Tourists who misbehave in Venice to be fined up to €500 and banned with Asbo-style decrees
Tourists who misbehave in Venice will be hit with Asbo-style decrees banning them from the city in the latest effort to maintain decorum among the millions of visitors who descend on the World Heritage attraction. Tourists who swim in Venice’s canals, wander around shirtless or loll on the steps of stone bridges will be fined up to €500…
Vote rigging uncovered in Russian TV singing contest
Russia’s state-owned Channel One TV has cancelled the results of a popular TV singing competition, The Voice Kids after an investigation uncovered evidence that phone votes were rigged. Channel One confirmed that ”there was outside influence on the voting that affected the result”, after the probe found evidence of rigged voting – thousands of SMS messages. Earlier Channel…
Narendra Modi takes no questions in his first press conference as prime minister
As the campaigning officially ended for the Indian election, prime minister Narendra Modi called his first-ever press conference in a last-ditch clarion call to voters on Friday – and failed to answer a single question. Indian TV channels carried simultaneous press conferences from Mr Modi and the leader of the opposition Congress Party, Rahul Gandhi,…
Tourists who misbehave in Venice to be fined up to €500 and banned with Asbo-style decrees
Tourists who misbehave in Venice will be hit with Asbo-style decrees banning them from the city in the latest effort to maintain decorum among the millions of visitors who descend on the World Heritage attraction. Tourists who swim in Venice’s canals, wander around shirtless or loll on the steps of stone bridges will be fined up to €500…
How Brexit killed the concept of an EU exit
When Britain voted to leave the EU in 2016, Brussels feared that it could trigger a wave of copy-cat EU exits, fracturing the unity of a bloc already under strain from the 2015 migration crisis and fights over the future of the Euro. Initially, it seemed like Brexit was the loose thread that could unravel…
Missouri moves to ban abortion at eight weeks
Missouri is set to become the latest US state to introduce strict laws on abortion after the state’s senate approved a bill that would ban abortion beyond eight weeks, including in cases of rape and incest. Only medical emergencies would be exempt. It came hours after Alabama on Wednesday introduced a law banning almost all abortions.…
Isil branches out into Pakistan as it bids to rebuild collapsed caliphate
The Islamic State group has disclosed the creation of a new regional chapter in Pakistan, as the group tries to rebrand and rebuild after the destruction of its caliphate. The organisational reshuffle came five days after the announcement of a similar new outfit in India. Pakistani operations had until this week been attributed to the…
Bill de Blasio, New York mayor, announces White House run
Bill de Blasio, the mayor of New York, has joined the increasingly crowded race for the Democrat presidential nomination in 2020. Mr de Blasio, the 23rd candidate to declare, presented himself as the person with the most ability to "take on" Donald Trump. The 6ft 5in mayor, known as "Big Bird," said: "I’m a New Yorker,…
Vatican forms its first women’s football team
It may have a distinctly chequered past in its treatment of women, but the Vatican has scored a small victory in its push towards greater inclusion with the formation of its first female football team. The new squad is made up of women who work in the tiny sovereign state, or the wives and daughters…
Conrad Black, former owner of The Daily Telegraph convicted in 2007 of fraud, pardoned by Donald Trump
Lord Conrad Black, the former owner of The Daily Telegraph, has received a full pardon from President Donald Trump. The former media mogul, a Canadian-born British citizen, was convicted in 2007 of fraud and obstruction of justice and spent 3-1/2 years in prison. "An entrepreneur and scholar, Lord Black has made tremendous contributions to business, as well…