News of the World

[kyonides]

Ruhollah Zam: EU powers boycott Iran forum over execution

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-55296434

The ambassadors boycotting the forum, scheduled for Monday, are from France, Germany, Italy and Austria.
Organisers of the forum later said they were postponing the event.
It comes amid a growing diplomatic row between Iran and European countries over the killing of Ruhollah Zam.
The journalist had been granted asylum in France after documenting mass protests in Iran in 2017 on his online news feed. He was later captured in Iraq and taken to Iran. He was hanged on Saturday.

This isn't just an economic issue but also a political one. France reacted in no time.

France called the execution "barbaric and unacceptable" and said it ran counter to Iran's international obligations. The EU also strongly condemned the killing "in the strongest terms".
In response, Iran summoned the envoys of France and of Germany, which currently holds the EU's rotating presidency, in protest at the criticism.

Brexit trade talks: UK and EU to 'go the extra mile' in effort to agree deal

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-55292890
Today was supposed to be the last day where both blocs would be able to agree on each others' terms but the negotiations practically failed. Gladly, they accepted the need to keep working on their issues. Nevertheless, Prime Minister Boris Johnson doubts they will reach any deal no matter how long they discuss the details that prevent them from signing a treaty. The United Kingdom is getting ready to deploy their ships to protect their territorial waters. Of course, the European Union considers this is outrageous and claims UK would have an unfair access to their economic bloc against their members' best interests.

If both the Prime Minister and the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, actually their negotiators in Brussels, are unable to agree on some key terms, next year the UK would have to rely on the World Trade regulations to assist them everytime they deal with the EU customs and vice versa.

Germany to go into lockdown over Christmas

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-55292614

Non-essential shops will close across the country from Wednesday, as will schools, with children to be cared for at home wherever possible.
Chancellor Angela Merkel blamed Christmas shopping for a "considerable" rise in social contacts.
The new lockdown will run from 16 December to 10 January. Announcing the move after meeting leaders of the country's 16 states, Mrs Merkel said there was "an urgent need to take action".
Restaurants, bars and leisure centres have already been closed since November, and some areas of the country had imposed their own lockdowns.

So Melana, TsunamiJurai and yamina-chin-chan, you won't be able to go shopping this Christmas season.
Perhaps it's a good time to continue developing your games at home.

Arrests as Indian workers ransack iPhone plant over wages

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-55296433

Indian police have arrested more than 100 workers who went on a rampage over claims of unpaid wages at a Taiwanese-run iPhone factory near Bangalore.
Footage on social media showed smashed CCTV cameras and glass panels, broken lights and a car set on fire at Wistron Infocomm's manufacturing facility.
The workers claim that they have not been fully paid for four months and are being forced to do extra shifts.
In a statement to the AFP news agency, the company did not refer directly to the workers' complaints but said that "the incident was caused by people of unknown identities from outside who intruded into and damaged its facility with unclear intentions".

If they were outsiders as the company claimed, why wouldn't they simply steal some equipment or chips or even phones instead?
Probably they just pretend to let Apple think they respect their workers' rights in an attempt not to lose their business contract.

Peru suspends clinical trials of Chinese Covid vaccine

https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20...id-vaccine

Peru has temporarily suspended clinical trials of a Covid vaccine made by Chinese drug giant Sinopharm after detecting neurological problems in one of its test volunteers.

Several days ago we signaled, as we are required, to the regulatory authorities that one of our participants (in trials) presented neurological symptoms which could correspond to a condition called Guillain-Barre syndrome.

Guillain-Barre syndrome is a rare and non-contagious disorder which affects the movement of the arms and legs. Peru declared a temporary health emergency in five regions in June last year following multiple cases.

Curiously the vaccinations were supposed to end this week. There were supposed to analyze the results from 12,000 patients. By the way, this trial was extremely important for Peru, they're about to reach the 1,000,000 infections milestone.

Former aide says Cuomo sexually harassed her 'for years'
Lindsey Boylan, a Democratic candidate for Manhattan borough president, says, 'I *know* I am not the only woman'

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/andrew-...ide-boylan

New York City politico Lindsey Boylan alleged on Twitter Sunday that New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo "sexually harassed me for years."
Boylan, who describes herself as a progressive on her Twitter account, worked for the governor's administration from 2015 to 2018, according to her LinkedIn profile.
She worked for Empire State Development, the state's economic development public-benefit organization, until March 2018, when she became deputy secretary for economic development and special adviser to Cuomo.

Now I wonder how much is Cuomo gonna raise during his next fundraiser celebration taking place in a few days time after people learn about his indiscretions.