Short news
The Canadian-born comic was credited with revolutionising American comedy in the 1950s thanks to his acerbic political satire. Sahl was known for performing with a rolled-up newspaper as a prop and would frequently ask the audience: “Are there any groups I haven’t offended?” He died at his home in Mill Valley, near San Francisco in Northern California, on Tuesday, a friend told the New York Times.
Source: theguardian.com
Billionaires need to "step up now, on a one-time basis", said the director of the UN' World Food Programme David Beasley in an interview on CNN's Connect the World with Becky Anderson that aired Tuesday -- citing specifically the world's two richest men, Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk. "$6 billion to help 42 million people that are literally going to die if we don't reach them. It's not complicated," he added.
Source: cnn.com
A Brazilian Senate commission approved a damning report on Tuesday that recommends criminal charges be brought against President Jair Bolsonaro, including crimes against humanity, for his Covid policies.
Source: france24.com
Two U.S. senators have urged President Joe Biden to waive sanctions against India over its purchase of Russia's S-400 air defence system, saying such a punitive measure would endanger growing cooperation. India signed a $5.5 billion deal with Russia in 2018 for five of the surface-to-air missile systems for defence against long-time adversary Pakistan and China, with which it is locked in a standoff on their disputed border.
Source: reuters.com
The Queen will not attend the COP26 climate change summit in Glasgow following medical advice to rest. The 95-year-old monarch underwent preliminary medical checks in hospital last Wednesday after cancelling a visit to Northern Ireland. She resumed public engagements on Tuesday by meeting ambassadors via video link from Windsor Castle.
Source: bbc.com
The Nobel Peace Prize ceremony, held online last year due to the pandemic, will go ahead in person in December with the 2021 laureates both in attendance, the Norwegian Nobel Committee said Tuesday. The gala ceremony takes place, as tradition dictates, in Oslo on December 10, the anniversary of the death in 1896 of prize creator Alfred Nobel.
Source: france24.com
Executives from Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube distanced themselves from Facebook during a congressional hearing Tuesday about online safety for teens. Members of a subcommittee of the Senate Commerce Committee grilled the tech company representatives during a hearing titled “Protecting Kids Online: Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube.” “We do not prioritize profits over safety,” one executive said at a congressional hearing in arguing that YouTube is not Facebook.
Source: nbcnews.com
The Indri indri, a species of lemur in Madagascar, is one of a few animal species with rhythm, according to a study published Monday in Current Biology. The indri is the largest living lemur species and the only one that sings, which made it the perfect animal to study to see if it has rhythm, said study coauthor Chiara De Gregorio, a researcher in the department of life sciences and systems biology at the University of Turin in Italy.
Source: cnn.com
It’s changing politics, too. In the latest elections, the environmentalist Green Party won more votes than ever, giving it a seat at the table as a new government is formed.
Source: nbcnews.com
Aston Villa defender Matty Cash received Polish citizenship on Tuesday and is available to play for the national team starting with its World Cup qualifying matches in November. The 24-year-old right back was born in England but is eligible to play for Poland through his grandfather. His mother was born in Poland.
Source: apnews.com
A cyberattack in Iran interrupted petrol distribution at the country's service stations on Tuesday, state television said, citing the Islamic republic's top security body.
Source: france24.com
Facebook has posted better-than-expected profits for the third quarter, as it continues to face bad press over leaked internal documents. The social media giant made $9bn of profit in the three months to September, up from $7.8bn last year.
Source: bbc.com
Six people have been jailed in the eastern Spanish region of Valencia after police broke up a criminal gang that was using the internet to sell crudely forged paintings attributed to artists including Francisco de Goya, José Benlliure y Gil and Nicolás Falcó. Officers seized 27 works valued at €1.2m and uncovered a decidedly unsophisticated counterfeiting operation complete with faked certificates of authenticity. Among them was a painting purporting to be An Immaculate Conception by Goya, with an asking price of €900,000.
Source: theguardian.com
The offspring of hippos once owned by Colombian drug kingpin Pablo Escobar can be recognized as people or “interested persons” with legal rights in the U.S. following a federal court order. The case involves a lawsuit against the Colombian government over whether to kill or sterilize the hippos whose numbers are growing at a fast pace and pose a threat to biodiversity.
Source: nbcnews.com
Turkish president ‘welcomed’ statements by Western embassies – including the US – that they abide by a diplomatic convention not to interfere in a host country’s internal affairs. Erdogan said the new statement “shows they have taken a step back from the slander against our country”, adding: “They will be more careful now.”
Source: aljazeera.com
An example of the world's first postage stamp, the Penny Black, is being offered at auction, Sotheby's said on Tuesday, with a price estimate of up to $8.25 million. Dating from 1840, the item is "the earliest securely dated example of the first postage stamp," according to the auction house that will present it at its "Treasures" sale on Dec. 7.
Source: reuters.com
A sprawling villa in Rome containing the only ceiling mural ever painted by the Italian master Caravaggio is being put up for sale for almost €500m (£422m). The 2.75-metre wide painting Jupiter, Neptune and Pluto was commissioned by Cardinal Francesco Maria Del Monte in the 16th century to adorn the ceiling in his alchemy laboratory at Casino di Villa Boncompagni Ludovisi, better known as Villa Aurora. Villa Aurora, surrounded by high walls close to Via Veneto in central Rome, is all that remains of a retreat established by the cardinal.
Source: theguardian.com
Roh withdrew from public view around 20 years ago following a diagnosis of prostate cancer, and was being treated at the Seoul National University Hospital, Yonhap news agency reported. He was elected to serve as president from 1988-93, succeeding his old friend and dictator Chun Doo-hwan who took power in a military coup with Roh in 1979.
Source: france24.com