Tulsa

Trump denies wanting to move the Republican National Convention to his Doral resort, citing ballroom size

President Trump said in a series of tweets Monday morning that unless North Carolina can immediately "guarantee" that the Republican Party can hold its convention in Charlotte in late August with "full attendance" in a "fully occupied" Spectrum Center arena, the GOP "will be reluctantly forced to find" another Republican National Convention site. Where would the party find another large venue willing to host thousands of people during a pandemic, as well housing for the delegates, catering, sound, and other ancillary services?If you guessed the Trump property where the president already pushed to host this summer's G-7 summit, Trump denied it. "I have zero interest in moving the Republican National Convention to Doral in Miami," he tweeted. "Ballroom is not nearly big enough." Incidentally, The New York Times does not appear to have reported any such rumor about Trump and Doral.> Actually no one reported that, sir. As always appreciate you checking to see what was what before you tweeted. https://t.co/Q6z64qBIJj> > — Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) May 25, 2020Times reporters Maggie Haberman and Annie Karni did report last week that as Republicans look "at possible contingency plans, including limiting the number of people who descend on Charlotte to only delegates," Trump has "shown a new openness to participating in a scaled-down event" and "has mused aloud to several aides about why the convention can't simply be held in a hotel ballroom in Florida, given all of the health concerns and the fact that Florida is further along in reopening portions of the state."North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D)'s three Memorial Day tweets included two remembering U.S. service members who gave their life for their country and a brief statement responding to Trump.> Statement from Gov. Cooper’s spokesperson on today’s comments about the Republican National Convention: pic.twitter.com/xDuNWstqjQ> > — Governor Roy Cooper (@NC_Governor) May 25, 2020GOP chairwoman Ronna McDaniel and other Republicans involved in planning the convention "have said that they have hired a medical expert and that they are consulting with the governor of North Carolina and the mayor of Charlotte," the Times reported last week. "Local politicians in North Carolina, including Republicans, have expressed skepticism that the convention will be able to go forward as planned."More stories from theweek.com Trump shares disturbing meme of Biden's campaign in a coffin J.K. Rowling's new children's book is being released for free online Trump keeps falsely accusing Joe Scarborough of murder, and it's long past weird

Netanyahu becomes the first Israeli prime minister to stand trial over corruption and fraud cases

Last year, Netanyahu was indicted on bribery, fraud, and breach of trust charges as part of three separate corruption cases.

India detains pigeon on suspicion of spying for Pakistan

An intrepid Pakistani ‘spy’ pigeon is facing a life behind bars in India. The allegation was made after Geeta Devi, a resident of the Kathua district of Indian-administered Kashmir, reported a bird - painted pink and carrying a coded ring tagged to its foot - flew into her home on Sunday night. The Indian Border Security Force passed the pigeon on to the police, who launched an investigation and logged the animal as a ‘Pak Suspected Spy.’ Officials in Kathua said the bird had flown across the border and they would try to decipher the message. “The pigeon, suspected to have been trained in Pakistan for spying, has a ring with alphabets and numbers written on it,” a police source told the Times of India. “Though birds have no boundaries and many fly across international borders during migration, a coded ring tagged to the captured pigeon’s body is a cause for concern as migratory birds don’t have such rings.”

Reckless Mount Hood Climbers Put Rescue Crews at Risk During Pandemic

Apparently a global pandemic isn’t enough danger for some people. Rescue crews had to save three people on Mount Hood this weekend, endangering their own health in the process.Portland Mountain Rescue said the first mission began late Friday night after a climber summited but got lost in whiteout conditions on the way back, with no water and a dying cellphone.By the time a team reached him early in the morning, he was hypothermic, and it took two teams 12 hours to bring him down from an elevation of 6,200 feet.The volunteer search-and-rescue organization said it was finishing up the first mission on Saturday when it got a call about a couple who triggered an avalanche on a challenging stretch of the mountain.“They were swept all the way down the route onto the Reid Glacier and miraculously survived with limited injuries,” PMR wrote on Facebook.The first mission required 30 rescuers and the second one needed 20, the group said, asking outdoor enthusiasts not to take chances that might put crews in danger—not just from the mountain conditions, but from COVID-19.“We know you want to get out, but please, please be conservative in your choices,” the group wrote. “Although we have conservative Covid protocols, it really is impossible to maintain them throughout a mission.”PMR’s Mark Morford told The Oregonian that Mount Hood was even more crowded than on previous Memorial Day weekends.“I think there’s a tremendous amount of pent up demand, people wanting to get out,” he said. "It looked like a conga line going up Hogsback… What a circus.”The Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office said that more than 200 climbers were on the mountain on Saturday despite a high avalanche danger caused by 10 inches of fresh snow amid warming temperatures.Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.

Latam Airlines seeks bankruptcy protection as travel slumps

Latam Airlines, South America’s biggest carrier, sought U.S. bankruptcy protection Tuesday as it grapples with a sharp downturn in air travel sparked by the coronavirus pandemic. The Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing underscores the severity of the financial challenges facing the travel industry as a result of the lockdowns, quarantines and other measures taken by governments the world over to stem the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19. Passenger and cargo flights will continue to operate during the reorganization, and employees will still be paid, the Santiago, Chile-based airline said.

Dutch PM did not visit dying mother until end due to coronavirus rules: statement

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte did not visit his 96-year-old mother for more than eight weeks until hours before her death this month due to lockdown measures in the Netherlands, his office said on Tuesday. Mieke Rutte-Dilling died on May 13, Rutte's office announced on Monday. "The prime minister complied with all the coronavirus restriction measures and didn’t visit his mother for (more than 8) weeks," the premier's office said in a statement.

Xi Jinping says China strengthening armed forces amid tensions with US over coronavirus

Beijing says it will improve its preparedness for military combat. In the background: heightened U.S. tensions.

Nasa SpaceX launch: What time is the rocket liftoff and how can I watch it live

Nasa and SpaceX are preparing to send two astronauts to space in a mission that hopes to change the future of space exploration.When Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley lift off from Kennedy Space Center to the International Space Station, Nasa will be hoping they will both break tradition and set a new course for US spaceflight.

Joe Biden questions my blackness one moment, defends racist 1994 crime bill the next

These are not gaffes. Democrats like Joe Biden are running scared because the Trump administration has been good for African Americans.

Trump's senior economic adviser referred to Americans returning to work as 'human capital stock'

States are slowly lifting lockdown measures put in place to curb the coronavirus outbreak, which has killed close to 100,000 people in the US.

White woman called police on black man in dog row

The woman has now been suspended from her job at an investment firm in New York City.

50 billion years of animal evolution under threat from human activity, study says

Fifty billion years of evolutionary history is under threat from human activity, according to a new study which suggests some of the most threatened areas contain the most unique animals. Branches of the tree of life will be cut by the loss of animals such as the Mary River turtle, native to Queensland, Australia, recognisable by its punk-like algae ‘hair’, whose evolution stretches back 40 million years. The turtle, which breathes out of its genitals underwater and doesn’t reach sexual maturity for 25 years, is threatened by the pet trade. Other highly evolutionarily distinct species include the Aye-aye lemur, which are found only on the island of Madagascar, where in 1990 Gerald Durrell embarked on a rescue mission to save dwindling numbers of the long-finger and bushy-tailed primate from the effects of deforestation.

Chinese media says Wuhan had live virus

The Chinese virology institute at the centre of US allegations it may have been the source of the COVID-19 pandemic has three live strains of bat coronavirus on-site, but none match the new global contagion, its director has said.

Brazil surpasses U.S. in daily coronavirus death toll

Brazil daily coronavirus deaths were higher than fatalities in the United States for the first time over the last 24 hours, according to the country's Health Ministry. Brazil registered 807 deaths over the last 24 hours, whereas 620 died in the United States. Brazil has the second worst outbreak in the world, with 374,898 cases, behind the U.S. with 1.637 million cases.

China says opposes all U.S. restrictions on Chinese airlines

China said on Monday it opposes all U.S. restrictions imposed against Chinese airlines, responding to a report that the U.S. Transportation Department has demanded Chinese carriers file their schedules and other flight details by May 27. Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said flight restrictions imposed by Beijing treated all airlines equally and were due to efforts to curb COVID-19 related risks. The U.S. government late on Friday accused the Chinese government of making it impossible for U.S. airlines to resume service to China.

US urges probe into alleged ethics breach at African Development Bank

The US Department of the Treasury has called on the African Development Bank (AfDB) to carry out an independent probe into alleged ethics breaches by its president, Akinwumi Adesina. In a letter obtained by AFP on Monday, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin expressed "deep reservations" about the outcome of an internal inquiry clearing Adesina, and urged the appointment of an independent outside investigator. The letter, dated May 22, was sent to the chair of the AfDB's board, Ivorian Planning and Development Minister Niale Kaba.

Why is Trump so restrained about the Biden sexual assault allegation?

The president rarely misses a chance to sling mud but he has been uncharacteristically quiet about Tara Reade’s claimSometimes Donald Trump portrays his election rival, Joe Biden, as a sleepy geriatric who should be in a care home because “he doesn’t know he’s alive”. At others, the president speaks of Biden as a wily manipulator who conspired with the deep state and China.But in this scattergun approach, the US president has been uncharacteristically reluctant to use what, in normal times, would seem standard political ammunition: an allegation of sexual assault.It took more than a month after Tara Reade, a former Senate staffer, alleged on a podcast that Biden sexually assaulted her in a Capitol Hill basement in 1993, for Trump to publicly address the matter.Even then, the US president’s comments on 30 April were unusually milquetoast. “I don’t know anything about it,” Trump said. “I don’t know exactly – I think he should respond. You know, it could be false accusations. I know all about false accusations. I’ve been falsely charged numerous times. And there is such a thing.”Then, speaking on Fox News’s Fox & Friends, usually a comfort zone, he again declined to go for Biden’s jugular. “Look, he’s got to fight that battle,” he said. “I’ve had battles, too, where I’ve had false accusations, many times. I’ve had many false accusations made, I can tell you that. Many. And maybe it is a false accusation. Frankly, I hope it is, for his sake.”The first and most obvious explanation for the president’s reticence is that he himself has been accused of assault and unwanted touching by a long list of women, some far more recently than Reade’s account. He also denies the allegations. On the other hand, Trump has never allowed perceived double standards to get in the way of his scorched earth tactics in the past.Monika McDermott, a political science professor at Fordham University in New York, said: “It’s surprising in a way because usually Trump doesn’t pull back on things even when they do seem hypocritical or ironic or choose your adjective. Yet he is in this particular instance. I don’t know if he’s waiting for something to happen or whether he’s waiting to see how it plays out before he does anything. He seems to be finding what seem to him more fruitful attack routes against Obama and other things and people than against Biden right now.”In 2016 Trump’s campaign was rocked by the release of an Access Hollywood tape in which he could heard bragging about using his fame to grab women’s private parts. Instead of quitting, he went on the offensive against his rival Hillary Clinton by highlighting sexual assault allegations against her husband, former president Bill Clinton, and even inviting those accusers to a press conference before a presidential debate.But this November will witness the first presidential election since the rise of the MeToo movement, which has encouraged women to come forward with allegations of sexual assault against prominent men in politics, show business and other industries.Biden has committed to picking a woman as his running mate and frequently cites his work as lead sponsor of the Violence Against Women Act. Both candidates are keenly aware that suburban women could be a pivotal demographic in the final vote.While Trump remains taciturn, Republicans have instead focused much of their response on Brett Kavanaugh, the supreme court justice whose nomination was nearly derailed by sexual misconduct allegations. The Trump campaign pointed to statements made by Democrats during the Kavanaugh episode to portray them as hypocritical.Erin Perrine, principal deputy communications director at the Trump campaign, said: “During Justice Kavanaugh’s hearings, Biden made clear that all women should be believed when they come forward with allegations of sexual assault. Biden’s own work during the Obama administration lowered standards for such accusations on college campuses as to effectively institute a presumption of guilt. In a dramatic shift, Biden now says ‘believe women’ doesn’t actually mean ‘believe women.’”Trump himself, however, has preferred to take aim at other targets, seeking to implicate Biden in a so-called “Obamagate” conspiracy that many seen as an attempt to deflect attention from the coronavirus pandemic – likely to prove a more significant issue in November.Amid Democratic alarm that the Reade allegation could dent Biden’s support among women, the former vice-president vehemently denied it in an interview on the MSNBC network on 1 May and repeated that position in a series of media appearances.The story has faded from prominence in recent days, especially after the PBS NewsHour interviewed 74 former Biden staffers, of whom 62 were women, and found none said that they had experienced sexual harassment, assault or misconduct by Biden, nor ever heard rumors or allegations to that effect.By pushing the case, Trump may have more to lose than to gain. Rich Galen, a former Republican strategist, said: “The case against Biden keeps getting thinner and thinner so I’m not sure that there’s much there. And all the people who’s accused Trump, it would be like listing the names of the people who died in Vietnam every night.”Michael Steele, former chairman of the Republican National Committee, added: “Trump, if nothing else, knows how to read his audience: ‘No, they’re not going to buy anything I sell on this point.’ There’s no need to even open that Pandora’s box because it’s a Pandora’s box for him, not Joe Biden. I think that’s why the president has largely decided not to engage at that level.“My sense is right now, despite what others in the campaign may want to do, there is no energy from the president himself to open up that door and go through it.”

Virgin Orbit successfully dropped a rocket from a jumbo jet and ignited it, but its launch failed due to an 'anomaly'

Virgin Orbit's first rocket launch failed due to an unexplained problem after it had a "clean release" from the Cosmic Girl jumbo jet.

Daytona beachside shooting wounds at least 5 people

About 200 young people were observed in a helicopter video dancing, partying and gathering on the sidewalk in the middle of the street.

‘Fox & Friends’ Confronts Kayleigh McEnany With Chris Wallace Criticism

Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace didn’t get the chance to confront White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany directly this weekend. So Fox & Friends host Brian Kilmeade did it for him. About halfway through her appearance on that show Tuesday morning, Kilmeade brought up a comment McEnany made during her Friday press conference. “Boy, it’s interesting to be in a room that desperately wants to seem to see these churches and houses of worship stay closed,” she told reporters, some of whom objected in the moment to that blatant condescension.As Kilmeade put it, “Some of the press got insulted,” before reading McEnany part of what Wallace said about her comments on his Sunday show. “Let me just say, Sam Donaldson and me in the Reagan White House, we were pretty tough on the White House press secretaries and we never had our religious beliefs questioned or were lectured on what we should ask,” Wallace said. Kilmeade left out the part where Wallace said that in his six years covering the White House he “never saw a White House press secretary act like that.”Kayleigh McEnany: Trump Supports Vote by Mail ‘For a Reason’—Just Not a Pandemic“Were you questioning the religious beliefs of the press?” Kilmeade asked her directly. “No, I never questioned the religious beliefs of the press,” she insisted, before adding, “Many of our journalists are great men and women of faith.” McEnany said her comments were merely trying to draw attention to the fact that “it was a bit peculiar” that she was asked so many questions about why the Trump administration was pushing to reopen churches across the country during a pandemic. “I’ve never been asked why a liquor store was essential,” she added.  Of course, while Wallace likely would have thrown a few follow-up questions at McEnany’s nonsensical answer, the Fox & Friends hosts moved right along to the next topic.  Seth Meyers Exposes New Trump Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany’s Breathtakingly Stupid Coronavirus TakeRead more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.

German government takes controls at Lufthansa with bailout

The largest aviation rescue in Europe is going to have to be approved by Brussels.

Trump tweets from the golf course as U.S. virus death toll nears 100,000

As the American death toll from the coronavirus approached 100,000 on Sunday, President Trump was on the golf course in Virginia.

Baby gorilla badly injured in family skirmish at Seattle zoo

A baby gorilla was badly injured at a Seattle zoo on Saturday when he was caught in a skirmish between his family group members, zookeepers said. Animal health experts at the Woodland Park Zoo say little Kitoko was bitten on the head, likely by accident when another gorilla tried to bite his mother, Uzumma. Kitoko sustained a fractured skull and a severe laceration, but zoo officials say the 2-month-old gorilla underwent surgery and may fully recover if he doesn't develop an infection.

Riot police reinforce Hong Kong legislature overnight as protests expected

Hundreds of riot police took up posts around Hong Kong's legislature overnight, as protests were expected on Wednesday over a bill criminalising disrespect of China's national anthem and against plans by Beijing to impose national security laws. The proposed new national security laws have triggered the first big street unrest in Hong Kong since last year, when violent protests brought Hong Kong's biggest crisis since the return of Chinese rule in 1997 from Britain. Activists say the security laws could bring an end to the autonomy of China's freest city, now guaranteed under a policy known as "one country, two systems".

Corruption prosecutions nearly double in China over last year

The number of prosecutions related to corruption in China nearly doubled last year, according to a report by Beijing's top prosecutor, as President Xi Jinping ramped up his crackdown on graft. According to the annual report from the Supreme People's Procuratorate submitted to the national parliament, 18,585 people were prosecuted for crimes related to corruption in 2019, a 90 percent year-on-year increase. Sixteen cases involved former provincial or ministerial-level Communist Party cadres, including former Yunnan party chief Qin Guangrong, who was accused of taking bribes.

Joe Biden wears mask in 1st public appearance since March

Biden is back.Former Vice President Joe Biden on Monday made his first public appearance since mid-March as he visited a veterans memorial in Delaware, notably clad in a mask. The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee laid a wreath in honor of Memorial Day, alongside his wife, Jill Biden, who also wore a mask.Biden's choice to follow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendation to wear a mask during the coronavirus pandemic is in stark contrast to President Donald Trump, who often refuses to wear masks in public, fearful that he'd look ridiculous.Biden's first outing in two months may serve as a trial run for public events, reports The Associated Press, suggesting he won't spend the remaining five months until the election campaigning from home. While advisers hope to resume campaign activities eventually, they intend to do so "when safety allows, and we will not do that a day sooner," said Biden campaign manager Jen O'Malley Dillon.More stories from theweek.com Trump shares disturbing meme of Biden's campaign in a coffin J.K. Rowling's new children's book is being released for free online Trump keeps falsely accusing Joe Scarborough of murder, and it's long past weird

Meet the dogs of war who run into danger to find hidden bombs and the US soldiers who have their backs

"We're on the front line most of the time," an Army sergeant said of herself and her dog.

India first quarter GDP growth likely to be weakest since 2012: Reuters poll

India's economy is likely to have expanded at its slowest pace in at least eight years in the January-March quarter, partly as a result of the coronavirus clampdown, a Reuters poll predicted. Asia's third-largest economy began slowing last year, but a countrywide lockdown implemented by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 25 halted economic activity completely. "Activity in January and February was strong, but the slowdown in March is likely to have largely offset those gains," Aayushi Chaudhary, an economist at HSBC in Mumbai, said.

Trafficked Nigerian women rescued from Lebanon

The 50 return home a month after a woman working as a maid in Beirut was put up for sale on Facebook.

Is international travel allowed yet? See when Spain, Mexico, Italy, UK plan to reopen borders

Spain has announced that it will reopen its borders to foreign tourists in July and Mexico will start reopening in June. See when others will follow.

'I hit the trifecta': She was battling cancer. Then came coronavirus and the complications.

In the age of COVID-19, cancer hospitals like Memorial Sloan Kettering have been forced to reimagine how to care for patients like 27-year-old Eliza Paris.

New Zealand leader carries on with TV interview during quake

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern barely skipped a beat when an earthquake struck during a live television interview Monday morning. New Zealand sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire and is sometimes called the Shaky Isles for its frequent quakes. Ardern continued on with her interview, telling the host the shaking had stopped.

British farmers 'will go out of business' in UK-US trade deal, Theresa Villiers warns

British farmers “will go out of business” as a consequence of a trade deal with the United States, former environment secretary Theresa Villiers has warned. Admitting that she had "great fears" about "unfettered competition between domestic farmers and US imports", she said it would be very difficult for domestic farmers to compete on price. Ms Villiers, who left her Cabinet post in February’s reshuffle, said she was concerned about the impact of a deal on the rural economy and the union "because of the significance of livestock farming in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales". International Trade Secretary Liz Truss has insisted that she would not do a trade deal with the US if it “does not benefit every sector of UK agriculture”. However, opponents of practices such chlorine-washing chicken and hormone-injected beef fear farming standards may be bargained away in negotiations. The Government is being urged to enshrine guarantees into the Agriculture Bill by the opposition benches and many of its own MPs. Ms Villiers argued that an amendment to the bill would give certainty to farmers "that our negotiators wouldn't be able to give way” on standards.

Virus traps poor foreign workers in deserted Maldives

Tens of thousands of impoverished foreign labourers have been left stranded and ostracised in one of the world's most densely packed cities as the tourist paradise of the Maldives battles coronavirus. Like Singapore, which recorded a large number of coronavirus cases among migrants living in tightly-packed dorms, the Maldives is heavily dependent on foreign labour. About half of the 150,000 people in the two square kilometres that make up the capital, Male, are workers from Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka living in teeming alleys that are a haven for the virus.

Trump news – live: Pentagon watchdog becomes latest to resign over coronavirus, as widower pleads for end to president's trolling over wife's death

A senior White House adviser to Donald Trump, Kevin Hassett, is being mercilessly ridiculed as a living parody of a box-ticking economist after he promoted an end to national lockdown measures in an interview with CNN by declaring: “Our human capital stock is ready to go back to work.”Officials in Missouri have meanwhile criticised the “irresponsible and dangerous” scenes of revellers ignoring social distancing rules to gather at a crowded lake over the Memorial Day holiday weekend, a case emblematic of tensions across the US as the debate over reopening from the coronavirus shutdown continues.

Republicans sue California Gov. Newsom over his executive order to allow mail-in voting for the November election

In a lawsuit filed on Sunday, Republican groups called Newsom's executive order to allow mail-in voting a "brazen power grab."

Brazil's Bolsonaro says he expects top court to end probe into his conduct over police

Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro expects the Supreme Court to find no wrongdoing and end an investigation into potential political interference in the federal police, according to a statement from the presidential palace on Monday. An allegation by former Justice Minister Sergio Moro, a popular anti-graft crusader, that Bolsonaro aimed to interfere in police investigations has become a political scandal adding to the public health crisis caused by the coronavirus outbreak.

India coronavirus: Chaos at airports as domestic flights resume

Nearly 100 flights have been cancelled after passenger planes restarted operations after two months.

Joe Biden hits President Trump for golfing as US coronavirus death toll nears 100,000

President Trump spent Memorial Day weekend at his Virginia golf club; Jacqui Heinrich reports.

Oklahoma woman missing since April following Facebook post that indicated she believed she had coronavirus

Talina Galloway, 53, of Wagoner, Oklahoma, was last heard from by her boss on March 27, 2020. Her last Facebook post was dated April 7. In the post, the posted stated she believed she had coronavirus but did not want to go to the hospital. Her purse and wallet were left at home. Her car was still in the driveway. She has a distinct tattoo of a sun symbol on her right wrist. The Wagoner County Sheriff’s Office is investigating.

Airbus experts probe plane crash that killed 97 in Pakistan

Pakistan announced Tuesday that Airbus experts have opened a probe into last week’s plane crash that killed 97 people when an Airbus A320 went down in a crowded neighborhood near the airport in the port city of Karachi. Initial reports have said the Pakistan International Airlines jet crashed after an apparent engine failure. The Airbus experts and engineers are also to visit the crash site, according to Abdul Hafeez, a spokesman for PIA.

2 prominent members of an LA TikTok house were arrested on drug charges during a cross-country quarantine trip

Bryce Hall, 20, and Jaden Hossler, 19, of the TikTok collective "Sway House" have been arrested on drug charges in Lee County, Texas.

Israel court rules Australia sex crimes suspect fit to stand trial

An Israeli court ruled Tuesday that an Orthodox Jewish teacher accused of child sex abuse in Australia was mentally fit to stand trial, bringing her closer to extradition after years of legal battles. The decision was hailed by alleged victims who have campaigned for years for Malka Leifer to be sent back to face trial. Jerusalem district court judge Chana Lomp said that she had "decided to accept the expert panel's opinion, the defendant is fit to stand trial".

Russia’s Pushing a Quack COVID Cure All Over Africa

ABUJA, Nigeria—U.S. President Donald Trump is not the only figure threatening the World Health Organization while endorsing dubious coronavirus treatments. In Africa, news outlets and social media posts notorious for spreading Russian-created disinformation and conspiracy theories are leveling all sorts of allegations against the WHO, ranging from incompetence to fraud.At the center of the attacks is what appears to be a coordinated campaign promoting an herbal concoction the Moscow-backed government of Madagascar claims will cure COVID-19. The attacks on the WHO intensified when the agency released a statement on May 4 warning Africans against using untested remedies for treatment of the coronavirus after the Malagasy government began to extoll—and export in large quantities—an untested herbal infusion sometimes bottled like soda that’s called Covid-Organics. The main component for the tonic is artemisia annua, known as sweet wormwood, which has been shown to have some therapeutic value against malaria (PDF).Russians Are Using African Troll Factories—and Encrypted Messaging—to Attack the U.S.The WHO announced its support for traditional medicines if they are “scientifically proven” to be effective, but warned pointedly that "the use of products to treat COVID-19, which have not been robustly investigated can put people in danger, giving a false sense of security and distracting them from hand washing and physical distancing which are cardinal in COVID-19 prevention."The herbal remedy’s biggest booster is Malagasy President Andry Rajoelina, a 45-year-old media entrepreneur elected in 2018 with help from Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose meddling, as detailed by the New York Times, was blatant even by Kremlin standards. (Rajoelina denies getting any assistance.)Covid-Organics has not gone through clinical trials. An aide to Rajoelina told the BBC the tonic was “tried out” on fewer than 20 people over three weeks before it was launched in April—a “test” that does not even begin to meet scientific or medical standards.Rajoelina’s response? He accused the West of condescending behavior toward traditional African therapy, telling French media that the product would have been globally accepted "if it was a European country that had actually discovered this remedy.""[Madagascar] has come up with this formula to save the world," said Rajoelina, who claims the herbal tonic cures COVID-19 patients within 10 days. "No country or organization will keep us from going forward."Rajoelina has gained lots of support in East Africa, especially in Tanzania (another country that has established deep ties with the Kremlin in recent years). Its controversial leader, President John Pombe Magufuli, has openly endorsed Covid-Organics and also insinuated recently that the WHO artificially inflated the number of COVID-19 cases in his country.All this parallels, however weirdly, the kinds of assertions and statements made by the U.S. president about miracle cures—ranging in his case from hydroxychloroquine to household bleach, thought not yet Covid-Organics—as well as the failings of a World Health Organization he says is under China’s thumb. And the similarities in the narrative are not entirely coincidental. Many of the African sites spreading these stories also are enthusiastic supporters of Trump. A number of Tanzanian newspapers have criticized the WHO for its refusal to approve Covid-Organics. A pro-government publication, Tanzania Perspective, particularly, reported that Rajoelina accused the WHO of offering him a $20 million bribe to poison the herbal tonic. A spokesperson for the Malagasy president later denied that wild claim, but not until it had gone viral on social media across the continent, including broadcasts on WhatsApp by such groups as One Africa, One Success (OAOS), a platform for African students studying in Russia that has been used to spread disinformation and conspiracy theories targeting the U.S. and defending Trump.Members of the OAOS have also claimed in their messages that Bill Gates has prevented the WHO from approving coronavirus therapies—including hydroxychloroquine—that supposedly have proven to be effective in Africa, a narrative that has been picked up by high-profile politicians in the continent and extended to Covid-Organics."Madagascar claims to have a herbal-based cure for Covid 19," tweeted Femi Fani-Kayode, a former Nigeria aviation minister and a die-hard Trump supporter. "Why is it that the @BillGates-controlled @WHO refuses to take Africans seriously even where some of these ‘cures’ have yielded appreciable positive results?"Back in Madagascar, numerous media outlets, some of which were used by Russia to publish fawning articles about Rajoelina to help him win the 2018 presidential election, have accused the WHO of ineffectiveness, claiming that the agency is being manipulated by certain high powers to undermine Madagascar's coronavirus treatment discovery."What you see mostly in the papers is that the WHO doesn't care about finding a coronavirus cure," Thierry Pam, a French freelance journalist living in Madagascar, told The Daily Beast. "No one says anything good about the WHO."One social media post that went viral across Africa in late April claimed that Putin actually ordered a million doses of Covid-Organics and called on Africans not to listen to the WHO. Agence France Presse (AFP) reported the story was totally bogus. There was never such an order, Madagascar’s authorities denied it, and, officially at least, Russia usually supports WHO efforts to address the pandemic. But disinformation campaigns often are at odds with officially stated policies because their objectives are different. The focus of Russia’s activities has been to drive a wedge between Africa and other international players, whether the U.S., European nations, or China. The Covid-Organics controversy is potentially just another tool to create resentment, as reflected in President Rajoelina’s assertions that his country’s “cure” for the pandemic is being ignored by the West because it is from Africa.Much of the news that people in Madagascar see or listen to is content created by media outlets set up by the operations of Yevgeny Prigozhin, a close ally of  Putin who was indicted by Special Counsel Robert Mueller for allegedly financing the Internet Research Agency that worked to influence the U.S. 2016 presidential election.A leaked document viewed last year by The Guardian revealed that Russia “produced and distributed the island’s biggest newspaper, with 2 million copies a month.” The Russians also run a French-language news service, Afrique Panorama, based in Madagascar’s capital Antananarivo, according to The Guardian's report.Madagascar is one of Africa’s poorest nations, with about 80 percent of its 25 million people living on less than $2 per day, but it has managed to ship tens of thousands of doses of Covid-Organics to several countries, including Nigeria, Tanzania, Comoros, Senegal, Guinea Bissau, Chad and Equatorial Guinea. Many of these reportedly have been sent for free, leading to suggestions that Madagascar may have gotten Russia's help to produce large amounts of the drug. Since his election, Rajoelina has promoted closer ties with Moscow. Most notably, he has strengthened his military cooperation and allowed a company owned by Prigozhin, which had acquired a major stake in a government-run firm that mines chromium under Rajoelina's predecessor, to keep control of the operation. This despite protests by workers complaining of canceled benefits and unpaid wages.Meanwhile, in a country where tests have been very limited, and some of those marred by controversy,  hundreds of people are now known to be infected with the virus, and the numbers are rising rapidly. The first two confirmed COVID-19 deaths were reported just this week.Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.

The private jet version of the Boeing 787 can cost more than $200 million and fly over 18 hours. Take a look at some its most luxurious designs.

The BBJ 787 Dreamliner is like the hybrid of private jets costing over $200 million. The jet can fly over 18 hours with a bedroom and shower onboard.

Iran fuel shipment nears Venezuelan shores, Maduro thanks Tehran

The lead vessel of a five-tanker flotilla carrying fuel supplied by Iran to gasoline-thirsty Venezuela neared one of state-run PDVSA's ports as President Nicolas Maduro thanked Tehran on Sunday. Iran is providing Venezuela with 1.53 million barrels of gasoline and components in a move criticized by U.S. authorities as both nations are under Washington's sanctions, according to the governments, sources and calculations by TankerTrackers.com. Tanker Fortune was due to arrive at PDVSA's El Palito port, close to the capital Caracas, according to a company source and Refinitiv Eikon data showing its trajectory.

Coronavirus: Is Latin America the new epicentre?

New cases have been rising sharply in Brazil and Mexico, along with other countries in the region.

265 Million People Could Face Hunger in 'Unprecedented' Crisis, World Food Program Expert Warns

'When you have these severe job losses, or you have big lockdowns, that means that those people become vulnerable,' U.N. World Food Programme's Chief Economist Arif Husain tells TIME