Ukraine investigates alleged execution of civilians by Russians
Ukraine has started a war crimes investigation after bodies of civilians were found strewn on the streets as Russian troops pulled out of areas around the capital Kyiv.
Bucha and Irpin were symbols of resistance to the Russian invasion, but they are now becoming synonymous with the war's most serious abuses.
Ukrainian authorities say the bodies of 410 civilians have been found in the areas around Kyiv so far.
Russia, without evidence, says the photos and videos are "a staged performance" by Ukraine.
But what officials and reporters have seen there in the wake of the Russian withdrawal has left many in deep shock.
Two or three days after Russia launched the 24 February invasion of its neighbour, a column of Russian tanks and armoured personnel carriers (APC) that had arrived in Bucha was attacked by Ukrainians, stalling the advance.
The Russians reinforced and stayed in the area on the outskirts of the capital, unable to move forward much, until they began pulling out on 30 March.
Many civilians had fled the area - but some stayed behind, trying to avoid the Russians. It is during this period that Russians reportedly started going house to house.
Witnesses have described how Russian soldiers fired on men fleeing after refusing to allow them to leave through humanitarian corridors.
Officials and reporters who went in after the Russians had left saw tanks and APCs, alongside at least 20 dead men lying in the streets.
Many had extensive wounds - some had been shot through the temple, as if executed. Some had their hands - or legs - tied. Others had clearly been run over by tanks.
Satellite images taken by Maxar show a 14m (45ft) mass grave in Bucha near the church of St Andrew and Pyervozvannoho All Saints.
Human Rights Watch has gathered evidence of alleged war crimes in Bucha and other cities and towns under the control of Russian forces.
In a report published on 3 April 2022, it recorded an account of an incident in Bucha on 4 March in which Russian soldiers forced five men "to kneel on the side of the road, pulled their T-shirts over their heads, and shot one of the men in the back of the head".
Three of the bodies have been identified as that of the head of the village Olga Sohnenko, her husband and her son. The fourth has not been identified yet.
In another incident, a mother and son were also killed and buried by neighbours in the courtyard of the block of flats.
On 7 March, drone footage showed a car on a road outside Kyiv, from which a man emerges with hands raised. His body falls to the ground.
Maksim Iovenko, 31, was shot dead by Russian forces that were positioned at the roadside. His wife Ksenia, who was in the car, was also killed.
The HRW report includes the case of a mother in the city of Kharkiv, who was raped by a 20-year-old Russian soldier inside a school where civilians were sheltering.
Source- BBC
Shanghai Covid lockdown extended to entire city
Chinese authorities have extended their lockdown of Shanghai to cover all its 25 million people after a fresh surge in Covid cases.
Initially, there had been separate measures for the eastern and western sides, but the whole city is now subject to indefinite restrictions.
Shanghai is the largest single city to be locked down to date.
The important financial hub has battled a new wave of coronavirus infections for more than a month.
Reported cases have risen to more than 13,000 a day, although the numbers are not high by some international standards.
Residents in some areas of the city said the strict policy meant no-one was allowed to leave their housing compounds, not even to collect essential provisions.
They reported difficulties in ordering food and water online, with restrictions on when customers are able to place their orders, because of a shortage of supplies and delivery staff.
This country's "zero-Covid" system is, at best, struggling to cope.
China has done Covid lockdowns before, but not on the scale of its financial mega-city.
The logistical challenges required to confine 25 million people to their homes, while keeping them fed, are huge.
Social media here is full of angry residents complaining that they can't order food because the delivery system is clogged up.
Centralised isolation facilities - many using only camp beds, with no showers or other facilities - are bursting with infected people squashed in next to one another.
One of China's few reliable media outlets, Caixin, has reported that close contacts of infected people will be moved to neighbouring provinces. This could potentially involve hundreds of thousands of Shanghai residents.
The Chinese government's complete elimination strategy has become something of a mantra, with the government ridiculing other countries for sacrificing their own people on the altar of opening up.
Some medical specialists here have tried to get the message through that, for a vaccinated person, catching the Omicron variant of Covid will probably not necessitate going to hospital - that you can simply ride it out at home until you recover.
Few people in China seem to be aware of this. Their officials and state media have kept it from them.
So the lockdowns continue and it's not only Shanghai closed right now. Jilin City (3.6 million people), Changchun (nine million), Xuzhou (nine million), the steel city of Tangshan (7.7 million) and various other towns and villages are keeping their residents indoors.
The strain on people, and the economic cost of it all, must be enormous.
Source- BBC
One arrest made after six shot dead
Police have arrested one suspect in connection with a shooting in the centre of Sacramento, California's capital, on Sunday, that left six dead.
Dandre Martin, 26, has been charged with assault and illegal firearm possession, police said on Monday.
Multiple people are believed to have opened fire in the busy downtown area, close to the state Capitol building.
Officials have identified the three men and three women killed in this year's worst US mass shooting so far.
Three of the victims were men: Sergio Harris, 38, De'Vazia Turner, 29, and Joshua Hoye-Lucchesi, 32.
Three women were also shot dead: Johntaya Alexander, 21, Melinda Davis, 57, and Yamile Martinez-Andrade, 21.
Police say all six victims died at the scene, when multiple shooters opened fire just after 02:00 (09:00 GMT) on Sunday near the junction of 10th and K Street.
An additional twelve people were wounded in the shooting and taken to local hospitals. By Monday, seven had been discharged.
The violence was "unprecedented" for the city, its police chief said.
Police have executed several search warrants as of Monday. At least one handgun, now understood to be stolen, was recovered.
The family of Sergio Harris told local media the vivacious and friendly father had gone to a nightclub, London, late on Saturday and never returned.
Mr Harris's wife, Leticia Fields, told the San Francisco Chronicle a stranger had told her on the phone that he had been shot.
"It sounds like a lot of innocent people lost their lives tonight," Ms Fields told the Chronicle. "I'm taking it day by day. I haven't told our 11-year-old yet".
Mr Harris had gone to the nightclub with his cousin, DeVazia Turner - another of the victims - Mr Turner's father told local TV station Fox40.
"There's just nothing to say. I'm just here. I'm grief, that's all - grief," the elder Mr Turner said.
Videos posted online appear to show a brawl break out in the area - packed with restaurants and bars - in the early hours on Sunday, just before rapid gun fire sent people fleeing.
It was so far unclear whether the fight led to the shooting, police say, and on Monday, officials set up an online portal to ask the public to submit information from the scene.
Source- BBC
The US has imposed sanctions on Putin's inner circle and daughters
The list also includes the family of Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and major banks.
The measures follow new revelations of atrocities by Russian troops in Ukraine, including images of bodies of civilians scattered on the streets of Bucha, near the capital Kyiv.
Russia says, without evidence, the images are staged by Kyiv officials.
Even though satellite images have shown the civilians were killed when Russians were in control of Bucha, Mr Putin on Wednesday described the event as a "crude and cynical provocation by the Kyiv regime".
Referring to the Bucha murders, US President Joe Biden said on Wednesday: "There's nothing less happening than major war crimes."
"Responsible nations have to come together to hold these perpetrators accountable," Mr Biden added.
The US said that Mr Putin's daughters, Katerina Vladimirovna Tikhonova and Maria Vladimirovna Vorontsova, were being put under sanctions "for being the adult children of Putin, a person whose property and interests in property are blocked".
The announcement described Ms Tikhonova as "a tech executive whose work supports the GoR [Russian government] and defense industry".
Her sister, Ms Vorontsova, it went on, "leads state-funded programs that have received billions of dollars from the Kremlin toward genetics research and are personally overseen by Putin".
Asked why the US was targeting Mr Putin's daughters, a senior Biden administration official said the US thought they could be in control of some of their father's assets.
"We have reason to believe that Putin, and many of his cronies, and the oligarchs, hide their wealth, hide their assets, with family members that place their assets and their wealth in the US financial system, and also many other parts of the world," the official said.
"We believe that many of Putin's assets are hidden with family members, and that's why we're targeting them."
The US sanctions announced by the White House include:
- economic measures to ban new investment in Russia
- severe financial sanctions on Russia's largest private bank, Alfa Bank, and its largest financial institution, Sberbank
- sanctions on critical major state-owned enterprises
- sanctions on Russian government officials and their family members
Meanwhile the UK has announced further sanctions against eight oligarchs and Russian banks, including the country's largest, Sberbank, and Credit Bank of Moscow.
The European Union is also debating cutting off Russian coal imports as concern over alleged war crimes increases.
Before the new raft of sanctions was announced in Washington, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he could not "tolerate any indecisiveness".
Speaking to the Irish parliament on Wednesday, he said there was still a need to convince some in Europe who believe "war and war crimes are not as horrific as financial losses" to back tougher sanctions.
He added that "Russian oil cannot feed the Russian military machine", with Ukraine's foreign minister arguing on Twitter that an embargo on gas and oil was needed to truly impact Russia's ability to finance the war.
Josep Borrell, the EU's chief diplomat, separately acknowledged on Wednesday that the one billion euros ($1.09bn; £833m) Europe spent on Russian energy every day put into sharp perspective the billion euros given to Ukraine in military assistance since the start of the invasion.
Source- BBC
Search continues as vessel drifts into Venezuelan waters
The Trinidad and Tobago Coast Guard (TTCG) said that the St. Vincent and the Grenadines registered cargo vessel that capsized in the Caribbean Sea off the coast of Trinidad and Tobago last weekend has drifted into Venezuelan waters as the search continues for five of the missing crewmen.
In a statement, the TTCG said that the search and rescue operation on Monday had resulted in the MV Fair Chance being towed into shallow and calmer waters. However, due to the size and weight of the vessel, these attempts were unsuccessful. Consequently, the vessel drifted some distance into Venezuelan waters.
Search continues for missing crewmen of capsized St. Vincent registered vessel
“This operation is challenging and taking some time because the vessel is partially submerged whilst being upside down, sea conditions are rough, and the direction of the tow is against the predominantly western current,” the TTCG said in the statement.
It said the plan was to take the boat into the calmer and shallower waters of the Gulf of Paria so divers could start searching inside the overturned vessel for the missing crew, identified as captain Dexter Chance, Owen Prescott, Quincy Baptistem, Eric Calliste and Devon Celestine.
The MV Fair Chance had been loaded with steel and had just departed Trinidad en route to St Vincent and the Grenadines when the incident occurred on Saturday.
The TTCG said the MV Fair Chance capsized approximately five nautical miles north of Monos Island and that the members of the crew are from Carriacou, Grenada, and Union Island, one of the Grenadines islands of St Vincent and the Grenadines.
“Two of the seven people on board were rescued by a passing vessel and taken to Staubles Bay for medical treatment,” the TTCG added.
Member of Parliament for Southern Grenadines Terrance Ollivierre said the Union Island community was in mourning and heartbroken having heard of the tragic incident.
Source- CMC
Guyana sacrificing billions of dollars to ensure protection of its forests
President Dr. Irfaan Ali Monday said Guyana is sacrificing billions of dollars (One Guyana dollar=US$0.004 cents) in order to keep its forests which are almost the size of England and Scotland combined, help protect the earth by storing gigatons of harmful gases.
“If the world is to work in a fair manner, forget about oil and gas…Our forests stand at US$195 billion dollars, from a carbon perspective,” President Ali told a virtual forum organised by the Global Business Leadership Forum.
President Dr. Irfaan Ali participating in the forum (Photo courtesy Office of the President)
The forum was chaired by Deodat Maharaj, the executive director of the Barbados-based Caribbean Export Development Agency and was moderated by Rhonda Binda, Vice President, Government Affairs and Social Impact, Madison Square Garden Entertainment Corporation and Gary Mar, President and chief executive officer of the Canada West Foundation.
Guyana’s forest stores about 21.8 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide, which, if cut down, would release all of that gas into the atmosphere, causing further harm to the environment. As a result, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country has kept its forests intact, cutting down less than 0.005 per cent of the trees.
President Ali told the forum that Guyana has been so environmentally responsible that it has been rated as having one of the world’s best forest monitoring, reporting and verification systems.
He said that it is this system that has allowed local authorities to confirm that Guyana has the world’s second-highest level of forest cover, an estimated 85 per cent of the country’s landmass.
He said this expansive forest cover could earn Guyana that US$195 billion if countries or companies buy into the project.
Over a decade ago, Norway was the first to buy into Guyana’s offer, signing a deal for US$250 million, once deforestation rates remain intact.
President Ali said that beyond the value of the carbon stored, the forest and trees themselves yield enormous value, noting for example that the total wood that could be harvested from Guyana’s forest is valued at about US$500 billion.
“We harvest only 400,000 cubic metres of wood- not even close to 50 per cent of our annual allowance,” Ali told the forum adding that if all mining areas were used, there could be about US$34 billion in gold, and an estimated one billion US dollars in bauxite. He said significant sums could be garnered from quarrying activities too.
President Ali said that because the country is intent on protecting its forests, much of these potential revenues are sacrificed, informing the delegates that the updated Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) is designed to earn the country payments for maintaining the forests.
He said these payments, as done before, are expected to fund sustainable development efforts, including hinterland development.
In addition, the payments are seen as crucial to helping Guyana mitigate the impact of climate change.
“We don’t want the world to know us as an oil and gas magnate. We want the world to know us as a country with a well-diversified economy that is pushing people’s prosperity and one that is bringing the country together and working towards economic prosperity,” Ali said, noting also Guyana’s efforts at being in the forefront of the regional food security agenda that could result in Guyana producing more food, satisfying both the local and regional multi-billion dollar food market.
Source- BBC
Despite World Cup Failure, West Indies Women surpassed expectations
Despite failing to advance to the final of the 2022 ICC Women’s World Cup, West Indies Women captain Stafanie Taylor believes her side exceeded expectations while star all-rounder Hayley Matthews said the Caribbean women demonstrated fight and heart against some of the top-rated teams.
West Indies Women captain Stafanie Taylor
Speaking after Australia thrashed them by 157 runs in their semi-final clash at the Basin Reserve on Tuesday, Taylor pointed out that the West Indies were earlier able to beat New Zealand in the World Cup opener and England thereafter and get further in the competition than some expected.
“We beat two of the top teams and I reckon no one expected that; and to be in the semi-finals, no one expected that. I think the way we played throughout the tournament has been really good. We had some ups and downs and that happens but it’s about learning and I believe we are still learning and I am proud of the way we played,” she said.
West Indies had secured the fourth semi-final spot in the World Cup after South Africa defeated India in the final group game.
With veteran spinner Afy Fletcher ruled out of Tuesday’s match after testing positive for COVID-19, the Caribbean side went into the game as underdogs facing the tournament favourites.
Taylor top-scored with 48 from 75 balls while Matthews and Deandra Dottin both made 34, but no other batsman reached double figures in the contest with the six-time champions.
Matthew, who tops the West Indies’ batting and bowling stats, said reaching the semi-final stage was, itself, a victory, personally and as a member of the team.
“Obviously, we would like to go further, but I think looking back on this team’s journey, playing a series against South Africa last year…. even in terms of individual growth, we’ve seen so many of our players taking steps and becoming better players, becoming more consistent. And there’s just so many positives that we can take out of this tournament for us, which is really heartening to see,” the right-arm spinner said, pointing to the victories over New Zealand and England as among the team’s accomplishments.
“These are things that we couldn’t imagine doing a year ago… When you speak about the advantages that some of the other teams would have over us like Australia or England, with their domestic structure and the amount of talent that they have to pull from within their pools, and then you look at us competing against teams like that, it just shows the fight and the heart that we really do have as a team.”
Matthews added that if the team continued on the current trajectory, “it’s only bigger things for us”.
However, she suggested there is a need for more competition at domestic level to identify and groom future West Indies players.
The right-handed batsman, therefore, welcomed the first-time inclusion of a women’s competition alongside the men’s Caribbean Premier League (CPL) later this year, saying it is a good initiative for women’s cricket.
“I think things like those are only going to help with our growth…. I reckon the more cricket we can play at a lower level to the domestic stuff, which is why CPL is going to be so big for us, hopefully we can get some more young girls coming through the system,” she said.
Noting that this World Cup may have been the last for some in the current squad, Matthews added: “It would be really good if we could start to, I guess, nurture some younger players throughout the domestic cricket season and get some more people filtering into the West Indies.”
Source- CMC
Chris Rock performs first stand-up show since Will Smith slap at the Oscars
Chris Rock kicked off a six-show set Wednesday at Boston's Wilbur Theatre, his first performances since Will Smith walked onto the stage and slapped him at Sunday's Oscars ceremony over a joke about Smith's wife, Jada Pinkett Smith's, hair.
The line outside of the Wilbur Theatre stretched for blocks, a sight the check-in attendant, who has worked there for years, tells ABC News he's never seen.
The 57-year-old comedian got a two-minute standing ovation when he took the stage. When the cheers subsided he quipped, "What’s up, Boston?” followed by “How was your weekend?” which drew laughs from the crowd.
Visibly moved, Rock told the audience, "Y'all are getting me all misty-eyed and s***."
That brought the audience back to their feet, after which Rock said, "I don't have a bunch of s*** about what happened. I had like a whole show I wrote before this weekend. I'm kinda processing what happened. So at some point, I'll talk about that s***."
He then launched into his routine, starting off with jokes about the COVID-19 pandemic, noting sarcastically that people only die twice a year from it. “It isn’t deadly enough,” Rock joked.
There was also an altercation reported at the venue during Rock's performance, involving an unidentified male heckler who was asked to calm down by a female venue employee, and who then reportedly made physical contact with her. The man was escorted out of the venue by security and police were called.
A spokesperson for the Boston Police Department told ABC News, "A man was pulled out from the Wilbur Theater, charged with assault and battery on a police officer and assault and battery under domestic violence statute." The spokesperson added that the man will likely will be arraigned today at Boston Municipal Court.
Source- ABC
Jared Leto talks Morbius and Sinister Six rumors on The Tonight Show
Jared Leto stars in Sony Pictures' Spider-Man-adjacent action film Morbius, opening April 1, and during an appearance on Tuesday's The Tonight Show, he talked about playing the titular character, and a possible connection to Marvel's Sinister Six group of villains.
Leto plays the titular character in Morbius, whose attempt to cure himself, and humanity, of a deadly disease gives Dr. Michael Morbius all the powers of a vampire. The Thirty Second's to Mars frontman told Fallon he was honored to be the first to bring the character to life.
"This is, like, the first time I've ever starred in a big Marvel movie like this and I'm incredibly excited," he said. "It's the first time that Morbius has ever been on the screen, so that was a big honor to get asked to bring this character to life."
Leto says he's had a fascination with vampires dating back to his childhood, thanks to his grandmother. "I saw the original Dracula because of her," he recalls. "I was up late at night...I was sleeping on the floor, which you do when you're a kid...and she let me stay up and watch the original Dracula with her and that's when I fell in love with vampires."
Fallon then pulled out a picture of Leto at the Spider-Man: No Way Home premiere, in which he was wearing a chain with the numeral "6," and pressed Jared on a possible appearance by Morbius as part of the Sinister Six supervillains squad in a future Marvel film, many of whom we've already seen in past Spider-Man films.
A poker-faced Leto replied, "It was actually meant to be a nine, it just got flipped."
Leto can currently be seen starring opposite Anne Hathaway in Apple TV+'s WeCrashed.
Source- BBC
Russia threatens to stop supplying gas if not paid in roubles
Russia has told "unfriendly" foreign countries they must start paying for gas in roubles or it will cut supplies.
Vladimir Putin has signed a decree stating buyers "must open rouble accounts in Russian banks" from Friday.
"Nobody sells us anything for free, and we are not going to do charity either - that is, existing contracts will be stopped," the Russian president said.
Mr Putin's demand is being seen as an attempt to boost the rouble, which has been hit by Western sanctions.
His decree means foreign buyers of Russian gas would have to open an account at Russia's Gazprombank and transfer euros or US dollars into it.
Gazprombank would then convert this into roubles which will then be used to make the payment for gas.
Though the order comes into effect for gas exported from Friday onwards, the payments for that gas will not be paid by European buyers until mid-May, Dr Jack Sharples, a research fellow at the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies told the BBC.
That suggests there may not be an immediate threat to supplies.
Mr Putin said the switch to roubles was meant to strengthen Russia's sovereignty, and it would stick to its obligations on all contracts, if Western nations obliged.
Germany said the change announced by Mr Putin amounted to "blackmail".
Since Russia invaded Ukraine, Western nations have issued economic and trading sanctions on Russia, but the European Union has not placed bans on oil or gas, unlike the US and Canada, as its member nations rely heavily on it.
The EU gets about 40% of its gas and 30% of its oil from Russia, and has no easy substitutes if supplies are disrupted. Meanwhile, Russia currently gets €400m (£340m) per day from gas sales to the bloc and it has no way of rerouting this supply to other markets.
Analysts said Russia halting gas flows to EU member countries to "force the issue" would mark a "major escalation not even performed at the height of the Cold War".
"It would mark another major financial blow to Russia's coffers," the analysts at Fitch Solutions added.
It is also unclear whether Russia's new payment mechanism for gas would fully ban payments in euros.
Western companies and governments have rejected Russia's demands to pay for gas in roubles as a breach of existing contracts, which are set in euros or US dollars.
Source- BBC