A cardiologist testified Monday that George Floyd, a Black man who died in police custody in Minneapolis last year, did not die of a heart attack or a drug overdose and would have survived had he not been pinned to a city street as police officer Derek Chauvin pressed his knee to his neck for more than nine minutes. Dr. Jonathan Rich, a medical school professor at Northwestern University, told the jury at Chauvin’s murder trial in Minneapolis that had Floyd “not been restrained in the way in which he was, I think he would have survived that day.” “I think he would have gone home or wherever he was going to go had he not been subjected to the prone and positional restraint that he was,” Rich said. Eric Nelson, Chauvin’s defense lawyer, has contended that the 46-year-old Floyd died from drug use and underlying health issues, not the manner in which Chauvin arrested him last May 25 on suspicion of passing a counterfeit $20 bill. Chauvin, 45 and white, has pleaded not guilty to murder and manslaughter charges in the Floyd case, which triggered widespread street protests against police abuse of minorities across the U.S. and in major foreign cities. Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin attends the eleventh day of his trial, with his defense attorney Eric Nelson, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, April 12, 2021, in a still image from video.Testifying for the prosecution, Rich contested the defense’s conclusions about why Floyd died. “After reviewing all of the facts and evidence of the case, I can state with a high degree of medical certainty that George Floyd did not die from a primary cardiac event, and he did not die from a drug overdose,” Rich testified. The cardiologist said there was no evidence to suggest an overdose caused Floyd’s death, even though a toxicology report showed the presence of the opiate fentanyl in his blood. “Number 1, it appeared to me that Mr. Floyd, who was an acknowledged frequent chronic user of substances, particularly opiates, likely developed a high degree of tolerance,” he said. “But the second and just as important, maybe more important, was I didn’t see any of the signs of an opiate overdose when I reviewed the videos,” Rich said. Rich told the jury that police officers — Chauvin and three others on the scene — had the opportunity to take actions Rich believed “very likely” would have saved Floyd’s life, even after he lost consciousness as he was held down by Chauvin’s knee. “There was one moment in the video where I heard one of the officers saying, ‘I think he’s passing out,'” Rich testified. “That would have been an opportunity to quickly relieve him from that position of not getting enough oxygen, perhaps turn him into a recovery position and allow him to start to expand his lungs again. When there were signs he was worsening, repositioning him, I think, very likely would have also saved his life.” Rich, who specializes in heart transplant surgery, said Floyd’s heart was slightly enlarged but that he had no preexisting heart issue, and so a heart attack was ruled out. “Every indicator is that Mr. Floyd had an exceptionally strong heart,” Rich testified. Hennepin County District Judge Peter Cahill speaks with legal teams in Minneapolis, Minnesota, April 12, 2021, in a still image from video.Earlier Monday, Hennepin County District Judge Peter Cahill rejected Nelson’s request to sequester the 12 jurors and two alternates after police in a neighboring city fatally shot a Black man during a traffic stop. In denying the defense’s request, the judge said sequestering the jury “would only aggravate” any worries jurors had. But Cahill said he intends to sequester the jury once it begins deliberations, likely in a week or so.
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Month: April 2021
Rome Restaurants and Other Small Businesses Protest COVID-19 Restrictions
Rome restaurateurs and other small-business owners clashed Monday with police for the second week in a row, demanding to be allowed to open after being shut down for much of the past year. Italy has been one of the hardest-hit nations over the course of the pandemic, with more than 114,000 deaths from COVID-19. The government has closed many of its restaurants, along with other stores and markets, for varying periods for much of the past year. They had been allowed to reopen at various times, only to be told to shut again when the virus surged. But now they want to reopen for good, and at least 200 people from around Italy joined Monday’s protest in a plaza close to Montecitorio Palace, the lower house of Parliament. Many carried signs or shouted “Work!” and “Freedom!” as they faced down police in riot gear. A demonstrator gestures as she speaks to a police officer during a protest of restaurant and small-business owners who call for their businesses to be allowed to reopen amid the coronavirus outbreak, in Rome, Italy, April 12, 2021.Scuffles broke out between police and protesters after a small group of demonstrators attempted to break through police barricades. The restrictions prohibit dining and drinking at restaurants, bars and cafes through at least April in most regions, with only takeout or delivery services permitted. The government has allocated millions in aid to business sectors particularly hit hard by pandemic restrictions. While initial lockdowns to control the virus were widely accepted, business owners took to the streets after learning about the current shutdown extension.
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White House COVID-19 Response Team: More Vaccine Not the Answer to Michigan Surge
The White House COVID-19 Response Team said Monday more vaccines are not the answer to the surge of cases in the midwestern state of Michigan.The comments come one day after Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer went on the Sunday news program “Face the Nation” and urged the White House to alter its vaccination distribution plan to states – currently based on population – to help the state slow the number of infections.Michigan currently has one of highest COVID-19 infection rates in the United States, and hospitalizations there are straining the health care system.But, speaking Tuesday at the regular virtual White House COVID-19 briefing, Rochelle Walensky, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said it would take two to six weeks to see any effect from the vaccines.Walensky said the best way to address the situation in Michigan is to “close things down,” the way much of the United States did early in the pandemic one year ago.Governor Gretchen Whitmer addresses the state as Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Chief Medical Executive Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, right, listens, April 9, 2021, in Lansing. (Michigan Office of the Governor)Whitmer, a Democrat, has so far urged a suspension of in-person high school classes, youth sports and indoor dining, but has not formally implemented any new restrictions. Last year she came under heavy criticism from Republicans in the state legislature for measures she implemented.Mask mandates and size limits on outdoor gatherings are still in place, and Whitmer has not ruled out further restrictions.Senior White House COVID-19 Adviser Andy Slavitt said the government is sending more personnel from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to Michigan to get vaccinations delivered faster. It is also sending more diagnostic testing and setting up more testing sites. The government is also prepared by sending more therapeutic treatments for COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.
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African Experts Urge Local COVID-19 Vaccine Manufacturing
Africa is lagging in vaccinating its people against the COVID-19 disease, and continental heads of state and international health officials say vaccine manufacturing must come to Africa in earnest to combat both the illness and future health emergencies. These experts, alongside African heads of state and international finance figures, are meeting virtually this week to hash out an ambitious plan to bring more manufacturing capability to the continent. South Africa only recently started to make the COVID-19 vaccine, but is the main producer on the continent. While Africa has reported a relatively low number of cases compared to other regions, it has seen the world’s slowest rollout of vaccination campaigns. FILE – Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization, speaks in Geneva, Jan. 21, 2021.One-quarter of the world’s vaccines has gone into the arms of Americans. The developing world has been far less fortunate, according to Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director-general of the World Health Organization. “There remains a shocking imbalance in the global distribution of vaccines, as I have said many times,” he said. “More than 700 million vaccine doses have been administered globally, but over 87 percent have gone to high-income or upper-middle-income countries, while low-income countries have received just 0.2 percent. The pandemic has shown that global manufacturing capacity and supply chains are not sufficient to deliver vaccines and other essential health products quickly and equitably to where they are needed most. That’s why building up vaccine manufacturing capacity in Africa is so important.”John Nkengasong, director of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said the continent — which is home to nearly 1.3 billion people — has just a handful of vaccine manufacturing and that 99 percent of vaccines are imported. He praised African leaders, notably South African President Cyril Rampahopsa, for fighting for institutions like the COVAX facility and the African Union’s vaccine acquisition task force, to make sure that African nations get a fair share of the foreign-manufactured shots.COVAX is a global initiative set up to ensure that poorer nations aren’t left out of the worldwide scramble for vaccine access. FILE – Boxes of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine manufactured by the Serum Institute of India and provided through the global COVAX initiative arrive at the airport in Mogadishu, Somalia, March 15, 2021.Economist Vera Songwe, executive secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, estimated that the pandemic has caused 100 million Africans to fall into poverty, and led to the loss of 30 million jobs. If the continent can seize on medical manufacturing, she predicted 6 million jobs can be created. However, she said the continent shouldn’t stop there. “We have about 80 different variables that get into the vaccine production,” she said. “So yes, Africa should produce vaccine, but the whole vaccine supply chain — syringes, plastics, containers for the vaccines — also can and should be produced on the continent. This is the very essence of the African continental free trade area agreement, as we build global supply chains and regional supply chains that allow us to do this. So let us not only focus on vaccine production itself; we must focus on all the other inputs into the vaccine production supply chain.” Although experts are still hashing out how to do this, there is one thing they seem to agree on: It won’t be quick or cheap. To that end, Songwe said, the African continent is asking for 25 percent of the International Monetary Fund’s international reserve asset, a fund that gives countries access to major currency reserves. That’s a far larger share than that program allocates to the continent. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, who last month became the first African and the first woman to head the World Trade Organization, said a plan to manufacture vaccines in Africa requires much more than time, care and money. It requires changes to intellectual property laws, trade agreements, transport networks, research capabilities and more. Having stepped into her new job amid the economic and social devastation of this pandemic, Okonjo-Iweala said she’s determined to prepare for the next disaster, not just because it’s the right thing to do, but because it makes fiscal sense. “We were not prepared for this pandemic globally,” she said. “Spending billions of dollars for preparedness would have saved us trillions of dollars in response. The world is now learning how to do this better for the next time, and putting in place a framework to manage the next pandemic. Africa must also prepare and think of how to do better for future crises.”
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Somali Lower House of Parliament Extends President’s Term for Two Years
Somali politics were thrown into a state of confusion Monday as the two houses of parliament clashed on the status of President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo. The lower house of parliament voted to extend the term of the president and his government by two years, while the upper house said the move was unconstitutional.Somalia’s lower house of parliament voted overwhelmingly to extend by two years the term for the government of President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo.The special session saw 149 MPs vote in favor of the extension, with only three opposed.But within minutes, the upper house of parliament objected, with the speaker saying the move by the lower house is unconstitutional.Either way, there is no sign that Somalia’s delayed parliamentary and presidential elections will begin any time soon.The polls, originally scheduled to start late last year, never got off the ground because of disputes between political leaders on who would control the electoral process.Talks to end the impasse ended in deadlock despite pressure from the African Union, European Union and other international partners of the Somali government.The speaker of the parliament, Mohamed Mursal, said Monday that lawmakers must take responsibility as representatives of the people, to take decisions when the need arises.He said the current state facing the people in the country will not allow the continued political impasse that resulted in the election delay. He said since they represent the interest of the nation, the citizens are awaiting their decision, hence the move to extend two years term to plan for ballot elections.FILE – Somalia President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed arrives for the swearing-in ceremony of Cyril Ramaphosa in Pretoria, South Africa, May 25, 2019.President Farmajo, whose term in office technically expired on February 8, immediately welcomed the extension approved by the lower house.In a statement, the president urged citizens to seize the historic chance to choose their democratic destiny.However, members of the opposition, led by former prime minister, Hassan Ali Khaire, warned that extending the president’s term could have negative consequences.He said that it is the right time for Somalis to acknowledge that the decision by outgoing president regarding his illegal stay in office is leading to dangerous path. The former PM added that history will judge the decisions taken by the leaders if they are not careful.Earlier, the country’s police chief Abdi Mohamed Hassan fired Mogadishu regional police commander General Sadik Omar after he tried to suspend the parliamentary session, citing security concerns.
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William, Harry Remember Prince Philip’s Wit, Service to UK
Princes William and Harry paid tribute Monday to their grandfather, Prince Philip, remembering his wit, sense of duty and barbecue skills.
The brothers, who are at the center of a royal family rift, issued separate statements about Philip, who died last week at 99.
William, who is second in line to the throne, pledged “to get on with the job” of serving Queen Elizabeth II as he and his brother became the latest family members to honor Philip’s service to the nation and the monarch.
“My grandfather was an extraordinary man and part of an extraordinary generation,” William said in a statement. “Catherine and I will continue to do what he would have wanted and will support The Queen in the years ahead. I will miss my Grandpa, but I know he would want us to get on with the job.”
Prince Harry, who stepped away from royal duties last year and now lives in California, has arrived in the U.K. to attend Philip’s funeral service Saturday at Windsor Castle. His wife, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, is pregnant and was advised by her doctor not to make the long journey.
Harry’s office also issued a statement Monday, describing Philip as a man who was “authentically himself.”
“He will be remembered as the longest reigning consort to the Monarch, a decorated serviceman, a Prince and a Duke,” Harry said. “But to me, like many of you who have lost a loved one or grandparent over the pain of this past year, he was my grandpa: master of the barbecue, legend of banter, and cheeky right ’til the end.”
William and his wife released a picture of Philip sitting in a carriage with his great-grandson, Prince George, their oldest child. Philip has the reins.”My grandfather was an extraordinary man and part of an extraordinary generation.”A message from The Duke of Cambridge following the death of The Duke of Edinburgh: https://t.co/lVCSPrG7uGpic.twitter.com/atiB8djxPO— The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (@KensingtonRoyal) April 12, 2021Philip’s royal ceremonial funeral at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle will be a slimmed-down service due the COVID-19 pandemic and will be closed to the public.
Philip, the queen’s husband of 73 years who was also known as the Duke of Edinburgh, took part in planning his own funeral and its focus on family was in accordance with his wishes.
As preparations for the service continue, tributes to Philip are pouring in. In the House of Commons, which was recalled early from its Easter recess because of the prince’s death, lawmakers offered their condolences.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Philip “shaped and protected the monarchy through all the vicissitudes” of the past seven decades.
“He gives us all a model of selflessness and of putting others before ourselves,” Johnson said. “He made this country a better place.”
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Biden Lobbying Bipartisan Lawmakers for Infrastructure Spending
U.S. President Joe Biden is meeting Monday with a bipartisan group of Republican and Democratic lawmakers to push for adoption of his $2.3 trillion infrastructure plan to repair the country’s aging and deteriorating roads and bridges, add to its broadband internet system and revitalize several sectors of the American economy.There appears to be wide support for Biden’s plan for traditional infrastructure spending, fixing the country’s crumbling roads and bridges. But Republican lawmakers are balking at his description of infrastructure to include spending for in-home care for older people, child care, health care facilities for veterans and other programs throughout the country.In addition, Republicans have taken aim at Biden’s call for a 33% tax increase on corporations to pay for the plan, from 21% to 28% on pretax profits. Biden Budget Proposal Would Dramatically Shift US Spending PrioritiesEducation, jobs, environment and health care get big boosts while defense spending remains steadyThe White House is beginning an all-out campaign to try to show lawmakers and voters the extent of the country’s infrastructure needs.It released a state-by-state breakdown of the extent of the disrepair, saying, for example, 1,703 bridges need repair in New York state and 11,700 kilometers in highways are in poor condition.The analysis showed that California’s drinking water infrastructure needs $51 billion in repairs over the next 20 years, while in the largely rural western state of Wyoming, more than a quarter of the population live in areas without minimally acceptable broadband internet connections. There is a roughly four-in-10 chance that a public transit vehicle in the midwestern state of Indiana might be ready for the scrapyard, while schools in the eastern state of Pennsylvania need $1.4 billion for maintenance and upgrades.The Biden administration is hoping that the list will resonate with ordinary Americans in what they encounter in their lives. The White House is painting a picture of dire needs for one of the world’s wealthiest countries, suggesting that too many roadways and bridges are unsafe, while noting that increasingly extreme weather events have contributed to the deterioration. WATCH: Michelle Quinn’s video report Sorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can
download this video to view it offline.Download File360p | 7 MB480p | 10 MB540p | 13 MB720p | 28 MB1080p | 55 MBOriginal | 67 MB Embed” />Copy Download Audio”We don’t have a lot of work to do to persuade the American people that U.S. infrastructure needs major improvement,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said on Fox News Channel’s “Fox News Sunday” show. “The American people already know it.”Overall, Biden’s plan would modernize more than 32,000 kilometers in roadways.Among those meeting with Biden Monday is one of the critics of his infrastructure plan, Mississippi Republican Senator Roger Wicker.”This is a massive social welfare spending program combined with a massive tax increase on small business job creators,” Wicker said on ABC’s “This Week” show on Sunday. “I can’t think of a worse thing to do.” Three other Republicans are joining the White House meeting — Senator Deb Fischer of Nebraska, and Congressmen Garret Graves of Louisiana and Don Young of Alaska. Democrats on the list are Senators Maria Cantwell of Washington and Alex Padilla of California, along with Congressmen Donald Payne of New Jersey and David Price of North Carolina.
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Zimbabwe Pin Economic Hopes on Tobacco, Despite Anti-Smoking Campaigns
Tobacco farmers in Zimbabwe, Africa’s largest tobacco producer, are pinning their economic hopes on the addictive plant. Despite anti-smoking campaigns ahead of the World Health Organization’s No Tobacco Day on May 31, farmers say the crop is one of their biggest sources of income. After quitting journalism at a government-controlled company four years ago, 39-year-old Itai Mazire went into farming. This year, he expects to sell at least 9,000 kilograms of tobacco from his eight-hectare plot, about 150 kilometers east of Harare. Mazire says delayed selling seasons, due to the coronavirus pandemic, forced him to dip into his savings to pay workers. But Mazire says his harvest this year was the biggest ever and he expects sales to more than double that of 2020.
“This season is a success for us Zimbabwe tobacco farmers, in particular,” he said. “The rains were with us and we did our job. It’s a perfect story. We are curing our tobacco and every farmer will be smiling all the way to the bank. He gets his money, the economy improve[s], our foreign currency reserves will improve through tobacco.” Workers at a tobacco auction floor in Marondera about 100km east of east of Harare, Zimbabwe, Apr. 10, 2021. (Columbus Mavhunga/VOA)After gold, tobacco is Zimbabwe’s biggest foreign currency earner. The cash-strapped government expects earnings this year to jump from last year’s $452 million U.S. dollars to $800 million. Agriculture Minister Anxious Masuka says that’s not enough. “The tobacco’s potential is immense,” he said. “It is in this regard that the government, together with stakeholders in the industry, is at an advanced stage of developing a three-pronged strategy. First, to increase annual production to 300 million kilograms largely from small holder farmers by 2025.”
Campaigners say Zimbabwe should instead work to replace tobacco, which is known to cause cancer, with other crops that are less damaging to health. Sharon Nyatsanza of South Africa-based National Council Against Smoking (Apr. 12, 2021) says Zimbabwe should work to replace tobacco with other crops that are less damaging to health. (Columbus Mavhunga/SKYPE)Sharon Nyatsanza, from the South Africa-based National Council Against Smoking, says people who use tobacco are more vulnerable to the coronavirus, the cause of the COVID-19 disease. “Emerging signs show that people who are exposed to tobacco are at higher risk of developing worse COVID-19 outcomes. But beyond COVID-19 pandemic is a threat to humanity and it kills millions each and every year. It is very, very key for Zimbabwe to start to take significant strides to move away from tobacco farming and to invest more and to promote more alternative livelihoods for tobacco farmers,” she said.
The World Health Organization says tobacco kills more than eight million people each year globally. For farmers like Mazire, the crop remains one of the best options to make a living in Zimbabwe’s long-struggling economy. Mazire says he plans to use more hectares for the 2021/2022 growing season, which begins mid-year.
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Zimbabwe Sees Tobacco Future Despite Anti-Smoking Campaigns
Tobacco farmers in Zimbabwe, Africa’s largest tobacco producer, are pinning their economic hopes on the addictive plant. Despite anti-smoking campaigns ahead of the World Health Organization’s No Tobacco Day (on May 31), farmers say the crop is one of their biggest earners. Columbus Mavhunga reports from Murehwa district, Zimbabwe. Camera: Blessing Chigwenhembe
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Mekong Dams Bring Hardship to Thai Villagers
The Mekong is one of the world’s great rivers — a 5,000-kilometer waterway threading from China through Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. However, dams have subverted the ecosystem, bringing drought during the monsoon season and high waters when it should be dry. That has forever changed the lives of those who depend on the river for food and work in northeastern Thailand, a poor region bordering Laos and Cambodia. Vijitra Duangdee reports for VOA news, from Nong Khai, Thailand.Camera: Black Squirrel Productions
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Germany’s CDU Backs Party Chairman as Governing Coalition’s Candidate for Chancellor
The executive committee of German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union party backed chairman Armin Laschet on Monday as candidate for the next leader.Merkel is not seeking a fifth term, after leading Germany for 16 years.Laschet, 60, declared Sunday that he was prepared to run for chancellor in the national elections to be held in September.Markus Soeder, 54, leader of the Christian Social Union (CSU) of Bavaria, the sister party in Merkel’s governing coalition, also expressed his willingness to run for the post Sunday but said he would settle the issue amicably with Laschet.Laschet, who is currently the prime minister of Germany’s most populous state, North Rhine-Westphalia, was elected as CDU leader in January. As a centrist politician, he is widely seen as a candidate who would continue Merkel’s legacy, although he has clashed with her over coronavirus restrictions.Soeder, an astute political operator, strongly supported Merkel during the pandemic; however, no CSU leader has become chancellor before.CDU runs in 15 of Germany’s 16 states, while the CSU runs only in Bavaria, which reports say is likely to be the decisive factor for Laschet to emerge as the candidate of CDU/CSU for the job of chancellor during the federal election.
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USAGM Pick to Lead Cuba Broadcasting Draws Criticism from Senator
The appointment of an award-winning journalist to lead the Office of Cuba Broadcasting was criticized this week by a U.S. lawmaker who suggested she does not have a strong enough track record of promoting liberty for Cuban citizens. The U.S. Agency for Global Media, which oversees the OCB and other independent networks including Voice of America, announced Wednesday that veteran media and communications executive Sylvia Rosabal will be the director of the Office of Cuba Broadcasting. Rosabal is the latest network head to be hired by Kelu Chao, a former VOA executive who took over as acting chief executive when former CEO and Trump nominee Michael Pack resigned hours after President Joe Biden took office. Chao was a whistleblower named in a court case brought against Pack and his aides that claimed editorial interference at the news network. Rosabal, a former senior vice president of the news division at Telemundo Network, has won numerous awards during her 30-year career at Spanish-language networks in the U.S., including an Edward R. Murrow award for journalistic excellence. She also worked on media logistics for the 2020 Democratic National Convention Committee. The longtime South Florida resident was born in Puerto Rico to Cuban parents. Rosabal will fill the director position at the Office for Cuba Broadcasting that has been vacant since Jeffrey Scott Shapiro resigned in late January, shortly before Chao fired the other USAGM network heads who were installed by Pack in his last weeks as CEO. Pack’s leadership drew bipartisan criticism from members of Congress, including Senate Foreign Relations Committee chair Bob Menendez and others who said his moves undermined the agency’s editorial independence. FILE – Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., the ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, talks to reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, June 12, 2018.In a statement Wednesday, Menendez, a Democrat from New Jersey, said he did not believe Rosabal “is the right person to lead the OCB.” Menendez said the office should be led by someone “with a track record of staunchly promoting liberty for all Cuban citizens.” The USAGM’s Office of Cuba Broadcasting is headquartered in Miami, Florida, where it oversees Radio and Television Marti, martinoticias.com, and its social media platforms. Radio and Television Marti provides unbiased news and information via satellite television and radio to people in Cuba, who have limited access to independent news. This week a bipartisan group of Florida lawmakers wrote to the Biden administration asking it to increase the Office of Cuba Broadcasting’s budget to $30 million next year. OCB’s budget in 2020 was $12.9 million. Cuba ranks 171st out of 180 countries, where 1 is the most free, in the World Press Freedom Index compiled by media watchdog Reporters Without Borders. Menendez, whose Cuban parents immigrated to the United States before he was born, said he respected Rosabal’s journalistic credentials but that he planned to seek information on how the new director plans to promote “the principles of a free press and of free speech in Cuba.” “I am concerned that she is of the view of accommodation with the Cuban regime rather than of challenging its human rights violations and denial of democratic freedoms to its people,” Menendez said. USAGM has not responded to VOA’s questions about Menendez’s criticisms. Rosabal is the final network director to be named by Chao during a 90-day window Congress included in the December COVID-19 relief bill that gave the head of USAGM power to make hiring and firing decisions. New provisions included in the National Defense Authorization Act will now come into effect that contain more restrictions on the appointments of network heads.
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What Russia Wants from Ukraine
Two US warships are expected to arrive in the Black Sea this week as a demonstration of the Biden administration’s support for Ukraine as fears mount that Russian President Vladimir Putin is contemplating an assault on his neighbor.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 US officials. Russia has conducted at least three military training exercises adjacent to the Ukrainian border since mid-March.Last week, President Joe Biden made his first phone call to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy since entering the White House and, according to a White House statement, “affirmed the United States’ unwavering support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity in the face of Russia’s ongoing aggression in the Donbas and Crimea.”The dispatch of warships to the Black Sea is meant to underline Biden’s affirmation.An Ukrainian serviceman walks in a trench as he stands at his post on the frontline with Russia backed separatists near the town of Zolote, in the Lugansk region on April 8, 2021.Fighting between Ukrainians and Russian-backed rebels in Ukraine’s Donbas region has been intensifying since the end of January, and senior Kremlin official Dmitry Kozak, who has blamed Ukraine for the clashes, has issued an ominous warning that a full-scale conflict would likely mean “the beginning of the end” for Ukraine, a statement viewed in Kyiv and Western capitals as a threat.Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin chief spokesperson, has not disputed a military build-up is taking place, but he told reporters in Moscow that Russia “moves its armed forces around its territory at its discretion.” Ukrainian President Zelenskiy visited the Donbas frontlines last week and bewailed the “big escalation.”Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy visits positions of armed forces near the frontline with Russian-backed separatists during his working trip in Donbass region, Ukraine April 8, 2021.Since his surprise election in 2019 to the presidency in Kyiv, Zelenskiy has been urging for a new round of peace talks involving other Western leaders. Shortly after his landslide election victory he appealed to Putin directly, saying in a video, “We need to talk? We do. Let’s do it.” Later that year, the Kremlin and Kyiv agreed a prisoner swap, sparking hopes a peace deal might be in the offing, one that would halt the seven-year conflict between Ukraine and pro-Russian separatists backed by Russian forces.Some Zelenskiy critics feared his search for peace would end up creating a permanent Russian enclave in Ukraine’s most easterly provinces, Donetsk and Luhansk. But Zelenskiy hasn’t budged on the issue of Ukrainian sovereignty over the Donbas, and has refused to accept, what he says, is a Russian charade when it comes to who controls and directs the pro-Moscow separatists.Some observers hazard that recent Russian moves are an indication of Russian frustration with Zelenskiy, who has also been targeting Kremlin allies in Ukraine, including politician, tycoon and TV mogul Viktor Medvedchuk, a personal friend of the Russian leader. Medvedchuk, along with his wife, have been accused of channeling funds from a Russia-based oil facility to the so-called breakaway republics in eastern Ukraine. Ukrainian authorities have placed a freeze on his assets.Biden Affirms US ‘Unwavering Support’ for Ukraine in CallAffirmation came in a call with the country’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the White House saidWhat is alarming some Western diplomats and analysts is the fiery language being used by Kremlin officials along with the nature of the coverage of the crisis by Kremlin-controlled Russian media outlets. They are reporting Kyiv is planning an offensive on the Donbas and have been highlighting comments by Kozak, deputy chief of staff of the presidential administration, suggesting Ukraine may be plotting ethnic cleansing in the Donbas.Peskov, President Putin’s spokesman, said Friday the Kremlin fears a resumption of full-scale fighting in eastern Ukraine and would be ready to take steps to protect Russian civilians in the Donbas. Ukraine’s military chief dismissed the Russian claims that his country’s armed forces are preparing to launch an attack on the breakaway east, and, along with other Ukrainian officials, accuses the Kremlin of looking for a pretext to mount an offensive.“Everything suggests that Russia is preparing for a military incursion into Ukraine,” tweeted Sunday Anders Aslund, author of the book Russia’s Crony Capitalism. “Putin always keeps his options open, but both the military moves & the Kremlin propaganda indicate that Russian military aggression is near,” he added.But other analysts and diplomats caution that the Kremlin is whipping up a frenzy over the Donbas more for domestic reasons than international ones and that Putin is looking to distract Russians from the ongoing agitation for the release from jail of firebrand opposition figure Alexey Navalny, whose health is reported to have worsened in prison.They say the military buildup may be part of an electoral strategy ahead of parliamentary elections in Russia September. Putin’s approval ratings are falling, and his United Russia political party seems destined for setbacks in the polls. Shaping an emergency short of a full-scale war could boost the prospects of United Russia, allowing the party to benefit from a wave of patriotism, they say.Taras Kuzio, an academic at the National University of Kyiv Mohyla Academy, doesn’t believe the Kremlin is preparing Russia to launch a full-scale invasion of Ukraine “because that would lead to a long war and the complete breakdown of Russia’s relations with the West.”Although he doesn’t discount the Kremlin may want a brief but limited clash and has suggested the Kremlin may be thinking of repeating what happened in 2008 in Georgia when then Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili fell into a trap and responded to provocations from South Ossetia, another separatist region, and intervened, prompting a Russian intervention.
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Myanmar’s Junta Levies New Charge Against Aung San Suu Kyi
Myanmar’s ruling military junta filed a sixth charge against deposed civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Monday as demonstrations continued against the February 1 coup.
Min Min Soe, Suu Kyi’s lawyer, told reporters that his client was charged a second time for violating the country’s COVID-19 protocols during a court appearance via videoconference. Min Min Soe says Suu Kyi asked the court to allow her to meet with her lawyers in person during Monday’s session.
The 75-year-old Suu Kyi is already facing charges including having six handheld radios in her possession, the most serious of them a charge of breaking the country’s colonial-era secrets law that could put her in prison for 14 years if convicted.
Suu Kyi and several members of her civilian government have been detained since the military took control more than two months ago, saying there was widespread fraud in last November’s general election which Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy won in a landslide.
The coup has sparked daily mass demonstrations across Myanmar demanding the return of Suu Kyi and her elected government to power.
The junta has responded with ever-increasing violent and deadly crackdown against the demonstrators. The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, a nongovernmental monitoring organization, estimates that more than 700 people have been killed by the junta since the peaceful protests began, including more than 80 protesters killed Friday in the southern city of Bago, located more than 70 kilometers northeast of the country’s largest city, Yangon.
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Japan Begins COVID-19 Vaccination Efforts for Citizens 65 and Older
Japan has begun vaccinating its elderly residents against COVID-19 as Tokyo imposes a set of tougher restrictions to blunt a fourth wave of the pandemic. Only about 120 sites across Japan opened Monday to distribute the first dose of the two-shot Pfizer vaccine to people 65 and older. Officials say they expect about 100 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine to arrive by the end of June, enough to inoculate Japan’s 36 million elderly residents as the country races to vaccinate as many people as possible in time for the Tokyo Olympics, which begin on July 23. Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike has urged bars and restaurants in the prefecture to reduce their normal business hours, and is urging residents to avoid non-essential trips under an order that will remain in effect until May 11. Many areas of Japan are under various states of emergency due to growing rates of new coronavirus infections, which have complicated plans for the traditional relay of the Olympic torch across the country. Britain eases restrictionsMonday marked the beginning of Britain’s reopening after nearly three months under a strict lockdown in response to a new wave of infections sparked by more transmissible strain of the coronavirus discovered late last year in the southeastern county of Kent. Thousands of gyms, hair salons, retail shops and zoos reopened their doors across England, along with bars and restaurants, which are limited to just outdoor service. Chris, owner of Stag Co barbers, cuts hair as hairdresser shops reopen, as the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) restrictions ease, in Herford, Britain, Apr. 12, 2021.Similar restrictions remain in place in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, which have their own timetables for reopening. Britain has the sixth highest number of COVID-19 infections in the world with 4.3 million confirmed cases, including 127,331 deaths, the fifth highest in that category, according to Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center. The country has administered more than 39 million doses of vaccines, with almost 7 million people fully vaccinated. The United States continues to lead in both cases and deaths, with 31.1 million total infections and 562,066 deaths. China looking at other vaccinesMeanwhile, China said it is considering using vaccines developed in other countries in conjunction with vaccines developed in China to boost the efficacy of China’s vaccines. FILE – A community health worker disseminates information about vaccination against COVID-19 at a residential compound in Zhenjiang, Jiangsu province, China, Apr. 7, 2021. (China Daily via Reuters)Gao Fu, the head of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, told attendees at a conference in the southwest city of Chengdu Saturday that public health officials must “consider ways to solve the issue that efficacy rates of existing vaccines are not high.” Gao’s comments were a rare admission from China about its domestically produced COVID-19 vaccines. Health authorities in Brazil say late-stage clinical trials of the CoronaVac vaccine developed by Beijing-based private company Sinovac was just barely over 50% effective. In the United Arab Emirates, medical workers have recently begun offering a third dose of the vaccine developed by China’s Sinopharm company after reports surfaced of very low numbers of antibodies produced after the two dose regimen.
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Las Vegas Pushes to Become First City to Ban Ornamental Grass
A desert city built on a reputation for excess and indulgence wants to become a model for restraint and conservation with a first-in-the-nation policy banning grass that nobody walks on.Las Vegas-area water officials have spent two decades trying to get people to replace thirsty greenery with desert plants, and now they’re asking the Nevada Legislature to outlaw roughly 40% of the turf that’s left.The Southern Nevada Water Authority estimates there are almost 8 square miles (21 square kilometers) of “nonfunctional turf” in the metro area — grass that no one ever walks on or otherwise uses in street medians, housing developments and office parks.They say this ornamental grass requires four times as much water as drought-tolerant landscaping like cactus and other succulents. By ripping it out, they estimate the region can reduce annual water consumption by roughly 15% and save about 14 gallons (53 liters) per person per day.Las Vegas might be known for splashy displays like the Bellagio fountains on the neon-lit Strip, but officials say residents of bedroom communities and sprawling suburbs embrace conservation measures, including aggressive monitoring of sprinklers and leaky irrigation systems.“The public perception outside of Las Vegas is certainly much different — and has been for a long time — than the water conservation ethic within the community,” said Colby Pellegrino, Southern Nevada Water Authority water resources director.Sprinklers water grass near a street corner on April 9, 2021, in a neighborhood located in northwest Las Vegas.California imposed a temporary ban on watering ornamental grass during last decade’s drought, but no state or major city has tried to phase out certain categories of grass permanently.“The scale of this is pretty unprecedented in terms of a full ban on this nonfunctional turf,” said John Berggren, a water policy analyst at Western Resource Advocates.The proposal is part of a turf war waged since at least 2003, when the water authority banned developers from planting green front yards in new subdivisions. It also offers owners of older properties the region’s most generous rebate policies to tear out sod — up to $3 per square foot.Those efforts are slowing. The agency says the number of acres converted under its rebate program fell last year to six times less than what it was in 2008. Meanwhile, water consumption in southern Nevada has increased 9% since 2019.Last year was among the driest in the region’s history, when Las Vegas went a record 240 days without measurable rainfall. And the future flow of the Colorado River, which accounts for 90% of southern Nevada’s water, is in question.The waterway supplies Arizona, California, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, New Mexico, Wyoming and Mexico. As drought and climate change decrease what the river provides, the amount allocated to Arizona, California and Nevada is projected to be cut further.Justin Jones, a Clark County commissioner who serves on the water authority’s board, doesn’t think ripping out ornamental turf will upend people’s lives.“To be clear, we are not coming after your average homeowner’s backyard,” he said. But grass in the middle of a parkway, where no one walks: “That’s dumb.”“The only people that ever set foot on grass that’s in the middle of a roadway system are people cutting the grass,” Jones said.The agency has different regulations for yards and public parks. Based on satellite imaging, it believes banning ornamental grass will primarily affect common areas maintained by homeowner associations and commercial property owners.Jones said the proposal has drawn resistance in some master-planned communities, but water officials say years of drought-awareness campaigns and policies like the rebates have cultivated a cultural change.Southern Nevada Homebuilders’ Association lobbyist Matt Walker said consumer preferences have reached the point that potential homebuyers from wetter regions aren’t turned off from neighborhoods that have parks but no ornamental grass.Conservation frees water, reduces per capita consumption and strengthens builders’ arguments that the desert can accommodate more growth, Walker said. “And the benefits are the ability to keep doing what we do, which is building homes.”“We’ve really gotten a comfort level that buyers are very much willing to go along with responsible development practices when it comes to water use,” he added.Other desert cities aren’t so sure. Salt Lake City has an ordinance that requires a certain amount of yard and median greenery. Phoenix, where some neighborhoods remain lush from flood irrigation, has never offered grass removal rebates.Water officials elsewhere are loath to compare their policies to southern Nevada. Particularly in cities where water consumption per person is high, they say there’s no one-size-fits-all approach for a drier future.Las Vegas, for example, mostly ignores toilets, showers and dishwashers because the water authority is able to treat and recycle indoor wastewater and let it flow through a natural wash into Lake Mead — the Colorado River reservoir behind Hoover Dam. It is filtered again for reuse.A draconian anti-grass policy might not work in downtown Phoenix, said Cynthia Campbell, water resources adviser for the nation’s fifth-largest city. Trees and grass blunt public health dangers of “urban heat islands” — areas lacking green landscaping to offset heat through evaporative cooling.Regional water officials understand future consumption will have to be reduced but fear the preparation and perception could backfire if the community doesn’t buy in.“There comes a point when people’s demands start to harden,” Campbell said. “They’ll say, ‘This is the point of no return for me.’ For some people, it’s a pool. For some people, it’s grass.”The Southern Nevada Water Authority isn’t sure the idea of banning grass will spread to other cities. But Pellegrino, the water resources chief, said other places will have to make changes.“Particularly every community that relies on Colorado River water.”
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Minnesota Police Shoot, Kill Man After Traffic Stop Incident
The family of a 20-year-old Minnesota man told a crowd that he was shot by police Sunday before getting back into his car and driving away, then crashing the vehicle several blocks away. The family of Daunte Wright said he was later pronounced dead.Officials from the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension said the agency was on the scene of a shooting involving a police officer in Brooklyn Center on Sunday afternoon. Meanwhile, the Wrights demanded answers from police.The incident, which sparked protests late into Sunday night, happened with Minneapolis already on edge and midway through the trial of the first of four police officers in George Floyd’s death. Brooklyn Center is a city with a population of about 30,000 people located on the northwest border of Minneapolis.“I am closely monitoring the situation in Brooklyn Center. Gwen and I are praying for Daunte Wright’s family as our state mourns another life of a Black man taken by law enforcement,” Gov. Tim Walz said in a statement posted late Sunday night on Twitter.According to a statement from Brooklyn Center Police, officers stopped an individual shortly before 2 p.m. Sunday after determining the driver had an outstanding warrant. Police said when they tried to arrest the driver, the driver reentered the vehicle and drove away. An officer fired at the vehicle, striking the driver. Police said the vehicle traveled several blocks before striking another vehicle.Police did not identify the driver who was shot but said the Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office will release the person’s name following a preliminary autopsy and family notification. A female passenger sustained non-life-threatening injuries during the crash.A police officer was also transported to the hospital after sustaining injuries, according to EMS audio, the Star-Tribune reported. By Sunday evening, about 100 people had gathered near the scene, according to the newspaper, but they were later dispersed.Public mourners included Wright’s family and friends who gathered, wept and consoled each other alongside protesters who carried “Black Lives Matter” flags, jumped atop police cars, confronted officers and walked peacefully in columns with their hands held up. On one street, written in multi-colored chalk: “Justice for Duante Wright.”Late Sunday night, Brooklyn Center police fired gas into a crowd of protesters who had gathered outside the police station. No reports of damage, injuries or arrests were immediately available.“The officer shooting in Brooklyn Center today is tragic. We are asking the protesters to continue to be peaceful and that peaceful protesters are not dealt with force,” Brooklyn Center Mayor Mike Elliott said on Twitter.Katie Wright, Daunte’s mother, tearfully pleaded for more information regarding the incident and for her son’s body to be moved from the street.A woman who lives near the crash scene, Carolyn Hanson, said she saw law enforcement officers pull a man out of a vehicle and perform CPR (Cardiopulmonary resuscitation). A passenger who got out of the car was also covered in blood, Hanson said.Police said Brooklyn Center officers wear body-worn cameras and they also believe dash cameras were activated during the incident. The Brooklyn Center Police Department said it has asked the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension to investigate.
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Chad Counts Votes as Deby Seeks Sixth Term after 30 Years in Power
Vote counting has started in Chad after a tense presidential election on Sunday that is likely to see President Idriss Deby extend his three-decade rule, despite signs of growing discontent over his handling of the nation’s oil wealth.Election officials began counting ballots at a polling station in center of the capital N’Djamena immediately after polls closed, watched by a group of observers, a Reuters reporter said.The election commission has until April 25 to announce provisional results.Deby, 68, was the first to cast his ballot at a polling station in the capital N’Djamena. He is one of Africa’s longest-serving leaders and an ally of Western powers in the fight against Islamist militants in West and Central Africa.”I’m calling on all Chadians to come out and vote for the candidate of their choice who will have to tackle the major challenges facing our country over the next six years,” Deby told journalists after voting.Deby seized power in 1990 in an armed rebellion, and in 2018 pushed through a new constitution that could let him stay in power until 2033 – even as it reinstated term limits.He has relied on a firm grip over state institutions and one of the region’s most capable militaries to maintain power. Deby said recently he knew in advance that he would win again “as I have done for the last 30 years.””Many of you, my daughters and sons, were not yet born when I took power in 1990,” he said at his final campaign rally on Friday. “You have asked me to be a candidate for this sixth term.”RivalsAmong Deby’s six rivals is former prime minister Albert Pahimi Padacke, but several leading opponents are boycotting the race, including the 2016 runner-up Saleh Kebzabo, who has vowed to make Chad “ungovernable” if Deby wins.Observers are closely watching the turnout after several recent anti-government demonstrations turned violent. A heavy military presence patrolled the capital on Sunday.In the Moursal and Chagoua southern neighborhoods of N’Djamena, considered as opposition strongholds, few voters had shown up at polling stations by mid-morning.Jules Ngarbatina, a resident of Moursal said were scared of coming out in large numbers because they feared reprisals from other who supported the boycott.Yacine Abderaman Sakine, leader of the Reformist Party, who joined the call for a boycott, said Chadians were tired of pretending that elections are free and fair.”The lack of enthusiasm in polling stations today is a strong message to those who confiscate power by force,” Sakine told Reuters.On Friday authorities said they had arrested several people, including at least one opposition leader, for what they said was a plot to assassinate politicians and bomb polling stations and the electoral commission headquarters.The opposition said the arrests showed mounting repression under Deby. The government rejects the accusations of human rights abuses.Chad has come under increasing public pressure over a flagging economy as low prices for its main export, oil, in recent years forced cutbacks in public spending and sparked labor strikes.
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Aid Group Facilities Attacked, Set Ablaze in Northeast Nigeria
Suspected Islamic extremists attacked the offices of several international aid groups, setting them ablaze and renewing concerns Sunday about the safety of humanitarian workers in Nigeria’s embattled northeast.There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attacks in Damasak town late Saturday, but suspicion immediately fell on a faction of extremists aligned with the Islamic State group. Last year the militants warned Nigerians they would become targets along with foreigners if they assisted international aid groups or the military.Edward Kallon, United Nations resident and humanitarian coordinator in Nigeria, expressed concern for civilians and aid workers Sunday in the wake of the overnight attack.”Humanitarian operations in Damasak will be reduced due to the violent attack, which will affect the support to 8,800 internally displaced people and 76,000 people in the host community receiving humanitarian assistance and protection there,” Kallon said in a statement.The Norwegian Refugee Council said the attack “jeopardized our work and threatened the lives of many aid workers.””Thankfully our five staff staying in Damasak town escaped unharmed. However, the perpetrators succeeded in setting our guesthouse ablaze and destroying lifesaving relief supplies, including vehicles used to deliver aid,” said Eric Batonon, country director for the aid group.Local authorities said the insurgents also looted drugs from a hospital in Damasak and stole an ambulance but were stopped from setting the building on fire.An insurgency aimed at establishing an Islamic state in northeast Nigeria has now lasted more than a decade. Militants from Boko Haram and the group known as ISWAP frequently target humanitarian hubs in northeast Nigeria. The attack on Damasak is the fourth on the town and its surrounding area this year and the second attack on humanitarians in the past two months in northeast Nigeria.
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Former Student at Elite Egyptian University Gets 8 More Years in #MeToo Case
An Egyptian court on Sunday convicted a former student at an elite university of attempted rape and drug possession, sentencing him to eight years imprisonment atop a previous punishment for other sexual misconduct convictions.It was the second verdict against disgraced former American University in Cairo student Ahmed Bassam Zaki, in a case that has rattled Egypt’s conservative society and fueled the #MeToo movement in the Arab world’s most populous country.The Cairo criminal court sentenced Zaki to seven years in prison for the attempted rape of three women and a year for possession of hashish, according to victims’ lawyer Ahmed Ragheb. The women were minors at the time of the alleged crimes, according to court documents. Sunday’s verdict can be appealed to a higher court.In December, Zaki was convicted of blackmailing and sexually harassing two other women, receiving three years in prison.The former student was arrested in July after allegations against him surfaced on social media, resulting in a firestorm of criticism. The #MeToo movement aims to hold accountable those involved in sexual misconduct and those who cover it up.Several attempts at the time by The Associated Press to contact Zaki’s family and his lawyer were unsuccessful.According to accusations posted on social media, Zaki would mine the pool of mutual friends on Facebook, online groups or school clubs, for females to target.He would start with flattery, then pressure the women and girls to share intimate photos that he later used to blackmail them with if they did not have sex with him, according to the accusations. In some instances, he threatened to send compromising pictures to family members.Zaki hails from a wealthy family and studied at the American International School, one of Egypt’s most expensive private high schools, and the American University in Cairo.
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Lawmakers Take Up Biden’s $2 Trillion Infrastructure Plan
Lawmakers return to Washington this week, with U.S. President Joe Biden’s $2 trillion infrastructure package topping their agenda. Michelle Quinn reports.
Video editor: Mary Cieslak
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7 Catholic Clergy, Including French Citizens, Abducted in Haiti, Church Says
Seven Catholic clergy, including two French citizens, were kidnapped Sunday in Haiti, said the spokesman of the Bishop’s Conference for the island nation, which has been rocked by unrest.Five priests and two nuns were abducted in the morning in Croix-des-Bouquets, a commune east of the capital, Port-au-Prince, Father Loudger Mazile told AFP. They were “on their way to the installation of a new parish priest,” he added.The kidnappers had demanded a $1 million ransom for the group, which includes one French priest and one French nun, he added.Haitian authorities suspect an armed gang called “400 Mawozo,” which is active in kidnappings, is behind the abduction, according to a police source.The French embassy in Haiti did not respond to AFP’s request for comment.Kidnappings for ransom have surged in recent months in Port-au-Prince and other provinces, reflecting the growing influence of armed gangs in the Caribbean nation.”This is too much. The time has come for these inhuman acts to stop,” Bishop Pierre-Andre Dumas of the Haitian commune Miragoane told AFP.”The church prays and stands in solidarity with all the victims of this heinous act,” he said.In March, the Haitian government declared a month-long state of emergency to restore state authority in gang-controlled areas, including in the capital.The measure was motivated by the actions of armed gangs who “kidnap people for ransom, openly declaring it, steal and loot public and private property, and openly confront the public security forces,” according to the presidential decree.
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Matsuyama Becomes First Japanese Golfer to Wear Masters Green
Hideki Matsuyama won the 85th Masters in dramatic fashion Sunday, holding off Xander Schauffele to become the first Japanese man to capture a major golf title.Carrying the hopes of a nation on his shoulders, Matsuyama calmly grinded out clutch pars and struck for crucial birdies in a pressure-packed march at Augusta National, hanging on over the final holes for a historic one-stroke victory.Matsuyama took the green jacket symbolic of Masters supremacy, a top prize of $2.07 million (1.74 million euros) and a place for the ages in Japanese sports history.”I’m really happy,” he said through a translator. “Hopefully I’ll be a pioneer in this and many other Japanese will follow. I’m happy to open the floodgate and many more will follow me.”After seeing his seven-stroke lead with seven holes remaining shaved to two shots with three to go, Matsuyama watched Schauffele’s ball end up in the water off the 16th tee on the way to a triple-bogey disaster.”I felt like I gave him a little bit of a run and made a little bit of excitement for the tournament until I met a watery grave there,” Schauffele said. “I’ll be able to sleep tonight. It might be hard but I’ll be OK.”Matsuyama settled for a bogey but closed with par at 17 and a bogey at 18 to fire a one-over-par 73 and finish 72 holes on 10-under 278.”My nerves really didn’t start on the second nine,” Matsuyama said. “It was from the start today to the very last putt.”American Will Zalatoris was second in his Masters debut on 279 after a closing 70 with U.S. three-time major winner Jordan Spieth and American Schauffele sharing third on 281.”It was a fun week,” Zalatoris said. “I know I can play with the best players in the world.”Matsuyama became only the second Asian man to win a major title after South Korea’s Yang Yong-eun at the 2009 PGA Championship.No prior Japanese player had finished better than fourth at the Masters.Japan’s two previous major golf titles belonged to women, Chako Higuchi from the 1977 LPGA Championship and Hinako Shibuno at the 2019 Women’s British Open.
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County Plans to Return California Beachfront Taken From Black Family in 1920s
Los Angeles County plans to return prime beachfront property to descendants of a Black couple who built a seaside resort for African Americans but suffered racist harassment and were stripped of the property by local city leaders a century ago, a county official said Friday.”It is the county’s intention to return this property,” Janice Hahn, a member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, told a news conference at what was known as Bruce’s Beach in the city of Manhattan Beach.The decision in Los Angeles County, the nation’s most populous, comes at a time of national reckoning on race and discussions at the local, state and federal levels over reparations.Today, a county lifeguard training headquarters building sits on the property along some of the most coveted coastline in Southern California.The property encompasses two parcels purchased in 1912 by Willa and Charles Bruce, who built the first West Coast resort for Black people at a time when segregation barred them from many beaches. They built a lodge, café, dance hall and dressing tents with bathing suits for rent. Initially it was known as Bruce’s Lodge.”Bruce’s Beach became a place where Black families traveled from far and wide to be able to enjoy the simple pleasure of a day at the beach,” Hahn said.It did not last long.The Bruces and their customers were harassed by white neighbors and the Ku Klux Klan attempted to burn it down. The Manhattan Beach City Council finally used eminent domain to take the land from the Bruces in the 1920s, purportedly for use as a park.”The Bruces had their California dream stolen from them,” Hahn said. “And this was an injustice inflicted not just upon Willa and Charles Bruce but generations of their descendants who almost certainly would have been millionaires if they had been able to keep this property and their successful business.”After going unused for years, the land was transferred to the state of California in 1948 and in 1995 it was transferred to Los Angeles County for beach operations and maintenance.The last transfer came with restrictions that limit the ability to sell or transfer the property and those restrictions can only be lifted through a new state law, Hahn said.State Sen. Steven Bradford said that on Monday he will introduce legislation, SB 796, that would exempt the land from those restrictions.”After so many years we will right this injustice,” he said.If the law passes, the transfer to the descendants would have to be approved by the county’s five-member Board of Supervisors, said Liz Odendahl, Hahn’s director of communications.Manhattan Beach is now a tony city of about 35,000 people on the south shore of Santa Monica Bay. Its picturesque pier juts into swells prized by surfers, and luxury residences have replaced many of the beach houses along an oceanfront walk called The Strand. According to Census data, its population is 78% white and 0.5% Black.The current City Council this week formally acknowledged and condemned city leaders’ efforts in the early 20th century to displace the Bruces and several other Black families, but stopped short of formally apologizing, Southern California News Group reported.”We offer this acknowledgement and condemnation as a foundational act for Manhattan Beach’s next one hundred years,” a document approved by the council says, “and the actions we will take together, to the best of our abilities, in deeds and in words, to reject prejudice and hate and promote respect and inclusion.”A hill rising steeply behind the beachfront property has a beach parking lot and above that is an ocean-view city park that was renamed Bruce’s Beach in 2006.The lot and park were not part of the Bruces’ property and would not be part of a transfer to the family, Odendahl said.The value of the property has not been assessed, she said.A return of the land could include an option for the Bruce descendants to lease the land back to the county for continued use.
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