World news

• AOC rips Texas governor for blaming outages on Green New Deal

  17-02-2021 23:52 via independent.co.uk
  
  Ms Ocasio-Cortez points to Gregg Abbott’s own failures and apparent lack of knowledge of his state’s energy supply as reasons for outages
  
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• Girl, 5, awakens from coma following car crash with Chiefs assistant coach Britt Reid

  17-02-2021 23:49 via independent.co.uk
  
  While the girl’s family was overjoyed that she’d woken up, they said she has ‘a long road to recovery’
  
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• Rick Perry says Texans would choose to be without power for longer ‘to keep government out of their business’

  17-02-2021 23:26 via independent.co.uk
  
  The former governor’s made the comments as 2.7m Texans are without power
  
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• Latifah's 'Equalizer' stays strong after Super Bowl premiere

  17-02-2021 22:53 via independent.co.uk
  
  CBS’ reboot of “The Equalizer” with Queen Latifah took advantage of its post-Super Bowl series premiere to rank as the No. 3 show in prime time in its second episode
  
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• Cooper calls for improved warning system amid deadly tornado

  17-02-2021 22:50 via independent.co.uk
  
  North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper says the state must learn from the surprise tornado that struck the community of Ocean Isle Beach with little or no warning, leaving three people dead and 10 injured
  
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• Man ‘fought police officers twice’ during Capitol Riot and still wasn’t arrested that day, court documents show

  17-02-2021 22:47 via independent.co.uk
  
  Arrest log from Garrett County in western Maryland shows that Mr Egtvedt was later arrested but also released on 13 February
  
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• Maduro lodges new allegation of US spying on Venezuela firm

  17-02-2021 22:31 via independent.co.uk
  
  Venezuela’s president says he is open to dialogue with the new U.S. administration on calming tensions between the two governments
  
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• Rick Perry says Texans ‘would be without electricity longer’ to keep government out as death toll rises

  17-02-2021 22:25 via independent.co.uk
  
  Former Texas Governor Rick Perry said that Texans would rather continue to freeze in their homes without electricity than to allow the federal government more involvement in the state's energy grid.
  
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• Cori Bush calls for utilities to be public in wake of Texas storm crisis

  17-02-2021 22:11 via independent.co.uk
  
  Ms Bush added that healthcare, housing, food, clean water, and internet access, are all necessities that also ‘must be guaranteed to all’
  
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• Philadelphia shooting: At least seven wounded after gunman opens fire near transit station

  17-02-2021 22:08 via independent.co.uk
  
  One person taken into custody following attack in broad daylight
  
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• Texans shelter in furniture store during brutal winter storm, as no end is in sight for days-long power outages

  17-02-2021 21:56 via independent.co.uk
  
  The governor is launching an investigation into the company managing the state’s power grid
  
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• Cambodia adopts China-style internet gateway amid crackdown on opposition

  17-02-2021 21:42 via independent.co.uk
  
  Government has embarked on campaign of criminal charges and jail terms for many of its rivals
  
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• US still unraveling 'sophisticated' hack of 9 gov't agencies

  17-02-2021 21:11 via independent.co.uk
  
  The top White House cybersecurity official says authorities are still working to unravel the likely Russian hack of U.S. government agencies and companies
  
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• Dad says Covid lockdown was behind 12-year-old son’s suicide

  17-02-2021 21:00 via independent.co.uk
  
  Mr Hunstable said he could see his son’s behaviour changing almost two months after schools were closed due to Covid
  
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• Princess Latifa: What are women's rights in Dubai?

  17-02-2021 20:44 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The case of Princess Latifa has shocked the world and shone a light on the rights of women in the UAE.
  
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• ‘I could have died’: Gators basketball star opens up about near-death experience

  17-02-2021 20:41 via independent.co.uk
  
  Doctors have ruled out Covid as the cause, but still aren’t sure why he collapsed
  
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• Three North Korean hackers charged in $1.3bn cryptocurrency theft

  17-02-2021 20:27 via independent.co.uk
  
  Group also attacked Hollywood studio overThe Interview movie
  
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• Ash Wednesday under Covid restrictions – in pictures

  17-02-2021 20:23
  
  The first day of Lent looked a little different this year as Christians took part in the holy dayContinue reading...
  
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• Chimpanzee and Monkeys die in Texas after sanctuary loses power during Winter Storm Uri

  17-02-2021 20:20 via independent.co.uk
  
  ‘I never, ever thought my office would turn into a morgue, but it has,’ says executive director of Primarily Primates
  
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• Groups ask Biden administration to reconsider nuke decision

  17-02-2021 20:17 via independent.co.uk
  Watchdog groups want the Biden administration to reconsider a decision by a U.S. agency not to conduct a more extensive environmental review related to production of the plutonium cores used in the nation's nuclear arsenal
  
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• Crippling weather hampers vaccine deliveries, distribution

  17-02-2021 19:39 via independent.co.uk
  
  Just as vaccine efforts ramp up and gain speed, the icy blast across much of the United States injected more confusion and frustration into the nation’s COVID-19 vaccination drive on Wednesday
  
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• Yosemite ‘firefall’ phenomenon has started: Why does it appear?

  17-02-2021 19:17 via independent.co.uk
  
  Authorities say this year’s light show will last until 24 February
  
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• Controversial bill to fight ‘Islamist separatism’ passes first stage of French parliament

  17-02-2021 19:10 via independent.co.uk
  
  Interior minister says ‘sole aim’ is to ‘defend the values of the Republic’
  
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• VIRUS TODAY: White House says U.S. vaccinations picking up

  17-02-2021 19:08 via independent.co.uk
  
  The White House said the U.S. is vaccinating some 1.7 million people per day, up from under 1 million a month ago
  
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• Japan’s ruling party invites women to ‘look not talk’ at meetings

  17-02-2021 19:00 via independent.co.uk
  
  Controversy comes week after Tokyo Olympics chief sparks outroar by saying women talk too much at meetings
  
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• Man arrested in hit-and-run death of Nicki Minaj's father

  17-02-2021 18:37 via independent.co.uk
  
  A 70-year-old man was arrested Wednesday in the hit-and-run death of rapper Nicki Minaj’s father
  
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• ‘Face diapers not required’: Florida restaurant goes viral for face mask sign

  17-02-2021 18:37 via independent.co.uk
  
  State does not mandate employees and customers not mandated to wear coverings
  
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• Europe’s top human rights court demands ‘immediate’ Navalny release

  17-02-2021 18:27 via independent.co.uk
  
  Moscow said the ruling amounted to ‘unprecedented meddling’ in its legal system
  
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• Rush Limbaugh death: Conservative radio host dies aged 70

  17-02-2021 18:24 via independent.co.uk
  
  Conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh has died at the age of 70, his family has announced.
  
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• Professor quits after pretending to be female immigrant to post racist and sexist tweets

  17-02-2021 18:24 via independent.co.uk
  
  Twitter account taken down in late 2020, but people who saw it say that it repeatedly contained sexist, racist, and transphobic messages and pictures
  
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• ‘Bristol Covid variant’ that may diminish vaccine efficacy discovered for first time in US

  17-02-2021 18:22 via independent.co.uk
  
  The Bristol variant of the coronavirus has been detected for the first time in the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Wednesday.
  
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• New York sues Amazon for ‘repeatedly and persistently failing’ to protect workers during Covid pandemic

  17-02-2021 18:16 via independent.co.uk
  
  Online behemoth ‘cut corners’ to boost profit at expense of employee safety, says attorney general
  
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• Texas mayor resigns after telling residents he owed them ‘nothing’ following storm power outage

  17-02-2021 18:04 via independent.co.uk
  
  The local government website and recent city council agenda’s still lists the man as mayor
  
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• EU ramps up Covid vaccine supplies with fresh Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech deals

  17-02-2021 17:49 via independent.co.uk
  
  Purchase will allow EU to distribute doses ‘to our neighbours’, says EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen
  
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• Library worker fired after burning books by Ann Coulter and Trump

  17-02-2021 17:45 via independent.co.uk
  
  Officials argue that censorship has no place in a library
  
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• Son of high-profile conservative charged over Capitol riots

  17-02-2021 17:43 via independent.co.uk
  
  More than 200 people have been arrested in connection to events of 6 January
  
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• Biden's $15 wage proposal: Job killer or a boon for workers?

  17-02-2021 17:41 via independent.co.uk
  
  President Joe Biden’s effort to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour could provide a welcome opportunity for someone like Cristian Cardona, a 21-year-old fast food worker
  
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• NYC’s rich neighbourhoods get disproportionate share of coronavirus vaccines

  17-02-2021 17:35 via independent.co.uk
  
  ‘Just as we’ve seen a much smaller portion of vaccines going to Black and brown New Yorkers, we see these geographic disparities bearing out as well’
  
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• Lawmakers to face off with GameStop saga's key players

  17-02-2021 17:09 via independent.co.uk
  
  The GameStop saga has been portrayed as a victory of the little guy over Wall Street giants but not everyone agrees, including some lawmakers in Washington
  
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• Estonia report: Russia bets on COVID-19 weakening the West

  17-02-2021 17:00 via independent.co.uk
  
  Estonia’s foreign intelligence agency says Russia is counting on the COVID-19 pandemic to weaken unity in the West which will help Moscow gain a more prominent role in international affairs and lead to “declining Western influence on the global stage”
  
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• Mount Etna erupts in spectacular fashion – in pictures

  17-02-2021 16:54
  
  Europe’s most active volcano has been on explosive form, with high lava fountains and several flows of incandescent magma, together with a copious shower of ash and lapilli that reached as far as Catania Continue reading...
  
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• Biden pledges to ‘recalibrate’ relations with Saudi Arabia in apparent snub to Mohammed bin Salman

  17-02-2021 16:53 via independent.co.uk
  
  White House press secretary says president’s ‘counterpart’ remains King Salman, not his all-powerful son
  
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• Gunmen kill one boy and kidnap at least 40 people at Nigerian school

  17-02-2021 16:52 via independent.co.uk
  
  Attackers tied up children in country where jihadists fighting to establish Islamic state
  
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• US Covid vaccine shipments face ‘widespread delays’ because of winter storm

  17-02-2021 16:38 via independent.co.uk
  
  One person said the delay in receiving the vaccine could be “life and death” for others who have to go to work in person
  
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• ‘I’m converting Silicon Valley money into forests’: Ex-Reddit CEO reinvents himself as climate warrior to plant a trillion trees

  17-02-2021 15:36 via independent.co.uk
  
  Yishan Wong, the former Reddit CEO who sensationally quit Silicon Valley in 2014, has resurfaced with a plan to ‘reverse climate change’
  
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• Who is Priya Ramani and what is the India MeToo case about?

  17-02-2021 15:23 via independent.co.uk
  
  ‘Me – the victim – had to stand up in court as the accused’, says Ramani after the verdict
  
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• Texas Mayor who told residents he owed them 'nothing' after storm power outage has resigned

  17-02-2021 15:23 via independent.co.uk
  
  The mayor of a Texas town that told residents he owed them “nothing” as winter storms left millions across the state without power in single digit temperatures has resigned.
  
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• ‘Stark rise’ in abuse and hate speech directed at LGBT+ people across Europe, report warns

  17-02-2021 14:57 via independent.co.uk
  
  Progress in parts of the continent often ‘lagging, stagnant or backsliding’
  
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• Mass testing still a vital tool in Covid efforts despite UK vaccine success

  17-02-2021 14:55
  
  Analysis: Operation Moonshot rhetoric has been toned down but tests will help spot variants Coronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageWhen the government’s Operation Moonshot plans for mass testing of the population for Covid-19 were first revealed, the intention was to use that as the route out of perpetual cycles of lockdown.It was described as a £100bn-plus endeavour, with resources likened to the Manhattan Project, the top-secret wartime endeavour led by t
  
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• Woman and girl killed heating home with car in Texas storm

  17-02-2021 14:35 via independent.co.uk
  
  Almost three million customers still suffering power outages in state
  
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