Nobel Peace Prize laureate Dr. Denis Mukwege warned Wednesday that the scourge of sexual violence and rape in all conflicts is now “a real pandemic” and without sanctions and justice for the victims these horrific acts won’t stop.The Congolese doctor told the U.N. Security Council in a video briefing that “we are still far away from being able to draw a red line against the use of rape and sexual violence as a strategy of war domination and terror.”Mukwege appealed to the international community “to draw a red line against the use of rape and sexual violence as a weapon of war.” And he stressed that the “red line” must mean “blacklists with economic, financial and political sanctions as well as judicial prosecutions against the perpetrators and instigators of these egregious crimes.”Mukwege founded the Panzi Hospital in the eastern Congo city of Bukavu, and for more than 20 years has treated countless women who were raped amid fighting between armed groups seeking control of some the central African nation’s vast mineral wealth. He lamented that sexual violence and impunity continue.He shared the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize with activist Nadia Murad, who was kidnapped and sold into sexual slavery by Islamic State militants in 2014 along with an estimated 3,000 Yazidi girls and women.Mukwege said there has been progress in international law, and the greatest challenge today is to transform commitments into obligations, and Security Council resolutions into results. Accountability and justice “are the best tools of prevention,” he said, and without punishment and sanctions, rapes and sexual violence in conflicts will continue.Mukwege spoke at a council meeting on Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ latest report on sexual violence in conflict that said the COVID-19 pandemic led to a spike in gender-based violence last year. It focused on 18 countries where the U.N. said it has verified information that 52 warring parties are “credibly suspected” of patterns of “rape and other forms of sexual violence” in conflicts on the council agenda. The majority of the parties are opposition, rebel and terrorist groups — so-called “non-state actors” — and over 70% “are persistent perpetrators.”In the latest example, Pramila Patten, the U.N. special representative on conflict-related sexual violence, told the council that right now in Ethiopia’s remote, mountainous regions of north and central Tigray, where fighting continues between the government and the region’s fugitive leaders, “women and girls are being subjected to sexual violence with a level of cruelty beyond comprehension.””Health care workers are documenting new cases of rape and gang-rape daily, despite their fear of reprisals and attacks on the limited shelters and clinics in operation,” Patten said, noting that the report records allegations of over 100 rape cases since fighting began in November but it may take months to determine the full scale and magnitude of the atrocities.She said the report documents “over 2,500 U.N.-verified cases of conflict-related sexual violence committed in the course of 2020,” including in Congo, Central African Republic, Libya and South Sudan’s western Darfur region.”Each of these cases cries out for justice,” Patten said. “It is time to write a new social contract in which no military or political leader is above the law, and no woman or girl is beneath the scope of its protection.”Caroline Atim, director of the South Sudan Women with Disabilities Network who represented non-governmental organizations focused on women, peace and security, became the first deaf person to brief the Security Council. She used sign language for her remarks, which were voiced by an interpreter.Despite a 2018 peace deal, Atim said, “South Sudan remains engulfed by intercommunal, ethnic, political and armed conflicts where gender-based violence is deliberately used as a tool of humiliation against women and girls.””More than 65% of South Sudanese women have experienced sexual or physical violence, a figure that is double the global average and among the highest in the world,” she said, echoing calls for a halt to sexual violence, a survivor-centered approach for victims, and accountability for perpetrators.
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Month: April 2021
British Ministers Rebuff Dublin Pleas for Emergency Summit on Northern Ireland
Ireland’s foreign minister Simon Coveney is expected to press his British counterpart, Dominic Rabb, this week during a meeting in London to convene an emergency British-Irish intergovernmental conference to discuss a recent outbreak of violence in Northern Ireland. But British ministers are reluctant. Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis told the House of Commons on Tuesday that the British government would “look for an appropriate time for a future meeting” but did not commit to do so as a matter of urgency, despite a growing clamor in the British Parliament for a summit, which would include Northern Irish politicians. Loyalist paramilitaries in Northern Ireland deny they have been behind an eruption of street violence in the British-ruled province, but they have warned that politicians in London, Dublin and Brussels are playing with fire, saying they underestimate the impact Brexit is having on the sectarian balance. The sustained nature of rioting in largely Protestant neighborhoods of Belfast and Londonderry is prompting rising alarm in government circles in Dublin and London, with fears mounting the province risks being dragged back into its dark past of sectarian violence between pro-British, mainly Protestant Unionists and mostly Catholic Irish nationalists. Loyalists are seen as Unionist paramilitaries. FILE – Rioters throw burning bottles at the police on the Springfield Road as protests continue in Belfast, Northern Ireland, April 8, 2021.The rioting has been among the worst seen since the U.S.-brokered Good Friday Agreement was struck in April 1998, which ended three decades of sectarian violence in Northern Ireland. Many politicians and analysts agree that fury over the Brexit deal — which has left Northern Ireland inside the European Union’s single market and customs union, resulting in a regulatory “sea border” between it and the United Kingdom mainland — is the source of the rioting. Customs inspections are required under the Brexit agreement between London and Brussels on goods and agricultural produce to ensure compliance with EU standards. The imposition of a sea border meant a land border between the two halves of Ireland could be avoided, which would have risked sparking a violent reaction from nationalists and the paramilitary Provisional IRA. The reverse has happened — an outcome that some Unionists warned was likely. FILE – Graffiti in a loyalist area of south Belfast, Northern Ireland, against an Irish sea border is seen Feb. 2, 2021.Authorities say more than 90 police officers have been injured in the rioting, including 14 on Friday when youngsters lobbed bricks, fireworks and petrol bombs. The riots in Loyalist strongholds also have involved sectarian clashes along a peace wall in west Belfast with children as young as 13 years old participating. A burning car Monday was placed on the tracks of the Londonderry-to-Belfast rail-line. The engineer managed to bring her train to a standstill to avoid a collision. The unrest has cooled in recent days, but observers fear it will flare again. FILE – Ireland’s Prime Minister Micheal Martin speaks to the media in Brussels, Belgium, Oct. 16, 2020.Micheál Martin, the Irish prime minister, has been urging his British counterpart, Boris Johnson, to agree to the intergovernmental talks, according to Irish officials. Martin has also asked the White House to lobby for an emergency summit, insisting Northern Ireland must not be allowed to “spiral back to that dark place of sectarian murders and political discord.” U.S. President Joe Biden has echoed the appeal for calm. Northern Ireland’s Unionists worry the Brexit deal Johnson struck with Brussels will in effect start peeling the province away from the U.K., and they say it affects their cultural identity. Analysts are concerned it will inexorably lead to reunification of the island of Ireland and feed into a psyche of political grievance. Reaction to the Brexit trading arrangements has revealed how fragile peace in Northern Ireland remains, according to observers. Some blame politicians in London and Belfast for neglecting to build on the Good Friday Agreement and do more to dilute the province’s toxic sectarianism. The presence of youngsters in the rioting is especially worrying, they say. “More than 600,000 young people have been born in Northern Ireland since the Belfast Agreement was signed,” lamented Abby Wallace this week in the Irish Times, using another term for the Good Friday Agreement. “But under the broad umbrella of the ‘peace generation,’ not all young people have felt this peace in the same way. This is because our leaders have failed to build on the Belfast Agreement in a way which would allow all of Northern Ireland’s youth to feel that we are no longer living in the past. “More than 90 percent of Northern Ireland’s young people are still educated in segregated schools,” noted Wallace, a radio journalist and postgraduate politics student at Belfast’s Queen’s University. FILE – Pro-Union Loyalists demonstrate against the Northern Ireland Protocol implemented following Brexit, on the road leading to the Port of Larne in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, April 6, 2021.Northern Ireland’s police chief says there is no evidence rioting has been sanctioned by Loyalist leaders. “We feel that there may be some people who could have connections to proscribed organizations, who have been present at the scenes of violence,” he said, but added in a statement that “we don’t believe it’s been sanctioned and organized by proscribed organizations.” Others are less sure. Irish news outlets have reported that much of the trouble has been in neighborhoods where criminal gangs and drug traffickers linked to Loyalist paramilitaries have a strong presence. The rioting came after a recent police crackdown on crime in some Loyalist areas. “The motivations of the rioters appear to be an inchoate mix of criminal aggression and political grievance, their anger stoked by the manipulations of drug gangs and a climate of instability, all underlaid by decades of community neglect,” the Irish Times newspaper said in an editorial. FILE – A police officer walks behind a police vehicle with flames leaping up after violence broke out in Newtownabbey, north of Belfast, in Northern Ireland, April 3, 2021.British officials say the unrest is being fueled by several factors — among them the impact of Brexit, which Lewis told the British Parliament overlaps “with wider questions about national identity and political allegiance and comes at a time of economic uncertainty caused by the pandemic.” The poisonous brew of disillusionment got an added ingredient last month when Northern Ireland officials declined to prosecute politicians from Sinn Fein, the political wing of the Provisional IRA, for attending the funeral of former IRA leader Bobby Storey, despite the funeral breaking pandemic restrictions. “To date there has been a spectacular collective failure to understand properly the scale and nature of unionist and loyalist anger,” Loyalist paramilitaries said in a joint statement last week. “Indeed, there is a complete failure to understand loyalists as people and equal citizens.” British and EU officials are now scrambling to see if they can tweak the trading arrangements to make them less intrusive, and they say they are making progress. But it remains unclear whether that will be a long-term cure. Sinn Fein, which always saw the Good Friday Agreement as a steppingstone to eventual Irish reunification, is pushing for a so-called border poll on the future of the British-ruled province, to the increasing frustration of Northern Ireland’s Unionists.
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US Intelligence Sees ‘Significant Risk’ in Afghanistan Withdrawal
The plan to pull troops from Afghanistan could give terrorist groups like al-Qaida and Islamic State a chance to regenerate the capabilities they would need to carry out an attack against the United States, according to top U.S. intelligence officials.Their warning, coming the same day U.S. President Joe Biden formally announced his decision to end America’s longest-running war, touches on the deep-rooted concerns many current and former U.S. officials have voiced about pulling 2,500 to 3,500 troops from Afghanistan, along with thousands of trainers and contractors.It also may serve to fuel further criticism of the withdrawal, with critics seizing on fears that the conditions that allowed Afghanistan to become a haven for terrorists could soon return, despite nearly two decades of fighting.”There is a significant risk once the U.S. military and the coalition militaries withdraw,” Bill Burns, recently confirmed director of the CIA, told lawmakers Wednesday.“The U.S. government’s ability to collect and act on threats will diminish. That’s simply a fact,” he said, cautioning that al-Qaida and IS in Afghanistan “remain intent on recovering the ability to attack U.S. targets, whether it’s in the region, in the West or ultimately in the homeland.”But the stark warning was accompanied by a plea for lawmakers to be “clear-eyed.”No matter how much al-Qaida and IS may want to strike the U.S., Burns said, “the reality is that neither of them have that capacity today.”Other top intelligence officials also made the case that the terror threat that caused the U.S. to go to war in Afghanistan in the first place is no longer the preeminent danger it was.“There are terrorist groups, whether it’s al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), in other parts of the world, who represent much more serious threats,” Burns said. #Afghanistan: “I was at the table for a number of discussions leading up to the decision” per @ODNIgov Dir Haines “I’m not sure that the decision was made in a specific meeting”
— Jeff Seldin (@jseldin) April 14, 2021Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told lawmakers the danger posed by Afghanistan has also been eclipsed by threats from countries such as China — which she called an “unparalleled priority” — as well as Russia, Iran and North Korea.”We have now over 2,000 investigations that tie back to the Chinese gvt” per @FBI’s Wray “On the economic espionage investigation side alone, it’s about a 1300% increase over the last several years.”
“We’re opening a new investigation into China every 10 hours”
— Jeff Seldin (@jseldin) April 14, 2021Even domestic extremists from a “broad range of ideological motivations pose a greater immediate threat,” Haines said.Lawmakers, however, like Marco Rubio, lead Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee, voiced concern.“There’s a very real possibility in the very near future, sadly, tragically and in a heartbreaking way, the Taliban will regain control of all or substantial portions of Afghanistan,” he said.”If they do, I think it’s almost certain that al-Qaida will return,” Rubio added. “No one can deny it’s going to have serious security implications for our country for years to come.”Recent assessments, both from the U.S. and other countries, indicate decades of counterterrorism pressure has significantly degraded al-Qaida’s leadership and its overall numbers in Afghanistan.While officials believe al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahiri remains in hiding in Afghanistan, they say he is not in good health, and other high-ranking deputies have been killed, including Zawahiri’s likely successor, Abu Muhammad al-Masri, who was gunned down last August in Iran.Earlier this year, the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency said al-Qaida and its affiliate, al-Qaida in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS), had fewer than 200 members in Afghanistan and that the groups barely seemed to be active over the last few months of 2020.The DIA assessment, though, warned that al-Qaida officials would likely welcome the U.S. departure, seeing it as a chance to regenerate. And it cautioned that what al-Qaida operatives remained in Afghanistan appeared to be well-integrated into the Taliban’s command-and-control structure.Military and intelligence assessments of IS in Afghanistan, known as IS-Khorasan, indicate the group is no longer able to hold territory as it once did. But officials said earlier this year that new leadership has allowed the group, which may have as many as 2,500 fighters, to stabilize.“We are concerned about the group’s demonstrated interest in conducting external operations,” a U.S. official told VOA on the condition of anonymity, because of the sensitive nature of the intelligence.Burns, the CIA chief, told lawmakers that much of what happens next will likely depend on how closely the Afghan Taliban adhere to their deal with the U.S., in which they promised to sever ties with al-Qaida and to prevent any terror group from using Afghanistan to launch attacks against the United States.But even if the Taliban fall short, Burns told lawmakers, U.S. intelligence will be keeping a close watch on al-Qaida and IS.“The CIA and all of our partners in the U.S. government will retain a suite of capabilities, some of them remaining in place, some of them that we’ll generate, that can help us to anticipate and contest any rebuilding effort,” he said.Sorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can
download this video to view it offline.Download File360p | 8 MB480p | 11 MB540p | 14 MB720p | 26 MB1080p | 58 MBOriginal | 69 MB Embed” />Copy Download AudioChina, Russia Viewed as Top Threats to US in Intel AssessmentRussiaU.S. intelligence chiefs Wednesday also voiced growing concerns about Russia’s military buildup in Crimea and along the borders of Ukraine, warning the force could form the basis for a limited military incursion.”The Russians have positioned themselves to give themselves options,” Lieutenant General Scott Berrier, DIA director, said. “They could actually be going into a series of exercises starting anytime, or they could, if they chose to, perhaps do a limited objective attack.”CyberLawmakers also heard concerns about so-called blind spots that are allowing adversaries, including China and Russia, to carry out cyber operations against the U.S.“They are utilizing U.S. infrastructure,” said General Paul Nakasone, National Security Agency director. “They realize that if they can come into the United States and use an internet service provider in a period of time … we cannot surveil that.”“They understand the timeline for a warrant to be done,” he added.”What our adversaries are doing right now, it’s not spear-phishing. It’s not guessing passwords” per @CYBERCOM_DIRNSA “It’s utilizing supply chain operations. It’s using zero day vulnerabilities…We call that, ‘above best practices'”
— Jeff Seldin (@jseldin) April 14, 2021
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FBI Director Concerned About QAnon’s Potential for Violence
The FBI remains “concerned” about the far-right QAnon conspiracy movement’s potential for violence and will soon release an unclassified threat assessment about the group, FBI Director Christopher Wray said Wednesday. The FBI views QAnon as a “set of complex conspiracy theories largely promoted online which has sort of morphed into more of a movement,” Wray testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee. FBI Director Christopher Wray speaks during a Senate Select Committee on Intelligence hearing about worldwide threats, on Capitol Hill in Washington, April 14, 2021.”And we’re concerned about the potential that [people’s vulnerability to QAnon] can lead to violence. And where it is an inspiration for federal crime, we’re going to aggressively pursue it,” Wray said. Wray made the comments during a hearing on the U.S. intelligence community’s annual assessment of global threats, which warned that the U.S. and its allies will face “a diverse array of threats” over the coming year. CIA Director William Burns and other top intelligence officials also testified during Wednesday’s hearing. The QAnon movement emerged in 2017 when an anonymous poster on the 4chan messaging board began writing about then-President Donald Trump’s alleged secret battle with a “deep state” cabal of Satan-worshipping pedophiles. It has since grown into a global movement that boasts millions of followers and promotes an assortment of conspiracy theories. FILE – Jacob Anthony Chansley, who also goes by the name Jake Angeli, a QAnon follower, speaks to supporters of then-President Donald Trump outside of the Maricopa County Recorder’s Office, in Phoenix, Nov. 5, 2020.In 2019, the FILE – A man in a QAnon shirt confront U.S. Capitol Police in the hallway outside of the Senate chamber at the Capitol in Washington, Jan. 6, 2021.But researchers have identified a much higher level of QAnon participation. According to the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START) at the University of Maryland, 37 QAnon supporters were among the Capitol rioters who have been arrested. Including the 37 rioters, START has identified 71 QAnon supporters who have committed ideologically motivated crimes. “Everyone in our data at a minimum made public statements in support of the conspiracy theory. And if that doesn’t count as self-identification as a supporter, then I don’t know what does,” said Michael Jensen, principal investigator for the program. Asked how Wray arrived at the figure, an FBI spokeswoman said the bureau did not have anything to add to his comment. Jensen said Wray’s concerns about QAnon’s potential for violence are “justified.” “However, it is important to note that risk of violence from QAnon supporters is likely not as great as it is from other types of domestic extremists, including white nationalists, who are responsible for dozens of attacks and hundreds of hate crimes every year,” he said in an email.
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US Coast Guard: 1 Dead, 12 Missing After Ship Capsizes off Louisiana Coast
The U.S. Coast Guard in Louisiana said Wednesday that one body was recovered, six people were rescued and 12 people were still missing after a commercial lift vessel carrying 19 people capsized in storm-tossed seas in the Gulf of Mexico. At a news conference in New Orleans, Sector Coast Guard Commander Captain Will Watson said winds were reported between 130 and 145 kph and seas were between 2 and 3 meters high at the time the Coast Guard believes the ship capsized late Tuesday. A spokesman for the owner of the ship, Seacor Marine transportation company, said the vessel was the 39-meter lift boat Seacor Power. Watson told reporters 19 people were aboard the vessel when it left port Tuesday. The Coast Guard reported it responded to an emergency beacon Tuesday afternoon from the vessel, which was 13 kilometers south of Port Fourchon, on the southern tip of Louisiana. It issued an urgent marine information broadcast to which multiple “good Samaritan” ships in the area responded. A lift boat is a self-propelled vessel with an open deck that is deployed to carry heavy equipment, often to support drilling or exploration. The Coast Guard said two of its vessels arrived at the scene within 30 minutes and pulled two people from the water. Other vessels at the scene rescued four others. The National Weather Service said a rare low-pressure system had formed Tuesday off the coast of Louisiana, which generated unusually rough seas in the area.
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South African Telecom App Helps Gender-Based Violence Survivors
Jeanine, 53, a South African woman who did not want to use her family name for this interview, was in an abusive relationship for two years. It got worse when her boyfriend lost work because of the coronavirus pandemic and took his frustrations out on her.Jeanine recalled in anguish those dark moments of her relationship, not knowing what to do.“He was mean and nasty and cruel and wanted to hurt me, physically, emotionally, verbally, mentally. They make you financially dependent on them. Then you think, ‘Where am I going to go? There is nowhere to go. What do I do?’ ”To help Jeanine and other survivors of gender-based violence, the South African telecom company Vodacom, along with its British parent company Vodafone and the charity Hestia, launched a mobile application, Bright Sky, in November.Vodacom’s chief officer of corporate affairs, Takalani Netshitenzhe, said Bright Sky provides a wide range of services.The app has a suite of 12 services, or “functionalities,” Netshitenzhe said, that will enable users to determine whether they are in abusive relationships. The app also offers emergency services, including geolocation that will pinpoint a user’s location and the nearest facility where help can be obtained.Avoiding stigmaVodacom said Bright Sky allows users to get help without the stigma of having to ask for it. It said the app has been downloaded about 1,000 times in South Africa, helping many women like Jeanine.“What I like about this app, it’s the two areas where you can get advice for yourself, or someone else,” she said. “It gives you a whole lot of scenarios. It explains what happens. It gives you a number where you can phone. There’s lots of information.”The app comes in three South African languages – English, Sesotho and isiZulu.South African police say reported annual sexual assaults have been rising since 2016 and surpassed 53,000 last year.Activists blame the pandemic lockdowns and say the actual number of assaults, including those that go unreported, are much higher.
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South African Telecom App Helps Gender-Based Violence Survivors
South African mobile communications company Vodacom South Africa, with British parent company Vodafone and charity Hestia, has launched a free mobile phone application to support targets of gender-based violence, which has soared during the coronavirus pandemic. The application, “Bright Sky,” provides information for people to identify gender-based violence and get counseling and emergency help. Franco Puglisi reports from Johannesburg.Producer: Rod James. Camera: Franco Puglisi.
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Defense Expert: George Floyd’s Heart Condition, Drug Use Played ‘Significant’ Role in His Death
A defense medical expert testified Wednesday that George Floyd’s heart condition and drug use played a “significant” role in his death last year as the defense lawyer for former Minneapolis police officer Derrek Chauvin continued to try to raise doubt about the prosecution’s claim that the policeman alone was responsible for Floyd’s death.David Fowler, a former Maryland chief medical examiner and forensic pathology expert, told the jury at Chauvin’s murder trial in Minneapolis that Floyd’s blood pressure was “out of control” when Chauvin restrained him by pressing his knee on his neck while he lay prone on a city street. Officers had arrested Floyd last May 25 on suspicion of passing a counterfeit $20 bill at a convenience store.A medical technician testified this week that Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man, had a very high blood pressure of 216 over 160 during the incident that led to his death, which Fowler said was “much higher than I would expect.”Fowler said that traces of fentanyl and methamphetamine in Floyd’s blood system, as well as his possible “carbon monoxide poisoning” from the exhaust fumes of the police vehicle that Floyd was lying against, also could have contributed to his death.Defense lawyer Eric Nelson is trying to undercut 11 days of prosecution testimony and evidence that Chauvin, a white man with 19 years on the Minneapolis police force before he was fired in the wake of Floyd’s death, asphyxiated Floyd by cutting the air passage in Floyd’s neck as he repeatedly gasped that he could not breathe.Prosecution witnesses earlier in the trial said repeatedly that Chauvin violated his police training in the way he restrained Floyd and that he killed Floyd by holding him down for more than nine minutes, continuing even after Floyd appeared to have stopped breathing.Floyd’s death triggered widespread protests, some of them violent, in the U.S. and overseas against police abuse of minorities.The trial is moving along at a brisk pace and the defense could wrap up its case Thursday, although it is not yet known whether Chauvin will testify in his own defense. If he does testify, Chauvin would also subject himself to cross-examination from prosecutors asking him why he continued to press Floyd down on the pavement when he was already handcuffed.Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, R, and his defense attorney Eric Nelson rise to greet jury members on the twefth day of Chauvin’s trial in the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota, April 13, 2021 in this courtroom sketch.Chauvin has pleaded not guilty to murder and manslaughter charges, but if convicted could face years in prison. Three other former police officers who played various roles in detaining Floyd are awaiting trial in the case but their charges could be dropped if Chauvin is acquitted.Earlier Wednesday, trial judge Peter Cahill rejected Nelson’s bid to dismiss the case against Chauvin and clear him.Cahill said it was his “duty at this point in the trial to look at the evidence in a light most favorable to the state.” He added that the jury was “free to believe some” witnesses and not believe others.Fowler’s testimony came after a police use-of-force expert, Barry Brodd, testified Tuesday that Chauvin was “justified” in pinning down Floyd and that the tactic should not be considered as use of deadly force.Brodd, a key witness for Chauvin who has testified in other high-profile cases for police accused of abusing criminal suspects, said, “It’s easy to sit and judge, in an office, on an officer’s conduct. It’s more of a challenge to, again, put yourself in an officer’s shoes.”Asked by Nelson whether he thought Chauvin’s restraint of Floyd amounted to deadly force, Brodd replied, “It was not.”Brodd called the former officer’s actions “objectively reasonable.”On cross-examination, prosecutor Steven Schleicher, attempted to chip away at Brodd’s conclusions.The prosecutor won an acknowledgment from Brodd that when Floyd repeatedly gasped, “I can’t breathe,” while lying prone on the street, it was the responsibility of Chauvin to have “situational awareness” of Floyd’s dire condition and back off his restraint of Floyd.
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South Korea Considers Actions Against Japan Over Plan to Release Radioactive Water from Fukushima Plant
South Korean President Moon Jae-in has ordered his Cabinet to consider filing a complaint with an international court against Japan’s decision to release radioactive water from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean.Presidential spokesman Kang Min-seok told reporters Wednesday in Seoul that President Moon wants officials to examine whether to bring the matter to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea.Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga announced Tuesday that his government had approved a plan to empty 1.3 million tons of contaminated water from Fukushima into the ocean beginning next year, when the plant’s storage tanks will be full. Suga said the plan to release the water in the sea is an “unavoidable” part of decommissioning the Fukushima facility.Moon also personally expressed his concerns about the plan Wednesday to Koichi Aiboshi, Japan’s envoy to South Korea, when Aiboshi formally presented his credentials. He told the ambassador the two countries are geographically close to each other and share the same sea.An aerial view shows the storage tanks for treated water at the tsunami-crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Okuma town, Fukushima prefecture, Japan, Feb. 13, 2021, in this photo taken by Kyodo.Aiboshi was formally summoned to South Korea’s foreign ministry Tuesday to hear a formal protest about the plan.The Fukushima Daiichi plant became inoperable after a 9.0-magnitude quake triggered a tsunami that swept across northeastern Japan before reaching Fukushima prefecture.The high waves knocked out the plant’s power supply and cooling systems and led to a meltdown of its three reactors, sending massive amounts of radiation into the air and forcing the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of residents, making it the world’s worst nuclear disaster since the 1986 Chernobyl accident.China has also criticized Tokyo’s plan for Fukushima, calling it “irresponsible.”
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Minnesota Police Officer Faces Manslaughter in Brooklyn Center Shooting
A Minnesota prosecutor said Wednesday he will file a charge of second-degree manslaughter against a former Brooklyn Center police officer who fatally shot Black motorist Daunte Wright during a traffic stop Sunday.
Washington County Attorney Pete Orput announced the charge, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. The incident occurred in Hennepin County, but under a policy adopted last year in Minnesota, the case was referred to a different county to avoid the appearance of conflict of interest.
The announcement came a day after Officer Kim Potter resigned from the Brooklyn Center Police Department, where she had served for 26 years. Police Chief Tim Gannon also resigned Tuesday.
Gannon released Potter’s body camera video Monday at a news conference. It showed Potter, who is white, approaching Wright, a 20-year-old African American, while he stood outside his car as another officer was arresting him for an outstanding warrant. Police said he was pulled over for having expired registration tags.
Gannon told reporters he believes Potter shot Wright when she meant to use her Taser. A Taser is a non-lethal electroshock weapon used to incapacitate an individual, thus allowing them to be approached and handled in an unresisting and safe manner.
The Hennepin County Medical Examiner said Wright died of a gunshot wound to the chest and classified the manner of death as a homicide.
The charge was announced after a third night of clashes between demonstrators and police.
Authorities in the Minneapolis area had set a 10 p.m. curfew to try to keep people off the streets, but hundreds gathered outside police headquarters in the suburb of Brooklyn Center calling for justice.
Police ordered the crowd to disperse, and ensuing confrontations involved protesters launching objects at police and officers using flashbang and gas grenades.
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An Existential Choice? France’s Communist Party Eyes Presidential Race
France’s once-powerful Communist Party is fielding its first presidential candidate in years for the 2022 elections, a choice some consider vital for its very survival. It’s one of Western Europe’s last relevant Communist parties, whose latest move paradoxically risks further fracturing an already weakened French left. The French Communist Party’s presidential hopeful is Fabien Roussel, a former journalist with a reputation as a bon vivant and amateur fisherman, who has been at its helm since 2018. He got strong backing at a party meeting last weekend, although the movement’s base must still endorse his candidacy next month. A new poll finds France’s Communist Party leader Fabien Roussel would score only a tiny percentage in the next presidential vote. But some say a run is key if the party is to stay relevant. (Lisa Bryant/VOA)Announcing his run Sunday, Roussel said he wanted to offer the French people a program of hope — not only in defeating the coronavirus pandemic but also unemployment, poverty and inequality.
France’s century-old Communist Party was once a major political force. In the 1970s, it was the country’s most powerful leftist party, with about 20% popular support. It also governed a raft of working-class towns around Paris nicknamed the Red Belt, with streets named after communist icons like Marx and Lenin.
The French Communist Party headquarters in northeastern Paris, designed by leading Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer in 1965, when the party was a major player in French political life. (Lisa Bryant/VOA)Today, it’s a shadow of its former self — although it’s among a handful of Communist parties across Europe with deputies in the European Parliament. Here in France, center- and far-right candidates have pierced the Paris-area “Red Belt” and the Communists now control just one French department. FILE – French Communist Party (PCF) deputy Marie-George Buffet attends a session of questions to the Government at the French National Assembly in Paris, Apr. 14, 2020.The party’s last presidential hopeful, Marie-George Buffet, got less than 2% of the vote in 2007. Roussel was partly elected on his call for another run. Political analyst Jean Petaux says Roussel’s move is almost an existential decision for the party. If the Communists don’t field a candidate they risk disappearing altogether. If they do, they risk another humiliating defeat.
FILE – French President Emmanuel Macron delivers a press conference, in Paris, France, Feb. 25, 2021.An IFOP poll Sunday found President Emmanuel Macron and far-right leader Marine Le Pen leading in voter intentions for next year’s elections. It found no leftist candidate would score more 13% — and Roussel only capturing 2.5%. FILE – Leader of France’s National Rally Party Marine Le Pen speaks during a news conference in Milan, Italy, May 18, 2019.Analyst Petaux says it’s a paradox, since the coronavirus crisis has left some French hungry for the kinds of messages the Communist Party has long embraced — like the return of the protector state. Yet even among the working class, the party has lost its shine. Many have turned instead to Le Pen’s far-right National Rally.
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Somalia’s Farmajo Signs Controversial Measure Extending Mandate by 2 Years
Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed has signed a controversial measure extending his term in office by two years. Opposition lawmakers have spoken out against the action, along with donors and the international community. The extension comes two months after the president’s four-year term expired with no agreement on how to replace him, while elections set for February were delayed.Mohamed, known by his nickname Farmajo, signed the legislation late Tuesday. One day earlier, parliament’s lower house voted to extend his mandate, saying it had no other choice. Opposition lawmakers, including those in the upper house, have denounced the extension. Ilyas Ali Hassan, a member of the upper house, urged the president to avoid decisions that threaten the country’s stability. He also urged Farmajo to return to talks on establishing an electoral system. “It is unconstitutional, both Farmajo and lower house of the people – [the] mandate has expired so the decision to extend their mandate by two years is null and void and this is absolutely [a] threat to the stability and unity of Somalia and the peaceful transfer of power that Somalia has maintained last 20 years,” Hassan said. “So we urged Farmajo to return to Afisiyoni talks immediately in order to reach agreement based on 17 September.”The September deal established the electoral process.More recent talks to resolve the electoral impasse officially failed last week after the government placed blame on the leaders of Puntland and Jubaland. Those leaders have said they will no longer recognize Farmajo as president.Civil society groups argue that if the September 17 agreement cannot be implemented, other options could be explored.Mahad Wasuge is the executive director of the Mogadishu-based group Somali Public Agenda. Wasuge is calling for the election of a new caretaker government within the next two years.”I believe political agreement is fundamental for a peaceful elections and Somalia’s political stability,” Wasuge said. “Somali Public Agenda has recently published proposals which come through a political agreement which allows the parliament to stay in power for two more years while electing the new speakers and a president. This could be a solution for the current political crisis similar alternatives can also be explored but only way out is a dialogue and agreement by political stakeholders.” Donors have voiced concern about the political crisis. Somalia relies heavily on outside help to feed its people, many of whom are internally displaced. The fight against al-Shabab militants has caused many to flee their homes. Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken issued a statement Tuesday saying the United States is “deeply disappointed” by the approval of the legislative bill. The statement threatened sanctions and visa restrictions. The European Union is also considering sanctions and warned that the Somali government’s actions would divide the country.Hassan Mudane lectures on African politics and government at the University of Somalia. Mudane says sanctions may be imminent.”I think the expected punitive measures by the international community will have a dire consequence,” Mudane said. “The possible actions will include target sanctions such as asset freeze and travel ban. Additionally, they may impose trade sanctions on Somalia, cutting foreign aid and strengthening army embargo which could affect the fight against al-Shabab.”The United Nations has also urged Somali leaders to agree to a way forward to resolve the electoral crisis.
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EU Makes Deal with Pfizer-BioNTech for 50 Million More Vaccine Doses
European Commission President Urusula Von der Leyen Wednesday announced the European Union has reached a deal with pharmaceutical partners Pfizer-BioNTech for 50 million additional doses of COVID-19 vaccine, to be delivered in the coming months.
At a news briefing in Brussels, Von der Leyen said the new deal means the EU will have obtained 250 million doses. She said the bloc is negotiating a third contract with the partners for 1.8 billion doses to be delivered in 2022 and 2023.
She said the deal will “not only include the production of vaccines, but also the essential components. All of that will be based in the European Union.”
Von der Leyen said 100 million doses have been administered in the 27-nation EU bloc already, saying this is “a milestone we can be proud of.”
But, noting issues with AstraZeneca, and this week, the Johnson & Johnson shots, the European Commission president said many factors can disrupt the planned delivery schedules of vaccines.
She said, “It is therefore important to act swiftly, anticipate, and adjust whenever it is possible, and we are doing everything in our power to support Europe’s vaccination rollout.”
Several European nations suspended administering the AstraZeneca vaccine after reports of rare cases of blood clots. Tuesday, U.S. health regulators recommended pausing inoculations with Johnson & Johnson’s product because of similar reports.
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West Darfur Clashes Trigger Mass Exodus into Chad
The U.N. refugee agency reports recent deadly ethnic and tribal clashes in Sudan’s West Darfur region have forced nearly 2,000 people to flee for their lives into neighboring Chad. A fresh eruption of violence on April 3 between Masalit and Arab tribes over land and water resources has killed scores of people, injured hundreds and displaced thousands. The deadly clashes in El Geneina, the capital of West Darfur, have forced 1,860 people to seek refuge in Chad in the past week. U.N. refugee spokesman Babar Baloch says most of the refugees are women, children and the elderly living in villages near the Chadian border. He says they have crossed near the town of Adre, in Ouaddai province, just 200 meters away from the volatile border. “Refugees arriving in Chad speak of houses and properties being destroyed, and of sites hosting displaced people being targeted. Some of the new arrivals had already been displaced by earlier clashes last year and in January this year as well,” he said. Sudan’s transitional government and two rebel groups signed the Juba Peace Agreement in October 2020. However, one major rebel group refused to sign this landmark agreement. The deal is also unpopular with many whose lives have been upended by the conflict that broke out in 2003. U.N. aid agencies are urging the Sudanese government to speedily deploy thousands of security forces to keep the peace in Darfur. Balloch says security must be quickly restored in Darfur. This photo provided by Organization for the General Coordination of Camps for Displaced and Refugees, smoke rises from Abu Zar camp for displaced persons in West Darfur, Sudan, Apr. 6, 2021.”There have been many cycles where people have been forced to leave their homes trying to seek safety within Sudan. But, also many of those who cannot find safety, they have to run across the border and the fear is if security is not restored, then we may see more refugees arriving in Chad,” he said. Balloch notes Chad’s Ouaddai province already is hosting 145,000 refugees from Darfur. He says UNHCR teams have been rushing to receive and assist the newly arriving refugees. He describes conditions on the ground as dire, noting people lack shelter and have to sleep outdoors. He says people have little protection from the sweltering heat, where temperatures can rise to 40 degrees Celsius during the day. He adds food and water are urgently needed. Balloch says it is unclear from where the money to support the refugees will come. He notes the UNHCR has received just 16 percent of its $141-million appeal for humanitarian operations in Chad this year.
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Aid Group Steps in Amid Ongoing Violence in Myanmar
The Free Burma Rangers — a multi-ethnic humanitarian group that has aided oppressed ethnic groups, mainly in Myanmar — and reported on the conflicts for more than 25 years has increased aid in the border regions of Karen state, site of the recent air strikes by the Myanmar army. The group has worked in other countries including Sudan, Syria, Iraq and Kurdistan. From Thailand, Steve Sandford has more. Camera: Steve Sandford
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In Wake of Several Mass Murders, Americans Once Again Debate Gun Ownership
In the wake of last month’s deadly shootings in Colorado and Georgia, President Joe Biden Gun-rights supporters demonstrate in front of state Capitol in Richmond, Va., Jan. 20, 2020.Many pro-gun advocates point to their belief that making it more difficult to buy guns benefits criminals. “You’ve got millions of responsible gun owners in America who follow the law,” said Isaiah Stewart, who owns a firearms training center in New Orleans. “But if you try to take or regulate guns, you know who won’t comply? Criminals. They’ll still have their guns.” The case for gun control In its 2008 decision in District of Columbia v. Heller, the Supreme Court added a statement that the right to bear arms outlined in the Second Amendment is not unlimited. The statement included “dangerous and unusual weapons” as a limitation, as well as “the possession of firearms by felons and the mentally ill.” Laura Devitt thinks this, and President Biden’s executive orders are all positive steps. Devitt is a lead volunteer for the New Orleans chapter of Moms Demand Action, a national organization fighting for public safety measures they believe can protect people from gun violence. She said she became passionate about addressing gun violence after the 2012 school mass shooting in Sandy Hook, Connecticut. “I was in labor with my first child when it happened, and I was so shaken that I was bringing a child into the world during this horrific event,” she said. “I’m not against the Second Amendment. I just think we can do more to work together and end gun violence by enacting laws and closing loopholes that already have the support of lots of gun owners.” A History of Mass ShootingsWho commits public mass shootings? What motivates them to kill? With the help of a landmark database, VOA examines the social, psychological, emotional and environmental factors that contributed to these rare crimes.Reaching consensus? Summer Gebhart’s friend was murdered in Austin, Texas. She and her boyfriend got into a verbal fight at a local bar. The argument became physical when they got back to the house and ended when the man retrieved his gun from his truck and shot his girlfriend in the face. When Gebhart thinks about what could have happened for her friend to still be alive, she looks to the world’s other developed nations, and the success they’ve had curtailing gun violence. “Look at Japan, Australia, Germany and Switzerland,” she said. “They’ve all taken action — whether it be a 28-day cooling-off period before you can buy a gun, extensive psych testing to qualify for a firearm, or a properly-locked storage case with code or key.” It’s not about taking away all guns, Gebhart said, it’s just about reducing the danger of gun violence. But when Isaiah Stewart looks to other countries, he sees something different. “They banned handguns in England,” he said, “but you know what happened next? Stabbing rates went up. Now they’re trying to ban knives.” Stewart is right that knife violence hit a record high in England in 2019, but he also acknowledged it’s much harder to kill someone with a knife than a gun. And that’s the point, according to those in favor of gun restrictions in the U.S. Still, it doesn’t change Stewart’s belief that people should have the right to protect themselves. He believes President Biden’s executive orders hinder law-abiding citizens’ ability to do that. “I think people who want to commit crimes are going to commit crimes and there’s no stopping their desire,” he said, before adding how he thinks the number of gun tragedies can be reduced. “But maybe we can focus more on training and educating responsible gun owners on how to better take care of their weapon.” Stewart noted that in New Orleans, alone, in 2017, 756 guns were reported lost or stolen, and 253 of those were recovered in the use of a crime. Gebhart doesn’t think such a limited focus on “responsible gun owners” goes nearly far enough, but she agrees it’s a problem that needs addressing. It also underscores the idea that any major gun regulation will need the help of at least some of America’s many gun owners to become law. “We need good gun owners to help reduce gun harm,” she said. “We won’t get far without them.”
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Hong Kong’s Delayed Legislative Elections Set for December
Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said Tuesday that the semiautonomous Chinese territory’s legislative elections will take place in December, more than a year after they were postponed by authorities citing public health risks from the coronavirus pandemic.Lam also said that laws will be amended so that inciting voters not to vote or to cast blank or invalid votes will be made illegal, although voters themselves are free to boycott voting or cast votes as they wish.”When a person willfully obstructs or prevents any person from voting at an election, we will consider it corrupt conduct,” said Lam.Lam said that the elections will take place on Dec. 19. The elections were initially slated to be held last September.Lam was speaking a day ahead of the first reading of draft amendments to various laws in the city’s legislature, to accommodate Beijing’s planned changes to the city’s electoral system.Beijing in March announced changes to Hong Kong’s electoral system, expanding the number of seats in the legislature while reducing the number of directly elected seats from 35 to 20.The move is part of a two-phase effort to rein in political protest and opposition in Hong Kong, which is part of China but has had a more liberal political system as a former British colony. China imposed a national security law on Hong Kong last year and is following up this year with a revamp of the electoral process.The crackdown comes in the wake of months of pro-democracy protests in 2019 that brought hundreds of thousands to the streets and turned violent as the government resisted the movement’s demands.In the current 70-member legislature, voters elect half the members and the other half are chosen by constituencies representing various professions and interest groups. Many of the constituencies lean pro-Beijing, ensuring that wing a majority in the legislature.The new body will have 20 elected members, 30 chosen by the constituencies and 40 by an Election Committee which also chooses the city’s leader.The committee, which will be expanded from 1,200 to 1,500 members, is dominated by supporters of the central government in Beijing.A new, separate body will also be set up to review the qualifications of candidates for office in Hong Kong to ensure that the city is governed by “patriots,” in the language of the central government.Elections for the Election Committee, which will choose the city’s leader and 40 lawmakers, will be held on Sept. 19. Elections for the chief executive will take place on March 27, 2022, Lam said Tuesday.
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Biden’s Climate Envoy Kerry to Hold Talks with China, South Korea
U.S. climate envoy John Kerry will travel to China this week to discuss international efforts to tackle global warming, seeking to press his counterparts to make ambitious emissions reduction targets despite tension in the U.S.-China relationship.The U.S. State Department said Kerry would travel to Shanghai and Seoul, South Korea, for talks Wednesday through Saturday, ahead of President Joe Biden’s virtual summit with world leaders on climate change next week.Kerry will “discuss raising global climate ambition,” during his visits, the State Department said.A source familiar with the plans said Kerry was due to arrive in Shanghai late on Wednesday and hold meetings on Thursday and Friday.Kerry’s trip comes after an earlier summit in Alaska between U.S. and Chinese officials led to fiery interactions that illustrated the depth of tension between the world’s two largest economies at the beginning of Biden’s tenure in office.”He’ll be focused on discussing climate and how we can work with leaders around the region to get control of … the climate crisis,” White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said on Monday about Kerry.The former secretary of state, whom Biden selected to represent the United States in international climate talks, will seek to find common ground on climate change with China’s Xie Zhenhua.Kerry has been urging countries around the world to set ambitious targets for cutting their greenhouse gas emissions. The United States is set to announce its own new target for emissions cuts by 2030 in the coming week.Biden’s Earth Day summit, scheduled for April 22-23, will be a chance for the White House to reassert U.S. leadership on climate change. Biden, a Democrat, brought the United States back into the Paris climate accord after his predecessor, Republican President Donald Trump, withdrew in 2017.
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Blinken Meeting with NATO Allies as US Sets Afghanistan Withdrawal
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is set to meet Wednesday in Brussels with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and top diplomats from several U.S. allies as the United States launches it plans to withdraw forces from Afghanistan.U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is also participating in a meeting that includes German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, Italian Foreign Minister Luigi DiMaio, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab.The Biden administration ended months of speculation about U.S. plans in Afghanistan by saying Tuesday it would withdraw remaining troops by September 11. That date is the anniversary of the 2001 attacks that saw al-Qaida terrorists hijack passenger planes and crash them into the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington DC.The attacks prompted the United States to topple the Taliban in Afghanistan in an effort that eventually grew to include more than 130,000 troops from 50 NATO and partner nations. Since 2015, the remaining forces, which now number fewer than 10,000, have been tasked with training and assisting Afghan security forces.U.S. officials have said the decision to leave Afghanistan would be taken in conjunction with NATO allies.Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, left, meets with United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken, right, in Brussels, April 13, 2021.Blinken began his visit to Brussels on Tuesday with a focus on Ukraine, saying the United States supports an autonomous Ukraine, as Western allies watch a Russian buildup of forces along the border between the two countries.“The U.S. stands firmly behind the sovereignty and the territorial integrity of Ukraine,” Blinken said, adding that he would discuss Ukraine’s “Euro-Atlantic aspirations” this week. The White House said President Joe Biden also “emphasized the United States’ unwavering commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” during a phone call Tuesday with Russian President Vladimir Putin.“The president voiced our concerns over the sudden Russian military build-up in occupied Crimea and on Ukraine’s borders, and called on Russia to de-escalate tensions,” the White House said in a readout of the conversation, adding Biden “proposed a summit meeting in a third country in the coming months to discuss the full range of issues facing the United States and Russia.”The Kremlin is overseeing the largest movement of Russian troops, tanks and missiles along the Ukrainian border since the annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula in 2014, according to Ukrainian and U.S. officials. Russia has conducted at least three military training exercises adjacent to the Ukrainian border since mid-March.“This meeting is extremely timely given what is happening along the Ukrainian border with Russia,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said just before talks with Blinken. The Ukrainian foreign minister expressed confidence that Western countries would also act to temper Russian aggression, which he said would force Ukraine to pay too high a price if left unchecked.Two U.S. warships are set to arrive in the Black Sea this week amid an escalation in fighting in eastern Ukraine between Ukrainian forces and Russian-backed troops.The conflict began when Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and has since killed some 14,000 people, according to Ukraine’s government.Blinken spoke with Stoltenberg about the situation Monday and said there was mutual agreement that “Russia must end its dangerous military buildup and ongoing aggression along Ukraine’s borders.” Stoltenberg expressed support for Ukraine as he spoke alongside Kuleba on Tuesday, saying “NATO stands with Ukraine.””Russia’s considerable military buildup is unjustified, unexplained and deeply concerning,” Stoltenberg said. “Russia must end this military buildup in and around Ukraine, stop its provocations and de-escalate immediately.”Kuleba said Ukraine “does not want war” and is “devoted to diplomatic and political means of settling the conflict.”But while highlighting the support of NATO, Kuleba also said, “Should Russia take any reckless move or start a new spiral of violence, it will be costly in all senses.”
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Minnesota Protesters Call for Justice in Killing of Daunte Wright
Police and protesters clashed for a third night in the U.S. state of Minnesota after an officer shot a 20-year-old African American man during a traffic stop.Authorities in the Minneapolis area had set a 10 p.m. curfew to try to keep people off the streets, but hundreds of people gathered outside the police headquarters in the suburb of Brooklyn Center as they called for justice in the case.Police ordered the crowd to disperse, and ensuing confrontations involved protesters launching objects at police and officers using flashbang and gas grenades.Protests began late Sunday after officer Kim Potter shot Daunte Wright. The Hennepin County Medical Examiner said Wright died of a gunshot wound to the chest and classified the manner of death as a homicide.Hennepin County prosecutors have referred the case to nearby Washington County, where top prosecutor Pete Orput said he hoped to have a decision about whether to issue any charges by Wednesday.Brooklyn Center Mayor Mike Elliott said he has asked Minnesota’s governor to assign the case to the state attorney general’s office.In a statement Tuesday, the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association said “no conclusions should be made until the investigation is complete.”Potter, a 26-year veteran of the Brooklyn Center police department, resigned Tuesday.“I have loved every minute of being a police officer and serving this community to the best of my ability, but I believe it is in the best interest of the community, the department, and my fellow officers if I resign immediately,” she said in a letter.Elliot also announced Tuesday Police Chief Tim Gannon would also be resigning.Gannon in a Monday news conference said he believes Potter accidentally shot Wright when she meant to use her Taser. A Taser is a non-lethal electroshock weapon used to incapacitate an individual by an electric shock, thus allowing them to be approached and handled in an unresisting and safe manner.
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Defense Expert Says Use of Force ‘Justified’ in George Floyd’s Arrest
Attorneys for Derek Chauvin are presenting their arguments defending the now-fired Minneapolis police officer charged in George Floyd’s death. VOA’s Jesusemen Oni has more. Video source: AP, AFP, Reuters, Court TV
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At Least 20 Niger Preschool Children Die in School Blaze
At least 20 nursery-school children died in Niger on Tuesday in a fire that trapped them in straw-hut classrooms in a school in a poor neighborhood of the west African nation’s capital, government officials said. “There were 20 deaths, most of them young children,” said the head of Niger’s fire service, Colonel Bako Boubacar. He said the origin of the fire in Niamey was unknown. An official of a Niger’s teachers union said the school in the popular Pays Bas neighborhood had around 800 students, including children in the nursery section. “The fire apparently started around the school gate. Without an emergency exit, many were trapped and students were forced to scale the wall to escape. Those that died were mostly children in the preschool,” Mounkaila Halidou said. Another fire service official said 21 straw hut classes caught fire during the blaze and the children were trapped inside them.
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US Suspends Johnson & Johnson Vaccine After Rare Complications
Several U.S. states have temporarily stopped providing Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccines in line with federal guidance after six people who received the shots developed rare blood clots. Meanwhile, several countries have suspended the AstraZeneca vaccines after reports it, too, may be linked to blood clots. White House correspondent Patsy Widakuswara reports.
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Taliban Shun Afghanistan Talks Until Foreign Forces Go
The Taliban said on Tuesday they would not attend a summit on Afghanistan’s future in Turkey this month until all foreign forces leave their country.”Until all foreign forces completely withdraw from our homeland, (we) will not participate in any conference that shall make decisions about Afghanistan,” tweeted Mohammad Naeem, spokesman for the Taliban office in Qatar.His intervention came just hours after it emerged that the U.S. would withdraw its forces from Afghanistan about five months later than Washington had originally agreed with the insurgents.U.S. officials said President Joe Biden would withdraw all American troops from Afghanistan before this year’s 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks.FILE – U.S. troops patrol at an Afghan National Army Base in Logar province, Afghanistan, Aug. 7, 2018.The drawdown, finally ending America’s longest war despite mounting fears of a Taliban victory, delays by around five months an agreement with the Taliban inked by former President Donald Trump to pull troops.There is a growing consensus in Washington that little more can be achieved in the conflict-torn nation.The decision came as Turkey announced an international peace conference on Afghanistan that the hosts hope could pave the way to a power-sharing arrangement.The conference, due to be held in Istanbul from April 24 to May 4, will seek to revive long-stalled peace talks that are being hosted in the Qatari capital Doha.
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