Tag: year

Merrie Monarch, Hawaii’s biggest hula festival, is honoring Lahaina wildfire victims this year


Jayda Lum Lung will dance a traditional hula in honor of Lahaina wildfire victims at Hawaii’s biggest hula competition of the year. Her hand movements will flow gracefully to symbolize the winds, rains and mountains, she said, and the dance itself will tell a story of the sacred land.

Lung, whose family was at home the morning of Aug. 8 and barely escaped the fires, is a returning participant to the Merrie Monarch Festival, a weeklong cultural event in Hilo, Hawaii, every spring. The hula competition, which runs April 4-6, features the best hālau hula, or hula schools, from across the country, and this year performers will pay special tribute to Maui with dances and songs in the Hawaiian language.

“The mele [song] for Kahiko [traditional hula] and ‘Auana [modern hula] are about Lahaina. When I dance it, when we practice every time, it just gives me a special sense of connection and it makes me so proud to be from Lahaina,” Lung said. “I hope to bring a sense of hope for Lahaina, and to remind everyone that we can do this together and we are going to come out stronger.”

Merrie Monarch Hula Festival
Hula teacher Manu Boyd chants at the annual Merrie Monarch Hula Festival in Hilo, Hawaii, in 2007.Tim Wright / AP file

Four hālaus from Maui were invited to the festival this year: Hālau Hula Kauluokalā, Hālau o Ka Hanu Lehua, Hālau Kekuaokalā‘au‘ala‘iliahi and Hālau Nā Lei Kaumaka o Uka.

Seven dancers in the Merrie Monarch lineup from Hālau o Ka Hanu Lehua lost their homes in the fires.

“We have a mother and three daughters who are struggling financially to dance,” said Kamaka Kukona, Hālau o Ka Hanu Lehua’s kumu hula (master hula teacher), about a family fighting to make ends meet after the fire. “But we have raised money for them to be able to go.”

“We have two sisters who are originally from Catalina Island who sacrificed everything to live in Maui, to dance hula — they lost their home. We have a young, 15-year-old girl whose family lost their home. Somehow, we are managing to pull it all together,” Kukona added.

At Hālau Hula Kauluokalā, Lung is one of two dancers whose families were displaced by the wildfires. Their boat ramp on Kahana Beach, 9 miles north of the historic Lahaina town, became a delivery hub for supplies in the following days.

“I feel like when I dance hula, when I dance in general, it clears my mind in a way,” Lung said. “I’m not seeking anything except for the hulas that I’m dancing and it’s a nice way to escape.”

Other hālaus have chosen to dedicate their performance to survivors like Lung’s family.

“We are humbled to take Lahaina to the Merrie Monarch stage this year, a kuleana [responsibility] we do not take lightly,” Napua Silva, Hālau Nā Lei Kaumaka o Uka’s kumu hula, wrote on Facebook. “It is our hope, e ko Lahaina, that when you watch us, you see you. You see the great aloha you have for your home and the great aloha we have for you.”

The Merrie Monarch Festival is also creating an opportunity for the audience to directly support recovery efforts. Organizers are providing free admission to the Wednesday-night Ho’ike performances in return for donations at the door toward Maui wildfire relief funds.

Dancers perform an ancient hula at the annual Merrie Monarch Hula Festiva
Dancers perform an ancient hula at the annual Merrie Monarch Hula Festival in Hilo, Hawaii, in 2007.Tim Wright / AP file

The stage is not the only place where Maui and Lahaina will be represented. Lahainaluna High School students, who could not return to the classroom for two months due to environmental concerns, will be able to watch the hālaus from a special spot backstage.

“To give these students that real-life experience that nobody in the general public gets to have … it’s going to increase their passion for hula,” Lahainaluna High School Kumu Hula Eva Palakiko said.

And that hula is providing a safe space for the community to heal.

“I can confidently say at least 90% of my students who are going have either lost their home or cannot currently live in their home,” Palakiko said. “This trip for them would be a trip of healing. It’s just a time for them to disconnect from the strain and pressures of their daily lives.”



Source link

Malaysia’s Plan to Cut Subsidies This Year Hits a Speed Bump


(Bloomberg) — The Malaysian government’s long-awaited plan to cut fuel subsidies this year and tighten its finances has hit a major speed bump: Most citizens aren’t cooperating.

Most Read from Bloomberg

Less than half of Malaysians have updated their income details in a government database that will enable authorities to determine where handouts should be directed once the nation limits subsidies on the cheapest form of gasoline. Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli said this week he expects the number of registrations to increase to 10 million — or about 50% of the population aged 21 and above — by the March 31 deadline.

The low take-up rate — fueled in part by worries over data security — is a cause for concern. Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim needs to undo hefty subsidies to boost investors’ confidence in the country, with the Malaysian ringgit languishing near a 26-year low. The government estimates savings of at least $1 billion to $2 billion dollars a year from a shift to handouts that target only the needy.

“The situation is not ideal for the government and could result in more teething issues,” said Lavanya Venkateswaran, an economist at Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp.

As of Wednesday, about 40% of the target group had signed up with the Economy Ministry’s consolidated database, known as Padu. Policymakers need sufficient data to decide who would be eligible for government aid.

Anwar rose to power in late 2022, promising to improve investor confidence by cutting down on wastage and leakages. But economic growth last year undershot official estimates and the prime minister’s approval ratings have already taken a hit.

The government currently has limited fiscal space and “needs to implement fiscal reforms so that it rests on a sustainable and intact foundation,” Anwar said in a post on X on Wednesday.

Such reforms will focus on targeted subsidies and expanding the revenue base to improve the people’s welfare, he said. Malaysia intends to narrow its budget deficit to 4.3% of gross national product this year, from 5% last year.

Trust Deficit

Padu’s hiccups risk exacerbating the government’s woes. Rafizi said he will rely on existing data from other government agencies for Malaysians who failed to sign up by the end of the month, adding that this ran the risk of using out-of-date information.

But even that may not be enough.

“The precise subsidy distribution channel is still largely unknown, so there is a greater risk of mis-targeting without a completed Padu database,” said Firdaos Rosli, chief economist at Ambank M Bhd. “That said, the government could mitigate this by clarifying the ceiling of the subsidy bill they intend to spend this year.”

Malaysia spent about 81 billion ringgit ($17 billion) on subsidies last year.

Security fears have emerged as a major reason for the public’s lukewarm response toward Padu. When the database first launched in January, social media users raised concerns over various bugs and vulnerability issues that Rafizi was quick to address. Two months on, the database is still facing a trust deficit — including among state government leaders.

International Islamic University Malaysia’s Syaza Farhana Mohamad Shukri said there are two groups who have yet to sign up: urban, tech-savvy people concerned about data sharing, and those who oppose the government and whatever it does. The latter group see their actions as a form of protest, a way to show their general distrust and dislike toward the government — though their stance may change once they see cash assistance coming in, said the associate professor of political science.

Despite all the risks, the government appears to have little choice but to continue with its plan. The sooner, the better. The fiscal math accounts for about an 18% drop in government spending on subsidies and social assistance, and this seems critical for it to reach its fiscal deficit target of 4.3% of GDP this year, according to OCBC’s Lavanya.

Ensuring the Padu database reaches at least a minimum level of completion “will go a long way in ensuring a smoother and more complete adoption to the new mechanism over time,” she said.

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

©2024 Bloomberg L.P.



Source link

Wall Street Journal marks 1 year since Evan Gershkovich’s detention in Russia


Wall Street Journal marks 1 year since Evan Gershkovich’s detention in Russia – CBS News

Watch CBS News


Friday marks one year since Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich was detained in Russia. The newspaper published a blank section on the cover of the Friday’s paper with a headline that reads, “His story should be here,” in support of Gershkovich. Paul Beckett, the assistant editor at The Wall Street Journal, joined CBS News to discuss Gershkovich’s detention and the latest on the efforts to release him.

Be the first to know

Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.




Source link

Russia is rounding up more journalists a year after the arrest of Evan Gershkovich


Six journalists working for independent media outlets in Russia were arrested in a span of just a few hours this week on the eve of the anniversary of American reporter Evan Gershkovich’s detention in the city of Yekaterinburg.

The journalists include Antonina Favorskaya, who covered the late Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said Thursday.

Favorskaya, who works for the independent Russian media outlet SOTA Vision, is accused of “extremist activities” because of her coverage of Navalny and his work, the media freedom organization said in a statement.

On Friday, Gershkovich marked the grim milestone of one year in Russian detention. Shortly after his arrest, the Wall Street Journal reporter was charged with espionage — an accusation vehemently denied by Gershkovich, his employer and the US government. He was the first journalist to be arrested on such charges since the Cold War, and the Russian government has yet to provide any evidence to support its claim.

Favorskaya is the journalist who filmed what would later become Navalny’s last video before he died. The opposition activist could been seen laughing and joking as he appeared at a court hearing via video link from the penal colony where he was serving his sentence.

The Investigative Committee, Russia’s equivalent of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation, had requested Favorskaya’s arrest for “participating in an extremist organization,” Russian state news agency TASS has reported.

According to the independent outlet Mediazona, over the last two years Favorskaya covered all of Navalny’s court hearings and traveled to the penal colonies where he was serving his sentence. She also followed developments at the cemetery where Navalny was buried.

Antonina Favorskaya on her way to Alexey Navalny's funeral in Moscow on March 1, 2024. - AP

Antonina Favorskaya on her way to Alexey Navalny’s funeral in Moscow on March 1, 2024. – AP

The six journalists, including Favorskaya, were arrested on Wednesday and Thursday, RSF said.

“With six new arrests in a span of a few hours, accompanied by violence, threats and searches, the authorities are stepping up their persecution of the last independent journalists and media in Russia,” said Jeanne Cavelier, head of RSF’s Eastern Europe and Central Asia desk.

“RSF condemns the arbitrary arrests and unacceptable violence against these journalists,” Cavelier added.

Favorskaya was arrested while she was being released after spending 10 days in detention in Moscow on a charge of “disobeying the police,” RSF said.

She was detained along with two other journalists, Alexandra Astakhova and Anastasia Musayeva, who came to meet her and are now “involved in the case as witnesses,” according to SOTA Vision. “All three were searched.”

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com



Source link

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.

TOPSHOT-RUSSIA-US-JOURNALIST
Journalist Evan Gershkovich, arrested on espionage charges, stands inside a defendants’ cage before a hearing to consider an appeal on his arrest at the Moscow City Court in Moscow, April 18, 2023.

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.


Zelenskyy on Ukraine’s ability to win war against Russia

02:15

“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.”



Source link

Illinois stabbing survivors describe attack and Evan Gershkovich detained for a year: Morning Rundown


An Illinois mother credits her son and dog with saving her life during a stabbing spree that left four people dead. Two former presidents — and dozens of protesters — attend Joe Biden’s fundraiser. And shadowy Russian actors were all too happy to spread Princess Kate conspiracies.

 Here’s what to know today.

Family attacked in Illinois stabbing spree describes the fight to survive

When Rockford, Illinois, resident Darlene Weber came face-to-face with an attacker who entered her house, she said, “He looked like the devil incarnate.” A day later, Weber said that if it wasn’t for her son, she might not have survived.

A 22-year-old man is accused of going on a rampage through Rockford, Illinois, on Wednesday afternoon, ultimately killing four people and injuring seven others — including Weber and her two kids.

Recalling the attack in an interview yesterday, Weber said it felt like “it all happened in such a blink of an eye.” She took her pit bull, Brandy, out the back door, she said, and heard a man say “hey” to her before he stabbed her in the face. As Weber crawled through the house screaming for her son to help her, Brandy bit the man. It gave her enough time to escape. 

When Weber’s son, 21-year-old Jacob Vollman, went to find his mom, he was confronted by the attacker. “And he literally looks at me and says, ‘Come here,’ and starts charging at me,” Vollman said. 

This is Morning Rundown, a weekday newsletter to start your morning. Sign up here to get it in your inbox.

After a couple of minutes fighting with Vollman, the attacker turned his attention to Weber’s daughter, 23-year-old Cathy Gilfillan — but Vollman was able to keep fighting him off. “If it wasn’t for him,” Gilfillan said, referring to Vollman, “me and mom would not be here.” 

Read the full story here.

Authorities identified the suspect as Christian Soto. He was arrested on charges of murder, attempted murder and home invasion. Soto’s attorney said he admitted to the crimes and that he had taken marijuana he believed was “laced with an unknown narcotic,” causing him to become paranoid. 

Among those killed are Jay Larson, a mail carrier who was on the job when he was attacked, and 15-year-old Jenna Newcomb, who died saving her sister, officials said. Here’s what else we know.

Pro-Palestinian protesters pressure Biden at NYC fundraiser

Former presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton joined President Joe Biden in a star-studded campaign fundraiser last night that was hosted by actor Mindy Kaling, featured photos taken by Annie Leibovitz and raised over $25 million. But anti-war protesters made their presence known at the event.

Image: Pro-Palestinian Protesters Gather Outside Biden Fundraiser At Radio City Music Hall
Demonstrators rally before President Joe Biden’s fundraiser at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, on March 28, 2024.Alex Kent / Getty Images

Over 100 people crowded outside Radio City Music Hall with Palestinian flags and signs with anti-war slogans. “We cannot idly sit by as our president aides and abets genocide in Gaza,” one protester said. Inside the fundraiser, protestors interrupted a moderated discussion between Biden, prompting late night host Stephen Colbert to ask Biden about the U.S. role in a peaceful future for Israelis and Palestinians.

Biden responded with talk of diplomatic efforts towards a two-state solution and acknowledged that more needed to be done to shepherd relief into Gaza but added that Israel’s existence was at stake. Here’s what else happened at the fundraiser.

Read more Israel-Hamas war coverage: 

  • Recent polling suggests most Jewish Israelis support Israel’s offensive in Gaza. But at a Ramadan meal with Palestinian Bedouin, some shared a different view.
  • A State Department official’s resignation and increasing disapproval of Israel’s conduct in Gaza shows how U.S. ire toward its ally is growing.
  •  Israel’s Supreme Court on ordered an end to state funding for ultra-Orthodox students who do not serve in the army, a blockbuster ruling that could imperil the leadership of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Baltimore bridge workers were on break at time of collapse, family member says

Just days after the container ship Dali collided with the Francis Scott Key Bridge, details about the incident and what happened to the workers are still unfolding. Julio Cervantes was one of two workers rescued following the collapse — a miracle, his wife said, because “my husband doesn’t know how to swim.”

“All of the men were on a break in their cars when the boat hit. We don’t know if they were warned before the impact,” Cervantes’ wife, who did not disclose her name, said in an exclusive interview. Cervantes was taken to a nearby hospital after the rescue with a chest wound and later released.

Cervantes’ wife says her brother-in-law was one of the two victims recovered near the wreckage site earlier this week. And her nephew is one of the four victims still missing, she said.

The shadowy actors that spread Princess Kate conspiracies

Before Kate, Princess of Wales, announced she had been diagnosed with cancer, #KateGate conspiracies speculating about her whereabouts ran wild on the internet. British security experts say social media accounts linked to a prominent Russian disinformation campaign capitalized on the rumors.

Roughly 45 accounts that posted about Kate on X were identified as belonging to the disinformation campaign, known as the Doppelgänger, an analysis found. While these actors didn’t originate the rumors, they contributed to the rumors’ rampant spread.

Experts say they see #KateGate as an alarming test case for what can happen when fake news and disinformation is supercharged by artificial intelligence, particularly on social media.

‘We want him home’: Family of U.S. reporter jailed in Russia for a year tries to stay hopeful

Even as a child, Evan Gershkovich seemed destined to be a reporter. He was always curious, liked a good story, and was deeply interested in Russia, the country his parents had emigrated from. 

He was there, as Russia instituted the biggest crackdown on the free press in decades — one that would ensnare him, left awaiting trial on espionage charges that many in the West decry as punishment for doing his job. NBC News spoke to his family and some of his closest friends as his detention reached a year today.

Michigan GOP lawmaker falsely labels March Madness athletes ‘illegal invaders’

A Michigan state lawmaker involved in former President Donald Trump’s election denials is being widely criticized making false claims that buses carrying college athletes to Detroit for March Madness were shuttling illegal migrant “invaders” into the city.

State House Rep. Matt Maddock made the claim Wednesday night in a social media post accompanied by photos of three buses near an Allegiant plane at Detroit Metropolitan Airport. Maddock wrote that the buses “just loaded up with illegal invaders.” Four college basketball teams traveling to Detroit for the second weekend of the NCAA basketball tournament arrived by plane Wednesday evening, the Wayne County Airport Authority said in a statement.

Politics in Brief

Biden impeachment probe: Joe Biden was formally invited to testify in the impeachment inquiry led by two Republican-led House committees — during the same week one of Donald Trump’s trials is set to begin.

South Carolina politics: The same federal court that previously ruled a Charleston-area district was unlawfully drawn decided yesterday that the map must be used for this year’s congressional election. The reason for the decision: The Supreme Court delayed the case for too long.

Arizona politics: Kari Lake, a self-proclaimed “Trump in heels” who lost the Arizona gubernatorial race in 2022, is working to win over voters in her Senate bid. But several key Republicans in the state say her campaign faces an increasingly uphill battle as she struggles to shed her MAGA instincts.

Want more politics news? Sign up for From the Politics Desk to get exclusive reporting and analysis delivered to your inbox every weekday evening. Subscribe here.

Staff Pick: Multiple women report being punched in broad daylight

Reporter Mirna Alsharif was among the first to cover this story of women in New York City sharing videos on social media in which they said they were punched by men while they were walking the streets in broad daylight. With help from the NBC News’ social newsgathering team (more on what they do here), she verified that NYPD was investigating two incidents. She also highlighted how many women online have since expressed feeling uneasy. — Saba Hamedy, culture & trends editor

Select: Online Shopping, Simplified

If you want a good cardio session but don’t want to brave the elements, an indoor exercise bike may be the way to go. Here are the 13 best budget exercise bikes on the market, all priced under $500. 

Sign up to The Selection newsletter for exclusive reviews and shopping content from NBC Select.

Thanks for reading today’s Morning Rundown. Today’s newsletter was curated for you by Elizabeth Robinson. If you’re a fan, please send a link to your family and friends. They can sign-up here.



Source link

Jailed U.S. reporter’s family speak after a year in Russian prison


Even as a child, Evan Gershkovich seemed destined to be a reporter. He was always curious, liked a good story, and was deeply interested in Russia, the country his parents had emigrated from. 

He was there, as Russia instituted the biggest crackdown on the free press in decades — one that would ensnare him, left awaiting trial on espionage charges that many in the West decry as punishment for doing his job. NBC News spoke to his family and some of his closest friends as his detention reached a year on Friday.

Gershkovich, 32, was arrested last March while reporting for The Wall Street Journal in the city of Yekaterinburg, in the Ural Mountains. The Kremlin said he was caught “red-handed” receiving “secret information,” but to this day, Russia has not provided evidence to support the accusation. Gershkovich and the Journal deny all charges against him. 

He is being kept in Moscow’s notorious Lefortovo prison, known for its harsh conditions. His multiple appeals have been rejected in court, and his latest appearance this week saw his pre-trial detention extended again, until at least June 30. The Kremlin said Thursday it does not have information about when his trial could begin. 

Gershkovich often smiles and appears in good spirits during his court appearances, but a year in custody, without much in the way of a promising resolution, is weighing heavily on his family and friends. 

“It has been hard,” his father, Mikhail, told NBC News. “He spent all four seasons there, he spent his birthday and all the holidays. We want him home as soon as possible.”

Gershkovich’s parents left the Soviet Union for the U.S. during the Cold War. He and his sister, Danielle, grew up speaking Russian at home, and the family calls him “Vanya,” the diminutive for his Russian name, Ivan. 

Gershkovich’s mother, Ella Milman, said his curiosity and interest in Russia drove his decision to move there in 2017 to work as a journalist, an opportunity the family was excited about. 

Everything changed when Russia invaded Ukraine, and Gershkovich, like many other foreign journalists wary of new laws criminalizing criticism of the Russian army, relocated abroad, though he regularly went back to Russia to report. 

Last March, Milman said she got a call from Evan, saying he needed to finish a story and would go back to London, where he was based, the following week. The next call she received about Evan was from a Journal editor, informing her that Evan had not checked in from his assignment.

Then, the news came out: a foreign reporter was arrested in Russia. “For me, it was a total shock,” Milman said.

“My heart dropped into my stomach,” Evan’s older sister, Danielle, said of the moment she learned of his arrest. She said she is very close to her brother, who has always been the responsible one growing up, but can often be a “goofball.”

They now write each other letters, she said, and he often tells her he is worried about how the family is coping, but also makes her laugh. “He is so strong,” she added. “He has not lost his spirit.”

The Biden administration considers Gershkovich “wrongfully detained” and has been actively trying to get him out. Moscow signaled early on that it may be willing to discuss a potential swap once there is a verdict in place. But in December, the State Department said Russia rejected “a new and significant proposal” to secure his release.

His arrest unnerved international news organizations still operating in Russia. Since his arrest, another American-Russian journalist, Alsu Kurmasheva, has also been detained, along with several other U.S. nationals, prompting accusations that Russian President Vladimir Putin has been building a reserve of Americans to swap for Russian nationals jailed abroad.

He hinted in an interview last month that Gershkovich could be swapped for a Russian hitman jailed in Germany, and a deal that sources told NBC News was in the works to free opposition leader Alexei Navalny before his death in prison last month, would have also involved Gershkovich. 

But for now, Gershkovich remains behind bars, and his family and friends await any news. 

Pjotr Sauer, a friend of Gershkovich and a Russia reporter for The Guardian, said he writes to Evan every week, and nearly every letter is an update on Arsenal — the English team they both support fervently, which is currently enjoying its best period since Evan was a soccer-mad teen in New Jersey. He does a lot of reading and writing in jail, Sauer told NBC News, but is confined to a tiny cell, with just one hour a day to walk around. Still, his sense of humor and optimism come through in his letters, he said. 

“It’s giving me a lot of strength to see that he is doing okay, given the conditions he is in,” he added. “He’s not broken, not mentally, not physically.”

Evan Gershkovich escorted from court in Moscow on Jan. 26, 2024.
Gershkovich, after losing an appeal against his arrest.Alexander Zemlianichenko / AP

What set Gershkovich apart as a foreign journalist was his deep understanding of Russia and his desire to figure out the ins and outs of what’s happening in the country, said Masha Barzunova, a friend and independent Russian journalist. Vanya, as she calls him, knew the risks, but thought that it was important to continue reporting there. 

Journalists and friends celebrated that dedication to his work this week with a 24-hour read-a-thon live streamed from the Wall Street Journal that brought home how deeply reported his stories were, particularly his coverage of the conflicting emotions of Russian draftees fighting in Ukraine, and the views of many different voices of Russians about the war on the home front. 

His arrest, which Borzunova said she considers a hostage taking, became one of many watershed moments indicative of changes inside Russia in the last two years. “He is holding up well but it can’t continue this long,” she said.

Since his arrest, Gershkovich’s parents have gone to see him in Russia twice — once in jail and once in court through a glass box, with guards monitoring the visit both times. Otherwise, they communicate with Evan in letters and through his Russian lawyers. They know his friends deliver fresh fruit and vegetables to him in prison, and he keeps in good physical health. 

They are grateful for the Biden administration’s support, but say it’s been too long and they are worried about his mental health after a year in custody. 

“Evan is not here,” Milman said. “We knew that it was going to be a marathon, but still had hopes that it will be sooner.”

For now, the family is choosing to remain optimistic and put their faith in the U.S. government, she said, because “pessimism will kill all hope.”

Asked what she would say to Putin if she had a chance, Evan’s sister, Danielle, said she would try to relay the “human cost” of his brother’s plight. “We miss him so fiercely,” she said. “We don’t want him to have one more day of his freedom taken from him. And we want him home.”



Source link

China-made vehicles will comprise a quarter of Europe’s EV sales this year, study shows



China-made electric vehicles will make up more than a quarter of the EV sales in Europe this year, with the country’s share increasing by over 5% from a year earlier, according to a new policy analysis. 

About 19.5% of battery-powered EVs sold in the E.U. last year were from China, with close to a third of the sales in France and Spain constituting EVs shipped from the Asian country, the European Federation for Transport and Environment (T&E) reported in a paper shared Wednesday. 

The share of made-in-China vehicles in the region is expected to rise to just over 25% in 2024, according to the T&E research, as Chinese brands such as BYD ramp up their global expansion. 

While most EVs sold in the EU are from Western brands such as Tesla, which manufactures and ships EVs from China, Chinese brands alone are set to account for 11% of the region’s market in 2024. That share could reach 20% by 2027, T&E predicted. 

The findings come as the European Commission probes subsidies given to electric vehicle makers in China to determine if they unfairly undercut local companies. Non-Chinese brands that ship from China, such as Tesla and BMW, could be included in the ongoing subsidy investigation. 

According to Tu Le, founder of Sino Auto Insights, incentives put in place in China in the early 2010s led to a surge in startups and increased battery cell capacity in the country, paving the way for affordable EVs.

“The E.U. and the U.S. are so far behind because they don’t have quality EVs at affordable prices because the legacy automakers have only really recently focused on designing and engineering them,” he added.



Source link

In 2019, there were hundreds of endangered earless dragons in Australia. This year, scientists counted just 11.


Australia’s grassland earless dragon is no bigger than a pinkie when it emerges from its shell, but the little lizard faces an enormous challenge in the years ahead: avoiding extinction.

As recently as 2019, scientists in Canberra counted hundreds of grassland earless dragons in the wild. This year, they found 11.

In other areas of the country, the lizard has not been seen for three decades.

The earless dragon — which is light brown and has long white stripes down its body — measures about 15 centimeters, which is roughly the size of a $1 bill, when fully grown. It lacks an external ear opening and functional eardrum, hence the name.

AUSTRALIA-CONSERVATION-LIZARDS-REPTILE
This picture taken on March 25, 2024, shows a grassland earless dragon lizard at the Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve on the outskirts of Canberra. 

DAVID GRAY/AFP via Getty Images


Australia has four species of earless dragons. Three are critically endangered, the highest level of risk, while the fourth is endangered.  

Last year, the Australia government said it was using “specially trained detection dogs to sniff out dragons and a breeding program to ensure the species is not lost again.”   

The critically endangered dragons will likely be extinct in the next 20 years without conservation efforts, experts say.

“If we properly manage their conservation, we can bring them back,” said University of Canberra Professor Bernd Gruber, who is working to do just that.

“Sense of hope”

Australia is home to thousands of unique animals, including 1,130 species of reptile that are found nowhere else in the world.

Climate change, invasive plants and animals, and habitat destruction — such as the 2019 bushfires, which burned more than 46 million acres — have pushed Australia’s native species to the brink.

In the past 300 years, about 100 of Australia’s unique flora and fauna species have been wiped off the planet.

To save the earless dragons, there are several breeding programs underway across Australia, including a bio-secure facility in Canberra’s bushlands, which Gruber is overseeing.

On shelves are dozens of tanks that house the lizards — one to each container — with a burrow, grass and heat lamps to keep them warm.  

The biggest problem is matchmaking, with the territorial female lizards preferring to choose their mates.

This means that scientists must introduce different male lizards to the female until she approves.  

If that was not hard enough, scientists must also use genetic analysis to determine which lizards are compatible together and ensure genetic diversity in their offspring.  

At any one time, the breeding programs around Australia can have up to 90 earless dragons, which will eventually be released back into the wild.  

At the moment, Gruber is looking after more than 20 small lizards that have just hatched. Scientists almost missed the tiny eggs until three weeks ago.  

“There is a sense of hope looking over them,” he told AFP.

“An important role”

Despite the efforts of scientists, the lizards are contending with a shrinking habitat and a changing climate.

Australian Conservation Foundation campaigner Peta Bulling said the lizards only live in temperate grasslands, most of which have been destroyed by urban development.

Only 0.5% of grasslands present at the time of European colonization still exist.

Without the lizards, Australia’s alpine grasslands could look vastly different.

“We don’t understand everything the grassland earless dragons do in the ecosystem, but we can make guesses they play an important role in managing invertebrate populations. They live in burrows in the soil, so they are probably aerating the soil in different ways too,” she told AFP.

ap3799551416483691.jpg
A Victoria grassland earless dragon pictured in October 2023.

Courtesy of Zoos Victoria


Bulling said that while it was important to bring the lizard back, it was also vital to protect their habitats, without which the newly saved lizards would have nowhere to live.

“They are highly specialized to live in their habitat but they will not adapt quickly to change,” she said.

Last year, scientists rediscovered a small number of another kind of earless dragons after 50 years in an area that is being kept secret for conservation reasons.

Resources are being poured into understanding just how big that population is and what can be done to protect it.

Species at risk worldwide

The earless lizard is just one of thousands of species that are endangered — or have already gone extinct. Deforestation, pollution and the effects of climate change are just a few of the reasons putting various animals and plants at risk.

In October, 21 species in the U.S. were taken off the endangered species list because they are extinct, according to the Fish and Wildlife Service. 

According to a 2023 report by the World Wildlife Fund, 380 new species were discovered across Asia in just the last few years, and many are already at risk of going extinct. 

Four years before that, scientists warned that worldwide, 1 million species of plants and animals were at risk of extinction.

Still, in the U.S., the Endangered Species Act, which was established in 1973, has largely been a success.  An astonishing 99% of the threatened species first listed have survived — including bald eagles, grizzly bears and alligators.



Source link

Largest cocaine shipment of the year seized in Colombian Caribbean after high-speed boat chase


Authorities have announced the largest cocaine shipment seizure of the year in the Caribbean Sea off Colombia after military ships and planes chased down a speedboat holding almost four tons of the drug.

In a joint operation between the Colombian Navy, the Colombian Air Force and the Joint Interagency Task Force of the United States Southern Command, authorities seized the cocaine — said to be worth more than $113 million — from the vessel near San Andrés Isla, according to the Colombian Navy. The navy released dramatic aerial video of the chase, during which it said the crew of the suspicious vessel “began evasive actions, throwing packages into the water.”

After a chase that spanned several miles, the boat — which was covering its cargo in a blue tarp — was finally intercepted, the officials said. Three Colombians, one Honduran and one Venezuelan who had been on board the speedboat were detained, and subsequent testing confirmed that the boat had been carrying 3,355 kilograms of cocaine weighing, or about 3.7 tons of the drug.

Navy video showed officers offloading and arranging hundreds of packages of the seized cocaine, which officials said amounted to more than eight million doses that would “not reach the streets of different countries, thus avoiding the impact on public health.”

The drugs, boat and five suspects were turned over to the Attorney General’s Office, the navy said.

The Colombia-U.S. operation in the Caribbean Sea came just days after officials announced that a British warship and an American patrol aircraft had chased down a speedboat as its crew tried to flee and dump another cargo of drugs into the water near the U.S. Virgin Islands.  About three tons of cocaine and other drugs were seized, the U.K.’s Ministry of Defense said.

Drug busts off the shores of Colombia are also common.

arc-foto-cocaina-sai.jpg
In a joint operation between the Colombian Navy, the Colombian Air Force and the Joint Interagency Task Force of the United States Southern Command, authorities seized more than $113 million of cocaine from the vessel near San Andrés Isla, officials said. 

Colombia Navy


Just last month, authorities on a search-and-rescue mission for two missing fishermen off Colombia’s Pacific coast instead found a semi-submersible vessel loaded with more than four tons of cocaine, officials said. The so-called “narco sub” was intercepted during a joint operation by the Colombian and Ecuadorian navies and the Colombian Air Force, the Colombian Navy said.

Colombia produces about 60% of the cocaine found in the world. 

Stephen Smith

Stephen Smith is a senior editor for CBSNews.com.





Source link