The US has imposed new sanctions against a Cuban security minister and an interior ministry special forces unit over alleged human rights abuses during protests on the island. President Biden said it was “just the beginning” in a statement that also condemned “mass detentions and sham trials”. “The United States will continue to sanction individuals
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Two Olympics. Three gold medals and one silver. A protest for equality and human rights at the 1968 Olympics before the iconic gesture by Tommie Smith and John Carlos. A legacy that includes being a founding member of the Women’s Sports Foundation. But the story of one of the Olympic greats is not well known
A South Carolina man has gone on trial accused of killing a woman who got into his car thinking it was her Uber ride. Nathaniel Rowland is accused of the kidnap and murder of 21-year-old university student Samantha Josephson in March 2019. Ms Josephson’s death prompted changes aimed at improving safety for those using businesses
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has described the first ever launch of his private spaceflight company Blue Origin as the “best day ever”. The billionaire, 57, achieved his childhood dream of becoming an astronaut 52 years to the day it was sparked by watching Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walk on the moon. Mr Bezos himself
Harvey Weinstein has been extradited to California to face more sex assault charges, New York prison officials said. The former Hollywood producer was convicted and sentenced to 23 years in a New York prison last year for rape and sexual assault. He is wanted for trial in Los Angeles, California, on charges of allegedly attacking
More than 360,000 acres (531 square miles) have been destroyed by a wildfire in the US state of Oregon, where more than 2,000 people have been given evacuation orders, while a similar number of firefighters are battling the blaze. The Bootleg fire, centred in and around the Fremont-Winema National Forest, 250 miles (400km) south of
Jeff Bezos says his dream of travelling into space was born when, as a five year old, he watched Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walk on the moon in 1969. Fifty-two years to the day, the Amazon founder and richest man on the planet will blast off in his own rocket to make that dream
A New York police officer kept a stabbing victim alive by using an empty bag of crisps and tape. NYPD officer Ronald Kennedy has been praised by police bosses for his quick thinking after placing the makeshift tourniquet over the man’s wound. The extraordinary action was captured on body cam after the officer responded to
A teenager has been accidentally shot dead by his friend, police in the US said. The two teenagers, aged 13 and 15, left their homes in the early hours of Saturday morning before meeting up in a church car park in their home town of Salt Lake City, Utah. West Jordan Police Lieutenant Richard Bell
Britney Spears has posted on Instagram that she won’t perform again while her father has control over her career. The 39-year-old is currently undergoing a legal battle over a conservatorship that has overseen her life and career since 2008, when she suffered a series of mental health crises. Her father Jamie Spears has the final
Misleading information about vaccines and COVID-19 on online platforms like Facebook is killing people, Joe Biden has said. Speaking to reporters as he left the White House on Friday afternoon, the US president was asked if he had a message to platforms like the social media giant regarding the misleading or incorrect information that frequently
A man known as the “Hollywood Ripper” has been sentenced to death for the murder of two women and attempted killing of a third. Michael Gargiulo, 45, was convicted almost two years ago, but delays due to procedural problems and the COVID pandemic means it was only on Friday that he was ordered to death
The United States is looking to build a spy base in the UK to probe deep space and spot any attempt by states such as Russia or China to attack vital satellites orbiting the Earth. Using radar technology that can identify an object the size of a football up to 22,000 miles (36,000 kilometres) away,
Firefighters are battling to control a wild inferno which is spreading up to four miles a day and has left 2,000 people homeless in Oregon. The so-called Bootleg Fire is ripping through southeast Oregon and is said to be the largest of dozens of wildfires burning across the US. The blaze has now torched an
A moon “wobble” will contribute to an increase in severe flooding in the mid-2030s, NASA has warned. The moon’s orbit, which affects the Earth’s tides, has a natural “wobble” every 18.6 years that causes extremely high and low tides. In a new study, published by Nature Climate Change, NASA’s Sea Level Change Science Team calculated
Judges have ruled that “Tiger King” Joe Exotic should have been given a shorter prison sentence. The former zookeeper was sentenced in January 2020 to 22 years in federal prison after being convicted of trying to hire two different men to kill animal rights activist Carole Baskin and violating wildlife laws. A three-judge panel for