On Wednesday, Carrie Lam, the chief executive of Hong Kong, announced that her government will officially withdraw a proposed bill that would have allowed China to extradite accused criminals from Hong Kong to be tried under the mainland's criminal justice system. This was one of the five demands of the protesters, sometimes numbering in the millions, who have filled downtown streets since early this June.
"The government will fully withdraw the bill in order to fully allay public concerns," Lam said in a televised announcement. Lam also agree
As the slow-moving tropical cyclone known as Hurricane Dorian finally cleared the Bahamas yesterday, the level of destruction left in its wake began to emerge. Dorian made its initial landfall as a Category 5 hurricane in the Abaco Islands on Sunday. Its wind speeds reached 185 mph (~295 km/h), tied for the strongest sustained winds at landfalling on record, according to the National Hurricane Center.
After landfall, the speed at which Dorian moved slowed down dramatically, resulting in a very long stay over the island of Grand Bahama. In a th
A deadly boat fire earlier this week near Santa Cruz Island off the coast of California, United States, resulted in the death of all 33 passengers. The boat, Conception, which caught fire overnight in open seas, carried 33 passengers and six crew members. Five people, who were all crew, were rescued while the rest are presumed dead.
The Conception was a 75 ft (~23 m) long commercial boat on a three-day voyage for underwater diving with Monday being the Labor Day holiday. The fire started some time after 3 a.m. local time {1000 UTC) Monday. "T
Leon van Biljon, owner of Mahala View Lion Lodge near Pretoria, South Africa, was killed by his lions on Tuesday. Van Biljon, reportedly often referred to as "The Lion Man", had been in the lions' area attempting to mend a fence at the time, according to local news media.
Mahala View Lion Lodge formerly billed itself as home to three lions: Rambo, Katryn and Nakita. It is one of over two hundred lion lodges in South Africa, which collectively house and breed more than six thousand lions, scientists report, a population larger than that of wild
Yesterday, what organizers estimated at 1.7 million Hongkongers, about a quarter of the city's population, marched from downtown Victoria Park toward the Central district, despite both pouring rain and police disapproval in the eleventh week of pro-Democracy protests against Chinese government encroachment on Hong Kong's rights and freedoms.
The Civil Human Rights Front had sent the police a plan for yesterday's march, which they rejected, approving only a gathering in Victoria Park.
Protesters started at the park, Causeway Bay, and Tin Hau e
On Wednesday, the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico issued a ruling finding in favor of a lawsuit filed by the Puerto Rico Senate on Sunday against Pedro Pierluisi over his claim to the governorship. Pierluisi was sworn in last week following the August 2 resignation of Governor Ricardo Rosselló Nevares due to a texting scandal. Following the ruling, Secretary of Justice Wanda Vázquez Garced was sworn in as Puerto Rico's governor at 5:00 p.m. (2100 UTC) in the Supreme Court.
The opinion of the Court, released on Wednesday, read in part,
Governor
Ricardo Rosselló Nevares, Puerto Rico's governor, announced his resignation shortly before midnight Wednesday night in an internet video broadcast to the U.S. island territory. Rosselló said he is to leave office next month on August 2 at 5 p.m. local time (2100 UTC). His announcement followed two weeks of protests in the capital, San Juan, over offensive messages about public officials and others.
In his resignation speech, Rosselló said,
Protesters called for Rosselló's resignation after revelations he and his staffers sent anti-homosexual
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Early Saturday morning, somewhat after midnight, police in Clairton, Pennsylvania, in the eastern United States, responded to multiple reports of a shooting at a graduation party. Police said over a hundred people attended the party, located in Allegheny County, four of whom were injured in the shooting
At 4:42 local time on Saturday (2024 Friday, UTC), an earthquake struck Surigao del Sur, Philippines, injuring at least 25 people and damaging churches, houses, and other infrastructure, according to Philippine officials.
Governor Alexander Pimentel told CNN Philippines the towns damaged were primarily Carrascal, Cantilan, Madrid, Carmen, Lanuza, and Cortes.
According to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs), the epicenter was located roughly nine kilometers (about six miles) east of Carrascal, 73 km (45 miles) nor
On Friday, on Route 2 in Randolph, New Hampshire, United States, a pickup truck and a group of ten motorcycles collided, the truck catching fire in the process. The incident left seven motorcyclists dead; the official cause of death reportedly was "blunt trauma." The victims were reportedly members and supporters of the motorcycle club Marine JarHeads MC, which includes both veterans of the United States Marines and their spouses.
According to Coös County Attorney John McCormick on Saturday, the truck driver was identified as commercial drive
On Sunday, Polish leader Jarosław Kaczyński of the conservative publicly declared intent to impose stricter punishment for child sexual abuse. Kaczyński said the party was ready with amendments to the penal code for sentencing up to 30-year prison terms for child sexual abuse.
Presently, sexually abusing minors below the age of fifteen can carry a sentence up to twelve years in Polish jurisdiction. Kaczyński said, "We prepared changes to the penal code meaning this crime will be punished very severely [...] there will be no suspended senten
On Thursday, Pope Francis announced new church law to mandate reporting sexual abuses to the church authorities. Per the decree signed by the leader of Roman Catholic Christianity, priests and nuns of the Catholic churches are expected to notify the higher church authorities, as a step to act on sexual abuse and its cover-up happening in the churches.
In February, Catholic bishops from around the world attended a summit in Rome, overseen by the Pope, regarding sexual abuse by the clergy in the churches and the congregations. During the summi
