Big Time News Blog: 01/02/20

Thursday, January 2, 2020

Tessa Majors Murder: 13-Year-Old Suspect Must Remain in Custody

By BY EDGAR SANDOVAL from NYT New York https://ift.tt/2QGZTtx

Why Are You Publicly Sharing Your Child’s DNA Information?

By BY NILA BALA from NYT Opinion https://ift.tt/2Qle9Jz

Democrats Enter 2020 Awash in Cash, and Brace for Long Primary Fight

By BY SHANE GOLDMACHER AND THOMAS KAPLAN from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/2Feu5XF

See Where Australia’s Deadly Wildfires Are Burning

By BY NADJA POPOVICH, DENISE LU AND BLACKI MIGLIOZZI from NYT Climate https://ift.tt/36lu1kK

More Than 200 Republicans Urge Supreme Court to Weigh Overturning Roe v. Wade

By BY SHERYL GAY STOLBERG from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/2MNPzPa

Rockets fall on Baghdad airport, Popular Mobilization Forces says official killed

Three Katyusha rockets fell on Baghdad International Airport, the Iraqi military-run Security Media Cell said early on Friday.

from Reuters: World News https://ift.tt/36nDnMQ

Australians flee massive bushfires as new fire threat looms

The Australian navy on Friday began the evacuations of some of the thousands of people stranded on the east coast of the fire-ravaged country as a searing weather front was set to whip up more blazes across the states of Victoria and New South Wales (NSW).

from Reuters: World News https://ift.tt/36kZTWT

With nuclear weapons talks stalled, Kim Jong Un threatens 'shocking actual action' against US

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, frustrated with the slow pace of denuclearization negotiations, has issued a new threat.

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Taiwan military chief among eight dead in helicopter wreck

Taiwan was plunged into mourning on Thursday after its top military official died alongside seven others in a helicopter crash in a mountainous area near the capital, Taipei, in the north of the island. General Shen Yi-ming, ,62, had been on a routine mission to visit troops in Yilan county ahead of the Lunar New Year when his UH-60M Black Hawk disappeared from radar less than 15 minutes after taking off at 8:07am, the defence ministry confirmed. Pictures released by emergency authorities showed the chopper’s mangled wreckage, blades shattered into pieces, where it had crashed into a forest shrouded in mist. Out of the 13 on board, five miraculously survived. The crash occurred the week before Taiwan’s general election, when incumbent President Tsai Ing-wen, known as a strong US ally, will face off against Han Kuo-yu of the Kuomintang party, which has advocated for closer ties with China. Both candidates immediately called off campaign activities until the weekend, with President Tsai travelling to Yilan to offer support to rescue teams. Air Force General Shen Yi-ming died in the incident Posting on her Facebook page, Ms Tsai expressed sorrow that Taiwan had lost several excellent officers, including General Shen, who was “an outstanding, competent general” who was “loved and esteemed by everyone.” She urged the defence secretary to quickly establish the exact cause of the incident. Hsiung Hou-chi, an air force Lieutenant General, told an afternoon press conference that the defence ministry had set up a taskforce to investigate and dispatched ground troops and rescue helicopters. “We are investigating whether [the cause] was environmental or mechanical,” he said, but added that the helicopter’s condition was “not ideal.” For several hours, the fate of General Shen remained uncertain. He was reported to have been initially found conscious by a fire department search team but later died in hospital. As a graduate of Taiwan's Air Force Academy in 1979 and the US Air War College in 2002, he had served as air force commander, before taking office as chief of general staff in July last year. The role put him at the heart of maintaining Taiwan’s military capabilities in the face of increasing threats from neighbouring China. Rescue workers searched the remains of the Black Hawk helicopter at a mountainous area near Taipei Beijing wants to annex the island, which functions like any other democratic nation with its own military, currency and elections, and China has made clear it will do so by force if necessary. “[His death] is a great loss for our country,” Andrew Yang, a former defence minister told The Telegraph. “He was a highly accomplished officer and highly respected... he made great efforts to maintain the high alert and readiness of the military.” Rupert Hammond-Chambers, president of the US-Taiwan Business Council, said General Shen was also instrumental in maintaining Taipei’s strong relations with Washington. “[He] had emerged as the pre-eminent leader of the evolving military response to the challenge the People’s Republic of China poses to the island’s freedom and democracy,” he said. “He was a top candidate for minister of national defense in a second Tsai term. He had excellent relationships within his own military and in the US and was highly respected. He was also a kind and personable man steeped in humility.” The United States, which has no formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan, but is its strongest international backer and main arms supplier, sold the island 60 UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters in 2010. It is not known if the crashed helicopter was one of them. However, the incident was the latest in a series of aviation accidents in Taiwan, after the 2018 crash of a Black Hawk helicopter off its east coast killed six people aboard and the crash of an F-16 fighter jet killed a pilot the same year. In 2016, the navy fired a supersonic missile in error, hitting a fishing boat in waters that separate Taiwan from diplomatic rival China. Ross Feingold, an Asia political risk analyst, said the tragedy would inevitably feed into public debate about military preparedness. “There are a number of issues that are not resolved, whether recruitment, retention, maintenance or mission creep,” he said.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/35gQjmx

Floods in Indonesia capital recede as death toll reaches more than two dozen

Residents of Indonesia's capital who had been forced into shelters by widespread flooding began returning to their homes Thursday as the waters started to recede, though the death toll from the disaster jumped to 30.

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Switzerland stresses diplomatic safety in Sri Lanka arrest

The Swiss Embassy in Sri Lanka said that the safety of diplomatic missions is the responsibility of the host state, days after a local staffer who complained of being assaulted was released on bail while being investigated for maligning the government. Before her arrest, the Sri Lankan employee had reportedly said she was abducted, held for hours, sexually assaulted and threatened by captors who demanded that she disclose embassy-related information. Sri Lankan authorities have said they investigated her complaint but found no evidence to file charges against anyone.

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Israel's Netanyahu says he will seek immunity in graft cases

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday he would ask parliament to protect him from prosecution in the three graft cases he faces, a politically-risky move that could delay criminal proceedings against him for months. Netanyahu was indicted in November on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust over allegations he granted state favors worth hundreds of millions of dollars to Israeli media barons in return for gifts and favorable coverage. A trial cannot get under way once an immunity request is made, and Netanyahu announced the move in a speech on live television just four hours before a deadline for an application was to expire.

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Here are all the bizarre theories surrounding Carlos Ghosn's international bail-jumping escapade

Theories have ranged from a musical instrument case to forged passports and help from Turkey. Here's what we know so far.

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Why This Indian State Is Witnessing the Country's Most Violent Anti Citizenship-Law Protests

Hindu monk Yogi Adityanath, who has served as Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh since 2017, has overseen a brutal crackdown on protesters.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2QeLhm3

Trump Says Trade Signing Set For Jan. 15; China Silent

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. President Donald Trump said he will sign the first phase of a trade deal with China on Jan. 15, sealing an agreement that sees the Asian nation raising purchases of American farm goods in exchange for lower tariffs on some of its products. The date has yet to be confirmed by the Chinese side.“The ceremony will take place at the White House,” Trump said on his Twitter account Tuesday, adding he will be going to Beijing, where talks will begin on the second phase of the deal.Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Geng Shuang on Thursday referred a question on the signing to the Ministry of Commerce. The commerce ministry did not respond to an earlier fax seeking comment.Despite the lack of clarity on the signing date, Beijing is still indicating it also wants the deal. A commentary on the front page of People’s Daily on Tuesday said, “it is every one’s wish that China and the U.S. will sign the phase one agreement.”The deal, announced Dec. 13, sees the U.S. suspending plans for new tariffs on $160 billion of Chinese imports including smart-phones and toys and reducing some existing levies. China agreed to increase its purchases of American agricultural products and has made new commitments on intellectual property protections, forced technology transfers by U.S. companies and currency practices. The move at least temporarily calms fears of an escalating trade war between the world’s two largest economies.The precise terms of the 86-page agreement have not been revealed. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said Dec. 13 he expected to sign the accord together with his Chinese counterpart, Vice Premier Liu He, in early January in Washington, and that it would be released publicly then.(Corrects Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs comment in third paragraph.)\--With assistance from Miao Han and April Ma.To contact the reporter on this story: Ana Monteiro in Johannesburg at amonteiro4@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Margaret Collins at mcollins45@bloomberg.net, Jeffrey Black, Jiyeun LeeFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2020 Bloomberg L.P.

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U.S. Embassy in Australia: Tourists should leave due to wildfires

Tourists on Australia's South Coast of New South Wales should leave, U.S. Embassy officials warned Thursday, because of "extreme fire danger."

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2ZJ7U5v

Belgian judge suspends warrant for Catalonia's Puigdemont

The arrest warrant targeting Carles Puigdemont has been suspended by Belgian judicial authorities because of the Catalan separatist leader's immunity as a European lawmaker, his lawyer said Thursday. Paul Bekaert told The Associated Press that the Belgian judge in charge of the case also suspended the warrant issued against former Catalan cabinet member Toni Comin. The two are wanted in Spain for their role in an illegal 2017 secession bid by the Catalan government and separatist lawmakers.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2QhylvX

Carlos Ghosn reportedly celebrated New Year's Eve at a glitzy dinner with his wife in Lebanon after his mysterious escape from Japan

The 65-year-old former automotive executive slipped under cover from Japan and is believed to be in Lebanon to avoid prosecution.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2QhzIL6

Iraqi troops secure U.S. Embassy following attack

Elite Iraqi troops were deployed to secure the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad on Thursday, after a pro-Iran mob laid siege to it on Tuesday in dramatic scenes that overshadowed months of antigovernment grassroots protests.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/37Flh9F

U-Haul International to stop hiring smokers in 21 states

U-Haul International has announced plans to stop interviewing and hiring nicotine users, including people who use e-cigarettes and vaping products. The well-known truck and trailer rental company approved the nicotine-free policy set to go into effect Feb. 1 in more than 20 states where the company operates, the Arizona Republic reported Wednesday. People hired before the policy goes into effect won't be affected, company officials said.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2MQLBpc

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