British Parliament votes in favour of assisted dying legislation
Britain’s Parliament voted on Friday in favour of a bill to legalize assisted dying. The result came after hours of emotional debate and references to personal stories in the chamber, and it followed a vote in November that approved the legislation in principle. This vote was closer: 314 lawmakers in favour with 291 against the bill, compared to a 330-275 split eight months ago. The “Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life)” law would give mentally competent, terminally ill adults in England and Wales with six months or less left to live the rightRead more
Judge halts Trump’s attempt to keep international students from Harvard
A federal judge on Friday blocked the Trump administration’s efforts to keep Harvard University from hosting international students, delivering the Ivy League school another victory as it challenges multiple government sanctions amid a battle with the White House. The order from U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs in Boston preserves the ability of Harvard to host foreign students while the case is decided. Harvard sued the Department of Homeland Security in May after the agency withdrew the school’s certification to host foreign students and issue paperwork for their visas. The action would have forced Harvard’s roughly 7,000 foreign students — aboutRead more
Canadian demonstrators held, passports confiscated ahead of planned global march to Egypt-Gaza border
More than 40 Canadians planning to participate in the global march to Gaza, alongside thousands of other foreign activists, have been detained in Egypt and had their passports confiscated by authorities, organizers told CBC News. A group of 83 Canadians arrived in Cairo on Wednesday and Thursday, ahead of the scheduled march to Egypt’s border with Gaza, an attempt to draw attention to the deepening humanitarian crises facing Palestinians under Israel’s blockade of the war-torn territory more than 20 months after attacks began. The Global March on Gaza was slated toRead more
Air India crash investigators recover plane’s black box from a rooftop
Indian investigators on Friday recovered the digital flight data recorder, or the black box, of the Air India flight that fell from the sky and killed 241 people on board and several people on the ground, authorities said. The London-bound Boeing 787 struck a medical college hostel when the plane crashed into a residential area of the northwestern city of Ahmedabad minutes after takeoff Thursday. The plane’s black box was recovered from a rooftop near the crash site and India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau said that it had begun itsRead more
How a Northern Irish town descended into 3 days of anti-immigrant violence
Protests in the small Northern Irish town of Ballymena spiralled into acts of anti-immigrant violence this week after two teenagers who spoke Romanian were charged with sexually assaulting a local girl. For three nights, masked rioters burned homes and vehicles in what Ryan Henderson, assistant chief constable for the Police Service of Northern Ireland, called “racist thuggery, pure and simple,” leading to multiple arrests and dozens of injuries. The violence follows the arrest of two 14-year-old boys accused of the attempted oral rape of a teenage girl. Both of theRead more
Trump urges Iran to reach nuclear deal after Israeli strikes, ‘before there is nothing left’
U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday urged Iran to make a deal over its nuclear program, saying that there was still time for the country to prevent further conflict with Israel. Israel launched strikes against Iran on Friday, saying it had targeted nuclear facilities, ballistic missile factories and military commanders during the start of an operation to prevent Tehran from building a nuclear weapon. An Israeli military spokesperson said its operation against Iran would be lengthy and gradual. Trump told Reuters in a phone interview on Friday that it was unclearRead more
Trump’s military parade is costing millions and, potentially, something more valuable, critics say
Donald Trump’s long-desired military parade was only confirmed six weeks ago, but it now arrives in a week that has raised alarm among military experts and Democrats over the politicization of American troops. According to The Associated Press, Saturday’s parade in Washington will feature synchronized flyovers of military aircraft, along with the processions of tanks, historical re-enactments and marching soldiers Singer Lee Greenwood, famed for God Bless the U.S.A., is on tap to perform during the nationally televised ceremony, and Trump will address the crowd from a custom viewing stand.Read more
Will Musk’s explosive row with Trump help or harm his businesses?
Getty Images When Elon Musk recently announced that he was stepping back from politics, investors hoped that would mean he would step up his involvement in the many tech firms he runs. His explosive row with President Donald Trump – and the very public airing of his dirty White House laundry – suggests Musk’s changing priorities might not quite be the salve they had been hoping for. Instead of Musk retreating somewhat from the public eye and focusing on boosting the fortunes of Tesla and his other enterprises, he nowRead more
Let bygones be bygones? Fans weigh in on criticism of Wayne Gretzky over Trump ties
Wayne Gretzky and his wife Janet Jones arrive before the 60th Presidential Inauguration. As the Edmonton Oilers face off against the Florida Panthers in the Stanley Cup final, some hockey fans say its time to move on over the rhetoric surrounding The Great One. (Kevin Lamarque/The Canadian Press) It wasn’t long ago that some Canadians were up in arms about hockey legend Wayne Gretzky’s ties to U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration. But as the Edmonton Oilers skate their way through the Stanley Cup final, hockey fans say it’s time toRead more
Musk vs. Trump: A power couple tumbles into a messy divorce
It’s splitsville for a global power couple. Donald Trump and Elon Musk are tumbling into a messy public divorce, with unusual political fallout. Tension between the erstwhile Oval Office buds bubbled into open view Thursday, as they exchanged digs in public and on their own social media sites. It got ugly, quickly. Within hours, Musk appeared to call for Trump’s impeachment. Meanwhile, Tesla stock had plunged, as the market feared the president might punish Musk businesses. The official cause of the breakup between the world’s most powerful elected politician andRead more