Current News: December 2018

Monday, December 31, 2018

'Dangerous orange pill' prompts Australia festival warning

Festival-goers are told that a "dangerous" drug is circulating in Australia, following a man's death.

from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2AmSDfb

Californian law change means pet shops can sell only rescued animals

The state bans retailers from selling animals sourced from breeders, to cut down on "puppy mills".

from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2EXbrFC

American college football: Huge bald eagle lands on fans

A bird named Clark goes rogue in front of 90,000 fans at a college game.

from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2Tg7r6c

UAE helicopter crash kills four crew on rescue mission near zipline

Four die in a helicopter crash near the world's longest zipline, in the UAE's northern-most emirate.

from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2QXx536

France to help combat Channel smuggling

Six Iranian migrants are found on the Kent coast as the home secretary cuts short a holiday to deal with the issue.

from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2Ak3q9S

DoubleTree Portland hotel fires staff who evicted black guest

Police escorted Jermaine Massey out of the DoubleTree Portland after he called his mum in the lobby.

from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2Tist3Y

What it’s like to be Black and Argentine

Afro-Argentines often feel like they’ve been written out of history and are mistaken for foreigners in their own country.

from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2s2fJ6c

Bangladesh election: Voting disrupted by violence

Clashes between ruling party and opposition supporters have resulted in 17 deaths.

from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2Sv4fni

Spoken word poet Dylema: On a stroll through Africa in 2018

Dylema leads us through key events on the continent this year in a specially commissioned poem.

from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2BZzjVp

Lederhosen love among Austria's millennials

Lederhosen and dirndl dresses are making a comeback in Austria.

from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2AmkSL1

Female fightback... 2018 in hashtags

A look at the year's most influential hashtags used by women on social media.

from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2RntUB7

The 90-year-old back-flipping daredevil

This Canadian man is being called the world's most extreme grandpa.

from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2AntDnS

The Instagrammer who wants to show a different side of Gaza

Instagram photographer Kholoud Nassar wants to show us a different side of Gaza.

from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2AmFuTb

In search of Leonard, my martyred ancestor

Eli Melki looks for traces of a relative who was killed at 33 during a wave of attacks against eastern Turkey's Christians.

from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2BMln0I

2018 in news: The alternative end-of-the-year awards

From the ridiculous to the more ridiculous, here are the weird stories that caught our eye this year.

from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2s3oDAp

Why legalising gay sex in India is not a Western idea

India's decision to decriminalise gay sex has taken the country back to its roots, some historians say.

from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2ApBWzF

Remembering the entertainment and arts figures we lost in 2018

Remembering some of the figures from music, film, TV, radio and literature who died in 2018.

from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2F03HlD

Bangladesh clothing factories: Are they safe now?

Are garment factories in Bangladesh safe five years after the Rana Plaza disaster?

from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2s3oVat

Africa's year in pictures 2018

A selection of the best photos from across and about Africa this year.

from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2GIKAyK

A Day, a Life: When a Medic Was Killed in Gaza, Was It an Accident?

By DAVID M. HALBFINGER from NYT World https://nyti.ms/2QWdZKp

Trump Digs In, Darkening Hopes for a Deal to End the Shutdown

By MAGGIE HABERMAN and SHERYL GAY STOLBERG from NYT U.S. https://nyti.ms/2Qdoeov

Kelly, on His Way Out, Says Administration Long Ago Abandoned Idea of Concrete Wall

By MAGGIE HABERMAN from NYT U.S. https://nyti.ms/2EVGOQZ

Bre Payton, Conservative Writer and Fox News Commentator, Dies at 26

By MIHIR ZAVERI from NYT Obituaries https://nyti.ms/2EWec9p

At Lord & Taylor, Everything Must Go. A Daughter’s Guilt Will Remain.

By JAMES BARRON from NYT New York https://nyti.ms/2Tlh0Ru

The Rise and Fall of Carlos Ghosn

By AMY CHOZICK and MOTOKO RICH from NYT Business https://nyti.ms/2QWUmSE

Deciphering the Patterns in Trump’s Falsehoods

By LINDA QIU from NYT U.S. https://nyti.ms/2QVOBof

Tell Me One More Time What to Do About Grief

By JO FIRESTONE from NYT Opinion https://nyti.ms/2BNoIfP

Kamala Harris: Everyone Gets Sick. And We Deserve Better.

By KAMALA D. HARRIS from NYT Opinion https://nyti.ms/2QUBOTd

In Rehab, ‘Two Warring Factions’: Abstinence vs. Medication

By ABBY GOODNOUGH from NYT Health https://nyti.ms/2RlLchN

New Life for Old Classics, as Their Copyrights Run Out

By ALEXANDRA ALTER from NYT Books https://nyti.ms/2An4rxO

The Ecstasy and the Agony of Being a Grandmother

By ROBIN MARANTZ HENIG from NYT Style https://nyti.ms/2SsF7Oc

Year in Fitness: How Exercise Keeps Us Young

By GRETCHEN REYNOLDS from NYT Well https://nyti.ms/2EPmJvy

With U.S. departure, Syria's Manbij braces for upheaval

U.S. forces have underpinned stability in Manbij since Islamic State's defeat here in 2016. Some 30 km (20 miles) from the Turkish border, it occupies a critical spot in the map of the Syrian conflict, near the junction of three separate blocks of territory that form spheres of Russian, Turkish and - for now - U.S. influence. While U.S. forces have yet to leave, the consequences of Trump's decision are already playing out in Manbij.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://yhoo.it/2GLTewv

California authorities seek motive in triple slaying

ORCUTT, Calif. (AP) — California authorities are trying to determine why a Central Coast man stabbed and beat his sister, mother and a third person to death in their home.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://yhoo.it/2BP0SR6

6 people injured in jetway collapse at Baltimore-Washington International Airport

At least 6 people were injured, according to a Tweet sent out by BWI airport. However, none of the injuries appear to be life-threatening.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://yhoo.it/2EY9EiE

Two right-wing ministers form new party ahead of Israel polls

Two right-wing Israeli government ministers on Saturday launched a new party aimed at winning over secular voters ahead of snap elections in April. Education Minister Naftali Bennett and Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked said they were quitting the far-right Jewish Home party to found the New Right party. Nationalist Jewish Home -- of which Bennett was the head and Shaked deputy leader -- has been part of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition with eight seats in parliament.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://yhoo.it/2EUtcEM

How F-22 and F-35 'DNA' Will Make the 'New' F-16 Viper a Real Killer

Here is all we know.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://yhoo.it/2LFnR5w

California Will Become First State to Require Pet Stores to Sell Only Rescue Animals

The bill, "would require all sales of dogs and cats authorized by this provision to be in compliance with laws requiring the spaying or neutering of animals, as specified."

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://yhoo.it/2Aku1nm

Origin of virus that hobbled newspapers still unclear

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The origins of a suspected computer attack that disrupted the Los Angeles Times and Tribune Publishing newspapers remained unclear Sunday after causing delivery delays and being brought to the attention of federal investigators.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://yhoo.it/2SyWlcN

UK to spend over $130 million on ferries to cope with no-deal Brexit

Just three months before the United Kingdom is due to leave the world's largest bloc, the risk of a no-deal Brexit is rising -- the nightmare scenario for many businesses, which are now planning for an economic shock. To ease a potential backlog, the government has awarded three contracts to provide additional freight capacity on routes from English south-coast ports including Poole, Portsmouth and Plymouth.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://yhoo.it/2RngW69

Egypt kills 40 'terrorists' in crackdown after Giza attack

Egyptian police killed 40 suspects in a crackdown on Saturday after a roadside bomb hit a tour bus claiming the lives of three Vietnamese holidaymakers and an Egyptian guide. Thirty alleged "terrorists" were killed in separate raids in Giza governorate, home to Egypt's famed pyramids and the scene of Friday's deadly bombing, while 10 others were killed in the restive North Sinai, the interior ministry said without directly linking them to the attack. A security source said the raids took place early Saturday morning, hours after Friday evening's roadside bombing which officials said hit a tour bus in the Al-Haram district near the Giza pyramids killing the three Vietnamese holidaymakers and their Egyptian guide.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://yhoo.it/2RoYJW6

UK trade minister says '50-50' chance Brexit may be stopped: paper

Britain's trade minister Liam Fox said there is a "50-50" chance that Brexit may be stopped if parliament rejects the government's divorce deal with the European Union next month. "If we were not to vote for that, I'm not sure I would give it (Brexit) much more than 50-50," Fox, a leading supporter of leaving the EU, told the Sunday Times newspaper. With three months left until the United Kingdom is due to leave the EU on March 29, May's Brexit deal is floundering, opening up a range of possibilities from a Brexit without a trade deal to calling Brexit off.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://yhoo.it/2EY7NKY

Syria's Assad authorizes Iraqi forces to strike IS in Syria

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Syrian President Bashar Assad authorized Iraqi forces on Sunday to attack the Islamic State group inside Syria without waiting for permission from authorities in Damascus, the state news agency SANA said, as the two allies coordinate their fight against extremists ahead of a planned U.S. withdrawal from Syria.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://yhoo.it/2Amjt6S

Sherman, T-34 and Cromwell: These Three Allied Tanks Won World War II

Allied tanks were engineered for mass production and to handle routine battlefield tasks well, rather than being over-engineered to survive the heaviest guns or penetrate the thickest armor.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://yhoo.it/2Rnqqyj

Heads up: Israeli woman stumbles upon Roman busts

An Israeli woman walking near ancient ruins noticed a head sticking out of the ground, leading to the uncovering of two Roman-era busts, archaeologists said Sunday. The life-size sculptures, carved in limestone, were found in the northern city of Beit Shean earlier this month, with the Israel Antiquities Authority dating them to the late Roman period, some 1,700 years ago. The well-preserved busts are of men, one of them bearded, sculpted in the Oriental style that was becoming fashionable at the end of the Roman period, according to Eitan Klein, deputy head of the IAA's theft prevention unit.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://yhoo.it/2QXCpTZ

Bali's Agung volcano spews ash in fresh eruption

A volcano on the Indonesian holiday island of Bali erupted Sunday, belching ash high into the air and over nearby villages as officials warned tourists to keep clear of the area. Mount Agung has been erupting periodically since it rumbled back to life in 2017, when it grounded hundreds of flights and left 120,000 visitors stranded. "Residents near Mount Agung as well as climbers and tourists should not carry out any activity in the danger zone or within four-kilometre radius from the crater," the centre said in a statement.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://yhoo.it/2LHA8WZ

Partial government shutdown hitting some Bay Area National Parks hard

If you're visiting any National Parks in the near future, plan ahead! You don't want to show up to find out the attractions are closed...

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://yhoo.it/2StsfHw

The Economists, Military, Moralists & Politicians Running Brazil

(Bloomberg) -- Traditionally, Brazilian presidents offered ministerial positions to politicians in return for their parties’ support in Congress. But with politics-as-usual deeply discredited in the wake of successive corruption scandals, Jair Bolsonaro is trying a different tack. The new government consists of roughly four separate groups, only one of which is explicitly political.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://yhoo.it/2AxjC7Z

Germany: Drugged driver forces car onto airport tarmac

BERLIN (AP) — A man forced open a locked gate on the security perimeter of Hannover Airport in northern Germany and drove a car onto the airfield Saturday before coming to a halt underneath an airliner and being detained, police said.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://yhoo.it/2Tg6WZN

Putin says Moscow is open for dialogue with the US in New Year letter to Trump

Russian President Vladimir Putin told Donald Trump in a New Year letter on Sunday that Moscow was ready for dialogue on a "wide-ranging agenda", the Kremlin said following a series of failed attempts to hold a new summit. At the end of November, the US president abruptly cancelled a planned meeting with Mr Putin on the sidelines of a G20 summit in Argentina, citing tensions about Russian forces opening fire on Ukrainian navy boats and then seizing them. Mr Trump and Mr Putin also failed to hold a full-fledged meeting in Paris on the sidelines of the centenary commemoration of the Armistice. The two leaders held their one and only summit in Helsinki in July. "Vladimir Putin stressed that the (Russia - United States) relations are the most important factor for providing strategic stability and international security," a Kremlin statement said. "He confirmed that Russia is open for dialogue with the USA on the most wide-ranging agenda." Mr Putin also wished "well-being and prosperity to the British people" Credit: TASS / Barcroft Images Moscow has said one of the key issues it wanted to discuss with the United States is Washington's plans to withdraw from a Cold War era nuclear arms pact. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was quoted as saying that now it was up to the United States whether to hold a new meeting in 2019. "The issue should be addressed to Washington. Both our president and his representatives have said that we are ready for the talks when Washington is ready for it," TASS news agency quoted Mr Lavrov as saying in televised remarks. In a separate letter to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Mr Putin pledged continuation of aid to the Syrian government and people in the "fight against terrorism, in defence of state sovereignty and territorial integrity". Credit: TASS / Barcroft Images Mr Putin also sent New Year greetings to other world leaders including Theresa May and Shinzo Abe of Japan, as well as Chinese President Xi Jinping. Mr Putin wished "well-being and prosperity to the British people", the Kremlin said. Russia's embassy in London said on Friday Moscow and London had agreed to return some staff to their respective embassies after they expelled dozens of diplomats early this year. Britain expelled 23 Russian diplomats over accusations the Kremlin was behind a nerve toxin attack in March on former double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter in the English city of Salisbury. Russia, which denies any involvement in the poisoning, sent home the same number of British embassy workers in retaliation.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://yhoo.it/2BPXBB3

Low mileage 1976 Subaru Brat sells for high dollar price

With only 2500 miles on the clock, this classic BRAT is in great condition and has just changed hands for more than $46,000

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://yhoo.it/2R2W4C7

Ask the Captain: What airplanes did you fly in your career?

Prior to becoming an aviation safety consultant, and USA TODAY columnist, John Cox flew a wide variety of commercial airplanes.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://yhoo.it/2So6icU

Fears of intimidation, violence as Bangladesh set to vote

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — As Bangladeshis get set to vote in Sunday's parliamentary elections, there are fears that violence and intimidation could keep many away from the polls, including two opposition candidates who said police had barricaded them inside their homes.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://yhoo.it/2Tlqnkd

US winter storms kill seven: media

Parts of the United States were digging out Saturday from winter storms that media reports said led to at least seven deaths, while warmer regions braced for potential flooding during the New Year's travel period. As storm clouds moved east, they were set to bring heavy rain and probably flooding to the Gulf Coast, and both rain and freezing rain to New England. Flight tracker FlightAware reported more than 129 flight cancellations and 1,006 delays Saturday -- down from more than 500 cancelations and 5,700 delays on Friday -- as the winter storm hit north-central and Midwestern states with up to 12 inches (30 centimeters) of snow.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://yhoo.it/2BKTLsY

Will General Motors resurrect the GMC Envoy? Trademark filing raises speculation SUV may be brought back.

General Motors has filed for a trademark on the name Envoy, raising speculation that it will resurrect the once popular GMC SUV.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://yhoo.it/2CIsMQt

Missouri man fatally shoots girlfriend, her kids, her mother

A St. Louis-area man shot to death his girlfriend, her two young children and her mother in the home they all shared, authorities said Saturday. He exchanged gunfire with officers as he fled and was captured several hours later in a convenience store, covered in blood and wounded.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://yhoo.it/2EYeeyr