Facebook urged to suspend strongman leader over video threatening violence
The oversight board for Facebook's parent company Meta Platforms on Thursday said Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen should be suspended from the social media site for six months for posting a video violating rules against violent threats.
2023-06-30 14:54
Shropshire funding boost to house homeless refugees
Shropshire Council announces plans to buy 10 more homes for those who have fled Afghanistan.
2023-06-30 13:23
US envoy for Iran has security clearance suspended amid probe into misuse of classified information
The US special envoy for Iran, Rob Malley, had his security clearance suspended pending a review of allegations he may have mishandled classified information, said US officials. Mr Malley, who has been leading Biden administration’s efforts to revive the faltering Iran nuclear deal and resolve issues related to detained Americans in Iran, in the meantime is placed on unpaid leave, reported CNN. "I have been informed that my security clearance is under review. I have not been provided any further information, but I expect the investigation to be resolved favorably and soon,” he said confirming the reports in the local media. Two State Department officials said the agency’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security was leading the inquiry, which revolves around Mr Malley’s handling of classified documents. The officials said they learned of Mr Malley’s change in status from paid to unpaid leave on Thursday, shortly after questions about his status were raised at the State Department’s regular afternoon briefing. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said earlier Thursday that Mr Malley officially remains in his post but is on leave and that his deputy, Abram Paley, is currently leading the Iran portfolio as the acting special envoy. It remains unclear when Mr Malley’s leave began. Mr Malley’s whereabouts have raised questions since he skipped a classified congressional briefing on Iran on 16 May. At the time, State Department officials told lawmakers that Mr Malley was on "extended personal leave" and suggested that his absence might be related to a family health issue. A close personal friend of secretary of state Antony Blinken, Mr Malley was appointed soon after US president Joe Biden took office in 2021. He had been tasked with trying to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal after then-president Donald Trump’s 2018 decision to abandon the pact and reimpose US sanctions on Tehran. Under Mr Trump, Mr Malley worked for the International Crisis Group during which he met on several occasions with Iranians and Palestinian officials with whom US officials are barred from having contact. He helped craft the 2015 nuclear deal and, earlier in his career, was deeply engaged in former president Bill Clinton’s failed 2000 effort to broker Israeli-Palestinian peace. During the Obama administration, Mr Malley served as a National Security Council aide and was closely involved in the negotiations over the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran. Having failed to revive the deal, the United States has held talks with Iran to try to ease tensions by sketching out steps that could limit the Iranian nuclear program, release some detained US citizens and unfreeze some Iranian assets abroad, Iranian and Western officials said earlier this month. Additional reporting from the wires Read More In Iran, a restorer brings back to life famed Cadillac Sevilles once assembled in the country Iran supreme leader says he'd 'welcome' full diplomatic ties with Egypt; presidency websites hacked US, UK, France demand UN investigate Russia's sanctions-busting use of Iranian drones in Ukraine US sanctions Iranian firm for helping government censor internet Iran nuclear site deep underground challenges West as talks on reviving atomic deal have stalled
2023-06-30 12:52
Cambodia: Hun Sen quits Facebook on eve of poll campaign
Facebook parent Meta's oversight body has recommended his suspension over an inflammatory video.
2023-06-30 12:45
Elián González two decades on: From focus of international tug-of-war to member of Cuba’s congress
Elián González has the same big, expressive eyes he did 23 years ago when an international custody battle transformed him into the face of the long-strained relations between Cuba and the United States. Now 29, González is stepping into Cuban politics. He recently entered his country’s congress with hopes of helping his people at a time of record emigration and heightened tension between the two seaside neighbors. “From Cuba, we can do a lot so that we have a more solid country, and I owe it to Cubans,” he said during an exclusive interview with The Associated Press. “That is what I’m going to try to do from my position, from this place in congress — to contribute to making Cuba a better country.” González has given only a handful of interviews since he was unwittingly thrust into the geopolitical spotlight as a boy. In 1999, at just 5 years old, he and his mother were aboard a boat of Cuban migrants headed toward Florida when the boat capsized in the Florida Straits. His mother and 10 others died while González, tied to an inner tube, drifted in open water until his rescue. Granted asylum under U.S. refugee rules at the time, González went to live with his great uncle, a member of the Cuban exile community in Miami that is often a center of fierce criticism of Cuba's government. In Cuba, his father begged then-President Fidel Castro for help. Castro led protests with hundreds of thousands of people demanding little Elián's return. Anti-Castro groups in Miami pressed for him to stay in the U.S. The tug-of-war quickly gained the world’s attention and became emblematic for the testy feelings between the two neighboring nations. Then-U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno ruled the boy should be returned to his father, but González’s relatives refused. AP photojournalist Alan Diaz captured the moment when armed immigration agents seized González in a Miami home, and the photo later won a Pulitzer Prize. “Not having my mom has been difficult, it has been a burden, but it has not been an obstacle when I have had a father who has stood up for me and been by my side," González told AP. He is a father himself now, of a 2-year-old daughter. He works for a state company that facilitates tourism to the island nation his mother left, underscoring the alternate track his life has followed since his homecoming. What’s more, he recently became a lawmaker. In April, González was sworn in as a member of Cuba’s National Assembly of People’s Power, effectively Cuba’s congress. He represents Cárdenas, a town in Matanzas province about 80 miles east of Havana where he lived until his mother took him to sea. He still lives in the province. Dressed in black pants and T-shirt, with a discreet braided bracelet on his right hand and his wedding ring on his left, González was interviewed in Havana’s Capitol, the renovated seat of congress. “I think the most important thing is that I have grown up like other young people. I have grown up in Cuba,” he said. For years, his father made it nearly impossible to get close to the child. From afar, the boy could sometimes be seen playing with other children or accompanying his father to political events. Castro would visit him on his birthday. Over the years, González was a military cadet and later became an industrial engineer. Because Cuba's congressional positions are unpaid, he will continue to work his tourism job. The legislative body has faced criticism for lacking opposition voices and for carrying out the agenda set by the country’s leadership. González's legislative term comes amid historic emigration from the crisis-stricken Caribbean island, as many young Cubans seek a new life in the U.S. — just as his mother did. It also comes at a moment of heightened tensions between the two nations. There have been allegations that Cuba hosted a Chinese spy base, which Cuba adamantly denies. Meanwhile, Cuba claims Biden has yet to ease tough policies enacted by Donald Trump that target the island, while the U.S. points to resumption of some flights and sending of remittances. Amid a deepening political and energy crisis in Cuba, González cast blame on decades of American sanctions stifling the island's economy as the root of many of Cuba's problems, echoing many in the government. He said he believes in Cuba's model of providing free access to education and health services among other things, but acknowledged there is a long way to go for that to be perfected. Despite harsh prison sentences doled out by Cuban courts, punishments defended by the communist government, González said his people have the right to demonstrate. But he added that the causes of current crises should be analyzed before condemning the state. He also had kind words for the hundreds of thousands of Cubans who, like his mother, chose to emigrate. “I respect all those who made the decision to leave Cuba, I respect those who do so today, just as I do my mom,” he said. “My message will always be that (those who leave) do all they can to ensure that Cuba has a status (without sanctions) equal to any country in the world.” Read More Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Jersey Shore towns say state's marijuana law handcuffs police and emboldens rowdy teens AP Week in Pictures: Latin America and Caribbean In workaholic Japan, 'job leaving agents' help people escape the awkwardness of quitting
2023-06-30 12:20
Conservatives are on a roll in their quest to remake America through the courts
Conservatives -- despite their limited federal elected power -- racked up another huge win in the great political battle of the early 21st century.
2023-06-30 12:17
North Carolina lawmakers send ban on gender-affirming care for minors to governor's desk
North Carolina's Republican-controlled legislature has advanced a bill that would ban certain gender-affirming care for minors to the governor's desk.
2023-06-30 11:16
North Carolina governor signs bill adjusting new abortion law before it goes into effect
North Carolina Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper signed into law significant changes to the state's recently passed 12-week abortion ban before it is set to go into effect Saturday.
2023-06-30 10:16
Can Canada make big tech pay for news?
The country is the latest front in a fight that analysts say has big stakes for news - and democracy.
2023-06-30 09:57
Marcus Stroman takes shot at Mets ‘dinosaur’ over Shohei Ohtani’s number
New York Mets commentator and legend Keith Hernandez wasn't too receptive to the idea of giving his No. 17 to Shohei Ohtani if he were to join the team. Chicago Cubs pitcher Marcus Stroman called him out for it.Once the 2023 season ends, all of baseball will be keeping their eyes peeled for...
2023-06-30 09:20
Navajo Nation helps Native Americans targeted by 'fraudulent Medicaid providers'
Navajo Nation police officers are searching for Native Americans who have been victimized by what the state of Arizona calls "fraudulent Medicaid providers."
2023-06-30 08:58
Workers at key Boeing supplier vote to end strike
Spirit AeroSystems, a key supplier to Boeing, is set to reopen next week after members of the International Association of Machinists voted Thursday to ratify a tentative labor agreement and end a week-long strike.
2023-06-30 08:58