Myanmar military should step down, Biden says in speech
Myanmar's military should relinquish power and release officials and activists detained in a coup, US President Joe Biden said in his first foreign policy address on Thursday.
Biden said the United States was working with allies and partners to address the generals' takeover on Monday, during which they arrested elected leader and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and other civilians.
"There can be no doubt in a democracy force should never seek to overrule the will of the people or attempt to erase the outcome of a credible election," said Biden.
"The Burmese military should relinquish power they have seized and release the advocates and activists and officials they have detained, lift the restrictions on telecommunications and refrain from violence."
Trump rejects call to testify at his impeachment trial
Former President Donald Trump's lawyers on Thursday rejected a request from Democrats to testify at his impeachment trial in the US Senate next week, dismissing their invitation as a "public relations stunt."
Democrats in the House of Representatives accuse Trump of inciting insurrection when he urged supporters to "fight" his election defeat before they stormed the Capitol, fought with police and sent lawmakers scrambling for safety. Five people died, including a Capitol police officer.
"The president will not testify in an unconstitutional proceeding," Trump adviser Jason Miller told Reuters.
Noise pollution is harming sea life, needs to be prioritised, scientists say
Far beneath the ocean surface, a cacophony of industrial noise is disrupting marine animals' ability to mate, feed and even evade predators, scientists warn.
With rumbling ships, hammering oil drills and booming seismic survey blasts, humans have drastically altered the underwater soundscape - in some cases deafening or disorienting whales, dolphins and other marine mammals that rely on sound to navigate, researchers report in a metastudy published online on Thursday and in the Friday edition of the journal Science that examines more than 500 research papers.
Even the cracking of glaciers calving into polar oceans and the rattle of rain falling on the water's surface can be heard deep under the sea, said lead author Carlos Duarte, a marine scientist at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia.
High levels of toxic heavy metals found in some baby foods
US congressional investigators found "dangerous levels of toxic heavy metals" in certain baby foods that could cause neurological damage, a House Oversight subcommittee said in a report released on Thursday in calling for new standards and testing requirements.
The panel examined baby food made by Nurture, Hain Celestial Group, Beech-Nut Nutrition and Gerber, a unit of Nestle, it said, adding that it was "greatly concerned" that Walmart, Campbell Soup and Sprout Organic Foods refused to cooperate with the investigation.
The report said internal company standards "permit dangerously high levels of toxic heavy metals, and documents revealed that the manufacturers have often sold foods that exceeded those levels."
Spike Lee back in Hollywood awards race with SAG nominations
Director Spike Lee's Vietnam War drama Da 5 Bloods roared back into the Hollywood awards race on Thursday (Feb 4) when it was nominated for the top prize at the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) awards, while presumed Oscar contender Mank got just one nod.
Da 5 Bloods, from Netflix, scored three nominations, tying with independent Korean-language drama Minari, and two other Netflix films: jazz period movie Ma Rainey's Black Bottom and 1960s protest film The Trial of the Chicago 7.
They were joined by Amazon Studios' One Night in Miami about the meeting of four black icons in 1964, in the race for best movie cast ensemble - the top SAG award.
