US
US judge orders delay of first federal executions in 17 years
Associated Press A U.S. judge on Monday ordered a delay in federal executions, hours before one was to be carried out for the first time in 17 years, hampering the Trump administration’s plan to revive capital punishment by the federal government. Washington district Judge Tanya Chutkan issued a preliminary injunction to allow the continuation of legal challenges of four death row inmates against the government’s new lethal injection protocol announced last year. “The public is not served by short-circuiting legitimate judicial processes,” she wrote in an order. The Department of Justice immediately appealed the ruling. The department planned to carry out the first executions at a federal level since 2003 over the next few weeks, starting with Daniel Lewis Lee, who is convicted of murder, ...
US Sunbelt mayors push back against Trump’s virus optimism
US Sunbelt mayors warned Sunday that their cities are at risk of being overwhelmed by a surge of coronavirus cases as they pushed back against US President Donald Trump’s attempt to minimize the gravity of the spreading virus. COVID-19 has been raging for weeks across southern and western states. Florida has registered 10,000 new cases on some days. Arizona has seen record hospitalizations. And intensive care units in Houston, Texas are operating near maximum capacity. With President Trump continuing to play down the disease eschewing a mask, continuing to address large gatherings, saying a vaccine is only months away and asserting that “99 percent” of cases are not serious the exasperation of local officials has begun to boil over, with some floating the idea of new stay-at-home orders. “...
Mississippi governor signs bill removing confederate symbol from flag
The Republican governor of the southern US state of Mississippi signed a bill Tuesday removing the Confederate battle standard from the state flag, after nationwide protests drew renewed attention to symbols of the United States’ racist past. “This is not a political moment, it is a solemn occasion to come together as a Mississippi family, reconcile, and move forward together,” Governor Tate Reeves wrote on Facebook. Mississippi is the only American state to incorporate the Confederate standard on its official flag, after nearby Georgia dropped it in 2003. Tate said a commission on the flag would “begin the process of selecting a new one — emblazoned with the words ‘In God We Trust.’” The swift signing comes after state lawmakers voted Sunday to remove the emblem in a 91-23 majority vote i...
ASCAB: President Buhari’s speech underestimate Sani Abacha’s $5 billion loot
Alliance for Surviving COVID-19 and Beyond, (ASCAB), a group led by prominent Nigerian human rights lawyer, Femi Falana has said that President Muhammadu Buhari’s claim that late dictator, Sani Abacha, stole $1 billion contradicts the figures earlier released by his own officials. The group described as inconsistent the President’s statement contained in an article he wrote for the international magazine, Newsweek adding that the $1bn quoted by Buhari is barely one fifth of the total amount top officials of the same government claimed to have recovered from the late military henchman. In a statement signed by ASCAB Secretary for Publicity, Adewale Adeoye and made available to newsmen on Monday said that the President’s article falls short of reflecting the stark realities of corrupti...
Microsoft is replacing newsroom journalists with machines
Dozens of news producers who oversee MSN websites for Microsoft are being replaced by software. Media reports in Seattle, where the company is based, say around 50 news producers in both the US and Britain will not have their contracts renewed. Microsoft says the decision is not related to the pandemic. Get more stories like this on Twitter You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagined what a dating should be. It begins with giving you back power. Get to meet Beautiful people, chat and make money in the process. Earn rewards by chatting, sharing photos, blogging and help give users back their fair share of Internet revenue.
Canadian court disappoints Huawei over CFO’s case
A Canadian court ruled against Huawei’s chief financial officer, Meng Wanzhou, on Wednesday in her extradition case to the US on fraud charges. However, the company said it has faith her innocence will ultimately be maintained. Meng, the CFO of the telecom giant and eldest daughter of its founder is wanted by the U.S for alleged fraud. The US authorities alleged that she lied to HSBC Bank about Huawei’s relationship with its Iran-based affiliate Skycom, putting the bank at risk of violating US sanctions against Tehran. In a statement posted on Twitter, Huawei Canada said; “Huawei is disappointed in the ruling today by the Supreme Court of British Columbia, we have repeatedly expressed confidence in Ms Meng’s innocence”. “Huawei continues to stand with Ms Meng in her pursuit for justice and...
Intelsat files for bankruptcy, seeks to restructure
Global satellite operator Intelsat filed for bankruptcy protection on Thursday, citing disruption from to its business from the virus pandemic, in a move aimed at restructuring its operations. The filing in the United States (US) bankruptcy court in Virginia listed more than $16 billion in debt. The company said in a statement it was “managing the economic slowdown impacting several of its end markets caused by the COVID-19 global health crisis.” Intelsat said bankruptcy protection would help it restructure its balance sheet as it reorganizes operations, and that business would continue during this process. The company is scheduled to receive $4.87 billion for exiting the C-band required by the US Federal Communications Commission for 5G, or fifth generation wireless networks in the United...
19 dead as Iran warship hit by ‘friendly fire’ in tense Gulf
An Iranian warship was hit by a friendly fire missile during naval exercises, killing 19 sailors, state media and the army said Monday, amid tensions with the US in Gulf waters. The incident involving the Konarak vessel occurred on Sunday afternoon near Bandar-e Jask, off the southern coast of the Islamic republic, state television said on its website. “The vessel was hit after moving a practice target to its destination and not creating enough distance between itself and the target,” said the channel. The armed forces said in a statement that 19 crewmen were killed and 15 injured. It said the Konarak had been involved in an “accident” during the exercises, without elaborating. The vessel had been towed ashore for “technical investigations”, it added, calling on people to “avoid speculatio...
