United States President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump have traded accusations following the derailment of a train carrying toxic materials in the town of East Palestine, Ohio, earlier this month. Speaking during a visit to the town on Wednesday, Trump said the residents had experienced a “great betrayal” and accused the Biden administration of failing to mount a robust response after the February 3 accident spurred fears of air and water contamination. The Biden administration hit back, pointing out that, during Trump’s tenure, the government rolled back regulatory standards requiring trains carrying hazardous materials to be equipped with…
Author: National Tone
The United States Supreme Court justices have expressed scepticism on Wednesday about a lawsuit against the social media giant Twitter, as they weighed whether to hold internet companies accountable for contentious content by users. US relatives of Nawras Alassaf had accused Twitter of aiding and abetting the ISIL (ISIS) group, which claimed responsibility for a January 1, 2017, attack in Jordan that killed him and 38 others during a New Year’s celebration. The lawsuit alleges that Twitter failed to police the social media platform for ISIL accounts or posts. The nine justices heard arguments in Twitter’s appeal, after a lower…
Romelu Lukaku came off the bench to give Inter Milan a 1-0 win over Porto in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie. The Belgium international struck with four minutes remaining to secure victory at San Siro after the visitors had seen midfielder Otavio sent off for a second bookable offence. In a tight first half, Inter striker Lautaro Martinez might have done better with an early header and Porto ‘keeper Diogo Costa had to tip over Hakan Calhanoglu’s audacious attempt from an improbable angle.However, the visitors grew into the game and threatened when Marko Grujic forced a…
Moscow’s decision to suspend its participation in the New START arms reduction treaty with the United States does not increase the risk of a nuclear conflict, Russia’s deputy foreign minister says. Sergei Ryabkov said on Wednesday it would be up to Russian President Vladimir Putin to determine whether Moscow could return to the pact, Russia’s Interfax news agency quoted him as saying. His comments came after Putin announced on Tuesday he is freezing Moscow’s participation in the treaty, raising fears the nearly yearlong conflict in Ukraine could yet escalate into a global nuclear war. But Ryabkov poured cold water on…
Manitoba’s Jennifer Jones reached the playoffs at the Canadian women’s curling championship Wednesday with a 7-6 win in an extra end over Casey Scheidegger’s wild-card team. Jones topped Pool B at 6-1. Northern Ontario’s Krista McCarville was 5-1 with games against Yukon and Newfoundland and Labrador to play Wednesday. Ontario’s Rachel Homan got to 4-2 in that pool with a 9-5 victory over Meghan Walter’s wild card 3. Defending champion Kerri Einarson was already playoff-bound at 6-0 atop Pool A. Quebec’s Laurie St-Georges, an 8-4 winner over Prince Edward Island, moved into a tie for second at 4-2 with Nova…
Below-normal rainfall is expected during the rainy season over the next three months in parts of Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia, a climate research centre says.Drought trends in the Horn of Africa are now worse than they were during the 2011 famine in which hundreds of thousands of people died. The IGAD Climate Prediction and Applications Center said on Wednesday that below-normal rainfall is expected during the rainy season over the next three months. “In parts of Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, and Uganda that have been most affected by the recent drought, this could be the 6th failed consecutive rainfall season,” it…
Canada’s Leylah Fernandez and American partner Bethanie Mattek-Sands advanced to the women’s doubles quarterfinals of the Dubai Tennis Championships with a 3-6, 6-1, 13-11 win over Xu Yifan and Aliaksandra Sasnovich on Wednesday. Fernandez and Mattek-Sands won 76.7 per cent of first-serve points and broke China’s Xu and Belarus’s Sasnovich three times on 10 chances. Xu and Sasnovich struggled with their opening serve, winning just 47.2 per cent of available points. The pair scored both of their breaks in the first set before the North American partners responded with a dominant second. Fernandez and Mattek-Sands will face the Russian duo…
Islamabad, Pakistan – A senior Pakistani delegation has visited Afghanistan’s capital for talks with Taliban officials, days after the closure of their busiest border crossing raised tensions between the two countries. Pakistani Defence Minister Khwaja Asif was joined on Wednesday by other top officials – including Lieutenant General Nadeem Anjum, the director general of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence agency, or ISI – in their meeting with Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, Afghanistan acting deputy prime minister for economic affairs, in Kabul. In a statement, Baradar’s office said the officials discussed economic cooperation, regional connectivity, trade and their countries’ relations. Baradar said in…
A year into Russia’s full-scale invasion, Ukraine stands steadfast. The Ukrainians have displayed remarkable resilience and courage in defending their country. They have managed to stop the blitzkrieg Russian President Vladimir Putin had hoped would bring him a quick victory and have carried out a successful counter-offensive in the east and south. As a result, Russia does not control a significant portion of the territory whose annexation it proclaimed last September in violation of international law, and it is suffering mounting losses. Despite the less than stellar performance of the Russian army, Putin is showing no signs of abandoning the conflict. In…
Iga Swiatek continued her domination of the WTA tour by smashing Liudmila Samsonova 6-1 6-0 in 75 minutes to reach the quarter-finals in Dubai.Swiatek dropped only a single game en route to another emphatic win – finishing with 18 winners to just six unforced errors. Swiatek keeps delivering the goods Iga Swiatek won her fifth set this season with a 6-0 scoreline, at least two more than any other player so far this season. The Polish world No 1 will now take on former Dubai finalist Karolina Pliskova in Thursday’s quarter-finals.Pliskova became the first of seven former finalists in Dubai…