Author: News Desk

Brazil : A Brazilian Supreme Court justice has ruled that President Jair Bolsonaro should be investigated for his unproven claims that the country’s electronic voting system is vulnerable to fraud. Wednesday’s ruling resulted from Bolsonaro missing a deadline on Monday to present any proof of his claims. The Supreme Court will now lead an investigation into the dissemination of “fake news” about the court and its members, as well as looking into a supposed “digital militia” financed by private companies to do so. Bolsonaro has repeatedly made claims of fraud within the Brazil’s voting system without presenting any evidence. The President, who…

Delhi : Delhi’s chief minister has ordered a judicial inquiry into the alleged rape and murder of a 9-year-old girl in the Indian capital, as protests continue for a fifth day. Since Sunday, crowds have taken to the streets to demand action taken against the alleged perpetrators — as well as broader change to address India’s high rates of rape, sexual violence and caste discrimination. “The injustice this family has faced is unfortunate and cannot be compensated, but the government will give 10 lakh rupees ($13,480) to them and order a magisterial inquiry into the matter,” said Arvind Kejriwal, the head of the…

US : Unless you have been living on another planet for the past six months, you know by now that Donald Trump leaned on state and national officials in the final days of his presidency to force investigations into made-up claims of widespread election fraud in the 2020 race. But the story keeps getting worse — as we learn more and more about the extremes that Trump-loyal officials were willing to go to in an attempt to overturn the election, with zero proof or evidence to do so. The latest bombshell came Wednesday with the revelation that Jeffrey Clark, a top official…

US : US intelligence agencies are digging through a treasure trove of genetic data that could be key to uncovering the origins of the coronavirus — as soon as they can decipher it. This giant catalog of information contains genetic blueprints drawn from virus samples studied at the lab in Wuhan, China which some officials believe may have been the source of the Covid-19 outbreak, multiple people familiar with the matter. It’s unclear exactly how or when US intelligence agencies gained access to the information, but the machines involved in creating and processing this kind of genetic data from viruses are typically connected to…

Tokyo : American track and field legend Carl Lewis didn’t hold back in his assessment of the US men’s 4x100m relay team after the quartet finished sixth in its semifinal on Thursday. The performance by the team, which comprised of two of the individual 100m finalists, Fred Kerley and Ronnie Baker, world leader Trayvon Bromell and Cravon Gillespie, ensured the US extended its longest run without an Olympic medal in this event. “The USA team did everything wrong in the men’s relay,” the 60-year-old Lewis, who won the 4×100 Olympic gold medal twice as well as seven other golds, wrote on Twitter. CNN .

US : Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has admitted he made “a huge mistake” in spending time with sex offender and disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein. Mr. Gates told  he had “several dinners” about a philanthropy project that did not emerge, and should not have given him “credibility”. Epstein hanged himself in jail in 2019 while awaiting a sex-trafficking trial. Mr. Gates also discussed his divorce with Melinda French Gates, calling it “a source of great personal sadness”. The 65-year-old, who announced in March last year he was stepping down from the Microsoft board, said he and his ex-wife were “going to…

US ; A push to impeach New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is gaining momentum after an independent inquiry said he had harassed multiple women. The state senate leader and fellow Democrat Andrea Stewart-Cousins called his behaviour “unacceptable” and said he should resign. A majority of the state assembly favour impeachment proceedings, which could lead to his removal. The governor has denied any wrongdoing and vowed to stay in office. Telling reporters it was not in his nature to assault a woman, he blamed cultural differences and political vindictiveness for the scandal. He is part of a Democratic political dynasty -…

Greenland : Climate scientists have detected warning signs of the collapse of the Gulf Stream, one of the planet’s main potential tipping points. The research found “an almost complete loss of stability over the last century” of the currents that researchers call the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC). The currents are already at their slowest point in at least 1,600 years, but the new analysis shows it may be nearing a shutdown. Such an event would have catastrophic consequences around the world, severely disrupting the monsoons that billions of people depend on for food in India, South America and West Africa;…

US : Joe Biden is setting a goal for half of all new US vehicle sales to be electric by 2030 while also tightening pollution standards for cars and trucks, in a barrage of action aimed at reducing the largest source of planet-heating gases in America. The White House outlined its plan to tackle the climate crisis by cutting emissions from vehicles, with Biden set to sign an executive order demanding that 50% of all new cars and trucks sold by the end of the decade be powered by electric batteries. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and US department of…

US: Astra’s last test launch went better than expected, nearly achieving orbit — kind of a stretch goal for that specific mission. The company at the time said that it would only need to tweak software to reach an orbital destination, and now we know when it’s going to get the chance to prove it: Astra revealed a launch window today of August 27 for its first ever commercial orbital launch, a demonstration mission for the U.S. Space Force. The contract Astra has with the Space Force also includes a second launch, set for sometime later this year, with the…