‘A scene out of the middle ages’: Dead refugee found surrounded by rats at Greek camp

At a desolate refugee camp on the Greek island of Chios earlier this week, a young man died alone in a tent. By the time the guards arrived on the scene, about 12 hours after the Somali refugee’s death, the body was surrounded by rodents. Asylum seekers who had initially alerted staff spoke in horror at seeing rats and mice swarming about. It was Orthodox Easter Monday, a national holiday in Greece. The 28-year-old, who has not been named by Greek authorities, is thought to have died of natural causes.

Texas lawmakers race against the clock to push through new voting restrictions

Texas lawmakers are locked in a fight over legislation that would further restrict voting access, as Republicans lean on procedural moves to avoid public testimony and keep eleventh-hour negotiations behind closed doors. “No rules are going to contain them. No norms are going to protect us. They’re gonna do whatever they want to, and whatever they can, to get these bills through,” said Emily Eby, staff attorney at the Texas Civil Rights Project. The Texas House of Representatives on Thursday evening started debating Senate Bill 7 (SB7), which would make it more difficult to cast a ballot in a state already infamous for being the hardest place to vote nationwide. Democrats were raring for an all-night battle, armed with more than 100 amendments.

Labour crashes to humiliating byelection defeat in Hartlepool

Labour has suffered a humiliating byelection defeat in Hartlepool after the party’s former heartland town elected a Conservative MP for the first time in 62 years. The Tories won 15,529 votes, with Labour recording 8,589, according to official results. Jill Mortimer defeated the Labour candidate, Dr Paul Williams, by 6,940 votes. Mortimer won the byelection with more than half of the votes cast (51.88%) and a swing from Labour of almost 16%. The defeat came amid early signs of a torrid night for Labour in the local elections in England, with voters deserting the party for the Conservatives, Liberal Democrats and in some cases the Green party. Ballots continue to be tallied up across England, Scotland and Wales after the “Super Thursday” polls – the largest test of political opinion outside a general election.

 

Yang falls behind Adams for first time in New York mayor’s race poll

Eric Adams is leading the field of mayoral candidates in a new poll, marking the first time Andrew Yang is not the top contender since he shook up the race with his unexpected entry in mid-January. Adams, the Brooklyn Borough president, was the first-place pick for 21 percent of the respondents in a three-day survey conducted by Washington, D.C.-based firm GQR, according to a copy of the survey obtained by POLITICO. Yang followed at 18 percent, and City Comptroller Scott Stringer had 15 percent support.

Liz Cheney -Why being a Trump martyr could be good for her

Congresswoman Liz Cheney's time on the leadership team for Republicans in the House of Representatives may be coming to an unceremonious end. Her offence? Speaking ill of former President Donald Trump - and doing so frequently and with seeming relish. On 12 January, she voted to impeach the then-president for inciting the pro-Trump mob that attacked the US Capitol the previous week, calling it a "betrayal" of his oath of office. She has since stood by that vote, calling allegations of election fraud a "big lie" and condemning all those who worked to challenge Joe Biden's victory.

Covid: US backs waiver on vaccine patents to boost supply

The US has thrown its support behind a move at the World Trade Organization (WTO) to temporarily lift patent protection for coronavirus vaccines. India and South Africa proposed the plan, which they said would increase vaccine production around the world. But drugs manufacturers argue it may not have the desired effect. US Trade Representative Katherine Tai said that "extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures". India and South Africa were the leading voices in a group of about 60 countries which for the last six months has been trying to get the patents on vaccines set aside.

UK sends patrol vessels as 80 French protest boats gather off Jersey

Two British naval patrol vessels have arrived off the coast of Jersey as about 80 French boats also gathered at the port in St Helier in protest over post-Brexit rules on fishing rights. HMS Severn and HMS Tamar were deployed a mile off the coast of Jersey while observing the French flotilla amassing at about 6am south of the Channel Island’s capital before it headed into the port just before 7am. Downing Street said the patrol vessels, which are armed, had been sent to “monitor the situation”, but some criticised the decision as a heavy-handed reaction designed to boost the Conservatives’ credentials on the day of local elections across Britain.

Germany to bring forward climate goals after constitutional court ruling

Germany’s government is to revise its emission reduction targets after the country’s constitutional court declared the current climate protection measures insufficient, aiming to become greenhouse gas neutral by 2045 rather than 2050. The finance minister, Olaf Scholz, and the environment minister, Svenja Schulze laid out a legislative proposal on Wednesday to cut emissions by 65% from 1990 levels by 2030. An 88% reduction of carbon emissions is to be reached by 2040.

 

FBI raid exposes Giuliani and signals widening criminal search, experts say

The extraordinary FBI raid on Rudy Giuliani’s New York apartment and office has sparked debate about what criminal charges Giuliani may face, and signals a widening criminal investigation into his Ukraine drive to help Trump in 2020 by sullying Joe Biden, former prosecutors say. The high-profile nature of the raid meant it required senior Department of Justice signoff, and underscored the investigation’s seriousness and progress. It also obtained several of Giuliani’s electronic devices and thus may have harvested a rich trove of new evidence and leads for investigators to follow.

 

"Deficit Chicken-littles" called out by Dr. D.T. Cochrane

This morning, C4TF’s economist and researcher, Dr. D.T. Cochrane, participated in the Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology. Watch truth be spoken to the “deficit Chicken-littles” and K-shaped pandemic recovery profiteers: