Day: May 14, 2024

Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili will veto the law on “foreign agents” adopted by the country’s parliament.

Michael Cohen tells court he paid Stormy Daniels to influence 2016 election ‘on behalf of Trump’ – live  The Guardian US

BREAKING:

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken plays guitar and performs “Rocking to the Free World” in a bar in Kyiv.

Meanwhile, he supports the policy of not letting Ukraine use US weapons to strike Russian forces across the border from Kharkiv… pic.twitter.com/OmeGtIyeQ3

— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) May 14, 2024

BREAKING:

The Israeli Army releases video showing Hamas terrorists coming out of a UN logistics center (UNRWA) and shooting at Gazan civilians in Eastern Rafah.

It was recorded by a drone this Saturday.

Hamas caught red-handed! pic.twitter.com/meGSerHV8t

— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) May 14, 2024

Vladimir Putin removes Sergei Shoigu from Russian defence ministry  BBC.com

Russia-Ukraine war live: Ukraine says Russia attacking border in northern Kharkiv region and replaces commander on frontline  The Guardian

A groundbreaking clinical trial is underway in South Africa, marking a pivotal moment in the fight against tuberculosis. The new vaccine could become the first to help prevent pulmonary TB, the most common form of the disease, in adolescents and adults. It would be the first new TB vaccine in more than a century. Zaheer Cassim has the story.

Kampala — An official of the International Criminal Court has promised victims of Uganda’s rebel Lord’s Resistance Army that the court will provide reparations that were promised after the conviction of a top LRA leader. However, the Tribunal Trust Fund does not have enough money to make the payments, and now some victims worry other world conflicts are drawing down donor funds.

ICC Registrar Osvaldo Zavala Giler, speaking to the media Tuesday in Uganda, assured victims of the violent, long-running LRA rebellion that the court would do as much as possible to ensure victims get their reparations.

In February, ICC judges ordered $56 million in reparations to recognize the harm suffered by 50,000 victims of war crimes for which Dominic Ongwen has been convicted. Those include murder, rape, forced marriage, and the recruitment of child soldiers.

Giler’s commitment comes despite Ongwen’s appeal of his conviction.  Giler said while the appeal is still pending, the ICC will continue efforts to raise funds to pay the reparations and comply with the court order. He also indicated not all victims would receive payments at the same time.

“And that will depend on the fundraising efforts of the trust fund to do this. I am confident that there is enough interest in the international donor-based community to support the effort of the trust fund in trying to achieve its goals,” said Giler.

Speaking to VOA before meeting the ICC registrar, Bishop Nelson Onono-Onweng, a community leader from Gulu district, said what he is hearing from the ICC is worrying.

Bishop Onono said the promised $795 per person allocation for the 50,000 victims is too little, yet the ICC has no money.

“So, if it comes now it will be great. But, we are told they are still raising the money. Fundraising today as you know with the war in the world. I don’t know. But, personally I am worried. Because the international community is now overwhelmed with the needs in the world to support the suffering people,” he said.

Peter Labeja, a journalist from Gulu district, lost his father during the 20-year rebellion. He was also abducted but was lucky to escape.   

Labeja told VOA victims still have questions on how the money will be shared.

“Who is going to take the money? Is it the head of the family taking the money or the entire group in the household taking the money? And, we were quick to calculate. We said this is about three-million shillings in Uganda. What can three-million shillings do? It can’t even send a child to the university for two semesters,” he said.

The community remains hopeful that the communal reparation will be used to build schools and health facilities and improve roads.

Victims will have to wait until September, not for the money, but for the ICC to prepare the implementation plan now being developed.

Dominic Ongwen is serving his 25-year prison sentence in Norway. The LRA fought the Ugandan government for 20 years resulting in the deaths of about 100,000 people.

Meanwhile, 19 years after an arrest warrant was issued for LRA leader Joseph Kony, the ICC pre-trial chamber has set October 15 to hold a hearing confirming charges against him. But according to ICC Mofficials, Kony qualifies as a person who cannot be found so no confirmation hearing can be held.

Clear the Coney Island boardwalk! The historic stretch will soon play host to the 42nd annual Mermaid Parade on Saturday, June 22, as costume-clad Brooklynites prepare to partake in the peninsula’s most popular summer celebration.

Coney Island USA, an art-centered non-profit and sponsor of the beachside event, is inviting mer-men and -women to participate in the parade and float procession that always brings smiles to the crowd.

The Mermaid Parade invites anyone to dress up in costume and strut their stuff down the boardwalk. Adam Rinn, artistic director of Coney Island USA, said the tradition, which started in 1983, is now considered a must-see event for both residents and tourists are alike.

Grab your fins and sew on your fish nets for the 42nd annual Mermaid Parade on June 22.File photo by Erica Price

“It’s such a glorious spectacle,” he told Brooklyn Paper. “Art is a big word. It’s a big field. There’s performance art, there’s music, there’s theatre. We really try to find people who will fit that role and do a great job of it.”

Each year, sponsors are tasked with choosing a king and queen to lead the procession. Rinn and his team aim to choose people who he says represent New York and its vibrant art scene.

This year’s mermaid monarch is Coney Island artist Joe Coleman and his wife, Whitney Ward. Coleman has made a name for himself as a performance artist but more commonly as a painter whose highly detailed work can sometimes take him years to complete. Ward has racked up a couple of awards at previous Mermaid Parades for her flagrant sea-creature regalia.

Fans will be lined up for blocks to get a peek at their costumes come June 22.

“They’re such a perfect couple to be leading the parade this year,” Rinn said. 

Mermaids say cheese and strike a pose during the annual fin-tastic march along Coney Island’s most popular avenues. File photo by Erica Price

The 2024 Mermaid Parade will step off at 1 p.m., rain or shine, starting on West 21st Street and Surf Avenue. Marchers will then make their way to West 10th Street, where mermaids and floaters will split. The crowd will continue down the historic Riegelmann Boardwalk until Steeplechase Plaza and Parachute Jump, the official ending of the march. 

Afterward, participants and viewers can stick around for a post-parade ceremony on Coney Island Beach.

Rinn said people still have time to register to be a part of the sea fare festivities, with just a little over a month left before the big day. Coney Island USA is also still welcoming sponsors to help host the parade.

“It costs a lot of money to put on a parade. As a small not-for-profit, every single penny counts,” he said, adding that every sponsorship they get supports the organization’s long-standing presence in Coney Island. “It goes towards parade production, staff, and whatever we have left over goes towards the organization to maintain our 107-year-old landmark building and the programming we have within.”

For more information on the 42 annual Mermaid Parade, visit Coney Island USA’s website.