Japan’s Shinzo Abe dies after shooting
Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has died on Friday after being shot at a campaign event in the Nara region, local media reported. National broadcaster NHK said a man in his 40s had been arrested and a gun had been confiscated from him, citing police sources. The BBC quotes former Tokyo governor Yoichi Masuzoe saying in a tweet that the 67-year-old Abe was in a state of “cardiopulmonary arrest” – a term often used before death is officially confirmed in Japan. The former leader had been delivering a speech at an event ahead of Sunday’s upper house elections when the apparent sound of gunshots was heard, NHK and the Kyodo news agency said. “He was giving a speech and a man came from behind,” a young woman at the scene told NHK. “The first shot sounded like a toy. He didn’t fall and there was a large bang. The second shot was more visible, you could see the spark and smoke,” she added. Abe collapsed to the ground and was immediately transported to the hospital were he was pronounced dead hours later.
Indonesia appeals for an end of war in Ukraine
Indonesia, in the rotating presidency of the G20, has launched an appeal for an end to the war in Ukraine. The works of the foreign ministerial event started in the presence of the head of Russian diplomacy Serghei Lavrov and the American secretary of state Antony Blinken. Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said in a streamed speech, “It is our responsibility to end the war sooner or later and resolve our differences at the negotiating table, not on the battlefield.” The agenda includes the global food crisis, energy tensions (with a part dedicated to the diversification of sources) and all the other challenges related to Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine, as well as discussions on multilateral cooperation to deal with the rising global inflation and to avoid a dangerous recession.
The road map after Johnson’s resignation
After the bursting resignation of nearly 60 of his Cabinet ministers and aides, Boris Johnson has officially left the leadership of the Conservative party and will resign the British premiership next autumn. Johnson officially announced his resignation in a speech delivered outside 10 Downing Street, sparking the race for his successor. All conservative lawmakers can stand and party officials could open applications shortly. Depending on the number of applicants, the process could be completed in just a few days. The list of probable contenders is not yet final, indeed it seems to be getting longer by the hour: the recently-resigned head of the Treasury Rishi Sunak, his successor Nadhim Zahawi, Foreign Minister Liz Truss, Attorney General Suella Braverman and Defence Minister Ben Wallace threw their names in the hat – the latter being quoted as favourite. Yet, despite the predictions of many, Johnson shows no signs of letting up. On Thursday he appointed several new ministers to replace the ones he lost and said they “will serve as me, until there is a new leader”.
Britain in ‘state of paralysis’ – London media
John’s resignation leads all the national papers. “Johnson throws in the towel” declares the Times, bringing his three-year stint as PM to an end. The prime minister bowed down to pressure to step down on Thursday, admitting “them’s the breaks” during his speech. Critics have urged him to leave the role now as a leadership contest has begun, the paper says. Some 59 resignations and a cabinet revolt led to Johnson finally agreeing to resign as leader of the country on Thursday, the Guardian says. His announcement sparked a debate about when he would actually leave, the paper says. It describes his action as an end to one of the “most divisive and turbulent periods” in British politics. The Financial Times describes the end of Johnson’s reign as prime minister as “tumultuous”, saying he was defiant until the end. He defended his record and blamed Tory MPs for their “eccentric” decision to force him from office, the paper reports. Senior Tory MPs have warned that the country will be left in a “state of paralysis” if the prime minister remains in Downing Street until a successor is chosen, the Daily Telegraph reports. Amid calls for a caretaker leader to be appointed to avoid months of political uncertainty, the paper says Mr Johnson told his cabinet he would not implement any fresh policies before he was replaced. The Metro leads with “leave means leave” as its headline. The PM has stood down, but defies calls to go immediately after the “biggest cabinet rebellion in history” the paper reports.
Chauvin gets 21 years for violating George Floyd’s civil rights
A US judge has sentenced Derek Chauvin to 21 years in prison for violating George Floyd’s civil rights, telling the former Minneapolis police officer that what he did was “simply wrong” and “offensive”. US District Judge Paul Magnuson sharply criticised Chauvin for his actions on May 25, 2020, when the white officer pinned Floyd to the pavement outside a Minneapolis corner store for more than nine minutes as the black man lay dying. Floyd’s killing sparked protests worldwide in a reckoning over police brutality and racism. “I really don’t know why you did what you did,” Magnuson said. “To put your knee on a person’s neck until they expired is simply wrong … Your conduct is wrong and it is offensive.” Magnuson, who earlier this year presided over the federal trial and convictions of three other officers at the scene, blamed Chauvin alone for what happened. Chauvin was by far the senior officer present as police tried to arrest Floyd while responding to a 911 call accusing him of using a counterfeit $20 bill to buy cigarettes. And Chauvin rebuffed questions from one of the other officers about whether Floyd should be turned on his side.
Cinema in mourning after death of James Caan
American actor James Caan has died at the age of 82. In his long career he was in the cast of “Misery must not die” and played the role of Sonny Corleone in it “The Godfather”, for which he was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. The news of his death was made known by his manager. Born in 1940 in New York, in the neighborhood of Bronx, he was one of the iconic faces of Hollywood cinema. After a short period spent in the classrooms of the Michigan State University first and the Hofstra University of Hemstead later, he discovered a passion for cinema also thanks to the meeting with what would become a great friend of his: Francis Ford Coppola. In his long career, he has been the star of internationally-successful films and TV series, including “El Dorado” alongside John Wayne.
Elon Musk had twins with a Neuralink executive
Elon Musk allegedly had twins last year with an executive from one of his companies, Neuralink. Business Insider reports 36-year-old Shivon Zilis, the alleged mother of Musk’s eighth and ninth child, has been working with the richest man in the world since 2016, when she joined the non-profit organization OpenAl. She was then hired by Tesla, before joining Neuralink, a company that develops chips to be implanted in the brain. If confirmed this would be Musk’s second pair of twins. He and his first wife, writer Justine Wilson, had twins in 2004 and triplets two years later. They also had another child who died shortly after birth. Tesla’s boss then had two more children with musician Claire Boucher, the last in 2021 as a surrogate mother. The twins would be born in November just before this baby.
Euro 2022: Northern Ireland lose on debut to ruthless Norway
Northern Ireland’s historic debut at a major tournament ended in a 4-1 defeat by a ruthless Norway side in their Euro 2022 opener at St Mary’s. Norway underlined their status as dark horses for the tournament with a clinical first-half showing, which highlighted the gap between a world-class outfit and a Northern Ireland team ranked 47th in the world who only became full-time in January, as Julie Blakstad, Frida Maanum and Caroline Graham Hansen all netted. The biggest cheer of the night was reserved for Julie Nelson, who made history as Northern Ireland’s first goalscorer on the European stage when her header crept over the line on 49 minutes to give Kenny Shiels’ side hope. Norway thus shares the top post of Group A with Entgland. Today’s two matches from Group B will be played: Spain v. Finland (at 6 pm) and Germany v. Denmark at 9 pm.
