Ex-VP Mike Pence plans to launch US presidential bid on June 7
Former vice-president Mike Pence is challenging his one-time boss Donald Trump in a campaign that will put the spotlight on the deep personal rift between the once-close political allies and test whether a party dominated by the former president can accept someone who defied him.
Mr Pence, 63, plans to formally announce his presidential campaign June 7 in Iowa, according to a person familiar with the plans.
Mr Pence has been laying the groundwork for a White House bid for more than a year, visiting early-voting states, giving policy speeches and promoting an autobiography.
The former vice-president is offering himself as the only traditional conservative in the field who can win the Republican nomination and defeat President Joe Biden - while governing with more civility than Trump.
Germany orders four Russian consulates on its soil closed
Germany said on Wednesday it will drastically reduce Moscow’s diplomatic presence on its soil in response to a similar move from Russia, in the latest escalation of tensions over the war in Ukraine.
Berlin has ordered four of Moscow’s five consulates in Germany to close, a foreign ministry spokesman told a regular government press conference.
The move comes after Moscow put a limit of 350 on the number of German personnel allowed in Russia, according to the spokesman.
Macron to Eastern Europe: We should have listened over Russia
President Emmanuel Macron acknowledged on Wednesday that France should have paid more attention to Eastern European nations, which warned about a belligerent Russia before Moscow’s forces invaded Ukraine.
Mr Macron told a security forum there should be no division between “Old Europe” and “New Europe”, referring to enduring divergences between eastern and western European Union members over matters such as Russia.
“Some said you had missed an opportunity to shut up. I think we also lost an opportunity to listen to you. This time is over,” Mr Macron said to applause, during a speech at the GLOBSEC think-tank in the Slovak capital, Bratislava.
Baby found abandoned, covered with ants, in Malaysia
A newborn baby was found abandoned and covered with ants at a bus stop in Taiping, a town in Perak, Malaysia.
Taiping police officer Razlam Ab Hamid said a woman found the baby at the Taman Kota bus stop at around 10am on Wednesday.
“The woman who found the baby initially parked her car at the bus stop to take some items out of the bonnet of her car. When she stepped out of her vehicle, she overheard the baby crying...”
Danny Masterson of That ‘70s Show found guilty of rape
US actor and Scientologist Danny Masterson on Wednesday was found guilty of raping two women at his home in the Hollywood Hills.
The star of television’s That ‘70s Show and The Ranch was convicted of two counts of forcible rape between 2001 and 2003, while jurors at a Los Angeles courthouse said they were deadlocked on a third rape charge.
It was the second rape trial for Masterson, after previous proceedings were declared a mistrial last November when a different jury was unable to reach a unanimous decision.
