Month: July 2020

The Pentagon has been asked to examine whether ticks and other insects were experimented on as potential biological weapons, after a US politician demanded the US military give answers. Chris Smith, a Republican congressman for New Jersey, tabled a vote – passed last week – which compels the Pentagon inspector general to investigate. Mr Smith…

Australia will create a new military unit dedicated to training and assisting Pacific allies, Defence Minister Linda Reynolds said on Tuesday, as Canberra accelerates plans to undercut Chinese influence in the region. Australia, which long enjoyed virtually unchecked influence in the Pacific, and its Western allies worry that the region has edged closer to China in…

The Right-wing mayor of the town Mussolini was born in is pushing to have the dictator’s crypt open to the public all year round.  Mussolini, the future il Duce, was born in the northern Italian town of Predappio, near Bologna, in 1883. He was buried there after he was killed by partisans in northern Italy…

A Chinese court has jailed a veteran human rights activist known for running a website tracking abuse accusations and helping victims of a 2008 earthquake in the southwestern province of Sichuan. The province’s Mianyang Intermediate People’s Court handed down the 12-year sentence on Monday after it "determined that Huang Qi is guilty of deliberately leaking state secrets" and was…

Hundreds of people surrounded a police station in Hong Kong on Tuesday chanting "free the martyrs" after 44 activists were charged with rioting following weekend clashes between protesters and police defending China’s representative office. It was the first time the rioting charge has been used during protests which erupted over an extradition bill that would have allowed people…

A 25-year-old mother was shot dead as she shielded her baby during a mass shooting in El Paso, Texas, on Saturday.  Jordan Anchondo had been shopping at Walmart for back-to-school supplies when suspected white supremacist Patrick Crusius is reported to have opened fire in the supermarket, killing 20 people including her husband Andre and injuring dozens of others.…

North Korea’s fourth weapons test in just under two weeks has not killed off the chance to reignite talks with the US over Pyongyang’s nuclear and missiles programme but it does signal that the end of the diplomatic path is drawing closer.    The rush of tests – including new short-range ballistic missiles – and…

Lewis Hamilton has rubbished a media report alleging that Mercedes has rejected the Briton’s £40m contract demands for 2021, with the German allegedly topping its offer at £20m. According to a report from the Daily Mail’s Jonathan McEvoy, Hamilton, whose current contract with Mercedes expires at the end of this season, is demanding from 2021…

James Milner has admitted “it will be weird” to face Leeds next season after sidestepping a question over his long-term Liverpool future. Milner signed a contract extension at Anfield in December, tying him to the Premier League champions until summer 2022. But speculation over a move to boyhood club Leeds persists as the Championship leaders…

Chelsea manager Frank Lampard could look to Liverpool and Virgil van Dijk to solve his club’s set-piece problems. The Blues were beaten 3-2 by West Ham in midweek, conceding from both of the corners they faced at the London Stadium. Chelsea have allowed goals from 8.2% of the corners they have conceded in the Premier…