As usual, links to the biggest stories today.
Crises, confrontations envelop Trump at home and abroad
Unrestrained and lashing out at enemies at home and abroad, Trump is increasingly exporting the turbulence that has exhausted Washington. Yet another pivotal week for the Trump presidency opens on Monday with top officials gathering under the direction of new national security adviser John Bolton to discuss how to respond to a chemical weapons attack in Syria with the world on edge over a potential strike.
More turmoil at Germany’s biggest bank: Deutsche Bank’s CEO is out
John Cryan, who became CEO of the embattled bank less than three years ago, will leave at the end of this month, the company said in a statement late Sunday. He’s being replaced by Christian Sewing, a 47-year-old executive who has worked for Deutsche Bank for nearly three decades, most recently overseeing its wealth management and retail banking businesses.
Facebook is about to tell users if their data was shared with Cambridge Analytica
The company plans to post a link at the top of users’ news feeds that will allow them to see which apps are connected to their Facebook accounts and what information those apps are permitted to see. “As part of this process we will also tell people if their information may have been improperly shared with Cambridge Analytica,” the company said last week.
Runaway train with 1,000 passengers rolls for miles in India
Video on social media shows the train, which was traveling from the western state of Gujarat to Odisha state in the east, speeding past stations as onlookers and passengers scream helplessly. The train was eventually stopped after railway workers placed wooden wedges on the tracks, bringing it to a crunching halt.
Facebook announces changes to combat election meddling
The social media company will now begin labeling all political and issue ads, and showing who paid for them, and it will require anyone who wants to run a political or issue ad to verify their identity and location.
Strikes hit Syrian airfield – reports
Several people have died or were injured after a military airport in Syria came under missile attack, the country’s state media reported. Several missiles struck the Tiyas airbase, also known as T4, near the city of Homs in the early hours of Monday, state news agency Sana said.
Hungary’s Eurosceptic PM wins third term
Hungary’s right-wing Prime Minister Viktor Orban has claimed a landslide victory in Sunday’s general election. The 54-year-old will serve a third consecutive term in office, with his party Fidesz projected to keep its key two-thirds majority in parliament. Fidesz won almost half of the vote, with 93% of ballots counted, Hungary’s National Election Office said.
The handshake that left millions of Kenyans confused
In our series of letters from African Journalists, Joseph Warungu reflects on the plight of supporters of Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga following his reconciliation last month with his bitter rival, President Uhuru Kenyatta. One of the games I enjoyed a lot in my childhood was called “kauka” in Kiswahili, which roughly translates as “freeze”.
‘I paid $90,000 to free my family from IS’
Khalid Taalo Khudhur al-Ali fled with his wife and children as Islamic State militants attacked their town in Iraq in 2014, but 19 other members of his family were captured. Over the last four years he has paid $90,000 for the release of 10 of them.
University offer for mum who went viral
Jahan Taab nursed her baby during a university entrance exam. The photos went viral and changed her life.
Airstrikes Hit Syria After Suspected Chemical Attack, But Pentagon Says U.S. Not Involved
A barrage of missiles struck an airbase in the Homs province on Monday morning. The airstrikes came just days after a suspected chemical attack on a rebel-held town in eastern Ghouta killed dozens of men, women and children, and prompted international condemnation.
Apple Co-Founder Steve Wozniak Ditches Facebook
“Users provide every detail of their life to Facebook and … Facebook makes a lot of advertising money off this,” Wozniak told USA Today via email. “The profits are all based on the user’s info, but the users get none of the profits back.”
White House Trade Adviser: The Washington Post Is ‘Fake News Most Of The Time’
White House trade adviser Peter Navarro escalated President Donald Trump’s attacks on the news media Sunday morning, characterizing The Washington Post as “fake news most of the time.” Speaking with host Chuck Todd on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Navarro brushed off a Washington Post post story from Saturday that described turmoil in the White House.
Trump Blames Putin, Iran For Backing ‘Animal Assad’ In Wake Of Reported Chemical Attack
President Donald Trump lashed out Sunday at Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iran for supporting Syrian President Bashar Assad following a reported government chemical attack in Syria that left dozens dead. “President Putin, Russia and Iran are responsible for backing Animal Assad,” Trump tweeted. “Another humanitarian disaster for no reason whatsoever.
Silence Is Golden For Box Office Champ ‘A Quiet Place’
LOS ANGELES, (Variety.com) – “A Quiet Place” was looking to make noise at the weekend box office, and it delivered. Paramount Pictures’ thriller directed by John Krasinski soared past estimates to a massive $50.3 million opening in 3,508 theaters.
Cambridge Analytica whistleblower says Facebook data could be stored in Russia
Another day, another twist in the Cambridge Analytica saga. And like any political scandal of the past year, now Russia is involved. Facebook already upped the number of its users whose data was unknowingly used for a political data firm from 50 million to 87 million users, but the whistleblower who exposed the data scandal said this weekend that number could be even higher.
Demolition of silo goes wrong way, accidentally falling on library instead
Whoops. On Friday afternoon, a demolition of a 53-metre high silo in Vordingborg, Denmark took place, as had been planned for months. What workers didn’t expect is for the silo to fall the wrong way. Instead of landing on a clear site intended for its remnants, the silo landed on a neighbouring library and cultural centre, leaving a crowd of onlookers a-gasp.
The CDC is terrified of these germs, so it’s trying to contain them
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) can’t stop microbes from mutating and becoming resistant to even our strongest drugs. But it is working harder than ever to come up with an effective containment strategy to stop the spread of these lethal bacteria.
7 ways to transform your Netflix account into a movie lover’s dream
Think you’ve perfected art of watching Netflix? Not so fast… Sure, you may have found the coziest blanket to cuddle with on the couch and finally added everything you aspire to watch to your queue, but if you’re not using these handy Google Chrome extensions, you have yet to master the high-tech art of streaming.
Twitter can’t decide if it wants to kill third-party apps
Twitter’s complicated relationship with developers is about to get a whole lot worse. That’s because the company can’t seem to make up its mind on whether it wants to keep third-party Twitter clients around.
