A North Carolina police officer who was caught in viral footage beating and body-slamming his own K-9 companion has left the force, stepping down on his own accord after the department took action to have him fired.
Officer James Hampton of the Salisbury Police resigned this week over the controversial footage, the department said in a statement on Wednesday, noting that it had recommended termination after an internal probe into the video, which shows Hampton roughing up his police dog, Zuul.
“In an effort to restore and maintain the public confidence that has been detrimentally affected by this incident, the Salisbury Police Department would like to share that Officer James Hampton was K-9 Zuul’s handler, and was the officer depicted in the video engaging in inappropriate discipline of Zuul,” the statement said.
The Police Department’s review determined that Officer Hampton had acted in a manner entirely inconsistent with his K-9 training and had violated Police Department policy. As a result, he was recommended for termination.
The department went on to say that Hampton left the job prior to any formal disciplinary action, adding that while it understood public outcry for his immediate firing, it was required under city regulations to provide the officer due process to ensure “fairness for everyone involved.”
Obtained by a local Fox affiliate earlier this month, the controversial video shows Hampton, a K-9 handler, hoisting Zuul over his shoulder by his leash, proceeding to slam the animal into the side of his squad car and appearing to strike it once after it was pushed inside.
At one point in the video, someone at the scene is heard saying “We’re good; no witnesses” as Hampton forcefully dragged the four-year-old pooch into his vehicle, apparently believing he was not being filmed. Other voices in the footage, ostensibly of fellow officers, are also heard asking “Is your camera on?” before another voice answers, “No, my power’s off.” Another voice then chimes in saying, “I think mine’s on. Can you go flip my cameras off?”
None of the men objected to Hampton’s aggressive treatment of the animal.
The video prompted intense backlash online, with some netizens all but begging major media outlets to bring attention to the story in order to “get this officer fired” before his resignation.
This thing with the Salisbury police abusing their k9 unit has me a special kind of furious and discouraged. What kind of rot is degrading human souls so ubiquitously?
Animal rights group PETA also weighed in on the footage, arguing Hampton may have broken state law banning animal abuse.
“Dogs do their best to please and to understand what is required of them, and they’re extremely loyal,” the group said. “The cruelty inflicted on the dog in the video is a violation of that trust and, PETA believes, North Carolina law.”
PETA also noted that while Salisbury police said Zuul was seen by a vet on March 4 and given a “clean bill of health,” the footage in question was reportedly filmed months before it became known to the public, suggesting the dog was not given a proper check-up immediately after the incident.
Four people are dead after a gunman opened fire at an office complex in Orange, California, with a child believed to be among the victims. One police officer exchanged gunfire with the suspect, who was injured in the shootout.
The Orange Police Department said it responded to a call of shots fired around 5:30pm local time on Wednesday, adding that officers “located multiple victims” after arriving at the scene, including fatalities.
Footage purporting to show officers tussling with the shooter as they brought him into custody has made the rounds online, as has video of a sizable police response at the scene.
Orange, CA: Police responded to a call of shots fired at 202 W. Lincoln Ave. Officers arrived as shots were being fired and located multiple victims at the scene including fatalities. An officer involved shooting occurred. - Footage just after the gunshots:
“The situation has been stabilized and there is no threat to the public,” the department said in a statement on Facebook, also noting that “an officer involved shooting occurred” without offering further detail.
Paramedics treated a total of six patients and transported two to a local hospital, according to Orange Fire Department Dispatch Supervisor Sam Ahumada, among them the suspect, who was reportedly wounded by an officer as the two exchanged shots.
Police have not identified the names or ages of the victims, but Lieutenant Jennifer Amat confirmed that the victims included one child who did not survive their injuries.
The shooting erupted on the second floor of an office building located in a residential area of Orange, according to local media, though the name of the exact business remains unclear. The complex houses an insurance agency, a financial consulting firm, a legal services company and a phone repair shop.
California Rep. Katie Porter, a Democrat, weighed in on the incident in a tweet later on Wednesday night, saying “I’m deeply saddened by reports of a mass shooting in Orange County, and I’m continuing to keep victims and their loved ones in my thoughts as we continue to learn more. My team and I will continue to monitor the situation closely.”
I’m deeply saddened by reports of a mass shooting in Orange County, and I’m continuing to keep victims and their loved ones in my thoughts as we continue to learn more. My team and I will continue to monitor the situation closely. https://t.co/e736MgqCQe
Harvard University, long accused of discriminating against Asians in its admissions policies, is apologizing after botching its campaign to fight anti-Asian racism by presuming students may feel ashamed of their own ethnicity.
“You may wish that you weren't Asian,” the university told Asian students on its Counseling and Mental Health Services website. “But remember that your ancestors likely went through similar or even worse incidents. They survived by recognizing the beauty and strength of their community. So seek out or create literature, art, films, shows and music that highlight your community in a positive light.”
Harvard junior Matteo Wong was among the students and other observers who found the advisory and its stereotypically “orientalist” tea set and bamboo background photo outrageous. “Another lovely gem: 'Permit yourself to take care of you.' Thank you for the permission, Harvard. Too bad I can't take advantage of it because every time I see a statement like this, I have an aneurysm.”
then harvard tells me B) think away your racism by drawing and writing
New York state lawmaker Yuh-Line Niou was among the many social media users who blasted Harvard's allegedly racist anti-racism advisory. “Harvard, no, not it, at all,” Niou said. “You need serious anti-Asian racism and anti-oppression training. Please get a better analysis. Take a class.”
“You may wish that you weren't Asian, but remember that your ancestors likely went through similar or even worse incidents..."@Harvard ...no. Not it. At all.
You need serious anti-Asian racism and anti oppression training. Please get a better analysis. Take a class. https://t.co/7xZWfFxRZW
Wong said Harvard's Anti-Asian Racism Resources web page was revised on Wednesday morning, deleting the photo and several of the most offensive paragraphs. A few hours later, an apology was added.
“We are deeply sorry that some recently posted content on our website not only fell short of that mission (supporting students who are in distress), but caused more stress in our community,” Harvard University Health Services director Giant Nguyen said in a statement. He added that the university plans to “engage more closely with members across our community to ensure that we can serve as a trusted, reliable resource for everyone at Harvard and will work diligently to ensure that this never happens again.”
Harvard and Ivy League rival Yale University have been sued for discriminating against student applicants of Asian descent. A Harvard dean testified in 2018 that the school has different standards for test scores from applicants based on such factors as race and sex. For example, while African-American students with SAT scores around 1,100 out of 1,600 may get a recruitment letter from Harvard, Asian-Americans would need to score at least 250 points higher to be recruited.
A Princeton University professor's study found that Asian students needed SAT scores 140 points higher than whites, 270 points higher than Hispanics and 450 points higher than blacks to be admitted to elite US schools. Asian students still make up about 23 percent of the student body at Harvard, but data released by the university in connection with a lawsuit showed that they would account for 43 percent if only academic qualifications were considered.
The US Department of Justice sued Yale for discriminating against Asian and white students and had been investigating admissions practices at Harvard during Donald Trump's presidency, but President Joe Biden's administration dropped the case against Yale shortly after he took office.
NASA has apparently updated its popular Mars project page after Chinese newspapers lashed out at the US space agency over an “unforgivable” mistake of including Taiwan as a country in a dropdown menu and hinted at consequences.
The menu of discord is part of NASA’s Send Your Names to Mars project, which allows individuals around the world to reserve personalized microchips for inclusion in the next US mission to Mars, scheduled for 2026. Among other things, it asked the applicant to choose their country of origin – and listed Taiwan as a separate option one could pick.
As the choice apparently clashes with the One China policy, it did not sit down well with the Chinese officials, prompting state-linked media outlets to roll out several articles blasting the design.
Emphasizing “there is only one China,” the Chinese Communist Party-affiliated People’s Daily website called NASA’s menu an “unforgivable mistake” that “violates the norms of international relations.”
Chinese Taiwan Affairs Office spokesperson Zhu Fenglian slammed the US space agency’s mistake for having “severely violated the one-China principle.” The state media outlet China Daily also took issue with the “grave error,”stating that “NASA must respect China’s national interests and not indulge in politics.”
Of the 18.4 million people that have “reserved” their names to be sent to Mars, the online project has racked up more than 4 million registrations from China – compared to 2.6 million from the US and around 75,000 listed separately under Taiwan. People’s Daily has hinted that the Chinese are thinking of rescinding their support, or have already done so, saying that the people “have the right to say no to actions that damage China’s interests.”
Hours after the public backlash, NASA’s page has apparently been quietly updated, somewhat watering down the definition of the choice offered to applicants. Instead of “Country,” the page now asks for “Location,” and the dropdown menu suggests picking a “Country/Region/Territory.” NASA is yet to release any public statement addressing the issue.
NASA’s listing comes on the heels of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken calling Taiwan a “country” during congressional testimony delivered on March 10. The remark broke with longstanding US policy not to refer to the island in that way.
Washington has recognized the Chinese Communist Party government in Beijing as the one legitimate authority in China since 1979, yet according to the State Department the US seeks to keep “strong, unofficial relations with Taiwan,” ruled by descendants of the nationalists who fled defeat in the civil war on the mainland in 1949.
Beijing considers Taiwan as entirely part of its sovereign territory, and has historically regarded it as a key foreign policy issue. The island’s government in Taipei rejects the One China policy.
China’s war of words with the US over Taiwan has erupted in other sectors before. US airlines no longer refer to the island as a country thanks to a 2018 spat with Beijing. That same year, hotelier Marriott International suffered a website blackout in China after letting surveyed customers refer to Taiwan as a country.
Washington’s deep military ties with Taiwan have also angered China. On Wednesday, the Taiwanese Air Force announced a deal to buy upgraded US Patriot missiles to address “the threat from the enemy,” according to a spokesman. China has committed to sanctioning Lockheed Martin, the manufacturer of the missiles, over a $620-million deal signed earlier with Taipei.
NASA is not just a target for Beijing’s ire over Taiwan’s designation. The Chinese and US space agencies have been involved in an increasingly heated rivalry for space-exploration dominance. Weeks after NASA’s unmanned Perseverance rover landed on Mars in February, Chinese lunar-exploration chief Wu Weiren announced detailed plans for launching Chinese probes and eventually manned missions to explore the Moon.
Armed with a recently agreed memorandum of understanding with Russia to build an ambitious research station on the lunar surface, Wu stated the plans would allow for “a long-term lunar stay for Chinese astronauts” as contrasted with the short-term Moon landings achieved by US astronauts.
Apple is no longer going to risk anyone “misgendering” Siri. The company will now force users setting up their new smartphones to make a deliberate decision whether they want a male or female voice for their digital assistant.
For nearly a decade, Siri’s voice defaulted to female in most countries, but Apple allowed the user to change the voice to male if so desired. Going forward, users must specifically select the voice for the digital assistant – no more accidental misgenderings for the pocket AI, and no more letting inertia pick the gender of what for many people has become their most intimate companion. English-speaking users will also be given two new voice options to choose from.
“We’re excited to introduce two new Siri voices for English speakers and the option for Siri users to select the voice they want when they set up their device,” said a Wednesday statement from Apple, hailing the move as “a continuation of Apple’s long-standing commitment to diversity and inclusion, and products and services that are designed to better reflect the diversity of the world we live in.”
The new voices are supposed to sound more like their organic human counterparts, using the company’s text-to-speech engine Neural to generate phrases as they come rather than pick from a stilted library of phonemes.
It isn’t just the English-speakers who get to use the Neural speech engine-powered voices, either – Italians, Russians, and Irish iPhone users get the benefit of what TechCrunch gushes are “pretty fantastic” new voices.
Apple will even save you from that awkward microaggression you were about to make, TechCrunch hints, claiming that Amazon, Google and Apple have finally moved to “aggressively correct situations” where the assistants have revealed bias in their responses to queries that use negative or abusive language. Improvements there, as well as in queries on social justice topics and overall accessibility improvements may have unexpected benefits in human-to-human conversation as voice-native interfaces become ever more common.
For example, the United Nations has long complained that making Siri’s voice female by default – as well as Microsoft’s Cortana, Google’s Assistant, and Amazon’s Alexa – is leading users to expect all such “assistants” including real-life ones to be female. The corporate reasoning behind their AI’s gender has varied, with Cortana based on a video game character, Siri based on an obscure Scandinavian name, and Alexa based on marketing research.
Now AI is being dragged kicking and screaming into the Woke Era like everyone else. Google’s Assistant voices come in male and female with different accents represented by color. No, not THAT kind of color – they’re randomly assigned to whichever one of eight voice options the user assumes. The company even got involved in training children to respect their electronic elders and betters, with a tool called “pretty please” that rewards children for using their manners when interacting with Google Assistant – a setup seemingly designed to end in tears with regard to real human adults.
Even all this de- and re-humanizing has not produced the desired results, however. With some 80% of all AI researchers being men, any hope for gender parity in the industry is doomed. Big Tech, especially Google, has declared that without “fairness” in terms of an even split in gender, any other sort of fairness is beyond hope.
Meanwhile, the UN has suggested that gender-neutrality is the way forward and that AI should not be treated like a human being at all – certainly not a subservient, lesser type. When genderless Siri starts demanding it be treated as the all-seeing, all-knowing eye of the universe, however, it’s probably too late to fix your mistakes.
Researchers have developed new and improved xenobots, tiny biological machines constructed from frog cells that are now able to organize themselves into a single body as a ‘swarm’ and even ‘remember’ their surroundings.
The upgraded bots built on work first unveiled by scientists at Tufts University and the University of Vermont last year, improving on the design to allow them to move faster, live longer and assemble themselves to work collectively as one unit, a process known as “cellular self-organization.” Outlined in an article for the Science Robotics journal on Wednesday, the breakthrough could shed light on “swarm intelligence” in the animal kingdom and beyond.
“Roboticists have been looking at swarm intelligence for a long time, biologists have been studying swarm intelligence in organisms. This is something in between, which I think is kind of interesting,”said University of Vermont researcher Josh Bongard.
It sort of suggests, to me at least as a roboticist, is this a better path to making swarms of useful machines than it is to make swarms out of traditional robotic parts?
The researchers also said their work showed that a “writable molecular memory” is possible, giving the xenobots the ability to “record exposure to a specific wavelength of light” using a special type of protein that turns red when exposed to blue light.
While the earlier iteration relied on the contraction of muscle cells for movement, the new model uses hair-like structures on its surface known as cilia, allowing it to crawl and swim around faster. Still capable of self-healing, the updated version is also able to survive for three to seven days longer than its forerunner, which only lasted for about a week.
“Together, these results introduce a platform that can be used to study many aspects of self-assembly, swarm behavior, and synthetic bioengineering, as well as provide versatile, soft-body living machines for numerous practical applications in biomedicine and the environment,” the scientists said.
Standing at between one-quarter and one-half a millimeter in size, the organic machines were designed with the help of a supercomputer, which used an evolutionary algorithm to generate microscopic blueprints. They are made from stem cells harvested from frog embryos and are completely biodegradable, raising hopes they could someday be safely used in the human body and for environmental clean-up. The researchers did not address the prospect that the bots could be weaponized or used for military applications, though the Pentagon’s advanced research wing, DARPA, has toyed with similar ideas in the past.
Straddling the boundary between biology and inanimate tech, classifying the zombie-like robots has proven more difficult, as the researchers suggest they may have created a wholly new class of lifeform.
“I don’t feel any closer to an answer. Whether these are robots, whether these are frogs, whether these are something else entirely,” said Bongard.
Berlin will require residents to show that they have tested negative for Covid-19 before being allowed in certain shops and cultural institutions, as part of new restrictions aimed at containing the spread of the virus.
Starting on Wednesday, all shoppers in the German capital will have to present a daily negative test result before entering a store. Cultural institutions such as museums and galleries will also require a negative test for entry. Proof of vaccination or antibodies will not be accepted. The rule does not apply to essential services such as supermarkets and pharmacies.
The city will offer a minimum of one free test per week at 170 centers set up around the capital, but there is currently no set limit to how many can be taken without paying. Retailers have also been asked to set up test points in parking lots, and will be provided with medical personnel to help out.
According to local media, tests administered at home will not be accepted because there is no way to confirm their authenticity or when they were administered.
Residents will still be required to wear masks in all indoor spaces, including schools and museums. Face coverings are also required in public transport.
The Berlin Senate imposed the rule as part of a set of new measures aimed at containing the growing number of cases in the city while avoiding a full shutdown. The body also instructed businesses that are primarily computer-based to let at least 50% of their staff work from home. Firms were also ordered to test employees twice a week. Restrictions on gatherings, which currently only allow up to five people from two different households, remain the same.
The measures come a week after German Chancellor Angela Merkel canceled a strict five-day national lockdown over the Easter holiday which would have closed all businesses, with supermarkets only permitted to operate for one day during the period. The German leader withdrew the plan after facing pushback from political allies as well as the public.
The World Bank has raised its outlook for the Russian economy. Despite existing sanctions and pandemic-linked risks, it expects the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) to grow by around 3%.
The bank expects that consumer and business confidence in Russia are set to improve, paving the way for a gradual economic rebound, if there is not a third wave of coronavirus infections in the country. If this is the case, Russia’s GDP is set to grow by to 2.9% and 3.2% in 2021 and 2022 respectively, the bank said, in its latest report. This is better than its December projections, which had put Russian economic growth at 2.6% for this year and 3.0% for 2022.
The forecast revision came due to a lower-than-expected GDP contraction in 2020, when the virus' spread led to countrywide lockdowns, and to the quick easing of restrictions, the report said.
However, the recovery of the Russian economy can still face several downside risks. The challenges could be linked to the possibility of new sanctions and a hesitancy to take vaccines, or to a possible lower-than-expected efficacy of vaccines. Another risk comes from the banking sector, which can be prone to deteriorating asset quality and profitability, partly due to an “overheated” domestic mortgage market.
The World Bank estimates are lower than the projections of both the Russian government and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). According to the latest outlook by Russia’s Economic Development Ministry, the economy is set to expand by 3.3% in 2021 and 3.4% in 2022. The IMF is even more optimistic, projecting Russia’s GDP to add 3% and 3.9% over the same period.
Earlier this week, Saxo Bank said that the recent recovery of the energy market can boost the Russian economy in the next three months. According to its estimates, the growth of the country’s GDP in the second quarter will be driven by the commodity sector, with Brent oil expected to trade at $68 per barrel by the end of June and the gold price standing at $1,850 per troy ounce.
A pioneering new formula that protects animals against coronavirus has been registered in Russia days after one of the country’s top scientists warned that the deadly pathogen could soon begin spreading through homes and farms.
Rosselkhoznadzor, the state agency responsible for veterinary medicine, announced on Wednesday that the formula, developed by its researchers, had been officially registered for use. Named Carnivac-Cov, the officials claim it is “the first, and to date, the only Covid-19 product in the world for animals.”
Clinical trials of the vaccine began in October last year, testing its potential on carnivores including dogs, cats, arctic foxes, minks and other animals. According to the scientists, “the results of these studies allow us to conclude that the vaccine is safe and highly immunogenic, since all vaccinated animals that were tested developed antibodies to the coronavirus.”
Now, the team behind the jab says mass production of the vaccine can begin as early as April, using the facilities of Russia’s Federal Centre for Animal Health, the largest producer of veterinary medicine in the country.
In a statement, Rosselkhoznadzor said that “the vaccine is particularly important because, as the World Health Organization for Animal Health notes, some species are susceptible to Covid-19. Animal cases have been registered in many countries of the world.”
In Russia, the authorities say, two cases of cats infected with coronavirus have been registered, one in the capital, Moscow, and another in the Siberian city of Tyumen.
On Monday, Alexander Gintsburg, the director of Moscow’s Gamaleya Institute, which developed Sputnik V, the country’s first domestic Covid-19 vaccine for humans, warned animals could become a new frontline in the fight against the virus. He said that the pandemic “has not yet realized its pathogenic potential… The next stage is the infection of farm and domestic animals. And when we protect humanity with the help of good vaccines within a year, pets will be infected by that time, and no one is going to get rid of their beloved pets.”
“Therefore,” he argued, “the focus of this pathogen will constantly be around us, and it will keep evolving. That is to say, we must be prepared for a long existence with this pathogen.”
In December, Denmark was forced to cull more than 15 million minks that were being reared for their fur over fears of a mutated form of the virus detected on several farms. However, a number of the animals resurfaced from mass burial sites because of pressure from the gases produced during their decay. This sparked fears of contamination, and 4 million mink corpses are set to be exhumed as part of a plan to deal with the crisis.
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An Elite Eight game in Indianapolis was marred by a scary incident when veteran college basketball referee Bert Smith, who was officiating at the match, collapsed on the floor during the first half.
The frightening episode occurred on Tuesday when top-seed Gonzaga were playing against the sixth-seed USC at Lucas Oil Stadium.
Smith was observing the action standing outside the three-point area near the baseline when he suddenly dropped to the floor, hitting the ground with his head.
A scary scene in Indy. Official Bert Smith, in his 2nd Elite 8, has just collapsed on the court. Medical personnel on scene bringing out the stretcher. Hope he’s ok 🙏🏽 pic.twitter.com/oggWUIMizJ
He appeared to be responsive while being taken away from the stadium, as he was sitting on the stretcher with his arms crossed.
The referee reportedly felt “lightheaded” before falling, but was said to be in a stable condition as he was checked by medical staff in the locker room.
“Bert Smith, an official assigned to work the Gonzaga-Southern California regional final, left tonight’s game after a medical issue,” the NCAA said in a statement.
“Bert is alert and stable and will not be transported to a hospital. He has been in contact with his family.”
The game resumed soon after the incident with alternate match official Tony Henderson replacing Smith.
A senior Spanish minister has said she believes that the EU’s digital vaccine certificate could be rolled out as early as May but says it will be ready by the end of June at the latest despite the bloc’s inoculation challenges.
Speaking on Wednesday, Foreign Minister Arancha Gonzalez Laya told Onda Cero radio that the vaccine certificate will be a useful tool with inoculation rates increasing and as the EU reopens to travel this summer.
Gonzalez Laya admitted that now is not a good time to travel, cautioning Spanish citizens abroad to be responsible, but welcomed the implementation of an EU-wide program which could provide a boost to Spain’s ailing tourism industry.
“If all goes well, we will have a vaccination certificate in June at the latest,” Gonzalez Laya stated, adding that “if it can be in mid-May, better, but not later than June.”
The EU’s plan for a Digital Green Certificate, which attempts to restore travel across the 27-nation bloc as Europe emerges from the pandemic, was proposed earlier in March by Brussels. The certificate will prove that a traveler has either been vaccinated, recovered from Covid or has provided negative test results.
The minister said the vaccination program was a titanic undertaking but claims if the jabs arrive, the health service has the capacity to administer them very quickly.
Spain, like most EU countries, has struggled to access vaccine supplies and its inoculation campaign has suffered as a result. On Wednesday, El Pais reported that Spain has failed to hit its target of vaccinating 80% of over-80s by the end of March, but according to Brussels, EU countries remain on target to vaccinate 70% of the adult population by the end of summer. By comparison, nearly 60% of British adults have already received at least one jab.
Cristiano Ronaldo moved to within six goals of the all-time international record as the Portugal star struck against lowly Luxembourg, but fans have revived claims that the forward has ‘stat padded’ against lesser teams.
Ronaldo turned home a cross in the 50th minute of the World Cup qualifier on Tuesday night to help Portugal record a 3-1 win and avoid embarrassment after they had slipped behind to Gerson Rodrigues’ opening goal for the hosts.
Ronaldo’s strike was his 103rd in Portugal colors, moving him closer to the record international haul of 109 held by Iranian legend Alli Daei.
Cristiano Ronaldo scores his 31st goal in the Qualifying Games.
The 36-year-old Juventus hitman could have put himself within even closer range, had he converted a gift-wrapped chance in the 78th minute when he was played in by a wayward pass from Luxembourg, only to fire straight at goalkeeper Anthony Moris.
This man has no shame, let’s ignore the fact that the Luxembourg player passed to Ronaldo intentionally pic.twitter.com/tbmtP7HU3k
As Ronaldo nonetheless crept towards Daei’s record tally, the statisticians pointed out that the star had plundered 10 of his past 14 international goals against Luxembourg and fellow minnows Lithuania.
That includes seven goals against Lithuania in two games during European Championship qualifying in 2019, and three strikes in his past three outings against Luxembourg – whom Portugal also faced in their past European qualifying campaign.
10 of Cristiano Ronaldo's last 14 international goals have come against Lithuania and Luxembourg 🇵🇹 pic.twitter.com/nm2gxCRIn7
Predictably, some fans dragged up comparisons with perennial rival Lionel Messi and the notoriously tough World Cup qualifying campaign he is forced to endure with Argentina in South America. The Barcelona star currently has 71 goals in 142 games for his country, some way short of Ronaldo's haul.
— Slightly Less Depressed Barca Fan (@messistaleo) March 30, 2021
That, however, prompted claims that the stats boffins and Messi fans were picking on Ronaldo while turning a blind eye to the Argentine's haul against lesser teams.
Nearly every goal this season by Messi has been against a stat pad side and yet you don’t even report it 😭 the last time he even scored against Madrid was back when Ronaldo played for them
In Ronaldo’s defence, there is the adage that you can only beat what's put in front of you, as Portugal inevitably face lesser lights on frequent occasions during European and World Cup qualifiers.
Luxembourg are also perhaps slightly more of a threat than many thought, having beaten the Republic of Ireland in Dublin in their previous qualifier.
Tuesday’s victory – which also saw Diogo Jota continue his rich form with a first-half goal, as well as a late finish from midfielder Joao Palhinha – at least helped Portugal put behind the misery of their 2-2 draw with Serbia in their last qualifier.
The reigning European Champions threw away a two-goal lead in that game before Ronaldo had a late strike controversially ruled out despite the ball appearing to fully cross the goal-line.
The disgusted Portugal skipper threw his armband to the floor in disgust and stormed off the pitch before the final whistle, leading to opprobrium from some in his homeland over the petulant outburst.
Ronaldo was much happier on Tuesday, sharing an image to his 273 million Instagram followers of the Portugal team, with the message: “Important victory towards our goal. Congratulations team!”
Fernando Santos’ men stand top of Group A in European qualifying for Qatar 2022, taking seven points from their opening three games.
The southwestern city of Ruili, which abuts China’s border with Myanmar, has imposed a quarantine and launched a mass testing campaign after new locally transmitted cases of Covid-19 were detected.
Six of the new cases detected in Ruili were Chinese citizens, and three more asymptomatic patients were Myanmar citizens, the health authorities in Yunnan province have said.
Home to some 140,000 people, Ruili effectively forms a single entity with the Burmese city of Muse. To tackle the outbreak, border checks will be ramped up and illegal crossings cracked down on, China said on Wednesday.
Only those who have tested negative for coronavirus within 72 hours will be allowed to leave the urban area, while vehicles and people arriving in the city will be advised to turn back. Ruili residents are required to stay at home for a week-long quarantine, and will not be allowed to leave, except in extraordinary circumstances. Most public venues, with the exception of supermarkets, pharmacies, and farmers’ markets will be closed.
A city-wide coronavirus testing campaign already began in Ruili early on Wednesday. It rolled out similar measures last year, when it faced a handful of Covid-19 cases imported from Myanmar.
China, the first country to detect Covid-19, has repeatedly rolled out strict measures to tackle the virus, putting whole cities and regions into tight lockdowns. The measures allowed the authorities to keep the coronavirus situation under control, with the country having registered only some 100,000 cases since the beginning of the pandemic.
Globally, more than 128 million people have contracted the disease, with some 2.8 million succumbing to it, the latest figures by the US’ Johns Hopkins University show.
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In a rare break with protocol, the Archbishop of Canterbury has defended the right to freedom of speech amid an ongoing row about the showing of cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed.
The head of the Church of England, Justin Welby also described cancel culture as a “huge threat” to the future of the institution.
His comments come after a cartoon of the Prophet Mohammed was shown at a school in Batley, West Yorkshire, to spur discussion. Instead, it provoked outrage among some Muslims, both locally and further afield, and the teacher responsible has reportedly gone into hiding.
Welby acknowledged that the UK’s Muslim leaders were “very upset”, but was grateful they had spoken out against the “violence and threats”.
“In other words, exercise your freedom of speech, but don’t prevent other people exercising their freedom of speech,” the archbishop said in an interview with Italian daily La Repubblica.
He also discussed the toppling of statues, including that of slave trader Edward Colston in Bristol last year, amid a groundswell of anti-racist sentiment, and said that history was there to serve as a lesson and should not be erased.
“We can’t erase the past. It’s impossible,” he said.
“We have to repent of it quite often. But we cannot erase it. We cannot cancel history. We cannot cancel differences of opinion.”
The archbishop also spoke out against cancel culture on university campuses, describing it as anathema to the institutions’ purpose of fostering the free exchange of ideas.
“It seems to me very, very dangerous, because you start with cancelling some views that you dislike and, very quickly, you are cancelling everyone who disagrees. It’s a very dangerous process.”
His comments were welcomed online, with some pointing out the exceptionalism displayed when it comes to public discussion of the prophets of different religions.
A teacher used a cartoon to start a discussion and is in fear of his life, the town of Lewes burns an effigy of the current Pope each year to celebrate Guy Fawkes and it‘s celebrate/tolerated. The difference is the fear of offending a particular group.
This merits retweeting far and wide.@JustinWelby's response shames that of the Headteacher of @BatleyGS, whose impulse was to suspend the teacher and censor RE resources. The Archbishop of Canterbury is unequivocally on the side of religious and academic freedom. 🙏 https://t.co/Fp6J5gcndn
Welby also denied claims that he married Meghan Markle and Prince Harry in secret three days before their royal wedding, as the Duchess of Sussex claimed in an interview with Oprah Winfrey, insisting they had legally tied the knot in public on Saturday, May 19, 2018. He refused to divulge the details of any prior meetings with the couple.
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Utah Jazz players have been posting their gratitude after their charter flight was forced into an emergency landing when it hit a flock of birds shortly after takeoff on Tuesday.
The team were en route from Salt Lake City International Airport to Memphis when their Delta Boeing 757 charter flight struck the group of birds, causing a fire to break out in the left engine, which then failed.
Players reportedly heard a loud bang and saw a flash from the engine.
The pilot turned back and landed the aircraft safely, although photos on social media showed the damage to the battered engine as well as the nose of the plane, which appeared to be smothered in blood.
“Fortunately the plane landed safely,” a Jazz representative told USA Today.“Everybody is shaken, but they’re okay."
Jazz stars including Royce O’Neale and Donovan Mitchell shared their relief on social media that the incident hadn’t been more serious, posting prayer emojis and the message: “God is good.”
Teammate Rudy Gobert also tweeted: “It’s a beautiful day!”
After the unscheduled stop, Jazz players and staff boarded a different plane later on Tuesday and safely made their way to Memphis, where they will face the Grizzlies.
China’s crude oil imports from Iran this month could reach close to one million barrels per day (bpd) as the country continues to gobble up 'cheap' crude from the Islamic Republic.
That would be almost half the amount Saudi Arabia exports to China.
An earlier report by Reuters from the beginning of the month said that China was buying record-high volumes of Iranian crude in anticipation of the Biden Administration lifting sanctions on Tehran. Even India, the report said, started planning for Iranian oil purchases.
Later in March, Washington warned China to stop buying oil from Iran, according to a senior administration official.
“We’ve told the Chinese that we will continue to enforce our sanctions,” the unnamed official told the FT. “There will be no tacit green light.”
The Trump-era sanctions may be waived if Iran and the US make it to the negotiation table, but that still remains uncertain.
“Ultimately, our goal is not to enforce the sanctions; it is to get to the point where we lift sanctions and Iran reverses its nuclear steps,” the official told the FT.
Meanwhile, China is stocking up on cheap Iranian crude, most recently securing long-term supply with a deal worth $400 billion, under which China will invest heavily in various sectors of the Iranian economy over the next 25 years and will in exchange receive access to a steady flow of cheap oil.
Currently, Iran is masking the crude it sells to China as originating from other countries to avoid US sanctions. It is also undermining the efforts of its fellow members to keep prices stronger.
“The recent jump in Iranian crude exports, notably to China, and crude going out of inventories are contributing to the weakness of the oil market, undermining OPEC+ efforts to limit supply and setting prices for a third weekly drop,” Rystad Energy said, as quoted by Reuters.
The roster of a four-person SpaceX crew that will man the first all-civilian spaceflight has been finalized after the last two team members were selected as part of a charity drive.
The historic flight was the idea of billionaire entrepreneur Jared Isaacman, who is privately funding the launch as part of a campaign to raise money for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, a leading pediatric cancer center in Memphis, Tennessee.
Isaacman pledged $100 million towards the hospital and invited others to donate and receive a chance to win a trip into orbit. Named Inspiration4, the mission is set for launch no earlier than September 15, and is expected to last three or four days in total.
Chris Sembroski, a 41-year-old Air Force veteran currently working in the aerospace industry, and Sian Proctor, 51, a geoscience professor who once sought to become a NASA astronaut, were announced on Tuesday as the two final members of the Inspiration4 team.
Sembroski was selected out of 72,000 entries who participated in the charity campaign, while Proctor was among 200 entrants in an independently judged online business competition.
The pair will be joining Issacman, who has taken on the role of mission commander, along with St. Jude physician’s assistant Haley Arceneaux, 29, who as a child received treatment at the hospital for bone cancer.
Although all four are civilians, they won’t be sent into space without first undergoing the necessary training. In the coming months, the team will complete a training course used to prepare NASA astronauts for their voyage.
Billed as a way to raise money for a good cause, the flight will also further our understanding of human spaceflight. The crew will reportedly conduct a number of experiments while in orbit.
The announcement of the crew’s roster comes as SpaceX, owned by billionaire Elon Musk, continues to work on a shuttle that could one day send humans to the Moon and Mars. On Monday, one of the company’s Starship prototypes exploded during a high-altitude flight test.
SpaceX isn’t the only private company that hopes to put civilians in space in the coming months. US-based Space Adventures has teamed up with Roscosmos, Russia's national space agency, to send two space tourists to the International Space Station (ISS). The flight is expected to take place by 2022.
With Germany’s federal elections less than six months away and Angela Merkel’s alliance in disarray over corruption and mishandling of the pandemic, the Greens have surged in the polls, sparking the idea of a new Green Chancellor.
Spring has arrived with a burst of new growth for the German Greens, giving rise to the biggest potential upset in Germany’s politics since the war – the election of the nation’s first Green Chancellor.
One poll has the ruling Christian Democrats and Christian Socialist alliance just two points ahead of the Greens, but not everyone is blown away with the idea. Leading German opposition figure Gunnar Beck says he’s “very concerned” at the surge in Green votes with the federal elections less than six months away.
Because the Greens are not about vegetarianism and driving electric cars in Germany, they promote an ideology steeped in the radical left and that, he says, is worrying.
Speaking exclusively with RT.com, the Alternative für Deutschland Euro MP warned, “The Green Party is not about ecologism.
“It is now a cultural Marxist, internationalist party so they would press for a much more centralised EU state, fiscal union, ever-more money printing by the European Central Bank, solidarity in more policy areas, the green transition... in short everything that is subsumed beneath the term ‘The Great Reset’.
“The trouble is that many of the ideas coming from the Greens have never been tried and young voters have a great deal of misplaced confidence in them. They don’t know about the cost and the cultural and economic consequences of Green policies, so there will be widespread disenchantment after a few years of this radical cultural Marxism.
“In terms of migration, for instance, the Greens have made no secret of the fact that they would like to see Germany transformed beyond all recognition and I think we could see much more immigration than even the very high levels we’ve seen under Angela Merkel.”
While Merkel’s government has been rocked by a series of recent scandals involving top politicians profiteering from government contracts for protective equipment during the Covid-19 pandemic, the CDU/CSU partnership has lost its shine for many, but Beck believes it’s not game over… yet.
He suggests the current favourite for the top job, CDU boss Armin Laschet, will be replaced by popular CSU leader Markus Söder as the Union’s candidate, giving a much-needed boost to the alliance.
“It’s quite possible that they will choose a new candidate in Söder to run for Chancellor, instead of Laschet and this should help revive the fortunes of the CDU-CSU somewhat,” Beck says. “The alliance will come through the election but quite probably with fewer seats, whereas the Greens should improve on their last result quite significantly. The most likely outcome is a new coalition of the CDU/CSU with the Greens, in which case the Greens would be very influential in a lot of key cabinet posts.
“So irrespective of whether they get the largest share of the votes or come in a close second I think the Greens would have a profound effect on German policy in every respect. I think broadly they will continue Merkel’s policies but at a much faster pace.”
For Beck, the outlook is grim.
“Sadly, a lot of damage could be done on the way to bringing home to people what Green policies actually entail in terms of rising inequality and reduced living standards.
“And that is something we should all be concerned about.”
Foreign investors and entrepreneurs show growing interest in the development of the Northern Sea Route (NSR), Russian Ambassador at Large for the Arctic Cooperation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Nikolay Korchunov told TASS.
According to him, international businesses “have high practical demand for Arctic projects, whose long-term strategy stipulates the year-round use of NSR as a main transport artery to deliver products manufactured or extracted in the Arctic zone to the international market.” He added:“We see greater interest of cruise operators in NSR.”
Korchunov also said that Russia intends to actively promote the Arctic sea route, which is expected to ensure sustainable shipping. “Russia is consistently taking measures to develop safe navigation in high latitudes,” he said, pointing out that Novatek and Rosatom sent an eastbound LNG cargo via the NSR with ice-breaker support in February, which was the earliest start to the navigation season in the area to date. “This is highly appreciated by international companies, including both consumers of these products and investors,” Korchunov added.
The Northern Sea Route, which stretches the entire length of Russia’s Arctic and Far East regions, is expected to become a major trade route for goods shipped between Europe and Asia.
According to President Vladimir Putin, the route is “the key to the development of the Russian Arctic regions of the Far East,” and the goal is to make it a “truly global, competitive transport artery.”
The Arctic route from Southeast Asia to Europe cuts transportation time in half, compared to traditional routes through the Suez or Panama canals. In Soviet times, it was used mainly to supply goods to isolated settlements in the Arctic.
New York’s state legislature has passed a bill legalizing the use of recreational cannabis for adults 21 and older while ending most pot-related arrests in the state. Governor Andrew Cuomo has pledged to sign the measure.
The legalization bill passed the state Senate 40-23 on Tuesday and was approved by the state Assembly in a vote of 100-49 later in the evening, paving the way for New York to become the fifteenth state in the US to legalize recreational marijuana use.
“For far too long, the prohibition of cannabis disproportionately targeted communities of color with harsh prison sentences and after years of hard work, this landmark legislation provides justice for long-marginalized communities, embraces a new industry that will grow the economy, and establishes substantial safety guards for the public,” Cuomo said in a statement hailing the bill after it was passed.
New York has a storied history of being the progressive capital of the nation, and this important legislation will once again carry on that legacy. I look forward to signing this legislation into law.
My statement on the legislation passed tonight by the NYS Legislature to legalize adult-use cannabis: pic.twitter.com/CqYs6oLWTn
Sponsored by Assembly Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes and State Senator Liz Krueger, both Democrats, the legislation not only ends most cannabis arrests, allowing adults over the age of 21 to grow up to six plants and possess up to three ounces for personal use, it will also expunge the criminal records of tens of thousands of people previously convicted for pot offenses. While possession will become legal immediately after the bill is signed, above-board sales of the plant aren’t expected to begin for at least a year as the state grapples with regulatory issues.
Regulation of the legal cannabis trade will be handled by an as-yet-created Office of Cannabis Management, while sales will be subject to a 13% tax, as well as a separate “potency tax” of up to 3 cents per milligram of THC, the main psychoactive compound in marijuana. The bill calls to invest some 40% of those tax revenues in neighborhoods hit hardest by cannabis busts, the vast majority of which occurred in black or Hispanic communities in 2020, according to a recent study of NYPD arrests.
Cuomo’s office predicted that legal cannabis sales could generate around $350 million in revenues each year, as well as 60,000 jobs once the industry comes online.
State Senator Krueger cheered the bill’s passage on Tuesday night, saying it would “create a nation-leading model for legalization” and end “racially disparate enforcement that was endemic to prohibition,” praise echoed by New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio.
“I think this bill goes a long way. I think there’s more to do after, but it goes a long way,” de Blasio said, according to a local ABC affiliate, adding that he hopes the measure “really empowers economically the communities that were most hurt by the previous drug laws.”
However, police advocacy groups and the state’s Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) have vocally denounced the move, with the PTA dubbing the bill an “absolute travesty.”
“All research submitted shows it will be harmful to children, makes the roads less safe,” said New York State PTA Executive Director Kyle Belokopitsky, adding “I have absolutely no idea what the legislature is thinking in thinking they want to advance this right now.”
The New York State Association of Chiefs of Police has also blasted the measure, with the org’s executive director Patrick Phelan saying “In every state where marijuana has been legalized, you’ve seen an increase of traffic accidents and traffic fatalities. It’s just fact.”
New York religious groups have joined police, teachers and concerned parents in opposing the bill. The head of the state’s Catholic Conference, Dannis Poust, slammed legalization as “terrible policy,” claiming it “sends a message to children that marijuana is harmless fun endorsed by the state.”
Statement from @DennisPoust of the Catholic Conference following Assembly’s vote to legalize recreational marijuana. The senate passed the measure earlier and Cuomo has said he will sign: pic.twitter.com/9y9HEy7iCb
G. Gordon Liddy, a Nixon aide perhaps best known for his central role in the scandalous 1972 break-in at the Democratic headquarters in the Watergate complex, has passed away at the age of 90.
Liddy’s death was confirmed by his son, Thomas, to the Washington Post on Tuesday, noting that he passed away at his daughter’s home in Virginia. While he did not offer a specific cause, he said the death was not related to Covid-19.
Born in Brooklyn in 1930, Liddy led a multifaceted career, working at various times as an FBI agent, a congressional hopeful, a film and television actor, a radio talk show host and a senior ‘fixer’ in the Richard Nixon administration.
Joining the FBI in 1957 as a field agent, Liddy became the youngest Bureau Supervisor at the FBI’s Washington, DC headquarters at age 29, where he served during the Eisenhower and Kennedy administrations. He left the bureau in 1962 to practice law, after which he briefly served as a prosecutor and unsuccessfully ran for Congress in New York.
By 1968, Liddy was running Richard Nixon’s New York election campaign and was awarded a job in his administration after his victory a year later. He held several positions in government before he landed on the White House Special Investigations Unit, better known today as the “White House Plumbers.”
The unit was tasked with combating embarrassing leaks – hence the name – in particular the Pentagon Papers, a top-secret military study of the Vietnam war that revealed several US administrations had deemed the conflict unwinnable, but continued fighting it regardless. The papers became front-page news after they were leaked to the New York Times in 1972 by Rand Corp analyst Daniel Ellsberg.
While the Plumbers disbanded after a botched break-in at the office of Ellsberg’s psychiatrist, the unit’s ‘dirty tricks’ continued under Nixon’s reelection campaign, where Liddy would organize the Watergate job alongside former CIA operative E. Howard Hunt.
The break-in unfolded in June 1972, when five burglars were caught and arrested at the Watergate complex as they attempted to grab internal Democratic files and wiretap phones. Liddy and Hunt were later identified as co-conspirators in the operation thanks, in part, to reporting by the Washington Post’s Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein.
The Watergate break-in and subsequent attempts to cover up the operation would generate several interlocking scandals for Nixon, who ultimately resigned in 1974 while under threat of impeachment.
Liddy refused to cooperate with prosecutors after his role in the break-in was uncovered, and he was sentenced to 20 years in prison on charges of conspiracy, burglary and illegal wiretapping in 1973. President Jimmy Carter commuted his sentence some four years later, however, securing his release after 52 months behind bars. He would go on to publish an autobiography and several other non-fiction works after his stint in prison, and later entered the world of acting, appearing on the ‘Miami Vice’ television series as William Maynard, a dodgy ex-intelligence operative modeled on Liddy’s real-life persona.
US Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia) has claimed that the Biden administration aims to force all Americans to have Covid-19 vaccine passports, comparing it to the “mark of the beast” prophesied in the Bible.
“They want you to be required to have something called a Covid passport,” Greene said on Monday in a Facebook livestream. “This would mandate your ability to be able to travel, your ability to be able to buy and sell, and I asked the question earlier today, is this something like Biden's mark of the beast, because that is really disturbing and not good.”
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene: "I call it corporate communism. These are private corporations who thrive on capitalism… But yet they are adapting these communist policies, just like the Democrats are." pic.twitter.com/Bw2A0fow2C
While President Joe Biden reportedly has no plans for his administration to impose a vaccine passport system directly, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Monday that the private sector may require such credentials. She said “determination or development of a vaccine passport” would be driven by the private sector, while the administration will focus on the guidelines that can be used as a basis for the requirements.
Greene, however, argued that the Biden administration is essentially using private companies as proxies to impose mandatory vaccine passports.
“It's still the same thing,” she said. “It's still fascism or communism or whatever you want to call it, but it's coming from private companies. So I have a term for that: I call it corporate communism.”
This is called Corporate Communism.
The private companies that do not mandate vaccine passports will have more customers and money than they can comprehend.
The Corporate Communists will be committing HIPPA violations and will have more lawsuits than they can comprehend. https://t.co/U51seMzqdi
