Tag: public

A total of six bombs exploded at three locations in Bangkok on Friday and one explosive device was recovered before it blew up, a senior police officer said. Four people were wounded, the Erewan Medical Centre said, adding that none of the injuries are serious and that "all are receiving medical attention at hospitals." The blasts were heard shortly after 9 am local time (04:00 CEST) as the Thai capital hosted a Southeast Asian security meeting attended by top officials from...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump spoke with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson about trade, next-generation 5G mobile networks and global security, White House spokesman Hogan Gidley said in a statement on Friday. Trump told Johnson during a call on Thursday that he looked forward to meeting him at the G7 economic summit in France later this month, the White House said. The United States is pressuring its allies, including Britain, to avoid using equipment from Chinese telecommunications...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A group of U.S. senators on Wednesday questioned the Federal Aviation Administration oversight of Boeing Co’s 737 MAX as the agency defended the longstanding practice of deferring much of the process of certifying new aircraft to manufacturers. At a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing, the panel’s chair, Republican Susan Collins, and numerous Democrats criticized the FAA’s interaction with Boeing, saying the agency faced pressure from the company to get its new plane approved on schedule. Boeing’s...

UK Chancellor Sajid Javid announced that the government would double Brexit funding for this year to prepare for no deal. The extra funding will be provided to departments immediately to ensure that the government "steps up vital operational preparations across the country," the government's statement said. The money will be used for border and customs operations, medical supplies, public communications on Brexit, and support for UK nationals overseas. The government said that £344 million (€377 million)...

Romania’s interior minister has quit as the fallout from the murder of two teenage girls intensifies. There is public outrage over the killings of Alexandra Macesanu, 15, and Luiza Melencu, 18, in the southern town of Caracal. Macesanu phoned the European emergency number 112 but it took authorities 19 hours to locate where she was as they struggled to trace her calls and secure unnecessary search warrants. Nicolae Moga, who had only been in the post six days, resigned as Romania’s interior...

The legendary British singer has been open about his struggles with addiction throughout his career, and the subject came back into the public consciousness with the release of biopic Rocketman, which was based on his rise to fame. Now, in an post on social media, he’s marked the 29th anniversary since he went clean in 1990, sharing an emotional message alongside a photo of his Alcoholics Anonymous sobriety badge. “29 years ago today, I was a broken man,” he wrote on...

Todd Harrity, an openly gay professional squash player, won the gold medal in men’s doubles with his partner Chris Hanson at the Pan-American Games in Lima, Peru. Harrity, 28, posted on Instagram: “Couldn’t be more proud to win a gold medal with @hansonsquash in men’s doubles down here at the Pan American Games.” Harrity and Hanson beat Canadians Shawn Delierre and Nick Sachvie 6-11, 11-5, 11-8 in the final. In the semifinals, the Americans beat Diego Elias and Alonso Escudero, who...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department told former Special Counsel Robert Mueller on Monday he should limit his testimony before Congress this week to discussing his public report on the Russia probe. In a letter to Mueller, Associate Deputy Attorney General Bradley Weinsheimer said his testimony set for Wednesday before the House Judiciary and Intelligence committees “must remain within the boundaries of your public report because matters within the scope of your investigation were covered by executive privilege.”...

A U.S. District Judge approved a settlement Tuesday that clears the way for transgender people in North Carolina to use whichever bathroom, shower, locker room or other public facilities match their gender identity. If you thought, “Wait, wasn’t that already settled?” Nope, not until now. As Reuters reported, U.S. District Judge Thomas Schroeder ok’d the agreement between the American Civil Liberties Union, Lambda Legal and Gov. Roy Cooper (D). Schroeder is the same judge who ruled in 2016 that...

Exactly one year out from the opening ceremony of the 2020 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo, the field of athletes is already starting to take shape. We know that out world champion Tom Daley will be representing Great Britain. It will be the fourth Olympics for Daley, who came out as gay several years ago. We also know that the women’s soccer teams of Brazil, New Zealand, Netherlands and Sweden have all officially qualified. All of them had out...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former Special Counsel Robert Mueller on Wednesday told a dramatic U.S. congressional hearing he had not exonerated President Donald Trump of obstruction of justice and indicated he would have sought his indictment were it not for a Justice Department policy against bringing charges against a sitting president. Mueller, answering questions publicly for the first time on his inquiry, also defended the integrity of his investigation as he appeared for eagerly anticipated testimony at the first of...

All eyes and ears are on former special counsel Robert Mueller today. Republicans hope to highlight what they see as a faulty premise for the Mueller probe. Democrats hope he'll say something to incriminate President Donald Trump, or at least bring more Americans to understand what they see to be the president's wrongdoings. But how many times will Mueller refuse to say much at all? When he spoke publicly about the report in May, Mueller said that the report would...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democrats in control of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee hope that Robert Mueller’s testimony on Wednesday will boost their wide-ranging investigation of President Donald Trump, but it is not entirely clear where that inquiry is headed. The panel, led by New York Representative Jerrold Nadler, has the power to start impeachment proceedings against Trump. But Nadler is not among the 90 House of Representatives Democrats who have publicly said they favor initiating the impeachment process against...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Russia is determined to interfere in U.S. elections, despite sanctions and other efforts to deter Moscow, FBI Director Christopher Wray said on Tuesday. “The Russians are absolutely intent on trying to interfere with our elections,” through a foreign influence campaign, Wray said during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing. Wray was testifying at an oversight hearing a day before Robert Mueller, the former special counsel, was due to testify publicly before Congress about his two-year investigation of...