China to mark 70 years of communism with massive show of force

China will celebrate seven decades of communist rule on Tuesday with a display of power through central Beijing, showing off goose-stepping troops, new missiles and floats celebrating the country's technological prowess.

from Reuters: World News https://ift.tt/2o3vsmA

China Strongly Backs Hong Kong’s Leaders, Lam’s No. 2 Says

(Bloomberg) -- As Chinese President Xi Jinping gets set to celebrate 70 years of Communist rule in China, pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong are planning to upset the celebrations with a series of potentially violent protests.The Oct. 1 National Day events in Beijing will include a high-profile speech from Xi as well as a military parade past Tiananmen Square that is set to show off China’s most advanced weaponry, including ballistic missiles and warplanes. In Hong Kong, where protests have rocked the financial hub for 17 straight weekends, residents are braced for a numerous protests to push back against China’s tightening grip over the city.Here’s the latest (all times local):Cheung vows dialogue (8:12 a.m.)Hong Kong’s acting leader, Matthew Cheung, vowed to continue dialogue with protesters in remarks following a flag-raising ceremony in the city’s center. Last week, Chief Executive Carrie Lam faced a barrage of questions about her government’s handling of the unrest during her first town-hall-style dialogue session.“China has been strongly supportive to the Hong Kong chief executive and the SAR to govern effectively,” Cheung said, referring to the special adminstrative region. “Hong Kong has been successfully following one country, two systems.”He also warned about the economic fallout from the protests, saying “trade relationships have turned complicated in recent months and are getting severe.”More train stations closed (8 a.m.)Amid planned protests on Tuesday, subway operator MTR Corp. announced additional station closures as a “prudent measure to ensure the safety of passengers and our staff.” The operator said the Causeway Bay, Sham Shui Po, Wong Tai Sin, Sha Tin, Che Kung Temple, Tsuen Wan West and Tuen Mun stations would be closed from 11 a.m. The transit company had earlier said that the central Admiralty and Wan Chai stations, as well as Kowloon’s Prince Edward station, would remain closed.Flag raising ceremony (8 a.m.)Riot cops guarded an early morning flag-raising ceremony at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in the center of the city amid worries that protesters would try and disrupt the event. Lam left the event to her number 2 official, chief secretary Cheung, after announcing that she would travel to Beijing for the festivities.Subway closures (10:45 p.m.)The MTR Corp. announced various subway closures on Hong Kong Island and in Kowloon ahead of the Oct. 1 protests. The transit company said its trains would not stop at the city’s central Admiralty and Wan Chai stops or the Prince Edward station on the other side of the harbor.\--With assistance from Aaron Mc Nicholas.To contact the reporters on this story: Iain Marlow in Hong Kong at imarlow1@bloomberg.net;Annie Lee in Hong Kong at olee42@bloomberg.net;James Mayger in Beijing at jmayger@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Brendan Scott at bscott66@bloomberg.netFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.

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New top story on Hacker News: Richard Stallman Has Been Vilified by Those Who Don’t Know Him

Richard Stallman Has Been Vilified by Those Who Don’t Know Him
22 by lelf | 5 comments on Hacker News.

China National Day Live Updates: A Parade and Protest Fears

By BY THE NEW YORK TIMES from NYT World https://ift.tt/2mrgxCt

Haitian journalist shot in wrist in latest round of protests

A journalist was wounded by gunfire in Haiti on Monday as police fired live ammunition to disperse protesters, his employer, Haitian broadcaster Radio Sans Fin (RSF) said, amid mounting anger over an escalating economic and political crisis.

from Reuters: World News https://ift.tt/2n2xeEF

Giant iceberg breaks off east Antarctica

The calving of the 1,636 sq km iceberg is not linked to climate change, scientists say, but could speed up further melting

A gigantic iceberg about the size of greater London has calved from the Amery ice shelf in east Antarctica, according to expert monitors.

The tabular iceberg, officially named D-28, separated from the ice shelf on 26 September. The iceberg is 1,636 square kilometres in size, or about 50 x 30km, the Australian Antarctic Division said.

Continue reading...

from World news | The Guardian https://ift.tt/2o3cvjW

People's Republic of China: From Mao to now

Key events from the past 70 years - from the foundation of the People's Republic in 1949 to the present day.

from Al Jazeera English https://ift.tt/2nX0vRg

In Shenzhen’s oldest village, shades of old China survive

China's development brought 'unimaginable change' to Shajing but efforts are now being made to preserve its culture.

from Al Jazeera English https://ift.tt/2mmpRHA

Fox News Breaking News Alert

Fox News Breaking News Alert

PROGRAMMING ALERT: Rudy Giuliani reacts to subpoena on 'Hannity,' 9 pm ET

09/30/19 5:36 PM

New top story on Hacker News: Cargo Cult Science

Cargo Cult Science
13 by fipar | 0 comments on Hacker News.

Restive Hong Kong hunkers down as China's birthday celebrations begin

Hong Kong went into lockdown on Tuesday to ensure anti-government protests do not overshadow Chinese President Xi Jinping's commemorations of the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.

from Reuters: World News https://ift.tt/2o07SqW

Trump’s Claims About Biden Aren’t ‘Unsupported.’ They’re Lies.

By BY MICHELLE GOLDBERG from NYT Opinion https://ift.tt/2neddLi

Jessye Norman, Grammy-winning star of opera, dies at 74

Norman was one of the rare black singers to reach fame in the opera world.

from BBC News - World https://ift.tt/2oLJ1HR

Watchdog Pushes U.S. to Publish ‘Duty to Warn’ Khashoggi Files

UNITED NATIONS, Sep 30 (IPS) - A media watchdog has asked United States intelligence agencies to reveal whether they knew about an assassination plot against Jamal Khashoggi and failed to warn the Saudi journalist he was in mortal danger.

Read the full story, “Watchdog Pushes U.S. to Publish ‘Duty to Warn’ Khashoggi Files”, on globalissues.org →

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Jet fuel from thin air: Aviation's hope or hype?

A pilot project at Rotterdam airport plans to capture CO2 from the air and turn it into jet fuel.

from BBC News - World https://ift.tt/2nfOK8f

Jack Charles: 'I'd rob to collect rent for stolen Aboriginal land'

He was stolen from his family, then he stole from "posh homes" - now actor Jack Charles wants closure.

from BBC News - World https://ift.tt/2mYs6Bt

The imam who died fighting racism in South Africa

Relatives of Abdullah Haron, who died in detention 50 years ago, are still traumatised by his death.

from BBC News - World https://ift.tt/2nXWk7K

Trump Pressed Australian Leader to Help Barr Investigate Mueller Inquiry’s Origins

New York Times: Trump Pressed Australian Leader to Help Barr Investigate Mueller Inquiry’s Origins

WASHINGTON — President Trump pushed the Australian prime minister during a recent telephone call to help Attorney General William P. Barr gather information for a Justice Department inquiry that Mr. Trump hopes will discredit the Mueller investigation, according to two American officials with knowledge of the call.

The White House restricted access to the call’s transcript to a small group of the president’s aides, one of the officials said, an unusual decision that is similar to the handling of a July call with the Ukrainian president that is at the heart of House Democrats’ impeachment inquiry into Mr. Trump. Like that call, the discussion with Prime Minister Scott Morrison of Australia shows the extent to which Mr. Trump sees the attorney general as a critical partner in his goal to show that the Mueller investigation had corrupt and partisan origins, and the extent that Mr. Trump sees the Justice Department inquiry as a potential way to gain leverage over America’s closest allies.

Read more ....

WNU editor: The media is trying to frame this as a scandal but it is not. First things first, a couple of sentences after claiming that this was President Trump abusing his power to advance his interests, the New York Times noted: “Mr. Barr requested that Mr. Trump speak to Mr. Morrison, one of the people said.” The New York times also said the following .... “The White House restricted access to the call’s transcript to a small group of the president’s aides … an unusual decision that is similar to the handling of a July call with the Ukrainian president that is at the heart of House Democrats’ impeachment inquiry into Mr. Trump”. But the New York Times' fails to acknowledge that former National Security Adviser Susan Rice recently said that the Obama administration was doing the same thing .... Former National Security Adviser Susan Rice Admits President Obama Put Transcripts On Top Secret Server Too (September 29, 2019). It is also common knowledge that AG Barr is overseeing an investigation into the origins of the 2016 Russia probe, and that the Australian Ambassador to London is involved. So why is it not unusual that this investigation would be discussed? The Australians are also saying there was no pressure exerted on them to help Attorney Barr, and in fact are pushing back on what the New York Times is claiming .... Barr asked Trump to reach out to other countries for Durham probe, official says; source pushes back on NYT reporting (FOX News). But I am going to leave the best to last. This New York Times story ignores a New York Times story that was published over two years ago on this very same topic on how the Australian Ambassador was used to get the Russia-Gate investigation going .... The New York Times Has A Different Take On How The Russia Probe Began (December 31, 2019). The New York Times was wrong then. And they are wrong now. Bottom line. Nothing that is reported in this New York Times’ report is remotely controversial.

Personal observation. For over two years this blog pointed out the inconsistencies of the Russia-Gate investigation, the Russian-collusion narrative, and why the Mueller Investigation was going to reveal nothing. And now the same people, politicians, and media outlets are doing the exact same thing on the Justice Department's quest to know the origins of the Russian-collusion hoax that paralyzed Washington for over two years, and the people who were responsible for it. IMHO the people reponsible must be held accountable, and I hope that President Trump goes to the end of the earth to do so. And as for those who are buying this new narrative from the media .... all that I can say is be very skeptical, remember that they deliberately lied to you when they covered Russia-Gate and the Mueller investigation that followed.

More News On Reports That President Trump Pressed Australian Leader to Help Barr Investigate Mueller Inquiry’s Origins

Trump sought Australia’s help on Russia probe origins -- AP
Trump pressed Australian Prime Minister to help with Justice review of Russia probe origins -- CNN
Barr personally asked foreign officials to aid inquiry into CIA, FBI activities in 2016 -- The Washington Post

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New top story on Hacker News: Show HN: Aristotl – an intuitive logical fallacy lookup tool

Show HN: Aristotl – an intuitive logical fallacy lookup tool
5 by andrewscwei | 2 comments on Hacker News.

4 Inmates Escape From Ohio Jail After Overpowering Guards

By BY NEIL VIGDOR from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/2osIlaf

Pelosi Pushes for Simple Message on Impeachment as Inquiry Barrels Ahead

By BY SHERYL GAY STOLBERG from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/2mXjIBU

Amid gleaming skyscrapers, Hong Kong's poor set aside hardships and join protests

Just before midnight in Hong Kong's Mong Kok district, a slight man in his seventies peels away from a crowd of protesters jeering at police. Behind him, a young woman calls out, "Be safe!"

from Reuters: World News https://ift.tt/2mW3zg3

Hong Kong on edge ahead of sensitive Chinese anniversary

Hong Kong's metro stations and roads re-opened on Monday, after a chaotic weekend that saw police fire water cannon, tear gas and rubber bullets at protesters who set fires and threw petrol bombs outside government offices and across central districts.

from Reuters: World News https://ift.tt/2mTSTi7

New top story on Hacker News: Humans can acquire TB from deer

Humans can acquire TB from deer
8 by bookofjoe | 1 comments on Hacker News.

Elena Delle Donne Gets Help as Mystics Take Game 1 Over the Sun

By BY HOWARD MEGDAL from NYT Sports https://ift.tt/2m5eALE

U.S. Officials Warn of Rising Threat From Qaeda Branch in Northwest Syria

By BY ERIC SCHMITT from NYT World https://ift.tt/2nFx4D9

U.K. Tories Promise Cash Boost for Roads, Buses and Broadband

(Bloomberg) -- The U.K.’s ruling Conservative Party is set to unveil a multi-billion pound funding program to fix holes in the road, boost fiber broadband, and modernize the country’s dwindling bus services, as it pitches for votes in an election.Chancellor of the Exchequer Sajid Javid will on Monday commit to spending 25 billion pounds ($30.7 billion)on upgrading key roads outside of London during the next five years. He’ll also promise a National Bus Strategy for England, and 20 million pound funding for on-demand bus services that could compete with taxi apps like Uber Inc.Javid’s announcement will be seen as a pitch to voters ahead of a looming election. It will also be taken as a signal that he is seeking to end a decade of austerity that helped opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn increase his share of the vote in the 2017 snap election. He’ll link the announcement to the government’s pledge to delivering on Brexit, saying the funding will come once the U.K. has left the EU on 31 Oct.Javid will announce the policy at the Conservative Party conference in Manchester, England, where Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick will also unveil proposals to overhaul the planning system to help accelerate home-building.To contact the reporter on this story: Jessica Shankleman in London at jshankleman@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Tim Ross at tross54@bloomberg.net, Andrew Davis, Emma Ross-ThomasFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.

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China women still battling tradition, 70 years after revolution

China is falling in gender equality rankings amid discrimination, government calls for women to marry and have babies.

from Al Jazeera English https://ift.tt/2mKkCC0

'Nowhere to go, nowhere to hide': The horror of Indonesia’s haze

Aisyah Llewellyn travelled to Jambi in Indonesia's Sumatra to report on the devastating fires that have laid waste to vast tracts of forest and cloaked local communities in a choking, toxic smog that could cause long-term damage to their health.

from Al Jazeera English https://ift.tt/2mVwf8Z

Hong Kong’s Status as Neutral Ground at Risk as China Asserts Power

By BY PETER S. GOODMAN AND AUSTIN RAMZY from NYT Business https://ift.tt/2oqI2g4

M.L.B.’s Juggernauts Set to Clash After a Season of Extraordinary Numbers

By BY TYLER KEPNER from NYT Sports https://ift.tt/2nGnFLy

Man Is Charged With Terrorism After Driving S.U.V. Through Illinois Mall

By BY MARIEL PADILLA from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/2mHfgHD

Yankees Turn Their Focus to the Playoffs, and Stifling the Twins

By BY JAMES WAGNER from NYT Sports https://ift.tt/2m4Qe4G

New top story on Hacker News: Sorry macOS users, but Apple has gone too far for some of us devs

Sorry macOS users, but Apple has gone too far for some of us devs
28 by samcat116 | 12 comments on Hacker News.

New top story on Hacker News: In Quest of a Pangram (1988) [pdf]

In Quest of a Pangram (1988) [pdf]
4 by jsnell | 0 comments on Hacker News.

A former diet cola addict built a $100m firm

Kara Goldin, the founder of US flavoured water company Hint, used to drink 10 cans of cola a day.

from BBC News - World https://ift.tt/2mVppjP

Former National Security Adviser Susan Rice Admits Presdient Obama Put Transcripts On Top Secret Server Too

.@AmbassadorRice: “Normally there is a full, verbatim transcript” of calls like Trump’s w/ the Ukraine president.

Says he tried to “bury” it on a more secure server, but acknowledges the Obama Admin. sometimes did the same. pic.twitter.com/B6zZNbZsTG

— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) September 27, 2019

Zero Hedge: After Trump Accused Of Cover-Up, Susan Rice Admits Obama Put Transcripts On Top Secret Server Too

After President Trump was accused of a cover-up for moving details about his July 25 phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in a separate, highly secured computer system, former Obama national security adviser Susan Rice admitted that Obama did the same thing.

The difference? Rice says that Trump's conversation didn't meet the threshold to justify that level of classification, according to The Federalist.

"We never moved them over unless they were legitimately, in the contents classified," Rice said at the Texas Tribune Festival when asked how often the Obama administration engaged in this practice - without explaining the methodology used to determine what qualified.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: President Trump's call with Ukraine Presdient Zelensky was only added to the top secret server after guidance from a National Security Counsel attorney. Adding former National Security Adviser Susan Rice's remarks that the Obama administration did the same thing, albeit she says that how they classified their conversations was different, one has to then ask the question "is this a cover-up", or is this "standard procedure". To me it makes sense to classify conversations with foreign leaders. What the Obama administration did, and what the current White House is doing is understandable. But is this now going to change? Especially after today's remarks from the chairman of the U.S. House Intelligence Committee Adam Shiff that he wants access to President Trump's phone calls to other leaders .... Democrats Want Access To President Trump's Calls To Foreign Leaders. You tell me.

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'They don't understand Hong Kong': clash of ideologies looms on China's 70th anniversary

Chinese officials blame unrest on issues such as housing or unemployment, but the problems go much deeper than that

When Chinese president Xi Jinping warned his Communist party cadres against the threats of “black swans” and “grey rhinoceroses” in January, there was little sign of what would lie ahead.

The millions-strong protests in Hong Kong in recent months, sparked by a controversial extradition law, have morphed into an unprecedented political storm that has blown up in the faces of Hong Kong and Chinese leaders.

Continue reading...

from World news | The Guardian https://ift.tt/2opi8sZ

UPDATE 1-Saudi crown prince warns of escalation with Iran, says he prefers political solution

Saudi Arabia's crown prince warned in an interview broadcast on Sunday that oil prices could spike to "unimaginably high numbers" if the world does not come together to deter Iran, but said he would prefer a political solution to a military one. Speaking to the CBS program "60 Minutes," Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom's de facto ruler, also denied that he ordered the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi operatives nearly a year ago, but said he ultimately bears "full responsibility" as the leader of his country. While Khashoggi's death sparked a global uproar and tarnished the crown prince's reputation, the Trump administration's tense standoff with Iran, Saudi Arabia's arch-foe, has more recently dominated U.S. policy toward Riyadh, especially after the Sept. 14 attacks on the heartland of the Saudi oil industry.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2nLqE5a

Boris Johnson Battles Sex Allegations as Brexit Opponents Plot

(Bloomberg) -- Boris Johnson hoped to use his Conservative Party’s annual convention to launch his campaign to win the next British general election. Instead, he is fighting for his credibility as prime minister as he faces allegations of sexual impropriety and plots to oust him.After two months in charge of the U.K. government, Johnson was forced to deny he groped a journalist at a lunch around 20 years ago, and batted away allegations that he had a sexual relationship with a businesswoman and authorized taxpayer-funded sponsorship for her company during his time as London Mayor.The furor overshadowed his first appearance as prime minister at his ruling Conservative party’s annual conference in Manchester, England. The grassroots members propelled him to power in July after he promised to complete the U.K.’s divorce from the European Union -- whatever the cost -- by the deadline of Oct. 31.Johnson sought to double down on his Brexit pledge, making the theme of the party convention: "Get Brexit Done."The U.K. was due to leave the EU on March 29 but the failure of previous prime minister Theresa May to win backing for the divorce deal she negotiated forced her to seek to delay the country’s departure twice, before eventually she gave up and resigned.When Johnson replaced her, he made it a key promise to deliver Brexit by Oct. 31, and has said he will do so without a deal -- if necessary. Members of Parliament in London have moved to stop him carrying out this threat and are also denying him the election he says is the only way to break the deadlock.The opposition want the risk of an economically damaging no-deal Brexit to be removed before they agree to dissolve Parliament for an election.At around 1 p.m. Monday, leaders of the opposition parties will meet in Westminster -- 200 miles from where the Tories are gathering -- to discuss how they’re going to make the most of the Supreme Court moving to allow Parliament to open this week.The Scottish National Party has publicly proposed calling a vote of no-confidence in Johnson’s government. The idea would be that, if he were defeated, an alternative government could be installed under a temporary compromise prime minister.But it’s a dangerous gamble: if the parties couldn’t agree on the make-up of that alternative administration, Parliament would dissolve 14 days later for the election that Johnson has asked for and that the opposition has so far refused to give him. With Parliament broken up, MPs would have no power to stop Johnson completing a no-deal Brexit on Oct. 31.How Johnson fares in any election may be determined by the public reaction to allegations that call his integrity into question.DenialsOn Sunday evening Johnson’s office took the unusual step of flatly denying one claim, that around 20 years ago he inappropriately touched the leg of a junior journalist working on the magazine he was then editing. On another claim about his private life, the denial was more circumspect.The Sunday Times reported last week that when he was London Mayor, Johnson had overruled officials to get tech entrepreneur Jennifer Arcuri onto trade missions, and that her company had received government sponsorship grants. The paper this week reported that Arcuri had told four friends that she’d had a sexual relationship with Johnson.Johnson’s office declined to comment on the nature of his relationship with Arcuri, and the prime minister insisted there had been no impropriety. “I am very, very proud of everything we did and everything I did as mayor of London,” he told the BBC. Asked if he had declared his links with Arcuri in the register of interests, he replied: “There was no interest to declare.”The Greater London Authority’s monitoring officer has referred the prime minister to the Independent Office of Police Conduct -- which oversees the conduct of the mayor.For years, many observers had assumed that Johnson’s private life would be a bar to his ambition of becoming prime minister. He was unfaithful to his second wife, from whom he finally separated last year. He is attending conference with his new partner, Carrie Symonds.In the end, Conservative Party members decided his commitment to Brexit and his appeal to voters were more important. His biographer, Andrew Gimson, said Johnson would likely be able to brush off the Arcuri allegations, too.“Voters will say that this is a man trying to do something difficult and necessary in Brexit, and that it’s mean-minded of people to try and bring him down," Gimson said. "The big issue is Brexit.”\--With assistance from Alex Morales and Jessica Shankleman.To contact the reporters on this story: Robert Hutton in Manchester, England at rhutton1@bloomberg.net;Kitty Donaldson in Manchester, England at kdonaldson1@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Tim Ross at tross54@bloomberg.net, Emma Ross-ThomasFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.

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New top story on Hacker News: Faster Progress Bars: Manipulating Perceived Duration with Augmentations (2010)

Faster Progress Bars: Manipulating Perceived Duration with Augmentations (2010)
3 by pera | 0 comments on Hacker News.

Labradoodle creator says it's his 'life's regret'

'They're crazy' - the man who created the labradoodle says it's a huge regret.

from BBC News - World https://ift.tt/2lGoKCl

Beijing Daxing: China's huge new 'starfish' airport opens its doors

The Beijing Daxing International Airport spans 700,000 square metres - or 98 football fields.

from BBC News - World https://ift.tt/2lxO11u

Indonesia haze causes sky to turn blood red

Pictures and videos of the phenomenon went viral on social media over the weekend.

from BBC News - World https://ift.tt/2l0xCSR

Canada's Green Party edits photo of leader holding single-use cup

Elizabeth May was "shocked" to see the image, saying it was manipulated without her knowledge.

from BBC News - World https://ift.tt/2lfUxtx

Jose Jose, one of Mexico's most-loved voices, dies at 71

Mexican singer Jose Jose, whose powerful, romantic ballads captivated Latin America for more than half a century, died on Saturday.

from Reuters: Entertainment News https://ift.tt/2m0ZqXZ
via IFTTT

Iranian official denies plans to interfere with US election

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif is denying his country would interfere with the upcoming U.S. presidential election and says his government doesn't have a preference in the race. The interview took place in New York, which Zarif visited this past week to attend meetings at the United Nations. "We don't interfere in the internal affairs of another country," Zarif said later.

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New top story on Hacker News: David E. Shaw and the Ultimate College Hedge

David E. Shaw and the Ultimate College Hedge
7 by wallflower | 0 comments on Hacker News.

New top story on Hacker News: AllenNLP Interpret: A Framework for Explaining Predictions of NLP Models

AllenNLP Interpret: A Framework for Explaining Predictions of NLP Models
3 by polm23 | 0 comments on Hacker News.

Russia Is About To Get A Closer Look At The F-35 Stealth Fighter

David Axe, National Interest: Russia is About to Get A Close Look at the F-35 Stealth Fighter

The trillion-dollar plane is getting into the air-policing game. Moscow won't like that.

Italy has become the first country to deploy F-35 stealth fighters for NATO’s air-policing missions.

Italian F-35As belonging to the Italian air force’s 13° Gruppo, 32° Stormo are on track to take over the air-policing mission in Iceland, David Cenciotti reported at The Aviationist on Sept. 25, 2019.

“The Italian aircraft, that have already deployed to Keflavik International Airport, from their homebase at Amendola air base in southeastern Italy, will start flying familiarisation sorties in the next few days,” Cenciotti wrote. “After achieving the NATO certification they will start quick-reaction alert duties.”

“The F-35s, were accompanied by a KC-767A tanker, a C-130J and a P-72A maritime patrol aircraft,” Cenciotti added, citing data from flight-tracking websites.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: They are going to see it. But close .... hmmm .... not sure.

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Mets’ Pete Alonso Breaks Rookie Home-Run Record

By BY KEVIN ARMSTRONG from NYT Sports https://ift.tt/2m3FfbW

‘You’re a Bad Police Officer’: Official Confronts Deputy at Awards Ceremony

By BY MARIEL PADILLA from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/2nxYdYq

Russia’s Pacific Fleet Fires Oniks Supersonic Cruise Missile From Coast For First Time

RT: Did you see that one, Alaska? Russia’s Pacific Fleet fires Oniks supersonic cruise missile from coast for first time

A coastal defence system deployed in Russia’s Far East has for the first time fired the Oniks cruise missile, developed to pierce the anti-missile capabilities of US Navy warships.

Oniks has a ramjet engine capable of boosting its speed to Mach 2, making it difficult to intercept, and has a range of up to 600km (373 miles). The anti-ship weapon is usually deployed on Russian Navy ships, but can also be fired by the mobile launchers of the Bastion coastal defense system.

Read more .....

Update: Watch Russian Oniks Missile Be Launched For First Time in Russian Far East (Sputnik)

 WNU Editor: The Far East is becoming more and more important to Russia.

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Trump Paints Impeachment as Attack on Voters, Guns, Health Care

(Bloomberg) -- Donald Trump mounted a defense to Democrats’ impeachment investigation on Saturday by saying the opposition party is trying to oust him because he’s fighting for the voters who elected him, and that the future of the country is at stake.Trump’s approach signals a new effort to rally his political base to counter the growing threat to his presidency.Trump argued Democrats are undertaking “the single greatest scam in the history of American politics” and portrayed the investigation as part of a campaign by the opposition party to take away everything from guns to health care.“It’s all very simple, they’re trying to stop me because I’m fighting for you -- and I’ll never let that happen,” Trump said in a video he tweeted to his 65 million Twitter followers, in which he appears outside the White House.Trump is seeking to rally his most ardent supporters after a week of damaging headlines, including revelations that the president asked Ukraine’s leader to investigate top Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden during a July phone call.Trump also continued to defend his conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy as having been appropriate. The U.S. president said the fact the Zelenskiy -- speaking to reporters during a meeting with Trump this week at the United Nations -- said he didn’t feel pressure to investigate Biden “should by and of itself bring an end to the new and most recent Witch Hunt.”Trump’s call was Zelenskiy was summarized in a partial transcript released on Wednesday.Democrats have said that the mere fact Trump suggested investigating a top political rival to a foreign leader raised grave concerns, as did the president’s request for Zelenskiy to look into Ukraine’s role in the 2016 U.S. election.Democratic ‘Savages’The president has responded to those claims with scorn, calling members of the opposition party “savages” in a tweet early Saturday, and subsequently calling for the resignation of Adam Schiff, the California Democrat and chairman of the House Intelligence Committee who will be heading up the impeachment inquiry.A poll released Thursday by NPR News and Marist found that while Americans favored impeaching Trump by a narrow 49% to 46% margin, 93% of GOP voters opposed the effort.The president’s campaign advisers have argued the effort will ultimately backfire on Democrats. The president’s son, Eric Trump, tweeted that the campaign had raised $8.5 million in small-dollar donations following Democrats’ announcement of the impeachment inquiry.Campaign manager Brad Parscale said the campaign and Republican National Committee were planning a joint ad buy of $10 million with a commercial arguing Democrats are trying to use the impeachment probe “to steal the election.”“Democrats want to deny Americans the opportunity to vote to re-elect President Trump and people need to know the facts,” Parscale said.The White House hasn’t formalized a new operation to handle the impeachment inquiry. Jay Sekulow, the president’s outside attorney, said his team will continue to respond as they had in prior cases.“There is no war room being established,” Sekulow said.To contact the reporter on this story: Justin Sink in Washington at jsink1@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Alex Wayne at awayne3@bloomberg.net, Justin Blum, Ros KrasnyFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.

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Dozens die in northern India as late monsoon rains trigger floods

Retreating monsoon rains have led to deadly floods across wide areas of Uttar Pradesh state

A heavy spell of retreating monsoon rains has flooded wide areas of northern India, killing dozens of people in the past week.

A spokeswoman for the Disaster Management and Relief Department, Sandhaya Kureel, said that most of the 59 fatalities were caused by house collapses, lightning and drownings in Uttar Pradesh state. They included at least five people dying of snake bites in flooded areas.

Continue reading...

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New top story on Hacker News: The Two Squares Puzzle

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Pompeo subpoenaed over Ukraine documents as US envoy steps down

Kurt Volker, special envoy for Ukraine, had helped plan a meeting between Giuliani and a Ukraine presidential aide The committees sent a separate note to Pompeo notifying him of a rapid schedule of depositions they expected to hold with five state department officials. Photograph: Drew Angerer/Getty ImagesKurt Volker, the US special envoy for Ukraine, has become the first casualty in the rapidly growing impeachment crisis surrounding Donald Trump, with multiple reports that he has resigned from his post. Volker was due to appear before the congressional committees and was mentioned in the whistleblower complaint as helping Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenskiy “navigate” Trump’s demands. The news, first reported in an Arizona student newspaper, the State Press, emerged late on Friday, hours after Congress has issued a subpoena to the US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, to hand over documents related to contacts the president and his lawyer had with the Ukrainian government.It emerged this week that Volker had helped organise a meeting between Trump’s personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, and a Ukraine presidential aide. Giuliani was trying to convince Zelenskiy’s government to investigate of the son of Joe Biden, Trump’s possible opponent in next year’s elections.With impeachment proceedings against Trump under way, further reports emerged of White House efforts to limit access to transcripts of conversations with other countries. Trump’s phone calls with Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman and Russian president Vladimir Putin were also tightly restricted, according to former administration officials quoted by CNN.The Washington Post reported that further restrictions were placed on details from a 2017 meeting between Trump, Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov and ambassador Sergei Kislyak, in which Trump is reported to have said he was not bothered by Moscow interference in the 2016 election because the US did the same kind of thing in other countries. The White House limited access to the remarks to “an unusually small number of people”, the Post said, after speaking to three former officials. The president had already been accused of sharing highly sensitive information on Islamic State during the meeting.Earlier on Friday, in a congressional letter delivered to Pompeo, three House committees demanded documents as part of their investigation into “the extent to which President Trump jeopardised national security by pressing Ukraine to interfere with our 2020 election and by withholding security assistance provided by Congress to help Ukraine counter Russian aggression”.The chairmen of the intelligence, foreign affairs and oversight committees also warned Pompeo that “your failure or refusal to comply with the subpoena shall constitute evidence of obstruction of the House’s impeachment inquiry”.The committees sent a separate note to Pompeo notifying him of a rapid schedule of depositions they expected to hold with five state department officials involved in contacts with Ukraine. The list begins next Wednesday with the former ambassador, Marie Yovanovitch, who was forced to retire from the post in May, earlier than planned.Trump, according to the White House version of his 25 July conversation with Zelenskiy, was scathing about Yovanovitch, referring to her as “the woman” who was “bad news”, and who was “going to go through some things”.Volker is due to appear before the day after Yovanovitch’s scheduled deposition. Giuliani has publicly displayed text messages purportedly from Volker, about a meeting had helped arrange with a Zelenskiy aide.Giuliani was seeking to persuade the Kyiv government to investigate Hunter Biden, the son of former vice-president Joe Biden, Trump’s possible Democratic opponent in next year’s presidential election.The younger Biden had been on the board of an Ukrainian energy company, but an Ukrainian investigation found no evidence of impropriety.Shortly before making the call to Zelenskiy in July, to press him further on investigating Biden, Trump ordered the suspension of US military aid to Ukraine.Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Pompeo claimed to have been too busy to read more than a couple paragraphs of the whistleblower complaint about Trump’s behaviour towards Ukraine, and insisted that no state department official had done anything appropriate.In their letter to Pompeo, the three committee chairman, noted that he had first been asked to hand over relevant documentation on 9 September, but had not complied.“Your actions are all the more troubling given that since our 9 September request, it has become clear that multiple state department officials have direct knowledge of the subject matters of the House’s impeachment inquiry,” the chairmen – Democrats Eliot Engel, Adam Schiff and Elijah Cummings – said.Pompeo’s continued refusal to hand over the documents, they added, would impair Congress’s “constitutional responsibilities to protect our national security and the integrity of our democracy”.

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Canada murders: fugitives who killed three planned for more victims, say police

Killers recorded video confessions of murders of Australian tourist, his American girlfriend and Canadian professor

The two fugitives responsible for a frantic manhunt across Canada this summer recorded video confessions for the murders of three people - and planned for more victims before killing themselves, police revealed Friday.

At a press conference in Vancouver, the Royal Canadian Mounted police released a 13-page report detailing key findings of the extensive investigation, including the recovery six videos and three images from a camera.

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'Damning' facts will help sell impeachment probe to divided voters at home, Democrats say

Some moderate Democratic lawmakers who a week ago had little interest in talking about an impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump say they are now optimistic they can sell it to voters at home during a recess of the U.S. Congress over the next two weeks.

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