Non-IT News Thread
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Mila: 'No regrets' for French teen targeted for criticising Islam
A teenager has sparked a national debate about blasphemy in France after an Instagram post calling Islam a "religion of hate".
Mila, 16, posted her comments online after receiving homophobic abuse from a Muslim commenter. She received death threats and has not attended school since. But Mila has refused to back down, saying in her first television interview that she "wanted to blaspheme". She has since deactivated her Instagram account. The post has sparked a huge debate in France over freedom of speech. The country has no national blasphemy laws and has a rigidly secular constitution. Police initially opened two investigations: the first into whether Mila was guilty of hate speech, and the second into her online attackers. They have since dropped the hate speech case as Mila was expressing a personal opinion on religion and not targeting individuals. -
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BBC News - Coronavirus: Ten passengers on cruise ship test positive for virus
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-51381594 -
Second Turkey avalanche buries dozens of rescuers
Thirty-three people have been killed and dozens more trapped after a second avalanche struck a mountainside in Turkey on Wednesday, officials say.
About 300 rescue workers were at the site, near the eastern border with Iran, dealing with an earlier avalanche on Tuesday that killed five people. More than 50 people were believed to be trapped in vehicles in the area following the incident on Wednesday. Pictures from the scene showed people being carried away on stretchers. Wednesday's avalanche brings the death toll from the two incidents to 38. According to Turkish newspaper Hurriyet, the governor of Van province Mehmet Emin Bilmez said police officers, security guards, a firefighter and a number of civilians were among the dead. Search and rescue efforts involving Turkey's Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (Afad) are ongoing. The interior ministry said 30 people had been pulled from the snow so far, according to Anadolu news agency. -
Mass drug rape charges to be dropped against US surgeon and girlfriend
Charges against a California couple accused of sexually assaulting "hundreds" of women will be dropped due to lack of evidence, officials said.
Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer accused his predecessor of mishandling the case and using it to aid his re-election bid. In 2018, prosecutors said they found proof that Grant Robicheaux and Cerissa Riley drugged and raped victims. Mr Spitzer said the case was "manufactured". He accused his predecessor of misleading the public, as a review of the case found "not a single video or photograph" depicting assault, as Tony Rackauckas, the former district attorney, had claimed. -
Coronavirus: Newborn becomes youngest person diagnosed with virus
A Chinese newborn has been diagnosed with the new coronavirus just 30 hours after birth, the youngest case recorded so far, state media said.
The baby was born on 2 February in Wuhan, the epicentre of the virus. The baby's mother tested positive before she gave birth. It is unclear how the disease was transmitted - in the womb, or after birth. Only a handful of children have come down with the virus, which has killed 565 people and infected 28,018. All but one of the deaths were in China. State media outlet Xinhua reported news of the infection late on Wednesday. It added that the baby, who weighed 3.25kg at birth (7lbs 2oz), was now in a stable condition and under observation. -
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Kirk Douglas has passed away at the age of 103.
BBC News - Kirk Douglas: Tributes paid to 'unforgettable' Hollywood 'icon'
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-51398105 -
Drug lord Escobar's hitman Jhon Velásquez dies in Colombia
A notorious murderer who worked for Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar has died of stomach cancer, Colombian officials say.
Jhon Jairo Velásquez, who boasted of killing 300 people for Escobar, was 57. Known as "Popeye", he was released from prison in 2014 after more than 20 years and launched a YouTube channel, attracting more than a million followers. But he was jailed again in 2018 on charges of extortion. Velásquez died at the National Cancer Institute in the capital Bogotá, where he had been receiving treatment for stomach cancer since December. He was a close associate of Escobar, who ran a drug trafficking empire from the Colombian city of Medellín that sent thousands of tonnes of cocaine to the US. Velásquez gave himself up to the authorities in 1992 and spent 23 years in prison, reportedly gaining a reputation for the stories he told about his life of crime. After his release he started a YouTube channel called Repentant. -
Li Wenliang: Coronavirus death of Wuhan doctor sparks anger
The death of a Chinese doctor who tried to warn about the coronavirus outbreak has sparked an unprecedented level of public anger and grief in China.
Li Wenliang died after contracting the virus while treating patients in Wuhan. Last December he sent a message to fellow medics warning of a virus he thought looked like Sars - another deadly coronavirus. But he was told by police to "stop making false comments" and was investigated for "spreading rumours". "I don't think he was rumour-mongering. Hasn't this turned into reality now?" his father, Li Shuying, told the BBC. "My son was wonderful." News of his death was met with an intense outpouring of grief on Chinese social media site Weibo - but this quickly turned into anger. There had already been accusations against the government of downplaying the severity of the virus - and initially trying to keep it secret. Dr Li's death fuelled this further and triggered a conversation about the lack of freedom of speech in China. -
Coronavirus claims 97 lives in one day - but number of infections stabilises
The number of people killed by the new coronavirus rose by 97 on Sunday, the highest number of casualties in a day.
The total number of deaths in China is now 908 - but the number of newly-infected people per day has stabilised. Across China, 40,171 people are infected while 187,518 are under medical observation. Meanwhile, 60 more people have tested positive on a cruise ship quarantined in Japan - meaning 130 out of 3,700 passengers have caught the virus. The Diamond Princess ship is on a two-week quarantine off Yokohama, after a passenger - who earlier disembarked in Hong Kong - tested positive. The infected passengers are taken off board and treated in nearby hospitals. The new cases mean around a third of all coronavirus patients outside of China were on the Diamond Princess. According to Chinese data, 3,281 patients have been cured and discharged from hospital. -
Cars break down after diesel, gas mistakenly swapped at Boulder gas station
BOULDER, Colo. -- Dozens of drivers in Boulder County are dealing with major car problems after unknowingly filling their cars with diesel.
The mix-up reportedly happening at a Circle K near Folsom Street and Pearl Street in Boulder. Dani Alexander says she filled up her 2015 Subaru Forester at the station on Wednesday. "I got gas and about three blocks later, my car started lugging and chugging," said Alexander. "It's a really good car and I just got it tuned up on Friday." Alexander thought her repair shop had forgotten to attach a line, so she called for a tow. "The tow truck driver stopped the car, and said, 'you're the second person I've towed this afternoon with that problem,'" said Alexander. Alexander called Circle K, which referred her to Travelers Insurance. The insurance company has agreed to pay for the $1,100 car repair, the tow and the tank of gas. -
Holden Matthews: Man admits burning churches to raise 'black metal' profile
A 22-year-old man has pleaded guilty to intentionally setting fire to three African-American churches in the US state of Louisiana.
Holden Matthews, 22, admitted to starting the fires to raise his profile as a "black metal" musician, prosecutors said. He burned three Baptist churches in the Opelousas area over 10 days beginning in late March 2019. He faces 10 to 70 years in jail when he is sentenced on 22 May. On Monday, Matthews entered several guilty pleas for federal and state charges. The three churches Matthews admitted to torching had predominantly African-American congregations. -
@mlnews I don't think that guy understands what "black metal" really is...
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Coronavirus: Singapore bank evacuated after worker falls ill
Around 300 employees have been evacuated from Singapore's biggest bank, DBS, after one person fell ill with the new coronavirus.
All 300 had been working on the same floor, the 43rd, and were sent home on Wednesday. Singapore had previously reported 47 cases of the new virus - one of the highest tallies outside China. Meanwhile, Formula 1's Chinese Grand Prix, due to take place in Shanghai on 19 April, has been postponed. Motorsport governing body FIA said the measure had been taken "in order to ensure the health and safety of the travelling staff, championship participants and fans". It said it hoped to find an alternative date later in the year "should the situation improve". -
Coronavirus: Sharp increase in deaths and cases in Hubei
Some 242 deaths from the new coronavirus were recorded in the Chinese province of Hubei on Wednesday, the deadliest day of the outbreak.
There was also a huge increase in the number of cases, with 14,840 people diagnosed with Covid-19. Hubei has started using a broader definition to diagnose people - which accounts for most of the rise in cases. China sacked two top officials in Hubei province hours after the new figures were revealed. Until Wednesday's increases, the number of people with the virus in Hubei, where the outbreak emerged, was stabilising. But the new cases and deaths in the province have pushed the national death toll above 1,350 with almost 60,000 infections in total. The World Health Organization (WHO) says it is seeking "further clarity" from China about the changes to how cases of the virus are being confirmed. -
Woman Wearing Mask To Ward Off Coronavirus Outraged That Bank Called Police
Amanda Ulmen said she was traumatized after a KeyBank teller called police on her.
Dearborn, MI – A Michigan woman who wore a black face mask plastered with a sharp-toothed smile into a bank was outraged when a teller locked the building down and called police. When Amanda Ulmen waltzed into the KeyBank on North Telegraph Road wearing her mask on Monday, a teller immediately asked her to remove it, Ulman told WAGA. Ulman refused to comply. "They kept saying that it was for their protection,” she complained to WAGA. “And I don't understand what my mask has to do with their protection." The teller then began enacting emergency protocols. “She jumps on the phone after she pushes this button - which I assume is the panic button - and I hear this giant locking sound," Ulmen told WAGA. -
@mlnews wearing the mask is fine. Refusing to remove it on private property and refusing to leave... that's a problem.
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@scottalanmiller said in Non-IT News Thread:
@mlnews wearing the mask is fine. Refusing to remove it on private property and refusing to leave... that's a problem.
Right. Like of course the bank is going to assume something is up if you refuse to comply with basic bank process.
Remove your sunglasses, hoodies, hats (masks obviously).
Would she be as upset if she walked in the bank with a Nixon mask on and the bank reacted the same way?
