Tuesday,  Aug. 25th, 2020

National Guard deployed amid Kenosha protests after police shoot Jacob Blake Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers (D) called 125 members of the National Guard to Kenosha, Wisconsin, on Monday to combat protests after police shot and seriously injured Jacob Blake in his car on Sunday. Cellphone video captured by a witness shows two officers with their guns drawn following Blake, a Black man, as he walked toward his SUV and firing on him when he opened the door. Hundreds of protesters gathered Sunday night to condemn the shooting and the Kenosha Police Department, and continued when Kenosha’s mayor moved a Monday afternoon news conference into the city’s public safety building. Police in riot gear used pepper spray and other irritants on protesters and journalists outside the building as they tried to get inside. Blake is in serious condition at a Milwaukee hospital. Source: Kenosha News

Governor Tony Evers of Wisconsin has deployed the National Guard to maintain “public safety” after police shot Jacob Blake on Sunday. Hundreds of people marched on police headquarters that night to demonstrate against the shooting. Up to 200 members of the National Guard will be deployed. (BBC)

The 2020 Republican National Convention begins, running until Thursday. Incumbents President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence are expected to be officially nominated to run for re-election, facing off against former Vice President Joe Biden and Senator Kamala Harris in November. (CNN)

The Charité hospital in Berlin, Germany, where Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny is admitted, reveals that doctors have found cholinesterase inhibitors in his body that suggest he may have been poisoned. Doctors in Omsk, Russia, where Navalny was initially admitted, earlier claimed that there was no evidence of poison in his body. (CBS News)

Putin critic Navalny was poisoned, German hospital says  Charite Hospital in Berlin on Monday said that Alexey Navalny, the Russian opposition leader and Putin critic who fell ill last week, is suffering from “intoxication by a substance from the group of cholinesterase inhibitors.” It did not identify the substance he was allegedly poisoned with. Navalny was hospitalized last week after falling ill on a flight to Moscow from Siberia, and his press secretary said at the time that “we suspect that Alexei was poisoned by something mixed into [his] tea.” A state-run hospital in Siberia, however, claimed he suffered from “a sudden drop in blood sugar” due to a “metabolic disorder.” Navalny is still in a coma in Germany, and the Berlin hospital said “his state of health is serious, but there is currently no acute danger to his life.”  Source: CBS News

A major blackout is reported in Syria after an explosion hits the Arab Gas Pipeline in the Rif Dimashq Governorate. Syrian Oil Minister Ali Ghanem says the explosion was a “terrorist attack”, but does not elaborate on who was behind it. (Al Jazeera)

TikTok sues U.S. President Donald Trump over his executive orders, signed earlier this month, that would effectively ban the app within the United States, calling it part of a “broader campaign of anti-China rhetoric” in the lead up to the presidential election. (Reuters)

Seoul orders face masks to be worn in both indoor and outdoor public places for the first time as it battles a surge in cases centred in the densely populated metropolitan area. (Liputan6)

Victorian premier Daniel Andrews proposes to extend the state of emergency to at least September 2021. (9News)

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visits Israel, 11 days after the country agreed to normalize relations with the United Arab Emirates. Pompeo embarks on a tour of the Middle East and Sudan to persuade the other Arab states to normalize relations with Israel as well. (Al Jazeera)

Ohio Rep. John Becker draws up 10 articles of impeachment on Ohio Governor Mike DeWine over his COVID-19 orders. Rep. Nino Vitale and Rep. Paul Zeltwanger are co-sponsors for the impeachment inquiries. (Cleveland News)

The Coordinating Council of the Belarusian opposition report that two of its members, Sergei Dylevsky and Olga Kovalkova, have been detained by police in Minsk. (AP via ABC News)

The Cyprus Papers, consisting of more than 1,400 confidential approved applications relating to the Cyprus Investment Programme run by the Republic of Cyprus, are published by the international broadcaster Al Jazeera, which says they have been sold to criminals and fugitives who, by purchasing a Cypriot passport, become European Union citizens. The European Commission, as well as a leading anti-corruption NGO, want this program phased out. (Al Jazeera)

New York attorney general takes legal action against Trump Organization  New York Attorney General Letitia James’ office in a legal filing on Monday asked a judge to force the Trump Organization to provide information it has been seeking in a probe of the company’s financial dealings. The investigation is focused on whether the Trump Organization “improperly inflated the value of Mr. Trump’s assets on financial statements in order to secure loans and obtain economic and tax benefits,” a filing said. James’ office said she’s seeking to compel testimony from Eric Trump, the executive vice president of the Trump Organization, as well as “thousands of documents” that are being withheld. The Trump Organization’s chief legal officer said James’ “continued harassment of the company as we approach the election … once again confirms that this investigation is all about politics.” Source:  CNN

Jerry Falwell Jr. reportedly resigns from Liberty University  Jerry Falwell Jr. has resigned as president of Liberty University, The Religion News Service reports. The news comes just hours after a Washington Examiner report in which one of Falwell’s business partners alleged that he had a years-long sexual relationship with Falwell and his wife, Becki. Falwell was already under scrutiny and went on indefinite leave from his presidency earlier this month after posting a photo of himself with his arm around a woman while they both had their pants partially unzipped, though that was not the first time he found himself in the spotlight while leading the private evangelic Christian university. Liberty alumni and former faculty for weeks had been calling for Falwell to permanently step down from the post which he’s held since 2007. Source: The Religion News Service