Tens of thousands of Hindu devotees gathered by the Ganges River for special prayers, many of them flouting social distancing practices as the coronavirus spreads in India with record speed.

Tens of thousands of Hindu devotees gathered by the Ganges River for special prayers Monday, many of them flouting social distancing practices as the coronavirus spreads in India with record speed.

The Kumbh Mela or pitcher festival, is one of the most sacred pilgrimages in Hinduism. The faithful congregate in the northern city of Haridwar. Pilgrims take a dip in the waters of the Ganges, which they believe will absolve them of their sins and deliver them from the cycle of birth and death.

Bishkek's police chief has been fired after hundreds of locals demonstrated outside the Interior Ministry in the Kyrgyz capital protesting about the killing of a 27-year-old woman, murdered during a so-called 'bride kidnapping.'

The practice, also known as 'bridenapping,' used to be a widespread phenomenon in the Caucasus and in several Asian nations. Nowadays, most abductions are purely ceremonial and a tribute to previous tradition. However, in Kyrgyzstan, there are still some cases where the bride has not consented.

On April 5, a 27-year-old woman named Aizada Kanatbekova was kidnapped by a group of unknown assailants. Following an investigation, the police quickly identified the would-be groom as Zamirbek Tenizbayev. Later that evening, they reached Tenizbayev by phone, who replied that he intended to marry Kanatbekova. He then turned off the device, and the police failed to find him.

Montreal police arrested seven people and doled out more than 100 tickets to people flouting COVID-19 public health guidelines after a protest against an earlier curfew devolved into vandalism and violence.

Hundreds gathered in the city's Old Port on Sunday night to demonstrate against the Quebec government's decision to roll back curfew to 8 p.m. in Montreal and Laval amid the rise in infections in the province.

Quebec Public Security Minister Geneviève Guilbault says events like those of Sunday night in Old Montreal "cannot be tolerated."

Since the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the COVID-19 global pandemic, many issues have arisen that run contrary to historical precedents and known and practiced public health principles of the last century. This article discusses some of these issues: assumptions made without evidence, the incorrect case definition, PCR diagnostic test problems, the impact of these two factors on morbidity and mortality estimates, school closures, facemasks, lockdowns and their effects on children.

Assumptions about SARS-CoV-2 made without evidence - the creation of panic

Panic has been spread among the general population since the beginning of the pandemic, based on the idea of "asymptomatic transmission". This idea was strongly influenced by a case report in Germany, in which an infection was attributed to contact with an asymptomatic person (1). Further investigation revealed that this person had actually been sick and had been suppressing her symptoms with medication (2). The original misleading paper was never rectified. Based on this, and limited case reports from China, the "experts" began to promote the idea that this virus behaves differently to other respiratory viruses. All prior knowledge indicates that epidemics are not driven by asymptomatic individuals (3, 4). However, the decision-makers in this epidemic determined that this does not apply to COVID-19 and every single individual we encounter could be an infectious person capable of killing us. This is contrary to conventional reasoning in medicine and public health. Decisions have always been based on prior knowledge, until there is compelling evidence to disprove what we thought we knew. Articles in the literature have found that secondary transmission by asymptomatic individuals is very low (5, 6, 7). In a cohort study with a very large sample size, no one became infected among 1,174 contacts of 300 asymptomatic subjects who had tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 (8).

Another assumption promoted by the "experts" in this epidemic is the idea that the general population would be immunologically "naive" to this virus and thus 100% susceptible to develop the disease. This is again not consistent with previous knowledge about human immunity to viral agents. Cross-immunity is a well-known fact. It is not reasonable to assume that the entire population is immunologically susceptible to SARS-CoV-2, when in fact it is very likely that many individuals have at least partial immunity to the virus due to prior infection with similar viruses or agents with similar antigenic properties. There are several studies showing that individuals have immunity to SARS-CoV-2 by T-Cell mediated mechanisms (9, 10, 11, 12, 13).

Reasonable doubt before defense even begins is bad for conviction

Welcome to our ongoing coverage of the Minnesota murder trial of Derek Chauvin, over the in-custody death of George Floyd. I am Attorney Andrew Branca for Law of Self Defense, providing guest commentary and analysis of this trial for Legal Insurrection.

As we enter the 11th full day of trial in this case, the state is rapidly approaching the end of its presentation for its case in chief. We are, therefore, nearing a major inflection point for this trial.

For those who may be unfamiliar with the criminal trial process, after opening statements by both sides, the state takes the first turn in presenting the jury with its case in chief, meaning its entire comprehensive argument to meet its burden to remove all reasonable doubt on the criminal charges brought against Chauvin.

Dr. Andrew Baker, the Hennepin County chief medical examiner, is expected to testify today. This comes after a day of medical testimony yesterday that may have rescued a flailing prosecution.

Welcome to Legal Insurrection's continuing LIVE coverage of the trial of Derek Chauvin in the in-custody death of George Floyd. Andrew Branca is traveling today, so I am "guest" live blogging for what is expected to be a half-day in court.

Sorry to disappoint you! Andrew will do today's wrap-up after he has a chance to watch the testimony himself. So for this morning, you are stuck with me. Feel free to continue adding to the comment section, Andrew will see that when he prepares his wrap-up.

Kris Teske was forced to put up with a lot of outside meddling in the weeks and months leading up to November's presidential election.

But as an election official, the frustrated city clerk of Green Bay, Wisconsin, made it clear to her superior that she would not break the law, according to new emails obtained by Wisconsin Spotlight.

"There is one more thing I want to say: If I am ever asked to do anything against the law the answer will be NO!" Teske wrote in an Aug. 26 email to Diana Ellenbecker, Green Bay's finance director and Teske's immediate supervisor.

As a Wisconsin Spotlight investigation has uncovered, liberal third-party groups funded by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg were heavily involved in the elections of Wisconsin's five largest cities: Milwaukee, Madison, Green Bay, Kenosha, and Racine. Zuckerberg and his wife donated $350 million to the Center for Tech and Civic Life, a left-leaning voter rights and election group.

New Mexico State Police have publicly released the chilling footage of the fatal shootings of one of their officers on Feb. 4.

In a graphic dashcam and bodycam video, officer Darian Jarrott pulled over Omar Felix Cueva on I-10 outside of Las Cruces during a routine traffic stop. TMZ reports that Jarrott informed Cueva that he was stopped due to having dark window tints and things became tense once he asked the driver if he had any firearms in the vehicle.

Jarrott reportedly saw a weapon inside the truck as Cueva stepped out and asked him to remove it "for my safety?" Cueva, 39, who has a "violent criminal history," including drug charges, hid his AR-15 style rifle from Jarrott's view as he emerged out of and began firing at the officer.

Hundreds of protesters have traveled to Rome from all over Italy to vent their fury at Prime Minister Mario Draghi and his government's strict Covid-19 measures, which are making life tough for small businesses like restaurants.

At least one protester was injured as a 500-strong crowd gathered in the capital on Monday, some of whom hurled stones and bottles at police, while others let off fireworks, Rome-based newspaper Il Messaggero reported.

There were chants of "freedom" and "we are all workers" as the crowd made its way to Draghi's office, where protesters faced off with lines of riot gear-clad police.

As governors loosen long-lasting coronavirus restrictions, state lawmakers across the U.S. are taking actions to significantly limit the power they could wield in future emergencies.

The legislative measures are aimed not simply at undoing mask mandates and capacity limits that have been common during the pandemic. Many proposals seek to fundamentally shift power away from governors and toward lawmakers the next time there is a virus outbreak, terrorist attack or natural disaster.

"The COVID pandemic has been an impetus for a re-examination of balancing of legislative power with executive powers," said Pam Greenberg, a policy researcher at the National Conference of State Legislatures.