In the first analysis to calculate the mortal cost of carbon emissions, it has been revealed that the lifestyles of around three average Americans will create enough planet-heating emissions to kill one person.&nbsp;

Also, the emissions from a single coal-fired power plant are likely to result in more than 900 deaths.

The research is completely based on what is called the “social cost of carbon”.&nbsp;

It is a monetary figure which is placed upon the damage caused by each ton of carbon dioxide emissions. This is done by assigning an expected death toll from the emissions that cause the climate crisis.

The research relies on several public health studies to conclude that for every 4,434 metric tons of CO2 pumped into the atmosphere beyond the 2020 rate of emissions, one person globally will die prematurely from the increased temperature.&nbsp;

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/researchers-develop-antibodies-for-neutralising-sars-cov-2-401678">Also read |&nbsp;Researchers develop antibodies for neutralising SARS-Cov-2</a>

As per Daniel Bressler of Columbia University’s Earth Institute, who wrote the paper, the figures for expected deaths from the release of emissions are definitive and may well be “a vast underestimate” as they only account for heat-related mortality rather than deaths from flooding, storms, and crop failures.

Bressler was quoted by The Guardian as saying, "There are a significant number of lives that can be saved if you pursue climate policies that are more aggressive than the business as usual scenario".&nbsp;

He further added, "I was surprised at how large the number of deaths are. There is some uncertainty over this, the number could be lower but it could also be a lot higher".

In the first analysis to calculate the mortal cost of carbon emissions, it has been revealed that the lifestyles of around three average Americans will create enough planet-heating emissions to kill one person.

In the first analysis to calculate the mortal cost of carbon emissions, it has been revealed that the lifestyles of around three average Americans will create enough planet-heating emissions to kill one person. Also, the emissions from a single coal-fired power plant are likely to result in more than 900 deaths. The research is completely based on what is called the “social cost of carbon”. It is a monetary figure which is placed upon the damage caused by each ton of carbon dioxide emissions. This is done by assigning an expected death toll from the emissions that cause the climate crisis. The research relies on several public health studies to conclude that for every 4,434 metric tons of CO2 pumped into the atmosphere beyond the 2020 rate of emissions, one person globally will die prematurely from the increased temperature. Also read | Researchers develop antibodies for neutralising SARS-Cov-2 As per Daniel Bressler of Columbia University’s Earth Institute, who wrote the paper, the figures for expected deaths from the release of emissions are definitive and may well be “a vast underestimate” as they only account for heat-related mortality rather than deaths from flooding, storms, and crop failures. Bressler was quoted by The Guardian as saying, "There are a significant number of lives that can be saved if you pursue climate policies that are more aggressive than the business as usual scenario". He further added, "I was surprised at how large the number of deaths are. There is some uncertainty over this, the number could be lower but it could also be a lot higher".

Study reveals three Americans create enough carbon emissions to kill one person

The recent dismissal of a white New York professor for reading aloud the "N-word" from a Mark Twain novel has shone a spotlight on the use of&nbsp;racial&nbsp;slurs&nbsp;in&nbsp;American&nbsp;classrooms.

It has renewed a long-standing debate about how books from some of the United States' most famous authors should be taught during an age of reckoning with&nbsp;racial&nbsp;injustice.

After years of hearing the term read from the texts of writers such as Twain and William Faulkner, students are increasingly taking a stand.

"There was no reason that I should have to go to my class and hear that slur," said Dylan Gilbert recalling the time in 2019 when her white English teacher at the University of Michigan uttered the term while reciting a passage from Faulkner.

Gilbert, who is Black, walked out of class.

"It felt like a reminder that even though I had gotten into Michigan I would still not be afforded the same opportunity for a safe learning environment as my white peers," she told AFP.

The issue came into sharp focus again last month when Hannah Berliner Fischthal, who is white, departed St. John's University in Queens, NYC.&nbsp;

She apologized after upsetting several students by pronouncing the&nbsp;racial&nbsp;slur out loud while reading an extract from Twain's 1894 book "Pudd'nhead Wilson" -- having first explained the context for the word in Twain's text and saying she hoped it would not cause offence.

The incident came after another professor, also white, this time at Duquesne University in Pennsylvania was dismissed for using the&nbsp;slur during a course.

"The word has such a history and such a psychological-emotional impact that just hearing the word, for some people, can be disruptive," said Arizona State University English professor Neal Lester, who is Black.

Derived from a Latin word, it became widely used in 18th Century America, partly to dehumanize African Americans and cast them as an inferior race.

Lester says he never says the word in his classroom.&nbsp;

Vershawn Young, a Black communications professor, takes a different view.

When, in June 2020, his employer, the University of Waterloo, announced that the word was banned on campus, Young refused to adhere to the new rule.

"When reading from a text, I say the word," he told AFP. "When students quote the text, they too are free to speak what they read. However, they also may replace the word with its euphemism. What they can't do is ignore it."

Young says he always prepares his students that it is coming so they aren't shocked.&nbsp;

"Outside of quotes, I do not use the word because I recognize my authority in relation to the multiple sensitivities that my students embody," he added.

Censorship

In an article in The Conversation last year, Young wrote that the ban on his campus censored Black professors like himself.

"I belong to multiple Black communities, where we use the N-word in six or seven culturally rich ways," he wrote, adding that banning it "serves the purposes of white supremacy."

In recent decades it has been culturally acceptable for Black people to use the word. It is regularly heard in discussions, movies or music, hip-hop songs being the most obvious example.&nbsp;

"Hearing a non-black person say the N-word is always offensive and harmful to me," said Gilbert, the student who objected to her white teacher using it.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/uks-former-finance-minister-javid-appointed-as-health-minister-394201">Also Read |&nbsp;UK's former finance minister Javid appointed as health minister</a>

"(But) I have no problem with Black people saying (it). In my personal opinion the word is never violent or threatening to me when it comes out of Black person's mouth," she added.

Wendy Kaminer, a lawyer and writer who used to be an&nbsp;American&nbsp;Civil Liberties Union board member, said "the distinction between quoting a&nbsp;racial&nbsp;slur and using a&nbsp;racial&nbsp;slur has been completely erased."

"I think that's quite problematic," she told AFP.

Kaminer says the disappearance of the word from university campuses is part of a wider trend that started in the 1990s of banning other terms, including relating to sexuality and minorities.

She&nbsp;thinks the United States, where freedom of speech is enshrined in the constitution, is moving towards a more western European approach to the regulation of what people can and can't say.

For Lester, the Arizona State University professor, the answer is to talk about the word and its complex history without uttering it.

"I've had many conversations in class around the word without actually saying it," she said.&nbsp;

"That in and of itself is not a huge intellectual gymnastics routine."

The recent dismissal of a white New York professor for reading aloud the "N-word" from a Mark Twain novel has shone a spotlight on the use of racial slurs in American classrooms.

The recent dismissal of a white New York professor for reading aloud the "N-word" from a Mark Twain novel has shone a spotlight on the use of racial slurs in American classrooms. It has renewed a long-standing debate about how books from some of the United States' most famous authors should be taught during an age of reckoning with racial injustice. After years of hearing the term read from the texts of writers such as Twain and William Faulkner, students are increasingly taking a stand. "There was no reason that I should have to go to my class and hear that slur," said Dylan Gilbert recalling the time in 2019 when her white English teacher at the University of Michigan uttered the term while reciting a passage from Faulkner. Gilbert, who is Black, walked out of class. "It felt like a reminder that even though I had gotten into Michigan I would still not be afforded the same opportunity for a safe learning environment as my white peers," she told AFP. The issue came into sharp focus again last month when Hannah Berliner Fischthal, who is white, departed St. John's University in Queens, NYC. She apologized after upsetting several students by pronouncing the racial slur out loud while reading an extract from Twain's 1894 book "Pudd'nhead Wilson" -- having first explained the context for the word in Twain's text and saying she hoped it would not cause offence. The incident came after another professor, also white, this time at Duquesne University in Pennsylvania was dismissed for using the slur during a course. "The word has such a history and such a psychological-emotional impact that just hearing the word, for some people, can be disruptive," said Arizona State University English professor Neal Lester, who is Black. Derived from a Latin word, it became widely used in 18th Century America, partly to dehumanize African Americans and cast them as an inferior race. Lester says he never says the word in his classroom. Vershawn Young, a Black communications professor, takes a different view. When, in June 2020, his employer, the University of Waterloo, announced that the word was banned on campus, Young refused to adhere to the new rule. "When reading from a text, I say the word," he told AFP. "When students quote the text, they too are free to speak what they read. However, they also may replace the word with its euphemism. What they can't do is ignore it." Young says he always prepares his students that it is coming so they aren't shocked. "Outside of quotes, I do not use the word because I recognize my authority in relation to the multiple sensitivities that my students embody," he added. Censorship In an article in The Conversation last year, Young wrote that the ban on his campus censored Black professors like himself. "I belong to multiple Black communities, where we use the N-word in six or seven culturally rich ways," he wrote, adding that banning it "serves the purposes of white supremacy." In recent decades it has been culturally acceptable for Black people to use the word. It is regularly heard in discussions, movies or music, hip-hop songs being the most obvious example. "Hearing a non-black person say the N-word is always offensive and harmful to me," said Gilbert, the student who objected to her white teacher using it. Also Read | UK's former finance minister Javid appointed as health minister "(But) I have no problem with Black people saying (it). In my personal opinion the word is never violent or threatening to me when it comes out of Black person's mouth," she added. Wendy Kaminer, a lawyer and writer who used to be an American Civil Liberties Union board member, said "the distinction between quoting a racial slur and using a racial slur has been completely erased." "I think that's quite problematic," she told AFP. Kaminer says the disappearance of the word from university campuses is part of a wider trend that started in the 1990s of banning other terms, including relating to sexuality and minorities. She thinks the United States, where freedom of speech is enshrined in the constitution, is moving towards a more western European approach to the regulation of what people can and can't say. For Lester, the Arizona State University professor, the answer is to talk about the word and its complex history without uttering it. "I've had many conversations in class around the word without actually saying it," she said. "That in and of itself is not a huge intellectual gymnastics routine."

Classrooms grapple with racial slurs in classic American novels

A quick-thinking Indian origin metro train driver saved an Asian man, who was shoved onto the tracks in an apparent hate crime, according to media reports.&nbsp;

The driver, Tobin Madathil, said that he had put the train on an emergency mode after he saw the man on the tracks, managing to stop the train less than 10 metres from the victim, and went on to help him, the New York Post reported on Tuesday.&nbsp;

He told the newspaper, "I'm glad I was able to stop on time and didn't hit the guy, thank God!"&nbsp;

The Hill website called him "heroic."&nbsp;

Police told the newspaper that they were investigating the attack on the Asian man as a possible hate crime.&nbsp;

The 36-year-old man was pushed from the platform in front of the train that Madathil driving just as it was approaching the underground station on Monday.&nbsp;

Police described to the Post the alleged attacker they were searching for as a Black man and tweeted a picture of the suspect.&nbsp;

New York City has suffered an upsurge of communal violence against Asians and Jews most of them perpetrated by non-White persons. This year, till the beginning of May, there were 80 hate crime attacks on Asians in the city and 54 against Jews, according to police.&nbsp;

"Right when I was coming into the station people were waving at me, and that's when I immediately placed the train into emergency mode," Madathil, 29, who has been a driver with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority for two years, told the Post.&nbsp;

"I exited the train and went to the victim. He was bleeding from the head."&nbsp;

The metro transit system is referred to as the "subway" in New York and the drivers as "operators".&nbsp;

"I just try to stay focused at all times when I operate, just watch the tracks and platform, just be alert," Madathil said.&nbsp;

The victim was taken to a hospital with injuries to the head.&nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies)&nbsp;

A quick-thinking Indian origin metro train driver saved an Asian man, who was shoved onto the tracks in an apparent hate crime, according to media reports. The driver, Tobin Madathil, said that he had put the train on an emergency mode after he saw the man on the tracks, managing to stop the train less than 10 metres from the victim, and went on to help him, the New York Post reported on Tuesday.

A quick-thinking Indian origin metro train driver saved an Asian man, who was shoved onto the tracks in an apparent hate crime, according to media reports. The driver, Tobin Madathil, said that he had put the train on an emergency mode after he saw the man on the tracks, managing to stop the train less than 10 metres from the victim, and went on to help him, the New York Post reported on Tuesday. He told the newspaper, "I'm glad I was able to stop on time and didn't hit the guy, thank God!" The Hill website called him "heroic." Police told the newspaper that they were investigating the attack on the Asian man as a possible hate crime. The 36-year-old man was pushed from the platform in front of the train that Madathil driving just as it was approaching the underground station on Monday. Police described to the Post the alleged attacker they were searching for as a Black man and tweeted a picture of the suspect. New York City has suffered an upsurge of communal violence against Asians and Jews most of them perpetrated by non-White persons. This year, till the beginning of May, there were 80 hate crime attacks on Asians in the city and 54 against Jews, according to police. "Right when I was coming into the station people were waving at me, and that's when I immediately placed the train into emergency mode," Madathil, 29, who has been a driver with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority for two years, told the Post. "I exited the train and went to the victim. He was bleeding from the head." The metro transit system is referred to as the "subway" in New York and the drivers as "operators". "I just try to stay focused at all times when I operate, just watch the tracks and platform, just be alert," Madathil said. The victim was taken to a hospital with injuries to the head. (With inputs from agencies)

'Heroic' Indian American metro train driver saves Asian man from hate crime 

An American editor of a news site in military-ruled Myanmar was detained on Monday as he attempted to take a flight out of the country, his news organisation said, the third foreign journalist held since a coup in February.&nbsp;

Danny Fenster, 37, the managing editor of Frontier Myanmar, one of the country's top independent news sites, was detained at the main international gateway in Yangon while preparing to fly to Malaysia, Frontier said on Twitter.&nbsp;

It said he had been transferred to Yangon's Insein Prison.&nbsp;

"We do not know why Danny was detained and have not been able to contact him," Frontier Myanmar said.&nbsp;

"We are concerned for his wellbeing and call for his immediate release. Our priorities now are to make sure he is safe and provide him with whatever assistance he needs."&nbsp;

A spokesman for the ruling military council did not answer a call seeking comment.&nbsp;

A spokeswoman for the US embassy in Yangon said: "We are unable to provide details due to privacy considerations."&nbsp;

Myanmar has been in turmoil since the military overthrew the elected government on February 1, citing alleged fraud in an election three months earlier.&nbsp;

The intervention after 10 years of tentative democracy has sparked nationwide outrage, with daily protests and strikes that the military has struggled to suppress, despite its use of lethal force and the arrest of thousands of people.&nbsp;

Journalists have been among those held, accused of incitement by the junta, which has restricted internet access, banned satellite broadcasts and rescinded the licences of several news organisations.&nbsp;

Fenster was the third foreign journalist to be arrested since the coup after a Polish reporter and a twice-held Japanese photojournalist. Both were subsequently deported.&nbsp;

"Were absolutely stunned and extremely confused as to why Dan was detained," said Fenster's brother, Bryan, in remarks made available by Frontier Myanmar.&nbsp;

"We've been assured that there is no concern for his safety but no doubt we are very worried." &nbsp;

An American editor of a news site in military-ruled Myanmar was detained on Monday as he attempted to take a flight out of the country, his news organisation said, the third foreign journalist held since a coup in February.

An American editor of a news site in military-ruled Myanmar was detained on Monday as he attempted to take a flight out of the country, his news organisation said, the third foreign journalist held since a coup in February. Danny Fenster, 37, the managing editor of Frontier Myanmar, one of the country's top independent news sites, was detained at the main international gateway in Yangon while preparing to fly to Malaysia, Frontier said on Twitter. It said he had been transferred to Yangon's Insein Prison. "We do not know why Danny was detained and have not been able to contact him," Frontier Myanmar said. "We are concerned for his wellbeing and call for his immediate release. Our priorities now are to make sure he is safe and provide him with whatever assistance he needs." A spokesman for the ruling military council did not answer a call seeking comment. A spokeswoman for the US embassy in Yangon said: "We are unable to provide details due to privacy considerations." Myanmar has been in turmoil since the military overthrew the elected government on February 1, citing alleged fraud in an election three months earlier. The intervention after 10 years of tentative democracy has sparked nationwide outrage, with daily protests and strikes that the military has struggled to suppress, despite its use of lethal force and the arrest of thousands of people. Journalists have been among those held, accused of incitement by the junta, which has restricted internet access, banned satellite broadcasts and rescinded the licences of several news organisations. Fenster was the third foreign journalist to be arrested since the coup after a Polish reporter and a twice-held Japanese photojournalist. Both were subsequently deported. "Were absolutely stunned and extremely confused as to why Dan was detained," said Fenster's brother, Bryan, in remarks made available by Frontier Myanmar. "We've been assured that there is no concern for his safety but no doubt we are very worried."

Myanmar news site says American editor detained from airport

At least 20 Indian-Americans will be part of the Joe Biden Administration. 2 of them trace their roots to Kashmir, 3 have joined the National Security Council, & 2 others will be in Biden's 'inner circle'. Who are they? WION's Palki Sharma gets you a report.

Gravitas: Indian-Americans grab top White House positions

The history of the United States is rife with episodes of political violence far bloodier and more destructive than the one that President Donald Trump incited at the Capitol on Wednesday. Nevertheless, ignorance of a grisly past well documented by historians like W.E.B. DuBois, John Hope Franklin and Richard Hofstadter was painfully evident in the aftermath of the mob invasion of Congress. Talking heads queued up to tell the country again and again that the carnage was an aberration and “not who we are” as a people.

This willful act of forgetting — compounded by the myth of American innocence — has shown itself to be dangerous on a variety of counts. For starters, it allowed many Americans to view the president’s insistence that he had won an election in which he was actually trounced, and his simultaneous embrace of right-wing extremism, as political theater that will pass uneventfully from the stage when Joe Biden is inaugurated.

“What’s the harm in humoring him?” the argument went. “Mr. Trump will soon be gone.”

As it turns out, Republicans in Congress who played along with the ruse encouraged a mob weaned on presidential lies to believe the fiction that Trump had been robbed of a victory. The resulting invasion of the government — which has thus far reportedly taken at least five lives — should make clear to everyone that the potential for political violence is a proverbial river of gasoline, waiting for a demagogue like Trump to drop the lighted match.

The circumstances that led up to the sacking of the Capitol are reminiscent of the 19th century, when Southerners rolled back the period of Black self-determination known as Reconstruction, unleashing a reign of racial tyranny. During the November election, Trump echoed Southern white supremacists of a bygone era when he falsely asserted that there had been widespread voting fraud in majority-Black cities.

This month, a coalition of Republican senators led by Ted Cruz of Texas summoned up this blood-drenched history when they parroted the voting fraud lie and demanded that Congress appoint an electoral commission to sort out the 2020 election.

Cruz inappropriately cited as a precedent a commission created to adjudicate the election of 1876. At the time, it was unclear who had won the election; some states submitted multiple election returns, a set for the Republican, Rutherford B. Hayes, and a set for the Democrat, Samuel J. Tilden.

Cruz’s analogy was dishonest on its face, given that there is no valid dispute about electoral votes today. But by bringing up 1876, the senator unwittingly pointed to the ancestry of the voter suppression practices in which his party is heavily invested. The 1876 election, as historians Rachel Shelden and Erik B. Alexander noted this past week in The Washington Post, was riddled with bloodshed and intimidation. White terror organizations targeted African Americans throughout the South in the run-up to Election Day. In the Black stronghold of Hamburg, South Carolina, the authors write, “hundreds of gun-toting whites from South Carolina and nearby Georgia descended on the town, executing members of the militia and ransacking Black homes and shops.”

The federal government eventually withdrew the troops that were protecting Black rights in the South. This set the stage for the system of slavery by another name that persisted until the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

The days leading up to the mob invasion of the Capitol presented several echoes of the intricately planned coup d’état carried out against the city government of Wilmington, North Carolina, in 1898. White supremacists overthrew a government that had been elected through an alliance that included African Americans and white progressives.

As Hofstadter and Michael Wallace report in “American Violence: A Documentary History,” military units poured into Wilmington from other places to assist the new regime: “African continued to cringe before Caucasian as the troops paraded the streets, as the guns barked and the bayonets flared, for a new municipal administration of the ‘White Supremacy’ persuasion.”

Untold numbers of Black citizens were killed, and well-known Wilmingtonians were banished from the city under pain of death. As was the case at the Capitol on Wednesday, the Wilmington mob was especially keen to silence journalists who had resisted the rising tide of racism. To that end, the marauders burned the Black-owned Daily Record, whose editor, Alexander Manly, fled the city.

White supremacists eventually took control of the state, bringing down the curtain on Black political participation. Given this history, it is in no way a coincidence that North Carolina remains a battleground where African Americans continue to struggle against the effects of gerrymandering and other forms of suppression.

Large and small, these violent assaults on Black self-determination continued into the 20th century. While sometimes expressly intended to destroy Black electoral power, they were just as often deployed to crush Black economic independence by destroying homes and, particularly, businesses that competed with white-owned ones in the marketplace.

Perhaps the most pointed example of such an assault was the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921 in Oklahoma. A white mob unleashed partly by the Tulsa police murdered at will while incinerating 35 square blocks of the Black enclave of Greenwood, reducing to ashes a muscular business strip known as the Negro Wall Street.

As historian Jelani Cobb noted in The New Yorker two months before the election, America’s record of willfully ignoring the violent suppression of Black voting rights is much more extensive than its record of protecting Black voters. While the public tends to view instances of election violence “as a static record of the past,” he wrote, “historians tend to look at them the way that meteorologists look at hurricanes: as a predictable outcome when a number of recognizable variables align in familiar ways.” As Cobb said last fall — when political violence was clearly trending upward — the metaphorical hurricane was close at hand indeed.

The mob assault on the Capitol was an outgrowth of what came before. It followed a heavily racialized campaign by a president who falsely portrayed African American cities as hot spots of voting fraud, while endearing himself to white supremacists. Republicans who subscribe to this toxic strategy deserve to be held responsible for the chaos it reaps. For shades of things to come, they need look no further than the damaged Capitol and the dead and injured who were hauled away on gurneys.

(Brent Staples is a member of The Times' editorial board.)

The history of the United States is rife with episodes of political violence far bloodier and more destructive than the one that President Donald Trump incited at the Capitol on Wednesday.

The history of the United States is rife with episodes of political violence far bloodier and more destructive than the one that President Donald Trump incited at the Capitol on Wednesday. Nevertheless, ignorance of a grisly past well documented by historians like W.E.B. DuBois, John Hope Franklin and Richard Hofstadter was painfully evident in the aftermath of the mob invasion of Congress. Talking heads queued up to tell the country again and again that the carnage was an aberration and “not who we are” as a people. This willful act of forgetting — compounded by the myth of American innocence — has shown itself to be dangerous on a variety of counts. For starters, it allowed many Americans to view the president’s insistence that he had won an election in which he was actually trounced, and his simultaneous embrace of right-wing extremism, as political theater that will pass uneventfully from the stage when Joe Biden is inaugurated. “What’s the harm in humoring him?” the argument went. “Mr. Trump will soon be gone.” As it turns out, Republicans in Congress who played along with the ruse encouraged a mob weaned on presidential lies to believe the fiction that Trump had been robbed of a victory. The resulting invasion of the government — which has thus far reportedly taken at least five lives — should make clear to everyone that the potential for political violence is a proverbial river of gasoline, waiting for a demagogue like Trump to drop the lighted match. The circumstances that led up to the sacking of the Capitol are reminiscent of the 19th century, when Southerners rolled back the period of Black self-determination known as Reconstruction, unleashing a reign of racial tyranny. During the November election, Trump echoed Southern white supremacists of a bygone era when he falsely asserted that there had been widespread voting fraud in majority-Black cities. This month, a coalition of Republican senators led by Ted Cruz of Texas summoned up this blood-drenched history when they parroted the voting fraud lie and demanded that Congress appoint an electoral commission to sort out the 2020 election. Cruz inappropriately cited as a precedent a commission created to adjudicate the election of 1876. At the time, it was unclear who had won the election; some states submitted multiple election returns, a set for the Republican, Rutherford B. Hayes, and a set for the Democrat, Samuel J. Tilden. Cruz’s analogy was dishonest on its face, given that there is no valid dispute about electoral votes today. But by bringing up 1876, the senator unwittingly pointed to the ancestry of the voter suppression practices in which his party is heavily invested. The 1876 election, as historians Rachel Shelden and Erik B. Alexander noted this past week in The Washington Post, was riddled with bloodshed and intimidation. White terror organizations targeted African Americans throughout the South in the run-up to Election Day. In the Black stronghold of Hamburg, South Carolina, the authors write, “hundreds of gun-toting whites from South Carolina and nearby Georgia descended on the town, executing members of the militia and ransacking Black homes and shops.” The federal government eventually withdrew the troops that were protecting Black rights in the South. This set the stage for the system of slavery by another name that persisted until the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The days leading up to the mob invasion of the Capitol presented several echoes of the intricately planned coup d’état carried out against the city government of Wilmington, North Carolina, in 1898. White supremacists overthrew a government that had been elected through an alliance that included African Americans and white progressives. As Hofstadter and Michael Wallace report in “American Violence: A Documentary History,” military units poured into Wilmington from other places to assist the new regime: “African continued to cringe before Caucasian as the troops paraded the streets, as the guns barked and the bayonets flared, for a new municipal administration of the ‘White Supremacy’ persuasion.” Untold numbers of Black citizens were killed, and well-known Wilmingtonians were banished from the city under pain of death. As was the case at the Capitol on Wednesday, the Wilmington mob was especially keen to silence journalists who had resisted the rising tide of racism. To that end, the marauders burned the Black-owned Daily Record, whose editor, Alexander Manly, fled the city. White supremacists eventually took control of the state, bringing down the curtain on Black political participation. Given this history, it is in no way a coincidence that North Carolina remains a battleground where African Americans continue to struggle against the effects of gerrymandering and other forms of suppression. Large and small, these violent assaults on Black self-determination continued into the 20th century. While sometimes expressly intended to destroy Black electoral power, they were just as often deployed to crush Black economic independence by destroying homes and, particularly, businesses that competed with white-owned ones in the marketplace. Perhaps the most pointed example of such an assault was the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921 in Oklahoma. A white mob unleashed partly by the Tulsa police murdered at will while incinerating 35 square blocks of the Black enclave of Greenwood, reducing to ashes a muscular business strip known as the Negro Wall Street. As historian Jelani Cobb noted in The New Yorker two months before the election, America’s record of willfully ignoring the violent suppression of Black voting rights is much more extensive than its record of protecting Black voters. While the public tends to view instances of election violence “as a static record of the past,” he wrote, “historians tend to look at them the way that meteorologists look at hurricanes: as a predictable outcome when a number of recognizable variables align in familiar ways.” As Cobb said last fall — when political violence was clearly trending upward — the metaphorical hurricane was close at hand indeed. The mob assault on the Capitol was an outgrowth of what came before. It followed a heavily racialized campaign by a president who falsely portrayed African American cities as hot spots of voting fraud, while endearing himself to white supremacists. Republicans who subscribe to this toxic strategy deserve to be held responsible for the chaos it reaps. For shades of things to come, they need look no further than the damaged Capitol and the dead and injured who were hauled away on gurneys. (Brent Staples is a member of The Times' editorial board.)

The myth of American innocence

Americans have bought nearly 17m guns so far in 2020, more than in any other single year, according to estimates from a firearms analytics company.

Americans have bought record 17m guns in year of unrest

An American citizen was kidnapped near the town of Birnin Konni in southern Niger in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

According to a Reuters report, the details of the kidnapping were not immediately clear, and no one had claimed responsibility on Tuesday morning.

Niger lies in the heart of the vast and impoverished Sahel, which is struggling with a jihadist insurgency that has claimed thousands of lives and driven hundreds of thousands from their homes.

Birnin Konni is a few hundred miles to the east of that region, near the border with Nigeria.

Several westerners are currently hostage in the region.

They include American aid worker Jeffery Woodke, who was kidnapped in the central town of Abalak in October 2016 and is believed to have been taken to neighbouring Mali.

The president of Niger, Mahamadou Issoufou, said in September last year that he had information that Woodke was alive and in good health.

Three Europeans, including 75-year-old French NGO worker Sophie Petronin, were released by their captors in Mali earlier this month under a prisoner swap arranged by the Malian government.

(with inputs)

An American citizen was kidnapped near the town of Birnin Konni in southern Niger in the early hours of Tuesday morning. According to a Reuters report, the details of the kidnapping were not immediately clear, and no one had claimed responsibility on Tuesday morning.

An American citizen was kidnapped near the town of Birnin Konni in southern Niger in the early hours of Tuesday morning. According to a Reuters report, the details of the kidnapping were not immediately clear, and no one had claimed responsibility on Tuesday morning. Niger lies in the heart of the vast and impoverished Sahel, which is struggling with a jihadist insurgency that has claimed thousands of lives and driven hundreds of thousands from their homes. Birnin Konni is a few hundred miles to the east of that region, near the border with Nigeria. Several westerners are currently hostage in the region. They include American aid worker Jeffery Woodke, who was kidnapped in the central town of Abalak in October 2016 and is believed to have been taken to neighbouring Mali. The president of Niger, Mahamadou Issoufou, said in September last year that he had information that Woodke was alive and in good health. Three Europeans, including 75-year-old French NGO worker Sophie Petronin, were released by their captors in Mali earlier this month under a prisoner swap arranged by the Malian government. (with inputs)

US national kidnapped in southern Niger, sources say

With a population of just about 4 million, Indian-Americans form a small yet financially affluent & politically active part of the U.S. with less than 50 days to go for the U.S. election, Indiaspora & AAPI Data have released a joint report on Indian American voters' attitude for the upcoming polls.

Fineprint: Who will Indian-American voters choose?

The English town of Reading held a minute's silence on Monday for the victims of a stabbing that killed three people including an American in the latest terrorism-linked attack.

Three people were also hospitalised after a man wielding a five-inch knife went on the rampage in a park on Saturday, randomly stabbing people enjoying a sunny, summer evening.

A Western security source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters that the suspect was a 25-year-old Libyan called Khairi Saadallah.&nbsp;

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/reading-stabbings-libyan-refugee-khairi-saadallah-named-as-suspect-in-uk-terror-attack-307524" hreflang="en">Reading stabbings: Libyan refugee Khairi Saadallah named as suspect in UK terror attack</a>

Calling the incident terrorism, police said a 25-year-old had been arrested but they were not hunting others. "What we saw here on Saturday evening in Reading was the actions of one lone individual," Home Secretary (interior minister) Priti Patel said

The Philadelphia Inquirer said one of the dead was U.S. citizen Joe Ritchie-Bennett, 39, who had lived in Britain for 15 years. U.S. ambassador Woody Johnson sent condolences to families of victims. "To our great sorrow, this includes an American citizen," he said on Twitter&nbsp;

Teacher James Furlong, 36, who was friends with Ritchie-Bennett according to media reports, was also killed. "He was beautiful, intelligent, honest and fun," his parents said.

The third victim has not yet been identified.

ON MI5'S RADAR

The security source told Reuters that Saadallah had come across the radar of Britain's domestic security agency MI5 last year over intelligence he had aspirations to travel for extremist purposes, although his plans then came to nothing.

"The security services have records on thousands of people and rightly so," said Patel, adding she was limited in what she could say because the investigation was live.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/uk-to-start-easing-lockdown-soon-plans-to-be-revealed-this-week-health-minister-307498" hreflang="en">UK to start easing lockdown soon; plans to be revealed this week: Health Minister</a>

Shocked residents of Reading, about 40 miles (65 km) west of London, held a minute's silence at 0900 GMT.

The attack was reminiscent of some recent incidents in Britain that authorities also called terrorism.

In February, police shot dead a man, previously jailed for promoting violent Islamist material, who had stabbed two people on a busy street in south London. Last November, another man who had been jailed for terrorism offences stabbed two people to death on London Bridge before he too was shot dead by police.

The English town of Reading held a minute's silence on Monday for the victims of a stabbing that killed three people including an American in the latest terrorism-linked attack.

The English town of Reading held a minute's silence on Monday for the victims of a stabbing that killed three people including an American in the latest terrorism-linked attack. Three people were also hospitalised after a man wielding a five-inch knife went on the rampage in a park on Saturday, randomly stabbing people enjoying a sunny, summer evening. A Western security source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters that the suspect was a 25-year-old Libyan called Khairi Saadallah. Also read: Reading stabbings: Libyan refugee Khairi Saadallah named as suspect in UK terror attack Calling the incident terrorism, police said a 25-year-old had been arrested but they were not hunting others. "What we saw here on Saturday evening in Reading was the actions of one lone individual," Home Secretary (interior minister) Priti Patel said The Philadelphia Inquirer said one of the dead was U.S. citizen Joe Ritchie-Bennett, 39, who had lived in Britain for 15 years. U.S. ambassador Woody Johnson sent condolences to families of victims. "To our great sorrow, this includes an American citizen," he said on Twitter Teacher James Furlong, 36, who was friends with Ritchie-Bennett according to media reports, was also killed. "He was beautiful, intelligent, honest and fun," his parents said. The third victim has not yet been identified. ON MI5'S RADAR The security source told Reuters that Saadallah had come across the radar of Britain's domestic security agency MI5 last year over intelligence he had aspirations to travel for extremist purposes, although his plans then came to nothing. "The security services have records on thousands of people and rightly so," said Patel, adding she was limited in what she could say because the investigation was live. Also read: UK to start easing lockdown soon; plans to be revealed this week: Health Minister Shocked residents of Reading, about 40 miles (65 km) west of London, held a minute's silence at 0900 GMT. The attack was reminiscent of some recent incidents in Britain that authorities also called terrorism. In February, police shot dead a man, previously jailed for promoting violent Islamist material, who had stabbed two people on a busy street in south London. Last November, another man who had been jailed for terrorism offences stabbed two people to death on London Bridge before he too was shot dead by police.

Britain reels from latest terrorism-linked stabbing, American among dead

A man in Australia's New South Wales has been charged in an apparent gay hate crime that happened almost 30 years ago.

Scott Price, 49, has been charged with murdering a 27-year-old Johnson in 1988.

The body of Sydney-based American mathematician Scott Johnson was found dead at the bottom of the North Head cliffs in Manly in 1988. The police, in the first inquest, ruled it a suicide. The second inquest, in June 2012, returned an open finding.

The third inquest, in 2017, found that Johnson fell from the clifftop as the result of violence by an unidentified attacker who perceived him to be gay.

Police said the man was was refused bail and is scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday.

A 2018 police review of 88 suspicious deaths from 1976 to 2000 revealed that 27 men were likely murdered for their homosexuality by gangs.

A man in Australia's New South Wales has been charged in an apparent gay hate crime that happened almost 30 years ago. Scott Price, 49, has been charged with murdering a 27-year-old Johnson in 1988.

A man in Australia's New South Wales has been charged in an apparent gay hate crime that happened almost 30 years ago. Scott Price, 49, has been charged with murdering a 27-year-old Johnson in 1988. The body of Sydney-based American mathematician Scott Johnson was found dead at the bottom of the North Head cliffs in Manly in 1988. The police, in the first inquest, ruled it a suicide. The second inquest, in June 2012, returned an open finding. The third inquest, in 2017, found that Johnson fell from the clifftop as the result of violence by an unidentified attacker who perceived him to be gay. Police said the man was was refused bail and is scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday. A 2018 police review of 88 suspicious deaths from 1976 to 2000 revealed that 27 men were likely murdered for their homosexuality by gangs.

Australian charged in gay hate crime in 1988 death of American man

February 21 in History: NASCAR is founded, The Communist Manifesto published, and more!

February 16 in History: Castro becomes Premier of Cuba, Kyoto Protocol is put into action, and more!

Indian American entrepreneur Anil Shrivats donated a kidney to his brother in 2014. Since then, he has become what he had never done - a champion of organ donation.

Anil Srivatsa Driving Around the World To Raise Awareness About Organ Donation

Security of American and Israeli diplomatic and trade interests, personnel and installations like embassies, offices and other residential areas have been beefed up across India after inputs were received from security agencies in the wake of rising tensions between the United States and Iran over the killing of a senior Iranian general.

According to two communications sent by Intelligence Bureau (IB) on January 4 and 8 to various government agencies, the steps have been taken after the developments pertaining to the attack on US Embassy in Baghdad on December 31, 2019, and the US airstrike which killed senior Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad on January 3.

According to a communication accessed by ANI, the threat of retaliation given by the Iranian leadership requires appropriate measures to secure the 'US as well as Israeli diplomatic and trade &nbsp;interests/personnel/installations.'

The IB, keeping Ministry of Home Affairs in the loop, has asked for appropriate measures to secure such locations and installations. 
The communication also states that terrorist attacks on the US as well as Israeli installations and personnel as protests, demonstrations and vandalism at such locations cannot be ruled out.

The diplomatic security forces, which are mainly responsible for the safety in Delhi's embassies, have been asked to continue patrolling the region, spread almost eight kilometres.

The local police and extra forces have been deployed at such locations as per the threat perception.

Security of American and Israeli diplomatic and trade interests, personnel and installations like embassies, offices and other residential areas have been beefed up across India after inputs were received from security agencies in the wake of rising tensions between the United States and Iran over the killing of a senior Iranian general.

Security of American and Israeli diplomatic and trade interests, personnel and installations like embassies, offices and other residential areas have been beefed up across India after inputs were received from security agencies in the wake of rising tensions between the United States and Iran over the killing of a senior Iranian general. According to two communications sent by Intelligence Bureau (IB) on January 4 and 8 to various government agencies, the steps have been taken after the developments pertaining to the attack on US Embassy in Baghdad on December 31, 2019, and the US airstrike which killed senior Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad on January 3. According to a communication accessed by ANI, the threat of retaliation given by the Iranian leadership requires appropriate measures to secure the 'US as well as Israeli diplomatic and trade interests/personnel/installations.' The IB, keeping Ministry of Home Affairs in the loop, has asked for appropriate measures to secure such locations and installations. The communication also states that terrorist attacks on the US as well as Israeli installations and personnel as protests, demonstrations and vandalism at such locations cannot be ruled out. The diplomatic security forces, which are mainly responsible for the safety in Delhi's embassies, have been asked to continue patrolling the region, spread almost eight kilometres. The local police and extra forces have been deployed at such locations as per the threat perception.

Security of US, Israeli diplomats, installations across India beefed up after Intel alert post US-Iran tension

Dozens of protesters gathered near the White House and Trump International Hotel on Saturday to protest against U.S. airstrike killed Iranian military commander and deployment of US troops in the Middle East. #WhiteHouse #DonaldTrump #WION

Protest breaks out over Trump-Iraq policy near White House, Trump hotel

U.S. President Donald Trump claimed that the U.S. has already 52 Iranian sites on its radar. If Iran will attack on any American or American assets that response attack will be very hard and very fast. #US #Iran #DonaldTrump WION

Donald Trump: U.S. has 52 Iranian sites on radar for hard response attacks

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday that If Iran would attack any American or American assets in response to the U.S. drone attack which killed Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani, then the United States has already targeted 52 Iranian sites for hard and fast response attacks. #US #Iran #DonaldTrump WION

U.S. Prez Trump vows to attack very hard & fast if Iran hits U.S. asset

Iran raises the 'revenge flag' over mosque after Soleimani's killing by U.S.

It has been claimed by the reports America faced a Cyber attack. A U.S. agency's website got hacked by Iranians. Hackers replaced the front page with the picture of Iranian Flag. The website now shows Ayatollah Ali Khameini. #AyatollahAliKhameini #Iran #US #WION

Reports: Cyber-attack on America, U.S. agency website hacked by Iranians

Iran and Iraq fought almost a decade long war in the 1980s, in which the leaked document of Iranian intelligence was accessed by US media. It revealed a complex tale of Tehran's influence over Iraq.

The key takeaway from the leaked document reveal that Tehran&nbsp;not only&nbsp;infiltrated Iraqi intelligence but it also has close ties with the current Iraqi Prime minister Abdul Mahdi and several Kurdish leaders.

The document clearly indicates that Iran had influenced&nbsp;some leadership changes taken by Iraq and even it paid American agents to switch their sides. Not only this, but it also released that Iran keeps a close eye on US soldiers.

Quds force head major general Qasem Soleimani had visited Iraq frequently, as the evolutionary guards. Quds force plays an important role in the country.

How did Iran come to wield so much influence over Iraq?&nbsp; 
&nbsp; 
It all started after the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, the lack of a post-invasion plan by the US which left a vacuum that was soon filled by Iran. Both countries have a massive population of Shia. 
&nbsp; 
During the rule of Saddam Hussein in Iraq, all the power was handed over to the Sunni minorities. After the invasion, the US disbanded the Sunni dominated Iraqi Baath party. Later the Sunni elite got engaged in terror activities to trigger the authorities. While facing the threats of sectarian violence Iraqi Shias began to see Iran as their protector. 
&nbsp; 
The entry of ISIS was followed by US reinforcement in Iraq but at the same time, Washington was not able to fully counter Tehran's influence. One of the leaked cables says that Iraq when faced the threats by ISIS, allowed Iran to use its airspace to transport weapons to Syria.

Iran and Iraq fought almost a decade long war in the 1980s, in which the leaked document of Iranian intelligence was accessed by US media. It revealed a complex tale of Tehran's influence over Iraq.

Iran and Iraq fought almost a decade long war in the 1980s, in which the leaked document of Iranian intelligence was accessed by US media. It revealed a complex tale of Tehran's influence over Iraq. The key takeaway from the leaked document reveal that Tehran not only infiltrated Iraqi intelligence but it also has close ties with the current Iraqi Prime minister Abdul Mahdi and several Kurdish leaders. The document clearly indicates that Iran had influenced some leadership changes taken by Iraq and even it paid American agents to switch their sides. Not only this, but it also released that Iran keeps a close eye on US soldiers. Quds force head major general Qasem Soleimani had visited Iraq frequently, as the evolutionary guards. Quds force plays an important role in the country. How did Iran come to wield so much influence over Iraq? It all started after the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, the lack of a post-invasion plan by the US which left a vacuum that was soon filled by Iran. Both countries have a massive population of Shia. During the rule of Saddam Hussein in Iraq, all the power was handed over to the Sunni minorities. After the invasion, the US disbanded the Sunni dominated Iraqi Baath party. Later the Sunni elite got engaged in terror activities to trigger the authorities. While facing the threats of sectarian violence Iraqi Shias began to see Iran as their protector. The entry of ISIS was followed by US reinforcement in Iraq but at the same time, Washington was not able to fully counter Tehran's influence. One of the leaked cables says that Iraq when faced the threats by ISIS, allowed Iran to use its airspace to transport weapons to Syria.

Leaked document: Iran influences Iraqi PM Abdul Mahdi, American agents and entire Iraq

The Indian Link To Trump's Impeachment Proceedings.

Gravitas: The Trump Impeachment: Indian-American Kashyap Patel Named

Jude Law brought the follow-up to "The Young Pope" to the Venice Film Festival on Sunday, presenting a glimpse of his return in the Paolo Sorrentino-directed papal drama, which at one point sees him wearing just "a napkin". 
 
The second series, called "The New Pope", sees Law reprise the role of Lenny Belardo, who becomes Pius XIII, the first American pope in history.&nbsp; 
After Law`s character falls into a coma, the sophisticated John Brannox, played by Hollywood actor John Malkovich, is elected to the papal throne, taking the name John Paul III. 
 
Two episodes out of the series` nine screened at the festival, which runs until Saturday. A teaser trailer shows Law strolling down a beach wearing white swimwear and surrounded by women. He is mirrored by Malkovich, who walks through the Vatican in full papal garb. 
&nbsp; 
"You`ll be surprised to know that those swimming trunks actually weren`t the smallest costume I got to wear," Law told a news conference on Sunday. 
"There`s actually one scene where I was wearing a napkin. I have a photo of it because it was truly the smallest costume I was ever given." 
 
In the drama, miracles appear to take place and both popes have to learn to co-exist.&nbsp; 
 
"The main inducement was to work with Paolo Sorrentino," Malkovich said of joining the project. 
 
"The Vatican or even religious things in general are probably not a primary field of interest for me, but I thought he made it very interesting in the first series in a way that was quite unexpected and something with a very unique vision."

Jude Law brought the follow-up to "The Young Pope" to the Venice Film Festival on Sunday, presenting a glimpse of his return in the Paolo Sorrentino-directed papal drama, which at one point sees him wearing just "a napkin".

Jude Law brought the follow-up to "The Young Pope" to the Venice Film Festival on Sunday, presenting a glimpse of his return in the Paolo Sorrentino-directed papal drama, which at one point sees him wearing just "a napkin". The second series, called "The New Pope", sees Law reprise the role of Lenny Belardo, who becomes Pius XIII, the first American pope in history. After Law`s character falls into a coma, the sophisticated John Brannox, played by Hollywood actor John Malkovich, is elected to the papal throne, taking the name John Paul III. Two episodes out of the series` nine screened at the festival, which runs until Saturday. A teaser trailer shows Law strolling down a beach wearing white swimwear and surrounded by women. He is mirrored by Malkovich, who walks through the Vatican in full papal garb. "You`ll be surprised to know that those swimming trunks actually weren`t the smallest costume I got to wear," Law told a news conference on Sunday. "There`s actually one scene where I was wearing a napkin. I have a photo of it because it was truly the smallest costume I was ever given." In the drama, miracles appear to take place and both popes have to learn to co-exist. "The main inducement was to work with Paolo Sorrentino," Malkovich said of joining the project. "The Vatican or even religious things in general are probably not a primary field of interest for me, but I thought he made it very interesting in the first series in a way that was quite unexpected and something with a very unique vision."

"The Young Pope" at Venice Film Festival

US, Italian and Russian astronauts blasted into space Saturday, headed for the International Space Station, in a launch coinciding with the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon landing.

Alexander Skvortsov of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, NASA's Andrew Morgan and Luca Parmitano of the European Space Agency set off on a six-hour journey to the orbiting science lab from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 1628 GMT.

A NASA TV commentator hailed a "textbook launch" minutes after blastoff in "sweltering" weather in Baikonur, where daytime temperatures reached 43 degrees Celsius on Saturday.&nbsp;

The blast coincides with the date that NASA's Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the Moon in 1969, marking a defining moment in the so-called "space race" with the Soviet Union.&nbsp;

Of the trio launching from the Kazakh steppe, only 53-year-old Skvortsov had been born at the time of the Moon landing.

A veteran of two ISS missions, Skvortsov is the flight commander for the six-hour journey from Baikonur to the ISS.

Morgan, 43, is flying for the first time.&nbsp;

"The absolute hardest part: saying good-bye and watching them walk away," wrote the father-of-four in a Saturday tweet featuring a picture of his wife and children.

Parmitano's only previous stint at the ISS lasted 166 days and saw him become the first Italian to carry out a spacewalk.&nbsp;

"L-2 h 30 min: One more look at my planet… it’s time to climb aboard our rocket. Next stop @Space_Station," the Italian tweeted.&nbsp;

Skvortsov, Morgan and Parmitano all come from military backgrounds and posed together in uniform in the build up to the launch.&nbsp;

Speaking during a pre-launch press-conference on Friday Skvortsov joked that "two colonels will be taking orders from a colonel" when Parmitano becomes commander of the space station mid-way through his mission -- a reference to the military rank the three share.

The International Space Station -- a rare example of cooperation between Russia and the West -- has been orbiting Earth at about 28,000 kilometres per hour (17,000 miles per hour) since 1998.

US, Italian and Russian astronauts blasted into space Saturday, headed for the International Space Station, in a launch coinciding with the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon landing.

US, Italian and Russian astronauts blasted into space Saturday, headed for the International Space Station, in a launch coinciding with the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon landing. Alexander Skvortsov of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, NASA's Andrew Morgan and Luca Parmitano of the European Space Agency set off on a six-hour journey to the orbiting science lab from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 1628 GMT. A NASA TV commentator hailed a "textbook launch" minutes after blastoff in "sweltering" weather in Baikonur, where daytime temperatures reached 43 degrees Celsius on Saturday. The blast coincides with the date that NASA's Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the Moon in 1969, marking a defining moment in the so-called "space race" with the Soviet Union. Of the trio launching from the Kazakh steppe, only 53-year-old Skvortsov had been born at the time of the Moon landing. A veteran of two ISS missions, Skvortsov is the flight commander for the six-hour journey from Baikonur to the ISS. Morgan, 43, is flying for the first time. "The absolute hardest part: saying good-bye and watching them walk away," wrote the father-of-four in a Saturday tweet featuring a picture of his wife and children. Parmitano's only previous stint at the ISS lasted 166 days and saw him become the first Italian to carry out a spacewalk. "L-2 h 30 min: One more look at my planet… it’s time to climb aboard our rocket. Next stop @Space_Station," the Italian tweeted. Skvortsov, Morgan and Parmitano all come from military backgrounds and posed together in uniform in the build up to the launch. Speaking during a pre-launch press-conference on Friday Skvortsov joked that "two colonels will be taking orders from a colonel" when Parmitano becomes commander of the space station mid-way through his mission -- a reference to the military rank the three share. The International Space Station -- a rare example of cooperation between Russia and the West -- has been orbiting Earth at about 28,000 kilometres per hour (17,000 miles per hour) since 1998.

American, Italian, Russian blast off for International Space Station

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