Whether you’re in the biggest city or smallest suburban town, every map dot in
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Saudi prosecutor Saud Al Mojeb held talks with Istanbul's prosecutor on Monday and Tuesday about Khashoggi's death in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, which has escalated into a crisis for the world's top oil exporter. Riyadh at first denied any knowledge of, or role in, his disappearance four weeks ago but Mojeb has contradicted those statements, saying the killing of Khashoggi, a critic of de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, was premeditated. The case has put into focus the West's close relationship with Saudi Arabia - a major arms buyer and lynchpin of Washington's regional plans to contain Iran - given the widespread scepticism over its initial response.
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Conservationists have issued a demand for urgent international action after a major report uncovered an unprecedented crisis in nature that threatens to devastate the world economy and imperil humanity itself. Only a global pact on the scale of the Paris Agreement on climate change will save the natural world from irreversible collapse, the World Wide Fund for Nature said after publishing a report showing a cataclysmic decline in global wildlife populations. Global vertebrate populations have fallen by 60 per cent since 1970 as human activity destroys their natural habitats in grasslands, forests, waterways and oceans, the organisation said. Until the turn of the 20th century, humanity’s consumption of the world’s natural resources was smaller than Earth’s ability to replenish itself. But over the past 50 years expanding agricultural activity and the over-exploitation of natural resources to feed a growing world population, particularly its booming middle class, has pushed many ecosystems to the brink of collapse. The Cerrado, a vast tropical savanna ecoregion of Brazil, is being cleared for soy monoculture Credit: Adriano Gambarni/ PA “Humans are living beyond the planet’s means and wiping out life on earth in the process,” the report warns. From the savannahs of Africa to the rain forests of South America and oceans across the world, few wildlife populations have been spared. While great attention has been given to the impact of poaching on elephants and rhinos in Africa, the story has been more dismal in Latin America and the Caribbean, where 89 percent of indigenous mammals like the jaguar and anteater have been wiped out. Statistics are just as grim in the world’s rivers, lakes and seas. More than 80 per cent of freshwater populations has vanished, with freshwater fish accounting for a higher rate of extinction than any other vertebrate. Since 1950 nearly 6bn tonnes of fish and other seafood have been removed from the world’s oceans. Employees move freshly caught fish at a factory in the Angolan coastal city of Benguela Credit: AFP For surviving populations the impact of human activity is also stark: some 90 per cent of the world’s seabirds have plastic in their stomach, compared to just 5 per cent in 1960. Plastic pollution now stretches across the seas of the earth, even reaching the bottom of the Marianas Trench in the western Pacific, the deepest natural point in the world. With just a quarter of the planet’s land now free from human impact, the space bird, reptile and mammal populations' need to recover is growing ever more limited. “We are the first generation to know we are destroying our planet and the last that can do anything about it,” said Tanya Steele, chief executive of the WWF. “The collapse of global wildlife populations is a warning sign that nature is dying." As tragic as the collapse of wildlife populations is, the impact of habitat loss will have a profound impact on human wellbeing, conservationists say. Man’s encroachment on nature threatens agriculture itself, because crops pollinated by animals account for 35 per cent of global food production, while habitat loss means that the soil for crops to grow is not being replenished with nutrients. Under threat | The 19 species on the World Wildlife Fund's critically endangered list The loss of South American rainforests has reduced rainfall thousands of miles away, also imperilling crop production. As many as 70,000 species of plants are used commercially or in medicine, posing a danger to efforts to fight disease and protect industry. Yet the issue, conservationists say, is not being taken as seriously as climate change — even though protecting nature can help mitigate the impact of global warming — which is why it is essential for big business and government to come together to find a solution to the crisis. “The statistics are scary, but all hope is not lost,” said Ken Norris, director of science at the Zoological Society of London, which collaborated on the report. “We have an opportunity to design a new way forward that allows us to coexist sustainably with the wildlife we depend on.”
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The UN rights chief called Tuesday for "international experts" to help investigate the murder of Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, and called on Riyadh to reveal the whereabouts of his body. "For an investigation to be carried out free of any appearance of political considerations, the involvement of international experts, with full access to evidence and witnesses, would be highly desirable," Michelle Bachelet said in a statement. Khashoggi, a 59-year-old Saudi journalist and Washington Post contributor, was killed after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2 to obtain paperwork ahead of his upcoming wedding.
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A new study reveals how the wealthy engage in ‘stealth politics’: quietly advancing unpopular, inequality-exacerbating, highly conservative policies
If we judge US billionaires by their most prominent fellows, they may seem to be a rather attractive bunch: ideologically diverse (perhaps even tending center-left), frank in speaking out about their political views, and generous in philanthropic giving for the common good – not to mention useful for the goods and jobs they have helped produce.
The very top titans – Warren Buffett, Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates – have all taken left-of-center stands on various issues, and Buffett and Gates are paragons of philanthropy. The former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg is known for his advocacy of gun control, gay rights, and environmental protection. George Soros (protector of human rights around the world) and Tom Steyer (focused on young people and environmental issues) have been major donors to the Democrats. In recent years, investigative journalists have also brought to public attention Charles and David Koch, mega-donors to ultra-conservative causes. But given the great prominence of several left-of-center billionaires, this may merely seem to right the balance, filling out a picture of a sort of Madisonian pluralism among billionaires.
Continue reading...If trends continue, turnout could beat the 49% recorded in 1966, a number that has not been surpassed since in a midterm
Early voter turnout is surging in several key states, suggesting more Americans may cast their ballots in this year’s midterm elections compared to previous years.
In Georgia, where a razor-thin governor’s race has been roiled by accusations of voter suppression, turnout has been huge, the Atlanta Journal Constitution reported. On the first day of early voting this month, turnout was triple that of 2014: 69,049 people cast ballots, up from 20,898.
Continue reading...Two military intelligence officers and six hackers allegedly tried to access systems of aerospace companies
Two Chinese intelligence officers and six hackers have been charged with commercial espionage that included trying to steal information on commercial jet engines, US prosecutors have said.
The indictments unsealed in Los Angeles on Tuesday named two officers working for the Nanjing-based foreign intelligence arm of China’s ministry of state security and six other defendants who allegedly conspired from 2010 to 2015 to steal sensitive turbofan engine technology used in commercial aviation.
Continue reading...Katharina Groene had phoned friends to apologize for dying on Washington trek before a good Samaritan summoned authorities
A phone call from a concerned woman likely saved the life of a hiker from Germany who was attempting to travel through the Cascade Mountains to the Canadian border without proper gear as snow and cold hit the region, authorities said.
Nancy Abel of Sultan met and hiked with Katharina Groene on 24 October near Stevens pass and noticed she didn’t have equipment for snow travel, according to the Snohomish county sheriff’s office. An avid hiker, Abel told authorities she tried but failed to convince Groene to end her journey to the Canadian border.
Continue reading...The company responded that the defect had affected less than 0.01% of the fleet and that at-risk scooters have been recalled
It was a late night in late August when an employee at a Lime scooter facility in Tahoe, heard a loud bang. One of the bright-green rental scooters – which have meteorically swarmed streets in crowded cities around the world over the past year – had burst into flames, seemingly, all on its own.
According to a blog posted by Lime on Tuesday, nearly two months later, bad batteries were to blame. Stating that the defect had affected less than 0.01% of the “fleet”, the company conceded that a “manufacturing defect could result in the battery smoldering, or in some cases, catching fire”.
Continue reading...The state of Utah is offering a $500 incentive for each trip as one congressman says, ‘Everybody loves a good deal’
Owing to the soaring cost of medicine in the US, the state of Utah is offering its public employees a new incentive: $500 and a trip to Mexico to buy prescription drugs at a cheaper price.
“We can fly a health plan member to San Diego, have them picked up by private transport, receive the same drug as they would in the US from a hospital in Tijuana that meets US standards, give them a cash back incentive of $500, and still save between 40% to 60% for the employer,” said Chet Loftis, director of PEHP Health & Benefits, which insures some 170,000 public employees and their dependents.
Continue reading...The statement likely results from a falling out between the rapper and a rightwing provocateur over the ‘Blexit’ concept
Is the strangest political marriage in America finally over?
Rapper Kanye West, who earlier this month hugged Donald Trump in the Oval Office, declared on Tuesday that he had been “used to spread messages I don’t believe in” and would now be “distancing” himself from politics.
Continue reading...Organizers accuse the president of emboldening ‘a growing white nationalist movement’ with hateful speech
Thousand have gathered in Squirrel Hill to remember those killed at a neighborhood synagogue and to oppose Donald Trump’s visit to Pittsburgh. Expressing their anger and sorrow, many blamed the president for the attack.
Young and old from all walks of life marched on Tuesday to remember the 11 Jewish people who died in the Saturday morning shooting. A suspect appeared in court on Monday.
Continue reading...Secretary Ryan Zinke has been linked to real estate deals and questionable actions that benefit lawmakers, businesses and family
An ethics watchdog has referred findings of misconduct by the US interior secretary to lawyers at the justice department who will decide whether to pursue a criminal investigation, according to the Washington Post and CNN.
The watchdog – the interior department’s inspector general - has conducted several probes involving Secretary Ryan Zinke, and it’s not clear which the Justice Department could review.
Continue reading...The idea that the powerful are victims who must be coddled arose in a setting that recalls the United States of today
The governing principle of the Trump administration is total irresponsibility, a claim of innocence from a position of power, something which happens to be an old fascist trick. As we see in the president’s reactions to American rightwing terrorism, he will always claim victimhood for himself and shift blame to the actual victims. As we see in the motivations of the terrorists themselves, and in the long history of fascism, this maneuver can lead to murder.
The Nazis claimed a monopoly on victimhood. Mein Kampf includes a lengthy pout about how Jews and other non-Germans made Hitler’s life as a young man in the Habsburg monarchy difficult. After stormtroopers attacked others in Germany in the early 1930s, they made a great fuss if one of their own was injured. The Horst Wessel Song, recalling a single Nazi who was killed, was on the lips of Germans who killed millions of people. The second world war was for the Nazis’ self-defense against “global Jewry”.
Continue reading...The world faces a near-impossible decision – one that is already determining the character and quality of the lives of the generations succeeding us.
It is clear from the latest IPCC climate report that the first and only effective course, albeit a deeply unpopular one, would be to stop using any fossil fuels. The second would be to voluntarily minimise their use as much as climate scientists have calculated would deliver some prospect of success. Finally, we can carry on as we are by aiming to meet the growth in demand for activities dependent on fossil fuels, allowing market forces to mitigate the problems that such a course of action generates – and leave it to the next generation to set in train realistic solutions (if that is possible), that the present one has been unable to find.
Continue reading...Donald Trump is still sometimes depicted as impulsive and unpredictable. But this view is mistaken. There is method – albeit an evil method – in his madness. His behaviour in the build-up to next week’s US midterm elections highlights this side of the president. He has been consistent and unscrupulous in pursuing it. Fearing that voters will elect an anti-Trump Congress on 6 November, he has made a clear choice to use hate and division to bait and provoke his opponents into a backlash which, he hopes, will energise white voters to support Republican candidates at the polls.
At least three of Mr Trump’s actions this week can only be adequately explained by this strategy. In the first, he has ordered 5,200 active duty American troops to the US-Mexico border. The objective here is not to respond to a crisis – several thousand National Guard are already there, as well as border police – but to create one. Mr Trump wants to make a show of force against a caravan of migrants from Central America, which he has mischievously described as an invasion and which he has falsely said contains “unknown Middle Easterners”. Not only is this claim untrue, but the caravan itself is daily shrinking in size and it is still in southern Mexico, weeks away from reaching the US border. Mr Trump is using his nation’s troops as partisan political props.
Continue reading...The world of work does not look favourably on childbirth and parenthood, despite the legislation in place. Stay-at-home parents fare no better. This is something that most of us only discover after we take on the role of childrearing.
I used to believe that we had come far in the fight for equality, but giving birth opened my eyes to the truth that, embedded within our culture, the mechanisms that silence women, refuse to take us seriously and sever us from the centres of power, still exist. That patriarchy is alive and well, and it is kicking us when we are down.
Continue reading...The sad undeniable truth is that the US faces a grave challenge from homegrown terrorism that has nothing to do with Isis or al-Qaida
Four of the Saturday worshippers brutally murdered at the Tree of Life synagogue had been old enough during the Holocaust and the second world war to revere America as a safe haven in a world of hate. The other seven victims, the youngest of whom was 54, had grown up in a land where most blatant antisemitism had seemingly retreated to the shadows.
When pipe bombs were mailed to a dozen targets of Donald Trump’s wrath, the only frail consolation had been that no one had been injured. Now with the worst incident of antisemitic violence in American history all comfort has vanished.
Continue reading...Turning points in world affairs form flashbulb memories, vivid snapshots of the scene when we heard the news: declarations of war; assassinations; natural disasters. They form the album of shared memories that defines each generation.
On the November morning in 1990 when Margaret Thatcher resigned, I was at school. I can picture the very classroom. The teacher took the unprecedented step of wheeling in a TV so we could watch the Iron Lady’s momentous departure from Downing Street. I had no notion of what it was like to have a different prime minister. French friends say it was the same for them when François Mitterrand stood down in 1995, after 14 years in the Elysée palace. It took a while to get used to hearing the words “monsieur le president” in reference to a different face.
Continue reading...Simone Biles is now an 11-time world champion after leading the USA women to team gold at the World Gymnastics Championships in Doha on Tuesday.
Biles had the highest individual score in the entire competition on the floor, uneven bars and vault as the US recorded a total of 171.269, with Russia second on 162.863 and China winning bronze with 162.396. Biles’s only blemish came on the beam where she made a few small errors. However, her compatriot Kara Eaker produced a strong showing to record the best score of the competition in the discipline.
Continue reading...The NFL says it will play four regular-season games in London next year, two at Wembley and two at the new stadium being built for Tottenham Hotspur. The NFL did not say which teams would be making the trip, or when the games will be played.
Related: Wembley’s Hail Mary as staff repair pitch for Spurs v Manchester City | Simon Burnton
Continue reading...Klay Thompson set an NBA record with 14 three-pointers in the Golden State Warriors’ 149-124 win over the Chicago Bulls.
Thompson surpassed the mark set by teammate Steph Curry, who hit 13 three-pointers in November 2016 against the New Orleans Pelicans.
The Warriors guard sank 14 of 24 three-point attempts, calling it ‘one of the best feelings in the world’. Thompson added that: ‘I don’t know if I would be able to break these records … without the system I play in or the team I’m with.’
Golden State led 92-50 at half-time, which was the highest ever score by a visiting team and the second most in NBA history behind the Phoenix Suns (107) in 1990.
Continue reading...Alex Cora’s players started the season well, and just got better. No wonder owner John Henry called them the best Red Sox team ever
As he lifted the World Series trophy, Boston Red Sox owner John Henry proclaimed the 2018 edition was “the best Red Sox team in history in so many ways”. It wasn’t surprising that Henry would be inspired to say that while he was caught up in the joy of victory; what was surprising was that he was probably right. The moment that the Red Sox defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 5 of the World Series, they cemented their place as the best all-around team in the history of Boston baseball.
It’s something of a bold claim for a team that has has been around, in one form or another, since 1901 and now has nine championships to its name. Still, the numbers alone back it up. The Red Sox won 108 games during the regular season, a franchise record, and combined to win 119 games in total after they breezed their way through the postseason. The Ringer’s Zach Kram, making the case for the 2018 Red Sox being one of the best teams of all time, noted that the only teams that won more combined games were the 1998 New York Yankees and the 2001 Seattle Mariners (and the Mariners didn’t even make the World Series).
Continue reading...FBI to investigate whether a hoaxer offered women money to make false allegations about special counsel investigating Russian election meddling
The FBI has been asked to investigate whether a hoaxer offered women money to make false allegations about Robert Mueller, the special counsel investigating Russia’s interference in the 2016 election.
Several journalists and bloggers in the US received an email this month purporting to be from a woman who had been offered money to smear Mueller with bogus claims of inappropriate behaviour decades ago.
Continue reading...President falsely claimed US is ‘the only country in the world’ to endow the right and that he would move to sign order ending it
Donald Trump has insisted he will move to end the right to American citizenship for the children of non-citizens born in the US, a pledge he made frequently throughout the 2016 campaign and one often dismissed by scholars as legally unfeasible.
Related: Donald Trump's rhetoric has stoked antisemitism and hatred, experts warn
Continue reading...Democrat Stacey Abrams and her opponent Brian Kemp seem to be proxies for racial and social divisions of the age of Trump
Gerald Devereaux, 74, stood outside an early polling station in firmly Republican Forsyth county after casting his ballot early in Georgia, one of America’s battleground states in next week’s midterm elections.
“I voted anti-Trump,” he said. “I like Republican policies better than the Democrat policies, but not if you got jerks leading it,” the registered Independent clarified, though he was unable to name a single policy he especially liked from Republicans.
Continue reading...Mayor asked president to delay visit until after victims are buried while some residents say politics should pause for grief
Donald Trump faces an uneasy welcome in Pittsburgh on Tuesday after the city’s governor and mayor said they would not join the president on his visit following Saturday’s antisemitic mass shooting.
Trump was expected to visit the Squirrel Hill neighborhood, where 11 people were shot and killed at the Tree of Life synagogue, despite a request from the city’s mayor asking him not to come.
Continue reading...Financial stocks also boosted by HSBC results as FTSE 100 enjoys best day for weeks
Shares in carmakers were boosted on Monday by a report that China is considering cutting vehicle sales tax to boost demand, helping European stock markets rebound after last week’s mauling.
Financial stocks also contributed to the rally, thanks to strong results from Europe’s biggest bank, HSBC, as well as the decision by Standard & Poor’s not to downgrade the Italian government’s credit rating.
Continue reading...Four Seasons failed to pay off a portion of debt owed to H/2 Capital Partners
A “for sale” sign has been hoisted over Four Seasons as fears grow for the future of Britain’s biggest care homes operator.
The US hedge fund H/2 Capital Partners, which is in effective control of the group, has put Four Seasons up for sale and swept aside the company’s senior management, installing Margaret Ford and Mark Ordan to the board of directors.
Continue reading...CNN |
Birthright citizenship: Trump claims only the US grants it, he's wrong
CNN (CNN) US President Donald Trump vowed Tuesday to end birthright citizenship -- the process by which babies born in the country automatically become citizens -- by executive order, while claiming the US was the only nation around the world to grant such ... In Campaign's Homestretch, Trump Tosses Out Ideas to See What Sticks Trump's proposal to end birthright citizenship is unconstitutional Trump plans executive order to end birthright citizenship |
CNN |
Former prosecutor hopes James 'Whitey' Bulger's death is 'the end of a very sad chapter in Boston's history'
CNN (CNN) In a 3-foot grave near a river not far from Boston, Paul McGonagle's body lay decaying, undisturbed until his remains were found nearly 20 years ago. Parts of a pelvic bone. A fractured skull with decomposed brain matter. A traditional Irish ring ... 'Whitey' Bulger dead: Inmate with Mafia ties investigated in killing James 'Whitey' Bulger, Boston Mob Kingpin, Killed In Federal Prison: Reports Whitey Bulger was a fixture on the FBI's 'Most Wanted' list — and for good reason |
HuffPost |
The Bizarre And Failed Attempt To Smear Robert Mueller
HuffPost It's hoaxes all the way down in what appears to be an effort to discredit special counsel Robert Mueller with fabricated claims of sexual misconduct. Several media outlets, including HuffPost, received emails earlier this month from a woman claiming ... Plot to Smear Mueller Unravels as FBI Is Asked to Investigate An Apparent Scheme To Discredit Mueller May Have Backfired. He Referred It To The FBI Mueller asks FBI to investigate claims women were offered money to say he behaved inappropriately |
CNN |
Lion Air crash: Investigators detect 'pings' which could lead to flight recorders
CNN Jakarta, Indonesia (CNN) Indonesian investigators searching for the flight recorders of crashed Lion Air flight 610 have heard transponder "pings" that could lead them to the devices, and answer questions as to why the new Boeing 737 MAX 8 went down, ... Lion Air plane crash: Doomed airliner apparently found Indonesia sends divers to check if 'ping' signals reveal crashed plane Crashed Lion Air jet possibly located in Indonesian seas |
CNET |
Apple's newest iPad Pros hands-on: The iPad X we expected
CNET I couldn't tell if I was looking at the 12.9-inch iPad Pro or the 11-inch one. That's a testament to how Apple has shrunken down the Pro lineup, and seems to have delivered on a more portable high-octane iPad this year. But can it get any closer to ... I got to try out the new iPad Pro, and it's clear that it's Apple's biggest update to the iPad lineup in years New MacBook Air, Mac mini hands-on: Making old favorites new again First look: MacBook Air and iPad Pro -- Are you ready to spend big for Apple's latest? |
Yahoo News |
India deploys huge security for inauguration of world's biggest statue
Yahoo News Sardar Sarovar Dam (India) (AFP) - Thousands of police officers guarded the world's biggest statue ahead of its inauguration by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday, anticipating protests by angry locals displaced by the enormous figure. World's tallest statue opens amid surge in Indian mega-monuments India unveils the world's tallest statue "World Is Watching": Sardar Patel's Family At Unveiling Of Statue Of Unity |
Patch.com |
Early Voting Breaks Record In Suburban Cook County: Clerk
Patch.com CHICAGO — More voters in suburban Cook County have cast their ballots early than in the last midterm election in 2014, according to Clerk David Orr. There are six more days of early voting before Election Day Tuesday. As of 3:50 p.m. on Tuesday, 131 ... Midterm elections: early voter turnout surging in several key states What kind of America do you want? 14 writers respond Closed voting sites hit minority counties harder for busy midterm elections |
New York Times |
Standing 'Against White Supremacy,' GOP Campaign Chief Rebukes Steve King
New York Times WASHINGTON — As Pittsburgh began burying the victims of Saturday's synagogue massacre, the head of the House Republican campaign arm all but jettisoned Representative Steve King of Iowa from the House Republican Conference, declaring, “We must ... Land O'Lakes, Purina Pull Support for Iowa Congressman Steve King Over Racial Remarks Land O'Lakes withdraws support for GOP Rep. Steve King after boycott calls Intel Withdraws Funding For White Supremacist GOP Congressman Steve King |
BBC News |
Asia Bibi: Pakistan acquits Christian woman on death row
BBC News A Pakistani court has overturned the death sentence of a Christian woman convicted of blasphemy, a case that has polarised the nation. Asia Bibi was convicted in 2010 after being accused of insulting the Prophet Muhammad in a row with her neighbours. Pakistan frees Christian woman facing death in blasphemy case Pakistan acquits Christian woman facing death for blasphemy Pakistani Christian Asia Bibi has death penalty conviction overturned |
Rabbi cites Jesus in prayer for synagogue victims with Pence
Minneapolis Star Tribune WASHINGTON — A rabbi invited to pray at a Michigan campaign stop with Vice President Mike Pence on Monday referenced "Jesus the Messiah" at the event. Rabbi Loren Jacobs of Messianic congregation Shema Yisrael offered prayers for the victims of the ... |
Stock futures fall as investors eye Israel-Iran conflict: Live updates CNBC View Full Coverage on Google News from "news" - G...