Download the app and get the day’s most important stories.
Download the app and get the day’s most important stories.
World leaders expressed their shock as supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol building where Congress meets in an attempt to overturn the results of the Nov. 3 election won by Joe Biden. Iran’s president said it proved the weakness of Western democracy while officials in China and Russia compared the storming to protests in Hong Kong and Ukraine.
Donald Trump has deleted three tweets accused of inciting violence that caused his account to be suspended on Wednesday night. His account was locked for twelve hours and threatened with permanent suspension after both Twitter and Facebook said his messages increased the likelihood of violence as his supporters rioted in Washington. There was chaos – and four deaths – after the president directed his supporters to go to the Capitol building.
The International Olympic Committee is working on ways to get athletes the coronavirus jab in the second or third wave so that the Tokyo Games can go ahead safely in July, the Guardian has been told. While insisting that we “do not want to queue jump”, IOC sources are hoping athletes from around the globe will be high up on the vaccination list, once key workers and the vulnerable are given the jab.
New York air traffic controllers received a message threatening to avenge Iranian general Qassem Soleimani’s death. The warning was received Monday, just one day after the anniversary of the U.S. drone strike ordered by President Donald Trump that killed Soleimani and Iraqi militia commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis. The threat comes as thousands of Iraqis, chanting anti-American slogans, gathered in Baghdad’s central square on Sunday to protest Soleimani’s killing.
Amazon has become the latest US tech giant to pledge billions of dollars to support affordable housing. The e-commerce giant said it was starting a fund of more than $2bn (£1.47bn) aimed at creating or preserving 20,000 homes across three regions in the US. The effort follows years of rising home and rental prices in the US.