There's a new Moto phone in town, and it lets you go 5G without spending a ton of money.
The Moto Z4 — briefly leaked on Amazon a few days ago — has decent specs, though it's not fully up to par with the most powerful flagships of today. It's got a 6.4-inch OLED display with a waterdrop notch, a Snapdragon 675 chip, 4GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. It's quite strong in the camera department, with a 48-megapixel rear camera and a 25-megapixel selfie camera.
But what makes the Moto Z4 interesting is its fairly low price of $440 (if you buy it from Verizon), and that's with Motorola's 5G Mod included. Read more...
Donald Trump should really know by now that the internet never forgets.
And yet on Thursday morning the president went on a Twitter rant in which he seemed to admit that, yes, Russia did in fact help him get elected. Oops.
Russia, Russia, Russia! That’s all you heard at the beginning of this Witch Hunt Hoax...And now Russia has disappeared because I had nothing to do with Russia helping me to get elected. It was a crime that didn’t exist. So now the Dems and their partner, the Fake News Media,.....
The tweetstorm came in response to Robert Mueller's statement on Wednesday in which he again highlighted the Russian interference in the 2016 election. Read more...
Anxiety is one of the most common mental illnesses in the United States. Every year, it affects 40 million adults in the country, and actor and comedian Bill Hader is one of them.
In a new video for the Child Mind Institute's #MyYoungerSelf campaign, Hader shares his experience with anxiety. As he explains, it's always been a part of his daily life. When he attempted to do simple tasks like ride the school bus alone, Hader says that "there was always a little voice in my head telling me, 'here's all the things that could go wrong.'"
In the four minute video, Hader talks about how, as he's gotten older, he's found new strategies to cope. He told his younger self that “what helped me was learning that [the anxiety] doesn't really go away. You manage it. And instead of pushing away your anxiety — and I always imagined my anxiety as this little monster that would kind of attack my face or pull my ears — instead of pushing that thing away and trying to fight it, I would just go, ‘Hey, oh hey buddy.’ You know, like it was a little monkey.” Read more...
Dads often get shit for dad jokes and being bad at texting, but father figures have another thing in common besides thinking terrible puns are hilarious: They're some of the most selfless people in the world.
TBH, a lot of us wouldn't know how to live on our own if it wasn't for those father figures who taught us — this goes for uncles, step-dads, or anyone who stepped up to take on that role. And though he probably insists that you don't have to get him anything, Father's Day is an extra-special time to show your appreciation.
Don't phone it in and get him a mug that says "Dad." It's technically accurate, but it's a terrible gift. Looking for unique options for Father's Day? Go here. Looking for something relatively cheap? Check our our guide to the best gifts under $50. Or, simply keep reading. Read more...
An average person might think there's nothing especially remarkable about Thursdays, but fans of Russian Doll? They know Thursdays are treats. They're not to be taken lightly.
If you have yet to see the Netflix original series, it follows Nadia (Natasha Lyonne,) a woman who keeps dying and reliving her 36th birthday party. Eventually, after dying so many times, Nadia decides that if she's stuck in a vicious cycle of Sunday night birthday celebrations she might as well enjoy the party.
In Season 1, Episode 2, after Nadia's friend Maxine says it's a good thing she started cooking for the party on Thursday, Nadia, who fears she may never live to see another Thursday again, replies, "Thursday. What a concept." Read more...
Wouldn't it be nice to get free games to download straight to your console every month? That would be a real treat, wouldn't it? Well, the best way of turning this sweet hypothetical into a reality is with a subscription to Playstation Plus.
A 12-month subscription to Playstation Plus is now available for just £32.99. This is down from the normal list price of £49.99, meaning you save £17 with this deal. A Playstation Plus subscription provides fast online play for PS4 users, and instant access to a huge library of games. It also gives you access to cloud storage, and those free games of course. Read more...
There are some products out there that very rarely go on sale. For example, it's not that common to see the prices of Apple devices cut by any significant amount. There are some other devices that are regularly discounted though, like electric toothbrushes.
Take a quick look at Oral-B and Philips electric toothbrushes online and you'll see a whole load of discounted items. Seriously, never pay full price for an electric toothbrush.
This doesn't mean that all electric toothbrush sales are worth your attention, however. A small discount is great, but a £200 reduction is seriously impressive. The Oral-B Genius 9000 CrossAction electric toothbrush is currently available for just £99.99 in a range of colours on Amazon. This device is usually listed at £299.99, so this deal is definitely worth your time. Read more...
Amazon devices are great, and when a new one is released, it causes a bit of a stir.
The next item off Amazon's conveyer belt of smart technology is the Echo Show 5. You can now pre-order this clever device for just £79.99 with free delivery. If you buy two of them in the same bundle, you can save £25 on list price. This bundle deal is available until July 12.
So what makes the Echo Show 5 so special? Well, there's actually quite a lot to like about it, and plenty of features that can make your life easier. The 5.5-inch smart display helps you to manage your day, connect with friends and family, and catch up on the news, radio, podcasts, and audiobooks. That's a lot, but there's more. Read more...
This is your chance to check out the best offers on speakers and headphones, from a wide range of top brands. Pick up a new Bose speaker at a great price, or bop down the street with a set of Beats headphones. Amazon is also offering impressive discounts on its refurbished Echo Dot and Echo Plus devices.
It's not only about sound systems however, as there are some other sweet deals on TVs, tablets, electric toothbrushes, and smart home devices.
These are the best deals from across the internet for May 30.
Best of the best
Take a look at these deals and save on a wide range of products including an Apple iPad, HDR ready 4K TVs, and even discounted Oral B toothbrushes. Read more...
Chinese tech giant Huawei has filed a summary judgment in a case against the U.S., in which it challenged the constitutionality of a law which prohibits government agencies from buying Huawei equipment.
There's a new app that's topping the App Store: Yolo.
If you're not a teen, or don't spend a lot of time on Snapchat, you might not have heard of Yolo. But the app is undeniably a viral hit.
It's spent more than three weeks in the App Store's top 10 apps and has held the top spot for nine days in total. The app has been downloaded about 5 million times since its release on May 2, according to data from analytics firm Sensor Tower.
What is Yolo?
Yolo is built around Snapchat.
Image: yolo
It's an anonymous Q&A app that lets people ask their social media followers for feedback. Unlike other anonymous apps before it, though, the app is built around Snapchat. You can log in with your Snapchat credentials (your Bitmoji avatar is optional) and the app then redirects you to Snapchat, where you can ask for "feedback" directly from your followers. Read more...
If you told somebody 50 years ago that the most world-changing invention of the near future would be telephones you could carry around in your pocket, they'd probably look at you like you were insane. But it's true—mobile phones (and the data networks that have grown with them) have drastically reshaped the way we live in thousands of different ways.
Remember when horror movies featured slashers who cut phone lines, leaving their victims with no way to call for help? Remember unfolding confusing paper maps and trying to locate where you were on the road? Remember racking your brain to think of that actor who played a robot on that one show? None of these scenarios are much of an issue anymore thanks to the tiny computers that are always in reach. Read more...
Sometimes even the most revolutionary things become obsolete.
Such is the case with iTunes, Apple's once-incredible music management app. iTunes is approaching its 20th year of existence and, while there are logistical reasons why Apple can't simply say goodbye to the ancient app, it's finally time to put it in a home.
The good news is it seems like Apple might do just that. The 2019 Worldwide Developers Conference is next week and Apple's keynote address is expected to feature plenty of software announcements, including standalone apps for Music and Podcasts (among others) for macOS.
Rumors of Apple splitting up iTunes on laptops and desktops have been around since April and will supposedly be vindicated at WWDC. Read more...
Google, Apple, Microsoft, WhatsApp and numerous other companies and organizations have publicly opposed a proposal by the UK's intelligence agency GCHQ to open up encrypted communication to the government.
In an open letter to GCHQ, dated May 22, the group addresses a proposal published by GCHQ in November 2018. While the letter says that the "principles set forth by GCHQ officials are an important step in the right direction," it criticizes the proposal for “silently adding a law enforcement participant to a group chat or call,” also referred to as the "ghost proposal."
Essentially, the GCHQ wants messaging services such as Facebook's Messenger, WhatsApp and Signal to put in a switch that would enable the UK government to snoop on any encrypted chat. And while the GCHQ's proposal insists this is "not about weakening encryption or defeating the end-to-end nature of the service," Google, Apple and other signees of the letter claim that such a proposal would "pose serious threats to cybersecurity and thereby also threaten fundamental human rights, including privacy and free expression." Read more...
Two years ago, Apple did the unthinkable: The company gathered a select group of prominent technology journalists at its headquarters in Cupertino and essentially apologized for leaving its most powerful computer, the Mac Pro, to die a slow death over the span of four years.
In the same conversation, Apple executives also announced they were working on a new Mac Pro, which we later learned wouldn't be launching until 2019. Well, we're just about midway through 2019, and Apple still hasn't said a peep about the Mac Pro.
Is it still coming out this year? What's it gonna look like? What kind of specs can we expect from it? How much will it cost? Apple might answer some or all of these questions at WWDC next week, but what do professionals — the people who've been waiting years and will pay top dollar — really want from a new Mac Pro? Read more...
Whether you're gunning for a promotion or a heftier paycheck, want to kickstart a career in Big Data, or are simply looking for a more efficient way to manage your personal budget, learning how to navigate Excel can do wonders for your career and overall productivity.
It can be pretty tricky to navigate the feature-rich spreadsheet tool without any guidance whatsoever. Good news: You can supercharge your Microsoft Excel savviness with the Epic Excel 2019 Mastery Bundle, a $273 value. Even more good news: You can pick it up for the price you choose.
Regardless of your prior experience with Excel, this seven-part online training will have you learning the program in no time. It begins with an introductory course that offers you a solid grounding in the basics of Excel and then jumps to more complex lessons that dive into advanced concepts like data visualization, task automation, and financial functions like payments, future value, and depreciation. By the end of the training, you'll hopefully be able to navigate Excel like a pro. Read more...
At any given moment, there are about 400 to 500 bacterial species living inside your mouth, which, when multiplied, could easily total to billions.
If an average human's oral cavity is home to billions of micropests, imagine how much worse it is for people who don't give their teeth proper TLC?
Perhaps it's time to take stock of your oral hygiene and think about how you can improve the health of your pearly whites and gums. You can start by investing in a powerful toothbrush because the brush you picked up from the center aisle of the gas station probably isn't your best bet.
Capable of delivering 40,000 brush strokes per minute, the Elements Sonic Toothbrush ensures that your teeth get cleaned every time. To put things into perspective, that's over 100x more power than manual toothbrushes that can only perform 300 strokes a minute. Read more...
"Luckily, upon closer inspection, it is a giant glittery Christmas bauble!" reads the tweet.
Officers were called to Wapping to investigate a possible unexploded device that had been washed up on the shore Luckily, upon closer inspection, it is a giant glittery Christmas bauble! 🎄🎅 pic.twitter.com/L6mCzr4Gjk
Are you depriving yourself by working or browsing on a small monitor or laptop screen? You don't have to break the bank to get a new monitorDell has a 27" monitor going for $149.99. You'd be wondering how you ever survived using a small screen.
With May coming to an end, it only means one thing, Father's Day is approaching very soon. If dad likes training, treat him to an Apple Watch, or some Apple AirPods. If he likes watching TV, enhance his TV experience with a Fire TV Stick for $29.99, or get him the Fire TV Recast for $189.99.
Contrary to popular belief, and despite the near-ubiquity of its Amazon Prime subscription service among modern consumers, Amazon's ecommerce site is hardly its cash cow.
Nope — that title belongs to Amazon Web Services, or AWS, its subsidiary providing on-demand cloud computing services.
But what AWS lacks in mainstream name recognition, it makes up for with stellar growth and profits: According to Amazon's most recent financial statement, AWS grew 47 percent in the 2018 fiscal year, and raked in an operating income of $7.3 billion to cement its status as the tech company's most profitable arm. (Prime who?) Read more...
Those kids who went absolutely wild to "Old Town Road" got the best surprise ever.
In case you missed it, a video of students from Landers Elementary School in Cleveland, Ohio enthusiastically singing along to the chart-topping Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus tune went viral earlier this week.
The video was tweeted by the school's principal, Felecia Evans, who said the track was played at the end of the fifth grade talent show. It's wholesome, and it also bangs.
Georgia's controversial anti-abortion bill has led to Disney rethinking its investments in the state.
In an interview with Reuters on Wednesday, Disney CEO Bob Iger said it would be "very difficult" for the company to film in Georgia if the law comes into place.
"I rather doubt we will," Iger told the news outlet. "I think many people who work for us will not want to work there, and we will have to heed their wishes in that regard. Right now we are watching it very carefully."
Iger added that if the law takes effect, which is slated for Jan. 1 if it survives a court challenge, he said, "I don't see how it's practical for us to continue to shoot there." Read more...
BLACK SPIRE OUTPOST, BATUU — The Outer Rim is about to open for business. Earthling visitors should prepare for a wild ride.
The largest expansion in the history of Disney Parks, the 14-acre Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, opens to the public in Anaheim Friday. (A Florida version hits the docking bay in Orlando on August 29.) We got to take a look around, and we can report that the sense of being entirely transported to another planet — the goal Disney’s Imagineers said repeatedly that they were going for during the park’s five-year development — has been achieved.
Almost nothing breaks the illusion that you are in the Galaxy Far Far Away, sometime after the events of The Last Jedi. You take part in the struggle between the First Order and the Resistance on a frontier planet that, while it is new to the Star Wars universe, feels hundreds of years old — and has been visited by the most familiar hunk of junk in the galaxy, the Millennium Falcon. Specifically, the first full-size, 100-percent complete Falcon built anywhere, even including film sets. Read more...
Vehicular commuters who rely on Google Maps just got a useful new feature.
Or, to be more precise, more of them in more places got a useful new feature. Google has begun rolling out speed limit and speed camera indicators in Google Maps. The feature is available in at least 40 countries around the world now, according to TechCrunch.
The idea is pretty simple: If you're driving on a road with Google Maps open, it'll display the speed limit in a corner of the screen. It'll also let you know when a speed camera is coming up, as reported by Android users. It seems iOS users can't report them, but can still benefit from user reports. Read more...
Last month, researchers published a study that found an association between the debut of Netflix's teen drama, 13 Reasons Why, and a subsequent uptick in youth suicides. The show depicted the grisly suicide of its protagonist, which alarmed mental health experts who were worried about the potential effect on young, vulnerable viewers.
A new study, conducted by different authors, came to a similar conclusion: In the three months after 13 Reasons Why launched, the youth suicide rate for 10- to 19-year-olds rose unexpectedly by 13 percent. Based on historical trends dating back to 1999, 94 more American adolescents and teens died by suicide during the three-month period than otherwise expected. Similarly, the study published last month looked at suicide deaths in the nine months following the show's launch and found an additional 195 fatalities. Read more...
Hookup culture: Also known as the thing that has basically replaced real dating over the past 20 years or so, and the thing that your parents and grandparents bitch about because "nobody has a real conversation anymore."
We all know that's not true, however, and online dating has made a massive impact on more people meeting and talking than every before. And when we think dating sites, we usually think about sites like eharmony and Zoosk and other marriage-minded options. But not every single person is trying to participate in the next cuffing season.
Sometimes, you just wanna get laid.
Everyone gets stuck in a sexual rut at some point, and let's face it: Trying to take strangers home from the bar or constantly hitting up your ex who you know is DTF can get old. But what are you supposed to do? Just ignore the fact that you're human? Read more...
Elizabeth Warren has plopped her proposal to break up Big Tech right in Big Tech's front yard.
The Democratic presidential candidate put up a pretty striking billboard in San Francisco on Wednesday, ahead of her visit to the city this weekend. As noted by The Verge, the billboard is located at 4th and Townsend, wedged between the city's SOMA and Mission Bay neighborhoods, spitting distance from a heavily trafficked Caltrain station, Lyft HQ, and Oracle Park, where the San Francisco Giants play.
If there's one downside to the billboard, it's that it doesn't have the most prominent placement, lingering below another billboard along the side of a building. Of course, if billboard prices are anything like SF real estate, that's understandable. Read more...
The internet is occasionally pleasing in the sense that it's home to some of the greatest food porn you'll ever feast your eyes on, but sadly, it's also a space where people can share the most cursed culinary abominations ever created.
We're not even halfway through 2019, but social media users have already witnessed a fair share of innovative food mashups that went horribly wrong. Sometimes these hideous snacks are intentionally created to troll the Twitter-verse, but other times they appear to be genuine attempts at the next best food trend that seriously miss the mark.
From pizzas with downright offensive toppings to preposterously sliced bagels and an ambitious take on caviar and more, here are 10 of the most ridiculous crimes that have been committed against food so far this year. Read more...
Who's the most famous person (or at least the person with the most Wikipedia traffic) from your hometown? This extremely detailed map from The Pudding has your answer.
The seniors at Parkersburg High School in West Virginia received some words of wisdom from their principal at commencement. Some extremely familiar words, for any dedicated viewers of the Teen Choice Awards.
Scientists measured the temperature of a lab-made sonic black hole, which traps sound instead of light. If the result holds up, it will confirm a prediction of cosmologist Stephen Hawking, who first proposed a surprising truth about black holes: They aren't truly black.
After over a decade as a guitarist in a band, Warren Keelan picked up a camera and found a passion for landscape photography. But after getting his first waterproof camera housing, the photographer took his work into the ocean and that's when things clicked for him.
Televangelist Todd Coontz has a well-worn routine: he dresses in a suit, pulls out a Bible and urges viewers to pledge a very specific amount of money. "Don't delay, don't delay," he urges, calmly but emphatically.
Sometimes a deadline calls — and it doesn't care if you're on the subway. MOFT is an invisible laptop stand that acts like a seamless appendage of your computer, allowing you to work comfortably no matter where you are. Get yours now for just $19.99.
An exquisite fossil of photographic-like quality shows nearly 260 tiny fish swimming together in what appears to be coordinated group action. The 50-million-year-old fossil is evidence that fish have been swimming together in shoals for a very long time.
On her ride home from school, the girl had a potentially deadly tonic seizure, began foaming at the mouth and eventually passed out. A passing motorbiker who saw the panic-stricken family inside the car immediately offered to weave through traffic to take her to the hospital, saving her life.
"I first thought there was something wrong with my car or autopilot was not working well in the rain when it swerved hard into the other lane.... It wasn't until I looked at the dash cam that it saved me a moderate accident."
Fulton & Roark practically invented solid cologne--the premium alternative to traditional sprays. Now you can try all 8 fragrances for just $16. Plus, each sample pack comes with a $16 credit for your next purchase.
It's not hard to spot people about to miss a flight. They're weaving between on-time travelers at a speed somewhere between a power walk and a sprint, or they're elbow-dancing their way to the front of the TSA line to plead their case for immediate screening.
Regardless of what you think about the finale — or the final season in whole — you have to admit that this is a very moving moment for an actor who has devoted 10 years of his life to the show.
The company is trying to decide, in part, whether white supremacists should be banned from the site or should be allowed to stay on the platform so their views can be debated by others.
Forty years ago, the Walkman introduced the fall-away feeling of putting on headphones wherever you were. Now our phones serve as escape and something to escape from.
In the wake of California's deadliest wildfire, a wave of visitors has descended on Paradise. But there's no playbook for dealing with tourists in a community still racked by trauma.
In many ways, the system worked: Someone saw something, then said something, and police made an arrest. But what happened next would play out a fundamental tension at the heart of our criminal justice system: At what point does a thought — or a plan — become a crime?
Lyrical derring-do and emotional complexity made way for mass appeal. Tone poems about rural poverty and romantic bankruptcy gave way to drum-driven, big-hook anthems. Alabama was more interested in making hits than making statements, and no country band ever made more hits.
Someone is making dubious claims to have built a program for detecting faces in porn and cross-referencing against social media, with 100,000 identified so far.
An exoplanet smaller than Neptune with its own atmosphere has been discovered in the Neptunian Desert, by an international collaboration of astronomers.
Only an hour-or-so drive from Southern California's beaches but a world away from the glamour of Hollywood, San Bernardino County is one of the country's biggest hubs for warehousing and distribution of goods.
While the changes to the "Sonic The Hedgehog" movie are going to push the release date back to February, this work from animator Artur Baranov vastly improves on the squicky original trailer.
It's important to note that everyone was safely evacuated from the burning building and nobody was hurt in the incident. But it's still amazing how unperturbed this young boy is as he focuses on having a swinging good time.
Despite its ubiquity, the origins of the dollar sign remain far from clear, with competing theories touching on Bohemian coins, the Pillars of Hercules and harried merchants.
#UPDATE Israel's parliament voted to hold new elections only months after April polls in an unprecedented move provoked by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's attempts to remain in power despite failing to form a coalition https://t.co/0e46JW6Dk0
"The work speaks for itself" - US Special Counsel Robert Mueller says any testimony would not go beyond the written Russia-Trump report, saying it's "not appropriate to speak further" https://t.co/SEYS08F8aNpic.twitter.com/suhG1RYa63
US Army troops in an LCVP landing craft approach Normandy's 'Omaha' Beach on D-Day in Colleville Sur-Mer, France June 6 1944. As infantry disembarked from the landing craft, they often found themselves on sandbars 50 to 100 yards away from the beach. To reach the beach they had to wade through water sometimes neck deep
Thousands of Cubans who built their own data networks at home can now apply for a license, but control over the internet itself stays under state control. Cuba has been one of the least-connected places on the planet.
Cuba's Ministry of Communication (Mincom) announced new measures on Wednesday to allow wired or wireless private networks for the transfer of data and the importation from overseas of equipment, such as routers and servers.
It means that from the end of July, people will be able legally to go online with their own computers and phones and share signals with others, but it does not limit state control over the internet.
Cuba's telecoms monopoly, Etecsa, remains the only internet provider on the island.
WNU Editor: These are just half measures. This is also just one more example on why Cuba is a backward nation. Global communication networks is what makes the world go round, a fact that the leadership in Cuba cannot understand.
In January, a group of high-level military commanders gathered at an air base in Yemen. It was far from the frontlines of the country's ongoing civil war.
Then, without warning, a small drone appeared out of the sky and exploded, spraying the group with shrapnel. According to news reports, the blast killed several, including the Yemeni government's head of military intelligence.
"It's pretty scary because it's clear that these guys had no idea what had just happened," says Nick Waters, a researcher with the U.K.-based online investigative group Bellingcat who has been tracking the Yemen conflict.
BAGHDAD/BRUSSELS (Reuters) - U.S. forces have quietly sent at least 30 suspected foreign Islamic State fighters captured in Syria last year and in late 2017 to stand trial in Iraq, interviews with the men, Iraqi sources and court documents show.
Three of the men have been convicted of IS membership and sentenced to death by Iraqi courts, while five have been given life sentences. Four of them told Reuters they were tortured in prison, a claim Reuters was unable to verify.
Iraq's Counter Terrorism Service (CTS) denied that detainees were transferred to their custody from Syria in 2017 and 2018, and denied the detainees' claims of torture.
As U.S. tensions with Iran are changing course toward a possible military confrontation, the Russian factor is becoming more crucial.
Russia's Middle East policy is marked with balancing acts that secure the country's role as an agile and effective balancing power. The fall of the Islamic Republic could undermine Moscow's capacity for balancing in the Middle Eastern region. It has the potential to cripple Russia's policy in Syria by giving more freedom of action to U.S.-allied groups, further weakening the recovering Assad government.
WNU Editor: Russia will not get directly involved. What they will do is sell weapons and intelligence to Iran .... unless the U.S. gives a better offer.
U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton speaks during an interview at the White House in Washington, U.S., March 29, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - White House national security adviser John Bolton and his Israeli and Russian counterparts will meet in Jerusalem in June to discuss regional security issues, the White House said on Wednesday.
In a brief statement, the White House said Bolton, Israeli national security adviser Meir Ben-Shabbat and Nikolai Patrushev, secretary of the Russian Security Council, would take part in the meeting.
CHINA has threatened that products using its rare earth minerals should not be used against China's development, in a warning aimed at the US tech industry.
Fears China will weaponise its rare earth minerals monopoly as a weapon in the trade war have again intensified. It comes after the Chinese government warned products made from the materials should not be used against the country's development. And the comment has been interpreted as a thinly-veiled threat aimed at US tech giants reliant on the materials.
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli lawmakers voted to dissolve parliament early on Thursday, paving the way for a new election after veteran Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu failed to form a coalition government before a midnight deadline.
The ballot is widely expected to take place in September, the second this year. It represented unprecedented upheaval, commentators said, even in a country used to political infighting, and dealt a blow to Netanyahu, who had claimed victory in the last vote, held on April 9.
Myanmar's army is committing fresh war crimes against ethnic groups in Rakhine state, according to human rights group Amnesty International.
In a new report, Amnesty accuses the army of carrying out extrajudicial killings, torture and arbitrary arrests amid an operation against an ethnic Buddhist guerrilla force.
The army has denied the allegations.
Soldiers were previously accused of mass human rights violations against Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine in 2017.
More than 70,000 people fled the country as a result of the crackdown on the ethnic minority group.
The U.S. mainstream view of Russia has changed quite a bit in the last twenty years, particularly in the last five. We have moved from the fantasy that there was no threat from Russia after the demise of the Soviet Union to a recognition of a serious Russian threat to the U.S. and its allies, including a nuclear threat in the last two years of the Obama administration and the Trump administration. However, characterizing the relationship between the U.S. and Russia as "competition" as it now appears in U.S. Government documents, does not go far enough. Lockheed and Boeing compete; Russia threatens preemptive nuclear attack. It is unilaterally trying to create a sphere of influence in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet states in the classic 19th Century sense while building the largest nuclear arsenal in the world. There is no competition here but rather a serious threat from Russia.
Russian servicemen drive Yars RS-24 intercontinental ballistic missile systems during the Victory Day parade, which marks the anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two, in Red Square in central Moscow, Russia, in May. (Reuters)
Such tests would be in violation of an international nuclear test ban treaty that Russia has signed and ratified.
The U.S. government says that Russia may be conducting low-yield nuclear testing at a remote site above the Arctic Circle in violation of its obligations under the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, or CTBT. The allegation comes at a time when arms control deals between the two countries appear especially fragile. At the same time, the two nuclear-armed nations are actively working to modernize and diversify their arsenals.
The Wall Street Journal was first to report the accusation on May 29, 2019, citing a U.S. intelligence assessment and comments from U.S. Army Lieutenant General Robert Ashley, director of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA). The claims reportedly center around activities at Novaya Zemlya, an archipelago in Russia's far north, where the country has conducted nuclear weapon testing in the past and that continues to support nuclear weapons development programs.
The slivers that make what is left of Syria's last rebel-held bastion have gone up in flames in recent days, with government planes destroying acres of farmland.
Satellite photos, released by the Colorado-based Maxar Satellites on Tuesday, showed fires ravaging olive groves and orchards and subsequently destroying vital crops including wheat and barley at the height of harvest seasons in the villages of Kfar Nabudah and Habeet on the periphery of Idlib province.
The Associated Press reported that Kfar Nabudah fell from opposition control and into the hands of Bashar al-Assad's regime Sunday, while the infernos were sparked from an acute bombing campaign nearby. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Sunday marked the heaviest day of air strikes since launching a major campaign against the rebel-held territory almost one month ago.
* Voters could be forced to go to the polls just months after an April 9 election * PM Benjamin Netanyahu wants to keep ultra-Orthodox military exemption policy * But far-right former Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman wants to overturn it * Without the five seats of Lieberman's party, Netanyahu cannot muster a majority * If coalition deal not made, President Rivlin may select another MP to form one
Benjamin Netanyahu has just hours to cobble together a coalition or Israel could be plunged into its second snap election of the year.
Israelis could be forced to go to the polls just months after an April vote if the country's squabbling conservative parties can't agree a deal by midnight.
As the deadline loomed, there was no sign of a breakthrough in talks with far-right former defence minister Avigdor Lieberman.
Crisis has struck following a row between the leaders over policy which allows ultra-Orthodox men exemption from military conscription.
WNU Editor: An eight minute talk where nothing new was disclosed. And the lead story should be that his probe is over, and that he has nothing to add to the report .... no collusion, and no obstruction. But because he worded his presentation that he could not charge the President (so why the entire probe?), and stressed that he's not confident that President Trump didn't commit a crime, his innuendos will be the lead story for today. Bottom line. When you say this .... "if we had had confidence that (Trump) clearly did not commit a crime, we would have said so" .... what he really means is that he did commit a crime, but we cannot prove it. Is this American justice? That you now have to prove your innocence? I also have met people who have wanted to nail people, and Robert Mueller is clearly someone who wants to do just that on President Trump. But after 500 interviews, 1,200 subpoenas, and seizing millions of documents, he could not because he has no evidence.
Robert Mueller also does not want to testify to Congress. The prospect of facing Republicans and their questions on how he conducted this probe is clearly a road that he does not want to go down. I also expect the media narrative today will be to target Attorney General Barr, and that he misrepresented Mueller's findings. AG Barr's investigation on how this entire affair started, from spying on the Trump campaign in 2016, to the evidence and rational that was used in justifying it, has started. And what better way to discredit what will be uncovered than to discredit the man who is leading it.
So what is next? This is just another phase in the push to get rid of President Trump. Robert Mueller was clear in his remarks today that he wants Congress to now handle this, which means impeachment. And even though the Republican controlled Senate has made it clear that impeachment will not be brought up, and the majority of Americans do not want impeachment, the Democrat controlled House of Representatives will still begin this process and push it to the 2020 Presidential election.
US President Trump's national security adviser did not provide evidence but claimed Iran was behind attacks on oil tankers in the Persian Gulf. Tehran called the accusation "laughable."
US National Security Adviser John Bolton said on Wednesday that Iran was likely behind the attacks on four ships off the coast of the United Arab Emirates earlier this month.
Bolton made the remarks in Abu Dhabi, during a visit to the Emirati capital "to discuss important and timely regional security matters."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's political future is at stake as he has until midnight to form a coalition government. If the premier fails, he is expected to push parliament to hold snap elections.
Negotiations on forming Israel's new government are coming down to the wire, with newly reelected Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu trying to form a coalition government before a midnight deadline.
Netanyahu was reelected prime minister on April 9, and he has been trying to form a coalition government during six weeks of difficult negotiations.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, in white turban, learns about the phased array radar associated with the Bavar 373 surface-to-air missile system, seen in the background, in 2016. President.ir
While European powers still claim Iran's regime is in compliance with the nuclear deal, a new German intelligence report accuses the Islamic Republic of seeking to build weapons of mass destruction.
Fox News obtained a May 2019 intelligence document from the state of Bavaria detailing Iran's nefarious weapons activities in the southern German state during the previous year.
Iran is a "risk country" that is "making efforts to expand its conventional arsenal of weapons with weapons of mass destruction," wrote the Bavarian Office for the Protection of the Constitution in its intelligence report.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States is seriously considering suspending training for Turkish pilots on advanced F-35 fighter jets as Ankara moves ahead with plans to purchase a Russian missile defense system despite objections from Washington, sources told Reuters on Tuesday.
The two NATO allies have argued for months over Turkey's order for the Russian S-400 defenses, which Washington says are incompatible with the Western alliance's defense network and would pose a threat to American F-35 stealth fighters which Turkey also plans to buy.
The two sources, who are familiar with Turkey's role in the F-35 program and who spoke on condition of anonymity, said a final decision had not yet been made.
An artist rendering illustrates the Office of Naval Research-funded electromagnetic railgun installed aboard the joint high-speed vessel USNS Millinocket, the vessel initially expected to be used for sea trials. US Navy
* The US Navy is talking about finally testing its railgun aboard a warship, which would be a milestone achievement for the struggling program. * The Navy's railgun, the product of more than a decade of research costing more than $500 million, was expected to be tested in 2016, but the test was delayed. * The US is not the only country chasing this technology. China has already managed to arm a warship — the Type 072III Yuting-class tank-landing ship "Haiyang Shan" — with a railgun.
The US Navy is planning to finally test the electromagnetic railgun it has spent years and hundreds of millions of dollars developing aboard a warship, according to new documents detailing the service's testing and training plans.
Unlike conventional guns, a railgun uses electromagnetic energy rather than explosive charges to fire rounds farther and at six or seven times the speed of sound.
May 25: Two South African Airways A340 in formation with the South African air force performed a flyby today during the SA presidential inauguration at Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria #AvGeek
The A340s doing a very low-altitude break over the airport was even more impressive!
South Africa is swearing in their new President and with the festivities came one of the most incredible flyovers we have seen for a long time. The event was held at Loftus Versfeld Stadium in the heart of Pretoria and was part of a slew of festivities to welcome Cyril Ramaphosa into office.
The flyover consisted of a pair of South African Airways Airbus A340-600s flanked by the South African Air Force's Silver Falcons display team in their Pilatus PC-7 Mk.IIs.
(BUDAPEST, Hungary) — Dozens of rescue workers searched the Danube River in downtown Budapest for 21 people missing after a sightseeing boat with 33 South Koreans sank after colliding with a larger cruise ship during an evening downpour. Seven people were confirmed dead, officials said Thursday, and none of the tourists were wearing life jackets.
Seven other people have been rescued, Pal Gyorfi, spokesman for the National Ambulance Service, said. They were hospitalized in stable condition following the accident Wednesday night.
Two Hungarian crew members are also missing.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in instructed officials to employ “all available resources” to support the rescue efforts in Hungary. Moon’s spokeswoman Ko Min-jung said in Seoul that Moon also ordered the launch of a government task force led by Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and for officials to maintain close communication with the family members of the South Korean passengers.
A team of South Korean officials left for Hungary on Thursday to assist with the rescue operations and support passengers and their families. Kang was also to travel to Hungary.
The ministry in a briefing Thursday said that the Seoul government will closely cooperate with Hungarian officials so that the rescue efforts can proceed swiftly and effectively.
The 33 South Koreans included 30 tourists on a package tour of Europe, two guides and one photographer, according to the South Korea-based Very Good Tour agency, which organized the trip.
Agency officials said the tourists left South Korea on May 25 and were supposed to return June 1.
Most of them were traveling with their families, including a 6-year-old girl. Her status wasn’t immediately clear but she didn’t appear on a list of survivors provided by the tour agency.
The travel agency said that the sightseeing boat was on its way back after an hourlong night tour when it collided with a larger cruise ship that caused the sinking.
Senior agency official Lee Sang-moo disclosed the identities of the seven rescued South Koreans — six women and one man, aged between 31 and 66.
The sunken boat was located early Thursday near the Margit Bridge, not far from the neo-Gothic Parliament building on the riverbank.
Employees from the South Korean Embassy in Budapest were assisting Hungarian officials in identifying those rescued and the deceased.
Officials said searchers were checking the Danube for miles (kilometers) downriver from Budapest. The river was fast-flowing and rising as heavy rain continued in the city. Water temperatures were about 10 to 12 degrees Celsius (50-53 degrees Fahrenheit).
Earlier, the news website Index.hu said one of those rescued was found near the Petofi Bridge, which is about 3 kilometers (2 miles) south of Parliament.
Dozens of rescue personnel, including from the military and divers, were involved in the search.
The boat that sank was identified as the “Hableany” (Mermaid), which is described on the sightseeing company’s website as “one of the smallest members of the fleet.” It has two decks and a capacity for 60 people, or 45 for sightseeing cruises.
Mihaly Toth, a spokesman for the Panorama Deck boating company, said the “Hableany” was on a “routine city sightseeing trip” when the accident happened. He told state television that he had no information about any technical problems with the boat, which he said was serviced regularly.
The Margit Bridge connects the two halves of the city, Buda and Pest, with a large recreational island in the middle of the Danube. It is the bridge just north of the famous Chain Bridge, a suspension bridge originally built in the 19th century that like the Parliament is a major tourist draw in the heart of the city.
The river flows south, meaning that survivors were likely to be swept through the well populated, historic part of the city.
Index.hu reported that other riverboats shined spotlights into the water to aid with the search, and that a film crew operating on the Liberty Bridge farther down the river directed its lighting equipment toward the Danube to assist. In recent years, Budapest has emerged as a popular destination for film, television and other commercial video production.
Budapest has enjoyed a boom in overseas tourism in recent years. Long-haul flights from as far away as Dubai and Beijing increasingly fly visitors from Asia and the Middle East to the Hungarian capital, a relatively affordable but history-rich European destination. Budapest’s airport said it handled a record number of travelers in 2018, with passenger numbers surging more than 13 percent to 14.9 million.
Hajoregiszter.hu, a local ship-tracking website, lists the “Hableany” as having been built in 1949 in what was then the Soviet Union.
JERUSALEM — Israel’s parliament voted to dissolve itself early Thursday, sending the country to an unprecedented second snap election this year as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu failed to form a governing coalition before a midnight deadline.
The dramatic vote, less than two months after parliamentary elections, marked a setback for Netanyahu and sent the longtime leader’s future into turmoil.
Netanyahu, who has led Israel for the past decade, had appeared to capture a fourth consecutive term in the April 9 election. But infighting among his allies, and disagreements over proposed bills to protect Netanyahu from prosecution stymied his efforts to put together a majority coalition.
Rather than concede that task to one of his rivals, Netanyahu’s Likud party advanced a bill to dissolve parliament and send the country to the polls for a second time this year.
“I didn’t spare any effort to avoid unnecessary elections,” Netanyahu said after the vote, lashing out at an ally-turned-rival, Avigdor Lieberman, who refused the prime minister’s offers to join the government.
He said the country was being forced to hold “unnecessary, wasteful elections because the people had their say. They didn’t have their say enough for what Mr. Lieberman wants.”
Had the deadline passed without the vote, Israel’s president would have given another lawmaker, most likely opposition leader Benny Gantz, an opportunity to put together a coalition.
After the vote, Gantz angrily accused Netanyahu of choosing self-preservation over allowing the country’s political process to run its course.
Gantz said that Netanyahu opted for “three crazy months” of a new campaign and millions of wasted dollars over new elections because he is “legally incapacitated” by looming indictments. “There is no other reason,” Gantz said.
The country now plunges into a new election campaign that will last at least three months under Israeli law. With much of the country on vacation in late August, a tentative date of Sept. 17 was set.
The campaign looks to complicate Netanyahu’s precarious legal standing. Israel’s attorney general has recommended pressing criminal charges against him in three separate corruption cases, pending a hearing scheduled for October.
Even if Netanyahu wins the election, it is unlikely he will be able to form a government and lock down the required political support for an immunity deal before an expected indictment. That would force him to stand trial and put heavy pressure on him to step aside.
The political uncertainty could also spell trouble for the White House’s Mideast peace efforts. The U.S. has scheduled a conference next month in Bahrain to unveil what it says is the first phase of its peace plan, an initiative aimed at drawing investment into the Palestinian territories.
With the Palestinians, who accuse the U.S. of being unfairly biased toward Israel, opposed to the plan, and Netanyahu preoccupied with re-election, it remains unclear how the Americans will be able to proceed. President Donald Trump’s top Mideast adviser, son-in-law Jared Kushner, was in Israel and scheduled to meet with Netanyahu on Thursday.
That Netanyahu struggled to secure a majority coalition in the 120-seat parliament was a shocking turn of events for the country’s dominating political figure.
In the April 9 vote, Likud and its hardline nationalist and religious parties captured a majority of 65 seats.
The immediate cause of the crisis was his dispute with Lieberman, a former aide who leads the small Yisrael Beitenu faction.
The men had clashed over Lieberman’s demand to subject ultra-Orthodox religious males to the military draft, which is compulsory for most Jewish males. Without Lieberman’s five Knesset seats, Netanyahu had no parliamentary majority.
But the deeper issue is connected to Netanyahu’s legal troubles. Facing a likely indictment, he had pushed his coalition partners to pass legislation that would grant him immunity and curb the powers of the country’s Supreme Court.
Opposition parties strongly oppose granting Netanyahu immunity, robbing him of any alternatives to Lieberman as he tried to form a coalition.
For the past two decades, Lieberman has alternated between being a close ally and a thorn in the side of his former boss. He has held a number of senior Cabinet posts, including defense minister and foreign minister.
Lieberman’s base of support is fellow immigrants from the former Soviet Union, and he takes a hard line toward the Palestinians but also is staunchly secular.
He has demanded that the parliament pass pending legislation that requires young ultra-Orthodox men to be drafted into the military. Years of wide exemptions for religious men have generated resentment among the rest of Jewish Israelis, who are required to serve.
“I am not against the ultra-Orthodox community. I am for the state of Israel. I am for a Jewish state but against a Halachic state,” Lieberman wrote on Facebook early Wednesday, using a term that refers to a Jewish state governed by Jewish law.
The ultra-Orthodox parties consider conscription a taboo, fearing that military service will lead to immersion in secularism, and insist the exemptions should stay in place. Netanyahu, dependent on the parties’ political support, says they have compromised enough and refuses to press them further.
Netanyahu maintained contacts with Lieberman and other parties in hopes of forging a deal as a parliamentary debate took place. Many of the Likud speakers lashed out at Lieberman, accusing him of forcing an unnecessary election.
But as a parliamentary debate stretched toward midnight, it became clear there would be no compromise.
A bitter Netanyahu claimed after the vote that Lieberman “had no intention” to compromise and made unrealistic demands. “He is dragging the entire country for another half a year of elections,” he said.
(JOHANNESBURG) — Caster Semenya has appealed against the Court of Arbitration for Sport’s decision to uphold testosterone regulations for some female athletes in track and field.
The two-time Olympic 800-meter champion’s lawyers say she has lodged an appeal with the Swiss Federal Tribunal, Switzerland’s supreme court.
Under the IAAF’s new rules, upheld by the Switzerland-based CAS this month, Semenya is not allowed to run in international races from 400 meters to one mile unless she medically lowers her natural testosterone levels. She said after the CAS decision that she would not take medication and repeats in Wednesday’s statement announcing her appeal that “the IAAF will not drug me or stop me from being who I am.”
Semenya’s appeal was announced by her South Africa-based lawyers. They say Semenya’s appeal “focuses on fundamental human rights.”
Gucci weighed into the abortion debate at its 2020 fashion show in Rome on Tuesday, unveiling several pieces that made reference to abortion rights and women’s rights.
The fashion statement comes amid a battle over abortion rights in the United States. Earlier this month, Alabama passed the strictest abortion ban in the country with the goal of overturning Roe v. Wade, the 1973 case that effectively legalized abortion across the country. The last abortion provider in Missouri may lose its license this week, making it impossible for women to obtain a safe abortion in the state. Missouri is one of a handful of states that have recently passed abortion bans as early as six weeks, though many of those laws remain tied up in legal challenges.
Anti-abortion sentiments also remain strong inside the Vatican, not far from the site of the Gucci fashion show. At an anti-abortion conference in Rome on Saturday, Pope Francis compared abortion to hiring a “hitman to solve a problem” and said the procedure is never acceptable.
Gucci has recently faced accusations of racism and cultural appropriation. In February, Gucci withdrew a black balaclava sweater from stores following criticism that the black turtleneck and bright red cut-out lips resembled racist blackface imagery. Earlier this month, Gucci drew backlash over cultural appropriation for selling an $800 turban and positioning an article of faith as a fashion accessory.
The new collection featured in Tuesday’s show included a gown with an embroidered uterus, a jacket with the feminist slogan “My body, my choice,” and a shirt with the date in 1978 when Italy legalized abortion.
Moments before #GucciCruise20 unfolding at @museiincomuneroma, a look with ‘22.5.78’, refers to the date established of the Italian statute for the social protection of motherhood and the voluntary interruption of pregnancy, better known as statute 194. pic.twitter.com/NucqPofVkJ
Alessandro Michele, Gucci’s creative director, said at a press conference after the show that women “should be free to choose what they want and terminate a pregnancy,” calling it “the most difficult choice for a woman to make,” according to the Guardian.
In another interview, Michele said the collection draws inspiration from social movements of the 1970s.
“It was a historical moment when women — finally — rejected all the constraints that were imposed in the previous centuries and they became free,” Michele told Women’s Wear Daily. “That’s why I am paying homage to the Italian law regarding abortion, the law number 194. It’s unbelievable that around the world there are still people who believe that they can control a woman’s body, a woman’s choice. I will always stand behind the freedom of being, always.”
(LONDON) — A British judge ruled Wednesday that former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson will be summoned to court over allegations that he lied and misled the public during the Brexit referendum campaign in 2016.
District Judge Margot Coleman said Johnson will answer questions about his possible misconduct in public office, when he claimed Britain contributed 350 million pounds ($442 million) to the European Union each week.
Johnson was a key figure in the “leave” campaign advocating a break with the EU. The campaign emblazoned a bus with a promise that voting for Brexit would mean that instead of sending substantial money to the EU, the cash could be used to fund Britain’s National Health Service.
Britain’s statistics regulator has said Johnson’s claim about the 350 million pounds was misleading and a “gross misuse of official statistics.”
Lawyers representing Marcus Ball, an activist pursuing a private prosecution of Johnson, asked Westminster Magistrates’ Court to summon the politician. Ball and his legal team assert that Johnson deliberately misled the public during the referendum and then in the general election of 2017.
The case comes at an awkward time for Johnson, a prominent contender in the Conservative Party leadership race who stands to become prime minister if he wins that contest.
The judge said in a written statement that the allegations against Johnson are “unproven” and that she is not judging the evidence to determine if Johnson is at fault. But she said summoning Johnson is proper.
“This means the proposed defendant will be required to attend this court for a preliminary hearing, and the case will then be sent to the Crown Court for trial,” the judge said.
Johnson has denied through his lawyers that he acted dishonestly.
Ball has raised more than 200,000 pounds by crowdfunding to pay for the private prosecution.
In August 2014, weeks after rigged elections returned Syrian President Bashar Assad a mandate to continue holding the office he had inherited from his father, Syrian border officials denied American-Lebanese journalist Sam Dagher re-entry into the country.
A senior Wall Street Journal correspondent and the last Western reporter permanently based in Damascus, Dagher had reported on how Assad’s decisions directly contributed to the rise of ISIS, and how the regime starved rebel-held suburbs after it had attacked them with chemical weapons. But it was his coverage of the June elections that constituted “the point of no return,” he says, “I was reporting on the spectacle, not only saying it was a sham but also showing it.”
Barred from re-entering Syria, Dagher later traveled to Paris where he met Manaf Tlass, a confidante of Assad and former Brigadier General in the Syrian Republican Guard until his high profile defection in 2012. Manaf’s father, the late Mustafa Tlass had been a pillar of the Ba’ath party establishment, unwaveringly loyal to Basher’s father, Hafez Assad, and served as his defense minister for 30-years.
Dagher’s meetings with Manaf Tlass sowed the seeds for his book Assad or We Burn the Country, published May 28. In a conversation with TIME he discussed how the regime burnished Bashar’s image after Hafez handed him power in 2000 and how alongside his wife Asma — subject of a fawning Vogue profile published in 2011 — the British-educated ophthalmologist attempted to cast himself as a reformist. But in copying his father’s methods of crushing dissent, he caused a war that has killed more than 500,000 people. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
What motivated you to write Assad or We Burn the Country?
I felt like there wasn’t a sufficient understanding of this family’s role in the Syria story. People got into the Syria story through the Arab Spring and the revolt but it was a very simplistic narrative: it happened in Tunisia, it happened in Egypt, now the Syrians are rising up and when the regime refused to go so it became a civil war. Then attention shifted to ISIS and the refugee issue. What was missing was a deeper understanding of why Syrians rose up in the first place, how this family ruled over them for 50 years, and the role of its allies, particularly Iran. I felt there was a need to step back and look at the whole picture if we wanted to address the problems emanating from Syria.
What have Western countries most consistently misunderstood about Syria?
Western countries relationships with Syria have largely been driven by whatever interests they had in the region at any given moment. During the Cold War, the U.S. agenda was how do we get Hafez Assad on our side? When the civil war started in Lebanon, the Americans wanted him to protect the Christians. And in the early 1990s, the American agenda was to amass this coalition to go after Saddam. Bashar was cooperating with the U.S on intelligence sharing before the invasion of Iraq, after 9/11. But when he realized they might be going after him he calculated that he had better start a pre-emptive war in Iraq to protect the regime. American calculations changed again because they needed to save face in Iraq, so there was a re-engagement period between 2007 and 2010. The Assad regime knows how the West deals with this part of the world and it can wait because it figures it’s not going anywhere. I’m not advocating military intervention to topple the regime. I’m just saying that all these countries have to take history into account when they decide to engage with Syria.
Towards the end of the book you show how a regime that killed activists who posted anti-Assad messages on social media is now using those same platforms to rebuild Bashar’s image. Is that even possible?
He’s trying hard but it’s going to be difficult. The regime understands there’s only so far it can go with rehabilitating Bashar’s image, even domestically. What they’re doing instead is relying on their old trick: brute, naked fear. I’ve heard from a number of Syrians that the regime’s message to themis “we’re on top of you again.” They’ve re-instated a lot of the statues of Hafez, the Mukhabarat [secret police] is telling people we’re back, you’d better watch what you say. In terms of the West, some countries have re-engaged with the regime but it’s mainly intelligence sharing at this point. I don’t see Bashar and Asma being able to pull off a rehabilitation of their image.
Russia and some Western commentators have suggested there is more public support for Assad than has been acknowledged. What sense do you have of Syrian public sentiment toward the regime after Assad’s victory?
People are making pragmatic choices but I don’t think that tells the whole story. You have to remember that half of the population is either internally displaced or abroad and most of these people do not support Assad. Inside Syria, the Alawites [ a minority sect to which Assad belongs, whose faith derives from a strain of Shi’a Islam] sacrificed the most for this regime in terms of providing the fighting forces to defend it and they openly support Assad. But for many, they were not defending Assad, they were defending themselves against an existential threat. The same applies to other minorities: many Christians and Druze [a religious minority] sympathized with the protesters and took part in at least the peaceful period of the protests before they realized, yes, the regime may be awful but look at the other side. Even the Sunnis came to that conclusion—but it was more like resignation than support. A lot of urban Sunnis are now questioning the benefits of Assad’s victory and starting to have second thoughts.
Whether it’s Saudi Crown Prince Mohamad bin Salman (MBS), Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el Sisi, or Libya’s Khalifa Haftar, the notion of “a man we can do business with” seems to persist. Have any lessons have been learned from Syria?
I’m glad you brought up MBS because the script has been pretty much the same as it was with Bashar. In the late 1990s, all these articles were written before Bashar took power, touting him as a young reformer. There was actually a headline for a storyon Bashar in a Saudi-owned newspaper, “reform under the umbrella of continuity and stability”, that was almost exactly the same as the one they used for MBS years later. The leverage that the Saudis have are contracts and money and oil. The leverage the likes of Assad have is terrorism and refugees: always reminding Europe and the U.S. that if you come after us it’s going to be the refugees and the terrorists again. So, these countries calculate that they had better just shut that door. You hear statements from Europe like, let the Syrians figure it out for themselves, it’s not our problem. With Iran and Russia behind him, Bashar’s grip on the country is too tight for that to work, unfortunately.
One of your most important sources was Manaf Tlass, who defected in 2012. How did that relationship come about?
I first met Manaf in Paris in 2014 for an article I was writing for the Wall Street Journal. I was aware he was a controversial figure but I think he offers invaluable insights into the regime. The Tlass family, alongside the Assads, helped build the regime that has been at the helm of Syria for 50 years. It was certainly a difficult process. Manaf sees himself as a hero who was misunderstood and wasn’t given a chance by the West, somebody who challenged Bashar and refused to participate in the killing of Syrians. He thought the book was going to help people understand his motivations. I made it clear that I would be looking at the full picture rather than trying to clear his family name. His wife was completely against him talking to me. She even asked to meet with me to dissuade me from pursuing this.
What’s the key message you’d like readers to take away from Assad or We Burn the Country?
The Assad family’s atrocities and crimes concern the whole world not just Syrians.The most important element for me is the similarity between what Bashar did and what his father did. Under the pretext of fighting terrorism Hafez massacred civilians in Hama in 1982 and later Bashar used the same excuse to go after those who were defying him. Both went after the peaceful activists first, vilifying them and putting them all together in the same category as terrorists, then there was the collective punishment. It’s the same playbook. Even the torture methods were similar. So were the reactions of some other countries. During the Hafez era the U.S. was saying, OK, this is an awful regime, look at what they’re doing to their people, they’re sponsoring terrorism abroad, but we have all these other problems to deal with so maybe we shouldn’t make as much of a big deal out of it. We heard variations of this after 2011 especially as the conflict became bloodier. The book also helps people understand the methodology behind the regime’s image-making, the tools of its deception. I think that aspect is not well understood—how they have gotten away with murder so far.
Assad or We Burn the Country: How One Family’s Lust for Power Destroyed Syria (Little, Brown) is published May 28
Teenage protester Will Connolly, dubbed “egg boy” after video of him smashing an egg on the head of an Australian senator went viral, announced Tuesday that he was donating the $70,000 raised for his legal expenses to victims of the New Zealand mosque attacks.
A day after the Christchurch massacre that killed 51 people in March, Connolly smashed an egg on the back of Senator Fraser Anning’s head while the politician was talking to reporters. Anning then slapped the teen as his supporters tackled him to the ground.
The right-wing senator had earlier remarked that “The real cause of the bloodshed on New Zealand streets today is the immigration program which allowed Muslim fanatics to migrate to New Zealand in the first place.” The comment sparked a furore in Australia.
The 17-year-old said he was not connected with any activist group. He was interviewed and released by police without charge.
Connolly said he had no legal fees as a lawyer acted pro-bono for his case. The $70,000 raised — close to 100,000 Australian dollars — was donated to the Christchurch Foundation and Victims Support, he wrote.
“It wasn’t mine to keep,” Connolly added. “To the victims of the tragedy, I wholeheartedly hope that this can bring some relief to you.”
In an interview with Australian television, Connolly conceded that attacking the senator “was not the right thing to do.”
Senator Anning has meanwhile defended slapping the teen. “He got a slap across the face, which is what his mother should have given him long ago, because he’s been misbehaving badly,” Anning told Australian media after the incident.
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ARCH-Remainer Andrew Adonis, Bank of England Governor Mark Carney and Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary are among those attending the shady and secretive Bilderberg Meeting in Switzerland today - with Brexit featuring prominently on the agenda.
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU's spell as Prime Minister of Israel could be coming to a close as the country faces fresh elections, less than two months after the last round, after coalition talks collapse.
11,774 students complete Mumbai University's enrolment on Day-1 The pre-admission enrolment is mandatory for anyone wishing to seek admission in courses offered by MU.
DNA IMPACT: Civic chief Praveen Pardeshi tells officials to clean Poisar River The Poisar River passes through one of the densest slum networks and despite repeated requests, people keep dumping all the garbage
Hawkers are not problem, they are part of our system: BJP MP Gopal Shetty Shetty says implementation of hawkers policy, development of amusement park in the city and removal of red tape for the realty sector will be his priorities
Maharashtra government to tackle ragging: Girish Mahajan Girish Mahajan, medical education minister told DNA that all possible help will be extended to Payal's family.
Stormwater drain on Dadar-Kurla stretch yet to become reality The reason being a proposed stormwater drain planned last year, which still remains a plan on paper.
Mumbai: Railways to install more pumps ahead of monsoon Sources said that as compared to last year, this time around more number of high powered pumps shall be placed.
Dr Payal Tadvi Suicide: Maharashtra SC/ST commission seeks reports from BYL Nair Hospital On Wednesday, May 29, Abeda, mother of Dr Payal Tadvi spent her day at Agripada police station to give an in-depth statement to the police in front of the commission in order to get into more details of the case.
US diplomat Clarke Cooper to visit to India for talks on defense issues Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs Clarke Cooper will travels to Singapore, India and Sri Lanka from May 29 to June 7.
Anil Ambani's BIG FM is music to the ears of Radio City; key benefits for Music Broadcast from deal After Anil Ambani led Reliance Broadcast Network's deal with Music Broadcast to sell BIG FM radio channel, analysts say that the deal is attractively valued for the Jagran Prakashan group firm.
Pakistan extends closure of airspace along India till border till June 15 Pakistan fully closed its airspace in February after an Indian Air Force strike on a Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terror camp in Balakot.
10% EWS quota cannot be applied to PG medical courses in Maharashtra for 2019-20, says SC A vacation bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Aniruddha Bose said 10 per cent EWS quota cannot be granted at the cost of others unless additional seats are created by the Medical Council of India.
Who's in, who's out? NDA allies to get one berth each in new Modi cabinet While Nitish Kumar's JD(U) that won 16 seats, the Shiv Sena won 18 seats. Both the parties are likely to get cabinet rank ministers
Can Rahul Gandhi win elections like Modi? Yes, if he can learn from the BJP campaigns If Rahul Gandhi is indeed serious about the Congress posing a real challenge to the BJP in 2024, it needs to emulate the latter's winning tactics
Kolkata ex-top cop Rajeev Kumar moves Calcutta High Court, seeks quashing of CBI notice in chit fund case Justice Pratik Prakash Banerjee granted leave to Kumar's counsel for filing a petition in the registry of the court and moved the matter for hearing at 2 pm.
Gandhi family in crisis: Modi's big win not only surprised the world but also put 134-year-old Congress on life support Congress president Rahul Gandhi himself campaigned hard but his efforts were in vain, and the way forward is uncertain.
