Corax
President Putin rejects returning to Soviet-era practice of lifelong rulers dying in office without proper succession strategy, earlier said he wants to limit future presidents to two terms in power
World
Iran to send black boxes for forensic analysis in Kiev, memory drives reportedly badly damaged, French forensic team reports they have salvaged key flight data, investigators hope Ukrainian investigation will yield additional insights
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov claims Iranian air defense were spooked by 'at least six' U.S. F-35 fighter jets cruising airspace in the Iranian border area when Ukrainian airliner was shot down, apprehension would explain unusually trigger-happy Iran, information yet to be verified
Britain, France and Germany trigger 2015 international nuclear deal's dispute mechanism and formally accuse Iran of violating terms of agreement, threatens to impose economic sanctions
Russian Prime Minister Medvedev and incumbent government resigns, proceedings reportedly amicable as Putin is given free rein to implement his proposed constitutional overhaul, amendments will bolster sovereignty and authority of parliament, possible ploy to secure future influence when Putin's current term expires
Julian Assange's lawyer tells British court the Wikileaks founder is not getting the time he needs with his legal team to discuss his fight against extradition to the US which has delayed the case
Iran admits blowing Ukrainian passenger aircraft out of the sky, previously claimed that such notions were mere western anti-Iranian propaganda, claims human error was at fault
Pentagon sources tell Newsweek Ukrainian airliner was shot down by Iranian air defence, images surfaced Wednesday showing fragments of Russian-built Tor M-1 missiles found in southwest Teheran suburb, source reckons missile was launched by accident, Civil Aviation Organisation of Iran invites Canada and Sweden to assist in investigations
Western intelligence agencies have found no evidence to suspect Ukraine airliner was shot down according to Canadian source, engine malfunction likely cause, Boeing declines to comment
Ukrainian Boeing 737-800 en route to Kiev falls from sky within minutes of take-off from Khomeini International Airport in Tehran, footage showing plane in flames before crash prompts speculation as to whether the plane was accidentally shot down by Iranian air defence, Iranian state media reports engine failure as cause
Miscellaneous
Hank Azaria says he will no longer voice the Simpsons character Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, decision follows years of debate accusing the character of reinforcing racial stereotypes such as his eight children in an arranged marriage and his job as convenience store owner, unclear if Apu will get a new voice or be dropped from the cartoon
Rare 22-carat Edward VIII gold coin first British coin to sell for GBP 1 million, coin originally from a small trial set collection created when Edward took the throne in 1936 but never publicly released as he abdicated the same year to marry American divorcee Wallis Simpson, coin also unique as Edward preferred to show his left profile and thus broke with the tradition of successive monarch's heads facing in opposite directions
J.R.R. Tolkien's son Christopher dead at 95, drew the Lord of the Rings maps and edited most of his father's posthumous works – also translated legendary sagas such as the Icelandic 13th century Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks which inspired his father to create Middle-earth
Paraplegic South Carolina man Adam Gorlitsky beats the world record for marathon in an exoskeleton suit by completing Charleston Marathon in 33 hours, 50 minutes and 23 seconds, completed the race without taking sleeping breaks and says he's gained a whole new level of respect for the former world record holder Simon Kindleysides who finished the 2018 London Marathon in 36 hours and 46 minutes
Conservative luminary Roger Scruton dies at 75, prolific scholar and thinker who produced works on everything from architecture to theology, was diagnosed with cancer summer of 2019
Montana's Glacier National Park replaces decade-old signs predicting glaciers to be gone by 2020 – park officials stated to have known the glaciers to be intact in 2020 by 2017 when the US Geological Survey forecast model changed, but strict maintenance budgets belated the sign changing
Paul Krugman claims in deleted tweet that his IP-address was compromised to download child pornography, believes it was either a fluke or a deliberate attempt to "QAnon" him, has since backpedalled to say it was probably just a 'scam'
Photographs surface showing Bill Clinton posing with Jeffrey Epstein's former associate Ghislaine Maxwell and sex-slave Chauntae Davies during five-day humanitarian trip to Africa, Kevin Spacey and Chris Tucker reported to have been on the same private jet, ostensible purpose of trip to promote awareness of AIDS and poverty
Media
The Sun launches US edition, tabloid owned by Murdoch family says UK edition has 16 million monthly readers in US, team based in New York City will produce unique content for American readers
Instagram and Facebook remove posts voicing support for Soleimani to comply with US sanctions, Iran's government calls the actions undemocratic and creates portal where removed posts can be submitted
Over 100 CollegeHumor employees laid off when parent company InterActiveCorp cuts its losses, project had been losing money for years, other subsidiaries include Vimeo, Match.com, Tinder and The Daily Beast
Convington Catholic student Nicholas Sandmann wins settlement from CNN in $275 million lawsuit for defamatory assertions about Sandmann's personal convictions, exact settlement figure unknown
Benjamin Netanyahu accidentally refers to Israel as a 'nuclear power' while reading brief on energy policy, quickly corrects himself to say 'energy power'
Google and Apple removes ToTok from app stores after millions of downloads in Middle East, reason thought to be that United Arab Emirates developed the app to spy on its population, security researcher Patrick Wardle says to New York Times that there is a beauty in approach of letting users offer up information instead of hacking them
YouTube updates harassment policy to ban insults based on race, gender and sexual orientation, also prohibits language that "goes too far", creators on platform expect mass censorship of videos and comments
Jimmy Wales launches social network to compete with Facebook, projekt described as reboot of journalism project WikiTribune
Steve Bannon launches radio project from basement of his DC house, War Room: Impeachment to broadcast live every day until senate votes on impeaching Donald Trump, former White House chief strategist thinks president needs more support as threat from Democrats in congress is more serious than most Republicans think
Politics
Slovak Kotlebvci-L'SNS party (Our Slovakia) slated to become second largest party upcoming elections, party promises closed borders, moratorium on muslim immigration and reintroduction of conscription, earlier calls for dissolution of the party not upheld by Slovak supreme court since they did not pose an 'imminent threat' to democracy
Siemens intends to follow through with controversial coal extraction project in Australia, reneging on commitments to placate public furore out of the question according to Siemens Chief Executive Joe Kaeser, Greta Thunberg insists Siemens reconsider their role in the project
Paris demonstrations against Macron's pension overhaul lose momentum as bill is submitted for consideration by the French pension administration, legal retirement age will remain at 62 but full pension cannot be claimed before 64, overhaul part of Macron's pledge to make French labour force more competitive globally, negotiations between unions and Prime Minister Eduoard Philippe scheduled to continue throughout next week, Macron may be forced to make concessions in order to end deadlock
Recent poll finds majority of Americans favour wealth tax on the super rich, support clocks in at 77% and 53% among Democrats and Republicans respectively, tax on income insufficient to forestall growing inequality say respondents
Mounting pressure from U.S. as Britain deliberates final call on Huawei 5G telecom upgrade, deployment would mean reneging on last year's decision to debar Huawei from 'critical' communication infrastructure, Republican Senator Tom Cotton threatens 'significant restrictions' on intelligence-sharing with nations relying on infrastructure provided by adversaries of the United States
Chinese career politician Luo Huining appointed new head of China's Hong Kong liaison office, predecessor Wang Zhimin ousted for his failure to anticipate public outcry in wake of extradition bill, Huining revered as stickler for Communist Party dogma, appointment is swipe at Zhimin and not harbinger of new policy according to analysts, Huining hopes Hong Kong returns to the 'right path'
Emmanuel Macron to broker pension deal with unions, bill to be presented by end of month and voted on this summer, plan would streamline 42 different pension schemes into a single one, hard-left union CGT calls for disruption of oil depots and refinieries on account of raising pension eligibility from 62 to 64, majority of French citizens support protests according to recent poll
Trump vows to add prayer to public school curriculum at evangelical rally, seizes the eaves of the podium to the sound of gospel music blaring from speakers, affirming 'society without religion cannot prosper' and that Democrats are waging war against religion, possible attempt to reconsolidate evangelical voting bloc in wake of caustic editorial excoriating Trump's 'immoral character' in Christianity Today
Impeachment of Donald Trump gridlocked as senators wrangle about witness proceedings, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer calls the Republican Majority decision to call witnesses 'mid-trial' a PR ploy designed to accuse Democrats of '[dragging] the whole affair out' as more witnesses are called, Republican Senate Majority Leader McConnell rejoins that such a strategy would follow the Clinton impeachment proceedings to a tee, Nancy Pelosi yet to submit articles of impeachment to the Senate
Opinion
Mike Adams: Anti-Soleimani jingoism is moot as long as Big Tech is allowed to censor anti-establishmentarian voices online, securing domestic freedom on the altar of the First Amendment is unconstitutional and immoral
Thomas Luongo: Iran jingoism direct consequence of Trump's cowardly decision to leave the JCPOA Iran Nuclear Agreement, US withdrawal gave Democrats and Neocons leave to vie for power in the Senate under the auspices of Pelosi's sham impeachment, Qassem took great strides in neutering ISIS and killing him is a political ploy to secure acquittal in impeachment case
Dominic Cummings: Brexit is the harbinger of the new civil servant, Downing Street should be staffed by exceptionally competent mavericks, with stellar qualifications in mathematics, software-development and economics, quirky misfit geniuses welcome too, goal is maximising performance and rendering myself largely redundant, also looking to find and exploit 'very high leverage ideas'
Douglas Murray: The true divide in Britain is between the ugly, intolerant, metropolitan Left and the rest of us, after the historic defeat the out of touch Labour still shouts its radical Left-wing policies are incredibly popular, ignoring the result just like after the 2016 referendum when they derided the public as thick and tried to bypass their will
Peter Hitchens: The Conservatives are the country's new main Left-wing party, with its intolerant political correctness, continued war on married family, useless egalitarian state schools, pledge of carbon-neutrality which destroys efficient power generation, and increased NHS funding as if the budget is its only issue – Boris Johnson has with "The People’s Government" engineered a reverse takeover of the Tories by New Labour, saving the party by sacrificing the country
Curtis Yarvin: All revolutions spring from an aesthetic vision so powerful that it shames and humbles legacy elites, Bronze Age Pervert is the first major writer of our time who understands this and takes the timeless stance which can lead to the Overton bubble bursting
David Winder: The UK parliament Benn Act aimed to rule out a No Deal Brexit is in violation of EU law and Article 50, which states Britain must leave on October 31 with or without a deal, meaning Boris Johnson can guide UK out relying on EU law while exposing how Sovereignty of Parliament has been undermined by EU membership
Curtis Yarvin: Imagine two types of Orwellian regimes ruling by shaping public opinion — one centralized designing its one story relying on repression, like a totalitarian dictatorship, the other a decentralized two-story state, occupying people with asking which is true, where a third outside story risk the two to merge calling for the need of repression, like the modern western democracy
Activist in Winchester, Massachusetts, causes confusion by posting messages stating that "Islam is right about women" in public areas, citizens unsure whether the message is sexist or Islamophobic
Robert P. Murphy: Plastic bans provide no benefit as OECD countries contribute less than 5% of the plastic waste from land sources and the bans come with unintended consequences such as increased sales of environmentally worse paper and cotton bags, costs are however real with increased spread of diseases and less convenience
Europe
Slovak Kotlebvci-L'SNS party (Our Slovakia) slated to become second largest party upcoming elections, party promises closed borders, moratorium on muslim immigration and reintroduction of conscription, earlier calls for dissolution of the party not upheld by Slovak supreme court since they did not pose an 'imminent threat' to democracy
Siemens intends to follow through with controversial coal extraction project in Australia, reneging on commitments to placate public furore out of the question according to Siemens Chief Executive Joe Kaeser, Greta Thunberg insists Siemens reconsider their role in the project
Paris demonstrations against Macron's pension overhaul lose momentum as bill is submitted for consideration by the French pension administration, legal retirement age will remain at 62 but full pension cannot be claimed before 64, overhaul part of Macron's pledge to make French labour force more competitive globally, negotiations between unions and Prime Minister Eduoard Philippe scheduled to continue throughout next week, Macron may be forced to make concessions in order to end deadlock
Recent poll finds majority of Americans favour wealth tax on the super rich, support clocks in at 77% and 53% among Democrats and Republicans respectively, tax on income insufficient to forestall growing inequality say respondents
Mounting pressure from U.S. as Britain deliberates final call on Huawei 5G telecom upgrade, deployment would mean reneging on last year's decision to debar Huawei from 'critical' communication infrastructure, Republican Senator Tom Cotton threatens 'significant restrictions' on intelligence-sharing with nations relying on infrastructure provided by adversaries of the United States
Chinese career politician Luo Huining appointed new head of China's Hong Kong liaison office, predecessor Wang Zhimin ousted for his failure to anticipate public outcry in wake of extradition bill, Huining revered as stickler for Communist Party dogma, appointment is swipe at Zhimin and not harbinger of new policy according to analysts, Huining hopes Hong Kong returns to the 'right path'
Emmanuel Macron to broker pension deal with unions, bill to be presented by end of month and voted on this summer, plan would streamline 42 different pension schemes into a single one, hard-left union CGT calls for disruption of oil depots and refinieries on account of raising pension eligibility from 62 to 64, majority of French citizens support protests according to recent poll
Trump vows to add prayer to public school curriculum at evangelical rally, seizes the eaves of the podium to the sound of gospel music blaring from speakers, affirming 'society without religion cannot prosper' and that Democrats are waging war against religion, possible attempt to reconsolidate evangelical voting bloc in wake of caustic editorial excoriating Trump's 'immoral character' in Christianity Today
Impeachment of Donald Trump gridlocked as senators wrangle about witness proceedings, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer calls the Republican Majority decision to call witnesses 'mid-trial' a PR ploy designed to accuse Democrats of '[dragging] the whole affair out' as more witnesses are called, Republican Senate Majority Leader McConnell rejoins that such a strategy would follow the Clinton impeachment proceedings to a tee, Nancy Pelosi yet to submit articles of impeachment to the Senate
North America
Prosecutor drafts lawsuit claiming Jeffrey Epstein held underage girls captive on his private island in the US Virgin archipelago, lawsuit includes witness accounts of how a 15-year old girl tried to swim to freedom, only to be caught and have her passport confiscated
Dallas man shoots and kills one of three armed robbers storming a social gathering, other two suspects at large, the 25-year-old licensed handgun carrier was released after providing statement to the police
Steve Bannon insists Trump postpone State of the Union address until after impeachment acquittal, claims Nancy Pelosi's dithering is deliberate strategy designed to make trial and speech coincide, Bannon calls impeachment proceedings a 'coup' and the 'crime of the century'
Surveillance video of Jeffrey Epstein's cell during his first alleged suicide attempt in July deleted since at least August as the jail listed the wrong cell number connected to the government request to record and save video from outside the cell
Judge orders Google to turn over a year's worth of Jussie Smollett's emails, messages and location data to special prosecution, data will be used to establish whether there were grounds for dismissing all criminal charges
Milk producer Borden Dairy files for bankruptcy, following in footsteps of competitor Dean Foods two months ago, reasons include lower milk consumption, more expensive raw milk and retail chains starting their own dairy processing plants
Butt naked Florida man high on methamphetamine resists arrest by lashing out against police dog Casper, biting his ear between bouts of maniacal laughter and shrill bird noises, Casper finally extricates himself and exacts revenge by biting the man in the head
Latin America
Guatemala's new President Alejandro Giammattei cuts diplomatic ties with Venezuela and orders closing of the Caracas embassy, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Rodríguez accuses Giammattei of bowing down to Donald Trump and says that "his government will surely become another bad joke"
Trinidad and Tobago to decriminalize cannabis as part of strategy to fight crime, says Prime Minister while also urging citizens to respect women, after government fails to halt rising crime trend
US impose sanctions on seven Venezuelan government officials including Luis Parra who was declare head of parliament by Nicolas Maduro's Socialist Party which led a bid to wrest control from opposition leader Juan Guaidó
Christmas Eve arson forest fire spread to Chilean city of Valparaíso destroying more than 80 homes and prompting mass evacuations, blaze fed by high summer temperatures and strong winds
President Bolsonaro says God saved his life after he was stabbed in the stomach last year and he thinks it was God's will to make him president, reassures the public he's in good state of health after being examined for skin cancer
President Bolsonaro issues decree allowing tens of thousands of small farmers to gain title to land they cultivate, making good on campaign promise, applies to land occupied by farmers before May 2014 and up to 2,500 hectares
Asia
Facebook translate Xi Jinping's name to "Mr S***hole" from Burmese on state counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi's official page during Chinese president's state visit to Myanmar, the social media platform apologised after correcting the error
Six killed as sinkhole swallows bus in Qinghai province capital of Xining – several sinkholes reported in China in recent years, often blamed on poor construction works and rapid development
10,000 Australian camels to be shot using helicopters, the drought has pushed them closer to the cities, threatening local water supplies and infrastructure, the species was brought to the country in the 1800s to aid in exploration and the wild population is estimated to be the world's largest
China replaces head of its Hong Kong Liaison Office Wang Zhimin with 65-year-old Luo Huining, Wang had held the post since 2017, the Liaison Office serves as Beijing's platform for influence in the city and has come in for criticism for misjudging the situation
Traditional attire en vogue in China once more, ornate han-Chinese robes and traditional hairstyles inspire 2 million new 'hanfu' devotees
Survey of 5000 participants finds that 80% of South Koreans aged 19 to 34 view their country as 'a hell' and that 75% would emigrate if given the opportunity, survey also gauges self-perception, finding that 30% of young women and 34% of young men view themselves as 'losers'
Hong Kong police arrest dozen protesters in shopping mall near border with mainland China, protesters marched through a mall in Sheung Shui chanting Go back to China, traders buy duty-free goods in Hong Kong and sell them on the mainland
Shipwreck containing five corpses and two human heads washed ashore on Japan's Sado Island, the vessel had Korean lettering painted on its side and is belived to hail from North Korea, corpses were partially skeletonised
MIDDLE EAST
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei defends Revolutionary Guards in his first Friday prayers sermon in eight years, tells worshippers to take fight beyond Iran’s borders while footage from anti government demonstrations show protesters being beaten
Iranian anti-regime protests enter third day after Tehran admits it shot down passenger jet, with celebrities including film director Masoud Kimiai and singer Alireza Assar turning on regime and two state TV hosts quit over false reporting on crash
Israeli police officers impersonating Palestine technicians assaulted by teenagers in the illegal Jewish settlement Bat Ayin, RT reports recent uptick in anti-Palestinian violence in the region, officers only sustained light injuries
Iran restricts mobile internet access in several provinces, Iranian news agency reports, ahead of new protests expected to kick off on Thursday following calls for demonstrations on social media, unrest in November led to 1,500 people being killed in less than two weeks
Israel will see an unprecedented third general election within a year on March 2 after failing to establish a new government, comes as talks between Benjamin Netanyahu and his centrist rival Benny Gantz broke down ahead of deadline
Africa
Former Zimbabwean Cabinet Minister Jonathan Mayo disappointed as his Mazowe farm is expropriated – Moyo who went into exile after Mugabe's ouster in 2017 calls the decision politically motivated, says he has invested USD 120,000 into the farm which was then valued to USD 723,000, that the farm is one of the country's most productive and that he acquired the farm from the State through a transparent process
Catholic Church in the Central African Republic celebrates 125 years since evangelisation, bishopric cautiously optimistic, clouds on the horizon include waxing influence of Freemasons and Rosicrucianism, no time for complacency
Lesotho police searches for Prime Minister Thomas Thabane's wife Maesaiah for questioning in 2017 killing of the PM's ex-wife, the couple got married two months after the murder
Senegalese artist Akon finalizes agreement for own "Akon City" to be built on 2,000-acre land gifted to him by President Macky Sall, the city that will be situated a five-minute from the country's new international airport is planned to trade only in the digital cash currency AKoin
More than 30 killed and at least 90 injured in car bombing at Ex-Control checkpoint in Somalian capital Mogadishu, children and university students among the casualties, Al Qaeda-linked Islamist group al Shabaab regularly carries out similar attacks
35 civilians including 31 women killed by Islamist terrorists in attack on military outpost in Burkina Faso, 80 jihadists and seven of the security forces also killed in clash
Zimbabwe's late former president Robert Mugabe left USD 10 million in foreign currency account at local bank, 10 cars, a two-hectare farming plot in Zvimba and two houses in posh suburbs of Harare, but left no will
Economy
Former Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn flees Japan where he faces trial over allegations of financial misconduct, claims he left for Lebanon to escape injustice, was released on bail in April under conditions barring him from travelling abroad and his legal team still has his passport
Jyske Bank in Denmark offering customers 10-year mortgages at -0.5% interest rate, Nordea already offers 20-year mortgage with 0% interest, reflects the uncertainty in world economy and investors' fear of a crash in the near future which is why they rather take a small loss in the long run
US Department of the Treasury designates China as currency manipulator, Secretary Steven Mnuchin to engage with the International Monetary Fund to eliminate the unfair competitive advantage created by China’s latest actions
US Federal Reserve lowers interest rates by 0.25% to 2.00% and signals readiness for further cuts, first rate cut since 2008
Iran's government approves plan to remove four zeroes from currency and rename it "toman" to simplify transactions, current rial trades at around 42,000 to the USD officially and 120,000 on the street, parliament to give final approval
Boeing takes USD 4.9 billion hit to compensate its customers for 737 Max aircraft schedule disruptions and aircraft delivery delays, says it hopes aircraft will return to service in fourth quarter of 2019, FAA says it follows a process, rather than a prescribed timeline, still Boeing's share price rose 4%
Technology
Separate computer network disconnected from Internet successfully tested in Russia according to its government, sovereign Runet goal with similarities to solutions used in China and Iran
Nasa and Lockheed Martin develop 1,770kph supersonic passenger jet nicknamed "Son of Concorde", X-59 QueSST designed to fly at Mach 1.4 at an altitude of 16.8 km and shaped to reduce sonic booms enabling it to travel over land, first test flight planned for 2021 or 2022
Chile protestors take down police drone with laser pointers, affect drone cameras which makes operator lose control and disables autonomous steering features
Richard Stallman, legendary programmer and activist for free software, resigns from positions at MIT and Free Software Foundation after making controversial comments about Jeffrey Epstein on mailing list
Toyota aims for future Prius to be self-sufficient via solar panels, prototype covered with panels adds 56 km to car's range
Security researcher decides on "NULL" for personalized number plate, hoping to be invisible to DMV ticketing system, instead every ticket without a real plate is sent to him once NULL was associated with his address, earning him a total of USD 12,049 worth of tickets
Science
Studies show ostensibly non-psychoactive medications are more deleterious to psychological wellbeing than previously thought, statins, paracetamol and Parkinson's medicines found to exacerbate aggression, dull empathy and promote high-risk behaviour respectively, cause for great concern in hyper-medicated West
Scientists pit doctors against AI in identifying breast cancer, neural networks consistently outperform medical professionals studying mammograms, inability to experience fatigue believed to be main advantage over humans, Google Health and Imperial College London publish findings in Nature
MRI scans before and after nine polar explorers spent 14 months in Antarctica in isolation revealed areas of brain with roles in learning, emotions and memory shrunk during trip while people staying home instead saw some growth, while levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor decreased 45 %
70 research teams analyzed same set of fMRI data but came to very different conclusions, no two teams chose identical workflows for analysis, likelihood of significant findings systematically overestimated
Private property decisive factor behind the neolithic revolution, farming initially no more productive than hunting and gathering but facilitated the application of property rights, according to study published in the Journal of Political Economy
The Nobel Prize of Chemistry jointly awarded to John B. Goodenough, M. Stanley Whittingham and Akira Yoshino for the development of lithium-ion batteries [pdf]
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine jointly awarded to William G. Kaelin Jr., Sir Peter J. Ratcliffe and Gregg L. Semenza for their discoveries of how cells sense and adapt to oxygen availability
Russian space agency Roscosmos report that they have found the cause of a hole in the International Space Station but refuse to share the information, the hole appeared last year in the Soyuz MS-09 spacecraft that was docked to the station, caused loss of air pressure and was repaired using epoxy, gauze and tape
DO YOU WANT MORE?
Join Corax Premium and get full access to the archive with 61528 links!