In opening statements in the murder trial of Ahmaud Arbery, defense attorneys said the shooting was justified as self-defense, arguing that Greg McMichael was terrified he was about to witness his son possibly get shot and killed. Three white men are charged in the killing of Arbery, a 25-year-old black man they allegedly chased down […]
WASHINGTON (REUTERS) – US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Friday (Nov 5) he would convene a virtual meeting of foreign ministers from around the globe to discuss the Covid-19 pandemic next week, pledging to work to address global inequalities in access to vaccines. “Despite progress in worldwide vaccination, we are not where we […]
WASHINGTON (REUTERS) – US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday (Nov 5) named two new officials to coordinate Washington’s response to so-called Havana Syndrome health incidents that have affected US diplomats and officials overseas. Mr Blinken said Ambassador Jonathan Moore will serve as coordinator of the State Department’s Health Incident Response Task Force and […]
A former crew member on the film Rust said he “never felt as close to death” on a set as he did in the days before Halyna Hutchins was killed. Lane Luper was the lead camera operator for the production but resigned the day before his friend and cinematographer Ms Hutchins was shot dead with […]
WASHINGTON (AFP) – Four astronauts could leave the International Space Station (ISS) on Sunday (Nov 7) without their replacement team having arrived to take over, Nasa announced Thursday, but the timing remains uncertain due to weather conditions. The four members of the Crew-2 mission, including a French and a Japanese astronaut, are due to return […]
WASHINGTON (REUTERS) – The United States on Thursday (Nov 4) urged China not to restrict access and movement for journalists reporting on next year’s Winter Olympics in Beijing. The Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China this week said it was concerned about a lack of transparency from organisers of the games, which begin in February. “We […]
WASHINGTON (AFP) – The United States will offer funding to help journalists overseas survive frivolous lawsuits meant to silence them, as part of a campaign to support democracy, USAID chief Samantha Power announced Thursday (Nov 4). Ms Power, herself a former reporter, said President Joe Biden’s administration was setting up the “Global Defamation Defence Fund” […]
WASHINGTON (REUTERS) – The US State Department approved its first major arms sale to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia under US President Joe Biden with the sale of 280 air-to-air missiles valued at up to US$650 million (S$870 million), the Pentagon said on Thursday (Nov 4). While Saudi Arabia is an important partner in the […]
NEW YORK (REUTERS) – A federal judge on Thursday (Nov 4) rejected a lawsuit by Jeff Bezos’ space company Blue Origin against the US government over Nasa’s decision to award a US$2.9 billion (S$3.4 billion) lunar lander contract to rival billionaire Elon Musk’s SpaceX. Judge Richard Hertling of the US Court of Federal Claims in […]
WASHINGTON (NYTIMES) – Surveillance videos showed the presence of at least one child in the area some two minutes before the military launched a drone strike on a site in Kabul, Afghanistan, in August, the United States Defence Department said on Wednesday (Nov 3). But the general who conducted the investigation into the US airstrike, […]