Netherlands.Police say the lab, built in a converted stables, is the largest ever found in the Netherlands.

Read MoreWill Smith’s beloved 1990s sitcom is coming back in a hard-hitting reboot.Will Smith’s beloved 1990s sitcom is coming back in a hard-hitting reboot.

Read MoreRussian President Vladimir Putin claims his country is now using the world’s first COVID-19 vaccine and one of his daughters has already been inoculated. Russian authorities say medical workers, teachers and others in high-risk groups will get the vaccine first. Dr. David Agus joins “CBS This Morning” to explain what we know about the…

Read More On Monday evening, President Donald Trump stood at the front of the White House’s briefing room and uttered yet another proposal that lacked both specifics and any probability of becoming a reality. “So, we’re looking very seriously at a capital-gains tax cut and also at an income-tax cut for middle-income families,” Trump said,…

Read MoreHere’s how to catch a glimpse of one of the most spectacular meteor showers of the year.Here’s how to catch a glimpse of one of the most spectacular meteor showers of the year.

Read More A new major study has found that transgender and “gender-diverse adults” are six times more likely to be diagnosed as autistic than the general population. The fresh research by scientists at the University of Cambridge’s Autism Research Center took data from more than 600,000 people and confirmed previous findings from smaller scale studies…

Read More It’s the first country to approve a COVID-19 vaccine — but without Phase III trials to assess safety and effectiveness in the general population. (Image credit: Alexey Nikolsky/Sputnik/AFP via Getty Images) It’s the first country to approve a COVID-19 vaccine — but without Phase III trials to assess safety and effectiveness in the…

Read MoreA minute’s silence has been held exactly a week after an explosion ripped through Lebanon’s capital.A minute’s silence has been held exactly a week after an explosion ripped through Lebanon’s capital.

Read More Research could pave way for cheap supercapacitor storage of renewable energy The humble house brick has been turned into a battery that can store electricity, raising the possibility that buildings could one day become literal powerhouses. The new technology exploits the porous nature of fired red bricks by filling the pores with tiny…

Read More Stil-tons to do as talks over blue cheese become an unlikely obstacle to a post-Brexit trade agreement. Stil-tons to do as talks over blue cheese become an unlikely obstacle to a post-Brexit trade agreement.

Read More “I’m not in the slightest bit concerned about using cash right now,” one Berlin shopper says. “I just keep washing my hands. Simple.” Cash makes up 75% of Germany’s transactions. (Image credit: Matthias Schrader/AP) “I’m not in the slightest bit concerned about using cash right now,” one Berlin shopper says. “I just keep…

Read More Met police chief announces there are no further lines of inquiry into murder of Stephen Lawrence in 1993 Twenty-seven years, three months and 19 days after the murder of the black British teenager Stephen Lawrence, the Metropolitan police has declared the investigation into the crime “inactive”. In a murder that would indefinitely reframe…

Read More When Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his rival, Benny Gantz, agreed to form an “emergency” government in May after three bitter and deadlocked election campaigns, the goal was to stabilize Israeli politics in the face of a global pandemic. With little common ground and a severe lack of trust, the uneasy alliance now…

Read More With Russia’s announcement Tuesday that it had become the first country to approve a vaccine against COVID-19, here is a look at the more than two dozen other candidates currently in development. Russian President Vladimir Putin shocked the international community by claiming the new vaccine — dubbed “Sputnik V” after the Soviet satellite…

Read More US President Donald Trump has said that his feelings towards his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, have soured due to the coronavirus pandemic, adding that the pair used to enjoy amicable relations. “I used to have a very good relationship with him,” Trump told Fox Sports Radio in an interview. “I had a great…

Read More As the coronavirus outbreak continues to spread across the U.S., recent polls indicate dissatisfaction about the federal response to the pandemic: One Aug. 4 NPR/Ipsos poll found that two-thirds of Americans believe the U.S. pandemic response is worse than that of other countries. Inherent in that response is what can often seem like…

Read More Pair believed to have been using inflatable dinghy seen drifting out at sea The bodies of two friends have been pulled from the sea off the coast of Brighton. A search and rescue operation was launched on Monday afternoon after an inflatable dinghy was seen drifting out at sea. Lifeboats and coastguards spent…

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