“A journalist was seized by security forces in Turkmenistan as she was due to travel to Switzerland for an international human rights award ceremony, a group of NGOs said on Thursday, calling for her immediate release. … Soltan Achilova, a journalist and photographer, was set to be presented with a Martin Ennals Award, a high-profile human rights award at a ceremony in Geneva this week. Achilova was awarded the prize in 2021 but could not claim it as the ceremony was held virtually during the COVID-19 pandemic. But on Nov. 20 ahead of her scheduled departure, security forces pushed her and two family members into an ambulance and took her to a hospital for infectious diseases where she is being held under guard, the group of 11 NGOs including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said in a statement.” (11/21/24)
“Northvolt is filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after Europe’s best-funded start-up and main hope for countering Asian dominance in electric vehicle batteries failed to agree a last-minute rescue package with investors. The Swedish group said on Thursday night that it was filing for Chapter 11 reorganisation in the US — an option for overseas companies that operate there — and would carry on operating as normal in the mean time. … Northvolt was seen as crucial to Europe’s automotive industry and its best chance of fighting back against the likes of China’s CATL and BYD, Japan’s Panasonic, and South Korea’s LG and Samsung in EV battery production. But the Swedish group, which raised more than $15bn from investors such as Volkswagen, Goldman Sachs and BlackRock as well as the German and Canadian governments, has struggled to increase production at its one factory in Skellefteå in northern Sweden.” (11/21/24)
“The Illinois Supreme Court on Thursday overturned actor Jussie Smollett’s conviction on charges that he staged a racist and homophobic attack against himself in downtown Chicago in 2019 and lied to police. The state’s highest court ruled that a special prosecutor should not have been allowed to intervene after Cook County state’s attorney initially dropped charges against Smollett in exchange for forfeiting his $10,000 bond and conducting community service. The ruling and the appeal did not address Smollett’s continued claim of innocence. Smollett, who is [b]lack and gay, claimed two men assaulted him, spouted racial and homophobic slurs and tossed a noose around his neck, leading to a massive search for suspects by Chicago police detectives and kicking up an international uproar.” (11/21/24)
“The first Neuralink clinical trials outside the US will take place in Canada. Neuralink has secured Health Canada’s approval to launch human trials in the country, with the Toronto Western Hospital being the ‘first and exclusive surgical site’ for the procedure. The company first opened its Canadian patient registry in March this year, but now it’s actively looking for potential participants. “Recruitment is now open,” it has announced on X. Under the CAN-PRIME study, Neuralink will embed its implant in the brain of the participant so that it can interpret their neural activity.” (11/21/24)
“Kenyan President William Ruto has ordered the cancellation of a procurement process that had been expected to award control of the country’s main airport to India’s Adani Group after its founder was indicted in the United States. Ruto made the announcement on Thursday in his state of the nation address. Under the proposed deal worth nearly $2bn, the Adani Group was to add a second runway at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and upgrade the passenger terminal in exchange for a 30-year lease. Ruto also said he was cancelling a separate 30-year, $736m public-private partnership that an Adani Group firm signed with the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum last month to construct power transmission lines. … US authorities said in the indictment on Wednesday that group founder Gautam Adani, one of the world’s richest people, and seven other defendants agreed to pay about $265m in bribes to Indian government officials.” (11/21/24)
“NASA says that the International Space Station (ISS) shifted its orbit on Tuesday to avoid a piece of debris. The debris avoidance maneuver involved firing thrusters on the ISS at 2:09 p.m. CT for 5 minutes, 31 seconds, according to NASA. This adjustment raised the ISS orbit to ‘provide an extra margin of distance from a piece of orbital debris from a defunct defense meteorological satellite that broke up in 2015,’ the agency says.” (11/20/24)
“A Florida man was arrested Wednesday and charged with a plot to ‘reboot’ the U.S. government by planting a bomb at the New York Stock Exchange this week and detonating it with a remote-controlled device, according to the FBI. Harun Abdul-Malik Yener, 30, of Coral Springs, Florida, was charged with attempt to use an explosive device to damage or destroy a building used in interstate commerce. The FBI began investigating Yener in February based on a tip that he was storing ‘bombmaking schematics’ in a storage unit. … In the last month, he had rewired two-way radios so that they could work as remote triggers for an explosive device and planned to wear a disguise when planting the explosives, according to court documents. Yener had his first court appearance Wednesday afternoon and will be detained while he awaits a trial.” (11/21/24)
“The U.N. nuclear watchdog’s board on Thursday condemned Iran for failing to cooperate fully with the agency, the second time it has done so in just five months. The International Atomic Energy Agency also called on Tehran to provide answers in a long-running investigation into uranium particles found at two locations that Tehran has failed to declare as nuclear sites. Nineteen members of the IAEA board voted for the resolution, while Russia, China and Burkina Faso opposed it, and 12 abstained and one did not vote, according to diplomats who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe the outcome of the closed-doors vote. The resolution was put forward by France, Germany and Britain, supported by the United States. It comes at a critical time, ahead of Donald Trump’s return to the White House.” (11/21/24)
“North Korea and Russia reached a new agreement for expanding economic cooperation following high-level talks in Pyongyang this week, the North’s state media said Thursday, as they continue to align in the face of their confrontations with Washington. North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency didn’t elaborate on the details of the agreement signed Wednesday between its senior trade officials and a Russian delegation led by Alexandr Kozlov, the country’s minister of natural resources and ecology. The Russian news agency Tass on Tuesday said officials following an earlier round of talks agreed to increase the number of charter flights between the countries to promote tourism.” (11/21/24)
“A Tennessee man who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, has been convicted of plotting to kill federal authorities investigating his involvement in the insurrection. Edward Kelley, 35, of Maryville, Tenn., was convicted by a federal jury on Wednesday following a three-day trial. He faces up to life in prison when he is sentenced on May 7, the Justice Department said in a statement. Kelley had been among the mob of supporters of Donald Trump who stormed the Capitol in January 2021 to prevent the certification of Joe Biden as the 46th president of the United States. Prosecutors showed during the trial that Kelley had a so-called kill list of FBI agents and others who were involved in investigating his insurrection case. An unnamed defendant, who previously pleaded guilty to aiding Kelley in the conspiracy, testified that they planned to attack the Knoxville FBI Field Office with car bombs and incendiary devices dropped by drones.” (11/21/24)
