New York governor blocks discharge of radioactive water into Hudson River from closed nuclear plant
A measure to block discharges of radioactive water into the Hudson River as part of the Indian Point nuclear plant’s decommissioning has been signed into law by New York Gov. Kathy Hochul
2023-08-19 02:52
Major central banks not done with rate hikes just yet
LONDON Inflation is easing but major central banks remain hawkish, with a long-awaited pause from the U.S. Federal
2023-06-15 21:50
Apple continues its sweep to roll out USB-C to more devices
Apple quietly announced its next-generation Pencil that works with iPads and now includes USB-C charging.
2023-10-19 02:24
Matt Damon, Emily Blunt Exit ‘Oppenheimer’ Show to Go Strike
No more Margot Robbie draped in pink dresses and flashing a million-watt smile at Barbie screenings. No more
2023-07-14 05:57
Jadon Sancho accuses Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag of making him a ‘scapegoat’
Jadon Sancho has claimed he is being made a “scapegoat” by Erik ten Hag after the Manchester United manager suggested the winger was dropped due to his performances in training. Sancho is yet to start a game for Manchester United this season and was left out of the squad entirely for their visit to Arsenal on Sunday which saw his side fall to a late 3-1 defeat after injury-time goals from Declan Rice and Gabriel Jesus. After the game, the United manager addressed the English forward’s absence, clarifying that it was down to his levels of performance in training in the week leading up to the match. “Jadon [Sancho] was absent [based] on his performance on the training,” Ten Hag said. “We didn’t select him. You have to reach a level every day at Manchester United and we can make choices on the frontline, so for this game, he wasn’t selected.” However, the 23-year-old has since hit back at the Dutch manager’s words, with a public statement on social media suggesting that other reasons were behind his dropping and refuting the claims of poor training. “Please don’t believe everything you read,” Sancho wrote. “I will not allow people saying things that is completely untrue, I have conducted myself in training very well this week. I believe there are other reasons for this matter which I won’t go into, I’ve been a scapegoat for a long time which isn’t fair! “All I want to do is play football with a smile on my face and contribute to the team. I respect all decisions that are made by the coaching staff, I play with fantastic players and grateful to do so which I know every week is a challenge. I will continue to fight for this badge no matter what!” Sancho has struggled to nail down a regular starting berth in United’s team since his £73m move from Borussia Dortmund in 2021. The Englishman missed three months at the end of last season due to various physical issues. He has scored just 12 goals in 82 games for the club in all competitions. While Sancho watched from home, United extended their dreadful recent record at the Emirates. Having gone ahead through Marcus Rashford, they were pegged back instantly by Martin Odegaard’s strike. Having seen Alejandro Garnacho’s late strike ruled out by VAR for offside, Rice’s deflected strike from a corner – followed by Jesus’s composed finish on the break – secured a dramatic win for the home side. Read More Police launch investigation following alleged assault on Roy Keane Police investigate after Keane ‘headbutted’ following Arsenal win over Man Utd Arteta praises ‘magic’ Rice as £105m midfielder proves match winner vs Man United
2023-09-04 17:46
FACT FOCUS: Misinformation about the Israel-Hamas war is flooding social media. Here are the facts
In the days since Hamas militants stormed into Israel early Oct. 7, a flood of videos and photos purporting to show the conflict have filled social media, making it difficult for onlookers from around the world to sort fact from fiction. While plenty of real imagery and accounts of the ensuing carnage have emerged, they have been intermingled with users pushing false claims and misrepresenting videos from other events. Among the fabrications, users have shared false claims that a top Israeli commander had been kidnapped, circulated a doctored White House memo purporting to show President Joe Biden announcing billions in aid for Israel, and pushed old and unrelated videos of Russian President Vladimir Putin with inaccurate English captions. Here is a closer look at the misinformation spreading online — and the facts. CLAIM: A video shows a BBC News report confirming Ukraine provided weapons to Hamas. THE FACTS: The widely shared video clip is fabricated, officials with the BBC and Bellingcat, an investigative news website that is cited in the video as the source, confirm. The clip, which includes the BBC’s distinctive block-text logo, purports to show a story from the outlet about a recent report from Bellingcat on Ukraine providing arms to Hamas. “Bellingcat: Ukrainian military offensive failure and HAMAS attack linked,” reads the text over the video, which has more than 2,500 comments and 110,000 views on the messaging service Telegram. “The Palestinians purchased firearms, ammunition, drones and other weapons.” But neither the BBC nor Bellingcat has reported any evidence to support the notion that Ukraine funneled arms to Hamas. “We’ve reached no such conclusions or made any such claims,” Bellingcat wrote Tuesday in a post on X that included screengrabs of the fake report. “We’d like to stress that this is a fabrication and should be treated accordingly.” Eliot Higgins, the Amsterdam-based organization’s founder, noted in a separate post on X that the claims have been amplified by Russian social media users. Nassim Nicholas Taleb, a New York University professor briefly shown near the end of the video, also disputed the clip’s suggestion that he’s said the U.S. might leave NATO if the arms claims prove true. “Entirely fake. Never said that,” the distinguished professor of risk engineering wrote in an email. Spokespersons for the BBC didn’t respond to emails seeking comment, but Shayan Sardarizadeh, a reporter with the organization’s fact checking unit, confirmed in a post on X Tuesday that the video is not real. Ukrainian officials have similarly dismissed the notion that its country’s arms have somehow found their way to Hamas. The country’s military intelligence agency, in a Monday post on its official Facebook page, accused Russia of plotting a disinformation campaign around these claims. Experts say there is also no evidence of Hamas making any claims about receiving arms from Ukraine, nor would it make sense for Kyiv to provide them. “I see no reason Ukraine would do this,” said Michael O’Hanlon, director of foreign policy research at the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank. “Starting with the fact that Kiev is in the business of obtaining weapons and not giving them away.” — Associated Press writers Philip Marcelo in New York and Hanna Arhirova in Kyiv contributed this report. ___ CLAIM: The Greek Orthodox Church of Saint Porphyrios was destroyed during Israel’s bombing of Gaza. THE FACTS: Officials with the church confirmed Thursday the structure remains intact and unharmed during the shelling. Posts circulating on social media falsely claimed that the holy Christian site, located in the al-Zaytun section of Gaza’s Old City, had become a casualty in the conflict. “Israel just blew up the third oldest church in the word,” wrote an Instagram user. “Saint Porphyrius Orthodox Church in Gaza was 1,616 years old.” But the house of worship remains standing, according to church officials who took to social media in recent days to debunk the false narrative. In email replies Thursday, officials confirmed the church would host worship services Friday morning. They also referred the Associated Press to the regular updates that have been posted on the church Facebook page. A post on the page in Arabic on Tuesday said the church remains “untouched and operating” to assist the congregation and broader community in Gaza, and that claims circulating online about it being damaged are false. — Philip Marcelo. ___ CLAIM: Video of a young actor being filmed lying in a pool of fake blood shows propaganda being created for use in the Israel-Hamas war. THE FACTS: The video is behind-the-scenes footage from the making of “Empty Place,” a short film focused on the story of Ahmad Manasra, a Palestinian who was arrested at age 13 in 2015 in relation to the stabbing of two Israelis. Social media users on both sides of the latest Israel-Hamas war are sharing the video, each falsely alleging that it’s proof the other group is creating propaganda about their own. In the clip, a young actor lies on a sidewalk covered in fake blood, his right leg bent backward, as a film crew works around him. Other actors mill about dressed as soldiers and in garb worn by many orthodox Jewish men. “See how Israelis are making fake videos saying that Palestine Freedom Fighters killed children,” reads one tweet that had received more than 5,600 likes and more than 4,400 shares as of Wednesday. An Instagram post claimed the opposite, stating: “These terrorists are dressing up as JEWISH soldiers to create fake videos about Israeli soldiers! Faking Propaganda!” But neither allegation is correct. The video shows footage from the making of the 2022 short film directed by Awni Eshtaiwe, a filmmaker based in the West Bank. The scene being shot begins about 1 minute and 10 seconds into the approximately 2 minute film. Mohamad Awawdeh, a cinematographer listed in the film’s credits as a camera assistant, posted the behind-the-scenes footage to TikTok in April 2022, around the time the film was released. A caption on the post, written in Arabic, explains that the scene being filmed in the video shows Manasra being attacked. Awawdeh posted the same footage to Instagram on June 30. ___ CLAIM: Nimrod Aloni, a top general in the Israeli army, was captured by Hamas militants during a deadly incursion Saturday into southern Israeli towns near the Gaza Strip. THE FACTS: There's no truth to this claim, a spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces confirmed. Aloni was seen Sunday at a meeting of top Israeli military officials. The erroneous claim that Aloni was one of the hostages taken by Hamas spread widely online Saturday after the militant group attacked Israel. “Palestinian resistance fighters capture Israeli commander Nimrod Aloni along with dozens of other Israeli soldiers as the resistance fighters attacked neighbouring occupied towns and Israeli check posts near Gaza,” stated one Instagram post that received more than 43,000 likes. But Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, the IDF’s chief military spokesman, told reporters on Saturday that claims Aloni was captured are “not true.” Aloni clearly appears 10 seconds into a video posted to the Israeli military’s official YouTube channel of top IDF officials discussing the war on Sunday. Sunday’s date can be seen on a slide in the background. The IDF also published online four images from the meeting. The one on the lower right shows Aloni on the far right. The Israeli army confirmed to The Associated Press that Aloni is the man in the video and image. Hamas militants are holding Israeli civilians and soldiers hostage in Gaza, the Israeli military has confirmed. The militants have cautioned that they will kill a hostage every time Israel’s military bombs civilian targets in the Gaza Strip without warning. — Associated Press writer Melissa Goldin in New York contributed this report. ___ CLAIM: A memo shows that President Joe Biden just announced he is sending $8 billion in military aid to Israel. THE FACTS: An image of a memo being widely shared online was fabricated, and Biden has not made any such announcement, the White House confirmed on Monday. Social media users began sharing the altered image in the wake of Saturday’s surprise attack on Israel by Hamas. It appears to show Biden authorizing Secretary of State Antony Blinken to direct up to $8 billion in aid, as Israel formally declared war Sunday. The purported memo is formatted like other orders posted on the White House website, complete with the blue-and-white White House logo at the top and Biden’s name at the bottom. “BREAKING! Biden signs order to send $8 BILLION in Military Aid to Israel,” wrote one user who shared the memo on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. But the widely shared memo is a fake, Sean Savett, a White House spokesperson, confirmed Monday. The funds released to Iran are also not related to Hamas’ attack, the office also maintains. The memo appears to be a doctored version of an order Biden issued providing war assistance to Ukraine this summer. Much of the language mirrors that July 25 missive, including the title: “Memorandum on the Delegation of Authority Under Section 506(a)(1) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961.” The real memo called for up to $400 million for Ukraine in its ongoing war with invading Russian forces. Biden’s name appears in the center of the fake document, rather than the right side as in the original. Savett, in his emailed reply, also pointed to Biden’s call over the weekend with Israel President Benjamin Netanyahu, in which the Democrat reiterated that help was on the way to bolster Israel and that more assistance would arrive in the coming days. The administration deployed the USS Gerald R. Ford, the Navy’s newest and most advanced aircraft carrier, which sailed to the Eastern Mediterranean on Sunday carrying approximately 5,000 sailors and a deck of fighter jets. It was accompanied by a group of cruisers and destroyers in a show of force and support for Israel. — Philip Marcelo. ___ CLAIM: A video shows Hamas fighters parachuting onto a sports field before attacking Israeli citizens during the group’s surprise attack on Israel. THE FACTS: While Hamas did employ paragliders to get some fighters across the border between Gaza and southern Israel, the footage of the sports field shows parachute jumpers in Cairo, Egypt, and has been online since at least September. The clip shows people strapped to multi-colored parachutes descending onto a crowded sports field complex filled with children and families, many in red sports jerseys. “Hamas paraglided amongst Israeli citizens and proceeded to massacre them,” text on the video clip reads. One post of the misleading footage on TikTok was viewed more than 38,000 times. But this footage has been online since at least Sept. 27, when it was posted to TikTok with the location tag “Egypt.” Details of the video also point to Egypt as the location — a person is wearing a blue shirt that reads “El Nasr SC” on the back, the name of a sporting club in northeastern Cairo. Images of the club on Google Maps match the scene of the video — as well as several other clips of the event from the same TikTok user — with both showing a bright blue fence around a sporting ground next to a paved area with green and blue plastic seats. The parachuters land on a larger soccer pitch surrounded by tall field lights. The field matches photos posted to the club’s Facebook page and footage of its soccer team’s matches, including a distinctive red building with a blue fence on top at one end that can be seen in the TikTok clip at around 19 seconds. Other TikTok users shared footage of a parachuting similar scene around the same time, with “El Nasr” in the caption in Arabic. The crowd of onlookers in the clip circulating online also doesn’t seem distressed by the arrival of the parachuters, as one might expect if they were an invading force. In fact, many women and children are seen running towards them, phones in hand taking videos and photos of the aerial display. — Melissa Goldin. ___ CLAIM: Two videos show Russian President Vladimir Putin warning the U.S. to “stay away” from the latest Gaza war. THE FACTS: Bothvideos circulating online are months-old clips of Putin speaking about the Russia-Ukraine war, not the conflict in the Middle East, which have been miscaptioned in English. Both videos show Putin speaking in Russian, with false English captions saying he was warning the U.S. to refrain from helping the Jewish state. “America wants to Destroy israel as we destroy ukraine In past,” the captions on one video state. “I am warning America. Russia will help palestine and america can do nothing.” One TikTok post that shared the clip had received approximately 11,600 views as of Monday. A caption on another video of Putin, filmed in a different location, similarly reads: “I am warning america to stay Away from palestine israel war.” But the two clips long predate the latest Israel-Hamas war and make no mention of Israel at all. The first shows Putin at a meeting of Russia’s Human Rights Council in December 2022, where, amid discussions about the war in Ukraine, he responded to a question about the country’s potential use of nuclear weapons, as the AP reported at the time. The footage was featured by multiple other newsoutlets with similar translations. In the second, Putin is speaking at a February 2023 event marking the 80th anniversary of the World War II Soviet victory over Nazi German forces in the battle of Stalingrad. In his remarks, he compared this threat to Germany’s then-recent decision to supply Ukraine with tanks, the AP reported at the time. Several media outlets also featured the footage in similar reports. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday that Russia is “extremely concerned” by the “spiral of violence” in Israel. Mikhail Bogdanov, Russia’s deputy foreign minister and former ambassador to Israel and Egypt, told the state Tass agency Saturday that Moscow has been in touch with “all parties (of the conflict), including Arab countries” and was urging for “an immediate cease-fire and peace.” — Melissa Goldin. ___ This is part of AP’s effort to address widely shared misinformation, including work with outside companies and organizations to add factual context to misleading content that is circulating online. Learn more about fact-checking at AP. Read More Israeli shelling along Lebanon border kills 1 journalist, wounds 6 In Israel's call for mass evacuation, Palestinians hear echoes of their original catastrophic exodus Irish Defence Forces ‘monitoring the situation’ in Middle East One in five Britons feels UK should be more critical towards Israel, poll finds Forced from Israel for being Palestinian – they fear what comes next Archbishop of Canterbury appeals for Gaza humanitarian corridor
2023-10-14 03:20
Fox News host Jeanine Pirro upset as 24-hr window given to Gazans for evacuation before ground invasion
Jeanine Pirro said, 'The Palestinians are nothing more than a pawn in the game that Hamas and Iran are playing'
2023-10-15 14:16
Former ‘GMA’ star TJ Holmes embraces fatherly duties as he helps daughter Sabine with haircare routine in new pic
Former 'GMA' anchor TJ Holmes posted a photo on Instagram featuring his daughter playing a video game while he assisted with her haircare routine
2023-09-25 12:18
Joe Rogan shows concern regarding current situation in Canada: ‘It’s f**king falling apart’
Joe Rogan is certainly unhappy with the political condition of Canada at the moment
2023-08-13 14:46
West Ham hero Jarrod Bowen says last-minute winner ‘best moment of my career’
Jarrod Bowen admitted scoring the winning goal in a European final was beyond his wildest dreams. Bowen’s last-minute strike secured a dramatic 2-1 victory for West Ham over Fiorentina in the Europa Conference League final and ended their 43-year wait for a trophy. The 26-year-old winger raced on to Lucas Paqueta’s through-ball and slotted home to spark wild celebrations on the pitch, the touchline and in the stands. “I can’t sum it up, it’s the best feeling I’ve had in my career,” said Bowen. “When I went through I had a lot of time and it was just about making sure you put it in. “The keeper came out and I think I fell over, I looked up and the ball was going in and I thought ‘no, this isn’t happening’. “I spoke to my family before and said ‘imagine scoring a goal in the last minute’. To bring a trophy to this club is the best moment of my career. “The fans as well, seeing them after the game I was a bit lost for words. It’s the best feeling of my life, never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d win a European trophy. “I’m so buzzing, all of us are just going to go mad I think. You have to celebrate. “When the final whistle went I just thought’ this party is going to be crazy. I’m just a little boy from Leominster who never thought I’d be talking like this. My family are crying and it just shows me how far I’ve come.” West Ham led through a Said Benrahma penalty on the hour but were immediately pegged back by Giacomo Bonaventura’s strike. But when Bowen raced through with a minute to go, boss David Moyes almost found himself going full Jose Mourinho. “The moment he went through I was edging down the touchline,” he said. “If it was going to be anyone, I thought ‘this is the moment’. “But I couldn’t do a full Mourinho knee slide as the grass was a bit dry and I’d have ended up on my belly.” The victorious team return home on Thursday for a parade through East London, starting at 7pm on Barking Road and ending in front of Stratford Town Hall. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Tony Cottee: West Ham face big decisions over Declan Rice and David Moyes future Football rumours: Newcastle join Manchester United in bid to sign Kim Min-jae On this day 2011: England’s Matt Prior reprimanded over smashed window at Lord’s
2023-06-08 16:17
Indian authorities arrest 3 railway officials over the train crash that killed more than 290 people
India’s federal crime agency has arrested three railway officials in connection with one of the country’s deadliest train accidents, which killed more than 290 people last month
2023-07-08 08:46
Andrew Tate links Kenneth Darlington's fatal shooting of climate activists with 'masculine urge', Internet says 'you need help'
Controversial figure Andrew Tate ignited backlash by linking Kenneth Darlington's fatal shooting of two climate activists to a 'masculine urge'
2023-11-10 13:58
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