Jury selection for Cosby’s trial could be completed Wednesday

The jury that will decide whether to convict or acquit comedian Bill Cosby at his upcoming sexual assault trial in the Philadelphia area is likely to be chosen on Wednesday, even as the defence says prosecutors are trying to exclude black people from the panel.

Comedian Bill Cosby arrived for the second day of jury selection on Tuesday in his sexual assault retrial. Cosby, 80, is charged with drugging and assaulting Andrea Constand, 44 at his home near Philadelphia.

A Pennsylvania jury of seven men and five women was due to begin deliberations on Wednesday (April 25) to decide whether to convict comedian and actor Bill Cosby of sexual assault, attempting to reach a verdict where a previous jury was hopelessly deadlocked.

In Philadelphia, recycling efforts go to waste

Bayer-owned Monsanto has been hit with its third jury verdict in California tying its Roundup weed killer to cancer. Bayer faces more than 13,400 Roundup-related lawsuits in the United States.

Leonie von Hase has won the annual beauty contest overcoming 15 other contestants in the final. She will now assume the role for the next 12 months.

Protesters march, clash with police and set fires in West Philadelphia during a second night of demonstrations following the police killing of Walter Wallace, a 27-year-old Black man.

US President Donald Trump says Philadelphia was "ransacked by violent mobs of Biden supporters" during his rally in Phoenix. There has been unrest in Philadelphia over the latest police killing of a Black man whose family said suffered from mental health issues.

The shooting death of a Black man has unleashed two days of looting and violence in the east coast city. Officials said they have ordered an overnight curfew to stop "lawlessness."

Tong Ying-kit, the first person to be arrested under the national security law, has pleaded not guilty of inciting secessionism. Meanwhile, there has been another arrest at pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily.

The Black liberation group MOVE was founded in 1972 in the US city of Philadelphia. It combined a wide array of ideologies, including environmentalism, animal rights and an end to capitalism. The group's activities were closely watched by law enforcement, at times leading to armed confrontation. Tensions peaked on May 13, 1985, when the Philadelphia police bombed the MOVE house, killing 11 Black people. Despite two grand jury investigations and a civil suit, no one was ever criminally charged for the bombing. More than 35 years later, FRANCE 24's correspondents returned to Philadelphia to revisit the day the city bombed its own citizens.

Walmart, Walgreens and CVS have vowed to appeal after two counties in the state of Ohio successfully sued the pharmacy giants for their role in the opioid epidemic.