New York Mayor de Blasio joins 2020 presidential race
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Thursday he will seek the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, despite a panning by US media and polls which suggest he faces a tough fight.
Mr. De Blasio becomes the 23rd prospective Democratic challenger to President Donald Trump.
“Donald Trump must be stopped. I am Bill de Blasio and I am running for president because it's time we put the working people first,” he said in a video announcing his candidacy.
Mr. De Blasio, 58, who first ran as an unapologetic leftist in 2013, said the country's money is “in the wrong hands” and added that he knows how to challenge Mr. Trump on climate change, an issue on which the president has demonstrated skepticism.
As the Democratic mayor of the nation's largest city for the past five years, he coasted to re-election in 2013.
Saudi coalition warplanes strike Yemeni rebel targets
Saudi-led coalition warplanes bombed Yemeni rebel targets including in the capital on May 16 following insurgent drone strikes on a key oil pipeline that Riyadh said were ordered by its arch-rival Tehran. The new bombardment came after the UN envoy, who has been spearheading efforts to end more than four years of conflict in the Arab world's poorest country, warned it still faced the threat of plunging into all-out war.
The Saudi deputy defence minister warned that the May 14 attack by Yemeni rebels on a major pipeline in the kingdom was "tightening the noose" around peace efforts.
The Saudi-led coalition, which has been battling the Huthi rebels since March 2015, confirmed that its warplanes were carrying out multiple strikes across rebel-held territory.
Yemenis sift the rubble of a heavily damaged building following reported Saudi-led coalition air strikes in the Yemeni capital Sanaa on May 16, 2019.
Five killed in Shanghai building collapse
Five people were killed on May 16 when the roof of a Shanghai commercial building caved in upon construction workers who were renovating it, the city government said. The accident occurred at around 11.30 am (9 am IST) in a central Shanghai neighbourhood, trapping around 20 people, according to fire rescue officials. Official sources provided differing tallies of the numbers of people pulled out of the rubble throughout the day, but both the city government and the national emergency ministry now quote a death toll of five.
Members of a rescue team carry a victim of a building collapse in Shanghai on May 16, 2019.
A verified social media account run by China's emergency ministry showed pictures of rescue personnel digging bloodied and dust-coated workers out from amid piles of rubble, toppled concrete pillars and shattered wooden beams.
Naomi Osaka plays Dominika Cibulkova at Italian Open
World number one Naomi Osaka is playing against Slovakia's Dominika Cibulkova in Rome, Italy. Osaka has previously beaten the Slovak in the Madrid first round last week.
Naomi Osaka of Japan reacts against Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia in their Women's Round of 32 match during Day Five of the International BNL d'Italia at Foro Italico on May 16, 2019 in Rome, Italy.
Hong Kong court says deterrence only motive for sending protest leader back to jail
Pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong speaks to media at a court in Hong Kong on May 16, 2019.
Hong Kong's Court of Appeal sent a young leader of the Chinese-ruled city's 2014 “Umbrella” pro-democracy street protests back to jail on Thursday for contempt of court, ruling out any motive other than ensuring a ”deterrent sentence”.
Joshua Wong, 22, was sentenced to three months in jail in January last year for disobeying a court order and not leaving a protest zone during the rallies that blocked major roads in the Chinese-ruled city for nearly three months.
Indian actor Hina Khan makes red carpet debut at Cannes
Hina Khan poses on the red carpet at the 72nd Cannes Film Festival
Actor Hina Khan, known for her apparences in TV serial Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai and reality show Bigg Boss .
"The picture is just not “a” picture," Ms. Khan wrote on her Instagram with a photograph of her at the event.
Happy 130th birthday, Eiffel Tower
The Eiffel tower is illuminated during a light show to celebrate its 130th anniversary in Paris, France.
Paris wished the Eiffel Tower a happy birthday on Wednesday with an elaborate nighttime laser show retracing the monument’s 130-year history.
After nightfall, a 12-minute laser display began flashing across the facade in shows that will run through Friday night. Professional climbers scaled the monument to mount the lights for the unprecedented show.
The Eiffel Tower opened to the public for the first time on May 15, 1889, several days after its inauguration at the World's Fair.
- AP
World leaders, tech execs pledge to curb online violence
French President Emmanuel Macron, right, greets British Prime Minister Theresa May at the Elysee Palace, in Paris
World leaders led by French President Emmanuel Macron and tech executives gathered in Paris to compile a set of guidelines dubbed the “Christchurch Call,” named after the New Zealand city where 51 people were killed in a March attack on mosques.
The call was adopted by U.S. tech companies that also included Amazon, Microsoft and YouTube, along with France’s Qwant and DailyMotion, and the Wikimedia Foundation. Countries backing France and New Zealand were Britain, Canada, Ireland, Jordan, Norway, Senegal, Indonesia and the European Union’s executive body.
- AP
