Saturday, February 23, 2019

Six In The Morning Saturday 23 February 2019

R Kelly: Singer charged with sexual abuse in Chicago

R Kelly has been charged with 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse, at least nine of which involve minors.
The R&B star, whose real name is Robert Sylvester Kelly, has faced decades of claims of sexual abuse against women and teenagers below the age of consent.
He has never been convicted and has previously denied other allegations.
An arrest warrant was issued, and the 52-year-old turned himself in to police in Chicago later on Friday. His lawyer says he is "shell-shocked".
Steve Greenberg told The Associated Press that his client was "extraordinarily disappointed and depressed" by the charges and maintains his innocence.


US condemns Venezuela military over border killings as aid showdown looms

Country braced for violence after clashes early on Friday leave two dead and 15 injured


The US has condemned Venezuela’s military after soldiers shot dead two people and injured 15 others trying to keep the country’s border with Brazil open for aid deliveries.
The White House warned in a statement: “Egregious violation of human rights by [President Nicolás] Maduro and those who are following his orders will not go unpunished.”
The US also urged the armed forces to allow humanitarian aid to pass peacefully into the country, the day before supporters of presidential challenger Juan Guaidó plan to challenge the authority of Caracas by trying to ship food and medical donations into the country.

China cuts off BBC news report after Muslim detention camps mentioned

Over a million ethnic Uighurs are being held by the authorities for 're-education'



China censored a TV report about its detention of more than a million Uighur Muslims in “re-education camps” by suddenly cutting off the broadcast, according to a BBC reporter.
Stephen McDonnell filmed the moment the World Service Newsday programme went off air as he began to speak about the treatment of the Turkic ethnic minority in the northwestern Xinjiang province.
Mr McDonnell, the BBC’s China correspondent, said a similar thing happened the previous day during discussion of the same issue.

Nigeria votes — one week later than planned

Polls have opened in Nigeria. The country is hoping for free and fairly elected president — will it be incumbent Muhammadu Buhari or his main rival Atiku Abubakar?
Nigeria's second attempt to elect a new president started Saturday with the polls opening at 8 a.m. local time (0700 UTC). All eyes are on the nearly 120,000 polling stations to see if the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has overcome logistical difficulties to deliver the required number of ballot boxes, papers and results sheets — and on time. IT specialists reconfigured some 180,000 machines needed to check biometric identity cards and allow people to vote.
The general election was postponed by a week just hours before polls were due to open on the morning of February 16 with officials blaming logistical challenges. The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the main opposition People's Democratic Party (PDP) accused each other of conspiring with INEC to rig the result.

Dianne Feinstein's climate change discussion with schoolchildren gets heated

Updated 0235 GMT (1035 HKT) February 23, 2019


Sen. Dianne Feinstein clashed Friday with a group of children over climate change policy, criticizing their requests that she back the Green New Deal, accusing them of presenting an ultimatum and contrasting their inability to vote with her three decades in office.
The exchange comes as moderate Democrats grapple with the Green New Deal, a 10-year plan to mitigate climate change championed by progressives such as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York.
In a video posted on Facebook by the Sunrise Movement, a youth climate-change advocacy group, more than a dozen children and several adults meet with the senator to present her a letter they wrote and ask her to vote yes on the deal. The California Democrat argues that the policy is unworkable and says she doesn't agree with it.

Gov't to conduct body scanning experiment at subway station in Tokyo

The transport ministry plans to conduct an experiment to scan passengers' bodies at a Tokyo subway station next month as part of efforts to strengthen security following a fatal attack on a bullet train last year.
The experiment will be conducted at Tokyo Metro's Kasumigaseki Station, one of the busiest stations in Japan, using a body scanner at one or two of the ticket gates between March 4 and 7 and seven hours a day including rush hours to monitor objects under clothing, according to the Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry.
Concerns about attacks on public transportation systems have increased after incidents on bullet trains in recent years, while the Japanese government explores ways to strengthen public security in the run-up to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and Paralympics.













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