China has sentenced a prominent pastor who operated outside the Communist Party-recognized Protestant organization to nine years in prison for subversion. Wang Yi had led the Early Rain Covenant Church and was arrested a year ago during China's ongoing crackdown on all unauthorized religious groups in the country. The government requires Protestants worship only in churches...
Tuesday, 31 December 2019
U.S. auto safety agency to probe fatal Tesla crash in Los Angeles
The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said late on Tuesday it will investigate a fatal Dec. 29 Tesla Inc crash in Los Angeles that killed two people.
from Reuters: U.S. https://ift.tt/39sMk...
FAA probes clusters of mysterious drones flying over Colorado
The Federal Aviation Administration has launched an investigation into nighttime sightings of unidentified drones flying in formation over rural northeastern Colorado and southwest Nebraska over the last two weeks, the agency said on Tuesday.
from Reuters: U.S. https://ift.tt/2SH6q...
'I still have confidence in package holidays'
New research suggests most people still want to book package holidays despite what happened after the collapse of Thomas Cook.
from BBC News - Business https://ift.tt/2rIc40I
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Heal divisions in 2020, says Archbishop of Canterbury
"Begin cementing our unity one brick at a time," Archbishop of Canterbury says in new year message.
from BBC News - Home https://ift.tt/2Qb67...
Robert Durst admits to writing 'cadaver note' linked to Susan Berman killing, court records show
Robert Durst admitted to writing the note that pointed Beverly Hills police to the Benedict Canyon home where his longtime friend Susan Berman was found dead in 2000, according to a filing made public this month.
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Hanukkah Attack Suspect’s Lawyer: Cuccinelli Immigration Comments Are ‘a Disgrace’
After a leader in the Trump administration came under fire for seemingly trying to turn the latest violent anti-Semitic attack in New York into an anti-immigrant parable, the target of his smear responded Tuesday, calling his comments “a disgrace.”Ken Cuccinelli, the acting director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, claimed in a Monday morning tweet that 38-year-old...
Thousands flee to beaches amid devastating Australian wildfires
Thousands of Australians were forced to flee to beaches on Tuesday as wildfires continued to blaze in New South Wales and Victoria.About 4,000 people sought refuge on nearby beaches in the town of Mallacoota in Victoria, with thousands along the New South Wales coast needing to evacuate their homes, CNN reports. Fires have been raging in Australia for the past several months,...
Here's who will be onstage for the January Democratic presidential debate in Iowa and how to watch it
CNN and the Des Moines Register will co-host the seventh Democratic presidential debate in Des Moines three weeks before the Iowa caucuses.
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Trump says he has been denied due process. But the Constitution does not afford him that.
Like Bill Clinton and Andrew Johnson before him, President Trump does not have the same constitutional protection afforded to criminal defendants.
from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2tjBZM...
North Korea leader promises look at new weapon soon
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has accused the Trump administration of dragging its feet in nuclear negotiations and warned that his country will soon show a new strategic weapon to the world as its bolsters its nuclear deterrent in face of “gangster-like” U.S. sanctions and pressure. The North’s state media said Wednesday that Kim made the comments during a four-day ruling...
Donald Trump warns Iran it will pay 'big price' as protesters try to storm US embassy in Baghdad
Donald Trump accused Iran of orchestrating the attack on the US embassy in Baghdad as he said he expected Iraq to “use its forces” to intervene. "Iran will be held fully responsible for lives lost, or damage incurred, at any of our facilities. They will pay a very BIG PRICE! This is not a Warning, it is a Threat," he wrote on Twitter. "The US Embassy in Iraq is, &...
China took their parents: the Uighur refugee children of Turkey
The school on the outskirts of Istanbul is a rare place where Uighur child refugees from China can study their language and culture. Having fled a worsening crackdown on Uighur Muslims in northwest China, some of their parents thought it was still safe to return occasionally for business and to visit family, only to disappear into a shadowy network of re-education camps from...
Huawei says it will generate a record $122 billion in annual revenue despite US sanctions
The $122 billion figure would, however, fall short of Huawei's own annual revenue projections for 2019.
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Deputy tases woman, 70, while trying to make arrest at her home
Authorities say Barbara Pinkney wouldn't let them in and had to be tased three times before she could be subdued.
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Greta Thunberg calls world leaders' attacks on her 'just funny'
Greta Thunberg says it's "just funny" when she's personally attacked by world leaders like President Trump.The 16-year-old Swedish climate change activist, who earlier this month was named Time's person of the year, spoke with Today on BBC Radio on Monday and was asked about recent attacks on her, such as when Trump lashed out at her in a tweet by claiming she has an anger...
Over 90,000 to Celebrate Jewish Talmud Milestone at MetLife Stadium New Year's Event
CBN News has learned a massive sold-out event is happening New Year's Day at East Rutherford, New Jersey's MetLife Stadium where the reading of the entire Jewish Talmud will be concluded after 7 and 1/3 years.
from CBNNews.com https://ift.tt/2ua9t...
Pompeo hopes North Korea's Kim chooses 'peace and prosperity over conflict and war'
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Tuesday he hoped North Korea would choose peace over war, a response to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un saying would introduce a "new strategic weapon" in the near future.
from Reuters: World News https://ift.tt/2SG2o...
Protesters burn security post at U.S. Embassy in Iraq in new foreign policy test for Trump
Protesters angry about U.S. air strikes on Iraq hurled stones and torched a security post at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad on Tuesday, setting off a confrontation with guards and posing a new challenge for U.S. President Donald Trump.
from Reuters: World News https://ift.tt/36fVt...
Texas Churchgoers Welcomed the Poor, but Sensed This One Was Trouble

By BY DAVE MONTGOMERY, ANEMONA HARTOCOLLIS AND RICK ROJAS from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/37mK6...
Al interior de un tribunal de guerra estadounidense: la ropa y la cultura en Guantánamo
By BY CAROL ROSENBERG AND WENDY MACNAUGHTON from NYT en Español https://ift.tt/2uaRj...
Science Panel Staffed With Trump Appointees Says E.P.A. Rollbacks Lack Scientific Rigor

By BY CORAL DAVENPORT AND LISA FRIEDMAN from NYT Climate https://ift.tt/356WY...
Monday, 30 December 2019
National living wage to rise by 6.2% in April
The government says it will boost pay by more than four times the rate of inflation.
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What were the top business stories of 2019?
It was a year of unrest and upheaval, with protests in Hong Kong, and US-China trade tensions.
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Local shops urge action to save cash machines
The Link network should raise the fee it pays cash machine operators, say convenience store owners.
from BBC News - Business https://ift.tt/2MErOZW
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National living wage to rise by 6.2% in April
The government says it will boost pay by more than four times the rate of inflation.
from BBC News - Home https://ift.tt/2SIsG...
Record sightings of whales, dolphins and seals in UK, says Wildlife Trusts
More than 800 sightings of whales, dolphins and seals have been logged in British waters this year.
from BBC News - Home https://ift.tt/2MK4O...
GOP Senator: ‘There Are No Rules’ for Senate Impeachment Trial
Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) claimed on Sunday’s broadcast of State of the Union that there are no “substantive rules” when it comes to holding an impeachment trial and that the Constitution doesn’t provide much guidance to the Senate.CNN anchor Jake Tapper noted that Kennedy had previously said his objective in President Donald Trump’s impeachment is to be fair to both sides....
Turkey arrests 94 Islamic State suspects ahead of New Year
Turkish police detained 94 people suspected of ties to Islamic State in nationwide raids on Monday ahead of New Year celebrations, police and state media said, two months after the group's leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was killed. Counter-terror police carried out the operations in the central provinces of Ankara, Kayseri and Adana, and Batman in the southeast, state-owned Anadolu...
Saudi Arabia Sentences Man to Death for Theater Stabbings: TV
(Bloomberg) -- A Saudi Arabian court sentenced a Yemeni man to death for stabbing three performers at a theater show in the capital last month in an attack ordered by al-Qaeda, state-run TV reported.Another defendant was jailed for 12 1/2 years, Al Ekhbariya channel reported, citing the criminal court. The attack, in which three people were injured, was ordered by al-Qaeda...
California's groundbreaking privacy law takes effect in January. What does it do?
Landmark law, the ‘most comprehensive’ in the US, gives Californians an arsenal of tools to protect their data online Last year, California passed a landmark privacy law that gives consumers more control over their data. The legislation gives residents unprecedented rights to control what information companies collect on them and how it is used.The California Consumer Privacy...
Judge dismisses lawsuit from Bolton deputy regarding Ukraine testimony
Charles Kupperman filed suit in October after he was subpoenaed by the House Intelligence Committee.
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Hasan Minhaj’s 2020 Advice: Be Like Mitch McConnell
Before signing off for 2019, Hasan Minhaj has turned his eye towards 2020. The host of Netflix’s Patriot Act ended his final episode of the year by sharing some updates from stories he covered earlier in the year, including an interview during which he tried to get Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to accept Islam as his “one true faith.” Two weeks later, his brownface...
Machete Attacker Stabs 5 at NY Rabbi’s Hanukkah Celebration
A masked, machete-wielding man barged into a Hanukkah celebration and stabbed five people at a rabbi’s home in Monsey, New York, on Saturday evening, intensifying fears anti-Semitic violence after a spate of incidents last week. The assailant escaped but the NYPD quickly picked up a suspect. Law-enforcement sources identified him as Grafton Thomas, 37, who has several previous...
Turkey evacuates wounded after deadly Mogadishu blast
A Turkish military cargo plane landed in the Somali capital on Sunday to evacuate people badly wounded in a devastating truck bombing that killed at least 90 people including two Turkish nationals. The plane also brought emergency medical staff and supplies, the Turkish embassy said in a tweet, adding these had been taken to a Turkish-run hospital in Mogadishu. Somali Information...
Trump to Counter-Program Next Democratic Debate: Campaign Update
(Bloomberg) -- Democrats seeking to replace Donald Trump in the White House will have some competition for television viewers during their next debate: The incumbent president himself.Trump’s campaign announced Monday that his next rally would be in Milwaukee on Jan. 14. That’s the same day as the Democratic candidates’ seventh debate, in Des Moines, Iowa.Trump’s impeachment...
Twitter system 'outage' briefly blocked Trump whistleblower tweet
A tweet from U.S. President Donald Trump that identified an intelligence analyst as the alleged whistleblower who helped spark his impeachment was temporarily blocked at the weekend, with Twitter blaming an outage that affected a number of user accounts. In recent days, Trump shared an unsubstantiated media report and a second post that appeared to name the intelligence community...
Duterte Renews Attacks on TV Network, Urges Owners to Sell
(Bloomberg) -- Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte continued his attacks on a local television network he’s accused in the past of bias, and urged owners of ABS-CBN Corp. to sell before its franchise expires in March.In a televised speech delivered in the local language at Davao City on Monday, Duterte suggested the media firm’s franchise renewal is uncertain. He had earlier...
I'm using all my strength to fight climate change, says Merkel
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said in a her New Year's message she is fighting climate change with all her strength to enable future generations to live in peace and prosperity.
from Reuters: World News https://ift.tt/2QwgQ...
Sudan to deploy troops to West Darfur after deadly unrest
Sudan's authorities said on Monday they would deploy military forces to West Darfur and suspend peace talks with rebel groups for 24 hours after an outbreak of deadly violence around the regional capital.
from Reuters: World News https://ift.tt/2rGnK...