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Paul Farnes, Last R.A.F. Ace of Battle of Britain, Dies at 101 Paul Farnes, a Royal Air Force fighter pilot and the last surviving R.A.F. ace of the Battle of Britain, in which he shot down six German aircraft and damaged a half-dozen more, died on Jan. 28 in West Sussex, England. He was 101. His death was announced by the Battle of Britain Memorial Trust. Mr. Farnes was one of the last survivors of the nearly 3,000 airmen called “The Few,” a nickname inspired by Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s tribute to them in August 1940 while the campaign, begun...

Elon Musk takes a dig at WhatsApp with ‘free phone hack’ emoji Taking a dig at WhatsApp over repeated users privacy violation amid security vulnerabilities, Tesla CEO Elon Musk took to Twitter with a meme, showing various ‘mechanical arm’ emojis representing Apple, Google, Microsoft, Samsung and WhatsApp respectively. Musk posted the image with the caption: “New emoji! Last one comes with free phone hack.” The “last one” happened to be the WhatsApp version of the robotic arm emoji. Source: Hindustan Times

Jhon Jairo Velásquez, 57, Dies; Escobar Henchman Turned YouTube Star Jhon Jairo Velásquez, a former member of the Medellín drug cartel who boasted of committing hundreds of murders on behalf of the drug lord Pablo Escobar, and who parlayed his criminal past into a popular YouTube channel, books and a movie, died on Thursday in Bogotá, Colombia. He was 57. His death was announced by Colombia’s National Penitentiary and Prison Institute. Imprisoned on charges of extortion in 2018, he had been hospitalized since Dec. 31 with late-stage stomach cancer. Source: The New York Times

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei Says Iran Must Become Strong to End ‘Enemy Threat’ Tehran: Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Saturday that the Islamic republic must become strong enough to ward off the “enemy’s threats” and prevent a war. Khamenei also said Iran had a strong air force despite decades of US pressure and sanctions on the country since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. “We must become strong so that there will not be a war, become strong so that enemy’s threats will end,” he told a gathering of air force commanders and staff. “We do not want to threaten anyone… this...

ISIS bride Shamima Begum loses appeal over U.K. citizenship London-born Islamic State (ISIS) recruit Shamima Begum lost an appeal against the U.K. government’s revocation of her British citizenship on security grounds. Ms. Begum, who was 15 years old when she secretly fled her home in east London in 2015 to join the terrorist group in Syria, is living in a camp run by Kurdish forces in northern Syria. A special British immigration tribunal ruled on February 7 that she was a Bangladeshi citizen by descent which meant that she had not been rendered homeless by former U.K. Home Secretary Sajid Javid’s decision to revoke her...

Suniel Shetty reacts to Athiya and KL Rahul link-up rumours Athiya Shetty and KL Rahul have been making news headlines for their alleged link-up for the past few months. The actress’s father Suniel Shetty was asked about their relationship at a press conference recently. When asked about Athiya’s relationship with cricketer KL Rahul, Suniel Shetty said, “I am not having the relationship. You will have to ask Athiya.” He added, “You come and tell me if it is true, then we will talk about it. You don’t know, how can you ask me then?” Source: India Today

This Padma awardee could barely see but his intricate artworks are a sight to behold As 84-year-old Manohar Devadoss draws you into a conversation, you can’t help but notice the sparkle in his eye. Eager to tell you stories from his very eventful life, he has a way with words — and with his hands. So much so that he has over 200 artworks to his name despite suffering from retinal degeneration, a condition that led him to lose sight first in one eye and then eventually in the other. Honoured recently with the Padma Shri, most of his works have...

Roger Kahn, Who Lifted Sportswriting With ‘Boys of Summer,’ Dies at 92 Roger Kahn, whose 1972 book about the Brooklyn Dodgers of the early 1950s, “The Boys of Summer,” melded reportage, sentiment and sociology in a way that stamped baseball as a subject fit for serious writers and serious readers, died on Thursday in Mamaroneck, N.Y. He was 92. His son Gordon Jacques Kahn confirmed the death, at a nursing home. Mr. Kahn had most recently resided in Stone Ridge, N.Y., in Ulster County, after living most of his life in Brooklyn and Manhattan. Source: The New York Times

Impeachment Witness Alexander Vindman Will Be Transferred From the White House The White House plans to transfer Lt. Col. Alexander S. Vindman, whose testimony in the House impeachment hearings infuriated President Trump and his allies, out of the National Security Council staff as early as Friday, two senior administration officials said. Mr. Trump essentially confirmed the move in brief comments with reporters before leaving on a day trip to North Carolina. “I’m not happy with him,” the president said of Colonel Vindman. His senior officials, he added, would inform the colonel of his future soon. “They’ll make that decision.” Source: The New York...

How Pete Buttigieg Became the Surprise of the Iowa Caucuses OELWEIN, Iowa — Two days before the Iowa caucuses, Pete Buttigieg stopped for a town hall event at the Oelwein Coliseum, a 92-year-old music venue that in its heyday hosted the likes of Lawrence Welk and Sammy Kaye. Recent history suggested there weren’t many Democrats to win over in Oelwein: After President Barack Obama won surrounding Fayette County by 12 percentage points in 2012, Donald J. Trump carried it by 19 points four years later. During the event’s question period, one man described himself to Mr. Buttigieg as a fiscally responsible “lifelong Republican” and...