Russia, Ukraine accuse each other of plotting imminent attack on nuclear plant
(Reuters) -Russia and Ukraine on Tuesday accused each other of plotting to stage an attack on the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear
2023-07-05 05:57
Bank of England considers clampdown on foreign bank branches- FT
(Reuters) -The Bank of England is looking at plans to force more international banks to set up subsidiaries in the
2023-07-05 05:54
David and Victoria Beckham celebrate 24th anniversary with nostalgic photos: 'Happy Anniversary love'
'Still holding hands and still laughing (with you not just at you). I love you so much,' wrote Victoria Beckham
2023-07-05 05:53
Ted Cruz accuses new Barbie movie of ‘pushing Chinese propaganda’
Ted Cruz is accusing the highly anticipated Barbie film of “pushing Chinese propaganda,” after a trailer for the Warner Bros release appeared to show a map referencing China’s disputed claims to the South China Sea. “Senator Cruz has been fighting for years to prevent American companies, especially Hollywood studios, from altering and censoring their content to appease the Chinese Communist Party,’ a spokesperson for the Texas Republican told The Daily Mail. The issue stems back to the so-called “nine-dash line” used on Chinese maps, illustrating what it claims are its posessions within the South China Sea. The line, first published on Chinese maps in the 1940s, demarks an area 1,200 miles from the Chinese mainlaind comprised more than 80 per cent of the South China Sea, according to The Los Angeles Times. Parts of the territory within the line, a busy fishing and trade corridor with valuable oil and gas deposits as well as strategic importance, are claimed by nations including Vietnam and the Philippines. About a minute into the Barbie film’s main trailer, a map of the world can be seen with a line of eigh dots jutting off a cartoonish drawing of Asia. The Independent has contacted Warner Bros for comment. The Republican Texas senator isn’t the only one upset about the map. Vietnam reportedly banned the movie over the apparent reference to the Chinese claims. The decision was issued by the country’s Central Council of Film Evaluation and Classification, Vi Kien Thanh, head of the Vietnam Cinema Department, told theTuoi Tre newspaper on Monday. The film was set to premiere in the country on 21 July, the same time as it hit US screens. It’s not the first time the territorial claims have impacted a Hollywood release. Showings of the action film Uncharted in Vietnam were halted last year for the same reason. The map dispute also led Vietnam to cut a scene from the 2018 smash Crazy Rich Asians, according to the Mail. The territorial dispute over the South China Sea territory at issue was brought before The Hague in 2016, where China lost on most of its claims. Beijing has not accepted the judgment. Read More Barbie director Greta Gerwig reveals she rejected ‘terrifying’ idea for Margot Robbie film Vietnam bans 'Barbie' movie due to an illustration showing China's territorial claim John Legend and Chrissy Teigen sleep over at Barbie’s Malibu dreamhouse: ‘So jealous’ Trump and DeSantis to hold dueling campaign events in New Hampshire after squabbling over timing Analysis: Donald Trump's war on truth confronts another test with voters Judge blocks Biden agencies from communicating with social media platforms
2023-07-05 05:48
Kit Connor talks about being bisexual and coming out under pressure: 'I feel much more secure in myself now'
Kit Connor said, 'It’s the experience of maybe you’re too straight to be gay and you’re too gay to be straight'
2023-07-05 05:46
Injunction blocks Biden administration from working with social media firms about 'protected speech'
A judge on Tuesday prohibited several federal agencies and officials of the Biden administration from working with social media companies about “protected speech,” a decision called “a blow to censorship” by one of the Republican officials whose lawsuit prompted the ruling
2023-07-05 04:52
Rob McElhenney and Kaitlin Olson dispel split rumors through witty tweets: 'Not with someone from Wales'
'It was me who had the affair. But it was not with someone from Wales. It was with a whale,' wrote Kaitlin Olson
2023-07-05 04:51
Eva Marcille's estranged husband Michael Sterling sued for allegedly causing car accident while DUI
Michael Sterling has, however, pleaded not guilty to the misdemeanor charges in the case against him
2023-07-05 04:49
Federal judge blocks Biden administration officials from communicating with social media companies
A federal judge on Tuesday ordered some Biden administration agencies and top officials not to communicate with social media companies about certain content, handing a win to GOP states in a lawsuit accusing the government of going too far in its effort to combat Covid-19 disinformation.
2023-07-05 04:17
Cocaine found at White House sparked evacuation, US media report
A powder is found in a work area of the White House's secure West Wing by Secret Service staff.
2023-07-05 03:58
Tree of Life synagogue shooter is too delusional to get death penalty, defence argues
Jurors in Pittsburgh have begun considering whether the gunman in a white supremacist 2018 shooting at a local synagogue complex should get the death penalty. In June, Robert Bowers, who killed 11 people at the Tree of Life synagogue, was convicted on 63 federal counts. According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, experts called by his attorneys have been arguing in court in recent days that he was so mentally damaged by the time of the shooting he shouldn’t face the death penalty, which is forbidden against people with certain intellectual handicaps. They pointed out how Bowers had been in multiple psychiatric hospitals by the time he was 13 years old, diagnosed with depression and other ailments. As a teenager, he also attempted to kill his mother by spraying an aerosol toward her and trying to light it on fire. By 16, he was voluntarily committed again to a mental facility and had made “repeated suicide attempts,” according to the defence. Richard Rogers, a forensic psychologist who met with Bowers four times while he was in prison, told jurors the gunman showed signs of delusional thinking tied to his white supremacist ideas. “He did not just believe [his conduct] to be correct,” Mr Rogers said, “he believed it absolutely had to be done.” A majority of families whose loved ones died in the shooting have voiced their support for the death penalty in the case. “We are not a ruthless, uncompassionate people; we, as a persecuted people, understand when there is a time for compassion and when there is a time to stand up and say enough is enough — such violent hatred will not be tolerated on this earth,” they wrote in a 2022 letter in the Pittsburg Jewish Chronicle. “Our beloved 11 were taken from us in a brutal, cold-blooded act of hatred and violence. We, the undersigned, will feel further violated by letting the defendant have the easy way out. His crimes deserve the death penalty.” Others tied to the tragedy, the deadliest antisemitic shooting in US history, argued the death penalty violates Jewish tradition. “Jewish practice as I understand it does not — outside of self-defense — allow humans to take the lives of other humans. Not even the life of a murderer whose guilt is beyond doubt,” Beth Kissileff, whose husband, a rabbi, was in the Tree of Life facility during the shooting, wrote in The New York Times. “The death penalty does nothing to promote healing; it only continues more killing,” she added. The Independent and the nonprofit Responsible Business Initiative for Justice (RBIJ) have launched a joint campaign calling for an end to the death penalty in the US. The RBIJ has attracted more than 150 well-known signatories to their Business Leaders Declaration Against the Death Penalty - with The Independent as the latest on the list. We join high-profile executives like Ariana Huffington, Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg, and Virgin Group founder Sir Richard Branson as part of this initiative and are making a pledge to highlight the injustices of the death penalty in our coverage. Read More A copycat Zodiac Killer terrorised New York years after the California original. This is how he got caught Pittsburgh synagogue killer has extensive history of mental illness, defense expert testifies Doctors give mixed testimony on whether tests show brain damage in the Pittsburgh synagogue killer
2023-07-05 03:52
Fund for French police officer who shot teen dead dwarfs one made for victim's family
After a police officer in France shot dead unarmed 17-year-old Nahel Merzouk during a traffic stop in Paris last week, two fundraisers were set up. One, to support the teen's mother. The other, for the family of the police officer who shot him.
2023-07-05 03:48
