A journalist had his head cut off in a graphic video that sent shockwaves worldwide. A letter detailing what happened is now worthless. Daniel Pearl’s life ended in the most violent way at the hands of terrorists who filmed the journalist’s beheading and sent a video to the US consulate in Pakistan. The Wall Street
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Myanmar coup triggers anger, unease
(Reuters) – Swaggering supporters of Myanmar’s army chief swung through the streets of Yangon, waving national flags from pickup trucks to cheer on his coup against a democratically elected government. Footage posted on social media showed a crowd of several score gathered in the centre of Myanmar’s biggest city to celebrate Senior General Min Aung
Read moreMyanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi detained
(Reuters) – Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other senior figures from the ruling party have been detained in an early morning raid, the spokesman for the governing National League for Democracy said on Monday (Feb. 1). The move comes after days of escalating tension between the civilian government and the powerful military that
Read moreNASA’s astro-chimp was a space pioneer
Sixty years ago, an intrepid chimpanzee called Ham was launched on a rocket from Cape Canaveral in the United States, and returned to Earth alive. In this process, Ham became the first hominin in space on January 31, 1961. “Ham” was an acronym for Holloman Aero Medical, but “Ham’s name inevitably recalls Noah’s youngest and
Read moreNavalny, WHO and Thunberg nominated for Nobel peace prize
Russian dissident Alexei Navalny, the World Health Organization and climate campaigner Greta Thunberg are among those nominated for this year’s Nobel Peace Prize. All three are backed by Norwegian politicians who have a track record of picking the winner, while outsiders for the prestigious award include former US President Donald Trump. Thousands of people, from
Read moreHong Kong seizes record HK$2.2bn worth of narcotics
(Hong Kong) Customs enforcers seized more than 3½ tonnes of illegal drugs worth almost HK$2.2 billion (8.46 billion baht) in 2020, the largest amount in a single year since records began nearly two decades ago. With the Covid-19 pandemic crippling global travel and shutting borders, international trafficking syndicates switched from using human couriers to transporting
Read moreJilted wife cuts off husbands penis
(Beijing) A jealous wife in China chopped off her cheating husband’s penis as he slept, then snuck into his hospital room after he had it sewn back on — and hacked it off again and tossed it out the window. Police said “hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.” Fan Lung, a dad of
Read moreInternet cut to hunger-striking farmers in Delhi
India has suspended mobile internet services in three areas around the capital, Delhi, where farmers are staging a hunger strike in protest at new agriculture laws. The government said the shutdown would continue until Sunday night to “maintain public safety”. Tens of thousands of protesting farmers have been camped out on Delhi’s outskirts for more
Read moreWoman ‘kept mother’s body in freezer for 10 years’
(Tokyo) Police in Japan have arrested a woman after the body of her dead mother was discovered in a freezer in her flat. Yumi Yoshino, 48, said that she found her mother dead and hid the body 10 years ago because she “didn’t want to move out” of the Tokyo home they shared, local media
Read morePfizer vaccine reportedly kills 29
The Australian government is seeking ‘immediate’ advice and information after Norway reported 29 deaths related to the Pfizer vaccine. Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt has asked the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) to seek further information on the Pfizer vaccine, following a Norwegian report about the risks of its administration. The TGA on Sunday afternoon confirmed
Read moreGreat balls of fire?
A man is suing Starbucks claiming he was so severely scalded by a hot tea he spent 11 days in a burns unit and was left unable to play the piano or be intimate with his partner. Tommy Piluyev was at a Starbucks in Roseville, California in 2018, when he claims the lid on his
Read morePush to strip China of Winter Olympics
A global campaign is underway to strip China of the right to host the Beijing Winter Olympic Games in 2022 over allegations of human rights abuses. A global group of political leaders is pushing the International Olympics Committee (IOC) to reconsider Beijing as the host of the 2022 Olympic Winter Games. The coalition of MPs
Read moreChina’s ‘wolf-warrior’ diplomacy backfires
Even neutral nations are hitting back at Beijing’s “wolf warrior” tactics but China’s doubling down and has threatened Australia’s “peace and stability”. .Jamie Seidel reports. Duelling diplomats on Twitter. Fisticuffs in Fiji. “Xi thought” dominated policy. It’s all backfiring for Beijing, with previously neutral nations being driven into an alliance against it. India has been
Read moreMyanmar coup threat rocks S.E. Asia
YANGON: More than a dozen embassies, including the Thai, US and EU delegations, yesterday (Friday) urged Myanmar to “adhere to democratic norms”, joining the United Nations in a chorus of international concern about a possible military coup. Political tensions eased slightly on Friday when the Supreme Court postponed considering allegations of electoral misconduct by President
Read moreIndian republic is based on a consensus-building model
Democracy in the contemporary world is torn between the will of the masses and the hegemonic power of the elite on the one hand, and a growing disregard for representative government on the other. In the last two decades, Latin American countries witnessed such an unresolved situation. In the United States, the unabashed opposition to
Read moreGermany advises against Oxford/AstraZeneca jab for over-65s?
Why has Germany advised the Oxford/AstraZeneca jab should only be used in adults under 65? The issue boils down to a lack of data on efficacy of the vaccine in this age group. The standing committee on vaccination of the Robert Koch Institute, Germany’s disease control agency, said: “There is insufficient data to judge how
Read moreWhy Melania Trump won’t divorce Donald Trump
Melania Trump has been plagued by rumours she’s “counting down the minutes” to divorce the former president – but there’s one reason she won’t. Long before Donald Trump lost the presidential election to Joe Biden last November, rumours swirled over how long his third marriage would last when he eventually exited the White House. Melania
Read moreChinese citizens react to Covid-19 anal swab tests
Chinese citizens have reacted with a mix of horror and humour after officials made public their use of anal swabs to screen for Covid-19. Doctors claim the invasive procedure can be more effective in detecting the virus than nasal swabs. China, where coronavirus first emerged just over a year ago, is currently experiencing its worst
Read moreWHO investigators begin Wuhan probe after exiting quarantine
A team of World Health Organisation researchers will start to formally investigate the origins of the coronavirus after completing two weeks of quarantine in the city of Wuhan. The 13-member team, which left hotel quarantine this Friday morning, is due to meet Chinese scientists and plans to visit labs, markets and hospitals in Wuhan. It
Read moreFrom Egypt to the US: Lessons for activists from the Arab Spring
Whether crossing a bridge in Selma, Alabama in 1965, or in Cairo in 2011, or Bangkok Thailand, our struggles for justice share much. By Esam Boraey of Al Jazeera We stood side by side on the steps of the Iowa State Capitol, our bodies moving in unison as I led hundreds of people in Al-Maghrib
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