USA

BROOKLYN CENTER, Minn. (AP) — Daunte Wright’s family joined community leaders in demanding more severe charges against the white former police officer who fatally shot the young Black man in a Minneapolis suburb, where hundreds of protesters again filled the streets in front of the police station.

The protesters — shouting obscenities, shaking the police station’s security fence and occasionally lobbing water bottles — began thinning out as the 10 p.m. curfew approached in Brooklyn Center.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Eight people were shot and killed in a late-night shooting at a FedEx facility in Indianapolis, and the shooter killed himself, police said.

Several other people were injured Thursday night when gunfire erupted at the facility near the Indianapolis International Airport, police spokesperson Genae Cook said.

At least four were hospitalized, including one person with critical injuries. Another two people were treated and released at the scene, she said.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Former Officer Derek Chauvin ’s trial in George Floyd’s death will be in a jury’s hands by early next week, after his brief defense wrapped up with Chauvin passing on a chance to take the stand and tell the public for the first time what he was thinking when he pressed his knee against Floyd’s neck.

CHICAGO (AP) — Disturbing bodycam video released after public outcry over the Chicago police shooting of a 13-year-old boy shows the youth appearing to drop a handgun and begin raising his hands less than a second before an officer fires his gun and kills him.

14 Apr 2021; MEMO: US President Joe Biden's administration has confirmed the $23 billion weapons deal with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), including advanced F-35 jets, armed drones, and other weapons, reported Reuters.

15 Apr 2021; MEMO: The United States and the European countries party to the Iran nuclear deal yesterday pushed back against Tehran's decision to enrich uranium at 60 per cent purity, with a top US diplomat calling the move "provocative" and questioning Iran's seriousness about talks, Reuters reported.

UNITED NATIONS, Apr 15 (APP): The top official for the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) has strongly condemns acts of anti-Muslim hatred that took place in Western France where vandals defaced the walls of a mosque with Islamophobic graffiti two days ahead of the start of the holy month of Ramazan.

A statement issued on Wednesday by UNAOC’s spokesperson said that the High Representative for the alliance, Miguel Ángel Moratinos expressed his solidarity with the Muslim community in France and beyond and wishes them a blessed and peaceful Ramadan.

UNITED NATIONS, April 15 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The humanitarian and economic crisis unleashed by the eruption of the La Soufriere volcano on the Caribbean island of Saint Vincent will last months and could extend to nearby islands, a UN official warned.

“It is a crisis that will require a humanitarian response but also a response in terms of rehabilitation” which could last for several months, said Didier Trebucq, the United Nations coordinator for Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken flew to Kabul on Thursday to show support for the Afghan government a day after U.S. President Joe Biden announced that he was pulling out U.S. forces after nearly 20 years of war.

Biden’s decision precipitated a decision by NATO allies to withdraw their troops as well, even as the government of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani remains embroiled in fierce fighting with Taliban insurgents and a U.S.-backed peace process shrouded in uncertainty.

LOS ANGELES, April 14 (Xinhua) -- A research project led by the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) found that neighborhoods in Los Angeles County with poor air quality had the highest death rates from the coronavirus.

The paper, titled "Spatial Analysis of COVID-19 and Traffic-Related Air Pollution in Los Angeles" from the Fielding School of Public Health, was scheduled to be published in the August edition of the peer-reviewed journal Environment International, and is now available online.