Donald Trump’s lawyers stole the show at the opening of his impeachment trial at the US Senate – but not in a way that will have pleased the former president. Indeed Mr Trump was unhappy, according to media reports, with the performance of Bruce Castor, whose 48-minute address appeared to have very little substantive content. Mr Castor’s presentation contrasted sharply with a dramatic video montage presented by impeachment managers – the Democrats tasked with leading the prosecution. The clip showed Mr Trump telling supporters to “fight like hell” before they stormed the US Capitol last month. And the defence was roundly criticised by Republican allies and critics of Mr Trump.(BBC)…[+]
english news
WHO backs Oxford vaccine ‘even if variants present’
The World Health Organization recommends using the vaccine developed by the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca even in countries tackling new variants of coronavirus. Some new forms of the virus appear to make vaccines less effective. The WHO also says the vaccine can be used in people aged over 65, which some countries have advised against. Spacing out the two doses, as is happening in the UK, makes the vaccine more effective, it advises. The Oxford vaccine is seen as the “vaccine for the world” as it is cheap, can be mass produced and is stored in a standard fridge. However, it has attracted controversy about its effectiveness against new variants, whether it should be used in the elderly and how far apart the doses should be given, due to a lack of data. The WHO’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization, known as Sage, has been scrutinising evidence from vaccine trials.(BBC)…[+]
Myanmar coup: Police fire rubber bullets as protesters defy ban
Police in Myanmar have fired rubber bullets during a demonstration in the capital Nay Pyi Taw, as thousands defied a ban on protests. Water cannon and tear gas have also been used against protesters, but reports of live bullet usage are unconfirmed. One woman is in hospital in a critical condition with a head wound.
Protesters are standing against a military coup that removed the elected government last week. Tuesday was the fourth consecutive day of protests. A ban on large public gatherings and night-time curfews has been instigated in some cities, with military leader Min Aung Hlaing warning that no-one is above the law. The demonstrators are demanding the release of elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi, along with senior leaders of her National League for Democracy Party (NLD). She was arrested when the military seized power and declared a year-long state of emergency on 1 February. The NLD said its party headquarters in Yangon had been “raided and destroyed” by the military.(BBC)…[+]
Maori MP ejected from NZ parliament for refusing to wear tie
A leader of the Maori Party has been ejected from the New Zealand parliament for not wearing a tie.
Male MPs can only ask questions in the debating chamber if wearing a tie. Speaker Trevor Mallard twice prevented Rawiri Waititi from asking questions. “It’s not about ties, it’s about cultural identity mate,” Mr Waititi said while exiting the chamber, local media reported. He has called ties “a colonial noose” and wore a greenstone pendant instead. After being stopped for a second time, Mr Waititi continued with his question until Mr Mallard ordered him to leave the chamber. Mr Waititi called Mr Mallard’s treatment of him “unconscionable”, adding that he was wearing “Maori business attire”. Co-leader of the Maori Party, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer, who was herself wearing a tie, pleaded her colleague’s case but to no avail.(BBC)…[+]
Kobe Bryant crash: Pilot ‘likely disorientated amid fog’
The pilot of the helicopter which crashed killing basketball superstar Kobe Bryant, his young daughter, and seven other people had probably become disorientated amid fog, US safety investigators have said. The helicopter smashed into a hillside near Calabasas, California, on 26 January 2020.
Pilot Ara Zobayan was among the dead. He had told air traffic controllers the helicopter was climbing out of heavy cloud when it was actually descending. “This manoeuvre is consistent with the pilot experiencing spatial disorientation in limited visibility conditions,” Robert Sumwalt, chairman of the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), said on Tuesday. The NTSB has been investigating the circumstances around the crash, and is meeting shortly to vote on the probable cause. It is an independent federal agency with no enforcement powers. Zobayan violated federal rules and went against his own flight training by flying into thick clouds, safety officials said.(BBC)…[+]
Emirates Mars Mission: Hope probe lines up historic Mars manoeuvre
History beckons for the United Arab Emirates as it seeks on Tuesday to place a probe around Mars.
The Hope spacecraft, launched from Earth seven months ago, is about to reach the decisive moment in its long journey – orbit insertion. Currently moving at over 120,000km/h (75,000mph), it must fire its braking engines for 27 minutes to be sure of being captured by the planet’s gravity. Success would enable Hope to begin its mission to study Mars’ climate. “We’re entering a very critical phase,” said project director, Omran Sharaf. “It’s a phase that basically defines whether we reach Mars, or not; and whether we’ll be able to conduct our science, or not. “If we go too slow, we crash on Mars; if we go too fast, we skip Mars,” he told BBC News.(BBC)…[+]
Capitol riots: Five takeaways from the arrests
The storming of the US Capitol last month left five people dead, over 100 police officers injured and millions of dollars in damage to the building. Most of the rioters were allowed to leave the building without facing arrest, but a month-long search for offenders has resulted in charges against a reported 221 people. Among those arrested, there have been state lawmakers, military veterans and even a gold medal-winning Olympian. Here’s a closer look at who conducted the siege and why. Far-right insignia was spotted on the clothing, badges and flags of several insurrectionists, but the vast majority of the 200-plus people charged so far are ordinary pro-Trump activists.
So far, only about 10 of those charged have been found to have ties to organised far right militias or other right-wing extremist groups. “What we are dealing with here is not merely a mix of right-wing organisations, but a broader mass movement with violence at its core,” wrote Dr Robert Pape, director of the Chicago Project on Security & Threats.
Dr Pape led a 22-person research team from the University of Chicago in a study – titled Faces of the American Insurrection – that takes a closer look at who has been arrested since 6 January.(BBC)…[+]
UK coronavirus variant spreading ‘rapidly’ through US, study finds
The coronavirus variant that has moved through the UK is now spreading “rapidly” through the US, according to a new study published on Sunday. The more contagious strain is nearly doubling its prevalence among confirmed cases in the US every nine days. The spread of the variant, known as B.1.1.7, has put added pressure on vaccination efforts worldwide. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has predicted it could be the predominant strain by March. The report, posted on the preprint server MedRxiv, is a collaboration of several researchers and scientists. It has not yet been peer-reviewed or published in a journal. Case numbers of the new variant are still somewhat small in the US. According to the CDC, Florida leads the country in reported cases of B.1.1.7 with 187 as of Thursday, followed by California with 145. “Our study shows that the US is on a similar trajectory as other countries where B.1.1.7 rapidly became the dominant SARS-CoV-2 variant, requiring immediate and decisive action to minimize Covid-19 morbidity and mortality,” the report’s authors wrote. This new strain is 35-45% more transmissible than other strains of the virus currently in the US, the report found.(BBC)…[+]
Storm Darcy: Netherlands hit by ‘first major snowstorm in decade’
The Netherlands has been hit by its first major snowstorm in a decade, forecasters say, as cold weather pushes through much of northern Europe. Dutch authorities have closed all coronavirus testing centres because of the extreme weather. Transport has been disrupted and rail connections with Germany, where northern areas have also been blanketed by snow, have been suspended. The cold snap is a result of Storm Darcy, which has also affected parts of the UK. A “Code Red” weather warning was declared in the Netherlands for all of Sunday, meaning winds of up to 90km/h (55mph) and “bitter cold” were forecast.
Heavy snow fell throughout much of the day, leading to long delays on the roads. People were advised to avoid travelling and there were reports of dozens of cars skidding off streets. Eindhoven airport closed and incoming flights were diverted to Germany, while Schiphol airport in Amsterdam warned that travellers could face delays.(BBC)…[+]
Ecuadoreans choose president amid economic turmoil
Voters in Ecuador are going to the polls to choose a new president and all members of the National Assembly. The country is reeling from the Covid pandemic, which has killed 15,000 people in the nation of 17m people. With the economy in the doldrums, many voters say they are more preoccupied with day-to-day survival than with politics. Nearly 50% remain undecided on who to opt for out of the 16 presidential candidates, one survey suggests. With so many candidates competing for the top job, it is looking unlikely that any of them will achieve either the 50% of the votes or the 40% with a 10 percentage-point advantage needed to win outright in the first round. The second round is scheduled to be held on 11 April with the top two candidates going through. The eventual winner will replace the outgoing president, the embattled centrist Lenín Moreno.Mr Moreno ran in – and won – the 2017 election standing as a political ally of Rafael Correa. But he later broke with the former socialist leader and steered Ecuador away from the left-wing alliances Mr Correa had formed with the leaders of Venezuela, Nicaragua and Bolivia and back to a more friendly relationship with the United States.(BBC)…[+]
