Top World News
"Democracy Is Threatened": German Chancellor As Politician Attacked
05/05/24 1:56 AM
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Saturday condemned an attack on one of his party's European Parliament deputies as a "threat" to democracy after investigators said a political motive was suspected.
"Full-Blown Famine" In North Gaza, Says UN Food Program Chief
05/04/24 10:31 PM
The chief of the United Nations' food program has warned of a "full-blown famine" in northern Gaza and reiterated calls for a ceasefire in Israel's war against Hamas.
"Lost Everything": 70,000 Forced From Homes As Deadly Floods Hit Brazil
05/05/24 5:22 AM
Nearly 70,000 people have been forced from their homes amid deadly flooding, mudslides and torrential storms in southern Brazil, with the major city of Porto Alegre particularly hard-hit, the country's civil defense agency said Saturday.
"Radicalised" Teenager With Knife Shot Dead By Cops In Australia
05/05/24 7:59 AM
Australian police shot and killed a "radicalised" 16-year-old boy with a knife who had wounded a member of the public in Western Australia, police and state Premier Roger Cook said Sunday.
'No way': Foreign policy experts question Noem’s 'dubious' account of meeting Kim Jong Un
05/03/24 12:50 PM
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem's hopes of becoming presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump's running mate may have been destroyed by the puppy shooting controversy. Noem has been drawing widespread criticism — even among fellow Republicans — for an anecdote in her new book "No Going Back: The Truth on What’s Wrong With Politics and How We Move America Forward" in which she describes taking a dog to a gravel pit on a farm, shooting it and killing it.Although that anecdote is receiving a great deal of attention, it is only one of the many things Noem talks about in her book. Noem, who served in the U.S. House of Representatives for eight years before becoming South Dakota governor, also talks about her foreign policy experience.But according to the Dakota Scout, an "alleged meeting" with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un described in Noem's book is "in dispute."READ MORE: 'I hated that dog': Kristi Noem recalls taking family pup to gravel pit and killing itScout reporters Austin Goss and Jonathan Ellis, in an article published on May 2, explain, "In 'No Going Back,' Noem says she met North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un while serving in Congress on the House Armed Services Committee. Last year, as governor, she says she canceled a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron. But neither account has been verified by congressional travel documents or outside sources reviewed by The Dakota Scout. And The Scout confirmed with the French president's office that Macron never had a meeting scheduled with Noem."A Capitol staffer interviewed by The Scout, presumably on condition of anonymity, said of Noem's alleged meeting with Jong Un, "It's b*****t."According to Goss and Ellis, "That staffer was among a dozen staffers interviewed by The Scout who said they had no knowledge of the meeting, or who said Noem had never mentioned it before…. Noem served on the House Armed Services Committee from 2013-2015. During that period, committee members, including Noem, visited China in 2014. But there is no record of Kim being in China then."George A. Lopez, a professor at Notre Dame University in Indiana known for his focus on foreign policy, pointed out that even former President Barack Obama didn't meet with Jong Un during that period.READ MORE: It's a 'tragedy' not to force rape victims to give birth: Kristi NoemLopez (not to be confused with the comedian/actor), told the Scout, "I don't see any conceivable way that a single junior member of Congress without explicit escort from the U.S. State Department and military would be meeting with a leader from North Korea. What would have been so critical in his bag of tricks that he would have met with an American lawmaker, this one distinctively?"Another scholar known for foreign policy expertise, Virginia Commonwealth University's Benjamin Young, described Noem's account of meeting Jong Un as "dubious."Young told the Scout, "There's no way. There's no way…. I cover North Korea very closely, and I have never heard of Kim Jong Un meeting congressmen or congresswomen."READ MORE: Kristi Noem's damage control response to puppy shooting story: She also killed 3 horsesRead the Dakota Scout's full report at this link.
'Operation Madonna': Rio readies for singer's free mega-concert
05/01/24 10:56 AM
Madonna's long-awaited free concert on Rio de Janeiro's Copacabana Beach has upended the neighborhood, with over a million fans expected -- but for retired resident Mario Renato Borges, it's the least the singer deserves."Welcome, Queen," read some posters near the huge stage erected on the Brazilian beach, where Madonna will on Saturday give the biggest show of her 40-year career and the last of her "Celebration Tour."The 65-year-old American singer arrived in the coastal city on Monday after more than 80 shows in Europe, the United States and Mexico. This will be her only stop in South America.The "Like A Virgin" and "Material Girl" performer traveled to Brazil with three planes and 270 tons of equipment, according to her production company.She has set up camp at the luxurious Copacabana Palace hotel, connected to the stage by a suspended catwalk that dozens of fans crowded under this week, hoping to catch a glimpse of the pop star.- The biggest dance floor -Thanks to free admission, organizers expect Madonna's concert to produce the "world's biggest dance floor" of up to 1.5 million people -- a figure only reached on the same beach by the Rolling Stones in 2006."The traffic is chaos but the concert will be great, especially because it's Madonna, the queen of pop," says resident Borges, who lives in Leme, a neighborhood at the end of Copacabana Beach.Madonna's fourth performance in Rio will contribute some 293 million reais (US$57 million) to the local economy, an income 30 times higher than what city authorities invested, according to the mayor's office.Around 150,000 foreigners are expected to swarm the city, with most hotels already fully booked."This will undoubtedly be one of Rio's biggest international events. It will boost our economy and attract tourists from Brazil, Latin American and all over the world," said the city's Tourism Secretary Daniela Maia.- Return of the conical corset -Madonna fever is clear to see in Rio -- the so-called "Marvelous City" -- as the hours tick down to her performance.At the Lix printing shop in the popular downtown Saara shopping district, the songs of the "Material Girl" are playing on loop to inspire devotees who can choose from personalized fans, hats or mugs.Manager Livia Reis, 23, tells AFP that her store went viral on social media shortly after the concert was announced thanks to an influencer who visited the Madonna-inspired shop."A guy came in, took a photo and a video, and sent them to a fan club with 150,000 followers in Portugal. From there, it jumped to TikTok and Instagram," she says.One particularly popular item is a replica of the conical corset created by French designer Jean Paul Gaultier, which Madonna famously wore on stage in 1990.Sold as a bra or a top, the item is "doing very well," says Reis, who expects there will be "queues out of the door" in the days ahead of the concert.- Patrols on the corners -"All this activity is good for tourism, hotels and restaurants. But let's hope the security is up to the task," says 68-year-old Rio local Borges.The mayor's office has prepared an operation equivalent to New Year's Eve celebrations in Copacabana, one of the most famous in the world that typically brings down some one million people."Operation Madonna" will see some 4,500 agents deployed, working with drones and facial recognition cameras. There will be police patrols on almost every street corner in the neighborhood.Nagila Alves, 54, who works for a pest control company, was on her way to a client's home when she stopped to take a photo of the impressive stage set up for Madonna."I will always love her. Madonna is timeless," she tells AFP, adding she plans to delay her arrival on Saturday to dodge the crowds swarming to the front of the stage.
11 Of The Best Things To Do In London This Mother's Day And Paddy's Day Weekend
03/17/23 5:02 PM
It's a Mother's Day *and* Paddy's Day double whammy, people.View Entire Post ›
17 Very British Tweets About The Very British Queue To See The Very British Queen's Coffin
09/24/22 1:25 AM
"If you’re British, this is the queue you’ve been training for all your life. The final boss of queues."View Entire Post ›
05/04/24 4:14 PM
3 bodies recovered in Baja California likely the missing Australian and American surfers, Mexican authorities say
5 Palestinian "Terrorists" Killed In West Bank Raid, Says Israeli Army
05/04/24 11:17 PM
The Israeli army said troops killed five Palestinian "terrorists" barricaded in a building during a 12-hour siege in the occupied West Bank on Saturday.