Other top stories include Trump's U-turn on Mueller meeting, New York City is suing oil companies for global warming, and Saudi Arabian female drivers are being recruited by apps
Hi, this is Anna sifting through the mud of today's news for you.
Logan Paul fallen from grace - YouTube has cut business ties with Logan Paul, the popular vlogger who cause international outcry after he posted a video showing the body of an apparent suicide victim in Japan. Paul's channels were removed from YouTube's Google Preferred programme, where brands sell ads on the top 5% of the platform's content creators. YouTube also said it had put on hold original projects with the US vlogger.
Russian probe - Donald Trump has allegedly made a U-turn on a commitment to meet the special counsel investigating alleged collusion between his election campaign and Russia, saying that such an interview ‘seems unlikely’. Robert Mueller’s team of investigators is believed to be seeking an interview with the US president in person, but Trump now seems unwilling to comply.
High-end heist - Five masked men armed with axes and knives walked into the Ritz hotel in central Paris on Wednesday and stole an estimated €4.5 million worth of jewels. French police caught three of the robbers after tasering them as they fled on foot. The remaining two escaped through a back door and made their getaway on a scooter.
New York leading the fight - New York’s mayor Bill de Blasio announced that the city is suing five oil companies for costs associated with damage inflicted on the city by global warming, such as sea level rise. He and others referenced the lives lost and billions of dollars of damage caused by Hurricane Sandy, and the expectation that New York could face more frequent and damaging floods. ‘In this city, we're going to lead the fight against climate change as if our lives depend on it, because they do,’ Mayor de Blasio said.
Caught at last - A 74-year-old Japanese man accused of a gang murder in Japan 15 years ago has been arrested in Thailand after pictures of his tattoos went viral on social media, Thai police said on Thursday. Shirai is accused of being one of eight gangsters involved in the murder of another gang leader in 2003. The other seven have been arrested but Shirai escaped to Thailand in 2005.
Needless cruelty - Australian animal welfare authorities are investigating a dead koala that was found screwed to a wooden post, in an act characterised as ‘sick’. The incident has caused widespread anger after a photo of the animal was posted on social media. Council workers found the koala fixed by its paws to a wooden shelter in a park in Queensland on Wednesday.
Women in the driving seat - Ride hailing apps in Saudi Arabia are recruiting female drivers after the Kingdom announced plans to lift the ban on women driving by June 2018. Following the game-changing royal decree to lift the ban on women driving last September, both companies have been preparing to hire their first female drivers.