Facebook has confirmed to Sky News that the Taliban will continue to be banned from operating Afghan government accounts on its platforms. The militant group, which is considered a Dangerous Organisation under Facebook’s policies, has in recent days swept to power in Afghanistan following the US withdrawal from the country. The Taliban is not sanctioned
US
The president’s address to the nation was just that – a speech carefully scripted for domestic consumption. Never mind that around the world there was an eagerness to understand the wisdom of his decision. With an all-American backdrop – the stars and stripes filling the space behind him – Joe Biden made a compelling case
A month-long wildfire ravaging forestlands in northern California has lurched towards a small lumber town, threatening to destroy thousands of homes. Fire crews have been using bulldozers to build lines, in a bid to keep the blaze, known at the Dixie fire, from reaching the town of Westwood. The entire town of approximately 1,700 people
The US COVID crisis has seen children’s intensive care beds run out in Dallas and masks and testing to be made obligatory in schools across California. Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins announced on Saturday that there were no paediatric ICU beds available across the entire 19-county area. Asked what to do if your child falls
Just over a month ago, President Joe Biden was asked by a reporter if a Taliban takeover of Afghanistan was “inevitable”. “No, it is not,” the president said. “Why?” “Because, you have, the Afghan troops have 300,000 well-equipped, as well-equipped as any army in the world, and an Air Force, against something like 75,000 Taliban.
The upcoming 20th anniversary of 9/11 and the reimposition of coronavirus restrictions could spark violent attacks by extremists, the US Department of Homeland Security has warned. The agency added that the US is in a “heightened threat environment” that has been fuelled by resentment over measures to slow the spread of COVID-19, and extremists motivated
The head of Disney has defended his company’s multi-platform release of Black Widow, after its star Scarlet Johansson began legal action for breach of contract. Johansson has played Black Widow and her alter-ego Natasha Romanoff since her first appearance in the Marvel franchise in 2010’s Iron Man 2. She says that the contract for her
A toddler fatally shot a woman while she was on a work-related video call, police in Florida have said. Shamaya Lynn, 21, reportedly fell backwards and never returned to the Zoom call after the young child found an unsecured, loaded handgun inside the apartment. Altamonte Springs police said someone on the video call rang 911
Britney Spears’ father has agreed to step down as the pop star’s conservator. Court documents say: “Mr. Spears is willing to step down when the time is right, but the transition needs to be orderly and include a resolution of matters pending before the Court. “In order to reach that result, the Court should encourage
Hollywood power couple Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis have mocked the fallout following the revelation of their family’s somewhat relaxed approach to bathing. Kutcher and Kunis recently told the Armchair Expert podcast that while they wash their vitals every day, they don’t shower or bathe as often – a policy which includes their children Wyatt,
US President Joe Biden has said he does not regret his decision to withdraw from Afghanistan, as officials say three more provincial capitals have fallen to the Taliban. Nine out of the country’s 34 provinces are now in the insurgents’ hands as US troops continue their withdrawal. The fall of the capitals of Badakhshan and
They are two of the most notorious serial killers in US history after murdering more than 60 young men and boys between them. The horrific crimes of Dean Corll and John Wayne Gacy shocked America in the 1970s – but how closely they were linked has only recently been discovered. Corll tortured, raped and murdered
In two weeks time, New York will have its first female governor. Kathy Hochul is currently Andrew Cuomo’s deputy, and will soon replace him in the top job after his dramatic resignation on Tuesday. Image: Kathy Hochul will take over from Andrew Cuomo as New York Governor. Mr Cuomo has quit – effective in 14
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has resigned following sexual harassment allegations. In a report last week, Mr Cuomo, a Democrat, was found to have groped, kissed, or made suggestive comments to 11 women in violation of the law, prompting prosecutors to launch a criminal investigation and calls for him to resign or for him to
Prince Andrew has always categorically denied any sexual contact or relationship with Virginia Giuffre but she has said it was “past the time for him to be held to account” for allegedly sexually assaulting her when she was a teenager. The royal is named as the only defendant in her civil suit though Jeffrey Epstein and
An executive assistant to Andrew Cuomo has waived her right to anonymity, alleging the New York governor groped her under her shirt, hugged her and kissed her without consent. Brittany Commisso was previously known as ‘Executive Assistant #1’ in an inquiry instigated by New York Attorney General Letitia James. But the 32-year-old says she broke