'Could be very soon or not so soon at all!', says Trump on potential air strikes in Syria
Change of tone - US President Donald Trump attempted to dial back on the aggressive tone seen in the last few days on the subject of potential airstrikes on Syria. A day after indicating strikes in the country were imminent, he tweeted: ‘Never said when an attack on Syria would take place. Could be very soon or not so soon at all!’ Trump, however, did not rule out plans to attack Syria in response to for the weekend's suspected chemical attack on civilians at the hands of the Assad regime.
‘Clueless’ - Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg answered questions about the company’s data collection and privacy policies this week in US Congress during nearly 10 hours of public testimony. One takeaway from news sites around the world is that lawmakers really don’t seem to fully understand how Facebook works. Late in the hearing on Wednesday, after a combined nine hours of testimony had already happened, Congressman Chris Collins, R-N.Y., said that he was glad to finally clear up the fact that Facebook doesn’t sell its user data. Well, yeah, duh?
Changing tides - A crucial element of the global oceanic system, including the Atlantic's Gulf Stream, is at its weakest for more than 1,600 years, a new study has found. Research published in Nature by the University College London (UCL) and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) found that the circulation of water in the Atlantic has been declining since the 1800s.This could dramatically increase the effects of climate change.
UK claims supported - The international chemical weapons watchdog supported the UK’s findings about the identity of the chemical used to poison former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury. The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons’ conclusions will be a relief for the UK, which has said novichok, a military-grade nerve agent developed by Russia, was used in the attack.
Spacey accusations - Los Angeles prosecutors are reviewing a historical sexual assault accusation made against actor Kevin Spacey, officials have confirmed. Police have filed evidence about an allegation involving an incident with a man in West Hollywood in 1992. More than 30 men have come forward with allegations of sexual misconduct against the Oscar-winning actor in recent months. It is unclear if California's statute of limitations on prosecuting criminal sexual assault, which is normally 10 years, would apply.