An environmental group is demanding a government investigation into&nbsp;American politician Robert F&nbsp;Kennedy Jr&nbsp;following revelations about an unusual incident involving a dead whale. The controversy was sparked after&nbsp;an old interview with Kennedy’s daughter, which has recently resurfaced.

<h2>What happened?</h2>

In a 2012 Town &amp; Country Magazine interview, Kick Kennedy revealed that, around 1994, her father, RFK Jr, used a chainsaw to remove the head of a dead whale that had washed ashore near their home in&nbsp;Hyannisport, Massachusetts. The whale's head was then transported back to their New York residence on the roof of their minivan.

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Kick Kennedy described the scene: “Every time we accelerated on the highway, whale juice would pour into the windows of the car, and it was the rankest thing on the planet.”

She also recounted that the family wore plastic bags&nbsp;over our heads&nbsp;with cut-out mouth holes to deal with the odour, and "people on the highway were giving us the finger, but that was just normal day-to-day stuff for us."

<h2>Call for investigation</h2>

The Center for Biological Diversity Action Fund has urged the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to investigate the incident. They argue that possessing any part of a marine mammal, alive or dead, may violate the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Endangered Species Act.

Brett Hartl, national political director for the Center for Biological Diversity Action Fund, stated in the letter, “There are good reasons why it is illegal for any person to collect or keep parts of any endangered species."&nbsp;

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This call for an investigation comes shortly after RFK&nbsp;Jr&nbsp;suspended his independent presidential campaign. His campaign was marked by a series of unusual events, including his admission that he once disposed of a dead bear in New York’s Central Park.

After suspending his campaign, Kennedy endorsed Republican presidential candidate&nbsp;Donald Trump who reportedly offered RFK&nbsp;Jr a role on the transition team if he&nbsp;won the election.

(With inputs from agencies)

An environmental group is demanding a government investigation into American politician Robert F Kennedy Jr following revelations about an unusual incident involving a dead whale.

An environmental group is demanding a government investigation into American politician Robert F Kennedy Jr following revelations about an unusual incident involving a dead whale. The controversy was sparked after an old interview with Kennedy’s daughter, which has recently resurfaced. What happened? In a 2012 Town & Country Magazine interview, Kick Kennedy revealed that, around 1994, her father, RFK Jr, used a chainsaw to remove the head of a dead whale that had washed ashore near their home in Hyannisport, Massachusetts. The whale's head was then transported back to their New York residence on the roof of their minivan. Also read | 'Play badminton together': Hong Kong encourages horny teens to play badminton instead of having premarital sex Kick Kennedy described the scene: “Every time we accelerated on the highway, whale juice would pour into the windows of the car, and it was the rankest thing on the planet.” She also recounted that the family wore plastic bags over our heads with cut-out mouth holes to deal with the odour, and "people on the highway were giving us the finger, but that was just normal day-to-day stuff for us." Call for investigation The Center for Biological Diversity Action Fund has urged the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to investigate the incident. They argue that possessing any part of a marine mammal, alive or dead, may violate the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Endangered Species Act. Brett Hartl, national political director for the Center for Biological Diversity Action Fund, stated in the letter, “There are good reasons why it is illegal for any person to collect or keep parts of any endangered species." Also read | Heavy floods hit Yemen, trigger landslides; 24 people go missing, several homes swept away This call for an investigation comes shortly after RFK Jr suspended his independent presidential campaign. His campaign was marked by a series of unusual events, including his admission that he once disposed of a dead bear in New York’s Central Park. After suspending his campaign, Kennedy endorsed Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump who reportedly offered RFK Jr a role on the transition team if he won the election. (With inputs from agencies)

Did RFK Jr cut off dead whale's head? Environmental group calls for investigation

The Taliban cut off hands of four men convicted of theft and flogged nine on charges of sodomy in front of spectators at a football stadium in Kandahar.&nbsp;According to Tolo News, the suspects were punished on Tuesday in Ahmad Shahi Stadium. Local authorities and Kandahar residents were in attendance when the lashing took place.&nbsp;

The spokesman for the provincial governor, Haji Zaid, said that each convict was lashed for about 39 times.&nbsp;

Former policy adviser to the minister for Afghan resettlement and minister for refugees in the UK,&nbsp;Shabnam Nasimi, condemned the incident arguing that these people were punished without even getting a fair trial.&nbsp;

"The Taliban have reportedly cut off the hands of four people in a football stadium in Kandahar today, accused of theft, in front of spectators. People are being lashed, amputated &amp; executed in Afghanistan, without fair trial and due process. This is a human rights violation," she tweeted.&nbsp;

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Little sidestep to Afghanistan. For those who thought Taliban would be more "moderate" after their earlier promises. 
 
Public performances of whipping are the order of the day. And people also happily sit in a stadium to watch it. <a href="https://t.co/O0n8HdG0Ii">pic.twitter.com/O0n8HdG0Ii</a>
— NOËL 🇪🇺 🇺🇦 (@NOELreports) <a href="https://twitter.com/NOELreports/status/1615399361231585281?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 17, 2023</a></blockquote>
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Ever since storming back to power in August 2021, the Taliban have announced various medieval-era punishments against those who have committed crimes, despite making assurances that it will be more liberal compared to its previous rule.&nbsp;

During its previous rule between 1996 to 2001, the militant organisation would punish in public, including floggings and executions at sports stadiums before crowds of spectators.&nbsp;

Recently in December, the Taliban announced that it would maintain law and order based on Sharia law.&nbsp;

Despite receiving widespread criticism, the Taliban vowed to defend the application of Islamic Sharia to criminal justice, saying it is key to promoting "peace and justice” in the country.&nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies)&nbsp;

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The Taliban cut off hands of four men convicted of theft and flogged nine on charges of sodomy in front of spectators at a football stadium in Kandahar. According to Tolo News, the suspects were punished on Tuesday in Ahmad Shahi Stadium.

The Taliban cut off hands of four men convicted of theft and flogged nine on charges of sodomy in front of spectators at a football stadium in Kandahar. According to Tolo News, the suspects were punished on Tuesday in Ahmad Shahi Stadium. Local authorities and Kandahar residents were in attendance when the lashing took place. The spokesman for the provincial governor, Haji Zaid, said that each convict was lashed for about 39 times. Former policy adviser to the minister for Afghan resettlement and minister for refugees in the UK, Shabnam Nasimi, condemned the incident arguing that these people were punished without even getting a fair trial. "The Taliban have reportedly cut off the hands of four people in a football stadium in Kandahar today, accused of theft, in front of spectators. People are being lashed, amputated & executed in Afghanistan, without fair trial and due process. This is a human rights violation," she tweeted. Little sidestep to Afghanistan. For those who thought Taliban would be more "moderate" after their earlier promises. Public performances of whipping are the order of the day. And people also happily sit in a stadium to watch it. pic.twitter.com/O0n8HdG0Ii — NOËL 🇪🇺 🇺🇦 (@NOELreports) January 17, 2023 × Ever since storming back to power in August 2021, the Taliban have announced various medieval-era punishments against those who have committed crimes, despite making assurances that it will be more liberal compared to its previous rule. During its previous rule between 1996 to 2001, the militant organisation would punish in public, including floggings and executions at sports stadiums before crowds of spectators. Recently in December, the Taliban announced that it would maintain law and order based on Sharia law. Despite receiving widespread criticism, the Taliban vowed to defend the application of Islamic Sharia to criminal justice, saying it is key to promoting "peace and justice” in the country. (With inputs from agencies) WATCH WION LIVE HERE:

Taliban cut off hands of four men for theft, flog nine for sodomy before spectators

Twitter announced on Thursday&nbsp;that it had cut off 360,000 accounts during the past six months in a heightened crackdown on use of the global messaging service to promote violent extremist causes. 
 
The suspensions raised to 360,000 the total number of accounts sidelined since the middle of 2015 and was helping &quot;drive meaningful results&quot; in curbing the activity, according to the San Francisco-based company.&nbsp;Twitter has been striving to balance protecting free speech at the one-to-many messaging service with not providing a stage for extremist groups to spread violent messages and enlist people to their causes. 
 
In February, Twitter said that it had neutralised 125,000 accounts for violating rules against violent threats and promotion of terrorism.&nbsp;&quot;Since that announcement, the world has witnessed a further wave of deadly, abhorrent terror attacks across the globe,&quot; Twitter said in a blog post.&nbsp;&quot;We strongly condemn these acts and remain committed to eliminating the promotion of violence or terrorism on our platform.&quot; 
 
Daily suspensions of accounts are up more than 80 per cent since last year, and spike in the immediate aftermath of terror attacks, according to Twitter.&nbsp; 
 
Twitter said that it is getting quicker at identifying extremist content and shutting down accounts involved, resulting in dramatic decreases in the number of followers attracted while posts are active.&nbsp;Moves have been made to make it tougher for people behind suspended accounts to immediately return to Twitter, and teams reviewing reports of suspected terror content have been expanded. 
 
Like Twitter, Facebook and YouTube rely heavily on users to point out posts that violate standards or policies.&nbsp;Tech titans have been increasingly dabbling with enlisting software to battle extremist propaganda. 
 
&quot;There is no one &#39;magic algorithm&#39; for identifying terrorist content on the Internet,&quot; Twitter said in the post.&nbsp;&quot;But, we continue to utilise other forms of technology, like proprietary spam-fighting tools, to supplement reports from our users and help identify repeat account abuse.&quot; 
 
During the past six months, automated tools have helped Twitter identify more than a third of the accounts suspended for promoting terrorism, according to the company.&nbsp; 
 
Twitter said that it collaborates with other online social platforms in the fight against terror content.&nbsp;Since dreadful attacks in Paris and the city of San Bernardino in California, pressure has been growing for online social networks to thwart extremist groups from taking advantage of their platforms. 
 
A US judge last week tossed out a lawsuit accusing Twitter of abetting terrorism by allowing Islamic State (IS) group propaganda to be broadcast using the messaging platform.&nbsp;District Court Judge William Orrick granted a motion by Twitter to dismiss the case, reasoning that providing a platform for speech is within the law and that the company did not create the content. 
 
The Communications Decency Act (CDA) protects online platforms from being held responsible for what users post.&nbsp;The suit was filed in San Francisco federal court by the families of two government contractors killed late last year while working at a police training center run by the United States in Amman, according to court documents. 
 
A Jordanian police captain studying at the center fatally shot the two men, and IS later claimed the captain was a &quot;lone wolf&quot; working for the group&#39;s cause, the judge recounted in his ruling.&nbsp;&quot;As horrific as these deaths were, under the CDA Twitter cannot be treated as a publisher or speaker of ISIS&#39;s hateful rhetoric and is not liable under the facts alleged,&quot; Orrick said in the decision, using another name for IS. 
 
The suit accused Twitter of providing &quot;material support&quot; by letting accounts spread the message of the extremist group.&nbsp;The judge left open the option of refiling an amended version of the suit. 
 
(AFP)

In February, Twitter had blocked 360,000 accounts for violating rules against violent threats and promotion of terrorism

Twitter announced on Thursday that it had cut off 360,000 accounts during the past six months in a heightened crackdown on use of the global messaging service to promote violent extremist causes. The suspensions raised to 360,000 the total number of accounts sidelined since the middle of 2015 and was helping "drive meaningful results" in curbing the activity, according to the San Francisco-based company. Twitter has been striving to balance protecting free speech at the one-to-many messaging service with not providing a stage for extremist groups to spread violent messages and enlist people to their causes. In February, Twitter said that it had neutralised 125,000 accounts for violating rules against violent threats and promotion of terrorism. "Since that announcement, the world has witnessed a further wave of deadly, abhorrent terror attacks across the globe," Twitter said in a blog post. "We strongly condemn these acts and remain committed to eliminating the promotion of violence or terrorism on our platform." Daily suspensions of accounts are up more than 80 per cent since last year, and spike in the immediate aftermath of terror attacks, according to Twitter. Twitter said that it is getting quicker at identifying extremist content and shutting down accounts involved, resulting in dramatic decreases in the number of followers attracted while posts are active. Moves have been made to make it tougher for people behind suspended accounts to immediately return to Twitter, and teams reviewing reports of suspected terror content have been expanded. Like Twitter, Facebook and YouTube rely heavily on users to point out posts that violate standards or policies. Tech titans have been increasingly dabbling with enlisting software to battle extremist propaganda. "There is no one 'magic algorithm' for identifying terrorist content on the Internet," Twitter said in the post. "But, we continue to utilise other forms of technology, like proprietary spam-fighting tools, to supplement reports from our users and help identify repeat account abuse." During the past six months, automated tools have helped Twitter identify more than a third of the accounts suspended for promoting terrorism, according to the company. Twitter said that it collaborates with other online social platforms in the fight against terror content. Since dreadful attacks in Paris and the city of San Bernardino in California, pressure has been growing for online social networks to thwart extremist groups from taking advantage of their platforms. A US judge last week tossed out a lawsuit accusing Twitter of abetting terrorism by allowing Islamic State (IS) group propaganda to be broadcast using the messaging platform. District Court Judge William Orrick granted a motion by Twitter to dismiss the case, reasoning that providing a platform for speech is within the law and that the company did not create the content. The Communications Decency Act (CDA) protects online platforms from being held responsible for what users post. The suit was filed in San Francisco federal court by the families of two government contractors killed late last year while working at a police training center run by the United States in Amman, according to court documents. A Jordanian police captain studying at the center fatally shot the two men, and IS later claimed the captain was a "lone wolf" working for the group's cause, the judge recounted in his ruling. "As horrific as these deaths were, under the CDA Twitter cannot be treated as a publisher or speaker of ISIS's hateful rhetoric and is not liable under the facts alleged," Orrick said in the decision, using another name for IS. The suit accused Twitter of providing "material support" by letting accounts spread the message of the extremist group. The judge left open the option of refiling an amended version of the suit. (AFP)

Twitter neutralises 360,000 accounts in crackdown on extremism

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