Harvey Weinstein: Film producer says ‘I have caused a lot of pain’ –
Film producer Harvey Weinstein has issued an apology as a newspaper reported a number of sexual harassment allegations against him. “I appreciate the way I’ve behaved with colleagues in the past has caused a lot of pain, and I sincerely apologise for it,” said the movie mogul’s statement. But he later disputed a New York Times report that claimed he harassed female employees over nearly three decades. The newspaper reported he had reached at least eight settlements with women. Mr Weinstein, a married father-of-five, said he planned to take a leave of absence from his company and had hired therapists to deal with his issue. “My journey now will be to learn about myself and conquer my demons,” the 65-year-old’s statement on Thursday said. [BBC]
Harvey Weinstein in 2011
Other News –
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- Jaysh al-Islam Islamist rebels launch a successful counter-attack in the East Ghouta region of rural Damascus, targeting the points they lost to the Syrian government over the course of seven days near the town of Hawsh Dawahra, and recovering all of the lost territories. (Al Masdar News)
- Harvey Weinstein sexual misconduct allegations
- American film producer Harvey Weinstein (including Pulp Fiction, Clerks, The Crying Game, and Sex, Lies, and Videotape) answers allegations made by a report in The New York Times that he had settled eight sexual harassment claims made over three decades. Multiple Democratic recipients of Weinstein’s political donations give the funds to women’s charities. (Reuters)
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- AIM’s owner, Oath Inc., announces it will discontinue AOL Instant Messenger service on December 15, 2017. (USA Today)
- 2017 Spanish constitutional crisis
- Spain‘s third largest bank, CaixaBank, announces it is moving its legal base out of Catalonia to Valencia. This follows a similar move yesterday by Catalan banking group Banco Sabadell who announced they are moving their headquarters to Alicante in response to growing political insecurity in Catalonia. (The Guardian)
- A train hits a bus on a crossing in Vladimir, Russia, killing at least 19 people on the bus. No train passengers were injured. (BBC)
- An Indian Air Force Mi-17 helicopter ferrying military officials crashes in Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh, a remote mountain region near the border with China, killing all seven personnel on board. (Reuters)
- 2017 Atlantic hurricane season
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- Tropical Storm Nate
- A Mexican military Bell 412 model helicopter crashes northeast of the town of El Salto in the mountainous state of Durango, seriously injuring one military member aboard and likely killing seven others. (Reuters)
- Nobel Peace Prize
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- Unnamed White House officials believe White House Chief of Staff John F. Kelly‘s personal cellphone was hacked, possibly since December 2016. Kelly was Secretary of Homeland Security from January 20 to July 31, 2017, when he moved to his current position. (Politico), (Reuters)
- Birth control in the United States, List of executive actions by Donald Trump
- A Trump administration executive order reverses an Obamacare policy which mandated that employers and insurers provide their employees with birth control, regardless of one’s “religious beliefs” or “moral convictions”. (BBC)
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