04-03-2019

INTERNATIONAL MONDAY,
MARCH 4, 2019
7
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., greets supporters as arrives to kick off his second presidential campaign
Saturday, March 2, 2019, in the Brooklyn borough of New York.
Photo : AP
Sanders returns to NY roots,
says he can defeat Trump
Bernie Sanders kicked off his presidential
campaign Saturday miles from the
rent-controlled apartment where he
grew up in Brooklyn and forcefully
made the case that he is nothing like
fellow New Yorker Donald Trump, proclaiming
himself the Democrat best
prepared to beat the incumbent in
2020, reports UNB.
"My experience as a child, living in a
family that struggled economically,
powerfully influenced my life and my
values. I know where I came from,"
Sanders boomed in his unmistakable
Brooklyn accent. "And that is something
I will never forget."
The Democrats in the 2020 race have
taken varied approaches to Trump,
with some avoiding saying his name
entirely, while others make implicit critiques
of his presidency. Sanders has
never shied from jabbing Trump in
stark terms, and during his speech at
Brooklyn College, he called Trump "the
most dangerous president in modern
American history" and said the president
wants to "divide us up."
The Vermont senator positioned
himself in opposition to Trump administration
policies from immigration to
climate change. Beyond the issues
themselves, Sanders, who grew up in
the heavily Jewish neighborhood of
Flatbush in a middle-class family, drew
a stark contrast between himself and
the billionaire in the White House who
hails from Queens.
"I did not have a father who gave me
millions of dollars to build luxury skyscrapers,
casinos and country clubs,"
said Sanders, who has lived in Vermont
for decades. He pegged his allowance as
a kid at 25 cents a week.
Sanders also said he "did not come
from a family of privilege that prepared
me to entertain people on television by
telling workers, 'You're fired.'"
"I came from a family who knew all
too well the frightening power employers
can have over every day workers,"
he added.
More than 200 miles away in suburban
Washington, Trump reveled in his
2016 victory and said Republicans
"need to verify it in 2020 with an even
bigger victory."
While Trump didn't mention Sanders
explicitly in a two-hour speech, he
New Orleans police
2 killed, 6 injured
after car hits crowd
Two people have been killed and six injured after
being struck by a vehicle on a busy New Orleans
thoroughfare Saturday evening, authorities said,
reports UNB.
Police Superintendent Shaun Ferguson told
local media that a suspect is in custody following
the incident that happened about 8 p.m. Saturday
along a multiple-block stretch of Esplanade
Ave.
Ferguson said the suspect is being tested to
determine whether he was intoxicated. His identity
was not released. The police chief said
bystanders in the area were the ones who
stopped the driver.
"We were able to apprehend the subject so
quickly because citizens stopped this individual,
because they thought they were helping someone
who had just been involved in a one-car
accident," Ferguson said.
EMS spokesman Jonathan Fourcade said a
man and a woman - both about 30 years old -
were killed. The injured ranged in age from 28 to
65. Five of the injured were taken to the hospital
while one refused treatment, Fourcade said.
Photographs of the scene showed mangled
bikes along the side of the street.
One onlooker, Dane Barrymore, told The New
Orleans Advocate that he was smoking a cigarette
outside a market when he saw a dark sports
car speeding down the street. The driver
swerved into the bike lane to try to go around a
vehicle.
"It just happened there were people there -
bicyclists," Barrymore said. Barrymore said he
saw two women and one man get struck. He
said he went to help but it quickly became
apparent that one of the women and the man
didn't survive. The vehicle sped off down the
block, hit another vehicle and then spun out
into the median, Barrymore told the newspaper.
The incident happened not far from the
Endymion parade, one of the city's biggest Mardi
Gras parades.
Two damaged bicycles lay in the street as New Orleans Police Department
officers respond to a fatal hit and run accident along Esplanade Avenue in
Bayou St. John in New Orleans, Saturday, March 2, 2019. Authorities say
several people have been killed and others injured after being struck by a
vehicle on a busy New Orleans thoroughfare.
Photo : AP
railed against the policies of "socialism"
in a continued attempt to portray
Democrats as out of touch with ordinary
Americans. Sanders is a selfdescribed
democratic socialist.
"Socialism is not about the environment,
it is not about justice, it is not
about virtue. It is only about one thing -
it is called power for the ruling class,"
Trump said. "We know the future does
not belong to those who believe in
socialism"
Speaking at the same conference Friday,
Vice President Mike Pence called
Sanders an "avowed socialist."
Sanders enters the race at a moment
that bears little resemblance to when he
waged his long-shot bid in 2016.
Democrats have been mobilized by the
election of Trump and are seeking a
standard-bearer who can oust him
from office. Many of Sanders' populist
ideas have been embraced by the mainstream
of the Democratic party. The
field of Democrats that he joins
includes a number of liberal candidates,
most notably Senator Elizabeth
Warren of Massachusetts, who share
similar sensibilities.
Trump says he'll issue
order protecting campus
free speech
President Donald Trump
announced Saturday he
would soon sign an executive
order requiring colleges
and universities to support
free speech if they want federal
resources, reports UNB.
Trump is highlighting
concerns from some conservatives
that their voices
were being censored,
whether on social media or
at the nation's universities.
He did not go into more
detail about what the order
would say, but his comments
immediately drew
scrutiny from those who
noted that public research
universities already have a
constitutional obligation to
protect free speech.
"An executive order is
unnecessary as public
research universities are
already bound by the First
Amendment, which they
deeply respect and honor,"
said Peter McPherson, president
of the Association of
Public and Land-Grant Universities.
"It is core to their
academic mission."
Trump invited Hayden
Williams to join him Saturday
while he addressed
activists attending the Conservative
Political Action
Conference. Williams was
punched Feb. 19 while on
the campus of University of
California, Berkeley. He was
recruiting for the conservative
group Talking Points
USA. Two men approached
and one punched him during
a confrontation captured
on student cellphones.
University of California,
Berkeley police arrested a
suspect, Zachary Greenberg,
on Friday. Williams,
who had a black eye, told
Fox News that the men
objected to a sign that said
"Hate Crime Hoaxes Hurt
Real Victims."
Neither Williams nor
Greenberg are affiliated
with UC Berkeley. Trump
told the audience Saturday
that Williams "took a hard
punch in the face for all of
us."
Pritzker Prize,
Irish-born architect
Kevin Roche dies
The acclaimed Irish-born
architect Kevin Roche has
died, leaving his mark on
world-class buildings from
New York's Metropolitan
Museum of Art and the city's
Museum of Jewish Heritage
to airports in New York and
Washington, reports UNB.
A spokesman for his architectural
firm says Roche
died Friday at 96 of natural
causes at his home in Guilford,
Connecticut.
Roche designed more than
200 buildings around the
world, winning the Pritzker
prize - the equivalent of the
Nobel for architecture.
His work includes corporate
headquarters, scientific
research facilities, plus theaters,
a zoo, and various new
wings for the Met museum
along with a master plan.
In his native Ireland, he
created the Convention Centre
Dublin.
Estonians head to
polls with populist
party seen rising
Estonians have started voting
in a parliamentary election
in the small Baltic
nation in a ballot where
Prime Minister Juri Ratas
and his Center Party are pitted
against the center-right
opposition Reform Party
and where populists are seen
making inroads, reports
UNB.
Sunday's vote in the NATO
and the European Union
member of 1.3 million comes
as the far-right, nationalist
Estonian Conservative People's
Party, EKRE, has substantially
increased its popularity
since the 2015 election.
Both main contenders
wish to keep it at bay.
Nearly a million voters are
eligible to elect representatives
for the next four years
to the 101-seat Riigikogu legislature.
No charges for police who shot
22-year-old California man
Two Sacramento police officers won't face
criminal charges for the fatal shooting of a
black man following a chase that ended in his
grandparents' yard and started a series of
angry protests that roiled California's capital
city, the county's top prosecutor announced
Saturday following a nearly yearlong investigation,
reports UNB.
Officers Terrance Mercadal and Jared
Robinet acted within the law when they shot
22-year-old Stephon Clark seven times,
Sacramento County District Attorney Anne
Marie Schubert concluded, noting that the
evidence supported their account that Clark
was moving toward them when they opened
fire.
Schubert said the evidence, including their
reactions captured on body cameras, supported
the officers' statements that they
thought Clark was pointing a gun.
It turned out Clark was holding only a cellphone.
His family and their supporters
expressed anger and disappointment, and
accused Schubert of unnecessarily revealing
grim details of Clark's personal life.
"Whatever his character is or his
actions prior to those officers gunning
him down, is no one's business," said
Clark's mother, SeQuette, who had a
brief and contentious meeting with
Schubert before the DA made her
announcement. "It's not justification.
That's not a permit to kill him."
Schubert said the decision not to file
charges against the officers "does not diminish
in any way the tragedy," adding that "We
cannot ignore that there is rage within our
community."
Before Schubert had finished speaking,
Black Lives Matter began a demonstration
where about 100 people eventually protested
peacefully in chilly rain outside Sacramento's
police headquarters.
The shooting last March prompted larger
demonstrations. Protesters twice disrupted
games for the NBA's Sacramento Kings,
including one where they blocked thousands
of fans from entering. That game was played
in a nearly empty arena.
Schubert repeatedly apologized for raising
the personal details during her hour-long
presentation.
She revealed Clark was facing possible jail
time after a domestic violence complaint two
days earlier from Salena Manni, the mother
of his two children. He also had researched
suicide websites including those that suggested
using a tranquilizer, which was
among several drugs found in his system
after his death.
In this Tuesday, March 27, 2018 file photo, Stevante Clark stands on a desk
as he shouts the name of his brother Stephon Clark, who was fatally shot
by police a week earlier, during a meeting of the Sacramento City Council
in Sacramento, Calif. Prosecutors are expected to announce Saturday,
March 1 whether two police officers will face charges in last year's fatal
shooting in Sacramento of an unarmed black man that generated
nationwide protests.
Photo : AP
Brazil's Lula leaves prison
for grandson's funeral
Former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio
Lula da Silva left prison Saturday to
attend his 7-year-old grandson's funeral,
taking advantage of his temporary
release to reiterate his innocence before
political leaders and relatives who had
gathered to mourn, reports UNB.
Da Silva, who is serving a 12-year sentence
for corruption and money laundering,
was released at 7 a.m. local time
from a prison in the Parana state capital
of Curitiba. He then flew to Sao
Paulo by plane before taking a helicopter
to Sao Bernardo do Campo, where
the funeral took place.
He will return to his cell later in the
afternoon.
A note on da Silva's website said he
spoke at the funeral.
"Ex-President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva
said at his grandson's funeral that
when they meet in heaven, he will bring
proof of his innocence for all the bullying
that Arthur suffered in school for
having a grandfather in prison," the
note said, adding that da Silva said he
Jordan, UK launch mechanism
to follow up on London deals
Jordan and Britain on Saturday launched a follow-up mechanism
to ensure that commitments in London to provide
Jordan with loans, grants and loan guarantees are delivered.
The two countries launched the Jordan Task Force, which
is a joint effort between Britain, Jordan, donors, private sector,
civil society and international financial institutions and
chaired by the governments of the two sides, reports UNB.
The committee will convene every six months to review
outcomes and provide suggestions to maximise the effect on
Jordan's growth, according to a statement by Jordan's Ministry
of Planning.
On the private sector, the two countries will work closely
together to follow up with the business interest raised in London
in order to turn it into investment.
During the London event, Germany announced it will provide
Jordan with 460 million euros (523.37 million U.S. dollars)
in assistance in 2019, while the European Investment
Bank said it will provide the kingdom with more than 800
millions euros in assistance and loans over the next two
years.
The EU said it will provide soft loan for Jordan totaling 1.6
billion euros over the next two years.
Britain also announced that it will underwrite a 250-million-dollar
loan for Jordan to help reduce its public debt,
which currently represents 94 percent of the gross domestic
product. Enditem.
would prove that the prosecutor and
judge who jailed him had lied.
"Lula was very sad, in a lot of pain,
destroyed inside, like any human being
who has to bury their child who dies in
a tragic way," Joao Pedro Stedile, coordinator
of the far-left Landless Workers'
Movement, told The Associated
Press. "But politically, it's impressive...he
said to us, 'Stay strong, I'm
going to get out, I am innocent.'"
Da Silva's grandson, Arthur Lula da
Silva, died of meningitis Friday. Arthur
is the child of Sandro Luis Lula da Silva,
one of the sons of the ex-president.
The funeral marked the first time da
Silva has left prison since being jailed in
April 2018.
Leaders from the Workers' Party,
including ex-President Dilma Rousseff,
came to pay their respects, while
around 200 supporters gathered outside
the cemetery chanting, "Free
Lula!" Others said that the man popularly
known as Lula should not have
been allowed to attend.
"Lula is just an inmate and he should
be at a common prison. When the relatives
of other inmates die will they also
be escorted by the federal police for the
funeral?" President Jair Bolsonaro's
son, Eduardo Bolsonaro, wrote on
Twitter on Friday. "It is absurd to even
contemplate that. It only lets him pose
as a poor thing."
He later deleted the tweet.
In January, da Silva wasn't allowed to
go to his brother's funeral despite
Brazilian laws which grant inmates permission
to leave for the funerals of close
family members.
Da Silva's arrest has divided the
country: Some believe justice is being
served to a corrupt politician, while
others say he's been unfairly persecuted
by Brazil's elite and a partisan judiciary.
Da Silva served as president between
2003 and 2010. He was poised to run
for president again in October's election
but was barred due to his criminal
conviction. His Workers' Party says he
is a political prisoner.
Three killed in shooting in
Mexican resort of Cancun
Three people were killed and another was injured in a shooting
Saturday near a hotel zone in Mexico's famed Caribbean
resort of Cancun, authorities said, reports UNB.
The shooting occurred around 1 p.m. local time, in broad
daylight, on Bonampak Avenue in downtown Cancun, home
to restaurants and bars that are popular with tourists staying
in the nearby hotel zone.
Surveillance cameras captured the moment of the attack,
which happened when cars were stopped at a red light.
The footage shows an assailant armed with what looks like
an automatic weapon got out of a white car and walked over
to a white pick-up. He then raised the weapon and fired
through the windows, before getting back in the car.
One of the victims died inside the vehicle. The other two
died at the hospital. The driver was injured and is undergoing
treatment.
Officials in Quintana Roo state, where Cancun is located,
said the victims were from Mexico's central state of Michoacan.
It was a "direct attack between two rival groups," the
authorities said. Quintana Roo Police Chief Alberto Capella
said via Twitter that "no tourists or bystanders were injured
in the attack."
Bonampak Avenue connects downtown Cancun with the
hotel zone. Police attending to the scene closed the hotel
zone's main avenue for nearly an hour while detectives collected
evidence.