| North Korea abandons nuclear freeze pledge, blames 'brutal' U.S. sanctions Posted: 21 Jan 2020 04:41 AM PST  North Korea said on Tuesday it was no longer bound by commitments to halt nuclear and missile testing, blaming the United States' failure to meet a year-end deadline for nuclear talks and "brutal and inhumane" U.S. sanctions. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un set an end-December deadline for denuclearization talks with the United States and White House national security adviser Robert O'Brien said at the time the United States had opened channels of communication.
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| Indonesia detains American journalist over visa regulations Posted: 22 Jan 2020 05:13 AM PST ![Indonesia detains American journalist over visa regulations]( "Indonesia detains American journalist over visa regulations") An American journalist is facing up to five years in an Indonesian jail and a fine on charges of violating immigration regulations, a lawyer and officials said Wednesday. Philip Jacobson of California was detained Tuesday in Palangkaraya city on Borneo island. The government has promised to ease visa restrictions for international media since President Joko Widodo took office in 2014.
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| Putin to Meet Jailed Israeli’s Mother Amid Reports of Release Posted: 22 Jan 2020 05:30 AM PST ![Putin to Meet Jailed Israeli's Mother Amid Reports of Release]( "Putin to Meet Jailed Israeli's Mother Amid Reports of Release") (Bloomberg) -- President Vladimir Putin is to meet in Jerusalem with the mother of an Israeli woman imprisoned in Russia on drug-smuggling charges, the Kremlin said, amid reports Russian authorities are preparing to free her.Putin, who'll be a guest of honor Thursday at a ceremony marking the 75th anniversary of the Soviet Red Army's liberation of the Nazi Auschwitz death camp, spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by phone last week about 26-year-old Naama Issachar. Netanyahu said after the call that he was optimistic about securing her freedom.Issachar was sentenced to 7 1/2 years in a Russian prison in October for carrying a small amount of hashish on a transit flight via Moscow. Her mother, Yaffa, asked Putin in November to pardon her daughter in a letter handed to him by Theophilos III, the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem. The plight of the U.S.-born Israeli army veteran, who was detained in April, has become a cause celebre in Israel, where she's widely regarded as a pawn in a political game.Putin will meet Yaffa Issachar together with Netanyahu and the patriarch, Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters in Moscow on Wednesday. While Ushakov wouldn't confirm that a release is planned, he said the president's right to pardon a convicted person is "an important prerogative."Property DisputeIn another sign of a possible resolution, Ushakov said Russia and Israel are making progress in settling a dispute over the ownership of Russian Orthodox Church property in Jerusalem. Israel's Haaretz newspaper said resolving the issue could form part of a quid pro quo with Putin for the release of Issachar.Putin will speak at the anniversary ceremony, though there won't be time for him to meet with other leaders attending the event, including French President Emmanuel Macron and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, according to Ushakov.Issachar's case for a time became entangled with that of a Russian national, Alexei Burkov, whom Israel extradited to the U.S. in November on charges including hacking and credit card fraud. Russia had offered to swap the two, according to Natan Sharansky, a former Soviet dissident and Israeli politician.Putin rebuffed repeated pleas to free her by Netanyahu, who's fighting to maintain his 13-year-rule as he battles fraud and bribery charges, with new elections due in March.\--With assistance from Gwen Ackerman and Ivan Levingston.To contact the reporters on this story: Andrey Biryukov in Moscow at abiryukov5@bloomberg.net;Henry Meyer in Moscow at hmeyer4@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Gregory L. White at gwhite64@bloomberg.net, Tony HalpinFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
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| 'Sealed off': China isolates city of virus outbreak Posted: 22 Jan 2020 02:56 PM PST  The Chinese city at the heart of a deadly virus outbreak is under effective quarantine, with outward flights and trains suspended, subways halted and large public events cancelled as doctors in full-body protective suits treat patients. The coronavirus has spread across China and beyond, with 17 people killed and more than 500 infected in an outbreak that started in Wuhan -- a central city of 11 million people described by state media as "the main battlefield" against the disease. Most cases are in Wuhan, a major transport hub with a seafood market that has been identified as the epicentre of the epidemic.
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| Police: Mom accused of killing her 3 kids said she smothered them while singing Posted: 22 Jan 2020 04:22 PM PST  A probable cause document doesn't provide a possible motive for the brutal killings that Rachel Henry is charged with.
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| Fox News Host: Trump Actually Being Impeached Because He’s ‘Phenomenally Interesting’ Posted: 22 Jan 2020 03:31 PM PST  Fox News host Greg Gutfeld on Wednesday argued that the real reason Democrats are impeaching President Donald Trump is that they are "boring people" and the president is "phenomenally interesting."During the 5 PM hour, Fox News decided to air their highly rated conservative panel show The Five instead of sticking with live coverage of the Senate impeachment trial like CNN and MSNBC did.Immediately, Gutfeld blasted the proceedings by saying impeachment had become "so trivial," flinging out an analogy about tattoos to make his case."If you saw somebody with a tattoo you stared at it," he exclaimed. "A war vet or a biker or possibly both but now they're on bass players, there on sorority sisters. Tattoos can be found on middle-age suburbanites at their Peloton class. That's what impeachment is."Co-host Jesse Watters, meanwhile, took to taunting House impeachment manager Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), claiming the House Intelligence Committee chairman "looks like a rotten dandelion" and is the "kind of guy that tucks his t-shirt into his mom jeans."Moments after Watters' juvenile insults aimed at one of the president's favorite targets, Gutfeld further played to Trump's ego by heaping praise upon the president while bashing Democrats."Finally, when you watch this, it's boring," he declared. "That's the real reason why they are impeaching him. These are all really boring people up against a phenomenally interesting person.""This is a bloated cat trying to hack out an orange furball that has made their life a living hell," Gutfeld concluded. "He's Rocky in this fight."Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
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| A terrifying graph shows how fast the Wuhan virus has spread so far and how close it is to becoming a pandemic Posted: 22 Jan 2020 02:32 AM PST  China has blamed the Wuhan coronavirus, also known as 2019-nCoV, for nine deaths, with hundreds more confirmed cases of infection.
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| The brazen (and careless) Russian assassination team behind the Salisbury poisonings has been spotted in Europe, again Posted: 22 Jan 2020 07:34 AM PST  They keep failing to kill their targets. And they leave lots of evidence behind them.
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| Attorney: Due to a conflict of interest, William Barr must recuse himself from Lev Parnas' criminal case Posted: 20 Jan 2020 07:35 PM PST  An attorney for Lev Parnas, the indicted associate of Rudy Giuliani, sent a letter to Attorney General William Barr on Monday, requesting the he recuse himself from Parnas' criminal case.Parnas was arrested last October and charged with campaign finance violations. In the letter, which was also filed in New York federal court, attorney Joseph Bondy said Barr has a conflict of interest and asked that a special prosecutor from outside the Justice Department handle Parnas' case. "Federal ethics guidelines bar federal employees from participating in matters in which their impartiality could be questioned, including matters in which they were personally involved or about which they have personal knowledge," Bondy wrote.Bondy cited several reasons why Barr should recuse himself, noting that the reconstructed transcript released by the White House of President Trump's July phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky shows Trump telling Zelensky that Barr could help him facilitate an investigation into former Vice President Joe Biden. Last week, Parnas told MSNBC host Rachel Maddow that Barr knew about efforts in the Ukraine to dig up dirt on Biden, saying, "Attorney General Barr was basically on the team." Read Bondy's letter here.More stories from theweek.com After rejecting amendments, Senate adopts impeachment trial rules White House budget office releases heavily redacted Ukraine emails as Senate rejects OMB subpoenas Trump lawyer Jay Sekulow's odd impeachment rant about 'lawyer lawsuits' may stem from a misheard phrase
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| Fifth condemned Tennessee inmate opts for the electric chair Posted: 22 Jan 2020 12:42 PM PST  A Tennessee inmate has chosen the electric chair for his scheduled execution next month, opting like four other inmates in little more than a year for electrocution over the state's preferred execution method of lethal injection. Nicholas Sutton, 58, is scheduled to be put to death Feb. 20 for the stabbing death of a fellow inmate decades ago while serving a life sentence for his grandmother's slaying. An affidavit signed on Tuesday said he waives the right to be executed by lethal injection and chooses electrocution.
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| REI’s January Sale Offers 50% off Cold-Weather Outdoor Gear Posted: 22 Jan 2020 07:26 AM PST |
| Feds: White supremacists hoped rally would start civil war Posted: 21 Jan 2020 02:42 PM PST  A hidden camera captured members of a white supremacist group expressing hope that violence at a gun rights rally in Virginia this week could start a civil war, federal prosecutors said in a court filing Tuesday.
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| California Man Accused of Killing 3 Teens After 'Intentionally' Ramming Them With His Car Posted: 21 Jan 2020 06:39 AM PST  Anurag Chandra, 42, is facing 3 murder charges
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| Bernie Sanders surges into first in CNN national poll; Joe Biden maintains lead in another Posted: 22 Jan 2020 10:13 AM PST  Sen. Bernie Sanders surged into first place in a new CNN poll, the first time a CNN poll did not find Joe Biden alone at the top since the race began.
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| Meghan Markle's former LA mansion is still looking for a buyer, and the asking price just dropped — here's a look inside Posted: 21 Jan 2020 07:01 AM PST  Before Kensington Palace, Frogmore Cottage, and declaring a pursuit of financial independence, Meghan Markle already lived like a queen.
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| Hong Kong on high alert to tackle coronavirus outbreak Posted: 21 Jan 2020 10:55 PM PST  Hong Kong's government is on high alert to deal with a new flu-like coronavirus that has killed nine people in mainland China, the city's commerce secretary, Edward Yau, said on Wednesday. The outbreak has rattled financial markets as investors recall the huge impact of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), which killed nearly 800 people globally during a 2002/03 outbreak that also started in China. Yau is part of a delegation on a mission to the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos to convince global business and political leaders that the Asian financial hub is back on track after more than seven months of protests, even as it faces a potentially more damaging crisis.
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| Britain's EU Journey: When De Gaulle said 'non' twice Posted: 21 Jan 2020 03:29 AM PST  Britain officially leaves the European Union on Jan. 31 after a debilitating political period that has bitterly divided the nation since the 2016 Brexit referendum. Difficult negotiations setting out the new relationship between Britain and its European neighbors will continue throughout 2020. This series of stories chronicles Britain's tortured relationship with Europe from the post-World War II years to the present.
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| Are North Korea's Vaunted Submarines Actually Any Good? Posted: 22 Jan 2020 01:20 AM PST  Let's take a look.
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| Why No GOP Senator Will Stand Up to Trump Posted: 22 Jan 2020 02:10 AM PST  Barry Goldwater had the power to tell Nixon it was all over. But don't expect a repeat this time.
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| Kristin Smart: FBI tells mother of woman missing since 1996 to 'be ready' for developments Posted: 22 Jan 2020 09:54 AM PST  The mother of a California teenager who has been missing for more than 20 years says the FBI told her to "be ready" for imminent news about her disappearance.Hoping that police would finally be able to bring some closure to a seemingly endless investigation, Kristin Smart's mother Denise told the Stockton Record that the FBI warned that the family "might want to get away for a while" and obtain a spokesperson
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| Halkbank Hit With U.S. Demand for Millions in Contempt Fines Posted: 21 Jan 2020 01:12 PM PST  (Bloomberg) -- Turkey's Halkbank should pay millions of dollars in fines for its continued failure to respond to U.S. sanctions-evasions charges, federal prosecutors in New York said.In a court filing Tuesday, the government asked a federal judge to impose a daily $1 million fine that would double each week the bank refuses to appear in the case.Prosecutors charged the bank in October with aiding a yearslong scheme to help Iran evade U.S. economic sanctions and access $20 billion in frozen oil revenue. Since then, the bank has refused to accept service of the indictment or answer the case, leading prosecutors to deem it a fugitive from justice.The U.S. pursuit of Halkbank, which is owned by the Turkish government, has been a sore point in relations between the two countries. Manhattan federal prosecutors previously won the conviction of a senior Halkbank executive in a case Turkish President Recep Erdogan likened to an "international coup attempt."Read More: Halkbank Threatened with U.S. Contempt in Iran Sanctions Case"Halkbank has consistently sought to avoid responsibility for its role in a massive sanctions-evasion and money-laundering scheme that gave the Government of Iran access to billions of dollars' worth of restricted oil proceeds," the U.S. said in Tuesday's filing.The U.S. argued that Halkbank improperly ignored an initial summons, "intentionally frustrated" efforts to serve the summons and indictment, attacked the charges in the press and failed to show up for a required court appearance.Andrew Hruska, a U.S. lawyer for Halkbank, didn't immediately return a phone message seeking comment on the sanctions request.A judge in December denied Halkbank's request that it be allowed to make a "special appearance" to argue for the charges' dismissal without submitting itself to the court's jurisdiction. U.S. District Judge Richard Berman denied the request, leaving Halkbank with a choice between answering the charges and defending against them or not participating in the case in any way.While Halkbank does almost no business in the U.S., it has some ties to the nation's financial system, which the government could limit or sever.In its initial filing, the U.S. provided conflicting statements about the amount of the proposed fine. In one section the daily $1 million fine was said to double at the end of each week the bank fails to comply. In another section the government said the fine would double every day. In a corrected filing, prosecutors made clear the fine should double only each week.The case is U.S. v. Halkbank, 15-cr-867, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).(Updates with amount of requested fine)To contact the reporter on this story: Bob Van Voris in federal court in Manhattan at rvanvoris@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: David Glovin at dglovin@bloomberg.net, Joe Schneider, Steve StrothFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
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| On the menu at China virus market: rats and live wolf pups Posted: 22 Jan 2020 03:16 AM PST  The food market where China's deadly virus surfaced was a smorgasbord of exotic wildlife ranging from wolf pups to species linked to previous pandemics such as civets, according to vendor information and a Chinese media report. The Huanan Seafood Market in the central city of Wuhan came under greater scrutiny on Wednesday as Chinese officials said that the virus which has so far killed nine people and infected hundreds may have originated in a wild animal sold at the food emporium. Past deadly epidemics have been blamed on wild animals -- Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) was linked to Chinese consumption of civet meat -- setting Chinese authorities up for potential embarrassment if lax supervision of wildlife trafficking is found at fault in the latest outbreak.
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| New charge filed against Michigan lawmaker who reportedly said boys could 'have a lot of fun' with reporter Posted: 21 Jan 2020 11:41 AM PST  The sexual harassment allegation, filed by a Michigan state senator, comes as Peter Lucido faces investigation over remarks to a reporter.
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| Cathay says cabin crew can wear masks on mainland China flights due to virus Posted: 21 Jan 2020 06:19 PM PST  Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd will allow cabin crew to wear a surgical mask while operating mainland China flights due to concerns over a new coronavirus, and passengers to Wuhan to change or cancel flights without charge through Feb. 15. The airline's flight attendant had on Tuesday called for permission to wear masks on all flights globally as cases have also been confirmed in the United States, Thailand, South Korea, Japan and Taiwan. The coronavirus outbreak, which began in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, struck as millions of Chinese prepared to travel for the Lunar New Year, heightening contagion risks.
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| The US is going after Venezuela over aircraft it says endangered US military planes Posted: 22 Jan 2020 01:49 PM PST  The US blocked planes owned by Venezuela's state oil firm on Tuesday, several of which it said were involved in unsafe encounters with US aircraft.
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| AP PHOTOS: Auschwitz, 75 years after its liberation Posted: 21 Jan 2020 03:31 AM PST  On Jan. 27, 1945, the Soviet Red Army liberated the Auschwitz death camp in German-occupied Poland. The Soviet troops also found gas chambers and crematoria that the Germans had blown up before fleeing in an attempt to hide evidence of their mass killings. Today, the site of Auschwitz-Birkenau endures as the leading symbol of the terror of the Holocaust.
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| Trump impeachment defense is dangerous. Abuses of power could crack America's foundation. Posted: 22 Jan 2020 12:15 AM PST  Trump thinks his oath was a vague, unenforceable promise, that he can't be held accountable as long as he doesn't commit a crime. But he's wrong.
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| Tekashi 6ix9ine won't be allowed to serve the rest of his 2-year sentence in home confinement even though his prison has a lot of Blood gang members Posted: 21 Jan 2020 02:35 PM PST  A judge dashed the controversial rapper's hopes that he could spend the rest of his two-year prison sentence away from the gang he once betrayed.
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| Huawei’s CEO Dismisses Looming Threat of a U.S. Escalation Posted: 21 Jan 2020 01:43 AM PST  (Bloomberg) -- Sign up for Next China, a weekly email on where the nation stands now and where it's going next.Huawei Technologies Co. founder Ren Zhengfei shrugged off the threat the U.S. will impose even stricter sanctions against his company, saying he was confident China's largest tech company can survive further attacks from Washington.Tighter restrictions on the sale of American technology to the telecommunications giant -- something the White House is considering -- will not have very significant impact on Huawei, the billionaire chief executive said during a panel discussion at the World Economic Forum in Davos."This year, the U.S. might further escalate its campaign against Huawei but I feel the impact on Huawei's business would not be very significant," he said in response to a question about U.S. curbs. "We're confident we can survive further attacks."Huawei has risen to global prominence as the No. 2 smartphone maker and a leader in the fifth-generation wireless technology that will underpin future advances from autonomous cars to robotics. It's also become a major target for the U.S. as China's technological prowess grew along with its ambitions, encapsulating growing tensions between the world's two largest economies.Read more: Trump's Blacklisting of Huawei Is Failing to Halt Its Growth (1)The Trump administration has pushed allies to ban Huawei equipment from their networks on worries about spying, and blacklisted Huawei along with a clutch of Chinese technology companies in fields from artificial intelligence to surveillance.Ren initially estimated the May 2019 blacklisting in particular could wipe $30 billion off annual revenue and threaten his company's very survival, though he tempered that outlook in the ensuing months. Huawei mobilized a massive effort to develop in-house alternatives to American software and circuitry, while U.S. suppliers like Intel Corp. and Microsoft Corp. found ways to continue supplying Huawei vital components it needed to make its products."The U.S. should not be concerned about Huawei and our position in the world," Ren, looking at ease in a blazer and open shirt, told the panel.Read more: Huawei Engineers Go to 24-Hour Days to Beat Trump BlacklistTo contact Bloomberg News staff for this story: Gao Yuan in Beijing at ygao199@bloomberg.net;Edwin Chan in Hong Kong at echan273@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Peter Elstrom at pelstrom@bloomberg.net, Colum MurphyFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Graph shows how fast the coronavirus is spreading Posted: 22 Jan 2020 06:46 AM PST An alarming graph shows how fast the Wuhan coronavirus has spread in the past two weeks alone and highlights how soon it could become a pandemic.
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| How Was the Secret Air War Between the U.S. Navy and Soviet Fighters Over Siberia Kept Secret for Forty Years? Posted: 21 Jan 2020 10:00 PM PST  Blame North Korea.
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| Deadly funnel-web spiders descend on battered Australian cities; experts warn of bite Posted: 22 Jan 2020 07:23 AM PST  The Australian Reptile Park attributes increased activity in funnel-web spiders to recent weather and expected warm air on the way.
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| U.S. Secretary of State cautions nations against taking 'easy money' from China Posted: 22 Jan 2020 11:32 AM PST  U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, on a visit to Jamaica on Wednesday, cautioned nations against taking "easy money" from China, warning it could be counterproductive, in a second attack in as many days against China's economic role in the region. On Tuesday, he drew the ire of Chinese officials when he said "flashy" Chinese economic promises often produces debt dependency and erode the sovereignty of borrower nations.
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| This 26-year-old former truck driver is running for Congress, and he's betting big that TikTok will help get him elected Posted: 22 Jan 2020 06:57 AM PST  Joshua Collins is ditching traditional ads to raise money and find volunteers through TikTok, which other politicians have been slow to adopt.
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| Bloomberg rises to 4th place in new national poll Posted: 22 Jan 2020 07:06 AM PST  Outside of Bloomberg's rise, the Monmouth poll shows a stable race at the top of the field with less than two weeks to go before Iowa.
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| Poland calls on Putin to tell truth at WWII event in Israel Posted: 21 Jan 2020 07:37 AM PST  Poland appealed to Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday to refrain from using World War II and Holocaust victims for current political goals and pointed to wartime documents in which the Polish government called on the Allies to save Jews. Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Szymon Szynkowski vel Sek made the appeal before a conference in Israel this week to mark 75 years since Soviet troops liberated the German Nazi death camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau. Putin, who will be one of the key speakers, recently alleged that Poland bears some blame for the war and accused Poland's government of the time of anti-Semitism.
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| White House posts video of bishop saying 'demonic spirit' is behind homosexuality during sermon attended by Mike Pence Posted: 22 Jan 2020 06:09 AM PST  The White House has live-streamed a church service which saw the US vice-president speak and a bishop claim "the devil" causes homosexuality.After Mike Pence addressed the congregation in Tennessee, the preacher took to the pulpit to talk about same-sex relations in a sermon still available on the administration's Youtube channel.
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| Judge upholds mom charged for being topless at home Posted: 22 Jan 2020 04:00 AM PST  A judge refused to overturn part of Utah's lewdness law Tuesday in a blow to a woman who's fighting criminal charges after her stepchildren saw her topless in her own home.
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| Toyota Recalls 2.9 Million Cars for Faulty Airbag Sensor Posted: 22 Jan 2020 08:59 AM PST  Toyota is recalling millions of vehicles for airbags that might not deploy in certain kinds of crashes. The recalled vehicles include approximately 2.9 million 2011 through 2019 Corolla sedans, 2...
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| Check Out This Stealth Target Drone: It Could Be a Warplane in Disguise Posted: 21 Jan 2020 11:00 AM PST  The U.S. Air Force soon could deploy a radar-evading target drone. One that easily could evolve into a front-line warplane.
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| French workers turn to sabotage as transport strike flags Posted: 21 Jan 2020 01:09 AM PST  French energy workers protesting against President Emmanuel Macron's pension reform plans cut power to Paris' wholesale food market on Tuesday in the latest of a series of sabotage and wildcat actions as a weeks-long transport strike loses momentum. The deliberate sabotage of power supplies underlines the determination of left-wing unions after a wave of strikes and street protests since early December failed to force Macron to back down. The hard-left CGT union's energy branch said it was responsible for an early-morning power outage at Rungis, the world's largest wholesale fresh food market.
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| Trump slams Boeing over its ongoing 737 Max crisis, calls the plane maker a 'very disappointing company' Posted: 22 Jan 2020 08:24 AM PST  The comments came following Boeing's announcement that the 737 Max will likely not resume flying before mid-2020.
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| 26 Coffee Makers for Every Type of Coffee Drinker Posted: 22 Jan 2020 08:57 AM PST |
| Tour agencies: N Korea bans foreign tourists over new virus Posted: 21 Jan 2020 07:28 PM PST  North Korea has banned foreign tourists to guard against the spread of a new virus from China, tour operators in China said. Foreign travel to North Korea has been temporarily suspended as of Wednesday, the Beijing-based Uri Tours said on its website citing its partners in Pyongyang. It said it wasn't immediately known how long the travel suspension will last or what protocols will be implemented.
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