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Published by Reuters By Max Hunder and Tom Balmforth KYIV (Reuters) -A 21-year-old Russian soldier asked a Ukrainian widow to forgive him for the murder of her husband, as a court in Kyiv met for a second hearing on Thursday in the first war crimes trial arising from Russia’s Feb. 24 invasion. Vadim Shishimarin, a tank commander, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to killing an unarmed 62-year-old civilian, Oleksandr Shelipov, in the northeast Ukrainian village of Chupakhivka on Feb. 28. “I acknowledge my blame … I ask you to forgive me,” he told the widow, Kateryna Shelipova, at the hearing on Thursday attended by Reuters. Boyish, dressed in a tracksuit and with his shaven head lowered, Shishimarin cut a forlorn spectacle in a glass booth for defendants. He spoke calmly, but looked frightened. The Kremlin has said it has no information about the trial and that the absence of a diplomatic mission in Ukraine limits its ability to provide legal assistance. The widow told the court she had heard distant shots fired from their yard and that she had called out to her husband the day he was killed. “I ran over to my husband, he was already dead. Shot in the head. I screamed, I screamed so much,” she said, speaking in her rural accent. She looked distraught and her voice trembled with emotion. Shelipova told the court she would not object if Shishimarin was released to Russia as part of a prisoner swap to get “our boys” out of the port city of Mariupol, a reference to hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers who have given themselves up to Russia. The trial takes place as much of Ukraine is gripped by the fate of its soldiers that it hopes Russia will hand over as part of an exchange. Some Russian voices are calling for them to be put on trial for crimes. Shelipova said her husband had been unarmed and was dressed in civilian clothes. They had a 27-year-old son and two grandchildren together, she added. Ukraine has accused Russia of atrocities and brutality against civilians during the invasion and said it has identified more than 10,000 possible war crimes. Russia has denied targeting civilians or involvement in war crimes. Shishimarin is accused of firing several shots with an assault rifle at a civilian’s head from a car after being ordered to do so. Asked if he had been obliged to follow an order that amounted to a war crime, Shishimarin said “no”. “I fired a short burst, three or four bullets,” he told the court. “I am from Irkutsk Oblast (a region in Siberia), I have two brothers and two sisters … I am the eldest,” he said. Shishimarin could face up to life imprisonment if convicted. (Reporting by Max Hunder; Writing by Tom Balmforth; Editing by Alexandra Hudson and Nick Macfie) View the full article

Published by Reuters By Joseph Ax (Reuters) -U.S. Representative Lucy McBath has been a rising Democratic star since 2018, when she ended 40 years of Republican dominance in a suburban Atlanta seat. Congresswoman Carolyn Bourdeaux staked her own claim to fame in 2020, when she captured the district next door and became the only Democratic House candidate in the country to flip a Republican seat that year. But a new Republican-drawn congressional map aimed at eliminating one of their seats now has the two women squaring off for their party’s nomination in Georgia’s reconfigured 7th district. That ensures only one will advance from Tuesday’s primary to November’s general election, to the irritation of activists who spent years turning Atlanta’s suburbs Democratic. “I was really frustrated with the process of redistricting,” said Mary Baron, a retired attorney who volunteered for McBath’s two previous runs and donated to Bourdeaux’s campaign. “It seemed clear to me that they created it to put a Republican into office.” The race is one of a half-dozen around the United States in which redistricting has pushed incumbents from the same party to run against one another, an awkward result of the once-a-decade process of drawing new congressional lines. The rare contests often serve as a proxy for the larger tensions roiling each party – which, this time around, means establishment Democrats and Republicans competing against the progressive left and Trump-dominated right. In New York this week, a court-appointed special master released a draft congressional map, after the state’s top court invalidated a Democratic-drawn plan as an illegal gerrymander. The new proposal could pit two pairs of Democratic incumbents against one another, including powerful representatives Jerry Nadler and Carolyn Maloney, who have each spent three decades in Congress and will face off this August in what will be a massively expensive primary. INTRAPARTY TENSIONS In some states, such as Georgia, the intraparty contests stem from a deliberately partisan effort by one party to draw favorable lines. In other cases, the match-ups are an inevitable outcome of redistricting. West Virginia lost one of its three seats as a result of sluggish population growth, forcing two incumbents to face off. Republican U.S. Representative Alex Mooney defeated fellow Republican congressman David McKinley in last week’s primary election. In Illinois, Republican first-term U.S. Representative Mary Miller – endorsed by former President Donald Trump – is going after fellow Republican Rodney Davis, who has served a decade in the House. Miller, a member of the far-right Freedom Caucus, has attacked Davis for his vote in favor of a bipartisan commission to investigate the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol. Davis, who is seen as a more traditional Republican, has the backing of the state’s party infrastructure. New York’s new map immediately highlighted the antagonism between the Democratic Party’s establishment and left wings. Sean Patrick Maloney, the chair of the national Democratic Party’s congressional campaign arm, announced within minutes of the map’s release that he would run in a new district made up mostly of liberal Black Democrat Mondaire Jones’ seat. Jones criticized the decision in an interview with Politico but has not said whether he will challenge Maloney. Jones could also run against Jamaal Bowman, a fellow first-term Black progressive Democrat, who occupies a neighboring district. The Georgia race has been particularly galling for Democrats, given that McBath and Bourdeaux’s victories were notched in suburban Atlanta – ground zero for President Joe Biden’s surprising statewide win in 2020, as well as for twin Senate runoff elections in 2021 that gave the party control of Congress. Bourdeaux has attacked McBath for abandoning her district, which was redrawn to be heavily Republican, rather than fighting to keep it. “Everything that we have been fighting for, you have been undermining by coming and fighting me here,” Bourdeaux said at a recent debate. McBath has responded by noting that polls suggest she is leading the race, arguing that shows voters know her and the work she has done on their behalf. (Reporting by Joseph AxEditing by Colleen Jenkins and Rosalba O’Brien) View the full article

Published by Reuters By Steve Holland WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Joe Biden met the leaders of Sweden and Finland on Thursday after the nations set aside their long-standing neutrality and moved to join the NATO alliance in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Hours before his first trip to Asia as president, Biden sat down with Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson and Finnish President Sauli Niinistö at the White House to discuss their NATO applications. “This is a historic event, a watershed moment in European security. Two nations with a long tradition of neutrality will be joining the world’s most powerful defensive alliance,” said White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan. Biden has made uniting Europe against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine a top priority. Turkey has raised questions about including Finland and Sweden in the alliance, asking Sweden to halt support for Kurdish militants it considers to be part of a terrorist group and both to lift their bans on some sales of arms to Turkey. Sullivan told reporters on Wednesday that U.S. officials are confident Turkey’s concerns can be addressed, and Biden told reporters “I think we’re going to be okay,” on the issue. All 30 NATO members need to approve any new entrant. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said in a video posted on his Twitter account on Thursday that Turkey had told allies that it will reject Sweden and Finland’s membership. Biden’s meeting comes as he seeks approval from the U.S. Congress for $40 billion in aid for Ukraine to provide weapons and humanitarian assistance through September. U.S. officials said Wednesday the United States has collected intelligence showing some Russian officials are aware there are abuses being conducted against Ukrainians in Mariupol. “Some Russian officials recognize that despite claiming to be ‘liberators’ of the Russian-speaking city of Mariupol, Russian forces are carrying out grievous abuses in the city, including beating and electrocuting city officials and robbing homes,” the official said, citing declassified intelligence. Russian officials worry these abuses “may further inspire Mariupol residents to resist Russian occupation,” the official said. The Kremlin did not immediately respond to a request for comment and Reuters was unable to verify the intelligence claim. (Reporting By Steve Holland; additional reporting by Jeff Mason; Editing by Heather Timmons, Lincoln Feast and Nick Zieminski) View the full article

Published by Radar Online MEGA Russian TV is now targeting the White House’s new spox, just days after she officially started the role. The Vladimir Putin-backed TV channel said Karine Jean-Pierre spreading misinformation about her professional abilities, which was picked up by right leaning papers in the UKincluding The Daily Mail. Putin’s channel told news-starved Russians she was given the job because she was a “dark-skinned immigrant.” The Russian pseudo news commentators claimed without evidence that within weeks, Jean-Pierre will be replaced by a straight white man, according to The Daily Mail. Jean-Pierre took the White House podium from Jen Psaki, who left as chief spokeswoman for a role at news channel MSNBC. Jean-Pierre is the first black, openly gay press secretary. MEGA Russian TV has not been strangers to outlandish claims and strange discussions, especially in the wake of the country’s invasion of Ukraine. Nuclear weapon usage has been discussed on the channel. The channel used footage from Jean-Pierre’s first press conference to mock the new press secretary, the Daily Mail noted. Ignoring the decades of experience with press and campaigns they fabricated some image of someone else completely ‘When she makes mistakes, that will be her excuse. ‘I’m not a professional, I was chosen for other reasons’,” Andrei Sidorchik said on the channel, and reported by the Daily Mail. Jean-Pierre hasn’t responded to the Russian state claims, though Jean-Pierre has discussed what serving in the role means to her. MEGA “I am a black gay immigrant woman, the first of all three of those to hold this position,” Jean-Pierre said her first briefing, according to Yahoo! News. And her experience is deep and well respected. She has already served in senior communication and political roles in the Biden Administration, the Biden campaign, and to then-Vice President Biden in the Obama Administration. prior to that she was Chief Public Affairs Officer for MoveOn.org and an NBC and MSNBC Political Analyst. Jean-Pierre served as Regional Political Director for the White House Office of Political Affairs during the Obama-Biden administration and as Deputy Battleground States Director for President Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign. She served as Southeast Regional Political Director for President Obama’s 2008 campaign, Deputy Campaign Manager for Martin O’Malley for President, Campaign Manager for the ACLU’s Reproductive Freedom Initiative, and Deputy Chief of Staff and Director of Legislative and Budget Affairs for two members in the New York City Council. But the new press secretary hasn’t started without being attacked by the right in the US, which has dug up old comments and recirculated them. In them, she calls out Fox News for its racist reporting. In March 2020, a s one example, she called Fox News racist, as Radar previously reported. “So there is nothing new here,” she claimed on an MSNBC appearance. “I think the difference is they are all-in on being state TV for Donald Trump, and so they will continue to give misinformation.” Jean-Pierre has also faced criticism as her partner is currently a political reporter for CNN. That has led to questions about a conflict of interest between CNN and the White House. But the situation was rectified when CNN restricted the subjects she would be assigned, avoiding political and White House coverage. MEGA View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Jonathan Van Ness doesn’t mind what pronouns people use for him. The ‘Queer Eye’ star insisted he is comfortable with both masculine and feminine terms, as well as gender-neutral ones, because he feels like he is “all of those things and none of those things”. Jonathan told Australia’s Daily Telegraph newspaper: “When I say, he, she, they, whatever, I mean it because I feel like in ways I am all of those things and I’m none of those things at the same time. “That’s why I feel like whether you want to say he, she or they, it is okay for me. “If it is they or she, for me who I am is so much more than what that means to other people and to me. “That is where I come at it and why I identify as he, she or they ­because I feel like I’m everything and I feel like I’m nothing at the same time. That is kind of existential, but it is how I see it.” In 2019, Jonathan revealed he had been HIV+ since he was 25 and opened up on his diagnosis to help end the stigma around the condition. The 35-year-old star said: “This is only the beginning. I’m quickly realising that there is still so much misunderstanding, so much sensationalising of living with HIV. The stigma and the difficulty around the process of getting treatment is creating that. My work has only really just begun.” Jonathan has reassured fans that the condition is under control and he is “thriving”. He said: “So there’s a thing called a viral load and that’s how much copies of the virus is in you. “And you take a pill every day and it basically kills all the copies of the virus in your blood and that means you can achieve and maintain an undetectable viral load. There’s been a lot of studies … that basically, undetectable equals un-transmittable. “So as long as you’re adhering to your medication and seeing your doctor every three months – I mean, I’ve picked up figure skating, I’ve done nothing but get cuter and be able to work longer and harder hours. I feel like I’m thriving!” View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Dove Cameron is “struggling” with depression and dysphoria and feels “terrorised” by her own image. The ‘Boyfriend’ singer admitted she has been “crying a lot” because she’s struggling to get to grip with who she really is and how other people see her. Alongside a series of selfies of her crying into a mirror, she wrote on Instagram: “I’ve been struggling lately with the concept of self, my inner relationship to who i know myself to be and my outer perceivable self who i feel i have never known but other people seem to. “I’ve been covering mirrors lately. I’ve been feeling wrong in clothing that used to make me feel beautiful lately. i’ve been crying a lot lately, sometimes terrorized by my identity and image. “i don’t know if I’ve ever slowed down enough to learn who i am outside of fight, flight or freeze. but the self finds ways of showing up anyway.” The ‘Descendents’ star – who came out as bisexual in 2020 – explained “sexuality and performative gender norms” were “really throwing” her for “a loop” and she believes social media and a “constant broadcasting of self and visibility” was potentially harmful to mental health. The 26-year-old actress wanted to share her journey so her followers felt less “alone in a sea of what seems like humans who are comfortable in their identity, like they may not even have to think twice about it”. She added: “We all deserve a life unburdened by the societally created identity, we all deserve to unlearn self abuse and self hatred. i am on the journey now, and I’m sharing so that we may all feel more comfortable in a conversation that may be confusing. “emotion is COOL, dysphoria is OK. living as a human is INTENSE. we are all holding hands. Don’t forget.” Dove is “interested in a life unburdened by myself,” but admitted that is easier in theory than in practice, but we’re making room.” She added: “I am beginning to have a hope that the public platform that has been difficult for me to learn to take up space as myself in, can actually be the conduit for change/mutual support/exploration/safety. “Maybe the spaces that are the least human can become the most human, if we want that, and we can all let each other take up a little more space. i love you.” View the full article

Published by Reuters By Gabriel Araujo and Steven Grattan SAO PAULO (Reuters) -COVID-19 is on the rise again in the Americas as many countries have abandoned measures like masking and social distancing and many lag in vaccination rates, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) said on Wednesday. Cases in the Americas surged 27.2% last week from the prior one, driven primarily by a spike in infections in the United States, according to PAHO. More than half of a total 918,000 infections came from North America as U.S. cases jumped by 33% to 605,000 in the last week. Infections in North America have now been climbing for the past seven weeks. PAHO Director Dr. Carissa Etienne noted that many countries and local governments are giving up measures to protect against the virus and have reopened borders after a period of lower transmission. “Masking and social distancing have served us well since the start of the pandemic and are still valid measures to lower virus transmission,” she said, adding that governments should be ready to scale up these measures whenever there is an increase in cases or deaths. Too many people remain at risk, PAHO said, as only 14 of the 51 countries and territories in the Americas have reached the World Health Organization’s goal of vaccinating 70% of their population, she added during a news conference. PAHO said new COVID-19 infections and deaths in the region have been rising steadily over the past four weeks, with over 3,500 fatalities reported last week. Central America saw the largest percentage rise in cases, with infections soaring by 80%. In Brazil, the second most populated country in the Americas, infections increased by 9% to 120,000. “It is time to take stock of these numbers and act. COVID is again on the rise in the Americas,” Etienne said. “The truth is this virus is not going away anytime soon.” (Reporting by Gabriel Araujo and Steven Grattan; Editing by Bill Berkrot) View the full article

Published by Reuters UK LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s Royal Mint unveiled a special new commemorative rainbow-coloured 50 pence coin on Wednesday as a tribute to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Pride UK movement. The coin, designed by east London artist and LGBTQ+ activist Dominique Holmes, uses state-of-the-art printing technology to emboss it with the colours of the Pride progress flag. “It humbles me greatly that the words that I coined for the brand – protest, visibility, unity and equality – will be on an actual coin, opposite the queen,” Asad Shaykh, Director of Marketing and Communications at Pride in Lon… Read More View the full article

Published by DPA Nicola Coughlan as Penelope Featherington (left): The romance between Penelope and Colin Bridgerton is set to be the focus of season three of Netflix's hit show "Bridgerton". Liam Daniel/Netflix/dpa Gentle readers of the Ton, season 3 of “Bridgerton” will stray from its source material and focus on the romance of Colin Bridgerton and Penelope Featherington. According to Lady Whistledown herself, the forthcoming season of Netflix’s hit period drama will sideline Colin’s elder brother, Benedict (Luke Thompson), and will instead dive into the relationship of the characters played by Luke Newton and Nicola Coughlan. At Netflix’s FYSEE Space’s opening night ATAS panel on Sunday, Coughlan was asked what she can reveal about season 3. “Like Lady Whistledown, I have been keeping a secret for quite some time, and I can confirm to you all that season 3 is Colin and Penelope’s love story,” Coughlan said, according to Deadline. “I have kept that secret since two weeks into season 2. This is the first time I am saying it here.” Colin and Penelope’s relationship has been teased and used as a subplot since the debut season of Netflix’s Regency London-set series. But their budding romance was further complicated in the season 2 finale when Pen overheard Colin telling his friends that he would never court her. The diss came immediately after Penelope fell out with her best friend, Eloise — Colin’s younger sister — when Eloise confronted her about her literary side gig and using the Bridgerton family matters to fill the pages of Lady Whistledown’s scandal sheet. (Though Penelope writes Whistledown, the literary alter ego who narrates the series is actually voiced by legendary actor Julie Andrews.) Each of Julia Quinn’s romance novels in the “Bridgerton” series focuses on a Bridgerton sibling in the eight-child, aristocratic family. A ninth book, “The Bridgertons: Happily Ever After,” included the love story of matriarch Violet Bridgerton. The steamy first season of the drama showcased Phoebe Dynevor and breakout star Regé-Jean Page as Daphne Bridgerton and the Duke of Hastings, respectively, and was primarily pulled from the first book, “The Duke and I.” Page did not return for season 2, which was based on Quinn’s second novel, “The Viscount Who Loved Me.” That slow-burn season starred Jonathan Bailey as Daphne’s eldest brother, Anthony, and Simone Ashley as his love interest Kate Sharma. Colin’s book, “Romancing Mister Bridgerton,” is the fourth in the series and is preceded by Benedict’s “An Offer From a Gentleman.” But producer Shondaland has taken liberties with the source material for the streaming series, notably assembling a diverse cast to play the well-heeled characters and revealing Lady Whistledown’s identity much earlier than the books did. Season 3 has already seen a number of creative changes. Series creator Chris Van Dusen stepped down as showrunner and is being replaced by “Bridgerton” writer Jess Brownell. And the role of young Francesca Bridgerton has been recast after actor Ruby Stokes landed a lead role in Netflix’s “Lockwood & Co.” Hannah Dodd will replace her. The franchise is also getting a spinoff prequel that revolves around the enigmatic Queen Charlotte, her marriage to King George and the societal shift that followed their 1800s union — during which the original “Bridgerton” series is set. The limited-prequel series was announced in late March and is being written by Shonda Rhimes, who has thus far executive produced the original series. The still-untitled show will tell the queen’s origin story and will also include a young Violet Bridgerton and Lady Danbury. View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English JK Rowling is at the centre of another trans row after coming to the defence of a schoolgirl who challenged views on biological sexes. The ‘Harry Potter’ writer, 56, backed the girl after she felt forced to leave her school for arguing gender is real during a talk about transphobia. Rowling raged on Twitter: “Utterly shameful. Add this to the tottering pile of evidence that people in education and academia who’re supposed to have a duty of care towards the young have succumbed to an outbreak of quasireligious fanaticism. The girl’s crime? Saying ‘sex exists’.” The pupil said she was hounded by schoolmates for challenging the views of a visiting speaker. One teacher at the school said the girl had been treated like a heretic for questioning a politician’s views about sex. A female member of the House of Lords had visited the private girls’ school to talk about transphobia in parliament. The girl told The Times newspaper: “The language she was using was implying critical theory took precedence over biological reality in defining women. “When I questioned that, she said it wasn’t an issue of semantics. She said trans people don’t have basic human rights in this country.” The girl said the pair parted on friendly terms, but added she was surrounded by up to 60 shouting and screaming girls when she returned to the sixth form. She also claimed the mob of pupils swore and spat at her. The girl later fled and collapsed with breathing problems. Teachers who were initially supportive are said to have withdrawn their backing after other sixth-formers accused the girl of transphobia. The teenager returned to school but was told she would have to work in the library if she said anything provocative in lessons. She claims she then left the institution in December after she faced bullying and accusations of transphobia. Rowling has repeatedly come under fire for defending public figures against accusations of transphobia. At the weekend, she slated balaclava-clad activists involved in a stand-off around the statue of Emmeline Pankhurst in St Peter’s Square, Manchester. She said: “I never expected the right side of history to include so many people in masks intimidating and assaulting women, did you?” Rowling says she has been driven to speak out on trans issues partly as she is a sexual assault and domestic abuse survivor. She has said about the gender debate: “If sex isn’t real, there’s no same-sex attraction. If sex isn’t real, the lived reality of women globally is erased. I know and love trans people, but erasing the concept of sex removes the ability of many to meaningfully discuss their lives. It isn’t hate to speak the truth.” View the full article

Published by AFP Catarina Macario of the USA celebrates after scoring a goal against Iceland in February 2022 Washington (AFP) – The US men’s and women’s national soccer teams will receive equal pay under a “historic” agreement announced by the US Soccer Federation on Wednesday, following years of pressure from female players. The move makes the federation the first in the world to equalize World Cup prize money awarded to its men’s and women’s teams. “This is a truly historic moment. These agreements have changed the game forever here in the United States and have the potential to change the game around the world,” said US Soccer president Cindy Parlow Cone. The terms of Wednesday’s landmark agreement include “identical compensation for all competitions, including the FIFA World Cup, and the introduction of the same commercial revenue sharing mechanism for both teams,” USSF said. The deal stipulates that players from both teams “pool and share” the otherwise unequal prize money paid by FIFA for participation in their respective World Cups. For non-World Cup tournaments, players from “both teams will earn an equal amount of the total prize money paid when both teams participate in the same competition.” In February, the US national women’s team won a $24 million payout and a promise of equal pay in a najor settlement with US Soccer, that was contingent on the new collective bargaining agreement. The question of World Cup prize money had formed a prominent part of the lawsuit, which was filed in 2019 and accused the federation of “stubbornly refusing” to pay its men and women’s players equally. “The accomplishments in this CBA (collective bargaining agreement) are a testament to the incredible efforts of WNT players on and off the field,” said US women’s captain Becky Sauerbrunn, who is also her team’s players association president. She added that she hoped the agreement “will similarly serve as the foundation for continued growth of women’s soccer both in the United States and abroad.” ‘Achieved it’ The agreement, which runs through 2028, also aims to improve “player health and safety, data privacy and the need to balance responsibilities to both club and country,” USSF said. Women’s star Megan Rapinoe, who has forged a reputation as an unflinching advocate for social justice causes including equal pay and conditions for her and team-mates, said in February that the settlement marked a moment in which “US Soccer changed for the better.” Center-back Walker Zimmerman, a member of the men’s team players association, welcomed Wednesday’s deal saying that “we hope this will awaken others to the need for this type of change.” “They said equal pay for men and women was not possible, but that did not stop us and we went ahead and achieved it,” he added. The United States women have won four Women’s World Cup titles and four Olympic gold medals. They are chasing an unprecedented third consecutive Women’s World Cup crown after hoisting trophies in 2015 at Canada and 2019 in France. They last won Olympic gold in London in 2012. View the full article

Published by Reuters (Reuters) -One of three Minneapolis policemen who watched fellow officer Derek Chauvin kill George Floyd by kneeling on his neck pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting manslaughter in the 2020 case, which triggered a wave of protests over racial injustice. Chauvin, who is white, was sentenced to 22-1/2 years in prison last year after his conviction on charges of murdering Floyd, a Black man suspected of passing a counterfeit bill. By entering the plea on Wednesday, now-former officer Thomas Lane avoided an upcoming trial on the more serious charge of aiding and abetting second-degree murder. He agreed to a sentence of three years in prison, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported. A sentencing hearing has yet to be scheduled. The two other former officers involved in George Floyd’s arrest, Tou Thao and J. Alexander Kueng, are scheduled to face trial in June on both of state charges, according to online Hennepin County Court records. “His acknowledgment he did something wrong is an important step toward healing the wounds of the Floyd family, our community and the nation,” Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said in a statement. In February, Lane, Thao and Kueng were convicted on federal charges of depriving Floyd of his civil rights by failing to give aid to him when he showed signs of distress while pinned under Chauvin’s knee for more than nine minutes. Chauvin has pleaded guilty in federal court to charges he violated Floyd’s civil rights. Floyd’s killing sparked protests in cities around the world against police brutality and racism. (Reporting by Brendan O’Brien; Edited by Susan Heavey, Howard Goller and Jonathan Oatis) View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Diana Ross is set to perform as part of the BBC’s Platinum Party At The Palace concert. The Motown legend and former Supremes star will make her grand return to the UK at Buckingham Palace on Saturday, June 4, as part of the four-day Bank Holiday celebrating the Queen Elizabeth’s 70-year reign on the British throne, according to The Times newspaper. The ‘I’m Coming Out’ hitmaker hasn’t performed on British soil since 2007. Diana, 78, was due to hit the road for her ‘Thank U Tour’ in 2020, but it was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As well as the Palace gig, the ‘Upside Down’ hitmaker is set to play the Sunday afternoon teatime legends slot at Glastonbury this June, among other festival dates. George Ezra was previously confirmed for the royal concert, while Queen guitarist Brian May has suggested he will also be part of the extravaganza. ‘Shoutgun’ hitmaker George, 28, said: “I can’t begin to tell you how excited I am to be part of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee concert, what an incredible honour to be asked.” The BBC – who will broadcast the show – are expected to announce the full bill in the coming days. Viewers at home and the 10,000 concert-goers attending in-person can expect three stages and epic 3D projections beamed across the Palace. Half of the tickets will be given to members of the public from a ballot. In a statement, the Palace added: “The remaining tickets will be made available to charitable organisations including those who work in support of young people, the military, the environment and those who supported communities during the pandemic.” View the full article

Published by Reuters By Guy Faulconbridge LONDON (Reuters) – Russia on Wednesday touted its new generation of laser weapons including a mobile laser system first announced by President Vladimir Putin in 2018 which Moscow said had advanced so far it could blind orbiting satellites and destroy drones. Putin in 2018 unveiled an array of new weapons including a new intercontinental ballistic missile, a small nuclear warhead that could be attached to cruise missiles, underwater nuclear drones, a supersonic weapon and a laser weapon. Little is known about what exactly the laser weapon, named Peresvet after a medieval Orthodox warrior monk Alexander Peresvet who perished in mortal combat, does. Putin gave few specifics in 2018 and the laser’s details are secret. Yury Borisov, the deputy prime minister in charge of military development, told a conference in Moscow that Peresvet was already being widely deployed and it could blind satellites up to 1,500 km above Earth. He cited a test on Tuesday which he said had burned up a drone 5 km away within five seconds. Reuters was unable to independently confirm the test. “It is already being mass-supplied to the (missile) troops, and it can blind all satellite reconnaissance systems of a likely enemy in orbits of up to 1,500 km, disabling them during flight due to the use of laser radiation,” Borisov said. “But that, let’s say, is of today, or even in some ways of yesterday: our physicists have now created, and practically mass-produced, laser systems which are more powerful by an order of magnitude that can inflict thermal destruction on various apparatus,” Borisov said. Borisov’s remarks indicate that Russia has made significant progress with Peresvet, and other yet to be unannounced successors, a trend of considerable interest to other nuclear powers such as the United States and China. His remarks indicate Russia could blind the satellites and an array of other systems which the United States uses to monitor Russia’s intercontinental ballistic missiles – or the drones used to target artillery positions in the Ukraine war. Borisov said he had just returned from Sarov, a closed town in the Nizhny Novgorod region once known as Arzamas-16 because it was so secret, which is a centre of Russia’s nuclear weapons research. “Today, so called weapons systems based on new physical principles are on the way,” Borisov said. “This is primarily a laser weapon, an electromagnetic wideband weapon that will replace (conventional weapons) in the next decade – this is not some sort of exotic idea; it is the reality,” Borisov said. (Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge; Editing by Nick Macfie) View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Sarah Jessica Parker hasn’t spoken to Chris Noth since allegations of sexual assault were made against him by multiple women. The pair played couple Carrie Bradshaw and Mr. Big in ‘Sex and the City’, the two spin-off movies, and the recent reboot ‘And Just Like That…’, until the accusations were brought to light, and Noth’s character was killed off in one episode of the latter series. In a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Sarah Jessica admitted she’s not ready to discuss the allegations but she confirmed she’s not spoken to her former co-star since. The 57-year-old actress – who is also executive producer of ‘And Just Like That…’ – said: “I don’t even know if I’m ready to talk about it, but I don’t think … I wasn’t reacting as a producer.” Struggling to get her words out, she continued: “I should have worked on this because I’m just… it’s just…” Then asked if she’d been in contact with Noth, she replied: “No.” Sarah Jessica and her co-stars Cynthia Nixon and Kristin Davis released a joint statement at the time, in which they said they had been left “deeply saddened” by the allegations and praised his accusers for having the strength to speak out. They said: “We are deeply saddened to hear the allegations against Chris Noth. “We support the women who have come forward and shared their painful experiences. We know it must be a very difficult thing to do and we commend them for it.” Two women came forward to The Hollywood Reporter to allege they had been sexually assaulted by the 67-year-old actor. A woman, identified only as Zoe, alleged he had “raped her from behind” in 2004 when she was just 22, and another known as Lily claimed she was 25 and had had a dinner date with the actor in New York before he allegedly assaulted her in 2015. The Daily Beast then published an account from a female tech executive who alleged Noth had sexually assaulted her in 2010 at a New York City restaurant where she worked as a hostess and lounge singer. The actor – who was also fired from ‘The Equalizer’ and dropped by his talent agency in the wake of the claims – has denied the allegations. He said in response to the Hollywood Reporter piece: “The accusations against me made by individuals I met years, even decades, ago are categorically false. “These stories could’ve been from 30 years ago or 30 days ago — no always means no — that is a line I did not cross. It’s difficult not to question the timing of these stories coming out. I don’t know for certain why they are surfacing now, but I do know this: I did not assault these women.” Noth – who has been married to Tara Wilson since 2012 – also branded the third woman’s claim a “complete fabrication”. View the full article

Published by Reuters By James Oliphant WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The match-ups for several high-profile U.S. congressional and gubernatorial races in November’s midterm elections began to take shape in Pennsylvania and North Carolina on Tuesday. Here are three takeaways from the primary elections: ABORTION ON THE BALLOT Abortion rights will be a central issue in the open race for Pennsylvania’s governorship. Democrat Josh Shapiro, the state’s attorney general, ran unopposed in the Democratic primary in his bid to replace Democratic Governor Tom Wolf and has vowed to protect abortion rights against a Republican-controlled General Assembly that has proposed a series of anti-abortion bills. State Senator Doug Mastriano, who emerged the winner on Tuesday from a crowded Republican primary, has proposed a so-called heartbeat bill that would ban abortions after six weeks. He recently called abortion genocide and would not allow exceptions for rape, incest or the health of the mother. Shapiro quickly blasted Mastriano on Twitter as “the most extreme gubernatorial candidate in the country.” The state legislature has introduced a bill that would prevent the state Supreme Court from declaring abortion a right in the wake of a possible ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court that overturns the nationwide protections of its 1973 Roe v. Wade decision. That would send the issue of legalization back to the individual states. Joseph Foster, chairman of the Democratic Party in Montgomery County, the state’s largest suburban county, said Democrats will spend considerable time reminding voters ahead of November’s elections that the only thing standing in the way of strict abortion laws is a Democrat in the governor’s mansion. “If a Republican wins a governor seat, we are in deep trouble,” Foster said. FETTERMAN FOLLOWS THROUGH John Fetterman, the idiosyncratic, hoodie-wearing lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania, defeated U.S. Democratic Senate primary rival Conor Lamb in convincing fashion despite a health scare that took Fetterman off the campaign trail for the race’s final weekend. Now the road gets even tougher. No matter who wins the Republican U.S. Senate primary, expect a flurry of ads this summer labeling Fetterman a “socialist” and a “radical” in the mold of former presidential candidate Bernie Sanders. Fetterman supported Sanders’ 2016 presidential bid but has since sought to broaden his appeal, said Mike Mikus, a Democratic strategist in Pittsburgh. Analysts said Fetterman won on Tuesday with a populist persona that attracted both moderates and progressives, avoiding the kind of ideological mud-slinging that has plagued other Democratic primaries this year. He has made a particular effort to reach out to working-class voters in counties that Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump won by 35 percentage points or more in the 2020 election. With vote counting still under way, Fetterman’s most commanding leads were in rural counties where in many cases he led Lamb, a moderate congressman, by more than 50 points. That rural appeal may allow him to siphon some votes away from his Republican opponent in those counties. But ultimately, Fetterman will have to win the way Democrats usually win in the state, by playing to suburban voters in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, said Jacob Rubashkin, an elections analyst in Washington. Fetterman first has to reassure voters about his health after suffering a stroke last week. His campaign said a procedure on Monday to implant a pacemaker was successful and that Fetterman was on track for a “full recovery.” BIDEN’S BACKYARD President Joe Biden quickly congratulated Fetterman, his fellow Democrat, on Twitter after his primary win. The role Biden takes in the coming campaign will bear some watching. The president, born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, considers the state a second home, especially the Philadelphia region. Biden narrowly won the state in 2020 over Trump, after Trump won it four years earlier in a race against Hillary Clinton. But Biden’s popularity in the state has waned, as it has in much of the country. A poll conducted by Franklin & Marshall College earlier this month found that only one in three voters in the state approved of Biden’s job performance, including just 61% of Democrats. Fetterman was more popular among Democrats at 67%. Fetterman calls himself a “different kind of Democrat” and favors policies more in line with the progressive Sanders than the moderate Biden. Would an appearance by Biden on the trail clash with Fetterman’s anti-establishment image and do more harm than good? Or would Biden help Fetterman bring in the swing voters, Black voters and women he will need to prevail in the general election? That will be one drama hanging over the race in the next several months. (Reporting by James Oliphant; Additional reporting by Jarrett Renshaw in Newtown, Pennsylvania and Jason Lange in Washington; Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Howard Goller) View the full article

Published by Reuters WASHINGTON (Reuters) – First-term U.S. congressman Madison Cawthorn of North Carolina, an ally of former President Donald Trump who has drawn the ire of fellow Republicans over controversial remarks and a nude video, conceded to party primary challenger Chuck Edwards in his House of Representatives race, local news outlet WRAL and CNN reported on Tuesday. Edwards, a North Carolina state senator, will now face a Democratic opponent in the Nov. 8 general election in North Carolina’s 11th congressional district. Cawthorn, endorsed by Trump despite a series of controversies, is at age 26 the youngest member of Congress. (Writing by Makini Brice; Editing by Will Dunham and Ross Colvin) View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Miley Cyrus and Dolly Parton communicate with each other using fax. The 29-year-old pop singer and her godmother starred together in a Super Bowl commercial about 5G phones earlier this year – but the advert didn’t truly reflect Dolly’s real-life approach. During an appearance on ‘Late Night with Seth Meyers’, Miley shared: “It was amazing because, you know, she was doing it for the phones, yet every time I coordinate and kind of communicate with Dolly, it’s still through fax. “So I don’t know what she’s talking about. She’s rarely on the phone.” Seth, 48, joked that the Super Bowl commercial was an example of “false advertising”. The ‘Wrecking Ball’ hitmake then tried to clarify what she meant. She said: “Well, we do use the phone, but she does a fax, and then someone scans the fax, and then they put it into a text message, and then that gets sent to me, and it’s always signed.” Miley has also been encouraged by the country music icon to improve her own communication skills. She explained: “I’ve started to try and make my own letters because there’s something so amazing just about a connection. It’s just not casual. You know that she took the time to get out, I guess, her typewriter.” Meanwhile, Dolly previously praised Miley for starring in ‘Hannah Montana’. The singer – who also made guest appearances on the Disney show – shared: “When Hannah Montana came on the air, and little Miley Cyrus, my little goddaughter, was the star of it, I was so proud of her. “I thought she was sensational. I thought, ‘What a great little comedienne she is. And what a great little actress. And of course, she’s a great singer.” View the full article

Published by AFP Software 'bots' posing as people can spread misinformation and foment division while making social media audiences seem larger than they really are. San Francisco (AFP) – Elon Musk’s pausing of his bid to buy Twitter due to questions over “bots” has put the artificially-operated accounts at the heart of the proposed deal’s latest controversy. The software is so commonplace and can be such a problem that tech giants such as Meta, Google and Twitter have teams devoted to banishing bots and cybersecurity firms sell defenses against them. Here’s a closer look at bots: Human or software? At a basic level, “bots” are software programs that interact with online platforms, or their users, pretending to be real people, said Tamer Hassan, co-founder and chief of cybersecurity firm HUMAN. Malicious bots have become sophisticated and are among this decade’s top cyber threats, said Hassan, whose firm specializes in distinguishing people from software online. The term bots at Twitter is often used to describe fake accounts, powered by some version of artificial intelligence, that can fire off posts and even react to what is posted by others, said independent analyst Rob Enderle. Tickets and turmoil Bots are used in more than three quarters of security and fraud incidents that happen online, from spreading socially divisive posts to snapping up hot concert tickets and hacking, Hassan told AFP. “The question is, what would you do if you could look like a million humans?” Hassan asked rhetorically. “Across all social media platforms, bots can be used to spread content to influence people’s opinions, garner reactions and can even result in cybercrime.” Bots can be used on social media to widely spread false news, direct users to misinformation, steer people to specious websites and make bogus posts seem popular using shares or “likes.” Bots on social media can also sucker people into financial scams, Hassan added. “Social media platforms have had bots for a long time,” analyst Enderle said. “Bots have been connected to attempts to influence the US election and shape opinions about Russia’s war on Ukraine.” The deal with Twitter Twitter makes its money from ads, and marketers pay for reaching people, not software. “Advertising to bots isn’t going to have a good close rate because bots don’t buy products,” Enderle noted. If advertisers are paying Twitter fees based on how many people see ads, and those numbers are inflated due to bots in the online audience, they are being overcharged, Enderle added. If Twitter has way more bots than it is letting on, its revenue could plunge when those accounts are exposed and closed. Twitter chief executive Parag Agrawal has said that fewer than five percent of accounts active on any given day at Twitter are bots, but that analysis cannot be replicated externally due to the need to keep user data private. Musk posted that the real number of bots may be four times higher and has said he would make getting rid of them a priority if he owned the platform. Twitter has rules about automated actions by accounts, including barring software from posting about hot topics, firing off spam, attempting to influence online conversations, and operating across multiple accounts. Bots are a known social media problem, and having Musk make it a sticking point this late in the acquisition process appears to likely be “a vehicle to escape the purchase or get a lower price,” Enderle said. View the full article

Published by Reuters By Gabriella Borter (Reuters) -A Michigan judge on Tuesday granted a temporary injunction to block the enforcement of a state abortion ban, which might have taken effect if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns the Roe v. Wade precedent that legalized abortion nationwide. A Michigan Court of Claims judge in Lansing sided with women’s healthcare provider Planned Parenthood in its lawsuit against the state seeking to stop the potential enforcement of the ban, which was enacted in 1931 and rendered unconstitutional in 1973. The U.S. Supreme Court appears ready to overhaul the constitutional right to abortion. On May 2, the news outlet Politico published a leaked draft opinion by Justice Samuel Alito, which showed the court’s conservative majority intended to overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that established the right to abortion nationally. The court’s final decision is expected in June. Nine states, including Michigan, have abortion bans on the books that were enacted before the Roe v. Wade ruling, and which could potentially be enforced anew if Roe is overturned. “Forced pregnancy, and the concomitant compulsion to endure the medical and psychological risks accompanying it, contravene the right to make autonomous medical decisions,” Court of Claims Judge Elizabeth Gleicher wrote in her opinion. Michigan’s 1931 law criminalizes all abortions except in cases to save the pregnant woman’s life. Planned Parenthood and Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, filed lawsuits last month to prevent the law from taking effect. “Today’s ruling means all Michiganders will continue to be able to access the health care they deserve and to be able to decide for themselves their own futures,” Sarah Wallett, chief medical officer of Planned Parenthood of Michigan, said in a statement. Whitmer praised the judge’s decision on Tuesday, and said in a statement that the injunction “will help ensure that Michigan remains a place where women have freedom and control over their own bodies.” Whitmer added that she is still pressing the state Supreme Court to recognize the right to abortion under the state constitution to further protect abortion access, a campaign she began last month. A representative for Right to Life of Michigan, an anti-abortion group, called the judge’s ruling “egregious for many reasons” in a statement on Tuesday. John Bursch, senior counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom, said the judge had no jurisdiction to rule in the case as the defendant – state Attorney General Dana Nessel, a Democrat – was not defending the pre-Roe law. “Government officials have a duty to uphold the law and protect their citizens, including unborn children” Bursch said, adding that Right to Life of Michigan was considering next steps. (Reporting by Gabriella Borter; editing by Jonathan Oatis) View the full article

Published by Reuters By Maria Caspani (Reuters) – South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster this week signed a bill banning transgender athletes from playing school sports that match their gender identity, joining a number of Republican-led states that have enacted similar laws this year. The “Save Women’s Sports Act” first cleared the state’s House of Representatives last month after the Republican majority outlasted an estimated 1,000 amendments to the bill put forward by Democrats seeking to stall it. It passed the Republican-controlled Senate earlier this month. The measure signed into law by McMaster on Monday bars transgender girls and women from female sports teams in public elementary schools, middle schools, high schools and colleges, as well as private school teams that compete against public schools. The law was amended in the Senate to prohibit transgender boys and young men from competing on male school sports teams, “unless no team designated for females in that sport is offered at the school in which the student is enrolled.” Supporters of the law – and others like it – say it is necessary to ensure a level playing field in women’s sports. Opponents and LGBTQ advocates say the laws are cruel and unnecessary, because they address a problem that does not really exist given the small number of transgender athletes in school sports. “Transgender youth are not a threat to fairness in sports, and this law now needlessly stigmatizes young people who are simply trying to navigate their adolescence, make friends, and build skills like teamwork and leadership, winning and losing,” Ivy Hill, community health program director of Campaign for Southern Equality, said in a statement. As transgender rights have been pushed to the forefront of the U.S. culture wars, at least half a dozen states this year have passed or enacted legislation preventing transgender students from playing on school sports teams matching their gender identity. Louisiana and Alaska lawmakers are currently considering or advancing similar bills. (Reporting by Maria Caspani; Editing by Leslie Adler) View the full article

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Published by AFP Andy Warhol’s “Self Portrait” during a press preview on May 6, 2022 for the Macklowe Collection at Sotheby's in New York New York (AFP) – The famed Macklowe collection, subject of a bitter divorce battle between a New York property developer and his ex-wife, became the most expensive art collection ever sold at auction Monday. Sotheby’s sold its second offering of works from the collection for $246.1 million, bringing the total value of the group of paintings to $922.2 million, a spokesman told AFP. That exceeds the $835.1 million that the Rockefeller collection sold for in 2018, then the highest total ever made by a single private collection at auction. Among the highlights of Monday evening’s sale were Mark Rothko’s “Untitled,” which fetched $48 million and Gerhard Richter’s “Seestück””, which went for $30.2 million. Andy Warhol’s “Self Portrait” sold for $18.7 million while Willem de Kooning’s “Untitled” went for $17.8 million. Sotheby’s won the rights to sell the Macklowe works back in September. It sold 35 of the pieces in November for $676.1 million before selling the remaining 30 on Monday. Sotheby’s had described the paintings as the “most significant collection of modern and contemporary art to ever appear on the market.” During divorce proceedings, Harry Macklowe and his ex-wife Linda had been unable to agree on how much the vast collection was worth. A New York judge ruled in 2018 that the they should sell all 65 works and split the profits. View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Neil Patrick Harris has apologised for a resurfaced joke about Amy Winehouse. The 48-year-old actor has responded after backlash over a photo taken at a Halloween party he and his husband David Burtka threw in 2011 which included a meat platter labelled “The Corpse of Amy Winehouse”. The platter – which had ingredients including “beef ribs, pulled pork, chicken sausage in a spicy BBQ sauce – was made up to resemble the late ‘Rehab singer’, who had died three months earlier. On Monday (16.05.22), Neil said in a statement: “A photo recently resurfaced from a Halloween-themed party my husband and I hosted 11 years ago. “It was regrettable then, and it remains regrettable now. “Amy Winehouse was a once-in-a-generation talent, and I’m sorry for any hurt this image caused.” Last year, ‘The Big Bang Theory’ star Mayim Bialik revealed Neil stopped talking to her after she refused to give him a standing ovation following a performance of ‘Rent’. Explaining she isn’t a fan of musicals, she said: “I went to see ‘Rent’. I was friends with Neil Patrick Harris… this is a terrible story. I went to see Rent… I was a teenager and I did not… it wasn’t my thing. “But when your friend is in the play… and then everyone is clapping at the end and you say to your boyfriend next to you, ‘I don’t want to stand for this,’ and you look up and Neil Patrick Harris is looking right at you, it’s a bad day… “Neil was fantastic, he’s amazing, but I just wasn’t into the, ‘Let’s give a standing ovation,’ it wasn’t my thing, but that’s not a thing you say out loud, because Neil was reading my lips.” Mayim admitted she went backstage after the show and the ‘How I Met Your Mother’ star confronted her. She added: “We were friends at the time… at the time… and he said, I kid you not, ‘Why did you say you weren’t gonna stand up?’ “I did not have a good answer… “We didn’t speak for a long time. He says that he forgave me and he sent me flowers when he heard I was still carrying this terrible guilt. “I mean, I feel terrible. It just wasn’t my thing.” Neil responded on Twitter, and quipped: “Mayim Bialik and I have been friends for over 30 years. Her aversion to musical theater isn’t going to change that…” View the full article