BRIEF – ME! – DAILY NEWS BRIEFING
In today’s briefing update, The headlines are – Boris Johnson’s adviser has quit after backlash following comments he made about race.
The aid effort in Syria is “overwhelmed” as the number of people being displaced has risen.
Kim Jong Un has spent over $500G on Russian horses in the past decade. The North Korean leader had previously staged a photo-op on a white stallion.
WikiLeaks is demanding answers after its official Twitter account was locked – ahead of founder Julian Assange’s extradition hearing.
Entertainment, Taylor Swift’s dad fights off an intruder in his Florida penthouse.
All this and more in today’s news briefing – A daily roundup of all the news headlines that you need to know, summarised as part of WTX News Briefing.
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UK PM’s adviser quits amid backlash over comments on IQ, race
Aljazeera reports an adviser to Boris Johnson has quit his role after receiving backlash for comments he made over race. He claimed that black Americans have a lower average IQ than white Americans. He had also discussed the benefits of forced contraception.
Andrew Sabisky said he was quitting because he had become “a distraction.”
Earlier, Johnson’s spokesman repeatedly refused to comment when asked about Sabisky. Andrew Sabisky’s appointment drew widespread criticism after the Mail on Sunday reported statements made in his name online in 2014 and 2016.
Read the full story on Aljazeera
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Aid effort ‘overwhelmed’ amid Idlib offensive
BBC News says the aid operation in north-eastern Syria is being “overwhelmed” as the number of people displaced by the government offensive in Idlib rises, the UN said.
900,000 people have been forced to flee since December, most of them being women and children, it said.
The UN added that health facilities and schools were being targeted.
Read the full story on BBC News
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Kim Jong Un spent over $500G on Russian horses over the past decade, data shows
Fox News reports North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has spent more than $500,000 importing horses from Russia over the past decade, according to Russian customs data.
Kim Jung Un had previously staged photo-ops of himself riding a white stallion.
Last year, North Korea paid $75,509 to import a dozen Russian purebred horses, according to data reviewed by Reuters.
Read the full story on Fox News
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WikiLeaks demands answers as Twitter account is locked ahead of Assange extradition hearing
RT News says WikiLeaks editor-in-chief Kristinn Hrafnsson is seeking answers after the official account was mysteriously locked ahead of the extradition hearing for founder Julian Assange, who faces life in US jail.
Hrafnsson claimed the @wikileaks Twitter account had been locked “shortly before Assange extradition hearing” and for no reason.
The accounts most recent posts date back to February 9 and concern the dire precedent set by extraditing a publisher to stand trial on espionage charges. Assange’s extradition hearing in the UK is set to begin next week, and the second part of the hearing is scheduled for May.
Read the full story on RT News
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WHO warns against virus over-reaction as death toll hits 1,868
France24 says the World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned against a global over-reaction to the new coronavirus epidemic. The warning comes following reports of panic-buying, event cancellations and concerns about cruise ship travel.
China’s official death toll nears 1,900 on Tuesday.
More than 72,000 people have now been infected in China and hundreds more abroad, although the WHO stressed the disease has infected a “tiny” proportion of people outside its epicentre and the death rate remains relatively low.
The coronavirus outbreak is threatening to put a dent in the global economy, with China paralysed by strict quarantine measures and major firms such as Apple warning it could damage bottom lines.
Read the full story on France24
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Taylor Swift’s father ‘fights off burglar who broke into $4m flat’
Sky News says Taylor Swift’s father has fought off a burglar who broke into his Florida penthouse.
Scott Swift, 67, returned to his home in the Vinoy Place Towers late on 17 January to find 30-year-old Terrence Hoover had managed to access the house through an emergency stairwell.
The pair fought before Hoover fled, according to the Tampa Bay Times.
Read the full story on Sky News
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