| Typhoon pummels South Korea with flooding, damaging winds Posted: 02 Sep 2020 05:38 PM PDT  Packing winds with maximum speed of 140 kilometers (87 miles) per hour, Typhoon Maysak was offshore east of the city of Gangneung on Thursday morning and heading toward North Korea, South Korea's weather agency said. More than 2,200 South Koreans evacuated their homes due to the storm that toppled scores of trees, utility poles and lampposts, ripped off signboards, and damaged or flooded dozens of homes and vehicles.
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| Former UN official charged with lying about rape in Iraq Posted: 02 Sep 2020 04:56 PM PDT |
| Global Consumer Electronic Sensors Industry Posted: 02 Sep 2020 04:55 PM PDT |
| Coronavirus in Africa: Could poverty explain mystery of low death rate? Posted: 02 Sep 2020 04:15 PM PDT  Experts are reaching towards a startling hypothesis about the continent's low infection and death rates.
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| Video in Black man's suffocation shows cops put hood on him Posted: 02 Sep 2020 04:10 PM PDT  A Black man who had run naked through the streets of a western New York city died of asphyxiation after a group of police officers put a hood over his head, then pressed his face into the pavement for two minutes, according to video and records released Wednesday by the man's family. Daniel Prude died March 30 after he was taken off life support, seven days after the encounter with police in Rochester. The videos show Prude, who had taken off his clothes, complying when police ask him to get on the ground and put his hands behind his back.
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| Global Epoxy Primer Industry Posted: 02 Sep 2020 03:15 PM PDT |
| CDC tells states: Be ready to distribute vaccines on Nov. 1 Posted: 02 Sep 2020 03:07 PM PDT  The federal government has told states to prepare for a coronavirus vaccine to be ready to distribute by Nov. 1. In a letter to governors dated Aug. 27, Robert Redfield, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said states "in the near future" will receive permit applications from McKesson Corp., which has contracted with CDC to distribute vaccines to places including state and local health departments and hospitals.
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| Maduro invites UN, EU observers to Venezuela election Posted: 02 Sep 2020 03:02 PM PDT  The Venezuelan government of President Nicolas Maduro said Wednesday it had invited the leaders of the United Nations and European Union to send observers to monitor parliamentary elections in December.
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| Amid plans to quit, U.S. will not pay what it owes WHO this year Posted: 02 Sep 2020 02:38 PM PDT |
| Pelosi says hair salon should apologize for 'set-up' visit Posted: 02 Sep 2020 02:15 PM PDT  A testy Nancy Pelosi said Wednesday she takes responsibility for trusting the word of a San Francisco hair salon that it was OK to come in for a solo visit — even though the city still does not allow indoor beauty services because of the coronavirus pandemic. "I take responsibility for trusting the word of a neighborhood salon that I've been to over the years many times, and that when they said ... we're able to accommodate people one person at a time, and that we can set up that time, I trusted that," Pelosi told reporters Wednesday. Pelosi is facing fierce backlash after Fox News Channel aired surveillance footage from the salon that showed her walking through the salon with her hair wet and with a mask around her neck rather than on her face.
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| Kennedy loss in Massachusetts may mark end of 'Camelot' era Posted: 02 Sep 2020 02:09 PM PDT  After the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy, Jacqueline Kennedy famously compared his 1,000-day presidency to "Camelot," a popular Broadway musical about the legend of King Arthur — crafting a wistful shorthand for the Kennedy tenure, and by extension the entire Kennedy dynasty. Now, 60 years after JFK's election as president, some are wondering if the days of "Camelot" are over after U.S. Rep. Joe Kennedy lll's failed attempt to oust incumbent U.S. Sen. Edward Markey in Tuesday's state Democratic primary. The loss marks the first time a member of the political dynasty has come up short in a race for Congress in Massachusetts.
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| Syria reports Israeli airstrikes against central airbase Posted: 02 Sep 2020 02:00 PM PDT |
| Global Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) Machine Industry Posted: 02 Sep 2020 01:55 PM PDT |
| UN: Libya at `turning point,' COVID heading `out of control' Posted: 02 Sep 2020 01:54 PM PDT |
| Nile dam row: US 'to cut $100m in aid' to Ethiopia Posted: 02 Sep 2020 01:45 PM PDT  Ethiopia has begun filling the mega dam before reaching an agreement with Sudan and Egypt.
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| US cuts remaining dues payment to WHO after Trump pullout Posted: 02 Sep 2020 01:20 PM PDT  The Trump administration said Wednesday it won't pay more than $60 million in dues it owes to the World Health Organization and will use the money instead to pay down other contributions to the United Nations. The announcement came just a day after the White House announced the U.S. would not participate in a WHO-run project to develop and distribute a COVID-19 vaccine. The decision to withhold roughly $62 million in outstanding 2020 dues to the WHO is part of President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw from the organization over its handling of the coronavirus pandemic and his allegations that the agency has been improperly influenced by China.
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| House subpoenas embattled Postal Service leader over delays Posted: 02 Sep 2020 01:19 PM PDT  The House Oversight Committee on Wednesday subpoenaed Postmaster General Louis DeJoy for records about the widespread mail delivery delays that have pulled the Postal Service into the political spotlight as it prepares to handle an onslaught of ballots in the November election. The subpoena, which seeks documents related to operational changes that have slowed mail and the agency's plans for the presidential election, comes after committee chair Rep. Carolyn Maloney said DeJoy has not sufficiently answered the panel's requests for more information. "It is clear that a subpoena has become necessary to further the Committee's investigation and help inform potential legislative actions," Maloney, D-N.Y., said this week.
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| Global Feeding Systems Industry Posted: 02 Sep 2020 01:15 PM PDT |
| US: Turkey-sent Syrian fighters generate backlash in Libya Posted: 02 Sep 2020 01:11 PM PDT |
| Outrage after Germany says Putin critic Navalny poisoned with Novichok Posted: 02 Sep 2020 01:01 PM PDT  Germany said Wednesday that Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was poisoned with a Novichok nerve agent, leading Chancellor Angela Merkel to demand answers from the Kremlin and sparking widespread condemnation in the West.
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| Global Fiber Cement Industry Posted: 02 Sep 2020 12:55 PM PDT |
| Once-unsafe streets now provide pupils refuge from pandemic Posted: 02 Sep 2020 12:51 PM PDT  A public school in Brooklyn is looking to show how classes can be moved outside to more safely facilitate in-person learning. Teachers and parents at Public School 15 in the Red Hook neighborhood took to the street outside their campus Wednesday to demonstrate one way outdoor learning could work. "Teachers and principals and parents are modeling outdoor learning, and fighting to get more of it and soon," said City Council Member Brad Lander, who has been polling school districts on their desire for outdoor schooling since July.
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| Global Fill Finish Manufacturing Industry Posted: 02 Sep 2020 11:35 AM PDT |
| Global Film Thickness Measurement Industry Posted: 02 Sep 2020 11:15 AM PDT |
| Macron backs Iraq 'sovereignty' on first Baghdad visit Posted: 02 Sep 2020 11:12 AM PDT  French President Emmanuel Macron met Iraqi leaders Wednesday on his first visit to Baghdad, stressing the war-scarred country must assert its "sovereignty" despite being caught up in US-Iran tensions.
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| 75th anniversary of end of WWII is mostly virtual amid virus Posted: 02 Sep 2020 10:59 AM PDT  When Japanese military leaders climbed aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay on Sept. 2, 1945, the battleship was packed with U.S. sailors eager to see the end of World War II. On Wednesday, the 75th anniversary of the surrender, some of those same men who served the United States weren't able to return to the Missouri in Hawaii's Pearl Harbor because of the world's new war against the coronavirus. Because of the threat of the virus, the ceremony was scaled down to about 50 people, with local veterans and government officials gathering on the USS Missouri in masks.
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| Rishi Sunak's soaring popularity may have made him a target for malign forces Posted: 02 Sep 2020 10:55 AM PDT  Former health secretary Jeremy Hunt was left red faced when paperwork revealed NHS workers were "fleeing the UK" because of a hard Brexit in 2017. It came after handwritten notes carried by an aide to former Minister of State for Asia and the Pacific at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Mark Field revealed the UK's negotiation strategy with the EU was to "have cake and eat it". Even former Prime Minister Theresa May fell foul of photographers when a memo was snapped going into Downing Street revealing her plan to approve new grammar schools. Yet Chancellor Rishi Sunak appeared comparatively unbothered on Wednesday after highlighted notes revealed there would be "no horror show of tax rises". He was seen clutching the document annotated with hand-scribed additions in red pen ahead of a showdown with new Tory MPs in a bid to quell dissent on the backbenches over reports of tax rises.
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| Global Fire Resistant Glass Industry Posted: 02 Sep 2020 10:35 AM PDT |
| Alexei Navalny: Russia's charismatic anti-Putin campaigner Posted: 02 Sep 2020 10:22 AM PDT  A charismatic anti-corruption campaigner, Alexei Navalny has been Russia's leading opposition politician for around a decade, determined to challenge Vladimir Putin's grip on power despite frequent prison stays and even damage to his health.
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| Former Italian premier Berlusconi tests positive for COVID Posted: 02 Sep 2020 10:21 AM PDT  Italy's former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi has tested positive for COVID-19 after a precautionary check and will quarantine at home, his press office said on Wednesday. Berlusconi, who is 83, is currently isolated in his Arcore residence near Milan, his office said, adding that he will continue to work from there as he completes the necessary quarantine period. Reports said Berlusconi confirmed the news in a private Zoom conversation with the women's movement of Forza Italia, his centrist party.
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| Global Flat Glass Coatings Industry Posted: 02 Sep 2020 10:15 AM PDT |
| Global Flexible Insulation Industry Posted: 02 Sep 2020 09:55 AM PDT |
| Trump takes jab at Biden during V-J Day visit to battleship Posted: 02 Sep 2020 09:52 AM PDT  As thunderstorms threatened, President Donald Trump sped through a V-J Day speech on Wednesday, trumpeting American strength and managing to squeeze in a swipe at Democratic rival Joe Biden. Trump stood before an iconic World War II-era battleship to declare the port city of Wilmington, North Carolina, a World War II "Heritage City." "He's 100 percent sharp," Trump said of Williams, who traveled to the key battleground state with the president aboard Air Force One.
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| Depression, anxiety spike amid outbreak and turbulent times Posted: 02 Sep 2020 09:52 AM PDT  In the latest study to suggest an uptick, half of U.S. adults surveyed reported at least some signs of depression, such as hopelessness, feeling like a failure or getting little pleasure from doing things. The study did not ask about any diagnosis they might have received, and for many people, the problem is mostly angst rather than full-blown psychiatric illness. For some people, it stems from lost loved ones and the financial distress and social isolation the outbreak has caused.
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| Global Food Antioxidants Industry Posted: 02 Sep 2020 09:35 AM PDT |
| U.S. has no reason to doubt German view Novichok used against Navalny -source Posted: 02 Sep 2020 09:29 AM PDT |
| CNN Host Battles Trump Spox Over QAnon, Kyle Rittenhouse in Bonkers Interview Posted: 02 Sep 2020 09:28 AM PDT  Another day, another off-the-rails interview featuring a Trump campaign flack fighting with a CNN host while defending President Donald Trump's latest insane controversy and embrace of conspiracies.In a lengthy and extremely combative exchange Wednesday morning on CNN, Trump's campaign press secretary Hogan Gidley was immediately pressed by anchor Jim Sciutto on the president's recent visit to Kenosha, Wisconsin, the site of violent protests following the police shooting of Jacob Blake."During his trip, the president defended a man, a 17-year-old now accused of homicide. He did not mention Jacob Blake's name once there," Sciutto wondered aloud. "Why is that?"Gidley argued that Trump "didn't defend" alleged teenaged murderer Kyle Rittenhouse, claiming that the president instead just pointed to video footage that he claimed shows that Rittenhouse "was attacked and it appears as though that man did act in self-defense." After Sciutto followed up by asking whether Trump endorses a 17-year-old traveling to another state and acting as law enforcement, Gidley said the president does not, then seemingly defended Rittenhouse's alleged vigilantism."If you don't allow police to do their job, then the American people have to defend themselves some way," Gidley began, prompting Sciutto to accuse him of justifying vigilante justice."No! I did no such thing," Gidley yelled, sending the interview into its predictable downward spiral.After the campaign official clarified that armed citizens taking the law into their hands is "a bad idea," Sciutto pivoted to the president's embrace of baseless conspiracy theories."The president has been sharing a whole host of unfounded conspiracy theories, many of them sourced from QAnon, which I know you're well aware of," the CNN host declared. "I just wonder does the president actually believe some of these theories, or is he just trying to keep the support of QAnon people, many of whom support the president and have visited his rallies. Does he believe some of these things, actually?"Gidley claimed he was "confused" and didn't know what "theories" Sciutto was referencing, leading Sciutto to bring up the president's fantastical tale about a plane load of black-clad antifa soldiers heading to Washington, D.C. to "do big damage" at the Republican National Convention."Well, I haven't spoken with him directly about this and you know, Jim, because you worked in the Obama administration, the information you receive inside the White House is much different," Gidley responded, snarking about Sciutto's previous role as chief of staff to the U.S. ambassador to China.The Trump flack went on to claim he doesn't have information on Trump's claim—which matches a debunked Facebook post—while simultaneously lending credence to it, wondering "who pays for the flights" of out-of-town protesters."Is there an investigation underway, or is the president just sharing something that he heard online?" Sciutto shot back."Again, that's a question you'd have to ask to the White House," Gidley responded. "I don't work there anymore."Gidley and Sciutto continued to go back and forth over the president amplifying conspiracies about liberal Jewish philanthropist George Soros, with the CNN host pointing out that attacks on the billionaire are typically rooted in anti-Semitism and often pushed by QAnon conspiracists."QAnon, as you know, started with the conspiracy theory that Democrats and Hollywood stars are running a child sex ring out of a pizzeria here in Washington," Sciutto finally pressed Gidley. "Does the president believe that QAnon conspiracy theory?""Again, not to my knowledge," the campaign spokesperson shrugged. "I've had no conversation with him about that. We're not focused on that here."Gidley, meanwhile, is the just the most recent White House and campaign official to have credulously claimed they're unaware of QAnon, even as the president has offered sympathy for the followers of the unhinged and violent conspiracy.From that point, the conversation devolved into a shoutfest as Gidley called Russian election interference a "debunked" conspiracy while the CNN host repeatedly asked why Trump wouldn't warn Vladimir Putin to not meddle in American elections. And then the personal potshots came."Does Jeff tell you guys to do this?" Gidley needled Sciutto, alleging that CNN president Jeff Zucker was in Sciutto's ear.The seemingly endless segment came to an end when Gidley objected to the media questioning the president's health while simultaneously speculating about Joe Biden's mental acuity. "No one has more strength than Donald Trump," Gidley boasted. "No one can keep up with him. Yes, he's got the best message and yes, he's got the best record. He's got the best work ethic. My goodness, Joe Biden has been in a basement with his feet kicked up for the last several months.""How many times on the golf course, Hogan?" Sciutto fired back. "Come on."Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
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| Biden raises over $360 million in August, shattering record Posted: 02 Sep 2020 09:20 AM PDT  Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden raised $364 million in August, a record sum that will give him ample resources to compete in the final two months of the campaign against President Donald Trump. Biden struggled to raise money early in the primary. In July, he all but closed the huge cash-on-hand advantage enjoyed by Trump, who held $300 million in reserve.
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| DHS delayed intel report on foreign powers trying to raise doubts about Biden, Trump health Posted: 02 Sep 2020 09:17 AM PDT  The document mentions efforts by Iran and China to criticize Trump, but focuses on Russian-backed narratives about Biden's mental health.
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| US imposes sanctions on top international criminal court officials Posted: 02 Sep 2020 09:08 AM PDT  * Mike Pompeo says ICC 'continues to target Americans' * Fatou Bensouda and Phakiso Mochochoko have assets blockedThe US has imposed sanctions on the chief prosecutor of the international criminal court, Fatou Bensouda, in the latest of a series of unilateral and radical foreign policy moves.Announcing the sanctions, the secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, did not give any specific reasons for the move other than to say the ICC "continues to target Americans" and that Bensouda was "materially assisting" that alleged effort.He also announced sanctions against Phakiso Mochochoko, the ICC's director of jurisdiction, complementary and cooperation division.The US Treasury issued a statement saying Bensouda and Mochochoko had been deemed "specially designated nationals", grouping them alongside terrorists and narcotics traffickers, blocking their assets and prohibited US citizens from having any dealings with them.In June, Donald Trump issued an executive order imposing sanctions on ICC officials involved in investigating Americans, in response to the court's decision to open an inquiry into war crimes committed by all sides in Afghanistan.The US also opposes ICC scrutiny of potential Israeli crimes against Palestinians as part of an investigation that also looks at abuses carried out by Palestinian security forces.The US was roundly condemned for its anti-ICC campaign, which was not supported by any other western democracy or US ally apart from Israel. In a statement in response to the sanctions on Wednesday, the ICC said: "These coercive acts, directed at an international judicial institution and its civil servants, are unprecedented and constitute serious attacks against the Court…and the rule of law more generally."Richard Dicker, the international justice director at Human Rights Watch, said the announcement "marks a stunning perversion of US sanctions, devised to penalize rights abusers and kleptocrats, to persecute those tasked with prosecuting international crimes"."The Trump administration has twisted these sanctions to obstruct justice, not only for certain war crimes victims, but for atrocity victims anywhere looking to the international criminal court for justice," Dicker said.The decision to escalate its campaign against the ICC is one of a series of radical steps the Trump administration has taken on foreign policy that have left it isolated on the world stage.On Monday, it was alone in voting against a counter-terrorism resolution in the UN security council. On other recent council votes involving US efforts to reimpose UN sanctions on Iran, Washington has only managed to secure the support of the Dominican Republic.On Wednesday, Pompeo also confirmed that the US would not be taking part in an international effort to find a vaccine for Covid-19, because the World Health Organization was involved. The administration has sought to blame the WHO for the pandemic, against which the US has fared worse than any other major industrialised economy."This administration wants multilateral institutions to function, to actually work, but multilateralism just for the sake of it, just to get together in a room and chat doesn't add value," Pompeo said on Wednesday."This should be a five-alarm fire for the UN," Mark Leon Goldberg, the editor of the UN Dispatch newsletter, said on Twitter. "It's one small step from imposing sanctions against top WHO officials as part of Trump's campaign to shift blame for his handling of Covid-19."
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| Russian authorities behind Navalny poisoning must face consequences - Lithuania Posted: 02 Sep 2020 09:04 AM PDT |
| World Food Travel Association Supports the UN's Global Tourism Plastics Initiative Posted: 02 Sep 2020 09:00 AM PDT  Today the World Food Travel Association (WFTA) announced that it has become a signatory of the Global Tourism Plastics Initiative, a project led by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO).
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| Global Food Packaging Technology Industry Posted: 02 Sep 2020 08:55 AM PDT |
| UN atomic watchdog: N Korea still enriching uranium Posted: 02 Sep 2020 08:44 AM PDT |
| Coronavirus in South Africa: 'Frightening' findings of Covid-19 funds audit Posted: 02 Sep 2020 08:40 AM PDT  South Africa's auditor general finds authorities paying five times the recommended price for PPE.
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| Putin critic Navalny faces long period of illness - German hospital Posted: 02 Sep 2020 08:30 AM PDT |
| Michel Barnier accuses UK of holding EU fishermen hostage in Brexit trade talks Posted: 02 Sep 2020 08:19 AM PDT  Michel Barnier has wished Britain "good luck" with surviving a no deal Brexit after accusing the UK of holding European Union fishermen hostage in the deadlocked trade talks. The EU's chief negotiator said Britain had shown no willingness to compromise over fishing rights and warned that unless the UK caved there would be no trade deal with the EU. "Obviously the UK will recover the full sovereignty of their waters. No doubt. No question. But it is another thing, another story, speaking about the fish which are inside those waters," he said before next week's round of negotiations in London. Mr Barnier hit back after the Prime Minister's spokesman blamed Brussels for the lack of progress in last week's round of negotiations on Wednesday.
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| Sarah Huckabee Sanders says Trump told her to 'take one for the team' after Kim Jong Un seemingly winked at her Posted: 02 Sep 2020 08:16 AM PDT  If it weren't already clear, President Trump should absolutely, positively not be handing out dating advice.In her memoir Speaking for Myself out next Tuesday, former White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders describes how North Korean leader Kim Jong Un seemingly winked at her while she was taking notes for Trump during a meeting. And when she told Trump what happened, he suggested a bit of unorthodox diplomacy, The Guardian reports via the book.During Trump and Kim's 2018 summit in Singapore, the two leaders talked about women's soccer and shared some Tic Tacs after Trump assured Kim they weren't poison, Sanders writes in the book. Sanders took notes during their discussions and when she looked up from them, she "notice[d] Kim staring at me. We made direct eye contact and Kim nodded and appeared to wink at me. I was stunned. I quickly looked down and continued taking notes." Sanders goes on to write that "All I could think was, 'What just happened? Surely Kim Jong Un did not just mark me!?'"When Sanders, Trump, and then-Chief of Staff John Kelly Trump's limo, she told them what happened. "Kim Jong-un hit on you! He did! He f---ing hit on you!" Trump apparently responded. Sanders told Trump to stop, but he just went on with the jokes. "Well, Sarah, that settles it. You're going to North Korea and taking one for the team! Your husband and kids will miss you, but you'll be a hero to your country!" Huckabee recalls Trump saying. Kelly and Trump then "howled with laughter," Sanders writes, and the car drove away. Read more at The Guardian.More stories from theweek.com Pelosi says San Francisco salon 'owes me an apology for setting me up' The poisonous lessons of a potential Trump victory CDC 'urgently' tells states to get coronavirus vaccine distribution running by Nov. 1
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| US imposes sanctions on ICC chief prosecutor in 'stunning' and 'unprecedented' move Posted: 02 Sep 2020 08:05 AM PDT  The Trump administration has imposed "unprecedented" sanctions on the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court and one of her top aides for continuing to investigate war crime allegations against Americans. Mike Pompeo, Secretary of State, announced the moves as part of the administration's pushback against the tribunal, based in The Hague, for investigations into the US and its allies. The sanctions include a freeze on assets held in the US or subject to US law and target prosecutor Fatou Bensouda and the court's head of jurisdiction, Phakiso Mochochoko. "Today we take the next step, because the ICC continues to target Americans, sadly," Mr Pompeo told reporters. Ms Bensouda was given the go-ahead by the court in March to investigate whether war crimes were committed in Afghanistan by the Taliban, Afghan military and US forces. Mr Pompeo had previously imposed a travel ban on Ms Bensouda and other tribunal employees because of its investigation into allegations of torture and other crimes by Americans in Afghanistan. Human rights groups and others have condemned the administration's moves against the court and Wednesday's announcement was immediately met with criticism. Richard Dicker, the international justice director at Human Rights Watch, called it "a stunning perversion of US sanctions, devised to penalise rights abusers and kleptocrats, to persecute those tasked with prosecuting international crimes." "The Trump administration has twisted these sanctions to obstruct justice, not only for certain war crimes victims, but for atrocity victims anywhere looking to the International Criminal Court for justice," he said. In March 2019, Mr Pompeo ordered the revocation or denial of visas to ICC staff seeking to investigate allegations of war crimes and other abuses by US forces in Afghanistan or elsewhere. He also said he might revoke the visas of those who seek action against Israel. Katherine Gallagher, a human rights lawyer at the Center for Constitutional Rights, described the move as "unprecedented". "To see ICC prosecutors listed on OFAC (The Office of Foreign Assets Control) sanctions list bc (sic) of investigations of war crimes & crimes against humanity is simply incredible. Shame," she tweeted. "Pompeo said designations were being made because the ICC 'continues to target Americans.' There has been NO movement in the investigation of US torture - at least that I as a legal representative has seen. Instead, Afghanistan situation is on hold, pending decision on deferral." Agnes Callamard, United Nations Special Rapporteur, wrote: "Speechless right now. I am. Sanctions against the Prosecutor of the ICC??"
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| Putin critic Navalny was poisoned with a chemical nerve agent, Germany says Posted: 02 Sep 2020 08:02 AM PDT  A chemical nerve agent was used to poison Alexei Navalny, prominent critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Germany says.The Russian opposition leader was hospitalized last month after falling ill on a flight to Moscow, and after he was transferred to a hospital in Germany, a spokesperson for German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday said tests conducted at a German military lab found "proof without doubt of a chemical nerve agent from the Novichok group," The Associated Press reports. The press secretary for Navalny's anti-corruption organization previously said that "we suspect that Alexei was poisoned by something mixed into [his] tea."Russian doctors had claimed that Navalny wasn't poisoned, but a German hospital later said he was, and that he was suffering from "intoxication by a substance from the group of cholinesterase inhibitors." Novichok was used in 2018 to poison former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter, AP notes.The German spokesperson on Wednesday described it as "startling" that Navalny was "the victim of an attack with a chemical nerve agent in Russia," reports CNN, also saying the "federal government condemns this attack in the strongest possible terms" and that "we hope for a full recovery."More stories from theweek.com Pelosi says San Francisco salon 'owes me an apology for setting me up' The poisonous lessons of a potential Trump victory CDC 'urgently' tells states to get coronavirus vaccine distribution running by Nov. 1
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