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Easter marches continue across Germany on Easter Sunday
People turned out for traditional peace marches in several cities across Germany on Easter Sunday as the holiday weekend tradition continued.
Halle and Frankfurt-an-der-Oder on the Polish border were among the cities that held events on Sunday, according to the Peace Co-operative Network.
In the western state of North Rhine Westphalia, the Rhine-Ruhr Easter March made its way from the city of Essen to Wattenscheid on Sunday.
The motto of this year’s Easter marches is “Now more than ever – together for peace.”
Easter Sunday is generally considered the day with the lowest turnout. “I am satisfied,” Kristian Golla from the Peace Cooperative Network told dpa on Sunday.
The level of participation was roughly the same as last year or slightly higher, he added. It was still too early to name a nationwide total, however.
According to the organizers, the central themes are demands for negotiations in Russia’s war against Ukraine, which violates international law, as well as in the Gaza war. Protesters are also calling for nuclear disarmament and criticizing rising arms spending.
Thousands of participants already took to the streets in 70 German cities on Saturday.
In Cologne, for example, police reported that around 300 participants gathered on Roncalliplatz, a square near the cathedral, under the rallying motto “For a civilian turning point: End wars, stop armament!”
The motto used the term Chancellor Olaf Scholz coined, “Zeitenwende,” or turning point in Germany’s defence policy shortly after Russia launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine more than two years ago.
The peace demos will continue on Monday, with events planned Hamburg, Dresden, Frankfurt, Munich and other muncipalities in Germany.
Germany’s traditional Easter Marches emerged from last century’s pan-European peace movement calling for nuclear disarmament and protesting the arms race, with the first Easter march held in Britain in 1958.
This year, marchers in Germany have also been demanding a more fundamental rejection of the logic of war and militarization.
Crystal Mason says it’s her duty to continue voting rights advocacy
The Texas woman whose five-year sentence for voter fraud was thrown out by an appeals court Thursday said she plans to strengthen her efforts to promote voting rights.
“If anything we are ramping up now that I have been acquitted. There will be no stopping of any kind,” Crystal Mason said in a statement Friday to NBC News.
“Stopping now would mean my story doesn’t have legs, leverage and longevity,” she added. “It’s more than a passion, I feel it’s my duty.”
Mason was sentenced to prison in 2018 for voting illegally in the 2016 election, but testified that she did not know that she was ineligible to vote after being convicted of tax fraud in 2011. She said she had cast a provisional ballot with the help of a poll worker.
Her case garnered national attention, and an appeals court ultimately overturned her sentence. Second District Appeals Court Justice Wade Birdwell wrote in his decision Thursday that “finding Mason to be not credible — and disbelieving her protestation of actual knowledge — does not suffice as proof of guilt.”
In 2021, Mason founded Crystal Mason The Fight, a nonprofit that she described as “a testament to what black and brown people face not only with voter suppression but oppression in general.”
Mason said the organization has helped her “become an advocate for voter education, voter registration and voting rights as a whole.”
And now that she’s been acquitted, Mason said she is more inspired to push forward.
Mason said that “over 90% of my family members are now deputized registrars.” At “both local and national elections we are on the streets, in the communities educating, knocking doors and ensuring people exercise their rights.”
Leah Remini earns college degree at age 53: “It’s never too late to continue your education”
Former “King of Queens” actor Leah Remini has a message for those interested in pursuing a college degree later in life: “It’s never too late to continue your education.”
Remini, 53, posted on social media on Thursday that she received an associate’s degree from New York University —a feat she’s been working on for the past three years. Remini said she embarked on this “terrifying journey” after only having an eighth grade education and spending 35 years in a “totalitarian cult,” referring to the Church of Scientology.
“I desperately wanted a higher education for many years but didn’t move forward because I feared I was not smart enough,” she said. “Even though I had managed to leave Scientology, three decades of brainwashing still gripped my mind.”
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But thanks to the support of family and friends, she went ahead in her pursuit. The “So You Think You Can Dance?” judge told her fans that she’s now aiming to get a bachelor’s degree.
“Whether a cult used to control your life, you have a full-time job as a stay-at-home parent, or full-time job(s) outside of the home, it’s never too late to continue your education and pursue what you have always wanted to achieve for yourself!” she wrote.
Remini has been an outspoken critic of the Church of Scientology for years. She left the church in 2013 after being a member since childhood, and last year she sued the organization and its leader, David Miscavige, alleging she’s been the victim of harassment, intimidation, surveillance and defamation.
Earlier this month, a judge threw out parts of the lawsuit, Variety reported, saying some of the church’s attacks on her are protected under the First Amendment. However, the judge also found the church can’t claim protection under free speech for allegedly harassing and surveilling Remini or employees associated with her anti-Scientology podcast.
Christopher Brito
1 year after Evan Gershkovich’s arrest in Russia, Biden vows to “continue working every day” for his release
Washington — President Biden pledged Friday to “continue working every day” to secure the release of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich from Russian detention, as the American journalist’s time imprisoned in Russia hit the one-year mark.
“We will continue to denounce and impose costs for Russia’s appalling attempts to use Americans as bargaining chips,” Mr. Biden said in a statement released Friday that also mentioned the case of Paul Whelan, another U.S. citizen who has been held in Russia since 2018.
Gershkovich — whom the U.S. State Department deemed “wrongfully detained” soon after his arrest — is still awaiting a trial on espionage charges that the White House, his family and his employer all insist are fabricated, but which could still see him sentenced to decades in prison.
The U.S.-born son of Soviet emigres covered Russia for six years, as the Kremlin made independent, on-the-ground reporting increasingly dangerous and illegal.
NATALIA KOLESNIKOVA/AFP/Getty
His arrest in March 2023 on charges of spying — the first such charge against a Western journalist since the Soviet era — showed that the Kremlin was prepared to go further than ever before in what President Vladimir Putin has called a “hybrid war” with the West.
The Journal and the U.S. government dismiss the espionage allegations as a false pretext to keep Gershkovich locked up, likely to use him as a bargaining chip in a future prisoner exchange deal.
Putin said last month that he would like to see Gershkovich released as part of a prisoner swap, but the Biden administration has said Moscow rejected the most recent exchange offer presented to it.
The 32-year-old, who has been remanded in custody until at least the end of June, faces up to 20 years in prison if found guilty.
The Gershkovich family said in a letter published by the Wall Street Journal on Friday that they would pursue their campaign for his release.
“We never anticipated this situation happening to our son and brother, let alone a full year with no certainty or clear path forward,” they said. “But despite this long battle, we are still standing strong.”
Gershkovich reported extensively on how ordinary Russians experienced the Ukraine conflict, speaking to the families of dead soldiers and Putin critics. Breaking stories and getting people to talk was becoming increasingly hard, Gershkovich told friends before his arrest.
But as long as it was not impossible, he saw a reason to be there.
“He knew for some stories he was followed around and people he talked to would be pressured not to talk to him,” Guardian correspondent Pjotr Sauer, a close friend, told AFP. “But he was accredited by the foreign ministry. I don’t think any of us could see the Russians going as far as charging him with this fake espionage.”
Speaking to CBS News’ Leslie Stahl last week, the reporter’s sister Danielle said the family back in the U.S. was still worried, despite Gershkovich’s repeated assurances to them of his accreditation, which he thought would keep him safe, as it always had.
But as Stahl reported, what used to be unprecedented in Russia has become almost routine under Putin. Gershkovich is only the most recent American to inadvertently become a pawn on Putin’s geopolitical chessboard against the West.
Whelan, a U.S. Marine veteran, has been jailed in Russia for five years. Russian-American ballerina Ksenia Karelina was arrested in January, accused of treason for helping Ukraine. And basketball star Brittney Griner, imprisoned for nine months on drug charges, was finally freed in an exchange for a notorious arms dealer known as the “Merchant of Death.”
Recovery efforts continue for Baltimore bridge workers
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Protests against arrest of one of top rivals of Indian Prime Minister Modi continue for second day
NEW DELHI (AP) — Hundreds of protesters in India’s capital took to the streets for a second day Saturday, demanding the immediate release of one of the top rivals of the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as the country gears up for a national election next month.
Arvind Kejriwal, New Delhi’s top elected official and one of the country’s most consequential politicians of the past decade, was arrested by the federal Enforcement Directorate Thursday night. The agency, controlled by Modi’s government, accused his party and ministers of accepting 1 billion rupees ($12 million) in bribes from liquor contractors nearly two years ago.
His Aam Aadmi Party, or Common Man’s Party, denied the accusations and said Friday Kejriwal would remain Delhi’s chief minister as it took the matter to court.
Kejriwal was taken into custody for seven days following a court order on Friday.
Kejriwal’s wife, Sunita, had a message Saturday she said was from her detained husband. Posted on the AAP party X account, the message relayed Kerijwal as saying he wasn’t surprised by the arrest for he has “struggled a lot” and warning against “several forces within and outside India that are weakening the country.”
Chanting: “Kejriwal is Modi’s doom” and “Dictatorship won’t be tolerated,” protesters accused Modi on Saturday of governing the country under a state of emergency — a claim the opposition has long professed — and using federal law enforcement agencies to stifle opposition parties before the election.
APP leader and chief minister of neighboring Punjab state, Bhagwant Mann, joined the protest alongside some cabinet ministers.
“(Kejriwal’a arrest) is a murder of democracy,” Balbir Singh, Punjab’s health minister told The Associated Press. “For opposition leaders, jail is the rule and bail is the exception,” he added. Singh also accused Modi’s ruling party to “have turned the rule of law upside down.”
Lily Tiga, a protester said when “a person who does good, fights for truth, fights for the downtrodden and poor is arrested, it’s not only unfortunate, it is a time to mourn for this country.”
Some demonstrators tried to move the protest to the main street in central Delhi. But police, some in riot gear, blocked them and detained at least three dozen protesters.
On Friday, hundreds of AAP supporters and some senior party leaders clashed with the police, who whisked a number of them away in buses.
In the lead-up to the general election , starting April 19, India’s opposition parties have accused the government of misusing its power to harass and weaken its political opponents, pointing to a spree of raids, arrests and corruption investigations against key opposition figures. Meanwhile, some probes against erstwhile opposition leaders who later defected to Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party have been dropped.
Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party, or BJP, denies targeting the opposition and says law enforcement agencies act independently.
Kejriwal’s AAP is part of a broad alliance of opposition parties called INDIA, the main challenger to Modi’s BJP in the coming election.
His arrest is another setback for the bloc, and came after the country’s main opposition Congress party accused the government Thursday of freezing its bank accounts in a tax dispute to cripple it. This has led to a rare show of strength by the opposition figures who slammed the move as undemocratic and accused Modi’s party of misusing the agency to undermine them.
In 2023, the agency arrested Kejriwal’s deputy, Manish Sisodia, and AAP lawmaker Sanjay Singh as part of the same case. Both remain in jail.
Over 70 Gazans killed in 24 hours as Israeli attacks continue
Israel says its army is continuing attacks on Hamas targets in Gaza and more than 70 Palestinians were killed in the embattled coastal area in the past 24 hours.
The Israeli air force on Friday struck some 35 targets on Friday, including operational command centres, military posts and “the infrastructure of terrorist organizations,” the military said on Saturday, claiming that dozens of enemy fighters had been killed in ground battle and airstrikes in the Gaza Strip over the past day.
The information could not initially be independently verified.
Amid the ongoing fighting, 72 Palestinians were killed in the past 24 hours, and 144 more injured, according to the health authority in Gaza.
This brings the total number of Palestinian fatalities in the latest Gaza war to 32,142, plus 74,412 injured, according to the Hamas-controlled agency.
The numbers are currently impossible to verify though many more people are believed to be buried under the rubble, with rescue services unable to access them due to the ongoing fighting.
Israeli forces are also continuing their operation in Gaza City’s a-Shifa hospital, according to the army, where they have so far killed more than 170 fighters, questioned 800 suspects and found numerous weapons as well as terrorism infrastructure.
It also wasn’t possible to verify this claim. The Israeli army entered Gaza’s largest hospital, now largely non-operational, on Monday for a second time since the beginning of the war to target suspected Hamas fighters.
As SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes continue, some are feeling financially strained
In recent weeks, entertainment industry workers have expressed dismay on social media over a quote published by the trade publication Deadline that was attributed to an unnamed studio executive: “The endgame is to allow things to drag on until union members start losing their apartments and losing their houses,” the executive was quoted as saying.
In a statement Tuesday, the AMPTP said the leading entertainment companies “remain committed to finding a path to mutually beneficial deals with both Unions and returning the industry to work.”
The writers and actors on strike are seeking higher base compensation, stricter safeguards against artificial intelligence and other changes to the status quo.
“We’re not enjoying this. We’re not doing this because we make a s—load of money and we want more money. We’re doing this because AI is a huge issue, because people might lose work,” said Paul Varacchi, a SAG-AFTRA stunt performer and fight coordinator whose television credits include “The Good Fight” and “Daredevil.”
Varacchi, 45, feels like he has been taking it on the chin all year. He used to supplement his stunt work with a job at Disney on a team that oversees Covid health and safety protocols on sets. He was laid off in early June amid companywide cuts.
Then came the strike, which he feels has put his performance career “on pause” indefinitely. “I’ve kind of lost everything, including my side hustle,” he said, referring to his former job at Disney. He and his wife have a newborn daughter, and their household expenses are on the rise at a particularly inopportune time.
Dana Morgan, a SAG-AFTRA stunt performer and actor who has worked on TV shows like “Dead Ringers” and “Madam Secretary,” said she and her husband are dipping into their savings to survive. He got a job at a restaurant to help pay the bills. She is having a difficult time finding remote work. She’s on a waitlist for a gig with Uber Eats.
The strike exacted a cost on Morgan’s side hustle, too. In addition to her on-screen career, she acts as a liaison between physical locations and productions hoping to shoot there. But because the vast majority of film and television projects are on hold, so is that secondary source of income.
Morgan, who lives in Staten Island, expects she and her husband will have all but depleted their savings by September.
The SAG-AFTRA Foundation, a nonprofit organization that supports actors during crises, processed more than 30 times its typical number of applications for emergency aid last week, according to a statement from the organization’s president, Emmy-winning actor Courtney B. Vance.
“Our Emergency Financial Assistance Program is here to ensure that performers in need don’t lose their homes, have the ability to pay for utilities, buy food for their families, purchase life-saving prescriptions, cover medical bills and more,” Vance said. “It’s a massive challenge, but we’re determined to meet this moment.”
The foundation raised more than $15 million in July thanks to donations from George Clooney, Leonardo DiCaprio, Dwayne Johnson, Julia Roberts, Meryl Streep, Oprah Winfrey and other A-list stars.
“I remember my days as a waiter, cleaner, typist, even my time on the unemployment line,” Streep said in a statement. “In this strike action, I am lucky to be able to support those who will struggle in a long action to sustain against Goliath.”
Corey Dashaun, a third-year WGA member who was credited on the Peacock series “One of Us Is Lying,” described the last few months as an emotional “roller coaster” that has tested the resilience of early-career screenwriters — especially Black and queer creators like himself. (Peacock and NBC News are both owned by NBCUniversal.)
The strikes have upended the entertainment business “right as we’re finally getting opportunities to get in the door,” said Dashaun, 34, who lives in Los Angeles. “It’s demoralizing to try to build a successful career right now.”
Dashaun has managed to live off a “nest egg” of earnings he generated from writing jobs before the strike, he said, but “I by no means feel comfortable that my savings will last unless we go back to work soon.”
In interviews, WGA and SAG-AFTRA members were frank about the financial toll of the strike but firm in their resolve to keep fighting. It’s a sentiment that has been echoed by many of the industry’s “below-the-line” workers, a category that includes hairdressers, costume designers, camera operators, carpenters and other professionals represented by different unions, such as the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees.
Morgan said the strike “absolutely needed to happen,” in part because her SAG-AFTRA peers are forcefully pushing back against what she describes as a systemic problem in the business: more work for less pay and an increasingly smaller slice of corporate profits.
“The pain that we are suffering financially is a short-term sacrifice for something that’s going to help us in the long run,”she said. “We’ll survive.”