Two of Donald Trump’s children have refused to testify to a fraud inquiry into the family’s business.

Donald Jr, 44, and Ivanka, 40, were ordered to give evidence by New York Attorney General Letitia James. She opened a civil inquiry in 2019 into claims that – before he took office – Mr Trump had inflated the value of his assets to banks when seeking loans. Mr Trump’s lawyers are trying to stop Ms James from questioning the former US president and his children. They have asked a judge to quash the “unprecedented and unconstitutional” bid for their testimony. Mr Trump sued Ms James last month, accusing the attorney general – an elected Democrat – of pursuing a politically motivated witch hunt against him, a Republican.(BBC)…[+]

Grichka and Igor Bogdanoff became France’s most famous twins, hosting a TV science and science-fiction show in the 1980s on a spaceship set. They died of coronavirus within days of each other in hospital, Grichka on 28 December and his brother on Monday. Aged 72, the brothers had not been vaccinated against Covid-19. Their friends said they were convinced their healthy lifestyle would protect them and they were admitted to hospital in mid-December.

Although their families did not specify the cause of their deaths, their lawyer Edouard de Lamaze confirmed they had both contracted the virus. Family friend Pierre-Jean Chalençon said they had left it too late to seek hospital treatment, deciding it was similar to flu. “People have said they were anti-vaxxers but they absolutely weren’t,” he told BFMTV. “Several friends told them to get themselves vaccinated but they felt because of their lifestyle and their [lack of] comorbidity, they weren’t at risk of Covid.”(BBC)…[+]

Four beekeepers have been detained in Chile following a protest calling for government support for their industry. The beekeepers held a demonstration outside the presidential palace in the capital, Santiago. Seven police officers were stung as they tried to remove beehives placed by the protesters to block a main thoroughfare. A prolonged drought has been ravaging beekeeping in Chile, affecting bees’ food sources such as flowers and crops. To highlight their cause, the beekeepers set up some 60 hives containing around 10,000 bees in front of the palace and prevented the police from dispersing the demonstration.(BBC)…[+]