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Why Elon Musks SpaceX launch is utterly depressing | Nathan Robinson

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Elon Musk is right: silly and fun things are important. But some of them are an indefensible waste of resources Elon Musk Why Elon Musks SpaceX launch is utterly depressing Nathan Robinson Elon Musk is right: silly and fun things are important. But some of them are an indefensible waste of resources Wed 7 Feb 2018 11.04EST Share on Twitter View more sharing options Share on Pinterest Share on Google+ Share on Messenger Close Play Video 1:39 80 people were killed by government airstrikes. Meanwhile, in Florida, Elon Musk fired…

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North Korea Signals Olympics Truce, Seeks Talks With Seoul

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North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called for urgent talks with South Korea to make the Winter Olympics next month a success even while repeating claims that he could strike the U.S. with a nuclear bomb if necessary. In an annual New Year’s day speech, Kim said that “we sincerely hope the games will be successful.” He said that both Koreas should seek to resolve problems among themselves rather than seek help from outside of the region. “It’s about time that the North and the South sit down and seriously…

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Kim Jong Un Says Nuclear Button to Hit U.S. Always on My Desk

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Kim Jong Un repeated claims that he could hit the U.S. with a nuclear weapon, saying that its deterrent is “irreversible” and would prevent President Donald Trump from starting a war. Kim also said he planned to send a delegation to the Winter Olympics in South Korea next month, Yonhap News reported, even as he called for mass production of nuclear warheads. South Korean television stations stopped broadcasting the speech before it ended. “It’s reality, not a threat, that the nuclear button is always on my desk,” Kim said in…

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‘This is EPIC’: Trump threatens to cut off financial aid to UN members over Jerusalem vote

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Ambassador Nikki Haley has already put the United Nations on notice that “the U.S. will be taking names” when the UN votes Thursday on a resolution condemning the Trump administration’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. On Wednesday, President Donald Trump sweetened the pot, telling reporters that the U.S. just might withhold foreign aid from countries that vote in favor of the resolution and against the U.S. Trump threatens to cut aid to countries that oppose his Jerusalem decision: 'Let them vote against us. We'll save a…

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Haley Warns UN That Trump Is Watching Jerusalem Votes

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Nikki Haley has a warning for her fellow UN ambassadors ahead of a key vote on Jerusalem this week: Read a QuickTake Q&A on the controversy over Jerusalem’s status “I liked the message that Nikki sent yesterday at the United Nations to all of those nations that take our money and then they vote against us in the Security Council, they vote against us potentially at the assembly,” Trump said. “They take hundreds of millions of dollars and even billions of dollars and then they vote against us. Well we’re…

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US outnumbered 14 to 1 as it vetoes UN vote on status of Jerusalem

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Nikki Haley furious over resolution, describing it as an insult and saying the US wont be told where it can put its embassy A UN security council resolution calling for the withdrawal of Donald Trumps recognition of Jerusalem as Israels capital has been backed by every council member except the US, which used its veto. The unanimity of the rest of the council was a stark rebuke to the Trump administration over Israeland the Palestinians, none is as sensitive as the status of Jerusalem. The holy city has been at…

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Two Palestinians shot dead and one critical in riots after Trump speech

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Palestinian worshippers and Israeli troops clash as Muslims protest against Donald Trumps recognition of Jerusalem as Israels capital Two Palestinians have been shot dead in Gaza by the Israeli army, the first people killed in clashes that began after Donald Trump recognised Jerusalem as Israels capital. Palestinian protesters clashed with Israeli troops across the West Bank as worshippers throughout the Muslim world took to the streets after the weekly Friday midday prayers to vent their fury at Trumps decision. A third man was in a critical condition after being shot…

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North Korea Warns That Nuclear War Could Break Out Any Moment

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North Korea warned that a nuclear war “may break out any moment” as the U.S. and South Korea began one of the largest joint naval drills off both the east and west coasts of the peninsula. Kim In Ryong, North Korea’s deputy ambassador to the United Nations, said on Monday that his nation had become a “full-fledged nuclear power which possesses the delivery means of various ranges” and warned that “the entire U.S. mainland is within our firing range.” He also called North Korea “a responsible nuclear state.” “As long…

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Tillerson Says U.S. Talking With North Korea on Nuke Program

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The U.S. is communicating with North Korea about its nuclear program and testing Pyongyang’s appetite for negotiations, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said in the first public acknowledgment by a senior administration official of direct contact on the matter. A State Department spokeswoman later tamped down prospects for a breakthrough in the tense relations between Washington and Pyongyang. Tillerson, speaking to reporters on Saturday after meeting Chinese officials in Beijing, insisted that the U.S. would never accept a nuclear-armed North Korea. His remarks offered the clearest glimpse so far into U.S.…

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Marriage equality: UN criticises Australia for refusing same-sex divorce

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United Nations says Australian laws stopping same-sex couples who marry legally overseas from getting divorced violates human rights Australian laws stopping same-sex couples who married overseas from getting divorced violate international human rights obligations, the United Nations has found. The UN human rights committee (UNHRC) ruled an Australian woman, Dr Fiona Kumari Campbell, has been denied equal protection of the law because Australia does not allow her to end her legal, Canadian same-sex marriage. The UNHRC ruling determined that: In the absence of more convincing explanations from the state party,…

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‘Human life is more expendable’: why slavery has never made more money

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New research shows modern slavery is more lucrative than it has ever has been, with sex traffickers reaping the greatest rewards Slave traders today make a return on their investment 25-30 times higher than their 18th- and 19th-century counterparts. Carr Center for Human Rights Policy at Harvard Business School, has calculated that the average profit a victim generates for their exploiters is $3,978 (3,030) a year. Sex trafficking is so disproportionately lucrative compared to other forms of slavery that the average profit for each victim is $36,000. In his book…

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Countries with coral reefs must do more on climate change Unesco

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Custodians of world heritage-listed sites should aim to keep global temperature increases to just 1.5C, UN agency says Countries with responsibility over world heritage-listed coral reefs should adopt ambitious climate change targets, aiming to cut greenhouse gas emissions to levels that would keep global temperature increases to just 1.5C, the UN agency responsible for overseeing world heritage sites has said. At a meeting of Unescos world heritage committee in Krakow, Poland, a decision was adopted that clarified and strengthened the responsibility of countries that have custodianship over world-heritage listed coral…

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Yemen’s cholera death toll rises to 1,500, says World Health Organisation

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War between Saudi-led coalition and Iran-aligned Houthi group makes Yemen a breeding ground for cholera The death toll from a major cholera outbreak in Yemen has risen to 1,500, Nevio Zagaria, the World Health Organisations representative in Yemen, said on Saturday, and appealed for more help to put an end to the epidemic. Yemen has been devastated by a

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Thousands of Mosul civilians trapped in Isis territory as Iraqi forces close in

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For civilians held as human shields by the extremists, supplies have run low and drinking water is scarce Hundreds of civilians fled Mosuls Old City on Friday as on Thursday, Iraqi forces retook the symbolic site where the al-Nuri Mosque once stood. It was from the pulpit of the 12th century mosque, which the militants blew up last week along with its famous leaning minaret, that their leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi had proclaimed the caliphate in 2014. During the evening, al-Abadi announced the full liberation of Mosul was near and…

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Happy Asteroid Day! A conversation about peaceful, global scientific collaboration

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Today is the 3rd annual Asteroid Day, and the first to be presented under the auspices of the United Nations, with live global broadcasts raising awareness about asteroids Today, more than 1,000 local events in around 200 countries are being organised to celebrate Asteroid Day. Sanctioned by the United Nations in 2016, it is a global day of education to raise awareness about asteroids. In addition to the local events, a day-long broadcast will be transmitted from around the world, with a six-hour live stretch coming from Luxembourg. This is…

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