Jenin: Palestinian boy killed during Israeli assault was unarmed - family
It comes after videos emerge of the moment the 16-year-old was killed during an Israeli assault.
2023-07-11 07:15
What are the allegations in E Jean Carroll’s rape case against Donald Trump?
The encounter, as recalled by E Jean Carroll, was friendly at first. Ms Carroll, then a magazine feature writer and TV host, bumped into Donald Trump in the upmarket New York department store Bergdorf Goodman. As Ms Carroll wrote in her 2019 memoir What Do We Need Men For?, he recognised her as “that advice lady”. She knew him as “that real-estate tycoon”. Mr Trump supposedly told her that he was there to buy a gift for “a girl”, and asked for help to choose an appropriate item. She placed the incident in either late 1995 or early 1996, when the future president was married to Marla Maples. The pair made their way to the lingerie section, where Mr Trump suggested that she try on a lace bodysuit. She claims she jokingly said that he should try it on instead. As they reached the dressing rooms, Ms Carroll alleges that Mr Trump shoved her against a wall, put his hands underneath her dress and pulled down her tights. He then unzipped his pants, and “forcing his fingers around my private area, thrusts his penis halfway — or completely, I’m not certain — inside me”, she wrote. A “colossal struggle” ensued, she said, and Ms Carroll eventually pushed him away and ran out of the dressing room. The episode was over in under three minutes, she wrote. After the allegations were first made in a book excerpt in New York magazine in June 2019, Mr Trump angrily denied it. "I've never met this person in my life. She is trying to sell a new book — that should indicate her motivation. It should be sold in the fiction section,” he said in an official White House statement that month. Then days later in an interview in the Oval Office with The Hill, Mr Trump went even further. “I’ll say it with great respect: Number one, she’s not my type. Number two, it never happened. It never happened, OK?” Ms Carroll then filed a defamation lawsuit against Mr Trump alleging he had damaged her reputation, substantially harmed her professionally, and caused emotional pain. After writing her Ask E Jean column for Elle magazine for nearly 30 years, the magazine terminated her contract abruptly in December of that year. The magazine denied it was related to Ms Carroll’s allegations. Months after Ms Carroll filed against Mr Trump, the Department of Justice intervened and transferred the case to federal court, arguing that he was immune from prosecution as president at the time of the initial defamation. But the federal court disagreed with the position of the DoJ and allowed discovery in the case to continue. And when the former president failed to have the case dismissed last October, he took to Truth Social to again unleash his denial, and unwittingly at the same time allowed Ms Carroll to file the new defamation claim. In 2022, New York passed the Adult Survivors Act which allowed adult sexual assault survivors one year to sue their alleged abusers. Ms Carroll filed a second lawsuit against Mr Trump for rape and for additional alleged defamatory statements made by him in October 2022 where he called her a “complete con job”. It is this second case for which court proceedings began on 25 April. In a court filing earlier this year, Judge Lewis Kaplan wrote that the central issue in both cases is the same — whether Mr Trump raped Ms Carroll. “If he did not, then Ms Carroll’s sexual assault claim ... and her libel claims in both cases likely would fail. “If he did, then little would remain in either case except perhaps a few minor issues related to Mr Trump’s statements and determination of damages.” Ms Carroll’s attorney Roberta Kaplan said they tried for three years to obtain Mr Trump’s DNA sample to compare it with stains found on the dress she was wearing on the day. After refusing to provide a sample, Mr Trump’s attorneys then made an 11th-hour offer to do so earlier this year. Judge Kaplan rejected the offer. As the case is being tried in civil court, the jury will likely be asked to find whether there is “a preponderance of evidence” to prove Ms Carroll’s claims, rather than the criminal standard of “beyond reasonable doubt”. Over the course of the trial so far, Ms Carroll’s witnesses have included the columnist herself, friends who she spoke to about allegations at the time, mental health experts, and a few of the more than two dozen women who have accused Mr Trump of sexual assault. Ms Carroll took the stand on 26 April, testifying that she and Mr Trump were shopping around the department store at the time when he asked her to try on a piece of lingerie that he was looking to purchase – a blue bodysuit. “He was having a good time, and so was I,” Ms Carroll said, adding that the two were harmlessly flirting with one another. As the two reached the dressing room, Ms Carroll said Mr Trump “shut the door and shoved me up against the wall.” “I was confused. I laughed,” Ms Carroll said. She said she pushed Mr Trump back but he “thurst” her into the wall again. From there, Ms Carroll described how Mr Trump pulled down her tights and inserted his fingers into her vagina. “It was extremely painful,” Ms Carroll recalled emotionally. “It was a horrible feeling. He put his hand inside me and curled his finger. As I sit here today, I can still feel it.” When asked if she screamed for help or told Mr Trump to stop, Ms Carroll said, “I’m not a screamer. I’m a fighter.” Ms Carroll alleges Mr Trump then inserted his penis and began to rape her. “I wonder why I walked in there, to get in that situation... I’m proud to say I got out of there,” Ms Carroll. After the assault, Ms Carroll said she left the department store quickly and called her friend, Lisa Birnbach. Later on, Ms Carroll would tell Carol Martin, an anchorwoman at ABC, about the assault, but did not confide in many others. Ms Carroll said she felt “very stupid” for going into the dressing room. She described how the alleged rape left her “unable to ever have a romantic life again.” Later on, Ms Carroll elaborated on her inability to form and maintain romantic relationships saying that because she was allegedly raped by Mr Trump after flirting with him, it hindered her ability to engage with men. For the defence, Mr Trump’s attorneys initially included him, CNN anchor Anderson Cooper, and several others on their list of potential witnesses. But on 3 May, his lawyers announced that they would not be presenting any witnesses – or a defence case. After the legal teams rested their cases on 4 May, Judge Lewis Kaplan gave Mr Trump until 5pm on 7 May to decide if he was going to testify in the trial. The judge’s comments came after Mr Trump said he would cut his golfing trip to Scotland and Ireland short to “confront” Ms Carroll, but the deadline passed without the Trump legal team filing a motion to include Mr Trump in the proceedings. Ariana Baio contributed to this report Read More Trump misses deadline to testify in E Jean Carroll trial – despite vowing to ‘confront’ case Trump news – live: Trump misses last chance to testify in E Jean Carroll trial as closing arguments begin Who is Natasha Stoynoff? The journalist whose testimony could help bring down Trump
2023-05-08 22:21
Wisconsin GOP weighs moves to sideline elections chief and liberal Supreme Court majority
Wisconsin Republicans, after a string of losses in hotly contested statewide races, are taking steps toward sidelining the state's nonpartisan elections chief and undercutting the new liberal majority on the state Supreme Court.
2023-09-04 19:19
16 people injured after Amtrak passenger train partially derailed in Southern California after hitting vehicle
At least 16 people were injured Wednesday when an Amtrak train collided with a truck blocking the tracks and partially derailed in Southern California, local officials said.
2023-06-29 10:16
Family sues Colorado funeral home where 189 decaying bodies were found over alleged fake ashes
Families have filed a lawsuit against the Colorado funeral home that was allegedly sending families fake ashes and leaving at least 189 loved ones’ bodies to decay in Colorado facility
2023-10-31 07:55
Analysis: John Roberts doesn't want to hear any dissent about his Supreme Court
Chief Justice John Roberts may not be able to control the Supreme Court's current public image and his colleagues' off-bench behavior. But the tactical Roberts fully defined the court's impact on American law in the session that ended Friday.
2023-07-02 12:15
OpenAI staff threaten mass exodus to join ex-CEO Altman
Hundreds of staff at OpenAI threatened to quit the leading artificial intelligence company on Monday and join Microsoft, deepening a crisis triggered by the shock...
2023-11-21 09:57
Chechen warlord Ramzan Kadyrov offers Putin thousands more fighters amid heavy Russian losses in Ukraine
Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov said another 3,000 of his men were ready to join Russia's invasion of Ukraine amid reports of heavy losses for Vladimir Putin's troops in their push to capture an eastern city. Mr Kadyrov, a self-proclaimed "foot soldier" of the Russian president, said his fighters were ready to form new units of the Russian defence ministry and the Russian National Guard forces. His statement comes amid reports of Russian troops suffering “some of the highest” casualties of the conflict so far amid intense fighting in eastern Ukraine. The UK’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) on Monday said Russia was losing an average of 931 men a day this month, largely in the fight for the town of Avdiivka. Until now the heaviest casualties suffered in a month by Russia – according to Ukrainian data – was March this year, with an average of 776 losses per day during the push to capture Bakhmut. "They (the Chechen fighters) have the best equipment and modern weapons," Mr Kadyrov claimed on Telegram. "In addition, the guys are highly combative and very motivated to achieve results," he added. Mr Kadyrov had earlier sent 26,000 fighters to the battlefield since the beginning of Russia's war in Ukraine last year. According to reports, 12,000 were volunteers at that time and 7,000 of them were actively fighting. These claims about Chechen deployments to Ukraine could not be independently verified, and Reuters reported that several Chechen armed formations have fought on the side of Kyiv against Russia since Mr Putin launched his invasion in February last year. Mr Kadyrov also claimed last year to have sent his three teenage sons to fight in Ukraine, saying he wanted them to "show themselves in a real battle". "Soon they will go to the front line and will be on the most difficult sections of the line of contact," he had said in a Telegram post in 2022. Mr Kadyrov enjoys wide leeway from Mr Putin to run Chechnya ruthlessly as his personal fiefdom, but he angered pro-Kremlin hardliners in September by praising his 15-year-old son for beating up an ethnic Russian prisoner in Chechen custody. Mr Kadyrov met the Russian president in September amid speculations over his health, with rumours swirling that he was either dead or in a coma. He later clarified that he was fine and was travelling to a hospital in Moscow to visit a "sick uncle". Earlier this month Mr Kadyrov said that a large group of Russia's former Wagner mercenaries, who had played a prominent role in some of the fiercest fighting in Ukraine before their group fell into disarray after a brief mutiny against the Russian defence establishment, had also started training with special forces from Chechnya. Mr Kadyrov, 47, has mused publicly about handing over power at some point and appears to be actively working to raise the profile of his three teenage sons, the eldest of whom was photographed with Mr Putin in the Kremlin in March.
2023-11-28 14:53
Azerbaijan hails end of Armenian separatists’ advance in Nagorno-Karabakh
Azerbaijan's president on Wednesday hailed the country's restoration to "full sovereignty" over the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region as ethnic Armenian forces agreed to lay down their weapons. Authorities in the Armenian region declared that the local defence force will disarm and withdraw all weaponry under a Russia-mediated ceasefire following the latest bout of fighting in the decades-long separatist conflict. President Ilham Aliyev in a televised address hailed his soldiers, while offering the ethnic Armenians of the Nagorno-Karabakh region prospects of cooperation, reconciliation and joint development. "In just one day, Azerbaijan fulfilled all the tasks set as part of local anti-terrorist measures" and "restored its sovereignty", the president said, adding he now wished to integrate Karabakh's population and turn the region into "paradise". He said Azerbaijan had nothing against Karabakh's Armenian people – "they are our citizens" – but only against their "criminal" separatist leadership. His words appeared aimed at addressing allegations by Armenian leaders that Baku planned to "ethnically cleanse" Karabakh's 120,000-strong Armenian population amid decades of mistrust between the two nations. The Azerbaijan army on Tuesday launched an "anti-terrorist" operation, unleashing an artillery barrage and drone attacks against outnumbered and undersupplied pro-Armenian forces. Nagorno-Karabakh human rights ombudsman Gegham Stepanyan said at least 200 people, including 10 civilians, were killed and more than 400 others were wounded in the fighting. He said earlier that children were among the dead and wounded. Russia and America condemned the “bloodshed” and called for an “immediate” end to hostilities between Azerbaijan and Armenians in the contested region. French president Emmanuel Macron spoke with Mr Aliyev and "condemned Azerbaijan's decision to use force ... at the risk of worsening the humanitarian crisis" and "compromising ongoing efforts to achieve a fair and lasting peace", his office said. Russian peacekeepers in a statement on Thursday said they have taken in about 5,000 Karabakh residents after evacuating them from dangerous areas. Thousands of Armenians also gathered at the airport of the regional capital, Stepanakert, in a bid to flee the conflict. Armenian prime minister Nikol Pashinyan in an address to the nation said the fighting decreased following the truce, emphasizing that Russian peacekeepers in Nagorno-Karabakh are fully responsible for its residents’ security. "If peacekeepers have proposed a peace deal, it means that they completely and without any reservations accepted the responsibility of ensuring the security of Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians, and provide the conditions and the rights for them to live on their land and in their homes safely," he said, according to the Associated Press. Mr Pashinyan, who has previously recognised Azerbaijan's sovereignty over Nagorno-Karabakh, said Armenia wouldn't be drawn into the fighting. He said his government didn't take part in negotiating the deal, but "has taken note" of the decision made by the region's separatist authorities. Protesters rallied in the Armenian capital of Yerevan for a second straight day Wednesday, blocking streets and demanding that authorities defend Armenians in Karabakh. Azerbaijan's move to reclaim control over Nagorno-Karabakh raised concerns that a full-scale war in the region could resume between the two nations, which have been locked in a struggle over Nagorno-Karabakh since a separatist war there ended in 1994. During another war that lasted for six weeks in 2020, Azerbaijan reclaimed broad swaths of Nagorno-Karabakh and adjacent territories that were held for decades by Armenian forces. More than 6,700 people died in the fighting, which ended with a Russian-brokered peace agreement. Moscow deployed about 2,000 peacekeeping troops to the region. Read More Ceasefire agreed after Azerbaijan unleashes military strikes in Nagorno-Karabakh Why new fighting in Azerbaijan's troubled region may herald a new war Nagorno-Karabakh: Fears of full-scale war as Azerbaijan launches attack on Armenian positions The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary The harrowing discovery at centre of The Independent’s new documentary
2023-09-21 13:18
Japanese dog hailed a hero for saving the life of heart attack victim at a riding school
A dog has been hailed as a hero in Japan after she saved the life of a man who was having a heart attack by sounding the alarm with her incessant barking.
2023-05-10 10:49
Stock market today: Asian stocks fall as concerns rise over Israel-Hamas war and high yields
Asian shares have started the week lower, as higher risks of broader conflict in the Middle East cloud market sentiment and bond yields continue to rise
2023-10-23 13:29
Uttarakhand tunnel collapse: Glitches prolong wait for Indians stuck in tunnel
Forty-one workers have been trapped in a tunnel in Uttarakhand state for the past 12 days.
2023-11-24 12:58
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