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The Brazilian president, Jair Bolsonaro, should face murder charges for his role in the country’s “stratospheric” coronavirus death toll, a draft report from a senate inquiry into Brazil’s Covid crisis has recommended. The 1,078-page document, published by Brazilian media on Tuesday afternoon, is not due to be voted on by the commission until next week and could yet be modified by senators.
Source: theguardian.com
Record-sized hailstones fell across Australia's east coast this week, with ice pellets larger than grapefruits lashing residents in parts of Queensland, the country's metereology bureau said on Wednesday.
Source: reuters.com
A bomb attack on an army bus in Damascus killed at least 13 people Wednesday in the bloodiest such attack in years, the SANA state news agency reported. "A terrorist bombing using two explosive devices targeted a passing bus" at a key bridge in the capital, the news agency said, reporting an initial casualty toll of 13 dead and three wounded.
Source: france24.com
No major injuries were reported when a Boston-bound plane carrying more than 20 people struck a fence and erupted in flames while taking off at Houston Executive Airport on Tuesday morning, officials said. All passengers and crew managed to leave the plane safely -- two with minor injuries -- before firefighters extinguished the flames engulfing the McDonnell Douglas MD-87 on a field outside the airport, local officials said.
Source: cnn.com
Images and videos from the state show flooded roads, submerged homes and fallen bridges. Experts say the Himalayan state, a popular tourist spot, is seeing the effects of both climate change and rampant construction. Floods have also ravaged the southern state of Kerala, where at least 26 people have died in recent days.
Source: bbc.com
A volcano erupted in Japan on Wednesday, blasting ash several miles into the sky and prompting officials to warn against the threat of lava flows and falling rocks, but there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage. Mount Aso, a tourist destination on the main southern island of Kyushu, sent plumes of ash 3.5 km (2.2 miles) high when it erupted at about 11:43 a.m. (02:43 GMT), the Japan Meteorological Agency said.
Source: reuters.com
An amateur diver exploring shallow waters off northern Israel has found a sword thought to have belonged to a crusader knight 900 years ago. The one-metre (3.3ft) blade was discovered by Shlomi Katzin in shallow waters off Haifa. It is thought the sword, heavily encrusted with marine organisms, resurfaced after the shifting of sands. The Israel Antiques Authority (IAA) said that once cleaned and analysed it would be put on public display.
Source: bbc.com
US director M. Night Shyamalan will head up the jury at the 72nd Berlin film festival in February, set to be held as an in-person event after this year's hybrid edition due to the pandemic. The Indian-born American filmmaker shot to fame in 1999 with the psychological thriller "The Sixth Sense" starring Bruce Willis which garnered six Oscar nominations.
Source: france24.com
Over a century since it was last seen in public, a vibrant Vincent van Gogh painting once seized by the Nazis is heading to auction. The watercolor of a harvest scene, titled "Meules de blé" ("Wheat Stacks"), depicts women working in the fields at Arles, France, and is expected to sell for up to $30 million. Van Gogh painted the scene in 1888 after he retreated to the French countryside amid a period of poor health.
Source: cnn.com
Pope Francis, a keen soccer fan, received an unusual gift on Monday from France's prime minister - a jersey signed by the pontiff's fellow Argentine Lionel Messi. Jean Castex gave the pope the glass-framed number 30 jersey, signed by Messi, who plays for Paris St Germain, following 35 minutes of private talks at the Vatican. Francis, 84, has met Messi, 34, and once called him one of the greatest soccer players of all time. Francis is a lifelong fan of the Buenos Aires San Lorenzo soccer team.
Source: reuters.com
A strong earthquake has struck several islands in Greece and other regions in the Eastern Mediterranean, including the southern Antalya region in Turkey as well as cities in Egypt. The tremor’s magnitude was measured at 6 and depth at 37.8km (23.5 miles) by the United States Geological Survey.
Source: aljazeera.com
A Los Angeles judge on Monday approved the request of the rapper, producer and fashion designer to legally change his name from Kanye Omari West to just Ye, with no middle or last name.
Source: apnews.com
Nigerian troops killed 24 suspected Islamist insurgents in two attacks in the northeast and recovered some weapons, the army said on Tuesday. Boko Haram and its offshoot Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) have been fighting the Nigerian armed forces for more than a decade in a conflict that has killed hundreds of thousands and displaced millions.
Source: reuters.com
North Korea has fired a suspected submarine-launched ballistic missile into waters off the coast of Japan, South Korea's military has said. Pyongyang unveiled the missile in January, describing it as "the world's most powerful weapon". It comes weeks after South Korea unveiled a similar weapon of its own.
Source: bbc.com
Images of a couple sat in a large cooking pot floating through flooded streets to their wedding in southern India have provided a moment of comfort to a region devastated by heavy rains. Akash and Aishwarya were determined not to miss their big day in the village of Thalavady in Kerala state on Monday. Pictures of the pair, both healthcare workers, in their makeshift boat were later widely shared on social media. Heavy rainfall in Kerala has caused serious flooding and deadly landslides.
Source: bbc.com
Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modric has criticised FIFA's plans for a biennial World Cup and expressed dismay that players have not been consulted. World football's governing body announced on Monday that it will hold talks with national team coaches this week over the controversial idea, which has been met by opposition from European and South American governing bodies UEFA and CONMEBOL, as well as the International Olympic Committee.
Source: france24.com
Iraq announced on Monday the arrest outside the country of the suspect behind a 2016 attack claimed by the Islamic State group that killed more than 320 in Baghdad. It was one of the world's deadliest attacks since 9/11. "Five years after the terrorist bombing of Karrada, our brave forces succeeded in capturing the terrorist Ghazwan Alzawbaee in a complex intelligence operation outside the country," Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhemi said on Twitter. "He is the primary culprit behind the Karrada atrocity and many others."
Source: france24.com
Czech President Milos Zeman is currently unable to carry out his duties, the head of parliament’s upper house has said, citing a report he had requested from the hospital where Zeman has been in intensive care for more than a week. Milos Vystrcil, the Senate speaker, told reporters on Monday that the report said it was unlikely Zeman could return to work in the coming weeks.
Source: aljazeera.com
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