Amber heard evidence

It can take a bit of time to work out which groups of people face the increased risk of contracting a virus. Unlike Coronavirus – which turned out to be especially virulent – the monkeypox virus is proving to be more selective and certainly nowhere near as infectious. When monkeypox emerged in the UK just a few weeks ago, there was barely any mention of which groups were at risk. Partly because we didn’t know – but even when it did become clearer that it was men who have sex with men who were particularly susceptible to contracting the virus, there was a fear that saying this publicly could foster stigma for a group all too familiar with bigotry. But now the UK Heath Security Agency has at last unveiled its strategy to try and mitigate the spread of the monkeypox virus – and its main intervention will be to offer a vaccine to gay and bisexual men. The agency officially acknowledges that rates of transmission are significantly higher in the male gay … [Read more...] about Why is the monkeypox vaccine only being offered to men?

The Supreme Court ruled unanimously Wednesday for an American woman who is involved in a bitter international custody dispute with her Italian husband over their young son. The high court threw out lower court decisions ordering the return of the boy to Italy despite finding that he would be at “grave risk of psychological harm” because of the father’s physical and emotional abuse of the mother. The child, now around 6, has been living in the U.S. with his mother since 2018. Federal courts in New York ruled that judges must try to return children to their usual country of residence by imposing conditions that would mitigate the risk, under the international Hague Convention on child abduction. Writing for the Supreme Court, Justice Sonia Sotomayor said judges have ample discretion to refrain from ordering a child returned, if they find “the grave risk so unequivocal, or the potential harm so severe, that ameliorative measures would be inappropriate.” The … [Read more...] about Justices rule for American woman in bitter custody dispute

President Donald Trump's only rebuttal so far of a career diplomat who gave damning testimony at impeachment proceedings was to label him as a "never-Trumper"—without addressing any of the statements that the diplomat made. Trump's comments came after he was asked to respond to statements made by Bill Taylor, the top U.S. diplomat in Ukraine, in which he provided evidence for ongoing the alleged quid-pro-quo attempt to make military aid to Ukraine contingent on the country probing 2020 Democratic front-runner Joe Biden. In Taylor's opening statement to impeachment proceedings on Tuesday, he said that Trump wanted the Ukrainian president to "go to a microphone and say he is opening investigations of Biden and 2016 election interference." Taylor said that U.S. Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland told him that "'everything' was dependent on such an announcement, including security assistance." Speaking to reporters outside the White House before flying to a Criminal … [Read more...] about Trump launches fresh attack on his own acting ambassador to Ukraine: “He’s a never-Trumper and his lawyer is a never-Trumper”

House Republicans have geared up for the first public impeachment hearings in the Ukraine scandal, set to take place this week, by having GOP staffers send a memo to lawmakers that outlines the strategy to best defend President Donald Trump. But flaws remain within their arguments, which fail to address some of the damning allegations that Democrats will focus their questions on. The 18-page document details four main points of evidence that Republicans believe "are fatal to the Democrats' allegations" that Trump made an effort to force his Ukrainian counterpart to investigate Democrats and 2016 election interference by withholding foreign military aid. "The July 25 call summary—the best evidence of the conversation—shows no conditionality or evidence of pressure." "President Zelensky and President Trump have both said there was no pressure on the call." In his now-infamous call with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Trump said he "would like you to do us a favor, … [Read more...] about House Republicans’ defense strategy for impeachment hearings reveals flaws: Analysis

Fox News host Sean Hannity railed Friday against former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch as a "narcissistic diplomatic snowflake" in his latest defense of President Donald Trump. Trump himself received widespread criticism and allegations of witness intimidation for ridiculing Yovanovitch on Twitter during her testimony before House lawmakers Friday. But Hannity, one of Trump's most prominent cheerleaders on Fox News, labeled her and House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff "liars" and narcissists. Hannity described her as a "snowflake" for testifying Friday about attorney Rudy Giuliani and other Trump administration officials leading a smear campaign against her. Although Trump's tweet did not directly threaten Yovanovitch, the law also covers intimidation and harassment, which is an impeachable offense punishable by up to three years in prison. Hannity followed the president's lead and repeatedly labeled Yovanovitch a self-important official looking to make … [Read more...] about Sean Hannity attacks Marie Yovanovitch, calling her a “narcissistic diplomat snowflake”

An international soccer match in Chile took an unexpected turn over the weekend after a pitch invading dog halted play. On Saturday, the Chile women's national soccer team played host to South American rivals Venezuela at the Estadio La Granja, Curicó. A friendly match serving as a warm-up for the Copa América Femenina, the game wasn't exactly action-packed with Chile mustering just one shot on target and Venezuela ultimately triumphing 1-0 thanks to a brilliant Mariana Speckmaier goal eight minutes from time. However, by then, the match's main highlight had already been and gone. That came in the 37th minute when, for reasons still unknown, a dog decided to run onto the pitch. Pitch invaders are nothing new in the world of soccer, but dog interlopers are a little less common. There are myriad reasons why someone may want to enter the field of play. Some do it for attention , others to protest a particular issue. Then are those who simply get carried away by the … [Read more...] about Playful dog halts soccer game after invading pitch for strokes—”Red card”

Donald Trump was not the first presidential candidate to perform notably better on election day than pre-election polling had predicted. Ronald Reagan did it in the 1980 election. So did Bob Dole in 1996. Still, the gap between the 2020 polling and the actual results has caused considerable dismay. Since the election, a lot of people have asked the same question: “What went wrong with the polling?” I’ve been leading the Quinnipiac University Poll for over 25 years. And while a lot of work remains before there is a final diagnosis of this year’s election polls, I don’t think it will show that polling has lost its value. I already see some early indicators of what went right — as well as wrong — this year. In general, public opinion polls have had a good track record over the last 100 years. However, election polls have never been perfect, nor should that be expected. Uncertainty is part of the equation — whether because of the margin of error, who turns out to vote or the number … [Read more...] about Op-Ed: Will 2020 mark the end of election polling as we know it?

Twelve women from abroad have filed an intervening application in the Madhya Pradesh High Court's principal bench in Jabalpur, seeking action against the Gundecha brothers of Bhopal-based Dhrupad Sansthan over allegations of sexual harassment against them. Those who have filed the intervening applications (IAs) the previous day were once students of the Dhrupad Sansthan, who are now in the United States, Sweden, Canada, Poland, Spain, Austria and Germany. The complainants, too, have alleged that they were sexually harassed by the famous Gundecha siblings the late Ramakant Gundecha, Umakant Gundecha and Akhilesh Gundecha, who plays pakhawaj, the women's counsel Dhruv Varma told PTI. The IA has been filed in support of an inquiry report of an Internal Complaints Committee (ICC), which investigated the sexual harassment allegations against the Gundechas of the Dhrupad Sansthan , a UNESCO-accredited institution after the accusations surfaced on social media in 2020, Mr. Varma … [Read more...] about Twelve women from abroad move MP HC against Gundecha brothers accused of sexual harassment

W hen the Gundecha Brothers recently performed at the beach-side Spaces, the experimental arena set up by dancer-choreographer Chandralekha, the sea proved to be a great metaphor for their music. Like the long coast line, their voice has an extraordinary range, soaring and tumbling like the waves that lash the shore. They unravel the nuances of dhrupad as if sifting through grains of sand. Their steady and introspective notes appear like the night sky above the gleaming water. The brothers, Ramakant and Umakant, have been an intrinsic part of Chandralekha’s last choreographic work ‘Sharira’ since 2001, when it was conceptualised. They were in the city for her tenth death anniversary tribute festival. “Sharira came to us when we were on an inward journey, exploring dhrupad and our own musical sensibilities. It was important to save the art from decline, open up its repertoire and reach out to the contemporary audience. We began to find a meeting point for the dhrupad’s integration … [Read more...] about The Dhrupad revivalists

In the summer of 2005, Sajid Mir had been at the Feroze Shah Kotla stadium in New Delhi, packed amidst the hundreds of ecstatic Pakistani cricket fans who cheered their team as it powered its way to a record 159-run victory over India. Mir, though, was in India for a game of his own. The top Lashkar-e-Taiba commander's undercover visit was the first of a series of surveillance missions which culminated in the November, 2008, attacks on Mumbai. The Lashkar intelligence operative whose reconnaissance enabled the attack, Pakistani-American jihadist David Headley, reported to Mir. From a safehouse in Karachi, Mir guided the assault team using a voice-over-internet line, personally ordering the execution of several hostages. Now, western intelligence sources have told The Hindu , Mir is being held in a safehouse run by Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate, along with the man who travelled with him to New Delhi — a former Pakistani military officer and military trainer … [Read more...] about Sajid Mir’s war against the world