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WHO calls for emergency meeting as China confirms 4th death & person-to-person spread of new coronavirus The World Health Organization will convene an emergency expert panel to determine whether a new virus sweeping China should be declared a global threat, after Chinese health officials confirmed the lethal pathogen is contagious. The upcoming WHO meeting, set for Wednesday, was announced on the heels of the fourth confirmed death from the novel coronavirus, which first broke out in the Chinese city of Wuhan but has since spread beyond, taking hold in Beijing and Shanghai. There are now some 217 known infections, according to Chinese authorities, with 198 of them in Wuhan and another four cases reported in Japan, South Korea and Thailand. ...

‘Complete turnaround’: OPCW whistleblower slams chemical watchdog’s Douma report in UN Security Council testimony A former inspector with the OPCW has accused the chemical weapons watchdog of issuing a sanitized report on the alleged 2018 attack in Douma, Syria, arguing it ignored serious reservations of its own fact-finding team. The OPCW’s final report on the Douma incident, released last March, omitted key findings of its own inspections team which would have cast serious doubt on whether a chemical attack took place at all, a now former OPCW specialist, Ian Henderson, told members of the United Nations Security Council in a recorded video address – after his visa application to attend the meeting in person was rejected. “The findings in the fina...

Trump’s legal team releases impeachment trial memo, calls process a ‘charade’ Donald Trump’s legal team has released an official response to the charges of impeachment against the president, calling the process a “charade” and an “affront to the Constitution.” Trump has been charged with abuse of office and obstruction of Congress, with his impeachment trial slated to begin in the Senate on Tuesday. Though Trump has lambasted the impeachment drive against him since an inquiry was initially opened by Democrats in September, his legal team released a 110-page rebuttal of the charges on Monday. “The Articles of Impeachment now before the Senate are an affront to the Constitution and to our democratic institutions,” the memo begins. “The Articles themse...

Political pawn or guilty as charged? Extradition trial of Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou gets underway in Vancouver A Canadian court is set to hear a much-anticipated case at the centre of the tech and trade war between the US and China, as Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou will fight a US extradition request based on charges her team say have no merit. Meng was arrested at Vancouver International Airport in December 2018 at the bidding of the United States, just as tensions were mounting between Washington and Beijing over trade tariffs imposed by the Trump administration. US authorities accused her of defrauding financial institutions and lying in an attempt to circumvent US sanctions impeding other countries’ abilities to do business with Iran. The Huawei executi...

‘Charges will be brought’: Lazio demand fans pay for racist behavior Lazio have issued a three-game ban and letters demanding a total of €50,000 ($55,000) in damages from fans found to have made fascist salutes which earned the club a partial stadium ban in the Europa League this season. UEFA closed a section of the Stadio Olimpico when Lazio hosted Celtic in the Europa League and fined the club €20,000 ($22,000) after supporters were seen making far right gestures during the 2-1 win over French side Rennes on October 3. Lazio refused to condemn racist chanting when they were handed a suspended stadium ban for racist behavior during a Coppa Italia match last season, but club president Claudio Lotito has taken a harder line by pinpointing the culprit...

Astronomer snapped ‘potentially hazardous’ asteroid headed for Earth in incredible PHOTO Astrophysicist and astronomer Dr Gianluca Masi of the Virtual Telescope Project in Italy was gazing at the stars on January 17 when he managed to capture an incredible image – an inbound asteroid. As Masi was surveying the sky in the early morning hours of Friday, asteroid 2020 AN3 came into view. The scientist managed to capture this incredible photo of the asteroid – just one of thousands of Potentially Hazardous Asteroids (PHAs) that could one day strike Earth – as it was approximately 1.9 million miles (3.1 million km) from our planet. While appearing as a mere dot in the image, the asteroid is actually estimated to measure between 754.6ft and 1,673ft in dia...

A classic double KO! Thai fighters sent to floor after landing the same punch at the same time (VIDEO) From Tyson Fury uppercutting himself in the face to Conor McGregor finishing off his opponents within seconds, few novelties are as unique to ringcraft as the double knockdowns that occasionally send both fighters to the canvas. A pair of Muay Thai mavericks caught each other with concurrent hooks as they marched to the center of the ring at a contest in Thailand over the weekend. The fighters had grappled briefly before each advanced with menace and successfully sent their opponent to the floor. READ MORE: ‘He’s picking up his teeth’ NHL player Paul Stastny drips blood after taking puck to mouth in gruesome injury Neither knockdown artist was beat...