overnight News of 01/27/20

At Least 5 Rockets Hit U.S. Embassy In Baghdad, Injuring 1 Staffer

(BAGHDAD) — A nighttime rocket attack on the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad injured at least one embassy personnel member, staffers there said Monday. The two staff members, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to ...

Italian Voters Deal Blow To Populist Leader Matteo Salvini In Regional Election

(ROME) — Italian voters have thwarted right-wing opposition leader Matteo Salvini’s hopes of turning an election in a key northern region into a springboard for regaining national power. Nearly complete results Monday of Sunday’s ...

Beloved App Vine Just Got A Reboot – And It’S Already Beating TikTok In The App Store

Byte, a new video-sharing app released Friday to compete with ByteDance’s TikTok, has rocketed to the top of Apple’s U.S. App Store. Created by Dom Hofmann , Byte reboots the deprecated Vine video-sharing service, which he co-founded in ...

‘Leave The Country!’ Supporters Of Mexican President Confront Murder Victims’ Families During March

(MEXICO CITY) — A four-day pilgrimage by family members of murdered or missing Mexicans culminated in a tense confrontation in the capital’s main square Sunday as supporters of Mexico’s president hurled insults at the families ...

Coronavirus Death Toll Rises To 80 As U.S. Prepares To Evacuate Americans From Wuhan

(BEIJING) — A new viral illness being watched with a wary eye around the globe accelerated its spread in China with 80 deaths so far, while the U.S. Consulate in the city at the epicenter announced it will evacuate its personnel and some other ...

John Bolton Book Reportedly Claims President Trump Tied Ukraine Funds To Investigation

(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump said he wanted to maintain a freeze on military assistance to Ukraine until it aided political investigations into his Democratic rivals, former national security adviser John Bolton recounts in a draft of ...

The West Blames The Wuhan Coronavirus On China’S Love Of Eating Wild Animals. The Truth Is More Complex

It was no secret to anyone in Wuhan that Huanan Seafood Market sold a lot more than its name suggested. While one side of the low-slung warren of stalls did primarily stock fish and shellfish, the other offered a cornucopia of spices, sundries and, ...

Virus Panic Causes Face Mask Supplies To Run Out Across Asia

Face masks and hand sanitizers are becoming must-have accessories from Hong Kong to Japan as a deadly virus spreads across Asia. The only problem is getting hold of them. Pharmacies across Hong Kong sold out of masks aimed at preventing viral ...

Australia’S Bushfires May Create The Nation’S First Climate Refugees

Australian wildfires that have razed thousands of homes and blackened an area about the size of England may also create the nation’s first climate refugees. That’s the view of Michael Mann , distinguished professor of atmospheric ...

Hundreds Gather In Baghdad To Demand American Troops Leave

(BAGHDAD) — Hundreds of supporters of an influential, radical Shiite cleric gathered Friday in central Baghdad for a rally to demand that American troops leave the country amid heightened tensions after a U.S. drone strike earlier this month ...

The Lessons Of SARS Never Really Left Hong Kong. Will That Help Stop An Outbreak Of The Wuhan Coronavirus?

For the past week, Hong Kong retail store owner Dora Ho has been wearing a medical mask wherever she goes. She doesn’t let her husband leave the house without one, either. The couple have a dozen boxes of them at home, and started their ...

Philippines’ Duterte Threatens To End U.S. Military Pact Over Senator’S Entry Visa

(MANILA, Philippines) — The Philippine president has renewed a threat to terminate an accord that allows American forces to train in the country unless Washington restored a visa of a political ally linked to human rights violations. President ...

China Puts 13 Cities On Lockdown As Coronavirus Death Toll Climbs

China broadened its lockdown to include at least 13 cities Friday as it strives to contain a deadly virus outbreak the World Health Organization has termed a domestic health emergency. The respiratory virus has claimed 26 lives and infected at ...

3 American Firefighters Who Died In Australian Plane Crash Identified

(SYDNEY) — The three American firefighters who were killed when the aerial water tanker they were in crashed while battling wildfires in Australia have been identified by their employer. The men who died Thursday in the crash of the C-130 ...

North Korea Names Retired Army Officer As Its New Foreign Minister

(SEOUL, South Korea) — North Korea has named as its new foreign minster a former senior army officer with little experience in dealings with the United States, in a possible indication it will take a harder line with Washington in stalled ...

U.N.’S Top Court Orders Myanmar To Take All Measures To Prevent Genocide Against Rohingya

In a landmark verdict, the United Nation’s highest court ruled Thursday that it has the authority to consider a genocide case against Myanmar and ordered the country to prevent genocide from being committed against its Rohingya Muslim minority. ...

Free Speech Groups Call For Release Of U.S. Environmental Journalist Arrested In Indonesia

Free speech advocates are calling for the release of an American journalist for an environmental news site after he was jailed on this week in Indonesia on allegations that he violated the conditions of his visa, according to his employer . ...

University Of Minnesota Student Jailed For 6 Months For Critical Tweets He Sent In The U.S.

The case of a Chinese student jailed for tweets he sent while studying in America underscores that being overseas is no protection from Beijing’s censors. Luo Daiqing, who attends the University of Minnesota in the U.S., was sentenced to six ...

The Trump Administration Is Almost Finished Rolling Back Protections For Millions Of Miles Of Streams And Wetlands

(WASHINGTON) — The Trump administration was expected to announce completion as soon as Thursday of one of its most momentous environmental rollbacks, removing federal protections for millions of miles of the country’s streams, arroyos and ...

Australia Searching For Water Tanker Plane That May Have Crashed Fighting Bushfires

(CANBERRA, Australia) — Officials in Australia on Thursday searched for a water tanker plane feared to have crashed while fighting wildfires. Rural Fire Service officials said helicopters were looking for the plane, which might have crashed in ...