Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev dies at 91 EKO HOT BLOG reports that former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev has died aged 91. Gorbachev, who took over in 1985, is best known for opening up the USSR and for bringing the Cold War to a peaceful end, but he was unable to prevent his … Read more
US Govt To Stop Sending Free At Home COVID-19 Tests EKO HOT BLOG reports that the government will end its giveaway of Covid-19 at-home tests Friday because of insufficient congressional funding, a senior Biden administration official said Sunday. A stockpile of the tests is being depleted, and officials want to have enough on … Read more
US Intelligence To Probe Security Risks Of Trump Documents EKO HOT BLOG reports that the head of the US intelligence community says she will launch a review of possible national security risks posed by a trove of records that had been removed from the White House and kept at former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate. … Read more
Protest In India Over Release Of Jailed 11 R@pists EKO HOT BLOG reports that protests have been held across India against the government’s decision to free 11 men who were jailed for life for the gang rape of a Muslim woman, Bilkis Bano. Fourteen members of her family were also killed during the … Read more
Russia To Build Two Nuclear Reactors In Hungary EKO HOT BLOG reports that Russian nuclear power giant Rosatom will begin constructing two new nuclear reactors in Hungary in the coming weeks. The deal, reached between Russia and the EU state in 2014, aims to expand the existing Paks nuclear plant. EDITOR’S PICK … Read more
The World Narrowly Escaped Nuclear Radiation Accident – Zelensky EKO HOT BLOG reports that President Volodomyr Zelensky has said that Europe faced the prospect of a radiation disaster on Thursday when a Russian-occupied nuclear plant was disconnected from Ukraine’s power grid. It was only due to back-up electricity kicking in that the Zaporizhzhia … Read more
Court Orders Release Of Trump Redacted Search Papers EKO HOT BLOG reports that a US judge has ordered investigators to release a redacted version of court papers that convinced him to authorise a search of Donald Trump’s estate. The public version of the affidavit, a document that includes the evidence gathered by prosecutors, … Read more
Biden Writes Off $10,000 In Student Debt For Millions EKO HOT BLOG reports that US President Joe Biden will cancel up to $10,000 (£8,474) in federal student loans for millions of Americans who earn less than $125,000 each year. Biden will also forgive $20,000 of debt for students on Pell Grants, which applies … Read more
Twitter Is Vulnerable To Russian & Chinese Influence – Whistleblower EKO HOT BLOG reports that Twitter is exceptionally vulnerable to exploitation by foreign governments in ways that threaten US national security, and may even have foreign spies currently active on its payroll, according to Peiter “Mudge” Zatko, the whistleblower at the center of a … Read more
Malaysia Top Court Sends Ex-PM Najib Razak To Prison For Corruption EKO HOT BLOG reports that Malaysia’s former prime minister Najib Razak’s on Tuesday was sentenced to a 12-year jail sentence by the nation’s higest court for corruption. EDITOR’S PICK Ukraine Crisis: Russia In Retreat As Putin Appears To Admit Defeat In Battle For … Read more
Trump Sues Justice Department Over Search On Florida Home EKO HOT BLOG reports that a former US President Donald Trump has asked a judge to freeze the justice department’s investigation of files seized from his Mar-a-Lago home. In a lawsuit, his legal team asked that an independent lawyer be appointed to oversee the … Read more
Ex-Pakistani PM Imran Khan Charged Under Terrorism Act EKO HOT BLOG reports that Pakistan’s police have charged the country’s former Prime Minister, Imran Khan, under anti-terror laws. Their investigation comes after he accused the police and judiciary of detaining and torturing a close aide. EDITOR’S PICK Ukraine Crisis: Russia In Retreat As … Read more
Pakistan Former PM Imran Khan Under Police Investigation EKO HOT BLOG reports that Pakistan’s police have said the country’s former prime minister, Imran Khan, is under investigation. He is accused of making threats against the police and judiciary following a political speech he gave on Saturday. EDITOR’S PICK Ukraine War: West Must … Read more
Singapore To Repeal Law Banning Gay S*x EKO HOT BLOG reports that Singapore will reverse a law that bans gay s*x, effectively making it legal to be homos*xual in the city-state. The decision, announced by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on national TV, comes after years of fierce debate. EDITOR’S PICK Ukraine … Read more
Seized £63m Russian Superyacht Axioma To Go Under Hammer EKO HOT BLOG reports that a £63m ($75m) Russian superyacht will go under the hammer after its owner was sanctioned. The Axioma was seized in Gibraltar in March after US bank JP Morgan claimed owner Dmitrievich Pumpyansky did not pay a £17m ($20m) loan. … Read more
Rwanda Woman Faces Two Years In Jail For ‘Shameful’ Dress EKO HOT BLOG reports that a 24-year-old woman who was arrested in Rwanda for wearing “shameful” clothing faces up to two years in jail for “public indecency”, prosecutors said Thursday. Liliane Mugabekazi was arrested on August 7 after she attended a concert by … Read more
US Strike Kills 13 Al-Shabaab Fighters – Pentagon EKO HOT BLOG reports that the Pentagon said Wednesday that US forces killed 13 fighters of the al-Shabaab militant group in an airstrike in Somalia. The strike took place on August 14 near Teedaan in the central-southern part of the country while Shabaab fighters were … Read more
Woman Bags 34-year Jail Term Over Twitter Use In Saudi Arabia EKO HOT BLOG reports that a Saudi court has sentenced a woman to 34 years in prison over her Twitter activity, according to court documents seen by AFP on Wednesday. The sentence issued against Salma al-Shehab, for aiding dissidents seeking to “disrupt … Read more
Warning Over Political Killings In Rwanda Before UK Flight EKO HOT BLOG reports that UK ministers who backed sending asylum seekers to Rwanda were warned by their own adviser that its government tortures and kills political opponents. The warning came weeks before the British government tried to send asylum seekers to the African … Read more
UK Becomes First Country To Approve Dual-Strain COVID-19 Jab EKO HOT BLOG reports that the UK has become the first country to approve a dual vaccine which tackles both the original Covid virus and the newer Omicron variant. Ministers say the vaccine will now form part of the autumn booster campaign. EDITOR’S … Read more