Trump-Russia claims: US intelligence chiefs to give evidence
Two US intelligence chiefs are set to testify before Congress about possible links between Russia and President Donald Trump's election campaign.
They will also address Mr Trump's unsubstantiated claim that he was wiretapped by predecessor Barack Obama.
FBI director James Comey and NSA chief Admiral Mike Rogers will give evidence at a rare open hearing of the congressional intelligence committee.
Mr Trump has called the investigation a "total witch hunt".
Russia denies attempting to influence the US presidential election.
What are the allegations?
In January, US intelligence agencies said Kremlin-backed hackers had broken into the email accounts of senior Democrats and released embarrassing ones in order to help Mr Trump defeat Hillary Clinton.
Boston public schools map switch aims to amend 500 years of distortion
A district will drop the Mercator projection, which physically diminished Africa and South America, for the Peters, which cut the developed world down to size
When Boston public schools introduced a new standard map of the world this week, some young students’ felt their jaws drop. In an instant, their view of the world had changed.
The USA was small. Europe too had suddenly shrunk. Africa and South America appeared narrower but also much larger than usual. And what had happened to Alaska?
In an age of “fake news” and “alternative facts”, city authorities are confident their new map offers something closer to the geographical truth than that of traditional school maps, and hope it can serve an example to schools across the nation and even the world.
On the 40th anniversary of Kamal Jumblatt's death, is trouble brewing again in Lebanon?
In a land where retired murderers still abound, commemorating the dead of a civil war has countless problemsRobert Fisk Mukhtara, Lebanon
Walid Jumblatt looked a worried man yesterday. He seemed a trifle frail. He was, after all, commemorating the brutal murder 40 years ago of his Druze father Kamal, an earnest and secular socialist who might have been compared to the pre-First World War MP Keir Hardie, although Hardie spent 11 years in the mines and did not live in a palace. Kamal’s butchering – he was shot to death in his car, along with his driver and bodyguard, not long after the start of the Lebanese civil war – was followed by a massacre of hundreds of Christians by their Druze neighbours in surrounding villages.
Walid has ever since tried to make amends for this terrible act – not least because he believes Kamal was killed on the orders of the Syrian president Hafez al-Assad, Bashar al-Assad’s father. So his short speech outside his palace at Mukhtara, like much of his recent political work, was about reconciliation between Christians and Druze. He has never failed to mention the murder of the Christian villagers and that this crime should never happen again. The official figure of dead – if "official" figures exist in war – was 219. Most had their throats cut.
The running club that helps people out of homelessness
An organisation in the United States helps people experiencing homelessness – by asking them to lace up their running shoes. Back on My Feet uses a “running-based model”, where members commit to three morning runs a week as part of a larger programme that aims to increase self-esteem, strength and confidence, and also provides jobs and skills training.
Back on My Feet operates in 12 different cities throughout America, and usually recruits members at homeless or residential facilities. The only prerequisite? A positive attitude and a willingness to change one’s lifestyle. Members run on Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings, alongside non-homeless volunteers, and if they achieve a 90 per cent attendance rate for at least 30 days they are able to move on to the ‘Next Steps’ part of the programme.
‘Next Steps’ involves working with Back on My Feet staff to plan a personal roadmap for getting a job and housing. All members are offered job training that takes different forms, such as CV workshops, interview practice and financial literacy classes. It can also be more specific according to the person’s needs: passing their high school diploma or getting a qualification in Forklift Truck Driving or hospitality.
Nine years after disaster, Fukushima to host 2020 Olympic baseball games
Fukushima, evacuated after the March 2011 nuclear disaster, will welcome the world for baseball and softball matches in the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics Games.
Fukushima, the prefecture that was hit by a tsunami-triggered nuclear disaster in March 2011, has been approved to host baseball and softball matches in the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics Games, organizers said on Friday.
With baseball one of the most popular sports in Japan, the decision for Fukushima to host at least one baseball game underscores Japan’s larger efforts to support the region’s recovery, Tokyo 2020 President Yoshiro Mori said.
“By hosting Olympic baseball and softball events, Fukushima will have a great platform to show the world the extent of its recovery in the 10 years since the disaster,” Mr. Mori said in a statement after the International Olympic Committee Executive Board gave a green light to the plan.
Infamous Yakuza Is Disappearing Across Japan
Janice Williams,Newsweek
Japan appeared to be winning its long battle against organized crime. The number of remaining yakuza gang members has declined for the 12th year in a row, with fewer than 40,000 members in 2016.
The notorious Japanese gang, who were known for their missing pinky fingers, was once composed of 21 groups including the infamous Yamaguchi-gumi mafia. Japan’s National Police Agency (JNPA) said in a 2016 report that crime organizations have finally fallen to about 39,100 remaining yakuza members, according to Friday reports. Yamahuchi-gumi’s figures also dropped to just 11,800 remaining underworld members.
In line with the declining number of yakuza members, Japanese authorities arrested 20,050 gang members in 2016, 1,593 people fewer than last year. The agency said the falling number of remaining members and arrests could be due to laws Japan adopted in 2011 that made it illegal for business owners to give money to gang members in exchange for protection, as well as changes authorizing law enforcement to prosecute mob bosses for crimes committed by their workers.
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