Friday, January 10, 2025

BIG Wrap

Fatalities reported in German festival attack

(BBC News) Three people have been killed and four injured in a suspected knife attack in the western German city of Solingen, police say. Celebrations were under way to mark the 650th anniversary of the city’s foundation when the attack happened. German news site Bild says a man was randomly stabbing passers-by during the festival. The attacker is believed to have fled the scene, and police have launched a manhunt.   https://www.bbc.com/news/live/c2505v8gwe9t

Robert F Kennedy Jr suspends U.S. presidential bid, backs Trump

(Al Jazeera Media Network) Third-party presidential candidate Robert F Kennedy Jr has suspended his long-shot bid for the White House, throwing his weight instead behind Republican candidate, former president Donald Trump. Friday’s announcement was the culmination of weeks of speculation, as Kennedy receded in the polls. Still, he offered a message of defiance, denouncing his campaign’s “naysayers”. “We proved them wrong,” Kennedy said at a campaign stop in Phoenix, Arizona. “Beneath the radar of mainstream media organs,...

Kamala closes DNC

(BBC News) In a headline speech at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Kamala Harris focused on unity and working-class aspiration, pledging to lead "for all Americans" and create an "opportunity economy". She leaned heavily on protecting the right to abortion — an issue that has helped motivate Democratic voters in recent elections. Demonstrations have been taking place outside the convention in opposition to US support of Israel’s war in Gaza. Meanwhile, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump...

Israelis in Cairo as U.S. says truce ‘in sight’

(Al Jazeera Media Network) Israeli negotiators have reportedly arrived for the next round of ceasefire talks in Cairo, where the issue of the Egypt-Gaza border is expected to be discussed. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has denied reports suggesting Israel is considering agreeing to an international force being deployed along the Philadelphi Corridor, the narrow border strip separating Gaza and Egypt. US envoy to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield has urged calm in the Middle East as she told the...

Missing tycoon’s former co-defendant fatally struck by car

(BBC News) The former co-defendant of British tech tycoon Mike Lynch – who is missing off the Italian coast – has died after being hit by a car. Stephen Chamberlain, 52, was Lynch's co-defendant in his US fraud trial in which both men were acquitted following the $11-billion sale of the software giant Autonomy. Chamberlain died after being struck by the vehicle while out running in Cambridgeshire on Saturday. Lynch and his daughter are missing after a luxury yacht...

Mpox is not the new COVID, says World Health Organization

(Al Jazeera Media Network) The mpox outbreak is not another COVID-19, says the World Health Organization, because much is already known about the virus and the means to control it. While more research is needed on the clade 1b strain that triggered the UN agency to declare a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC), the spread of mpox can be reined in, the WHO’s European director Hans Kluge said on Tuesday. In July 2022, the WHO declared a...

Ukraine orders families to leave key city of Pokrovsk amid Russian advances

(Al Jazeera Media Network) Ukrainian authorities have issued an urgent order to families with children to evacuate the eastern city of Pokrovsk, where the Russian army is bearing down fast despite a Ukrainian incursion into Russia’s Kursk region. Local authorities said Russian forces are advancing so quickly that families must leave the city and other nearby towns and villages starting Tuesday. Around 53,000 people still live in Pokrovsk, officials say, while some have already fled their...

Iran hacked Trump campaign, U.S. intelligence confirms

(BBC News) Iran was behind the recent hack of Donald Trump's presidential campaign, US intelligence officials have confirmed. The FBI and other federal agencies said in a joint statement that Iran had chosen to interfere in the US election "to stoke discord and undermine confidence in our democratic institutions." The Trump campaign pointed the finger at Iran on August 10 for hacking its internal messages. Iranian officials denied it. Sources familiar with the investigation told CBS News...

Nationwide health-worker strike hits India over Kolkata medic’s rape, murder

(Al Jazeera Media Network) Hundreds of thousands of Indian health workers and their supporters have launched a nationwide strike to protest against the rape and murder of a trainee doctor last week at a government hospital in the eastern city of Kolkata. Many of the protests on Saturday were led by doctors and other healthcare workers, who were joined by tens of thousands of Indians demanding action. Hospitals and clinics across India turned away patients, except for emergency...

How Raygun made it to the Olympics and divided breaking world

(BBC News) When breaker Rachael Gunn – aka Raygun – bombed out of the Paris Olympics, the shockwaves hit a tiny hip-hop scene on the other side of the world. In a Sydney warehouse-turned-community centre, breakers warm up with ab exercises that would make a Pilates teacher cry, before taking to the floor with acrobatic moves so intricate you can barely make them out. It is one of the most important events of the year – a...