WASHINGTON President Joe Biden on Wednesday renewed his call for a ban on assault weapons as he and

Scientists suffering insults and mass-spam are abandoning Twitter for alternative social networks as hostile climate-change denialism surges on the platform...

Authorities in eastern Switzerland have ordered residents of the tiny village of Brienz to evacuate by Friday evening because geology experts say a mass of 2 million cubic meters of Alpine rock looming overhead could break loose

Nicki Minaj allegedly approached a female security guard and 'made her cry' as a concert-goer broke through the security barricade

SIDNEY, Ohio--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug 9, 2023--

Serbia's populist leader has sharply denounced opposition plans to block a key bridge and motorway in Belgrade on Friday to press their demands in the wake of last week's mass shootings in the Balkan country that left 17 people dead, including many children. President Aleksandar Vucic said that the planned opposition protest later on Friday amounted to “violence in politics” and “harassment” of citizens. But, Vucic said, police would not intervene to prevent it “unless people's lives are in danger.” “What gives them the right to block other people's normal lives?” said Vucic, adding that the opposition were “abusing the tragedy” following the shootings that deeply rattled the nation and triggered calls for change. “They are harassing citizens and not allowing them to travel,” Vucic insisted. “But we don't like to beat protesters, like France and Germany do.” The rally on Friday comes a week after thousands marched in Belgrade. They were demanding the resignations of government ministers and the withdrawal of broadcast licenses for two private TV stations which are close to the state and promote violence. They often host convicted war criminals and crime figures on their programs. Protests with the same demands have been held in the past week in various cities and towns in Serbia. Opposition officials said the bridge blockade in Belgrade on Friday evening would last for two hours. The two shootings happened in just two days, leaving 17 people dead and 21 wounded. A 13-year-old boy last Wednesday used his father's gun to open fire at his school in central Belgrade, while a day later a 20-year-old randomly fired at people in a rural area south of Belgrade. Opposition parties have said that Vucic's populist government has fueled intolerance and hate speech, while taking hold of all institutions, thus stoking divisions. Vucic has denied this. He has called his own rally for May 26 in Belgrade that he said would be the “biggest ever.” “We do not organize spontaneous rallies in order to play with people's emotions,” Vucic insisted. “Ours will be a rally of unity, when we will announce important political decisions.” Vucic also told reporters that citizens had handed in more than 9,000 weapons since police announced a one-month amnesty for people to surrender unregistered guns and ammunition or face possible prison sentences after that period. Serbia is estimated to be among the top countries in Europe when it comes to the number of guns per capita, many of them left over from the wars in the 1990s. Other anti-gun measures after the shootings include a ban on new gun licenses, stricter controls on gun owners and shooting ranges, and tougher punishments for the illegal possession of weapons. Read More Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide

Typhoon Doksuri weakened into a tropical storm late night Friday after bringing heavy rain and winds that left more than a million people without power in southern China

The corporate parent of Facebook and Instagram plans to open a digital gateway for kids as young as 10 years old to enter virtual reality through the Meta Quest headset, despite rising concerns about children spending too much time on social media

The International Atomic Energy Agency said the plant's operations were unaffected.

US pharmacy chain Rite Aid filed for bankruptcy Sunday, the company said, after suffering declining sales and legal threats over its alleged...

Donald Trump’s $475m defamation lawsuit against CNN has been thrown out by a federal judge. The former president made the assertion that the news network’s description of his election fraud claims as the “big lie” connected him to Adolf Hitler, the leader of Nazi Germany, Reuters noted. US Judge Raag Singhal at the federal court in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, was nominated by Mr Trump in 2019. In a Friday night ruling, he said CNN’s statements were opinion and not fact, meaning that they cannot be the subject of a defamation claim. “CNN’s statements while repugnant, were not, as a matter of law, defamatory,” he wrote. A Trump spokesperson told Reuters: “We agree with the highly respected judge’s findings that CNN’s statements about President Trump are repugnant. CNN will be held responsible for their wrongful mistreatment of President Trump and his supporters.” The spokesperson didn’t indicate if Mr Trump intends to appeal the ruling. The lawsuit was filed in October of last year, citing five times that CNN published stories or broadcast comments calling Mr Trump’s claims that the 2020 election was fraudulent the “big lie” – a phrase also linked to Nazi Germany’s propaganda. The legal filing argued that it was “a deliberate effort by CNN to propagate to its audience an association between the plaintiff and one of the most repugnant figures in modern history”. The judge wrote that the use of the phrase “big lie” isn’t sufficient to establish a connection. “No reasonable viewer could (or should) plausibly make that reference,” he wrote. Since the start of his first campaign in 2015, Mr Trump has repeatedly attacked the media, with CNN being one of his main targets. In the face of indictments on both the state and federal levels, Mr Trump remains the favourite to win the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. Read More Trump indictment – live: GOP candidate booed off stage for criticising Trump as ex-president slams DeSantis ‘Poetic’: Trump takes stage in Iowa to song about going to prison GOP White House hopeful Will Hurd booed off stage for saying Trump is running to stay out of prison ‘Poetic’: Trump takes stage in Iowa to song about going to prison Ex-Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon joins push for third-party presidential bid as Democrats try to stop it Trump’s ‘Hitler’ lawsuit against CNN thrown out ahead of rally in Pennsylvania - live

Jessica Watkins, an Army veteran and member of the far-right Oath Keepers, was sentenced Friday to 8.5 years in prison for participating in a plot to disrupt the certification of the 2020 presidential election culminating in the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol.