Saturday, 13 June 2020

Angelina Jolie Speaks Out on "Intolerable" System That "Might Not Protect" Daughter Zahara







Angelina Jolie said she is working to create a world where her daughter Zahara Jolie-Pitt will be protected from "racism and discrimination."

In an interview with Harper's Bazaar U.K., the Special Envoy of the High Commissioner for Refugees revealed that the recent pandemic and ongoing political unrest has shifted her perspective on the humanitarian work she does. Jolie explained that for the past 20-years, she's worked internationally to combat issues across the board, but now, she intends to "rethink the needs and suffering within my own country."

"There are more than 70 million people who have had to flee their homes worldwide because of war and persecution—and there is racism and discrimination in America. A system that protects me but might not protect my daughter—or any other man, woman or child in our country based on skin color—is intolerable," she explained. 

Jolie adopted a 6-month-old Zahara from an Ethiopian orphanage in 2005. Though her now-estranged husband Brad Pitt accompanied her on her trip to meet Zahara, he didn't formally adopt Zahara and Maddox Jolie Pitt until a year later. 

For this reason, Jolie said she hopes to see true reform in the United States. 


ENEWS

Prince of Wales and Emmanuel Macron to meet on quarantine exempt visit




The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall will be the first Royal Family members to hold a major event during the coronavirus lockdown when they welcome the French president to the UK.

Charles and Camilla will meet Emmanuel Macron at their London home on 18 June.

They will mark the 80th anniversary of a famous speech by Charles de Gaulle.

Mr Macron will be exempt from a 14-day quarantine imposed on most people who travel to the UK, as a "representative of a foreign country on business".

A Clarence House spokeswoman said government guidelines on social distancing would be followed.

The royal couple will travel from Birkhall in Aberdeenshire, where they have been staying for almost three months, to Clarence House in London to attend the meeting.

Both had to self-isolate in March after Charles, 71, contracted coronavirus.

They have been carrying out royal engagements remotely - via video calls or recorded messages - and are said to be "pleased" to be welcoming Mr Macron to the country.

BBC news

UK’s Johnson says will not ignore anger over racial injustice




British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has acknowledged the “cold reality” behind angry protests against racial injustice but warned he would not tolerate violence or the breaking of coronavirus distancing laws.

Demonstrations have broken out across Britain following the death of George Floyd in the United States, most of them peaceful, although clashes in London left 35 police officers hurt.

“We simply cannot ignore the depth of emotion that has been triggered by that spectacle of a black man losing his life at the hands of the police,” Johnson said in a statement late Monday.

The Guardian

France police to ban chokehold arrest as protest anger mounts








France said it would ban the controversial chokehold used to detain suspects after the death in custody of George Floyd in the United States intensified anger over the conduct of French police.

A wave of global protests in the wake of Floyd’s fatal arrest magnified attention on the 2016 death in French police custody of Adama Traore, a 24-year-old black man, and renewed controversy over claims of racism and brutality within the force.

France’s police watchdog said it had received almost 1,500 complaints against officers last year half of them for alleged violence.

After a string of protests in recent days, Interior Minister Christophe Castaner announced the chokehold method “will be abandoned”.

After George Floyd, pressure on Biden to pick black VP




George Floyd’s death and the resulting wave of rage against racism and police brutality may have changed the political calculus for US presidential contender Joe Biden, who faces pressure to pick a black female running mate.

Senator Kamala Harris, an early favorite, House Democrat Val Demings, and Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms have each spoken with passion about the unrest gripping the nation, but also from their own experience as black women in America.

Their odds have risen substantially on internet sites that feature betting on who will become the Democratic nominee’s vice presidential pick.

Nigeria’s Pete Edochie receives African Film Legend award at TAFF




For his role in the development of the film industry in Africa, legendary actor Pete Edochie, who turned 73 few months back, was recently honoured with the African Film Legend award at the just concluded African Film Festival (TAFF). 

The festival, which ran from June 2, through June 6, 2020, in Dallas, United States of America, was screened live online, making it the first ever virtual award.

Due to ravaging COVID-19 pandemic, Edochie was unable to attend the four-day festival. However, he didn’t miss anything as back home, as he followed proceedings online from his Enugu residence, and was presented with TAFF 2020 Living Legends Award Certificate by actress Patience Ozokwor popularly known as Mama G. Also, plans are underway for the festival founder and filmmaker, Kelechi Eke, to personally deliver Edochie’s trophy after the pandemic.

George Floyd: Trump 'generally' supports ending chokeholds for police




US President Donald Trump has said the controversial chokehold method for restraining some suspects should "generally speaking" be ended.

Some US police forces have moved to ban chokeholds since the outbreak of anti-racism protests sparked by the death of George Floyd, an African American.

Mr Floyd died after a white officer knelt on his neck for nine minutes.

Mr Trump said it would be a "very good thing" to ban chokeholds but they may still be needed in some situations.

The president's comments come with Democrats and Republicans in the US Congress trying to hammer out the details of a police reform bill - the proposed Justice in Policing Act of 2020.

Mr Trump told Fox News that the concept of stopping police forces using chokeholds sounded "so innocent, so perfect".

But he continued: "If a police officer is in a bad scuffle and he's got somebody... you have to be careful.

"With that being said, it would be, I think, a very good thing that generally speaking it should be ended," he said, adding that he might make "very strong recommendations" to local authorities.

The police officer who knelt on Mr Floyd's neck has been sacked and charged with second degree murder.

Fela Kuti: From Lagos Shrine to Grammy Glory: Fela's Historic Lifetime Achievement Award

 Fela Kuti: From Lagos Shrine to Grammy Glory: Fela's Historic Lifetime Achievement Award Yemi Olakitan  For nearly three decades since ...