Hong Kong Closes Schools as Torrential Rain Floods Streets, Subway Station

> Hong Kong on Friday closed schools and halted trading on the stock exchange as torrential rain lashed the city overnight, flooding streets in parts of the city as well as an underground subway station.

> Heavy rains poured down on the city from Thursday night, with the government warning that the weather would last till noon Friday
 https://www.khaosodenglish.com/news/2023/09/08/hong-kong-closes-schools-as-torrential-rain-floods-streets-subway-station/ #HongKong #China

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 Ohio: School board member apologizes for giving Nazi salute at public meeting

> The board president, Simon Patry, “does have a dictator mentality,” Zakkour told the Dayton Jewish Observer. She said she was making a “sarcastic gesture” of “submission to a board member trying to act like a dictator” and did not intend it as alarming to Jews.
 https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/376715

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 California lawmakers on Thursday voted to raise taxes on guns and ammunition to pay for security improvements at public schools and gun violence prevention programs.

> The federal government already taxes the sale of #guns and ammunition nationwide. The government gives that money to the states, which spend it on wildlife conservation and hunter safety programs.

> California’s proposed tax, if it becomes law, would be 11%
 https://news.yahoo.com/california-lawmakers-approve-tax-guns-192959701.html #GunViolence

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 Elon Musk secretly ordered his engineers to turn off his company’s Starlink satellite communications network near the Crimean coast last year to disrupt a Ukrainian sneak attack on the Russian naval fleet

> As Ukrainian submarine drones strapped with explosives approached the Russian fleet, they “lost connectivity and washed ashore harmlessly,”
 https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/07/politics/elon-musk-biography-walter-isaacson-ukraine-starlink/index.html #ElonMusk #Starlink #Ukraine #Russia #UkraineWar

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 #US - Fani Willis accuses Rep. Jim Jordan of 'partisan misrepresentations' over inquiry of election case

> “Its obvious purpose is to obstruct a Georgia criminal proceeding and to advance outrageous partisan misrepresentations," Willis wrote. "As I make clear below, there is no justification in the Constitution for Congress to interfere with a state criminal matter, as you attempt to do.”
 https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/fani-willis-accuses-rep-jim-jordan-partisan-misrepresentations-103011605 #FaniWillis #JimJordan #Georgia #DonaldTrump

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 #Canada - ‘Freedom Convoy’ organizers’ trial to delve into social media from protest

> #OTTAWA — The criminal trial of “Freedom Convoy” organizers Tamara Lich and Chris Barber is expected to resume today with a deep dive into a mountain of #socialmedia evidence police amassed during the protest.
 https://lethbridgenewsnow.com/2023/09/07/freedom-convoy-organizers-trial-to-delve-into-social-media-from-protest/ #FreeDumb #freedomconvoy

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 #Thailand - Phuket Detains 3 Kenyan Women for Stomach Cocaine Smuggling

> Police officers then returned all three women to the customs area of #Phuket International Airport to remove the suspicious items from their bodies, which took a total of two days. The items were confirmed to be cocaine, which led to the arrest of all three women.

> The total weight of #cocaine seized from all three women was approximately 2,857 grams.
 https://www.khaosodenglish.com/news/2023/09/07/phuket-detains-3-kenyan-women-for-stomach-cocaine-smuggling/ #southeastasia #tootsea

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 Thai Airways in talks to buy up to 95 new jets: Industry sources

> The Thai flag carrier, which is in the midst of a bankruptcy protected debt restructuring, has previously indicated a need for 30 or more new jets but its latest request for industry bids opens the door to the purchase of as many as 95 aircraft, the sources said.
 https://www.straitstimes.com/business/thai-airways-in-talks-to-buy-up-to-95-new-jets-industry-sources #airlines #aviation #travel #ThaiAirways #southeastasia #tootsea

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 Presidential centers from Hoover to Bush and Obama unite to warn of fragile state of US democracy

> Thursday’s bipartisan statement from presidential centers, foundations and institutes marks the first time the libraries have joined to make such a public declaration
 https://english.elpais.com/usa/2023-09-07/presidential-centers-from-hoover-to-bush-and-obama-unite-to-warn-of-fragile-state-of-us-democracy.html

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 Russia Says US Supply of Depleted Uranium Weapons to Ukraine is 'Criminal'

> Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on Thursday that the US supply of depleted uranium weapons to Ukraine was "a criminal act", state media reported.

> The Pentagon on Wednesday announced a new security assistance package worth up to $175 million for #Ukraine, including depleted #uranium ammunition for #US Abrams tanks.
 https://english.aawsat.com/world/4531826-russia-says-us-supply-depleted-uranium-weapons-ukraine-criminal #Russia #UkraineWar

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 Toronto International Film Festival kicks off amid actors and writers strike

> The Toronto International Film Festival kicks off today under the shadow of dual strikes by Hollywood writers and actors but festival CEO Cameron Bailey is touting a strong lineup and ticket sales.
 https://www.moosejawtoday.com/film-news/toronto-international-film-festival-kicks-off-amid-actors-and-writers-strike-7513445 #TFF #Toronto #Canada #sagaftra

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 Moon Sniper: Japan aims anew at a lunar landing

> For decades, the United States and Soviet Russia were the only countries that had landed on the moon. Then came China and India. Now, #Japan is trying for the second time in 2023.
 https://www.dw.com/en/with-moon-sniper-japan-takes-second-shot-at-lunar-landing/a-66635314 #space #moon

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 Flooding in southern Brazil leaves at dozens dead, scores homeless

> “The fly-over we just did, shows the dimension of an absolutely out of the ordinary event,” Leite said in a video posted on the state's social media accounts. “It wasn’t just riverside communities that were hit, but entire cities that were completely compromised.” https://www.france24.com/en/americas/20230907-flooding-in-southern-brazil-leaves-at-dozens-dead-scores-homeless #Brazil #Brasil #climatechange #climatedisaster

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 Gary Wright, ‘Dream Weaver’ Singer, Dead at 80

> Singer-Songwriter and Synth pioneer Gary Wright, who penned the massive hits “Dream Weaver” and “Love Is Alive” and became George Harrison’s longtime friend and collaborator, died Monday morning. He was 80. https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/gary-wright-dream-weaver-dead-obituary-1234818058/ #GaryWright

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 Germany refuses extradition of Albanian drug trafficker over concerns about prisons' conditions in UK

> “The court decided that the extradition of the Albanian to Britain was ‘currently inadmissible’. Without British guarantees, extradition is not possible in view of the state of the British prison system.

> The Albanian man in the case had lived in the #UK and was accused of drug trafficking and money laundering by British officials.
 https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2023/09/06/710329/German-court-free-Albania-inmate-UK-hmp-wandsworth-prison-rats-mice #Albania #Germany #humanrights

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 Sidney Powell, Kenneth Chesebro split from Donald Trump, others for Ga. election trial

> The two had requested a speedy trial and for their cases to be severed from Trump, each other and the remaining 16 co-defendants in the case. Their attorneys argue that trying them with the other defendants would prejudice the jury against them.
 https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2023/09/06/Donald-Trump-Georgia-election-trial-hearing-timeline/1921694023376/ #DonaldTrump #GOP #stopthesteal #Republican #Georgia

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 Ecuadorians reject oil drilling in the Amazon in historic decision - ABC News

>In a historic decision, Ecuadorians voted on Sunday against the oil drilling of a protected area in the Amazon, which is home to two uncontacted tribes and serves as a biodiversity hotspot https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/ecuadorians-reject-oil-drilling-amazon-historic-decision-102418558 #Ecuador #elections

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 UN says Taliban’s gender restrictions should be prosecuted as ‘crime against humanity’ – Middle East Monitor

>“... should count as a crime against humanity, and it should be prosecuted by the International Criminal Court,” said Gordon Brown, UN Special Envoy for Global Education and former UK Prime Minister, as he discussed the current state of the issue of girls’ education in #Afghanistan at a #UN news conference.
 https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20230815-un-says-talibans-gender-restrictions-should-be-prosecuted-as-crime-against-humanity/ #Taliban #womensrights

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 5 #JehovahsWitnesses charged with sexual assault in Pennsylvania - UPI.com

> #Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle A. Henry announced the charges Friday, more than three years after opening multiple investigations.

>"The details of these crimes are sad and disturbing, facts which are made even more abhorrent because the defendants used their faith communities or their own families to gain access to victims," Henry said in a statement. https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2023/07/09/pennsylvania-jehovah-witness-abuse-charges/9581688941029/