Jamal Edwards, who nurtured UK musical talent, dead at 31
LONDON -- Jamal Edwards, a British music entrepreneur who championed U.K. rap and grime and helped launch the careers of artists including Ed Sheeran, Jessie J and Stormzy, has died. He was 31.
His mother, broadcaster Brenda Edwards, said Monday that her son died the day before after a sudden illness. She said the family was “completely devastated. He was the center of our world.”
Edwards founded the online music channel SBTV as a teenager in 2006. Frustrated that he could not find the music he loved online, he began filming performances by friends in his west London neighborhood. SBTV now has more than 1.2 million subscribers on YouTube and has helped a generation of performers, including rappers like Stormzy, Skepta and Dave, gain national and international attention.
“It was a frustration of going to school and everyone talking about ‘How do we get our videos on MTV,’” Edwards later recalled. “YouTube was like a year old. I was like ‘I’ve got a camera for Christmas, I’m going to start filming people and uploading it.’
“Everyone was looking at me like ‘what are you doing, like you can compete with these major corporations.' But I think I was early enough to believe that I could make a change.”
Edwards was given an MBE, an honor from the queen, in 2014 for services to music and was an ambassador for Prince Charles’ charity, the Prince’s Trust.
Prince Charles' Clarence House office tweeted: "Thinking of the family of Jamal Edwards today. His work in music but also as an ambassador for a new generation, including his work for The Prince’s Trust, were an inspiration to so many.”
Edwards' sudden death shocked Britain’s entertainment business.
“My first ever interview was with you. Jamal,” singer Rita Ora wrote on Instagram. “Our endless talks on music and the belief you had in me and so many of us before we even believed in ourselves. I’m devastated.”
Actor Adam Deacon said he was “heartbroken.”
“Jamal was one of the nicest, most down to earth and humble men I’ve met in this industry. He always gave me time even when no one else would. He was an inspiration and what he achieved in life was truly remarkable.”
Rapper and producer Example, whose full name is Elliot Gleave, said: “Can’t believe you’re gone. 31 years old. Can’t find the words right now.”
Source: ABC News
Queen Elizabeth II tests positive for COVID; mild symptoms
LONDON -- Queen Elizabeth II tested positive for COVID-19 on Sunday and is experiencing mild, cold-like symptoms, Buckingham Palace said, adding that she still plans to carry on working. The diagnosis prompted concern and get-well wishes from across Britain's political spectrum for the famously stoic 95-year-old.
Britain’s longest-reigning monarch and a fixture in the life of the nation, the queen reached the milestone of 70 years on the throne on Feb. 6, the anniversary of the 1952 death of her father, King George VI. She will turn 96 on April 21.
The palace said the queen, who has been fully vaccinated and had a booster shot, would continue with “light” duties at Windsor Castle over the coming week.
“She will continue to receive medical attention and will follow all the appropriate guidelines," the palace said in a statement.
People in the U.K. who test positive for COVID-19 are now required to self-isolate for at least five days, although the British government says it plans to lift that requirement for England this week.
Both the queen's eldest son Prince Charles, 73, and her 74-year-old daughter-in-law Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall contracted COVID-19 earlier this month. Charles has since returned to work. There are also thought to be several recent virus cases among staff at Windsor Castle, where the queen is staying.
Paul Hunter, an infectious diseases expert at the University of East Anglia, said the queen would likely be given one of several antiviral drugs that have been approved in the U.K. to treat COVID-19.
“If you do get them early enough, it does reduce the risk of severe disease developing, so I would imagine any doctor for a patient in their 90s would be considering giving these antivirals,” he said.
A host of senior British politicians sent get-well messages on Sunday. Prime Minister Boris Johnson tweeted: “I’m sure I speak for everyone in wishing Her Majesty The Queen a swift recovery from COVID and a rapid return to vibrant good health.”
Health Secretary Sajid Javid wrote that he was “Wishing Her Majesty The Queen a quick recovery,” while opposition Labour Party leader Keir Starmer wished the queen "good health and a speedy recovery. Get well soon, Ma’am.”
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison also sent well-wishes. “We wish her a full recovery and there are few more resilient people than Her Majesty. She has demonstrated that over a long lifetime,” Morrison said Monday, according to Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
Elizabeth has been in robust health for most of her reign and has been photographed riding a horse as recently as 2020. In the past year she has been seen using a walking stick, and in October she spent a night in a London hospital for unspecified tests.
The queen's doctors ordered her to rest after that and she was forced to cancel appearances at several key events, including Remembrance Sunday services and the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow, Scotland in November.
This month she returned to public duties and has held audiences both virtually and in person with diplomats, politicians and senior military officers. During one exchange caught on camera last week, she walked slowly with a stick and said “as you can see I can’t move” in apparent reference to her leg.
The queen delivered two televised messages to the nation early in the pandemic in 2020, and has sought to lead by example. She let it be known she had been vaccinated, and last year sat alone during the funeral of her husband of 72 years, Prince Philip, because of coronavirus restrictions.
Joe Little, managing editor of Majesty magazine, said members of the royal family are probably more concerned than the queen about her situation.
“I would guess that she will be matter-of-fact about the diagnosis in a way perhaps that the people around her are less matter-of-fact,” he said.
The queen has a busy schedule over the next few months of her Platinum Jubilee year, and is scheduled to attend in-person public engagements in the coming weeks, including a diplomatic reception at Windsor on March 2 and the Commonwealth Service at Westminster Abbey on March 14.
On March 29, she has a remembrance service at Westminster Abbey for Philip, who died in April 2021 at 99.
Public celebrations of the Platinum Jubilee are scheduled over a long weekend June 2-5, with festivities including a military parade, a day of horse racing and neighborhood parties.
The queen is the latest monarch from around the world to catch COVID-19. Queen Margrethe of Denmark, 82, and Spain’s King Felipe VI, 54, both tested positive for the illness earlier in February and had mild symptoms.
Her diagnosis comes after a difficult week for Britain's royal family.
On Tuesday the queen's second son, Prince Andrew, settled a U.S. lawsuit brought by a woman who claimed he had sexually abused with her when she was 17 and traveling with the late financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Andrew strenuously denied the claim by Virginia Giuffre. He agreed in a settlement to make a substantial donation to his accuser’s charity.
On Wednesday, London's Metropolitan Police launched an investigation into allegations that people associated with one of Prince Charles’ charities offered to help a Saudi billionaire secure honors and citizenship in return for donations.
Source: ABC News
Putin orders troops into pro-Russian regions of eastern Ukraine
Kyiv and Lviv, Ukraine (CNN)Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered troops into separatist-held parts of eastern Ukraine in what the Kremlin called a "peacekeeping" mission, just hours after he signed decrees recognizing the independence of the Moscow-backed regions.
It is unclear if Russian troop movements marked the beginning of an invasion of Ukraine that Western leaders have warned about for weeks. But multiple US and Western officials warned Monday's move could serve as the opening salvo of a larger military operation targeting the country.
In a fiery speech on Monday night, Putin blasted Kyiv's growing security ties with the West, and in lengthy remarks about the history of the USSR and the formation of the Ukrainian Socialist Soviet Republic, appeared to cast doubt on Ukraine's right to self-determination.
"Ukraine has never had traditions of its own statehood," he said, calling the eastern part of the country "ancient Russian lands."
The decrees signed by Putin conveyed Moscow's official recognition over two breakaway territories in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine -- the Donetsk People's Republic and Luhansk People's Republic (DPR and LPR). The decrees recognized them as independent states and guaranteed their security with Russian troops. The decrees said that Russian so-called peacekeeping forces would be deployed in the regions.
A senior US administration official said the speech was meant to "justify war" to the Russian people and that it amounted to "an attack on the very idea of a sovereign and independent Ukraine" using "a number of false claims" meant to justify military action.
"The human costs of a further Russian invasion and occupation will be devastating," the official said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed the nation early Tuesday saying Russia's actions violate the country's "national integrity and sovereignty" and Ukraine's international borders will "remain as such."
"We are on our land. We are not afraid of anything and anyone. We don't owe anything to anyone, and we will not give away anything to anyone. And we are confident of this," Zelensky said in his video address.
He said Ukraine had initiated an emergency meeting with the Normandy Four, which also includes Germany, Russia and France.
Separatists in eastern Ukraine have long had substantial backing from the Kremlin, with the US, NATO and Ukrainian officials saying Moscow supplies them with advisory support and intelligence, and embeds its own officers in their ranks. Russia has always denied having its own troops on the ground.
Moscow has also distributed hundreds of thousands of Russian passports to people in Donbas in recent years, with Putin attempting to establish facts on the ground by naturalizing Ukrainians as Russian citizens. Kyiv and the West maintain that the region is part of Ukrainian territory, although the Ukrainian government asserts the two regions have been in effect Russian-occupied since 2014, when the conflict in eastern Ukraine began.
Claims of Russian peacekeepers 'nonsense'
In a last-minute UN Security Council meeting convened Monday evening, US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield said Putin's recognition of the pro-Moscow regions in eastern Ukraine was an "attempt to create a pretext for a further invasion."
She said his claim that Russian forces are entering those regions as "peacekeepers" is "nonsense."
"We know what they really are," Thomas-Greenfield said.
Earlier on Monday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called Putin's decision to recognize the breakaway regions "a clear attack on Ukraine's sovereignty" and said US President Joe Biden would sign an executive order prohibiting "all new investment, trade and financing by US persons to, from, and in the so-called 'Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics.'"
The order would also allow the US to impose sanctions on anyone operating in those areas.
French President Emmanuel Macron has requested the European Union adopt targeted sanctions on Russia, and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the United Kingdom will announce new sanctions on Russia Tuesday. "There will be severe economic consequences to its actions," the UK's ambassador to the UN Barbara Woodward told the Security Council Monday.
Biden said last month that "if any assembled Russian units move across Ukrainian border, that is an invasion. But it will be met with severe and coordinated economic response that I've discussed in detail with our allies, as well as laid out very clearly for President Putin."
Putin increases combative rhetoric
On Monday, Putin held a highly choreographed televised meeting with his top officials, accusing Kyiv of carrying out acts of aggression.
Putin also accused the West of threats and blackmail during the previously unscheduled convening of the Russian security council that, in an unusually theatrical setting, was shown on television.
The broadcast aired just hours after the White House announced that US President Joe Biden agreed "in principle" to French-brokered talks with Putin as long as Russia does not further invade Ukraine. The Kremlin said earlier on Monday that there were "no concrete plans" for a meeting.
Speaking about the possibility of talks with Biden, Putin -- who held two lengthy phone calls with Macron on Sunday -- hinted he was skeptical.
"Yesterday I spoke with the French President on two occasions, with the second call lasting until 2:00 a.m. or so. He assured me that the American position has changed somewhat. But when I asked what these changes are, he, unfortunately, could not say," Putin said.
He then referred to remarks made on Sunday by Blinken, who stressed once again that the issue of Ukraine's membership in NATO is "an issue for Ukraine and for NATO."
Assurances that Ukraine would not be admitted to NATO in the future are one of the central demands made by the Kremlin.
The increase in combative language from Putin came as tensions grow in eastern Ukraine.
Ukraine's Joint Forces Operation said it recorded 32 ceasefire violations as of 4 p.m. Monday local time, a number that was roughly in line with those over the weekend.
New satellite images showed intensified activity among Russian units close to Ukraine's north-eastern border and the Ukrainian Defense ministry said it recorded dozens of ceasefire violations on Sunday.
South Africa holds state funeral for Archbishop Desmond Tutu
The funeral mass for South African anti-apartheid campaigner Archbishop Desmond Tutu has taken place at the Anglican cathedral in Cape Town.
Tutu, a Nobel Peace Prize winner who helped end the racist regime in South Africa, died last Sunday aged 90.
In his eulogy, President Cyril Ramaphosa described Tutu as "the spiritual father of our new nation".
Tutu had insisted there should be no "lavish spending" on the funeral. He wanted "the cheapest available coffin".
Family, friends, clergy and politicians were among those who gathered at St George's Cathedral for Saturday's service, which had limited numbers because of coronavirus restrictions. Tutu's widow Nomalizo Leah sat in a wheelchair at the front of the congregation wearing a purple shawl - the colour of her late husband's clerical robes.
Tutu was one of the driving forces behind the movement to end the policy of racial segregation and discrimination enforced by the white minority government against the black majority in South Africa from 1948 until 1991.
In the main eulogy at the official state funeral on Saturday, Mr Ramaphosa described the archbishop as a "crusader in the struggle for freedom, for justice, for equality and for peace. Not only in South Africa… but around the world as well".
"If we are to understand a global icon to be someone of great moral stature, of exceptional qualities, and of service to humanity there can be no doubt that it refers to the man we're laying to rest today," he said.
Saturday's funeral was given a special status, usually designated for presidents and very important people.
Tutu had requested that the only flowers in the cathedral should be a "bouquet of carnations from his family", according to the Archbishop Tutu IP Trust and the Desmond and Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation.
His ashes are to be interred behind the pulpit at St George's Cathedral - the Anglican diocese he served as Archbishop for 35 years.
It was earlier revealed that Tutu is to be aquamated - a process using water that is described as an environmentally friendly alternative to cremation.
End of an era
Even though only 100 invited guests physically attended Archbishop Desmond Tutu's funeral service at the St George's cathedral, many turned up to honour him by watching proceedings from public viewing areas. Most were visibly emotional.
One man described his attendance of Tutu's funeral as a full-circle moment because he also witnessed the release of Nelson Mandela from prison and watched Tutu and Mandela hold hands with their fists in the air as South Africa became a democracy.
It's the end of an era.
The last of South Africa's well-known freedom fighters leaves behind a difficult task for the leaders of the nation: to rid the country of corruption and racial divisions and lead the way forward, in the spirit of the moral compass which was the guiding force of Tutu's leadership.
In a video message at the mass, the Archbishop of Canterbury described how Tutu "lit up the world". He said that his paying tribute to Tutu was "like a mouse giving a tribute to an elephant".
Tutu's daughter said the outpouring of love for her father had "warmed the cockles of our hearts".
"Because we shared him with the world, you share part of the love you held for him with us," she said.
Many people in Cape Town turned up to file past the archbishop's coffin as it lay in state.
One man, Wally Mdluli, hitchhiked more than 1,000km (620 miles) across the country from Bloemfontein to Cape Town - enlisting the help of family and friends to pay for some of the trip and even sleeping at a petrol station on the way.
"I feel fulfilled after I saw the coffin. It's like his spirit is in me," he told the BBC's Nomsa Maseko in Cape Town.
Tutu used his high profile to speak out against the oppression of black people in his home country, always saying his motives were religious and not political.
After Nelson Mandela became South Africa's first black president in 1994, Tutu was appointed by him to a Truth and Reconciliation Commission set up to investigate crimes committed by both white and black people during the apartheid era.
Tutu was awarded the Nobel prize in 1984 for his role in the struggle to abolish the apartheid system.
He was also credited with coining the term Rainbow Nation to describe the ethnic mix of post-apartheid South Africa, but in his latter years he expressed regret that the nation had not coalesced in the way in which he had dreamt.
Source - BBC
'Golden Girls' star Betty White dies at 99
Betty White, the award-winning actress and comedian famed for her roles on "The Golden Girls" and "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," has died at age 99, according to The Associated Press.
White died less than three weeks before her 100th birthday, on Jan. 17.
White, best known for her television roles as Sue Ann Nivens on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and Rose Nylund on "The Golden Girls," endeared herself to audiences for decades.
She was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 1995 and also has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Memorial flowers were set to be placed on the star as a tribute.
White told People magazine in an interview published earlier this month one of her secrets to aging gracefully has been maintaining her sense of optimism.
Another, she joked, is keeping a special sort of diet: "I try to avoid anything green. I think it's working."
"I'm so lucky to be in such good health and feel so good at this age," she told the magazine. "It's amazing."
In 2013, the Guinness Book of World Records awarded White with having the longest television career for a female entertainer.
Her most recent roles were playing Elka Ostrovsky in "Hot in Cleveland" and hosting the practical jokes show "Betty White's Off Their Rockers."
During a career that spanned more than 75 years, White received 23 Emmy nominations and won six. She held the record as the oldest Emmy nominee overall, receiving her most recent nomination in 2012 at age 90.
Born an only child in Oak Park, Ill., Betty Marion White moved with her parents to Los Angeles at age 2. She began her career in radio, as a singer and voice actress.
Her big television break came in 1949, co-hosting a daily live variety show, "Hollywood on Television." Based on one of the sketches from the show, White and two others came up with the sitcom, "Life with Elizabeth," in which she played the title character. The show was a huge boost for her career and White became one of the first female producers in Hollywood.
White went on to appear in other sitcoms, late night talk shows and daytime game shows. It was during a 1961 appearance on the game show "Password" that White met her third husband, the host Allen Ludden.
White, who had been through two brief marriages previously, initially turned down Ludden's proposal. The couple remained married for 18 years until Ludden died of stomach cancer in 1981. White never remarried, once telling Larry King, "Once you've had the best, who needs the rest?"
A stepmother to Ludden's three children, White never had children of her own. She was widely known for her work with animals. She once told The Hollywood Reporter: "I'm actually the luckiest old broad alive. Half my life is working in a profession I love and the other half is working with animals."
In the 1970s, White's career got a huge boost when she was cast in "The Mary Tyler Moore Show." As Sue Ann Nivens, White showed audiences a sly wit lay behind her sweet smile. In contrast, her character on the 80s hit sitcom "The Golden Girls," opposite Rue McClanahan, Bea Arthur and Estelle Getty, was "terminally naive."
After "Golden Girls" ended, White guest-starred in a number of shows, including "Ally McBeal," "The Ellen Show," "That '70s Show," and "Malcolm in the Middle."
Her career went through another resurgence in the mid-2000s, with White appearing in the soap opera "The Bold and the Beautiful," and co-starring opposite Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds in "The Proposal." As her popularity continued to grow for new generations of fans, White became the oldest host of "Saturday Night Live" in 2010, following a widespread Facebook campaign called, "Betty White to Host SNL (Please)."
Two years later, stars of film and television, including Carl Reiner, Tina Fey, Mary Tyler Moore and Ellen DeGeneres, gathered to celebrate White's 90th birthday.
US cities scale back New Year’s Eve events and urge people to scrap parties
Americans are again facing a stay-at-home New Year’s Eve as US political leaders and senior health advisers have urged people to scrap party plans and avoid larger public events as daily cases of Covid-19 break all previous records.
In New York, attendance at the Times Square celebration known as the Ball Drop – in essence, tens of thousands of people watching a 12-foot geodesic sphere inlaid with Waterford crystals descend a long pole – has been capped at 15,000, down from pre-pandemic 60,000, with organizers encouraging revelers to watch it on TV or online.
The scaling back comes as the incoming New York mayor, Eric Adams, cancelled his inauguration party, and the outgoing mayor. Bill de Blasio, sees his last New Year’s party severely diminished. As recently as last month, before Omicron made headlines, de Blasio was in an end of two-terms party mood.
“Everyone come on down,” he said on 16 November. “We can finally get back together again. It’s going to be amazing.”
But recently – on the same day New York reported its highest number of new virus cases ever – de Blasio said the city would scale back its New Year’s event. Attendees must be fully vaccinated and wear masks.
The changes are meant to “keep the fully vaccinated crowd safe and healthy as we ring in the New Year”, the mayor said in a statement.
In Chicago, the Illinois governor, Jay Pritzker, has not yet imposed restrictions or shut down the city’s traditional fireworks show. But he warned Chicagoan this week that “Omicron and Delta are coming to your party”.
“You need to think twice about how many people will be gathered together, keeping social distancing if you’re at a party. And if you can’t, leave,” he added.
San Francisco has canceled its fireworks show over the Bay for the second year in a row. Mayor London Breed told residents that “we must remain vigilant in doing all we can to stop the spread of the Covid-19 Omicron variant”.
Atlanta, too, has canceled its Peach Drop where for 30 years, revelers have gathered to watch a glitter fake peach descend to the ground.
The Atlanta mayor later issued a press release, announcing the decision.
“In consultation with public health officials, we have made the very difficult decision to cancel the Peach Drop,” the Atlanta mayor, Keisha Lance Bottoms, said in a press release. “As positive Covid-19 cases rise, I encourage everyone to be safe, get vaccinated and follow CDC guidelines.”
But Seattle has decided to go ahead with fireworks from the Space Needle and Las Vegas plans an eight-minute fireworks display along the Strip. Health experts and officials have explained that Las Vegas’s celebrations take place across the city – not in a tightly-packed area.
“It’s the entire city having this party,” Dr Brian Labus, an infectious disease epidemiologist at UNLV, told KTNV. “We’ve been dealing with crowds coming to Las Vegas for the past two years. So, New Year’s Eve isn’t really anything new. It’s just kind of a bigger event.”
Las Vegas may in many ways turn out be the devil-may-care exception. Events in Paris, London, Berlin have been canceled, while domestic US and international health officials urge caution.
The WHO director, General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, urged earlier this month for people to approach the holidays cautiously, even if that meant canceling or delaying a shindig. “An event canceled is better than a life canceled,” Tedros told reporters. “It’s better to cancel now and celebrate later, than to celebrate now and grieve later.”
The Biden administration’s top health adviser, Dr Anthony Fauci, recently advised that a small limited gathering with vaccinated family members would be the safest way to celebrate.
“If your plans are to go to a 40-to-50 person New Year’s Eve party with all the bells and whistles and everybody hugging and kissing and wishing each other a Happy New Year – I would strongly recommend that, this year, we do not do that,” Fauci said during a White House update on the pandemic on Wednesday.
Source: The Guardian
EU mulls arms embargo, more sanctions on Myanmar after 'appalling' violence
(Reuters) - The European Union is ready to impose further sanctions on Myanmar after a new escalation of violence by the army and is also urging an international arms embargo on the country, its top diplomat said on Thursday.
More than 30 people, including women and children, were killed and their bodies burnt in a village in Myanmar's conflict-torn Kayah state last week by the army, humanitarian agencies said.
The Myanmar military said it had shot and killed an unspecified number of "terrorists with weapons" from the opposition armed forces in the village after they did not stop for a military check.
"In view of the escalating violence in Myanmar, increased international preventive action is required, including an arms embargo," the EU's High Representative for foreign affairs, Josep Borrell, said in a statement.
"The EU also stands ready to impose further sanctions against the military regime," he added.
Since a military coup in February, the EU has imposed targeted sanctions on the Myanmar military, its leaders and entities. EU financial assistance to the government was halted and assistance that could be seen as legitimising the military government was frozen.
"The appalling act of violence perpetrated by the military regime in Kayah State on 24 December, killing and burning more than 35 people, including women and children, as well as humanitarian workers, underscores the urgent need to hold those responsible accountable," Borrell said.
The Save the Children aid group said that two of its staff were killed in the attack in Kayah last week.
(Reporting by Francesco Guarascio; Editing by Alex Richardson)
Ghislaine Maxwell convicted in Epstein sex abuse case
NEW YORK (AP) — The British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell was convicted Wednesday of luring teenage girls to be sexually abused by the American millionaire Jeffrey Epstein.
The verdict capped a monthlong trial featuring sordid accounts of the sexual exploitation of girls as young as 14, told by four women who described being abused as teens in the 1990s and early 2000s at Epstein’s palatial homes in Florida, New York and New Mexico.
Jurors deliberated for five full days before finding Maxwell guilty of five of six counts. With the maximum prison terms for each charge ranging from five to 40 years in prison, Maxwell faces the likelihood of years behind bars — an outcome long sought by women who spent years fighting in civil courts to hold her accountable for her role in recruiting and grooming Epstein’s teenage victims and sometimes joining in the sexual abuse.
As the verdict was read, Maxwell was largely stoic behind a black mask. Afterward, she could be seen pouring herself water as one of her attorneys patted her back. She stood with her hands folded as the jury filed out, and glanced at her siblings — faithfully in attendance each day of the trial — as she herself was led from the courtroom. She did not hug her lawyers on the way out, a marked change from previous days during which Maxwell and her team were often physically affectionate with one another.
No sentencing date was set.
The defense had insisted Maxwell was a victim of a vindictive prosecution devised to deliver justice to women deprived of their main villain when Epstein killed himself while awaiting trial in 2019.
During the trial, prosecutors called 24 witnesses to give jurors a picture of life inside Epstein’s homes — a subject of public fascination and speculation ever since his 2006 arrest in Florida in a child sex case.
A housekeeper testified he was expected to be “blind, deaf and dumb” about the private lives of Epstein, a financier who cultivated friendships with influential politicians and business tycoons, and Maxwell, who had led a jet-setting lifestyle as the favorite child of a media mogul.
Pilots took the witness stand and dropped the names of luminaries — Britain’s Prince Andrew, Bill Clinton, Donald Trump — who flew on Epstein’s private jets.
Jurors saw physical evidence like a folding massage table once used by Epstein and a “black book” that listed contact information for some of the victims under the heading “massages.”
There were bank records showing he had transferred $30.7 million to Maxwell, his longtime companion — onetime girlfriend, later employee.
But the core of the prosecution was the testimony of four women who said they were victimized by Maxwell and Epstein at tender ages.
Three testified using first names or pseudonyms to protect their privacy: Jane, a television actress; Kate, a former model from Great Britain; and Carolyn, now a mom recovering from drug addiction. The fourth, psychologist Annie Farmer, chose to use her real name after being vocal about her allegations in recent years.
They echoed one another in their descriptions of Maxwell’s behavior: She used charm and gifts to gain their trust, taking an interest in their adolescent challenges and giving them assurances that Epstein could use his wealth and connections to fulfill their dreams.
They said the script would darken when Maxwell coaxed them into giving massages to Epstein that turned sexual, encounters she played off as normal: After one sexual massage, Kate, then 17, said Maxwell asked her if she’d had fun and told her: “You are such a good girl.”
Carolyn testified that she was one of several underprivileged teens who lived near Epstein’s Florida home in the early 2000s and took up an offer to give massages in exchange for $100 bills, which prosecutors described as “a pyramid of abuse.”
Maxwell made all the arrangements, Carolyn told the jury, even though she knew the girl was only 14 at the time.
Jane said in 1994, when she was only 14, she was instructed to follow Epstein into a pool house at the Palm Beach estate, where he masturbated on her.
Two charges, including the lone count on which Maxwell was acquitted, applied only to Jane.
“I was frozen in fear,” she told the jury, adding that assault was the first time she had ever seen a penis. She also directly accused Maxwell of participating in her abuse.
Maxwell’s lawyer asked Jane why it had taken so long to come forward.
“I was scared,” she said, choking back tears. “I was embarrassed, ashamed. I didn’t want anybody to know any of this about me.”
The last to testify, Farmer described how Maxwell touched her breasts while giving her a massage at Epstein’s New Mexico ranch and how Epstein unexpectedly crawled into bed and pressed himself against her.
Maxwell, who turned 60 on Christmas, vehemently denied the charges through her lawyers.
Still, she declined to take the risk of testifying, telling the judge: “The government has not proven its case beyond a reasonable doubt so there is no reason for me to testify.”
“The charges against Ghislaine Maxwell are for things that Jeffrey Epstein did,” one of Maxwell’s lawyers, Bobbi Sternheim, emphasized to the jury. “But she is not Jeffrey Epstein and she is not like Jeffrey Epstein.”
Maxwell’s legal team questioned whether the accusers’ memories were faulty, or had been influenced by lawyers seeking big payouts from Maxwell and from Epstein’s estate in civil court. During their two-day presentation, they called as a witness Elizabeth Loftus, a professor who has testified as a memory expert for defense lawyers at about 300 trials, including the rape trial of movie mogul Harvey Weinstein.
Maxwell’s family complained she was under duress from harsh conditions at the Brooklyn jail where she’s been held since her arrest in July 2020. She had repeatedly, and futilely, sought bail, arguing that she was unable to adequately contribute to her defense.
Before Maxwell was taken from the courtroom, Sternheim asked that arrangements be made to give her a coronavirus booster shot, saying infection rates were rising dramatically at the lockup. The recent surge threatened to derail the trial itself as U.S. District Court Judge Alison J. Nathan prodded jurors to work quickly to avoid the potential of a mistrial caused by sickened jurors.
The legal fights involving Epstein and Maxwell are not over.
Maxwell still awaits trial on two counts of perjury.
Lawsuits loom, including one in which a woman not involved in the trial, Virginia Giuffre, says she was coerced into sexual encounters with Prince Andrew when she was 17. Andrew has denied her account and that lawsuit is not expected to come to trial for many months.
Nigeria destroys 1M donated jabs
ABUJA (Reuters) - Nigeria on Wednesday destroyed more than a million doses of expired AstraZeneca vaccines in a bid to assure a wary public that they have been taken out of circulation.
The destruction came more than a week after health authorities said some COVID-19 doses donated by rich Western nations had a shelf life that left only weeks to administer the shots. Reuters reported on Dec. 7 that around one million COVID-19 vaccines were estimated to have expired in Nigeria in November without being used.
At a dump site in Abuja, a bulldozer crushed AstraZeneca shots that were packed in cardboard boxes and plastic as reporters and health officials watched.
Faisal Shuaib, the National Primary Health Care Development Agency executive director told reporters that a shortage of vaccine supplies on the continent, had forced Nigeria to take the doses, knowing fully well they had a short shelf life.
"We have successfully withdrawn 1,066,214 doses of expired AstraZeneca vaccines. We have kept our promise to be transparent to Nigerians. The destruction today is an opportunity for Nigerians to have faith in our vaccination programme," Shuaib said.
Governments on the continent of over one billion people have been pushing for more vaccine deliveries as inoculation rates lag richer regions. The lower vaccination levels raise the risk of higher infection and death rates from COVID-19, especially as new, fast-spreading variants emerge such as Omicron.
Health minister Osagie Ehanire has said Nigeria will no longer accept vaccines with a short shelf life, citing a presidential committee decision.
The World Health Organisation said 12,971,729 vaccine doses have been administered in Nigeria as of Dec. 19.
Africa's most populous country, with a population exceeding 200 million, has recorded 227,378 COVID-19 cases and 2,989 deaths since the pandemic started.
Health experts say Nigeria needs to triple its vaccination drive from just over 100,000 doses a day to meet its target to inoculate more than half its population by the end of next year.
Recently, like many other African countries, Nigeria has seen a surge in vaccine supply, which has highlighted other issues relating to distribution and hesitation by citizens to get inoculated.
(Writing by MacDonald Dzirutwe; Editing by Bernadette Baum)
Europe reinstates Covid restrictions
A swathe of European countries have introduced further coronavirus restrictions to battle the Omicron wave.
Germany and Portugal were the latest two countries to introduce fresh post-Christmas restrictions in a bid to curb the new variant.
Hans Kluge, the World Health Organisation's European head, warned on Tuesday of a "storm" of Omicron on the continent which is "pushing already stretched health systems further to the brink”.
The German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, announced a series of new rules from December 28, including a 10-person limit on private gatherings and the closure of nightclubs. Big sporting events will be held behind closed doors.
In Portugal, prime minister António Costa announced that from midnight on Christmas Day, working from home will be mandatory and discos and bars will be closed. The measures are set to last until January 9.
In Finland, restaurant opening hours will be curbed, with bars forced to stop serving alcohol at 9pm from Christmas Eve. They will have to close at 10pm.
From December 28, alcohol can be served only until 5pm, with bars forced to close by 6pm and restaurants by 8pm.
In Sweden, the government announced on Tuesday a limit of 50 people at private gatherings and the need for a vaccination pass for public events where there are more than 500 people. Bars and restaurants will be allowed to serve seated guests only.
In France, which has largely banned travel from Britain for non-French citizens, nightclubs were closed for four weeks earlier this month to curb infections.
In Paris, the mayor's office announced on Saturday that the fireworks and concerts planned on the Champs-Elysées for New Year's Eve had been cancelled.
The strictest measures have been implemented in the Netherlands, which has gone into a lockdown over Christmas. Non-essential shops, bars, gyms, hairdressers and other public venues are closed until at least January 14. Only two guests per household are allowed, and four over the holidays.