Category: World

Tensions in region at all-time high following last week’s killing of senior Hezbollah commander in Lebanon and Hamas’ top political leader in Iran

President Biden will meet with his national security team in the Situation Room Monday ahead of an anticipated Iranian attack against Israel.

The meeting came a day after Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III spoke with his counterpart in Israel Sunday to reiterate U.S. support for the Jewish state as tensions escalate with Iran and its proxies, threatening a wider regional war after 10 months of fighting Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip.

Austin and Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant discussed U.S. force posture moves that the Defense Department is taking to bolster protection for U.S. forces in the region, support the defense of Israel, and deter and de-escalate broader tensions in the region, according to readout from the Pentagon.

That meeting came as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told a Cabinet meeting Sunday that Israel is already in a “multi-front war” with Iran and its proxies.

Tensions in the region are already at all-time highs after last week’s killing of a senior Hezbollah commander in Lebanon and Hamas’ top political leader in Iran. Iran and its allies have blamed Israel and threatened retaliation. Hamas said it has begun discussions on choosing a new leader.

Netanyahu said Israel was ready for any scenario. Jordan’s foreign minister was making a rare trip to Iran as part of diplomatic efforts — “We want the escalation to end,” Ayman Safadi said.

Meanwhile, Secretary of State Antony Blinken reportedly told his counterparts on Sunday that Iran and Hezbollah could attack Israel as early as Monday, per Axios.

Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla, head of the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) is expected to arrive in Israel Monday to coordinate preparations for the anticipated attack, according to the Times of Israel.

In Israel, some prepared bomb shelters and recalled Iran’s unprecedented direct military assault in April following a suspected Israeli strike that killed two Iranian generals. Israel said almost all the drones and ballistic and cruise missiles were intercepted.

“For years, Iran has been arming and financing terrorist organizations across the Middle East, including smuggling explosives into Israeli territory for terror attacks against civilians,” IDF Spokesperson, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in a statement. “The IDF and ISA have already thwarted numerous attacks in which Claymore type explosives were smuggled into the country’s territory. We are determined to continue acting against Iranian terrorism wherever it may be.”

The war in Gaza was triggered by Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel that killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took around 250 people hostage. Israel’s brutal retaliation has led to the deaths of nearly 40,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.

Source: https://www.foxnews.com/world/biden-meet-national-security-team-ahead-anticipated-iranian-attack-against-israel

The latest unrest comes after at least 200 people were killed and thousands injured when student protests last month turned violent.

Fresh violence in Bangladesh has left dozens dead and hundreds injured as internet services are shut down and a nationwide curfew is imposed.

Almost 100 people were reportedly killed on Sunday as student protesters calling for the prime minister’s resignation clashed with police and ruling party activists.

The country’s leading Bengali-language daily newspaper, Prothom Alo, said at least 95 people had died in the clashes.

The interior ministry has imposed an indefinite nationwide curfew to quell the violence, which came into force at 6pm local time (12pm GMT).

Internet services were also shut down, while social media platforms Facebook and WhatsApp were unavailable.

The latest unrest comes after at least 200 people were killed and thousands injured when student protests last month, triggered by a quota system that awarded 30% of government jobs to relatives of veterans, turned violent.

At least 10,000 others were arrested.

The Supreme Court has now scaled back the quota system.

However, students have returned to the streets demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, as well as justice for those killed.

Demonstrators and human rights groups have accused the government of an excessive use of force, something the prime minister and her ministers deny.

Sunday’s violence saw protesters target a major public hospital in the capital Dhaka, torching several vehicles.

In another area of the city, police fired tear gas to disperse hundreds of protesters who blocked a major road. According to witnesses, some crude bombs were detonated and gunshots were heard.

Student protesters have launched a non-cooperation programme to push for the government’s resignation. They are calling on people not to pay taxes and utility bills and urged people to stay off work on Sunday – a working day in Bangladesh.

Ms Hasina offered to talk with student leaders on Saturday, but a co-ordinator refused, replying with a one-point demand for her resignation.

She has pledged to thoroughly investigate the deaths and punish those responsible for the violence

Source: https://news.sky.com/story/almost-100-people-killed-in-bangladesh-protests-as-nationwide-curfew-imposed-13190731

Vice President Kamala Harris will interview three top candidates – Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, U.S. Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona and Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro – at her Washington, D.C., residence on Sunday ahead of a final decision on her running mate.
Harris is expected to announce her choice as early as Monday, ahead of her first public appearance with the vice presidential nominee on Tuesday in Philadelphia, Reuters was first to report. The Harris campaign is also planning a social media announcement featuring the duo, officials familiar with the arrangements told Reuters.

Harris met with her vetting team on Saturday, including former attorney general Eric Holder, whose law firm Covington & Burling LLP scrutinized the finances and background of potential running mates. Holder and his office made in-depth presentations on each of the finalists, according to sources familiar with the process.
She met Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg for 90 minutes on Friday and is also meeting candidates virtually, the sources said. Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker are the other candidates in contention for the job.

Nearly 17 months ago in New Delhi, Algerian boxer Imane Khelif was disqualified from the International Boxing Association’s world championships three days after she won an early-round bout with Azalia Amineva, a previously unbeaten Russian prospect.

The disqualification meant Amineva’s official record was perfect again.

The IBA said Khelif and fellow boxer Lin Yu-ting of Taiwan had failed “to meet the required necessary eligibility criteria and were found to have competitive advantages over other female competitors.” The governing body claimed the fighters had failed unspecified eligibility tests — the same tests that ignited a massive controversy about gender regulations and perceptions in sports this week as Khelif and Lin compete at the Paris Olympics.

The IBA’s decision last year — and its curious timing, particularly related to Amineva’s loss to Khelif — would have raised warning signs around the sports world if more people cared about amateur boxing, or even knew more about the IBA under president Umar Kremlev of Russia.

The entire boxing world has already learned to expect almost anything from the Russian-dominated governing body that was given the unprecedented punishment of being permanently banned from the Olympics last year. In fact, it hasn’t run an Olympic boxing tournament since the Rio de Janeiro Games in 2016.

The non-boxing world largely doesn’t know, however, about the IBA’s decades of troubled governance and longstanding accusations of a thorough lack of normal transparency in nearly every aspect of its dealings, particularly in recent years. Many people took the IBA’s proclamations about Khelif and Lin at face value while dragging the eligibility dispute into wider clashes about gender identity.

The International Olympic Committee has decades of mostly bad history with the beleaguered governing body previously known for decades as AIBA, and it has exasperatedly begged non-boxing people to pay attention to the sole source of the allegations against Khelif and Lin.

“These two athletes were the victims of a sudden and arbitrary decision by the IBA,” IOC spokesman Mark Adams said this week. “Such an approach is contrary to good governance.”

On Saturday, IOC President Thomas Bach said it was “totally unacceptable” the two boxers have faced what he called hate speech in a “politically motivated” uproar.

The IOC had stuck with the previous incarnation of boxing’s governing body through decades of judging scandals, bizarre leadership decisions and innumerable financial misdeeds while it presided over Olympic boxing tournaments.

Not until 2019, nearly two years after the organization elected a president with what U.S. officials call deep ties to Russian organized crime and heroin trafficking, did the IOC finally banish the perpetually troubled group.

The most powerful organization in amateur boxing for decades is now governing a reduced roster of national federations while keeping up its fight with the IOC. Nearly three dozen nations, including nearly all of the prominent Western boxing teams, have taken the extraordinary step of leaving the IBA to form World Boxing, a new governing body, in a final attempt to keep boxing in the 2028 Olympics.

AIBA’s final Olympic downfall was triggered about six years ago when it elected president Gafur Rakhimov, an Uzbek businessman described by the U.S. Treasury Department as an organized crime boss. Rakhimov, who denies those allegations, finally resigned in July 2019, a month after the IOC suspended ties.

The group changed its name and elected Kremlev, a Russian boxing functionary and an acquaintance of Russian President Vladimir Putin. That only made things worse between the IBA and the sections of the international boxing community not beholden to the body’s financial support, unlike many smaller boxing nations.

Kremlev introduced Russian state-controlled Gazprom as its biggest sponsor and moved much of the IBA’s operations to Russia after he took over in late 2020. He also fought off a challenge to his leadership two years ago by essentially scrapping an election in highly dubious fashion.

None of this sat well with the IOC — particularly after the Olympic organization advised its governing bodies to prevent Russian athletes from competing with their flags and anthems after Putin’s forces invaded Ukraine in 2022. The IBA disregarded that guidance at its world championships the following year.

The IOC permanently stripped the IBA’s Olympic credentials and ran the past two Olympic boxing tournaments with a task force.

Former governing body president Wu Ching-kuo, the last to take part in an Olympics, made moderate progress in improving AIBA’s reputation until his leadership group decided it would attempt to control boxing in all of its forms — including the professional game. The ill-conceived plan to use the chance for Olympic medals as a cudgel to sign fighters to pro contracts went nowhere, and Wu was eventually drummed out of AIBA himself amid severe financial woes.

Source: https://apnews.com/article/olympics-2024-khelif-russia-boxing-b53b1edda21139d14a572bd35ca440e6

A CONTROVERSIAL documentary has revealed a brand-new side of Hollywood icon Elizabeth Taylor.

The new documentary featuring the beloved Hollywood star takes a fresh look at her several failed marriages as well as her persistent health problems.

In never-before-heard audio, the Cleopatra star manages to give her own voice to the problems she experienced as an icon on the silver screen.

“She lived big. She lived very, very big,” the documentary director, Natalie Burnstein, told ABC’s Good Morning America.

“Every day was a big day in Elizabeth Taylor’s life. She did what she wanted, she made choices in her love life and her personal life, despite whatever the fallout would be publicly, [and] the public was obsessed with her for all of those reasons.”

Natalie later told ABC News that the Cat on A Hot Tin roof star was “under scrutiny 24/7.”

“She was the first modern celebrity,” she explained. “We look at what happened with Princess Di[ana] or Taylor Swift, the paparazzi follows you and you are judged in everything you do.”

According to Natalie, the new HBO documentary will feature audio from a 1964 interview the actress had with a LIFE Magazine reporter named Richard Meryman.

“I think some part of me is sorry that I became… a public utility,” Elizabeth can be heard telling the journalist.

“I know I should be grateful… I don’t like fame. I don’t like the sense of belonging to the public.”

While her achievements on the movie screen are well known, the documentary touches on the more private aspects of the film star’s life.

One point frequently touched upon is the fact that the former child actor had married and divorced three times before turning 30.

In 1951, at the age of 18, Elizabeth married socialite and hotel heir, Conrad Hilton Jr.

The marriage between the two lasted a full year before the pair separated.

British Columbia is on alert for flooding along the banks of the Chilcotin River after a landslide created a large natural dam and triggered evacuation orders in the remote region in Canada’s Pacific coast province, authorities said on Saturday.

B.C.’s Minister of Emergency Management Bowinn Ma in an update said that in the worst case scenario, flows in the Chilcotin river were expected to be well above peak spring levels, while it would likely be lower than normal freshet season along Fraser river.

“Ultimately, this is an encouraging development for communities downstream, but we nevertheless continue to coordinate closely with communities along the rivers to ensure that we’re prepared to protect people from potential flooding,” Ma said.
The region has been under watch since Wednesday after a landslide blocked the river in British Columbia’s Cariboo region, creating worries about potential flooding as the water could surge through.

Algerian boxer Imane Khelif, bidding to become her country’s first woman to win an Olympic boxing gold medal, said she is proud for guaranteeing herself a medal amid a row over her eligibility for the Paris Games.
The 25-year-old beat Hungary’s Luca Anna Hamori by unanimous decision in a welterweight quarter-final fight on Saturday to ensure at least a bronze medal – Algeria’s first boxing medal since 2000.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has offered humanitarian aid to North Korea, which has been hit by heavy rainfalls and floods, Pyongyang’s state media KCNA said on Sunday.
Relations between the two countries have grown closer, and Putin made the offer in a message to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un delivered on Saturday via the Russian embassy in Pyongyang. The Russian leader’s message expressed sympathy and support.

At least 37 civilians were killed and 212 were injured in an explosion at a popular beach restaurant in the Somali capital late on Friday, the health minister said, an attack the government blamed on militant Islamist group al Shabaab.
Ali Haji told a press conference that 11 of those injured in the attack in Mogadishu were in a critical condition.
It was the deadliest attack in the Horn of Africa country since twin car bombs detonated near a busy market intersection in October 2022, killing at least 100 people and wounding 300 others.

The Paris 2024 organisers have already apologised for any offence caused – while insisting the scene featuring drag queens was not inspired by Leonardo da Vinci’s biblical painting.

The Vatican has issued a delayed response following the Olympics opening ceremony – saying it is “saddened” by a skit that appeared to parody Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper painting.

Last Friday’s Paris event included a scene featuring what seemed to be a recreation of the famous painting with drag queens, a transgender model and a near-naked singer in the place of Jesus Christ and his apostles.

In a statement issued on Saturday night, the Vatican said: “The Holy See was saddened by certain scenes at the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympic Games and cannot but join the voices raised in recent days to deplore the offence done to many Christians and believers of other religions.”

“Freedom of expression, which is obviously not called into question, finds its limit in respect for others,” it added.

The Vatican has not said why it has taken over a week to issue a statement.

A massive fire ripped through Queens Saturday afternoon, injuring 14 people — including 11 firefighters — and damaging multiple buildings, leaving dozens of residents displaced, officials said.

The blaze began just after 4 p.m., at a two-story residence at 88-21 Francis Lewis Boulevard in Queens Village, before quickly soaring to five alarms and spreading to seven buildings, according to FDNY officials.

Over 200 firefighters, EMTs and paramedics responded to the fire, which was brought under control in about two hours, officials said.

“This was a very fierce fire, and it spread to seven buildings and into the rear and garage area,” FDNY First Deputy Commissioner Joseph Pfeifer said.

The 14 wounded included 11 firefighters and three civilians, all of whom sustained minor injuries, FDNY EMS Deputy Assistant Chief Grace Cacciola said.

The majority suffered heat-related injuries and were taken to local area hospitals to be treated.

Dozens of people were estimated to have been displaced, said Frederic Klein, a spokesman with the Red Cross, which was on the scene aiding victims.

The organization said it had registered seven households — consisting of 22 adults and 10 children — for emergency assistance, including temporary lodging and financial assistance.

In an alley behind Francis Lewis Boulevard where residents parked their cars, at least three vehicles had been charred to a crisp.

Houses on 207th Street, also behind Francis Lewis Boulevard, sustained damage as well from the roaring blaze.

Tasmim Abib, 17, who lives on Francis Lewis Boulevard, said the fire started on his neighbor’s deck, before spreading to his family’s deck and into their home.

“It was so much fire that it got into our house,” he said, explaining how the blaze entered their living room before spreading and filling their home with thick black smoke.

Abib said he rushed out of his home with two of five cats and his parents, who refused to let him return to their home to rescue the beloved pets left behind.

“I was crying, ‘Let me go inside and save my cats.’ They said, ‘No, don’t go back inside,’” he recalled.

“There is nothing left there. Everything is gone in the fire.”

Source: https://nypost.com/2024/08/03/us-news/nyc-fire-engulfs-seven-homes-11-firefighters-injured-fdny/

Apple’s latest promotional video has sparked a wave of backlash in Thailand, with many criticizing its portrayal of the country as outdated and unrealistic. The 10-minute clip, part of the “Apple at Work – The Underdogs” series, has ignited a heated debate on social media about modern Thai representation.

The 10-minute clip, released on Apple’s YouTube channel on July 18, has amassed 5.4 million views. It is the fifth installment in Apple’s “Apple at Work – The Underdogs” series.

The storyline follows four characters—referred to as the underdogs—navigating workplace crises with the help of Apple devices and software. Since the series began in 2019, the characters have transitioned from their corporate jobs to running their own company.

The latest episode focuses on their business trip to Thailand, where they travel via trains and tuk-tuks in a frantic effort to find a factory that can produce a million custom boxes to satisfy the demands of their challenging tycoon client, portrayed by Christopher Mintz-Plasse.

Social Media Backlash: Critics Claim Apple Video Misrepresents Modern Thailand
Since the video’s release, social media has been inundated with complaints from Thai residents, who argue that it fails to depict the modern side of their country. Many assert that the footage appears intentionally old-fashioned, with a faded sepia tone and a focus on messy architecture. Criticism also extends to the airport scenes, where a character loses his luggage and seeks help from a local ground staff member named “Happy.”

David William, an American content creator based in Thailand, expressed his disappointment in a TikTok video that has garnered over 11 million views. “When I watched it, I was thinking, this was Thailand 50 years ago. This looked like Thailand 70 years ago. There were no segments showing the modernity of my home,” he said in Thai.

Supporting his perspective, Facebook user Nipawan Labbunruang commented that the video makes Thailand look “terrible.” Her post, which received 1,900 likes, questioned the video’s intent: “What is this clip trying to present?”

Mixed Reactions: Government And Some Residents Defend The Apple Ad
However, the video has also garnered some local fans, including the government.

According to its website, Indochina Productions, a Thailand-based studio, participated in the Apple production.

Thai authorities have praised it as a success for the country on the global stage.

“The prime minister has continuously supported the development of the country’s potential by implementing policies to promote Thai soft power as a magnet to attract people worldwide to visit, work and live in Thailand, making Thailand a key destination for people globally,” stated Chai Wacharonke, spokesperson for Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, in a statement following the release of the Apple video.

Others noted that the video isn’t far from reality.

“I have watched it. It’s fine,” wrote Thai social media user Sakchawit Attasillekha on Facebook, mentioning that Bangkok has “plenty of old hotels” and “old taxis decorated with Buddha amulets.” He added, “However, we also have good things too.”

Source: https://www.outlookindia.com/amp/story/international/us/apple-faces-backlash-in-thailand-over-promotional-ad-video-heres-why?utm_campaign=fullarticle&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=inshorts

Fears of a regional war in the Middle East spiked after Hezbollah launched a barrage of rockets towards Israel. The rocket attacks came after Israeli strikes killed a senior Hezbollah commander and the killing of top Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.

Hezbollah on Saturday (local time) said it launched dozens of rockets at Israel as tensions in the Middle East soared with Iran and its allies reading their response to the killing of Hamas’s political chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran earlier this week. Amid fears of a regional war, US President Joe Biden hoped that Iran would “stand down” despite its threats to attack Israel.

Hezbollah, which like Hamas is backed by Iran, said its rocket attacks on Moshav Beit Hillel in Israel injured civilians there, The Times of Israel reported. It also said it was a retaliatory attack to Israel’s strikes on Kfar Kela and Deir Siriane in Lebanon and after an Israeli strike in Beirut killed Fuad Shukr, a senior military commander from Hezbollah.

Three US and Israeli officials said they had expected Iran to attack Israel as early as Monday, according to an Axios report.

A civil services aspirant was found dead by suicide in her rented room in Delhi’s Old Rajendra Nagar. In her suicide note, she cited her struggles with depression and her failure to pass the UPSC exam.

Anjali, from Maharashtra, took the drastic step on July 21. In her note, she detailed her frustrations over not clearing the civil services exams despite multiple attempts and expressed her struggles with depression.

“I am sorry Mummy Papa. I am really fed up with life now, and there are just problems and issues with no peace. I need peace. I tried every possible way to get rid of this so-called depression, but I can’t overcome it,” she wrote.

She further expressed, “My only dream was UPSC in first attempt from then only. I am being so unstable all knows it.”

Anjali’s note also highlighted significant financial strain and urged the government to “reduce scams in government exams” and “generate employment.”

The killing this week of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, hours after the Israeli assassination of Hezbollah’s military chief Fuad Shukr in Beirut, has intensified the voices clamouring for revenge Iran.

Middle East tensions have soared as Iran and Hamas, together with Hezbollah, vowed strong retaliation to the assassination of their group leaders, blamed on Israel, spurring fears of a regional war.

Here Are 10 Updates On Iran-Israel Conflict

Donald Trump says he is pulling out of a scheduled September debate with Vice President Kamala Harris on ABC and wants them to face off on Fox News, making it increasingly unlikely that the candidates will confront each other on stage before the November election.

In a series of Truth Social posts late Friday, the Republican nominee and former president said his agreement to a Sept. 10 debate on ABC “has been terminated” because he will no longer face Democratic President Joe Biden, who ended his campaign last month after a disastrous performance in their first debate.

Trump now says he will appear on Fox News on Sept. 4 in Pennsylvania with rules that he called “similar” to his debate with Biden, but with a full audience instead of a mostly empty studio. Trump said that if Harris, the likely Democratic nominee, does not agree to the new network and date, he will do a “major Town Hall” with Fox News.

Michael Tyler, a Harris spokesperson, said Trump “is running scared and trying to back out of the debate he already agreed to and running straight to Fox News to bail him out.”

It was not immediately clear whether ABC would turn its Sept. 10 event into a Harris town hall in Trump’s absence. Tyler said Harris is committed to the time slot and would appear “one way or the other to take the opportunity to speak to a prime time national audience.”

In a subsequent Truth Social post on Saturday afternoon, Trump said of Harris, “I’ll see her on September 4th or, I won’t see her at all.”

Trump has gone back and forth on debating with Harris since she entered the presidential race. He had told reporters he felt an obligation to debate but also said in a recent Fox News interview that he thought Americans “already know everything” about both candidates Harris has pressed Trump to keep the commitment he made when Biden was in the race. Noting Trump’s criticisms of her, Harris dared him recently to “say it to my face.”

Source: https://apnews.com/article/trump-harris-debate-abc-fox-news-0d0be341bbe7877a71bfc4bed40610fa

Russian assaults are raising pressure on the strategic eastern logistics hub of Pokrovsk, Ukraine said on Friday, as waves of guided bombs and infantry lead to some of Moscow’s largest territorial gains since the spring.
The push is fuelling a surge in civilians fleeing, with requests for evacuation in the area increasing about tenfold over the past two weeks, according to a volunteer helping people leave.

A colourful parade of amphibious cars glided through Amsterdam’s canals on Thursday, but it was the last time the event will be held in the city, at least until batteries become lighter.
Starting in 2025, access to the city’s waterways will be restricted to emission-free vessels and vehicles, a standard too high for amphibious cars due to the weight of electric batteries.
“This year is the last time because Amsterdam will (introduce) some new rules,” said Dutchman Roy Bolks, organizer of the annual amphibious cars parade that moves countries every year.

The multi-day event started on Monday in Amsterdam and took the amphibious cars to the cities of Monnickendam and Utrecht before finishing in Amsterdam on Thursday.
“Everybody has to think about the environment and we understand it but it’s a pity we can’t easily turn these cars electric. … So we’re going to enjoy this last time”, said Dutch participant Onno den Boer.

Dual UK-Russian citizen Vladimir Kara-Murza and US reporter Evan Gershkovich were among those freed on Thursday in the biggest East-West prisoner exchange since the Cold War.

A British citizen, who was freed in the biggest prisoner exchange with Russia since the Cold War, has told Sky News he thought he was being led to his death.

Speaking in Bonn, Germany, Vladimir Kara-Murza, said on the day he was taken from his prison cell in Siberia to be transferred to the Russian capital, he had no idea he was part of the prisoner swap.

“The night I was taken from my cell in Siberia, as I now know to be taken in preparation for this, I was almost certain I was being led out to be executed,” he told Sky News on Friday, a day after he was freed.

The British-Russian national, was serving a 25-year sentence for treason and had spent over two years imprisoned in Russia.

During this time, Mr Kara-Murza said he only spoke to his wife once and his three children twice in two years and four months.

He is now set to be reunited with his family tomorrow morning.

“I don’t think I will be able to find the right words to even begin to express how I feel about seeing them tomorrow morning,” he said.

“I can’t tell you how much I am looking forward to that moment… plans and thoughts about the future haven’t really been on the top of my mind.”

Some two dozen people from countries including Russia, the US, Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway and Belarus were exchanged on Thursday – a decision that was met with some criticism from German citizens after the government agreed to release Vadim Krasikov, a Russian convicted of the 2019 murder of a former Chechen militant in Berlin.

Addressing those who have been critical of the swap, Mr Kara-Murza said the only thing that matters is that human lives were saved by going through with the agreement.

“Easy decisions only come in dictatorships where everything is decided by the click of a finger of one person,” he said, “decisions in a democracy are always difficult”.

“[But] the difference between dictatorships and democracies is that in democratic systems, the highest value is attached to human life,” Mr Kara-Murza said.

‘I will return to Russia’

Despite having left Russia, Mr Kara-Murza said he was certain he would one day return, and is well aware of the dangers this could pose.

“The word ‘safe’ is not a word we as Russian opposition politicians have in our vocabulary,” he said, adding: “But I love my country, I believe in what I do, no matter how much these words have been soiled by Kremlin propaganda.”

He was also critical of how Vladimir Putin currently rules the country, which he said, does not represent the entire population.

“Russia deserves so much better than being led by a corrupt, authoritarian dictatorship. I think Russia deserves to be a normal democratically run country,” he said.

“I have absolutely no doubt that will come, and as a politician, I will do everything I can to bring that day a little bit closer.”

Speaking during a news conference earlier on Friday, Mr Kara-Murza mentioned the war in Ukraine – which the Kremlin refers to as its special military operation.

“Kremlin propaganda wants to make it seem that every person in Russia supports the war in Ukraine, this is a lie,” he said.

“Please do not allow yourselves to be persuaded that this Kremlin lie has anything to do with real life.”

Mr Kara-Murza spoke alongside Ilya Yashin and Andrei Pivovarov who were also released as part of the prisoner swap deal between the US and Russia and equally critical of the Russian president’s regime.

Source: https://news.sky.com/story/dont-mix-up-putins-regime-and-russia-british-citizen-released-from-prison-makes-ukraine-war-propaganda-plea-13189384

Trad wives are women who embrace traditional gender norms and champion homemaking, childcare, and supporting their husbands. Among those documenting their lifestyle on social media is Hannah Neeleman, 35, a mother-of-eight from Utah.

If you know who Ballerina Farm is, chances are she may have unwittingly filled your social media feeds with ‘trad wife’ content in recent weeks.

Ballerina Farm is the Instagram handle of 34-year-old Hannah Neeleman, a mother-of-eight who lives on a dairy farm in Utah with her husband Daniel, 35.

She is one of an increasing number of women promoting the lifestyle of a ‘traditional wife’ to their followers on TikTok and Instagram.

But after a recent interview with Neeleman, details of her relentless schedule as a homemaker have caused controversy with commenters, many of whom have expressed concern for her welfare and the message being conveyed to other young women.

Neeleman, however, described the article as an “attack on her family” and “portraying me as oppressed with my husband being the culprit… couldn’t be further than the truth”.

What is a trad wife?

Trad wives are women who embrace traditional gender norms and champion homemaking, childcare, and supporting their husbands.

They often take influence from early 20th-century American housewives, are devout Christians, and express politically Conservative views.

With the rise of social media, they have begun documenting their lives through Instagram and TikTok reels, usually in full hair and make-up, and often with a child on their arm as they cook, clean, or offer ‘life hacks’ for “serving” or “submitting” to their husbands.

Estee C Williams, a self-confessed trad wife with more than 100,000 Instagram followers says in one of her videos: “Being a traditional wife is so much more than cooking and cleaning and wearing house dresses, it’s about taking your house and making it a home.”

She adds that “aprons are like our house uniforms… so we can wear our beautiful clothes in our home and still protect them”.

A typical video on Nara Smith’s Instagram feed is captioned: “Here’s everything my husband cooks in a day/what I cook for him”.

Professor Linda Kaye, a cyberpsychologist and associate head of psychology at Edge Hill University, says: “People who have these views have always existed – we’re just more aware of it now.”

In the age of social media, she says people have more “creative” ways of declaring and reaffirming their social identities.

A study by Media Matters America suggested that viewers of trad wife content are more likely to be exposed to online conspiracy theories.

Professor Kaye says online algorithms can link people with “particular types of world views” to others of “particular political persuasions”, sometimes with “toxic” consequences.

But she adds that although those risks exist, human behaviour both on and offline is “hugely complex” and multiple decision-making processes are at play to stop us “mindlessly imitating” what we see online.

The current vice president was the only candidate to qualify for the Democrats’ presidential ballot. She now has the votes needed to run for the Oval Office – but it’s not quite official just yet.

Kamala Harris has won the delegate votes needed to become the Democrats’ presidential nominee – which will make her the first woman of colour to top a major US party’s election ticket.

The current vice president has been the frontrunner to stand against Republican Donald Trump since incumbent Joe Biden dropped out of the race last month.

Ms Harris quickly won the support of party heavyweights after the outgoing president backed her to run in his place, and she was the only candidate to qualify for the Democrats’ presidential ballot.

Party delegates voted virtually this week and Ms Harris needed at least 2,350 votes to formally secure the nomination, her campaign said.

The online voting process doesn’t end until Monday but she has already passed that threshold, they added.

Having joined the livestream event where the announcement was made, Ms Harris said: “The power is with the people. We are going to win this election and it is going to take all of us.”

Ms Harris will wait until the Democratic National Convention (DNC) – which takes place from Monday 19 August to Thursday 22 August – to officially accept the nomination.

She continued: “Later this month, we will gather in Chicago united as one party where we’re going to have an opportunity to celebrate this historic moment together.”

Source: https://news.sky.com/story/kamala-harris-wins-delegate-votes-needed-to-be-democrats-presidential-nominee-13189585

TERF imagines the stars of the Harry Potter film franchise staging an “intervention” for the author over her gender-critical beliefs.

The producer of a controversial play about JK Rowling’s trans views has told Sky News that members of the production have experienced “death threats” – with his own mother targeted by online trolls amid criticism of the show.

TERF is playing at Edinburgh Festival Fringe and imagines the lead stars of the Harry Potter film franchise staging an “intervention” for the author over her gender-critical beliefs.

TERF, an acronym for trans-exclusionary radical feminist, is often used as a slur in the gender debate.

Many of those who have not yet seen the play believe it is a “hit piece” against Rowling and have unleashed their anger online in response to negative media coverage.

The show’s producer, Barry Church-Woods, told Sky News there has been a lot of “faux outrage” aimed at the production.

“We’ve experienced death threats. My mother has been targeted on social media.”

The ancient Egyptian mummy’s expression of agony has puzzled scientists for decades, but researchers have put forward a new theory.

The mystery of why an ancient Egyptian mummy nicknamed the Screaming Woman had a pained expression on her face may have been solved.

New analysis by scientists suggests she died “screaming from agony” around 3,000 years ago.

The experts say she may then have experienced a rare event known as a cadaveric spasm at the moment of death, causing her muscles to stiffen and immortalise her suffering.

The condition causes the muscles to freeze in the exact position the person was in when they died.

Although her cause of death remains a mystery, cadaveric spasms are usually associated with violent deaths under extreme physical conditions and intense emotions.

The Screaming Woman’s alarming expression has baffled experts for 90 years.

But new analysis, using CT scans to perform a “virtual dissection”, has uncovered a number of new details, and challenges a previously held belief that her pained expression was the result of poor embalming.

Cairo University radiology professor Sahar Saleem, who led the study, said: “The mummy’s screaming facial expression in this study could be read as a cadaveric spasm, implying that the woman died screaming from agony or pain.”

Professor Saleem described her as a “true time capsule” preserving the final moments of her life.

Where was she discovered?

The Screaming Woman was found during a 1935 archaeological expedition at Deir el-Bahari, near the Egyptian city of Luxor, underneath the tomb of a well-known architect known as Senmut.

She was discovered inside a wooden coffin with her legs extended and arms folded above her groin.

She was wearing a black wig made from date palm fibres treated with quartz, magnetite and albite crystals, and had two gold and silver scarab rings on the third finger of her left hand.

The analysis showed her natural hair was dyed with henna and juniper.

Scans showed she had lost or broken a number of her teeth and suffered from mild arthritis of the spine.

The examination suggested she would have been around 5ft tall and died at the age of 48.

How was she embalmed?

Unlike classic mummification methods – where organs, aside from the heart, are usually removed from the body – her organs were still present, previously suggesting poor mummification.

However, an examination of her skin found she had been embalmed with juniper and frankincense – expensive items that had to be imported into Egypt from neighbouring countries, researchers said.

Source: https://news.sky.com/story/screaming-woman-egyptian-mummys-pained-expression-may-have-been-caused-by-rare-event-13189151

The bar on access to the social media giant follows accusations Instagram had removed posts by Turkish users expressing condolences over the death of Hamas’s Ismail Haniyeh.

Access to Instagram was blocked in Turkey on Friday, in the latest example of a clampdown on websites in the country.

The bar on access was in response to Instagram removing posts from Turkish users expressing condolences over the killing of Hamas’s political leader Ismail Haniyeh, it has been reported.

The Information and Communication Technologies Authority, which regulates the internet in Turkey, announced the block but did not provide a reason.

It comes a few days after an aide to Turkey’s president criticised the Meta-owned social media platform for preventing users in Turkey from posting messages mourning Haniyeh.

There was no immediate comment from Instagram, which has more than 50 million users in Turkey, a nation with a population of 85 million.

Unlike its Western allies, Turkey does not consider Hamas to be a terror organisation.

A strong critic of Israel’s military actions in Gaza, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has described the group as “liberation fighters”.

Turkey is observing a day of mourning for Haniyeh on Friday, with flags flown at half-mast.

The twin assassinations of Hamas’s Haniyeh and Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr have sent tensions in the Middle East spiralling, as the war in Gaza continues to kill thousands.

Source: https://news.sky.com/story/instagram-access-blocked-in-turkey-following-hamas-leader-assassination-13189308

Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift will be engaged soon, sources tell Page Six.

A Kelce insider told us the Kansas City Chiefs star has a plan in place to get on bended knee — and put an end to speculation about the couple’s future.

“The engagement is happening soon,” the insider said.

Meanwhile, Kelce’s rep denied Friday that there are any official engagement plans in place.

However, there has even been some speculation that the couple is already engaged.

On Thursday night at a Kansas City concert by country star Morgan Wallen, we hear that the wife of a top Chiefs exec was overheard telling pals in a suite that the team’s famed tight end and Swift are already engaged.

It’s unclear if it was a slip of the tongue — or if the exec’s wife was simply echoing online scuttlebutt.

We reported back in December that Kelce was on the hunt for the perfect ring — and that he’d even asked Taylor’s dad, Scott, for permission before he pops the question.

A source close to the football star previously claimed to Page Six, “Scott has been asked for his blessing and has wholeheartedly given it, and Travis has been talking to friends about a ring.”

Sources also previously told us that the couple was planning to get engaged this summer.

Swift, 34, has been traveling the world with her Eras Tour since 2023 and Kelce, 34, has been a fixture at the gigs, even joining her onstage.

The singer is currently in Europe and will take a short break from the gigs in August.

Source: https://pagesix.com/2024/08/02/entertainment/travis-kelce-will-propose-to-taylor-swift-soon-according-to-a-source/

Angelina Jolie is accusing Brad Pitt of trying to silence her.

In court documents filed on July 25, lawyers for the “Maleficent” star, 49, claim Pitt, 60, is trying to have Jolie sign a non-disclosure agreement, reports People.

The non-disclosure agreement would cover allegations of abuse by Pitt.

Jolie’s legal team argued in support of a motion compelling the “Fight Club” star to disclose information, which Pitt’s lawyers have decried as “wide-ranging and intrusive” in a separate filing.

The couple, who were married from 2014 to 2019 and share six children, have been squabbling over their French winery, Château Miraval, which they co-owned.

In 2022, the actor sued his ex for selling her stake, claiming that she had breached an agreement that neither could sell unless the other approved.

In the most recent court documents, Jolie’s attorneys alleges that Jolie “was not acting with malice and the intent to hurt Pitt in response to any custody ruling” when she sold her share of Miraval in 2021.

“Instead, it was Pitt who refused to buy her interest unless he received his newly expanded NDA, enforceable by an $8.5 million holdback specifically designed to force her silence about his abuse and cover-up.”

The couple abruptly split in September 2016 after a family plane trip from France to Los Angeles reportedly turned violent with Pitt allegedly getting physically abusive with Jolie and some of their six children.

Recently, Jolie alleged in court documents that the abuse “started well before” the infamous plane trip but had always only been directed toward the actress. According to Jolie’s camp, the “flight marked the first time he turned his physical abuse on the children as well. Jolie then immediately left him.”

“While Pitt advances what is effectively an outdated privacy-of-domestic-violence argument to shield his abuse,” the current documents allege. “His argument is not the law, at least not in this century, and he cites no authority that would give him such unwarranted protections. In any event, he waived any privacy protections when he sued Jolie.”

However, Pitt’s lawyers have struck back asking for the motion to be denied as the communications requested are “about such sensitive issues as therapy he voluntarily took,” following the 2016 plane ride.

Source: https://pagesix.com/2024/08/02/celebrity-news/angelina-jolie-claims-brad-pitt-tried-to-silence-her-abuse-allegations-by-pushing-nda/

YouTube’s biggest star MrBeast is facing complaints about the safety of contestants from the preliminary round of his ambitious “Beast Games” game show, which boasts 1,000 competitors hoping for a $5 million grand prize.

Some contestants complained online and to other YouTube influencers that they lacked regular access to food, water and medication during early production at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, and that some competitors were injured during the production.

A spokesperson for MrBeast said his team is reviewing the process and soliciting attendees’ feedback ahead of the next phase of production in Toronto.

The stakes for “Beast Games” aren’t just high for the contestants, but for MrBeast himself, whose real name Jimmy Donaldson, as well as the recipients of his brand of “stunt philanthropy” that often entails direct gifts of cash or even houses. The complaints about the “Beast Games” production coincide with Donaldson’s acknowledgement this week that he used racial and homophobic slurs years ago in recordings he made as a teenager.

The show, which has already been picked up by Amazon Prime Video to air in 240 countries, is part of Donaldson’s cultural expansion beyond YouTube — where his channel has 307 million subscribers, including countless young consumers who already purchase his Feastables line of candy or the burgers that bear his name.

“My goal is to make the greatest show possible and prove YouTubers and creators can succeed on other platforms,” Donaldson said in a March press release from Amazon.

Donaldson’s companies cast 2,000 people to take part in an initial tryout of sorts at Allegiant Stadium in July, with 1,000 of them presumably advancing to the actual show. Amazon Prime Video was not involved and did not respond to a request for comment.

A MrBeast spokesperson said Friday that the promotional video shoot was “unfortunately complicated” by extreme weather, the widespread CrowdStrike outage that wreaked global technological havoc and “other unexpected logistical and communications issues.”

Source: https://apnews.com/article/mrbeast-jimmy-donaldson-philanthropy-amazon-e1c450696dcf0f7f521449294023a2d9

Relatives of the man murdered by a Russian hitman in a Berlin park have voiced disappointment at the killer’s release, reflecting unease in Germany at the moral equation that secured freedom for 16 political prisoners in Russian and Belarusian jails.
Georgian citizen Zelimkhan Khangoshvili, an ethnic Chechen who had taken up arms against the Russian state in the early 1990s but since forsworn the armed Chechen independence struggle, was shot in 2019.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Friday revoked plea deals agreed to earlier this week with the man accused of masterminding the Sept. 11 attacks, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, and two accomplices, who are held at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
The Pentagon said on Wednesday the plea deals had been entered into but did not elaborate on details. A U.S. official said they almost certainly involved guilty pleas in exchange for taking the death penalty off the table.

The U.S. military will deploy additional fighter jets and Navy warships to the Middle East, the Pentagon said on Friday, as Washington seeks to bolster defenses following threats from Iran and its allies Hamas and Hezbollah.
The U.S. is bracing for Iran to make good on its vow to respond to the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh two days ago in Tehran – one in a series of killings of senior figures in the Palestinian militant group as the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza rages.

U.S. journalist Evan Gershkovich and ex-U.S. Marine Paul Whelan returned to the United States on Thursday, hours after being freed from Russian detention in the biggest prisoner exchange between the two countries since the Cold War.
The White House said it negotiated the trade with Russia, Germany and three other countries. The deal, worked on in secrecy for more than a year, involved 24 prisoners – 16 moving from Russia to the West and eight sent back to Russia from the West.

They included Vadim Krasikov, convicted of murdering an exiled dissident in Berlin, the German government said.
U.S. President Joe Biden hailed the deal as “a feat of diplomacy and friendship” and praised Washington’s allies for their “bold and brave decisions.”
Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, buoyed by the occasion, greeted freed Americans Gershkovich, Whelan and journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, as well as Russian dissident and U.S. resident Vladimir Kara-Murza, as they arrived at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, shortly before midnight (0400 GMT).

The president took off his lapel pin and gave it to Whelan as he got off the Bombardier Global 7500 aircraft.
The deal gives the Biden-Harris administration a marquee diplomatic success with the presidential campaign, pitting Harris against Republican former President Donald Trump, barely three months away.
Harris, poised to be the Democratic nominee after Biden dropped out of the race last month, praised his leadership for bringing together the complex prisoner swap, telling reporters on the tarmac it was a testament to American leadership.

Russian President Vladimir Putin met the prisoners returning to Russia on their arrival in Moscow, saying they would be given state awards.
The exchange also represents a victory for Putin, who had indicated he wanted Krasikov back. Their homeland “had not forgotten you for a moment,” he told the returnees to Russia.
Krasikov is a colonel in the Russian FSB security service who was serving a life sentence for murdering an exiled Chechen-Georgian dissident in a Berlin park.
CRITICS FEAR ‘DANGEROUS MESSAGE’
The multi-country deal appeared to be a one-time exchange that does not reset the antagonistic U.S.-Russia relationship, which has deteriorated sharply since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
U.S. deputy national security adviser Jon Finer said Washington-Moscow ties remain “in a very difficult place” despite the swap. “There was no trust involved in this relationship or negotiation,” Finer told broadcaster CNN.
Critics said freeing Russians convicted of serious crimes could encourage more hostage-taking by U.S. foes.
“I remain concerned that continuing to trade innocent Americans for actual Russian criminals held in the U.S. and elsewhere sends a dangerous message to Putin that only encourages further hostage-taking by his regime,” Michael McCaul, the Republican chair of the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee, said in a statement.
Trump, who said he did not have details of the swap, asked whether “murderers, killers, or thugs” were released. “Just curious because we never make good deals, at anything, but especially hostage swaps,” the presidential nominee said on social media.
Also involved in the deal were Belarus, Norway, Poland and Slovenia. Turkey coordinated the exchange.

The Kremlin said in a statement its decision to pardon and free prisoners “was made with the aim of returning Russian citizens detained and imprisoned in foreign countries.”
The last major exchange between the United States and Russia, in 2010, involved 14 prisoners.
The two countries had a high-profile exchange in December 2022, swapping U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner – sentenced to nine years for vape cartridges containing cannabis oil in her luggage – for arms dealer Viktor Bout, who was serving a 25-year sentence.
EMOTIONAL REUNIONS
In the West, the dissidents are seen by governments and activists as wrongfully detained political prisoners. All have, for different reasons, been designated by Moscow as dangerous extremists.
Among the Westerners freed, Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal reporter, was accused of collecting sensitive military information for the CIA, a charge he and the newspaper denied.
The White House posted an emotional two-minute video, opens new tab of the moment the families of the U.S.-bound detainees spoke to their loved ones by phone from the Oval Office.
“This is Momma. Do you hear me? It’s your mom,” Gershkovich’s mother tells her son in the clip, posted on Biden’s social media account on the X platform.
Hours later, Gershkovich scooped her up and lifted her in the air as they met on the tarmac while other family members cheered for joy.
Whelan, the former marine, was serving a 16-year sentence in a Russian penal colony on espionage charges that he denied.

Source: https://www.reuters.com/world/lawyer-ex-us-marine-whelan-jailed-russia-says-she-cannot-confirm-his-whereabouts-2024-07-31/

U.S. basketball player Brittney Griner, who was released from detention in Russia in a prisoner swap in 2022, has welcomed the return of Americans Evan Gershkovich and Paul Whelan in a similar deal on Thursday.
Journalist Gershkovich and former U.S. Marine Whelan were released by Russia as part of the biggest East-West prisoner exchange since the end of the Cold War.
“It’s a great day, great day. I’m head over heels happy for the families right now. Every day that the Americans come home, that’s a victory,” Griner told reporters after playing in Team USA’s win against Belgium at the Olympics in Lille on Thursday.

And just like that, Sarah Jessica Parker and her family took on the 2024 Paris Olympics.

The “Sex and the City” alum posed for a rare family photo with husband Matthew Broderick and all three of their children — son James, 21, and twin daughters Tabitha and Loretta, both 15 — as they all gathered for a Parisian adventure.

Parker, 59, wore an all-white dress and a pair of black sunnies as she held her son’s arm, which was wrapped around her.

Broderick smiled next to one of his daughters while wearing a navy blue jacket and grey shirt. He accessorized the look with a blue hat as the family gathered outside of the stadium, which was branded with the words “Paris 2024” along the outside walls.

The photo, which was shared within a carousel of images on James’ Instagram page, was captioned with the words: “Pretty cool!”

Also among the collection of snaps was a photo of James and his siblings at one of the games. TV personality and restaurateur Guy Fieri also made a surprising cameo in an image as he smiled for a photo with James.

And that wasn’t the only famous face the family ran into while abroad — Jennifer Hudson had a “Sex and the City” reunion with Parker in Paris earlier this week.

Though the couple, who’ve been married since 1997, typically keep their children off of social media, SJP also shared a sweet picture of her twin girls on Instagram last month as they celebrated their 15th birthday.

While giving her followers an inside look at their party, the “And Just Like That” star congratulated her girls on becoming “2 divine 15 year olds.”

Source: https://pagesix.com/2024/08/01/parents/sarah-jessica-parker-and-matthew-broderick-pose-with-all-3-kids-in-rare-family-photo-from-2024-paris-olympics/

Attorneys for former CNN journalist Don Lemon sued Elon Musk and X (formerly known as Twitter), accusing the tech mogul and his social media company of fraud, negligent misrepresentation, misappropriation of Lemon’s name and likeness, and breach of express contract.

Lemon’s attorneys filed the lawsuit Aug. 1 in the Superior Court of California for the County of San Francisco. A copy of the complaint is at this link.

Reps for X did not immediately respond to a request for comment. An autoreply from the company’s PR mailbox said, “Busy now, please check back later.”

The lawsuit comes after Lemon entered into a content partnership deal with Musk and X in January 2024 to host an interview show available exclusively on the X platform. Musk canceled the partnership in March 2024, via text to Lemon’s agent with the words “contract is canceled,” according to the journalist’s lawyers.

Lemon’s lawsuit seeks unspecified monetary damages.

According to the suit, Musk and X agreed to pay Lemon $1.5 million (with $200,000 paid up-front within three business days and the remainder paid in quarterly installments) under the pact.

Per the complaint, the deal also included additional incentives including: the option to renew the one-year deal two times with the same terms, at Lemon’s sole discretion; 60% of the gross ad revenue that X received for programmatic advertising generated from Lemon’s content on X; performance threshold bonus payments (for example, $250,000 for reaching 4 million followers and up to $1 million for reaching 10 million); $500,000 in advertising credits on X; 10% of the net revenue that X received once it exceeded $350,000 for content creators that Lemon referred to X for a period of 48 months; and that all content created by Lemon originating on or distributed on X was wholly owned by Lemon.

Lemon did not have a signed agreement with X. According to the lawsuit, Lemon had a phone call on June 16, 2023, with Musk, who asked Lemon to enter into an exclusive partnership deal with X. Per the suit, “Lemon expressed reservations about entering into a partnership with X due to the ongoing controversies surrounding the X platform. In response, and to induce Lemon to enter into an exclusive partnership deal with X, Musk represented to Lemon that he would have full authority and control over the work he produced even if disliked by Defendants, and that there would be no need for a formal written agreement or to ‘fill out paperwork.’”

Lemon’s attorney Carney Shegerian said in a statement: “This case is straightforward. X executives used Don to prop up their advertising sales pitch, then canceled their partnership and dragged Don’s name through the mud. You don’t have to be a genius to see the fraud, negligence, and reputational damage here. Don is an accomplished and hard-hitting journalist who’s committed to defending his good name and holding X’s executives accountable. We look forward to our day in court.”

Musk — who has more than 192 million followers on X — has “tweeted negatively about Lemon repeatedly” since March 2024, Lemon’s attorneys alleged.

According to Lemon, Musk backed out of the content deal just a few hours after Lemon sat down with the tech mogul for a contentious interview for the new X show. “Elon Musk is mad at me,” Lemon said in a video at the time. Regarding the Musk interview, Lemon said, “Throughout our conversation, I kept reiterating to him that although it was tense at times, I thought it was good for people to see and hear our exchange, and that they would learn from our conversation. … But apparently, free speech absolutism doesn’t apply when it comes to questions about him from people like me.”

Source: https://variety.com/2024/digital/news/don-lemon-sues-elon-musk-x-alleging-fraud-breach-of-contract-1236092743/

J.K. Rowling and Elon Musk are among the high-profile names condemning the Olympics for allowing Algeria’s Imane Khelif to compete in the women’s boxing competition at the Paris 2024 games. Khelif was disqualified from last year’s Women’s World Championships after she failed a gender eligibility test due to elevated levels of testosterone in her system.

At the Paris Olympics, Khelif’s boxing match against Italy’s Angela Carini ended in 46 seconds after Carini decided to bow out of the fight after taking some punches from Khelif. Carini fought back tears as she ended the match and later told the BBC: “It could have been the match of a lifetime, but I had to preserve my life as well in that moment.”

“Could any picture sum up our new men’s rights movement better?” Rowling wrote on X while sharing a picture of Carini in tears and Khelif trying to comfort her after the match was cut short. “The smirk of a male who’s knows he’s protected by a misogynist sporting establishment enjoying the distress of a woman he’s just punched in the head, and whose life’s ambition he’s just shattered.”

Musk shared a post from swimmer Riley Gaines that claimed “men don’t belong in women’s sports.” The X owner co-signed the message by writing: “Absolutely.”

The Olympics has stood by its decision to allow Khelif, who was born female, to compete in the women’s boxing competition, saying: “Everyone competing in the women’s category is complying with the competition eligibility rules. They are women in their passports and it is stated that is the case, that they are female.”

Carini told press that she would not criticize Khelif’s placement in the women’s competition, saying: “I wish her to carry on until the end and that she can be happy. I am someone who doesn’t judge anyone. I am not here to give judgements.”

Khelif’s next boxing match at the Paris Olympics will be against Hungary’s Anna Luca Hamori.

Source: https://variety.com/2024/tv/news/jk-rowling-imane-khelif-olympics-boxer-gender-controversy-angela-carini-1236092812/

Italy, which receives the most migrant arrivals in the European Union, is partially outsourcing the challenge from today, as it opens the first of two planned camps in neighbouring Albania.
Migrants will only start to arrive at the camps once both are open and operational.
The centres will be used to house up to 3000 migrants per month rescued en route to Italy as part of Europe’s first “offshoring” scheme, while the continent grapples with how to respond to the challenge of irregular migration.
The camp that opens today is located in the northern Albanian port of Shengjin. The opening of a second centre, on a former air force base in nearby Gjader, has been delayed.
The structures will be entirely managed by the Italian government, which paid for their construction.
They will be used for migrants picked up in international waters – though not women, children, or those deemed vulnerable.
Once there, they will be allowed to request asylum in Italy. If refused, they will be sent back to countries deemed safe to return.
“Italian and European legislation will be applied in these centres,” Fabrizio Bucci, Italy’s ambassador in Albania, told me. “It’s like having a centre in Italy – but in Albania.”
The agreement signed by the Italian and Albanian Prime Ministers will remain in place for five years – with the option to extend if it proves successful in reducing the migrant burden on Italy and deterring some from attempting to come.
Arrivals in Italy by sea this year – around 31,000 so far – are down by more than half from the same period in 2023.
Giorgia Meloni, the Italian Prime Minister, ran for office promising to clamp down hard on migration – and the Albania plan has become a key tenet of that.
The hefty price tag, estimated at upwards of €650m (£547), is one of the criticisms levelled by Italian opposition politicians and human rights groups.
“It’s an excessive cost to detain a limited number of migrants”, said Riccardo Magi, an MP with the left-wing +Europa party.
When Ms Meloni recently visited the site in Albania, he approached her car to protest – and was grabbed by Albanian security officials. As she intervened, telling them to ease off, he shouted: “If they treat an elected MP like this, imagine how they’ll treat the migrants”.

Speaking to the BBC, he compared the structures to a penal colony.

He also doubted the ability of night-time rescuers to properly screen those picked up to ensure that no vulnerable individuals are sent to Albania.

“They won’t be able to delve deep into whether somebody has suffered torture or sexual violence or discrimination due to their sexuality back in Africa”, Mr Magi said.

“It’s all an attempt at dissuasion and a PR show to tell Italians this is the first time a government can keep migrants out. But nobody who has risked their life to cross to Italy will be discouraged.”

Fabrizio Bucci, the Italian ambassador in Tirana, disagrees. “It’s one of the elements that migrants and smugglers will have to factor in,” he said.

“What do we have to lose? We’ve been trying to redistribute migrants throughout the EU and it hasn’t worked. So why not try to chart a new way?” He refers to it as an experiment that, if successful, could be replicated.

Indeed, 15 EU members, led by Denmark, recently wrote an open letter to the European Commission backing the outsourcing of migration. Sir Keir Starmer praised the Italy-Albania deal after meeting both Prime Ministers.

It has drawn comparison with the plan of the previous Conservative government to deport failed asylum seekers from the United Kingdom to Rwanda – ditched by Mr Starmer.

But the agreements are significantly different.

While Rwanda would have managed the asylum requests and centres under its deal, giving successful claimants asylum there and deporting failed ones to third countries deemed safe by the Rwandan government, the Albania deal will be under Italian jurisdiction.

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c2lke090kgko

The U.S. and Russia on Thursday completed their largest prisoner swap in post-Soviet history, a deal involving 24 people, many months of negotiations and concessions from other European countries who released Russians in their custody as part of the exchange.

Here are some things to know:

Who was freed
The 24 people — some prominent, some not — included a collection of journalists and political dissidents, suspected spies, a computer hacker and a fraudster. Even a man convicted of murder.

Russia released 16 people, including Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and Paul Whelan, a corporate security executive from Michigan. Both were facing long prison sentences after being convicted in Russia’s heavily politicized legal system of espionage charges that the U.S. government called baseless.

Also freed by Moscow was Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, a dual U.S.-Russian citizen convicted in July of spreading false information about the Russian military — accusations her family and employer have rejected — and Vladimir Kara-Murza, a Kremlin critic and Pulitzer Prize-winning writer serving 25 years on charges of treason widely seen as politically motivated.

The most infamous of the eight people Russia got back is Vadim Krasikov, who was convicted in Germany in 2021 of killing a former Chechen rebel in a Berlin park two years earlier, apparently on the orders of Moscow’s security services. It also received two alleged “sleeper” agents who were jailed in Slovenia, three men charged by federal authorities in the U.S. and two men returned from Norway and Poland.

A breakthrough in US-Russia relations?
That’s unlikely.

The U.S. and Russia have reached several prior prisoner swaps during the course of Russia’s war with Ukraine, including a December 2022 trade in which Moscow freed WNBA star Brittney Griner in exchange for notorious arms trafficker Viktor Bout.

But none of those exchanges resulted in a meaningful warming of relations, particularly at a time when Russian President Vladimir Putin has refused to halt his aggression against Ukraine and as Washington continues to send significant military support to Kyiv.

Prisoner exchanges have been a rare source of compromise and an alignment of mutually agreeable interests rather than a reflection of anything broader. Even so, the fact that the countries were able to get the deal done at a time of open hostility is notable.

The Americans left behind
Though Thursday’s deal involves the most well-known of the Americans held in Russia, including two who have been formally designated as wrongfully detained, there are still several others who remain.

That group includes Travis Leake, a musician convicted on drug charges and sentenced to prison; Gordon Black, an American soldier convicted of stealing and making threats of murder; Marc Fogel, a teacher also sentenced on drug charges; and Ksenia Khavana, who was arrested in Yekaterinburg in February on treason charges, accused of collecting money for Ukraine’s military.

Khavana had returned to Russia to visit family. The owner of the spa in California where Khavana had been working previously told The Associated Press that Khavana actually was collecting funds for humanitarian aid.

Source: https://apnews.com/article/russia-gershkovich-whelan-prisoner-swap-354df585ad321ecdbea4c0f2c557f0aa#

British tennis great Sir Andy Murray had already announced this summer’s Olympic Games in Paris would be his last tournament.

Andy Murray has joked he “never even liked tennis anyway” after his professional career ended with defeat in the quarter-finals of the Olympic men’s doubles.

The prime minister has been leading the tributes to the British tennis great who announced prior to this summer’s Games that it would be his last tournament.

Twenty-one years after his first professional match and 19 since he announced his talent to the world at Wimbledon as a teenager, Murray’s hopes of a medal-winning swansong evaporated in a 6-2 6-4 loss to American third seeds Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul.

Murray retires after winning three Grand Slam singles titles, two Olympic gold medals and one Davis Cup during arguably the most competitive era in men’s tennis.

He also achieved a world number one ranking.

He appeared at the Olympics weeks after having back surgery due to an injury he suffered at Queen’s.

Murray said after retiring on Thursday evening: “A few months ago I wasn’t looking forward to it. Generally when you retire it’s a celebration but I love playing tennis so I wasn’t looking forward to that moment.

“But then I had the surgery at Queen’s and at that point I was struggling to walk, it really was an emergency surgery.

“So I’ve been looking forward to the end since then because physically it’s been tough because I’m not able to move around the court and do what I want to do physically and therefore can’t compete at the level that I want to.

“The last year or 18 months I was worried about what I would do after but now I’m just looking forward to the end.”

Reflecting on his achievements, he said: “I’m proud of my career. I worked really really hard to achieve the results I did at a really difficult time to win the major titles. I’m proud. I gave it a good go. How my body has finished up shows I’ve put it through a lot. So I’m looking forward to a rest now.”

He also posted on X: “Never even liked tennis anyway.”

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer listed some of Murray’s career achievements this evening before adding: “But more than that, thanks @andy_murray for two decades of phenomenal entertainment and sportsmanship. A true British great.”

Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney said: “Sir Andy Murray is Scotland’s greatest ever sportsman, and his achievements during one of the toughest eras in tennis history will mark him down as a true sporting legend.”

The Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) has also paid tribute to Murray’s “incredible career” following his retirement, while the Queen’s Club in London has announced centre court will be renamed in his honour from next year.

LTA chief executive Scott Lloyd said: “Andy is the greatest tennis player ever to come from this country and a giant of British sport. His contribution to the game is immense and has bought us all so many moments of pride.”

Carlos Alcaraz, the 2024 Wimbledon champion, wrote on X: “It was a privilege to share the court with you, Andy! Congratulations on a legendary career and for being an example to all. You will always have a fan here!”

Just a few weeks before the Olympics, Murray’s Wimbledon career came to an end after he was first knocked out of the men’s doubles with brother Jamie, and then his mixed partner Emma Raducanu pulled out after suffering a stiff wrist.

In an emotional farewell, Murray said goodbye to Wimbledon on a packed Centre Court with his brother by his side and his family and friends in the stands.

That would have been a fitting way to end his career but Murray, who has always relished team competitions, wanted a final tilt at the Olympics, the stage where he has managed to upstage his big rivals Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic by winning back-to-back singles golds.

Source: https://news.sky.com/story/andy-murray-plays-last-game-of-career-as-tennis-legend-loses-in-doubles-at-olympics-13188844

The teenager, who is from a nearby village in Lancashire, but was born in Cardiff, was arrested on Monday.

A 17-year-old boy, charged with murder and attempted murder after a mass stabbing in Southport, has appeared in court and been named as Axel Rudakubana.

Three children, six-year-old Bebe King, seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe and nine-year-old Alice Dasilva Aguiar, died as a result of the attack at The Hart Space community centre.

A “Taylor Swift Yoga and Dance Workshop” aimed at children aged between primary school years two and six was taking place at the time of the attack in the seaside town, which is north of Liverpool.

Rudakubana, who is from a nearby village in Lancashire, but was born in Cardiff, Wales, was arrested on Monday.

Usually, the defendant, because he is aged under 18, would be granted anonymity.

However, in an “exceptional” decision, Judge Andrew Menary KC did not conceal the identity of Rudakubana – who turns 18 in six days.

The Liverpool judge said that doing so would allow others to “spread misinformation”.

“Whilst I accept it is exceptional given his age, principally because he is 18 in six days time, I do not make an order under section 45,” he said.

He added: “Continuing to prevent the full reporting has the disadvantage of allowing others to spread misinformation, in a vacuum.”

Rudakubana has now been remanded in youth custody, after he was charged with three counts of murder, 10 counts of attempted murder and possession of a knife.

Rudakubana appeared at Liverpool Magistrates’ Court on Thursday morning.

During the 55-minute court hearing, the teenager put his head down inside his grey sweatshirt and at times was seen rocking back and forth and side to side.

Source: https://news.sky.com/story/boy-17-charged-after-three-girls-killed-in-southport-stabbing-attack-13188115

The 50-year-old American woman was found chained to a tree after a shepherd heard her cries. She said her husband had tied her there and “left her to die”.

An American woman found chained to a tree in a forest in India said she had been tied there by her husband and left for “40 days without food”.

Lalita Kayi Kumar, 50, was emaciated and unable to speak when she was found by rescuers in the Sindhudurg district, about 290 miles south of Mumbai.

She wrote a note for hospital staff which said her “husband tied me to a tree in a forest and said I would die there”.

She also said she would need intravenous food and had been given an “injection for extreme psychosis which causes severe locked jaw” and left her unable to drink water.

Photos shared by the rescuers and hospital showed the woman emaciated and covered in dirt.

Ms Kumar was found after a shepherd heard her cries for help and alerted police, the Indian Express reported.

The newspaper quoted local police, who said an attempted murder case had been registered against her former husband and investigators are searching for him.

She referenced her “former husband” in a note found in her bag, police said.

Police said the woman was born in the US but had been living in India for 10 years and her visa had expired.

Source: https://news.sky.com/story/american-woman-found-emaciated-and-left-to-die-chained-to-tree-in-india-13188634

A lawyer for DJ and activist Barbara Butch says her performance as part of the Paris Olympics opening ceremony has led to threats of “death, torture, and rape”.

A French DJ who performed at the Paris Olympics opening ceremony has filed a legal complaint after suffering “an extremely violent campaign” of online abuse.

Barbara Butch has been threatened with “death, torture, and rape, and has also been the target of numerous antisemitic, homophobic, sexist and grossophobic insults [stigma based on body size]”, her lawyer said.

Police in Paris have launched an investigation.

The 43-year-old producer and activist appeared alongside a number of drag queens during a segment that has been compared with the biblical scene of the Last Supper.

In it, Butch wore a silver headdress that looked like a halo.

French Catholic bishops were among those who said that Christians had been offended by the performance, and ex-US president Donald Trump called the opening ceremony “a disgrace”.

The event’s artistic director Thomas Jolly said the segment was not inspired by the Leonardo da Vinci painting showing Jesus Christ and his apostles.

Paris Olympics organisers have said there was “never an intention to show disrespect to any religious group” and the intent was to “celebrate community tolerance”.

The complaint does not name any specific perpetrator or perpetrators of the alleged crimes, “whether committed by French nationals or foreigners”, but said the DJ “intends to prosecute anyone who tries to intimidate her in the future”.

In a message posted on her official Instagram page, Butch said she was “honoured to take part in the Paris 2024 opening ceremony” but the messages she has received “are increasingly extreme”.

‘Increasingly extreme’ messages

Speaking about the complaint, she added: “Although at first I decided not to speak out to let the haters cool down, the messages I receive are increasingly extreme.

“All because I’ve had the honour of representing my country’s diversity through art and music, alongside other artists and performers I admire.

“Whatever some may say, I exist. I’ve never been ashamed of who I am, and I take responsibility for everything – including my artistic choices.

“All my life, I’ve refused to be a victim: I won’t shut up. I’m not afraid of those who hide behind a screen, or a pseudonym, to spew their hatred and frustrations. I will fight them without ever trembling. I’m committed, and I’m proud.”

A statement from Butch’s lawyer, Audrey Msellati, was also posted on Butch’s page.

Source: https://news.sky.com/story/barbara-butch-french-dj-files-complaint-after-paris-olympics-opening-ceremony-sparks-online-abuse-13188794

In an era of heated political discussions, few topics spark as much controversy as voter registration and citizenship requirements. On July 10, 2024, the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation that would require all people to present proof of their U.S. citizenship when they register to vote.

So, what exactly counts as proof of U.S. citizenship, and why has it become such a contentious issue? Let’s dive into the details and unpack this complex topic.

What Counts as Proof of Citizenship?
When it comes to proving you’re a bonafide American citizen, there are several documents that can do the job:

1. U.S. Passport: This little blue book is the gold standard of citizenship proof. It’s accepted everywhere and is hard to fake.
2. Birth Certificate: If you were born on U.S. soil, this document is your ticket to proving citizenship.
3. Certificate of Naturalization: For those who weren’t born citizens but became one later, this official document shows you’ve completed the naturalization process.
4. Certificate of Citizenship: Similar to naturalization, this document is for people who acquired citizenship through their parents.
5. Consular Report of Birth Abroad: American parents who had children while living overseas can use this to prove their kids’ citizenship.

How Easy Is It to Get These Documents?

Now, you might think, “No big deal, I’ll just grab one of these and be on my way.” But it’s not always that simple.

The West yielded a hitman, a convicted hacker, and several alleged Russian spies on Thursday as part of the largest prisoner exchange in modern history — as three imprisoned Americans, including Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, were returned to the United States.

Officials with the US, Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Russia and Belarus met on an airfield tarmac in Ankara, Turkey and swapped at least two dozen people, including Gershkovich and former Marine Paul Whelan.

Meanwhile, eight prisoners detained in the West were sent back to Russia, including three from the US.

These are the prisoners who were released back to Russia.

Vadim Krasikov
Vadim Krasikov, a former high-ranking Federal Security Service (FSS) colonel and professional hitman, was on the top of Moscow’s list and a linchpin to the exchange.

The convicted Russian killer was serving a life sentence in Germany for the assassination of Chechen fighter Zelimkhan “Tornike” Khangoshvili on orders of the Russian government in 2019. He was convicted by a German court in 2021.

The brutal, broad-daylight killing was a political murder ordered by the Russian government, German prosecutors said.

“The Russian Federation will not leave me to rot in jail,” the murderer once told a guard in prison, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Vladislav Klyushin
The US released convicted hacker Vladislav Klyushin, a businessman with ties to the Kremlin who received a nine-year sentence in a US prison for his participation in a $93 million insider-trading scheme.

The plot involved hacking secret earnings information about multiple companies.

Klyushin was part of a group of hackers that downloaded yet-to-be-announced earnings reports for hundreds of companies including Tesla and Microsoft, which he and others used to trade before the news was public, according to prosecutors.

Roman Seleznev
Roman Seleznev, a convicted hacker and credit card fraudster, was also released by the US to Russia.

Seleznev was sentenced to 27 years in an American prison in 2017 for orchestrating a cyberattack on thousands of American businesses, resulting in $169 million in losses.

The hacker infiltrated point-of-sale systems to steal and sell credit card information.

His sentence was the longest ever imposed for hacking in the United States.

Vadim Konoshchenok
Vadim Konoshchenokm, a suspected officer in Russia’s FSS, was extradited to the US from Estonia last year to face charges he smuggled ammunition and dual-use technology to help Moscow’s war in Ukraine.

He was detained in 2022 while trying to return to Russia from Estonia with about three dozen types of semiconductors and electronic components, according to US prosecutors.

Source: https://nypost.com/2024/08/01/world-news/who-the-west-gave-up-in-prisoner-swap-with-russia/

Cardi B has a baby on the way!

The rapper confirmed in a Thursday Instagram post that she is pregnant with her third baby, hours after news broke of her filing for divorce from estranged husband Offset.

She referenced the split in her baby bump debut, writing, “With every ending comes a new beginning! I am so grateful to have shared this season with you, you have brought me more love, more life and most of all renewed my power! Reminded me that I can have it all!”

Cardi continued, “You’ve reminded me that I never have to

choose between life, love, and my passion! I love you so much and can not wait for you to witness what you helped me accomplish, what you pushed me to do!

“It’s so much easier taking life’s twists, turns and test laying down, but you, your brother and your sister have shown me why it’s worth it to push through!” she concluded.

In the glamorous social media upload, the expectant star showed off her budding belly in a plunging red gown and matching coat.

Cardi, 31, sparked pregnancy speculation in June after her stomach strained against a buttoned black blazer onstage at the Inspiration Awards.

Two weeks prior, she covered her belly in a pink sweatsuit while hosting an event.

She and Offset previously welcomed daughter Kulture, 6, and son Wave, 2, in July 2018 and September 2021, respectively.

The Migos member, 32, is also the father of three children from previous romances — Jordan, 14, Kody, 9, and Kalea, 9.

Cardi has been a “blessing” to her stepkids since she wed Offset in September 2017, he gushed to Essence five years later.

“[She’s] open and treats them as if they’re her kids,” he said in the April 2022 interview. “It could be an issue, but I don’t have to go through that, and that’s beautiful.”

One year after the rappers secretly tied the knot, Cardi said they had “[grown] out of love” while announcing their breakup.

By 2019, the duo were back together — only for the Grammy winner to file for divorce in September of the following year.

They kissed and made up the following month but called it quits again in 2023 after accusing each other of cheating.

Source: https://pagesix.com/2024/08/01/parents/cardi-b-pregnant-expecting-third-baby-with-offset-amid-divorce-new-beginning/

The teenager, who is from the nearby village of Banks in Lancashire, but was born in Cardiff, was arrested on Monday and a knife was seized by police.

A 17-year-old boy has been charged with murder and attempted murder after a mass stabbing in Southport.

Three children, six-year-old Bebe King, seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe and nine-year-old Alice Dasilva Aguiar, died as a result of the attack at The Hart Space community centre.

A “Taylor Swift Yoga and Dance Workshop” aimed at children aged between primary school years two and six (seven to 11 years old) was taking place at the time of the attack in the seaside town, which is north of Liverpool.

The suspect, who is from the nearby village of Banks in Lancashire, but was born in Cardiff, Wales, was arrested on Monday.

He has been charged with three counts of murder, 10 counts of attempted murder and possession of a knife.

He will appear at Liverpool City Magistrates Court this morning.

Sarah Hammond, chief crown prosecutor for Mersey-Cheshire, said: “We remind all concerned that criminal proceedings against the defendant are active and that he has the right to a fair trial.

“It is extremely important that there should be no reporting, commentary, or sharing of information online which could in any way prejudice these proceedings.

“Our thoughts remain with the families of all of those affected by these harrowing events.”

Eight other children suffered stab wounds in the attack, and five of them remain in a critical condition.

Two adults – including one of the organisers of the event – are also in critical condition after being injured.

Riot police clash with protesters

More than 100 people were arrested in London on Wednesday night as a violent protest broke out in the wake of the Southport attack.

Flares were thrown towards the gates of Downing Street and some among the crowd threw cans and glass bottles.

Protesters later tried to kick down a fence as they were confronted by riot police.

Those arrested were detained for offences including violent disorder, assault on an emergency worker and breach of protest conditions, the Metropolitan Police said.

Some officers sustained minor injuries, it added.

Some among the crowd were heard shouting the name of far-right activist Tommy Robinson, while others shouted “Rule Britannia”, “save our kids” and “stop the boats”.

Protesters were penned in around the Cenotaph war memorial by officers attempting to control the disorder.

Police car set on fire in Hartlepool

Meanwhile, eight people have been arrested after protests broke out in Hartlepool on Wednesday night.

People have been detained for various offences after protesters threw missiles, glass bottles and eggs at officers, police said. Several officers sustained minor injuries as a result.

Families of the 9/11 victims are yet to get justice over the 2001 attacks due to the prosecution of the defendants being delayed by questions over whether their torture at the hands of the CIA had contaminated the evidence against them.

The man accused of being the mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks and his two co-defendants have agreed to plead guilty, say US officials.

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Walid bin Attash and Mustafa al-Hawsawi are expected to enter the pleas at the military commission at Guantanamo Bay as soon as next week.

According to prosecutors quoted by the New York Times (NYT), the three defendants have agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy charges in exchange for a life sentence instead of facing a death penalty trial at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

The defendants have been in US custody since 2003.

Nearly 3,000 people were killed in the 9/11 attacks which saw suicide attackers hijacking planes and flying them into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York, the Pentagon HQ in Washington and crashing one in a Pennsylvania field.

Reports of a deal came through a letter sent to the families of the victims and signed by Rear Adm. Aaron C. Rugh, the chief prosecutor for military commissions, and three lawyers on his team, the NYT reports.

“In exchange for the removal of the death penalty as a possible punishment, these three accused have agreed to plead guilty to all of the charged offenses, including the murder of the 2,976 people listed in the charge sheet,” the letter reads.

It was reported last year that Mohammed, the suspected main conspirator of the worst terror attack in American history, would potentially manage to escape the death penalty thanks to a new plea deal.

Families of the 9/11 victims are yet to get justice over the 2001 attacks due to the prosecution of the defendants being delayed by questions over whether their torture at the hands of the CIA had contaminated the evidence against them.

Source: https://news.sky.com/story/three-men-accused-of-plotting-911-attacks-agree-to-plead-guilty-13188436

Nicolas Cage’s son, Weston, pleaded not guilty to charges of assault with a deadly weapon stemming from an alleged altercation with his mother, Christina Fulton.

The estranged mother-son duo was seen arriving at a Los Angeles courthouse on Wednesday, where Weston declared his not guilty plea.

While on her way into the hearing, Fulton declined to comment on the state of their relationship but insisted she wants her son to “get the help he needs.”

After learning about his mom’s comments, Weston flipped the script, telling TMZ photographers that “she needs help.”

The 33-year-old was arrested earlier this month after Fulton, 57, alleged that he assaulted her in April. It’s unclear why the charges were delayed.

The Los Angeles Police Department told People they responded to a call at Fulton’s home after the mixed martial artist allegedly “punched two victims multiple times.” The second alleged victim has not been identified.

Weston reportedly fled the scene before police arrived, per TMZ.

A police report was completed that day and the case was presented to the district attorney’s office on May 10 — a few days after the “Hard Drive” actress was seen out with a black eye and several facial bruises.

The DA officially filed two counts of assault with a deadly weapon against Weston on June 26 and he was taken into custody soon after.

After her son’s arrest, Fulton spoke out about the alleged incident, claiming her son was suffering from a mental health crisis when he allegedly turned on her.

“On April 28th, 2024, around 5:30 p.m., I received urgent messages from friends of my son, Weston Cage, regarding his deteriorating mental state, urging me to come help,” she said in a statement.

“When I arrived to offer support and console him, he was already in the midst of a manic rage,” she alleged. “Within minutes, I was brutally assaulted and sustained serious injuries.”

Source: https://pagesix.com/2024/07/31/parents/nicolas-cages-son-pleads-not-guilty-to-assaulting-mom-claims-she-needs-help/

With a massive social media following, Ella Emhoff could be Kamala Harris’s key to younger voters. Here’s what you need to know about the art, activism and aesthetics of the 25-year-old who calls the vice president “Momala”.

A model, knitter and art-school graduate, Ella Emhoff calls Kamala Harris “Momala” and has more than 340,000 Instagram followers.

The 25-year-old step-daughter of the sole Democratic presidential nominee took the spotlight when she hit back at JD Vance’s comments about Ms Harris being a “childless cat lady”.

The remarks from 2021 about Democrats being “a bunch of childless cat ladies… miserable at their own lives and the choices that they’ve made” resurfaced as Ms Harris took to the campaign trail.

Ella quickly waded in, posting on Instagram: “How can you be ‘childless’ when you have cutie pie kids like Cole and I?”

Cole, 29, and Ella, 25, are the children of second gentleman Doug Emhoff, who was previously married to film producer Kerstin Emhoff.

Ella shared these comments, praising her mum for speaking out and adding: “I love my three parents.”

In a 2021 New York Times interview, she called her mum, dad and stepmother a “three-person parenting squad”.

They were supportive even when they didn’t understand her interests, she said: “With hair and tattoos and things like that, I think they’re all in the realm of like, ‘I don’t understand it, but I want you to be who you want to be’.”

Her outfit at Joe Biden’s inauguration was perhaps the first time it was clear Ella was not cut from the same cloth as other politicians’ offspring.

She sent social media into a spin with her jewel-encrusted Miu Miu coat, oversized collar and dress designed for her by Batsheva Hay (the pair have since collaborated on a knitwear collection).

Venice is struggling with the effects of “overtourism”. Around 4.9 million visitors reportedly descended on the city centre – which is home to 50,000 people – in 2023.

Venice will limit the size of tourist groups to 25 people in its latest attempt to reduce the impact of crowds in the visitor hotspot.

The measure was originally planned to come into effect from June but was delayed and will now be in force from Thursday 1 August.

Local authorities in the Italian canal city will also ban the use of loudspeakers by tourist guides in measures aimed at “protecting the peace of residents” and ensuring pedestrians can move around more freely.

Venice is struggling with the impacts of “overtourism” – when the number of visitors to an area worsens the experience of being there for locals or other tourists.

There were around 50,000 people living in the historic city centre in 2023 when there were around 4.9 million tourist arrivals, according to the data gathering website Statista.

There will be fines ranging from €25 to €500 euros (£21 to £421) for those who do not comply with the new measures.

The restrictions cover the city centre as well as the islands of Murano, Burano and Torcello.

There are a number of exemptions to the rules on tourist parties.

Children up to two years of age are not included in the count and the limitation is waived for visiting students or those on an educational trip.

In April, Venice became the first city in the world to introduce a payment system for visitors in an experiment aimed
at dissuading daytrippers from arriving during peak periods.

The pilot scheme, which has been watched closely by other European tourist hotspots, ran for 29 days and ended this month, opening the way for a period of consultation to decide how to proceed with the project in future.

The city has indicated it is planning to double the tax, saying the €5 (£4.20) charge was paid 485,062 times during the pilot scheme, generating around €2.4m (£2m).

Source: https://news.sky.com/story/venice-to-limit-size-of-tour-groups-from-this-week-in-tourism-crackdown-13188194

It appears MyKayla Skinner couldn’t stand the heat, so she got out of the kitchen.

Amid a feud with history-making gymnast Simone Biles — who, along with her fellow Team USA members, won gold during Tuesday’s women’s all-around gymnastics final at the 2024 Paris Olympics — Skinner blocked her former teammate on social media.

“oop I’ve been blocked 👀🤭😂,” Biles, 27, posted on X Wednesday.

Her teammate Jordan Chiles took the online banter a step further by sharing to her Instagram Story a photo of Biles’ phone showing that she could not view Skinner’s Instagram account.

“When she blocks Simone,” Chiles, 23, wrote atop the image.

After the ladies’ win, Biles captioned a celebratory picture featuring herself, Chiles, Sunisa “Suni” Lee, Jade Carey and Hezly Rivera, “lack of talent, lazy, olympic champions ❤️🥇🇺🇸.”

The caption was a callback to Skinner’s shady comments about the team from earlier this month.

“Besides Simone, I feel like the talent and the depth just isn’t like what it used to be,” Skinner — who retired after winning silver at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics — said in a since-deleted YouTube video.

“Just notice, like, I mean, obviously a lot of girls don’t work as hard. The girls just don’t have the work ethic.”

Skinner, 27, eventually retracted her remarks and apologized, even going on to post a photo of the victorious Team USA to her Instagram Story alongside three red heart emojis.

But Biles’ teammates are on her side, with many adding fuel to the fire.

“And that’s on periodt!!” Chiles commented beneath the cheeky upload, while Lee, 21, reposted the picture to her Instagram Story and added, “Put a finger down if simone biles just ended you 🖐🏼.”

Source: https://pagesix.com/2024/07/31/entertainment/simone-biles-reveals-mykayla-skinner-blocked-her-on-social-media-after-gymnastics-shade/

From today, it is now a criminal offence to own a XL bully without an exemption certificate or having applied for one.

Scotland’s XL bully dog safeguards have fully come into force.

It is now a criminal offence to own the breed without an exemption certificate or having applied for one.

The Scottish government introduced the new rules in two phases, with XL bully dog owners previously having to keep their pet on a lead and muzzled when out in public.

Those that are convicted of breaching the safeguards could face up to six months in prison and/or a fine of up to £5,000.

Scotland’s XL bully rules:
• The dogs must be kept on a lead and muzzled when out in public.
• Selling, breeding, abandoning or giving them away is illegal.
• Owners will have to apply and pay a £92.40 fee for their dog to be added to the exemption index. Applicants must obtain third party insurance, microchip their pet, and commit to having their dog neutered.

Those who use a free charity service to euthanise their pet can only claim £100.

Claims can be made up to 30 September, but the appointment details must have been arranged with a vet ahead of the 31 July deadline.

The second phase of the rules came into force on Thursday.

Holyrood is replicating regulations introduced by Westminster, which were implemented in England and Wales following a spate of attacks in which people died or were injured by the breed.

The Scottish government said the regulations were being introduced north of the border after the UK government’s controls reportedly “created an unacceptable risk of dogs being moved to Scotland from England and Wales”.

A Scottish government spokesperson said: “The scheme is necessary to allow for XL bully owners to legally keep their dogs in the long term, while agreeing to adhere to the necessary safeguards that will help reduce any risks to public safety.”

XL bully owner Lauren Ballantyne, from Fife, said responsible owners will comply with the regulations, but feels they are unfair on the breed.

The mum-of-two, who cares for XL bully Soprano alongside four other French bulldogs, said July had been a struggle financially.

As well as paying for Soprano’s exemption certificate, she also had to fork out for two birthdays, an MOT and two new tyres.

She said: “What a month, but I’m glad it’s done. If people love their dogs that much, they would have sorted out the exemption and insurance.”

Ms Ballantyne is opposed to a ban on dog breeds and instead believes irresponsible ownership and low-welfare breeding practices are to blame.

She added: “The insurance has been a nightmare. My Soprano has been attacked three times by other dogs since the ban first started coming into force.

“One left my boy with puncture wounds that caused him to get a bacterial infection due to the other dog’s tooth. Soprano was left defenceless due to having to wear a muzzle.

“All the other dog’s owner said was, ‘oh, sorry about that’. If that was my dog, he would have been shot dead.”

Source: https://news.sky.com/story/exemption-certificate-deadline-passes-as-scotlands-xl-bully-safeguards-now-in-full-force-13187960

After almost three hours sitting on the sidelines, Stephen Nedoroscik pulled off his glasses, strode up to the pommel horse and delivered a knock-out routine – and the internet went wild.

A Team USA gymnast dubbed the “Clark Kent of the pommel horse” and “pommel horse guy” is vying for a place as the internet’s favourite Olympian.

Stephen Nedoroscik qualified for the Olympic team solely on the strength of his pommel horse routine and helped the men’s gymnastics team secure their first medal in 16 years.

But before the 25-year-old got on the pommel, he spent nearly three hours sitting on the sidelines – where he captured the hearts of viewers.

After his routine – for which he whipped off his glasses – he was quickly labelled “Mr Pommel Horse” on social media.

His girlfriend Tess McCracken told Sky News’ US partner NBC News she has been loving the memes.

As well as comparing him to Clark Kent, superman’s bespectacled alter-ego, people have joked his job is “pommel horse” – a nod to the Barbie movie, in which Ken’s job is described as “beach” – and called him the team’s “babygirl” (a term that can variously mean cute, brooding or an antihero).

“Blowing up on the internet has been such an unexpected side effect of this whole adventure,” Ms McCracken told NBC News.

Nedoroscik told NBC’s Today Show he thought the Clark Kent comments were “an awesome comparison”.

“I will definitely take that. In a way, it is kind of like that. You know, I’m a goofy guy with the glasses on, but as soon as I take them off, I’m locked in. I’m ready to go.”

Source: https://news.sky.com/story/us-gymnast-stephen-nedoroscik-goes-viral-as-pommel-horse-guy-at-paris-olympics-13187927

The veteran broadcaster, 62, had 41 indecent images on WhatsApp, including seven of the most serious type.

Former BBC newsreader Huw Edwards has pleaded guilty to making indecent images of children.

The 62-year-old, who was surrounded by photographers as he arrived at Westminster Magistrates’ Court wearing a dark blue suit, blue tie, and dark sunglasses, admitted committing three offences between December 2020 and August 2021.

Stood in the dock he looked slightly shocked when the first charge was put to him before pleading guilty.

He had 41 photographs – seven category A images, 12 category B pictures, and 22 category C – on the messaging app WhatsApp.

But there were two moving images of a young child, possibly aged between seven and nine years old, according to prosecutors.

WhatsApp chat

The court heard that Edwards had been involved in an online chat with an adult man on WhatsApp between December 2020 and April 2022.

The man sent Edwards 377 sexual images, of which 41 were indecent images of children. The bulk of these – 36 images – were sent during a two-month period.

The final indecent image was sent in August 2021, a category A film featuring a young boy.

The man told Edwards the boy looked quite young, and that he had more images which were illegal.

He asked whether those featured in the images he was sending were too young, in response to which Edwards told him not to send anything illegal, the court heard.

No more were sent, and the pair continued to exchange legal pornographic images until April 2022.

Edwards’ defence lawyer Philip Evans KC said there was no suggestion the former newsreader had made or created any of the images and that the images were only in his WhatsApp.

He said Edwards, who was arrested in November last year and charged on 26 June, did not keep or send images and did not solicit images from anywhere else.

“There’s no suggestion in this case that Mr Edwards has… in the traditional sense of the word, created any image of any sort,” he said.

“It is important also to remember for context that devices, Mr Edwards’ devices, have been seized, have been searched, and there’s nothing in those devices.

“It is only the images that are the subject of the charges that came via a WhatsApp chat.

“Mr Edwards did not keep any images, did not send any to anyone else, and did not and has not sought similar images from anywhere else.”

As Edwards left the central London court, protesters outside shouted “repent”.

An NSPCC spokesperson said: “Online child sexual abuse offences can have a devastating impact on victims and we should be in no doubt about the seriousness of Edwards’ crimes.”

The Internet Watch Foundation said “this is criminal material” for which “there can be no excuse”.

What does ‘making’ images mean?

According to the CPS, the term “making” can include opening, accessing, downloading and storing the content, or receiving an image via social media, even if unsolicited and even if part of a group.

Category A images are the most serious and include penetrative sexual activity and sexual activity with an animal or sadism, while category B images involve non-penetrative sexual activity.

Category C means the images do not fall into categories A or B and do not depict any sexual activity.

Source: https://news.sky.com/story/huw-edwards-set-to-appear-in-court-after-being-charged-with-making-indecent-images-of-children-13187776

U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump falsely suggested to the country’s largest annual gathering of Black journalists on Wednesday that his Democratic rival Kamala Harris had previously downplayed her Black heritage.
“She was always of Indian heritage, and she was only promoting Indian heritage. I didn’t know she was Black, until a number of years ago, when she happened to turn Black, and now she wants to be known as Black,” Trump said, drawing a smattering of jeers from an audience of about 1,000 people.

Hours after Trump’s comments, Harris told members of the historically Black sorority Sigma Gamma Rho gathered in Houston that his remarks were “yet another reminder” of what the four years under the former president looked like.
“It was the same old show of divisiveness and disrespect,” Harris said. “The American people deserve better.”
Since launching her White House campaign earlier this month, Harris has faced a barrage of sexist and racist attacks online, with some far-right accounts questioning her racial identity. Republican Party leaders have urged lawmakers to refrain from personal attacks and focus on her policy positions.Trump himself has used personal insults against Harris and said he was going to ignore advice that he tone down his rhetoric. “I’m not gonna be nice!” he told supporters at one campaign rally.
‘BLACK JOBS’
The interview at the National Association of Black Journalists’ convention in Chicago started on a tense note, when ABC News reporter Rachel Scott – one of three Black women moderators – listed a series of racist comments Trump had made and asked why Black voters should support him.
In response, Trump called the question “horrible,” “hostile” and a “disgrace” and described ABC as a “fake” network.
“I have been the best president for the Black population since Abraham Lincoln,” he boasted, drawing groans from the audience.
Trump repeated a line from the presidential debate in June, claiming that migrants crossing the U.S. southern border would take away “Black jobs,” a term that drew criticism from some Black leaders.
“What exactly is a ‘Black job,’ sir?” Scott asked him.
“A Black job is anybody with a job,” Trump replied.
Trump also declined to say whether Harris was a “DEI hire,” as some fellow Republicans have claimed, saying, “I don’t know.”

DEI stands for “diversity, equity and inclusion” initiatives aimed at increasing representation of women and people of color in the workforce to address longstanding inequities and discrimination. The term “DEI hire” is used to suggest a person is not qualified and was chosen on the basis of race or gender.
When asked about his position on granting police officers immunity following the death of Sonya Massey, a Black woman who was killed in her own home by a sheriff’s deputy in Illinois, Trump acknowledged he didn’t know much about the case – drawing some gasps from the crowd – before adding that “it didn’t look good to me.”
The interview began more than an hour late, which the Trump campaign said was due to problems with the event’s audio equipment. Both Trump and the moderators were sometimes unable to hear each other during the interview.
The session, originally scheduled for an hour, ended abruptly after about 35 minutes when the campaign said he was out of time, according to the moderators.
At a rally in Pennsylvania later on Wednesday, Trump did not mention his comments about Harris’ racial identity, but the arena’s screens showed old news articles highlighting her Indian-American background, and not her Black heritage, before he took the stage.
Trump blamed Harris for a surge in immigration during the Biden administration and claimed she would ban fracking, playing a video that showed her endorsing such a ban during her failed presidential bid in 2019. Her campaign recently said she would not ban fracking if she wins the White House.
COURTING BLACK VOTERS
Whit Ayres, a Republican strategist, said Trump’s questioning of Harris’ racial background was “not a wise move.”
“There are plenty of policy issues he can go after her on without going after her identity,” he said.
In the 2020 census, 33.8 million Americans self-identified as multiracial, up from nine million in 2010.
The invitation to Trump to attend the event triggered a backlash among some members of the NABJ and prompted a co-chair of the convention to step down in protest this week.

Source: https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-sitdown-black-journalists-convention-sparks-backlash-2024-07-31/

Dozens of staff at the Singapore office of TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, have been hospitalised in an apparent food poisoning outbreak.
Health and food safety officials in the city state are investigating the incident, which left 60 people with symptoms of gastroenteritis on Tuesday. Fifty-seven of them were treated in hospital.
ByteDance has also said it is looking into what caused its employees to fall ill.
The BBC understands that no food is prepared or cooked at the ByteDance offices and that it uses third party caterers to supply food.

Seventeen ambulances were sent to the building in Singapore’s business district to treat those who had fallen ill, according to local media reports.

“We take the health and safety of our employees very seriously and have taken immediate steps to support all affected employees, including working with emergency services to provide care,” a ByteDance spokesperson told the BBC.

“We are investigating the matter and are working with the relevant authorities on this.”

“Food operators must play their part by adhering to good food safety practices” said the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) in a joint statement with the city-state’s Ministry of Health.

“SFA will not hesitate to take enforcement action against errant food operators,” the statement added.

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cw9yzyvyex7o

Babies with peanut allergies in Australia will be offered treatment to build immunity to the potentially life-threatening condition, under a world-first program.
Supervised by select paediatric hospitals, eligible babies will be given gradually increasing doses of peanut powder each day for at least two years, to reduce sensitivity.
Oral immunotherapy has been available in clinical trials and some specialist allergy centres around the globe, but this is the first time it has ever been adopted as a national model of care for peanut allergies.
Australia is often dubbed the “allergy capital of the world”, with one in 10 infants diagnosed with food sensitivities.Peanut allergy affects about 3% of Australians at 12 months old and – unlike other food allergies – few children outgrow it, making it the most common food allergy among school-aged children.
“[This] might be the game changer we have all wanted to stop this terrible allergy in its tracks,” Assistant Minister for Health Ged Kearney said.
The free program is only available to children under 12 months who have already been diagnosed with a peanut allergy and are receiving care at one of ten participating hospitals across the country.
The dosing schedule will be carefully calculated for each child, until they reach a “maintenance dose” which they will remain on for two years, program lead Tim Brettig told the BBC.
Some children may experience side effects including an allergic reaction, but for most children in this age group they are mild and do not require treatment, he said.
The aim is to raise their tolerance threshold and lower the risk – and anxiety – posed by exposure to peanuts, with results measured by a food allergy test at the end of the treatment.
“In some cases, [the threshold] might be so high that they can eat peanut in their diet freely, for others it might raise it to a level where accidental exposures wouldn’t result in an allergic reaction.”

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0xj3xq5l1vo

The victims, who were on board the helicopter when it crashed into a farm building, were both men aged in their 40s. One was from Ireland and the other is understood to be from eastern Europe.

Two people have been killed after a helicopter crashed into a farm building in Ireland.

Police said the victims were both men aged in their 40s.

The crash happened at 3.30pm on Tuesday at a rural farm near Killucan in Co Westmeath and emergency services have been at the scene.

One of the victims was from Ireland and the other is understood to be from eastern Europe, police added.

Both were on board the helicopter when it crashed into a piggery building.

They were pronounced dead at the scene and their bodies have now been taken to Regional Hospital Mullingar where post-mortem examinations will be arranged.

The piggery building is close to pitches used by Raharney GAA club.

The Irish Air Accident Investigation Unit has sent a team of inspectors to the site of the single-engine helicopter crash.

Ireland’s prime minister Simon Harris has expressed his concern about the incident.

“Thinking of all those involved in the Westmeath helicopter crash,” he posted on X.

He added: “My thoughts & gratitude are also with all the emergency services working to help at this time.”

Source: https://news.sky.com/story/two-people-killed-after-helicopter-crashes-into-building-in-ireland-13187595

British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) has issued some tips about what to do if you find a stranded whale, dolphin or porpoise on a beach.

Members of the public have helped save the lives of three dolphins after the mammals washed ashore at a bay in Orkney.

British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) said the local residents sprang into action over the weekend and “did an incredible job” of administering first aid until medics arrived from the mainland.

The charity also thanked RNLI Kirkwall, Westray Coastguard team, and the experts who took “the time to help these wonderful animals in their time of need”.

The trio of Risso’s dolphins were successfully refloated back into the sea.

A BDMLR spokesperson told Sky News: “As far as we are aware, the dolphins haven’t stranded again anywhere.”

What to do if you find a stranded whale, dolphin or porpoise on a beach:

• Do not put them back into the sea. They may need treatment or a period of recovery before they are fit enough to swim strongly. They may be too ill and any attempts to return them to the water could prolong their suffering.

Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, were fatally stabbed in the Merseyside town on Monday.

Thousands of people gathered at a vigil to pay tribute to three girls killed in a knife attack at a Taylor Swift-themed holiday club in Southport.

Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, were fatally stabbed in the Merseyside town on Monday.

Bebe and Elsie died on Monday night while Alice died in hospital on Tuesday morning.

Many taking part in a vigil on Tuesday evening cried as they laid flowers and cards of remembrance outside Southport’s Atkinson arts venue.

But there were violent scenes in the town later on in the evening as police officers were injured after clashing with rioters outside a Southport mosque.

Parents pay tribute to ‘our princess’

In a statement shared after the three girls who were killed were named, Bebe’s family said: “No words can describe the devastation that has hit our family as we try to deal with the loss of our little girl Bebe.”

The family of Alice said: “Keep smiling and dancing like you love to do our princess, like we said before to you, you’re always our princess and no one would change that.

“Love from Your Hero Daddy and Mummy.”

The head of the school trust Alice and Bebe attended said the girls “will be in our hearts forever”.

Endeavour Learning Trust chief executive David Clayton said “no words can do justice to what has happened here in Southport”, as he paid tribute to Alice, a year 4 pupil at Churchtown Primary School, and former pupil Bebe.

The headteacher at Bebe’s school, Natasha Sandland, said “words cannot do justice to describe the grief” and described her as one of Marshside Primary’s “brightest and most wonderful shining stars”.

Farnborough Road Infant School headteacher Jennifer Sephton said the school was “heartbroken and devastated” by the death of their pupil Elsie.

Hours earlier, US pop superstar Taylor Swift said she was at a “complete loss” as to how to convey her sympathies to the families affected by the tragedy after it emerged the children were killed at an event themed around her music.

Five other children are still in a critical condition in hospital, while the exact conditions of three other children injured are not known – but they are all being treated in hospitals across Liverpool and Manchester.

Meanwhile, two adults who were critically injured in the attack have been named locally as yoga teacher Leanne Lucas, who co-organised the dance event for six to 11-year-olds, and John Hayes, who works at the Hart Space where the stabbings took place.

A 17-year-old boy from Banks in Lancashire was arrested and is being held on suspicion of murder and attempted murder following the stabbings on Hart Street.

A window cleaner told Sky News he “locked eyes” with the attacker when he entered the Hart Space after a colleague noticed an incident was unfolding outside the premises.

Vice President Kamala Harris will hold her first rally with her new vice presidential nominee on Tuesday Aug. 6 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, launching a four day battleground tour that includes Michigan and Arizona, the campaign said.
The location of the first stop suggests Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro has moved to the top of a short list of running mates, and that the Harris campaign had decided the state that Democrats won back from Republicans in 2020 is a must-win once again.

Former South African president Jacob Zuma has been expelled from the African National Congress after backing a rival party in May’s parliamentary election, the ANC said on Monday.
Zuma was suspended from his long-time party in January after announcing he would support the new uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK) in the general election. He later became the leader and face of MK.
MK did better than expected in the poll and won about 15% of the vote, a major factor in the ANC’s loss of its majority for the first time since the apartheid era.

The ANC won 40.18% of the vote in the election, down from 57.50% it gathered in 2019, forcing it into a coalition government for the first time since it took power at the end of white minority rule in 1994. MK is now the official opposition.

MK responded to media reports that Zuma had been expelled in a statement earlier on Monday, criticizing the ANC’s process and condemning “grave injustices” against Zuma.

“President Zuma will engage his legal team to urgently determine the course of action,” it said.

Zuma will have 21 days to appeal the decision, the ANC said.

Zuma, whose nine years in office from 2009 were marked by corruption scandals and sluggish economic growth, has been at odds with the ANC’s leadership since he was forced to quit as party leader in 2018. He has repeatedly lashed out against his successor, President Cyril Ramaphosa.

Source: https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/south-africas-anc-expels-former-president-zuma-party-2024-07-29/

Edwards was the BBC’s highest-paid newsreader when he resigned in April after being off air since last summer.

Former BBC newsreader Huw Edwards has been charged with three counts of making indecent images of children, the Metropolitan Police has said.

Edwards, 62, was one of the BBC’s highest profile presenters before he resigned in April on medical advice after he made the front pages of newspapers accused of paying a 17-year-old for indecent images.

At the time police found no evidence of criminal behaviour.

Edwards had been off air since last summer before his resignation.

Edwards was the BBC’s highest-earning newsreader and had been with the corporation for 40 years.

Police have said his alleged offences took place between December 2020 and April 2022 and relate to images shared in a WhatsApp chat.

He is accused of having six category A images, 12 category B images and 19 category C images on his WhatsApp.

Source: https://news.sky.com/story/huw-edwards-charged-with-making-indecent-images-of-children-13186935

A tax to crack down on the world’s elite, who currently pay less tax than the poor, has been agreed by each member of the G20, but ways to get it off the ground remain controversial.

For the first time, finance leaders from every G20 country have agreed to tax the world’s billionaires.

Treasury ministers and central bankers from the group of 20 major economies agreed to reference fair taxation of “ultra-high-net-worth individuals” in joint statements after meetings in Brazil.

But an agreement to team up on taxing the world’s richest families papered over disagreements about how to do it, raising fears about how viable the plan is.

Even so, campaigners at Oxfam International hailed the agreement as a significant step forward.

Its tax policy lead Susana Ruiz said: “This is serious global progress – for the first time in history, the world’s largest economies have agreed to cooperate to tax the ultra-rich.

She added: “Governments have for too long been complicit in helping the ultra-rich pay little or zero tax. Massive fortunes afford the world’s ultra-rich outsized influence and power, which they wield to shield, stash and supersize their wealth, undercutting democracy and widening inequality.”

Billionaires currently pay the equivalent of 0.3% of their wealth in taxes, according to a report by Gabriel Zucman, commissioned by Brazil, host of this year’s G20 meetings, culminating in the leaders’ summit in November.

The report said a 2% tax could raise $250bn (£200bn) per year globally from about 3,000 individuals: cash that could fund public services like education, healthcare and the fight against climate change.

Brazil’s finance minister Fernando Haddad said the world has a problem of “progressive taxation on the poor and not on the rich”.

He added: “The poorer you are, the more tax you pay. This is almost a rule.”

Global warming is caused mostly by the burning of fossil fuels by rich countries like the UK, EU and US, but its impacts are disproportionately hitting developing nations like Burundi, Somalia and Mozambique.

Campaigners say billionaires’ polluting lifestyles of private jets and superyachts contribute an outsized proportion to the climate crisis.

Brazil, which is spearheading the proposed tax, has put tackling poverty and climate change at the heart of its presidency of this year’s G20 meetings, and of its hosting of the annual United Nations climate summit, COP30, in 2025.

The Amazon nation and giant of the developing world is itself battling the causes and impacts of climate change like deforestation and drought.

But the proposal has created a rift among the group of 20 large economies.

France, Spain and South Africa have expressed support, while the US is resisting it.

How would a billionaire tax work?

All agreed in a joint communique on Friday to “engage cooperatively to ensure that ultra-high-net-worth individuals are effectively taxed”.

But another row is rumbling over who would oversee the process.

The US backs the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) as host, but campaigners say that the club of mostly rich countries could not be trusted for the task. Instead, they want the broader and more inclusive United Nations to manage it.

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said: “We don’t want to see this shifted to the UN.”

She added the OECD is “consensus-based organisation. We’ve made a huge amount of progress, and the UN doesn’t have the technical expertise to do this”.

Source: https://news.sky.com/story/serious-global-progress-g20-countries-agree-to-targeted-tax-on-super-rich-in-theory-13186697

Merseyside Police said two adults who were “bravely trying to protect the children” were also stabbed and are in a critical condition – with a 17-year-old boy in custody after being arrested on suspicion of murder and attempted murder.

Two children have been killed and nine others are injured after a knife attack in Southport, north of Liverpool.

Warning: This article contains descriptions some readers may find distressing.

All of the nine children who were injured were stabbed and six are in a critical condition.

Two adults are also in a critical condition. Merseyside Police Chief Constable Serena Kennedy said: “We believe that the adults who were injured were bravely trying to protect the children who were being attacked.”

The King and Queen are among those who have sent their “deepest sympathies” to the families of those affected.

A 17-year-old boy from Banks in Lancashire, born in Cardiff in Wales, has been arrested on suspicion of murder and attempted murder.

Police were called to reports of a knife attack at an address in Southport at 11.47am on Monday morning.

Chief Constable Kennedy said when officers arrived they were “shocked to find” several children had been “subjected to a ferocious attack and had suffered serious injuries”.

She added: “It is understood that the children were attending a Taylor Swift event at a dance school when the offender, armed with a knife, walked into the premises and started to attack the children inside.”

The chief constable said the suspect’s motive is unclear at this early stage but the investigation is not being treated as terror-related.

Paramedics encounter ‘devastating scene’

Sky News understands the stabbings took place at a community centre called Hart Space, often used for mother and baby classes, on Hart Street in the Merseyside town.

A poster shows a “Taylor Swift Yoga and Dance Workshop” aimed at children aged between primary school years two and six (7-11 years old) was taking place at the centre at the time of the attack.

Specialist officers are supporting the families of the children who were killed and those who were injured, Chief Constable Kennedy has said.

Two children have been killed and nine injured, six critically, in a “ferocious” knife attack at a children’s dance workshop.
Two adults are also in a critical condition after being stabbed as they tried to protect children at the Taylor Swift-themed event on Hart Street in Southport, Merseyside Police said.
A 17-year-old boy, from Banks in Lancashire, has been arrested on suspicion of murder and attempted murder.
Police said the motivation for the attack was “unclear” but it was not being treated as terror-related.

“We believe that the adults who were injured were bravely trying to protect the children who were being attacked.”

She added: “As a mum of two daughters, and the nana of a five-year-old granddaughter, I cannot begin to imagine the pain and suffering the families of the victims are currently going through and I want to send them our heartfelt condolences and sympathies”.

Ms Kennedy said the 17-year-old suspect, who police said was born in Cardiff, will now be questioned by detectives.

Merseyside Police said it was not looking for anyone else in connection with the attack and that the “motivation for the incident remains unclear”.

Ms Kennedy added that Counter Terrorism Police North West had offered their support to Merseyside Police but that the incident was not currently being treated as terror-related.

Journalist Tim Johnson, from Eye on Southport, said the attack happened at the Hope of Hart children’s club, which is housed in a former warehouse building on a back street.
“It was horrendous. I’ve never seen anything like it,” Mr Johnson said.
“There were so many police cars, it was a mass of blue lights. I saw ambulance men and women in tears. People were in tears in the streets.”

Alder Hey Children’s Hospital declared a “major incident”, while the North West Ambulance Service said it had sent 13 ambulances to the scene.
Dave Kitchin, head of operations at the ambulance service, said they treated 11 casualties at the scene, who were sent by emergency ambulance and heli-med to Alder Hey and Royal Manchester Children’s hospitals, Aintree University Hospital, Southport and Formby District General Hospital and Ormskirk District General Hospital.
He described the scene that met paramedics as “devastating”, adding, “no doubt this incident will have a lasting impact on the whole community, and our thoughts are very much with them at this difficult time”.
Great North Air Ambulance Service confirmed its critical care team was also sent to the scene.
A spokesman added: “We delivered advanced emergency care to one patient before accompanying them to hospital by road.”

Colin Parry, owner of Masters Vehicle Body Repairs, which is next door to where the attack happened, said that shortly before it began there was a commotion outside because a young man wearing a green hoodie and a face mask had arrived by taxi but was refusing to pay the driver.

He said an employee called him back out a short time later and that he saw numerous “young kids, all bleeding”.

“It’s like something from America, not like sunny Southport.”

Mr Parry told BBC Radio 5 Live that a builder helped lead some of the children away from the scene of the attack and neighbours helped take “about 10 girls to safety”.

“The community was coming together, everyone was trying to help. Everyone was trying to save the young kids,” he added.

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cql8j2j0304o

Donald Trump on Monday seemed to back away from his earlier commitment to debate Vice President Kamala Harris, questioning the value of a meetup and saying he “probably” will debate but he “can also make a case for not doing it.”

Trump, in an interview with Fox News Channel that aired Monday night, was pressed several times about committing to debating Harris before giving a squishier answer than he had in recent days.

The Republican former president had been eager to debate President Joe Biden when he was the Democratic nominee after months of suggesting that Biden was not mentally up for the matchup — or the presidency. But after Biden dropped out of the race and Harris became poised to be the Democratic presidential candidate, Trump has been questioning the terms of the original debate he agreed to with Biden. He has suggested the Sept. 10 debate on ABC News should be moved to a different network, calling ABC “fake news.”

In the interview Monday, host Laura Ingraham repeatedly pressed Trump on whether he would commit to a debate.

“I want to do a debate. But I also can say this. Everybody knows who I am. And now people know who she is,” Trump said.

Trump eventually said, “The answer is yes, I’ll probably end up debating.”

He went on for a minute, saying any debates need to be held before early voting starts in states, and then added, “The answer is yes, but I can also make a case for not doing it.”

Trump has skipped debates before, including all the 2024 Republican presidential primary debates. He initially didn’t participate after suggesting the timing was too early and then questioning the venue of another before eventually making it clear he would not participate in any of those debates.

The Republican candidate also sought in the interview Monday to clarify comments he made last week at a conservative event in which he told an audience of Christians that they “won’t have to vote anymore” after he’s elected.

He urged Christians, who he claims don’t vote in high numbers, to vote “just this time,” and said, “You won’t have to do it anymore.”

In four years, he said: “It’ll be fixed, it’ll be fine. You won’t have to vote anymore, my beautiful Christians,” he said.

Washington’s top diplomat and defense chief, in Manila for talks Tuesday, will announce $500 million in military funding to boost Philippine defenses and progress in a proposed military pact, given that China’s increasingly aggressive actions in the region “will not stop,” a Philippine official said.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin called on President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who has fortified Manila’s decades-old treaty alliance with Washington as hostilities between Philippine and Chinese forces flared since last year in the disputed South China Sea.

Marcos welcomed Blinken and Austin, praising the “very open” communication lines between Washington and Manila so that their treaty alliance and the issues on the South China Sea and the Indo-Pacific region “are continuously examined and reexamined so we are agile in terms of our responses.”

McDonald’s (MCD.N), opens new tab reported a surprise drop in sales worldwide on Monday, its first decline in 13 quarters, as deal-seeking consumers shy away from higher priced menu items, including Big Macs.
Persistent inflation has forced lower-income consumers to shift to more affordable food options at home. That has led fast food chains such as McDonald’s, Burger King (QSR.TO), opens new tab, Wendy’s (WEN.O), opens new tab and Taco Bell to lean on value meals to spark customer traffic.

McDonald’s shares, which are down 15% this year, rose nearly 4% after company executives said the $5 meal deal launched late in June sold above expectations. They said the company was working with franchisees in a bid to extend it beyond August.
The company, which stuck to its 2024 forecast for operating margin of mid-to-high 40% range, said it would be more selective with price increases to protect profitability.

McDonald’s results dovetail with comments last week from Coca-Cola CEO James Quincey, who said there had been “some softness in away-from-home channels” in North America, an indication of fewer people eating out.

“The biggest hit for McDonald’s is the low-income consumer has really cut back on visits and that is more than offsetting the typical trade down McD normally sees in tougher economic times,” said Edward Jones analyst Brian Yarbrough.

U.S. comparable sales fell 0.7% in the quarter ended June 30, compared with a 10.3% jump a year ago. Sales in international markets, which made up nearly half its 2023 revenue, dropped 1.1%, driven by weakness in France.

Source: https://www.reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/mcdonalds-posts-surprise-drop-quarterly-global-sales-spending-slows-2024-07-29/

Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe failed on Monday to secure the backing of the biggest political party in parliament for his re-election bid, posing a major challenge to his prospects in the Sept. 21 vote.
Nearly 17 million of Sri Lanka’s 22 million population are eligible to cast ballots in the vote that is crucial to determine the future of reforms in the South Asian island nation weathering its worst financial crisis in decades.

The United States is leading a diplomatic dash to deter Israel from striking Lebanon’s capital Beirut or major civil infrastructure in response to a deadly rocket attack on the Golan Heights, five people with knowledge of the drive said.
Washington is racing to avert a full-blown war between Israel and the Iranian-backed Lebanese movement Hezbollah after the attack on the Israeli-occupied Golan killed 12 youths at the weekend, according to the five people who include Lebanese and Iranian officials plus Middle Eastern and European diplomats.

Venezuela opposition leader Maria Corina Machado said on Monday the country’s opposition has 73.2% of the voting tallies from Sunday’s election, allowing it to prove election results it says give it a victory.
The national electoral authority has proclaimed incumbent President Nicolas Maduro the winner of the vote, giving him a third term in office and extending 25 years of socialist party rule.
But independent pollsters called that result implausible, and opposition leaders and foreign observers urged the electoral authority to release vote tallies.

Every Friday, when Chris Marshall opens his bar, he gets the same customer request: Alcohol, please.

And every time someone asks for a vodka tonic or another familiar well drink, he has to gently remind them that his bar, Sans Bar, serves no alcohol.

“I can definitely help you with the tonic, not so much the vodka,” he said.

But at Sans Bar in Austin, Texas, the cocktails aren’t the star. The customers are.

“We make it about the experience and connection, not the drinks,” he said. “I mean, the drinks are amazing. But so much of what it means to be a bar is to be a place where people meet.”

And as the non-alcoholic beverage market steadily grows, so have sober bars. They operate in New York and Los Angeles, in Orlando and Sacramento, Atlanta and Omaha. And they’re steadily growing their base of customers, including those who still drink but are exploring sobriety and people in recovery from substance use, by redefining what a bar can be.

“As much as it’s a bar, I try to treat it like a classroom, where we’re learning how to socialize without alcohol,” Marshall said.

Sober bars are social hubs without alcohol

A sober bar usually looks and feels like any other. It might be upscale and minimalist or divey and lived-in. There may be handles lined up behind the bar but these bottles are zero-proof. Sober bars serve beers and wines that are non-alcoholic (though they can sometimes contain up to 0.5% ABV, or alcohol by volume, the Food and Drug Administration’s threshold for a beverage to still be considered non-alcoholic). And then there are the cocktails with all the trimmings but none of the liquor.

Many sober bars also serve coffee or drinks made with CBD or kava, a psychoactive root that, when consumed, can produce some mild sedative effects.

Marshall, though, refuses to serve coffee at Sans Bar, which is only open on Fridays from 6 p.m. to midnight.

“A coffee shop is a place to meet friends,” he said. “A bar is a place where you can meet strangers.”

That social principle is what convinced Abby Ehmann, who already owned a bar in New York’s East Village, to open up a sober joint across the street.

Bars have always been, first and foremost, gathering places. Ehmann’s first bar, Lucky, quickly turned into a beloved neighborhood joint with regulars who started showing up not just to drink, but to enjoy weekly game nights, live music and each other’s company.

Ehmann isn’t sober herself, but she “felt pretty strongly that people who don’t drink alcohol deserve a place to socialize that’s comfortable and welcoming.” Their own Lucky.

So in 2022, Ehmann opened Hekate, a “café and elixir lounge,” which serves both Instagrammable mocktails and casual cans of Pabst Blue Ribbon in a skinny, dimly lit room. Hekate is completely alcohol free (and so is the PBR).

It’s not always easy to convince people to open up to each other without the “social lubricant” of alcohol, Ehmann said. So she built a bar that facilitates intimacy — most of the seating is up at the bar, and customers are encouraged to work with their bartenders to whip up a personalized drink that could end up on the seasonal menu.

“To me, an ideal bar is long and narrow, so you have to walk by everyone in order to go to the bathroom,” Ehmann said. “The foot traffic allows for more mingling.”

At Hekate, she serves all kinds of customers, most of them sober. There are people who are sober for the moment — she’s hosted several baby showers there — or sober for religious reasons. “Sober October” and “Dry January” are busy months, naturally, but many of those temporarily sober folks keep coming back all year.

“It’s easy to come in for a spell,” said Lux Heljardóttir, a rune reader who frequents Hekate. “Three minutes, if you let it, easily becomes three hours and you’ll leave happier than you entered.”

The witchy vibe, eclectic menu and amiable regulars have drawn Dylan Kapit into Hekate around once a week this summer. Though they’re partial to the non-alcoholic beers and wines, their current drink of choice is a liquor-free gin and tonic.

“As a sober person, it is amazing to have a chill place that I can go where I can hang out and order mocktails without any judgment,” Kapit told CNN.

People are drinking less as non-alcoholic drinks become more popular

Sober bars are finding their footing in part due to the growing sober-curious movement.

People are becoming increasingly conscious of the deleterious effects that drinking can have on their mental and physical health. Even if they’re not struggling with substance use, they might start limiting their alcohol intake or changing the way they socialize, becoming sober-curious, said author Ruby Warrington, who coined the term in 2016.

“People have realized that you don’t have to have a ‘drinking problem’ for drinking to be a problem for them,” Warrington, who also wrote a book called “Sober Curious,” told CNN.

Not all Americans are drinking less, but alcohol is becoming less popular among young people, around whom many bar owners build their businesses. In a Gallup poll published last August, 62% of adults under 35 said that they drink alcohol — down 10 percentage points from 20 years earlier.

Another Gallup survey from last August found that among the people who choose not to drink, almost one-fourth of them said that they didn’t really have a reason — they just didn’t want to. Other reasons for avoiding alcohol included disliking it, believing it could harm their health and fearing the consequences of consumption, among others.

“Alcohol is definitely having, and has had, a cigarette moment since at least 2016,” Marshall said. “We’re coming up on a decade of people really evaluating alcohol’s place in our life. And it’s just no longer accepted that people consume a bunch of alcohol to have a good time.”

For many sober-curious people, thinking more critically about their drinking means giving non-alcoholic cocktails and canned beverages a chance.

Many of the people who seek out alcohol alternatives are more sober-curious than strictly sober. In 2022, Nielsen IQ reported that 82% of people who buy non-alcoholic drinks are still buying beverages that contain alcohol.

“This is more of a health movement than it is a sobriety movement,” he said. “And that’s what’s really exciting about it. I think (drinking) has become a public health issue.”

And the service industry is catching on. Even five years ago, it was rare for restaurants or bars to devote a section of their menu to non-alcoholic cocktails, said Ian Blessing, a former sommelier at the Michelin-starred Napa Valley restaurant The French Laundry.

Then, he said “most non-alcoholic cocktails were simple mixtures of fruit juice, soda, and syrup,” he said. Customers unfamiliar with non-alcoholic innovations may still shudder when they hear the word “mocktail,” reminded of the sickeningly sugary Shirley Temples of yore.

That perception is shifting, though, he said, thanks to the increasing availability of — and demand for — non-alcoholic spirits, botanicals, bitters and other essential ingredients. (Blessing and his wife, also a former sommelier, have released their own line of alcohol-free bitters, All the Bitter, marketed to customers sober or otherwise.) Even full-liquor bars are investing in well-crafted mocktails.

Source: https://edition.cnn.com/2024/07/27/us/sober-bars-mocktails-alcohol-free-wellness-cec/index.html

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has won a third term with 51% of the vote, the country’s electoral authority said just after midnight on Monday, despite multiple exit polls which pointed to an opposition win.
The authority said opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez won 44% of the vote, though the opposition had earlier said it had “reasons to celebrate” and asked supporters to continue monitoring vote counts.

Officials said that heavy clashes started five days ago in Boshera village in Upper Kurram district, which has witnessed deadly conflicts among tribes and religious groups as well as sectarian clashes and militant attacks in the past.

Source: https://www.deccanherald.com/world/30-killed-145-injured-in-armed-clashes-between-two-tribes-in-northwest-pakistan-3125917

Israel’s security cabinet on Sunday authorized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to decide on the “manner and timing” of a response to a rocket strike in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights that killed 12 teenagers and children, and which Israel and the United States blamed on Lebanese armed group Hezbollah.
Hezbollah denied responsibility for the attack on Majdal Shams on Saturday, the deadliest in Israel or Israeli-annexed territory since Palestinian militant group Hamas’ Oct. 7 assault sparked the war in Gaza. That conflict has spread to several fronts and risks spilling into a wider regional conflict.Israel has vowed retaliation against Hezbollah in Lebanon, and Israeli jets hit targets in southern Lebanon during the day on Sunday.
But there were expectations a stronger response could follow the security cabinet meeting convened by Netanyahu in Tel Aviv.
After the meeting ended, Netanyahu’s office said the cabinet “authorized the Prime Minister and the Defense Minister to decide on the manner and timing of the response.”

Source: https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israel-vows-hit-hezbollah-hard-after-rocket-kills-12-football-field-2024-07-28/

Grimes’ mom called out Elon Musk for allegedly “withholding” the exes’ three kids from visiting their dying great-grandmother in Canada.

“I’m writing here as the only way I have to reach you,” Sandy Garossino wrote in a tweet to the tech billionaire Saturday.

“As you know, my 93 year old mother is now at end-of-life palliative care. She yearns to see and hold Claire’s children one last time,” she continued, referencing her daughter’s birth name, Claire Elise Boucher.

“Especially the youngest, whom she has not yet met,” Garossino added of the pair’s third child, Techno Mechanicus, who is believed to have been born around June 2022.

“She was thrilled for the kids’ planned visit to celebrate her birthday this weekend. Today. But those hopes were crushed when the trip was canceled.”

Garossino further alleged, “I am alarmed to learn that the children cannot come as you are withholding them and their needed passport documents from Claire.”

The matriarch added that it was “troubling” to see Musk attending the 2024 Paris Olympics with his and Grimes’ 4-year-old son, X AE A-XII.

“Where are the other children, and with whom? They are scheduled to be with their mother. They were expected here in Canada,” Garossino continued.

“I write with a grandmother’s plea, asking you to honour your agreement, return the children, and provide the documents they need to see their great grandmother before she passes.”

She added, “Please Elon, I beg you. This is so painful for my mother, and concerning for the kids. Time is of the essence now.”

Reps for Musk did not immediately respond to Page Six’s request for comment.

In addition to X AE A-XII and Techno Mechanicus, Musk and Grimes, 36, share 2-year-old daughter Exa Dark Sideræl. The former couple were together from 2018 to 2022.

The Tesla founder, 53, also shares six children with his ex-wife Justine Wilson and three with Neuralink executive Shivon Zilis.

Prior to the accusations of “withholding” his three children from Grimes, Musk came under fire for saying his 20-year-old transgender daughter, Vivian, was “killed by the woke-mind virus.”

“I was essentially tricked into signing documents for one of my older boys, Xavier,” he told the Daily Wire while using to his child’s birth name.

“This is before I had any understanding of what was going on. COVID was going on, so there was a lot of confusion, and I was told Xavier might commit suicide if he doesn’t [make the change].”

Source: https://pagesix.com/2024/07/28/entertainment/grimes-mom-claims-elon-musk-is-withholding-their-3-kids-from-visiting-dying-great-grandmother/

The first day of competition at the Summer Olympic Games in Paris on Satuday delivered more than 32 million viewers in the U.S. across multiple NBCUniversal platforms.

NBCUniversal’s presentation on NBC, Peacock and other outlets of the first day’s events at the Paris Games added up to 32.4 million viewers, according to Nielsen and Adobe Analytics data released by NBCU on Sunday. That’s a solid showing given NBCU’s long and pricey commitment to the Olympics. Viewership for day one of competition was up by some 83% since the last, COVID-challenged Summer Games were held in Tokyo in 2021. That event, staged without crowds in the stands, brought in 17.7 million viewers.

Peacock, which offers top-tier viewers the option of watching every single Olympic event live for the first time, drew 4.7 million viewers on Saturday, per NBCU.

The NBC broadcast network’s linear Olympics coverage on Saturday focused largely on men’s and women’s swimming events that yielded three medals for American athletes: A gold medal for Caeleb Dressel, a silver for Simone Manuel and a bronze for Katie Ledecky. Men’s soccer, beach volleyball, diving gymnastics qualifiers also aired live from 2 p.m.-5 p.m. ET across NBC, Peacock, USA Network, CNBC, E!, Paris Extra 1, Paris Extra 2 and still more NBCU digital platforms. Those events were replayed with some updates in primetime hours from 8 p.m. -11 p.m. ET on NBC, Peacock and USA Network.

Source: https://variety.com/2024/tv/news/paris-olympics-ratings-summer-games-competition-1236088429/

A manipulated video that mimics the voice of Vice President Kamala Harris saying things she did not say is raising concerns about the power of artificial intelligence to mislead with Election Day about three months away.

The video gained attention after tech billionaire Elon Musk shared it on his social media platform X on Friday evening without explicitly noting it was originally released as parody.

The video uses many of the same visuals as a real ad that Harris, the likely Democratic president nominee, released last week launching her campaign. But the video swaps out the voice-over audio with another voice that convincingly impersonates Harris.

“I, Kamala Harris, am your Democrat candidate for president because Joe Biden finally exposed his senility at the debate,” the voice says in the video. It claims Harris is a “diversity hire” because she is a woman and a person of color, and it says she doesn’t know “the first thing about running the country.” The video retains “Harris for President” branding. It also adds in some authentic past clips of Harris.

Mia Ehrenberg, a Harris campaign spokesperson, said in an email to The Associated Press: “We believe the American people want the real freedom, opportunity and security Vice President Harris is offering; not the fake, manipulated lies of Elon Musk and Donald Trump.”

The widely shared video is an example of how lifelike AI-generated images, videos or audio clips have been utilized both to poke fun and to mislead about politics as the United States draws closer to the presidential election. It exposes how, as high-quality AI tools have become far more accessible, there remains a lack of significant federal action so far to regulate their use, leaving rules guiding AI in politics largely to states and social media platforms.

The video also raises questions about how to best handle content that blurs the lines of what is considered an appropriate use of AI, particularly if it falls into the category of satire.

The original user who posted the video, a YouTuber known as Mr Reagan, has disclosed both on YouTube and on X that the manipulated video is a parody. But Musk’s post, which has been viewed more than 123 million times, according to the platform, only includes the caption “This is amazing” with a laughing emoji.

X users who are familiar with the platform may know to click through Musk’s post to the original user’s post, where the disclosure is visible. Musk’s caption does not direct them to do so.

While some participants in X’s “community note” feature to add context to posts have suggested labeling Musk’s post, no such label had been added to it as of Sunday afternoon. Some users online questioned whether his post might violate X’s policies, which say users “may not share synthetic, manipulated, or out-of-context media that may deceive or confuse people and lead to harm.”

The policy has an exception for memes and satire as long as they do not cause “significant confusion about the authenticity of the media.”

Source: https://apnews.com/article/parody-ad-ai-harris-musk-x-misleading-3a5df582f911a808d34f68b766aa3b8e

Thousands of Taylor Swift fans have gotten free seats to her concerts in Munich on a grassy hill near the concert venue.

The Swifties packed the Olympic Hill, or Olympiaberg, one of the highest elevations in the southern German city, for the second straight day Sunday. That gave them a high perch for watching the singer’s sold-out concert in the nearby Olympic Stadium.

On Saturday, they braved the heat, which reached 31 Celsius (88 Fahrenheit) and claimed their spots hours before the concert began.

Police estimated that about 25,000 gathered on the hill on Saturday, according to the dpa news agency.

On Sunday, fans returned, once again packing the grassy hill with so many people that from a distance the scene looked like an anthill.

Source: https://apnews.com/article/taylor-swift-eras-tour-munich-476e861c34fad02a58ecaa7ac6f4028b

Equestrian riders at the Paris Olympics say they were shocked by a recent video showing three-time gold medalist Charlotte Dujardin of Britain repeatedly whipping a horse during training, a scandal that has thrust the issue of animal welfare and abuse into the spotlight.

American rider Boyd Martin, taking part in his fourth Olympics, said he was “horrified” by the video.

“Horse welfare is incredibly important, these wonderful animals mean so much,” Martin told The Associated Press after the first day of individual eventing Saturday. “Your teammate is an animal in this sport and what we saw was inexcusable.”

Martin spoke a few hours after another rider, Carlos Parro, was formally warned by horse racing’s governing body — the Federation for Equestrian Sports (FEI) — for potentially causing “unnecessary discomfort” to his horse Safira. It did not take place at the Paris Games but further highlighted the issue of animal welfare.

“While we’re relieved the FEI addressed our complaint and took action, we remain deeply concerned about the horse,” PETA’s senior vice president Kathy Guillermo said in an an email to the AP. “The rider should have been disqualified by the safety team.”

Martin did not comment on the decision and said he had not seen the photos at the time of speaking, but he said pressuring a horse through punishment or fear is wrong.

“To get the best out of an animal you’ve got to train in a way that it wants to please you,” Martin said. “It’s got to be positive and understanding.”

But The British team has been under heavy scrutiny since a video emerged showing Dujardin repeatedly whipping a horse while coaching another rider. Dujardin withdrew from the Games and is provisionally suspended from all events, pending an FEI investigation.

Source: https://apnews.com/article/olympics-2024-equestrian-horse-abuse-84d818ad9e03151e8176ef63e1ad4fe0