Palestinians throw stones at EU diplomats' car in West Bank protest over war

Published 04/30/2024

 Palestinians walk past the ruins of houses destroyed during Israel's military offensive, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Gaza City, March 20, 2024. 

REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas//File 

RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - A group of Palestinian students disrupted a meeting of European Union diplomats in the West Bank on Tuesday and attacked some of their cars with stones, smashing the back window of one of the vehicles to protest against the war in Gaza, witnesses said.

The EU diplomats to the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories were holding a meeting at the Palestinian Museum, which celebrates Palestinian history and culture, in Birzeit near Ramallah when the incident happened.

One diplomat present told Reuters they were in a meeting when a crowd appeared outside telling them to leave and after attempts at dialogue were unsuccessful, the diplomats left. The experience was unpleasant, but there was no serious threat to any of the diplomats, he said.

Videos on social media later showed a crowd surrounding a car and smashing a window by throwing stones.

Amr Kayed, a student from Birzeit University, said they forced the EU diplomats to leave to send a message that "anyone who is complicit in genocide and the offensive on Gaza" was not welcome.

Oliver Owcza, the German representative to the Palestinian territories, said he regretted that the meeting was interrupted.

"Nevertheless, we remain committed to constructively work with our Palestinian partners!," he said on X. "Peaceful protest & dialogue always has its place."

Before the incident, Palestinian students posted a message on Facebook (NASDAQ:META) calling for a protest against the presence of the Germany representative over his country's support for Israel during its war with Gaza.

Germany has been one of Israel's staunchest allies since the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas militants which killed 1,200 people, according to Israeli tallies. More than 34,535 Palestinians have been killed during Israel's subsequent military offensive, according to health authorities in the enclave.

Germany has also been one of the leading arms exporters to Israel, sending 326.5 million euros ($349 million) in military equipment and weapons in 2023, according to German Economy Ministry data.

Violence in the West Bank, which had already been on the rise before the war, has since flared with stepped up Israeli raids and Palestinian street attacks. Palestinian Health Ministry records show Israeli forces or settlers have killed at least 460 Palestinians since Oct. 7.

Israel captured the West Bank in the 1967 Middle East war and the area has been under military occupation since, while Israeli settlements have gradually expanded. Palestinians envisage the West Bank as part of a future independent state also including Gaza and East Jerusalem.

($1 = 0.9345 euros

(reporting by Ali Sawafta and James Mackenzie, Writing by Andrew MacAskill, Editing by William Maclean)

Protesters chase EU diplomats from Palestinian Museum

AFP News
Tue, 30 April 2024

Palestinian Authority police prevent demonstrators from reaching the Canadian Representative Office in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank on April 30, 2024

 (Jaafar ASHTIYEH)


Protesters from a Palestinian university chased a group of European diplomats out of a museum in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday over what activists said was their position on the Gaza war.

Video posted on social media showed Italian consul general Domenico Bellato hurrying away from the Palestinian Museum near the city of Ramallah followed by a crowd of demonstrators.

"The student's movement refused those visitors to come to the museum because of their position on the genocide in Gaza. For that we asked them to leave," student representative Omar Kayed told AFP.

A source present at the scene said the crowd had been looking for a diplomat from Germany, which is among European states that have come under fire recently for supporting Israel in the Gaza war.

"There was an EU retreat at the museum today. Around lunchtime, a demonstration gathered outside," Christian Kussler, spokesman for the German representative office in Ramallah, told AFP.

"The EU heads of missions present, including the German (one), decided to leave the premises", he said, adding his office was assessing the situation.

The national Palestinian Museum is located in the West Bank city of Birzeit, north of Ramallah, next to Birzeit University.

In the video shared online, one man could be heard shouting "Out!".

Other footage showed a car allegedly belonging to the diplomats stuck in the middle of a crowd, with people knocking on windows and throwing objects in its direction.

- 'Non-supportive countries' -

In a statement, the Palestinian Museum distanced itself from the EU event that took place on its premises.

"We did not invite any ambassadors from the countries who attended today", the statement read, adding that "no list of invitees' names was presented to us".

"If we had known of the presence of ambassadors from non-supportive countries, we would have refused to rent the hall," it added.

The statement said the museum only knew about a room being rented by the Belgian embassy, "which has stood with the Palestinian voice and cause since the beginning of the aggression against our people in Gaza".

"We regret that today's meeting of EU heads of missions at the national museum in Birzeit was unduly interrupted by protesters," German head of mission Oliver Owzca said on X.

"Nevertheless, we remain committed to constructively work with our Palestinian partners", he added.

Elsewhere, Palestinian police were forced to prevent protesters from reaching the Canadian representative office in Ramallah on Tuesday in a rally against that country's positions over the Gaza war, an AFP photographer said.

The demonstrations came as the International Court of Justice threw out Nicaragua's request for emergency measures to stop Germany sending military supplies to Israel because of its action in the Gaza war.

The war broke out after Hamas's October 7 attack on southern Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,170 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.

Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed at least 34,535 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.

he-str-lba/jd/dv

Laid-off: Former Tyson Foods chicken farmers face high costs switching to eggs

By Tom Polansek

April 30, 2024

REUTERS

 A worker sorts cage-free chicken eggs at Hilliker's Ranch Fresh Eggs in Lakeside, California, U.S., April 19, 2022. Picture taken April 19, 2022. 

REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo

CHICAGO, April 30 (Reuters) - Some U.S. farmers who once raised chickens for Tyson Foods to slaughter are shifting to sell eggs instead after the meatpacker closed six plants, a move that left local suppliers with limited options for work.

In one example, former Tyson suppliers in central Virginia formed a cooperative that will produce cage-free eggs for Indiana-based Dutch Country Organics on a dozen farms, after Tyson closed its nearby Glen Allen plant last year.

In Dexter, Missouri, the world's biggest egg company, Cal-Maine Foods (CALM.O), opens new tab, in March finalized a deal to buy another chicken meat plant Tyson shuttered. Cal-Maine recruited local farmers to produce eggs.

The switch to eggs, which carries high costs, reflects the tough choices former Tyson suppliers around the country must make following the company's 2023 decision to shut plants in an effort to return to profitability in its chicken business after misjudging consumer demand.

Egg farming also comes with risk as lethal bird flu infections have hit laying hens harder than broiler chickens raised for meat. The virus flared up for a third year this spring, resulting in the culling of nearly 10 million hens involved in commercial egg production so far this year. Cal-Maine culled about 1.9 million, opens new tab birds this month after an outbreak in Texas.

MILLIONS TO UPGRADE
Former broiler growers must spend millions of dollars on barn and equipment upgrades to produce eggs, a notoriously volatile market, 18 poultry producers, government officials and industry experts told Reuters. Last year, egg prices tanked after reaching record highs due to the worst-ever outbreak of bird flu in poultry.

"It's a very expensive investment from the grower," said John Bapties, who is president of the Central Virginia Poultry Cooperative and raised chickens for Tyson for 20 years before the Glen Allen plant closed.

His cooperative is placing hens in barns that formerly housed broiler chickens, and expects to sell cage-free eggs produced by about one million birds to Dutch County Organics within a year, he said.

Farmers needed to replace dirt floors in barns with concrete and install nesting systems for hens, among other costly renovations.

Taylor Lee, a former Tyson grower in DeWitt, Virginia, said he decided against the switch. He will focus on raising crops while keeping his poultry barns empty for now.
"They're painting a pretty picture with that co-op but it's $2.8 million roughly to upgrade my farm to egg production," Lee said.

Roger Reynolds, another Virginia farmer who supplied broiler chickens to Tyson, said he is considering producing eggs for Braswell Family Farms. His daughter found work there after Tyson's plant closure eliminated her job.

Producing eggs means a different way of life, Reynolds said. For one thing, hens lay most of their eggs in the morning, meaning farmers cannot go to church on a Sunday without checking their barns first, he said.

CAGE-FREE EGGS

The United States has about 125 million cage-free laying hens, about 40% of total layers, U.S. government data show. More are needed after some states banned sales of eggs from caged hens and restaurants committed to cage-free supplies, Dutch Country Organics CEO Lamar Bontrager said.

"I've been getting calls like crazy," Bontrager said. "Those guys are all concerned of where to procure their eggs."

Dutch Country sells eggs to retailers including Walmart (WMT.N), opens new tab, Kroger (KR.N), opens new tab and Target (TGT.N), opens new tab, according to Virginia officials.
Former broiler growers offer egg companies an opportunity to expand production because the farmers are already familiar with poultry.

"It's one of the ways that these companies are converting: by grabbing old barns," said Brian Moscogiuri, global trade strategist for Eggs Unlimited.

Tyson declined to comment. The company said last year that 55 broiler growers supplied the Glen Allen plant and that it offered them buyout packages. The plant had about 700 employees.

Tyson has laid off corporate employees and said it will close an Iowa pork plant, in addition to shutting chicken plants. Farmers depended on the plants as markets for their livestock.

The meatpacker is slated to report quarterly results on Monday.

In Arkansas, the third biggest broiler-producing state, Tyson closed two chicken plants. Some of its former growers found work supplying other chicken companies, said Jared Garrett, Arkansas Farm Bureau's director of commodity activities and economics.
"They lucked out," he said.

JOBS WANTED

Tyson closed chicken plants in Dexter and Noel, Missouri, with about 700 workers and 1,500 workers, respectively. Cal-Maine said it plans to initially employ about 100 people at the Dexter plant.

"While I welcome Cal-Maine's investment in Dexter, it does not right the wrongs of Tyson or guarantee new jobs for the more than 2,000 Missourians now out of one," U.S. Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri said in a statement to Reuters.

David Wyman, Dexter's city administrator, also welcomed Cal-Maine, though it is expected to work with a fraction of the farmers who supplied Tyson. Cal-Maine said it expects to expand over time and that revenue opportunities will be as good or better than farmers had under previous contracts.

But some former Tyson suppliers are left with empty barns, Wyman said: "They're really in bad shape."

Egg farming is generally harder to get into operationally than raising chickens for meat; requires more capital and labor expertise; and carries higher disease risks, said Wendong Zhang, an assistant professor and agricultural economist at Cornell University.
"Due to the closure of the plants and termination of contracts, the switch is in a way a move of necessity," he said.

Get weekly news and analysis on the U.S. elections and how it matters to the world with the newsletter On the Campaign Trail. Sign up here.


Reporting by Tom Polansek; Editing by Caroline Stauffer and Anna Driver

IRONY
Libya demands improvements after leaked photos show tiny cell of Moammar Gadhafi’s son in Beirut


 In this undated file photo made available Sept. 25, 2011, Hannibal Gadhafi, son of ousted Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, watches an elite military unit exercise in Zlitan, Libya. Leaked photographs of Hannibal Gadhafi and the tiny underground cell where he has been held for years in Lebanon have raised concerns. Libyan authorities are demanding that Lebanon improves living conditions for Gadhafi.

 (AP Photo/Abdel Magid al-Fergany, File)

BY BASSEM MROUE
April 29, 2024

BEIRUT (AP) — Leaked photographs of the son of Libya’s late dictator Moammar Gadhafi and the tiny underground cell where he has been held for years in Lebanon have raised concerns in the north African nation as Libyan authorities demand improvements.

The photos showed a room without natural light packed with Hannibal Gadhafi’s belongings, a bed and a tiny toilet. “I live in misery,” local Al-Jadeed TV quoted the detainee as saying in a Saturday evening broadcast, adding that he is a political prisoner in a case he has no information about.

Two Lebanese judicial officials confirmed to The Associated Press on Monday that the photographs aired by Al-Jadeed are of Gadhafi and the cell where he has been held for years at police headquarters in Beirut. Gadhafi appeared healthy, with a light beard and glasses.

A person who is usually in contact with Gadhafi, a Libyan citizen, said the photos were taken in recent days. All spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to media outlets.

Gadhafi has been held in Lebanon since 2015 after he was kidnapped from neighboring Syria, where he had been living as a political refugee. He was abducted by Lebanese militants demanding information about the fate of prominent Lebanese Shiite cleric Moussa al-Sadr, who went missing during a trip to Libya in 1978.


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The fate of al-Sadr has been a sore point in Lebanon. His family believes he may still be alive in a Libyan prison, though most Lebanese presume al-Sadr, who would be 95 now, is dead.

A Libyan delegation visited Beirut in January to reopen talks with Lebanese officials on the fate of al-Sadr and the release of Gadhafi. The talks were aimed at reactivating a dormant agreement between Lebanon and Libya, struck in 2014, for cooperation in the probe of al-Sadr. The delegation did not return to Beirut as planned.

The leaks by Al-Jadeed came after reports that Gadhafi was receiving special treatment at police headquarters and that he had cosmetic surgeries including hair transplants and teeth improvements. Al-Jadeed quoted him as saying: “Let them take my hair and teeth and give me my freedom.”

Gadhafi went on a hunger strike in June last year and was taken to a hospital after his health deteriorated.

Libya’s Justice Ministry in a statement Sunday said Gadhafi is being deprived of his rights guaranteed by law. It called on Lebanese authorities to improve his living conditions to one that “preserves his dignity,” adding that Lebanese authorities should formally inform the ministry of the improvements. It also said Gadhafi deserves to be released.

After he was kidnapped in 2015, Lebanese authorities freed him but then detained him, accusing him of concealing information about al-Sadr’s disappearance.

Al-Sadr was the founder of the Amal group, a Shiite militia that fought in Lebanon’s 1975-90 civil war and later became a political party that is currently led by the country’s Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri.

Many of al-Sadr’s followers are convinced that Moammar Gadhafi ordered al-Sadr killed in a dispute over Libyan payments to Lebanese militias. Libya has maintained that the cleric, along with two traveling companions, left Tripoli in 1978 on a flight to Rome.

Human Rights Watch issued a statement in January calling for Gadhafi’s release. The rights group noted that Gadhafi was only 2 years old at the time of al-Sadr’s disappearance and held no senior position in Libya as an adult.

China says rival Palestinian groups Hamas and Fatah made ‘encouraging progress’ in talks in Beijing

April 30, 2024


BEIJING (AP) — Representatives of rival Palestinian groups Hamas and Fatah made “encouraging progress” in recent talks in the Chinese capital on promoting reconciliation, China’s Foreign Ministry said Tuesday.

Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian gave few details at a daily briefing, but the meeting in Beijing is China’s latest attempt to position itself as a broker in the Middle East as an alternative to the U.S. and its Western allies, most often seen as backing Israel.

Lin said representatives of the two groups were invited by China and “recently came to Beijing to have an in-depth and candid dialogue on promoting Palestinian reconciliation.” He said they “had discussions on many specific issues and made encouraging progress.”

Hamas has been under siege by Israel in Gaza since launching Oct. 7 attacks in southern Israel, while Fatah’s rule of the West Bank is under severe stress amid an expanding Israeli presence, a morbid economy and widespread accusations of corruption.

“The sides agreed to continue this dialogue process so as to achieve Palestinian solidarity and unity at an early date,” Lin said.



“They highly appreciated China’s firm support for the just cause of the Palestinian people in restoring their legitimate national rights, thanked the Chinese side for its efforts to help strengthen Palestinian internal unity and reached an agreement on ideas for future dialogue,” he said.

Hamas has said for more than 15 years that it could accept a two-state compromise with Israel, but has refused to say it would recognize Israel or renounce its armed fight against it.

For Israel and others, especially in the wake of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, that’s proof that Hamas is still committed to destroying Israel. The United States and European countries have joined Israel in shunning the militant group, which they have labeled a terrorist organization.

Ties between Hamas and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas ′ Fatah faction have long been fraught. In 2006, after Hamas won Palestinian legislative elections, it entered talks with the Palestinian Authority over a unity government. During the negotiations, Ismail Haniyeh, who is now Hamas’ top political leader, said the group supported a Palestinian state along the 1967 lines “at this stage, but in return for a cease-fire, not recognition.”

The two groups eventually reached a deal under which the unity government, including Hamas, would “respect” the Palestinian Authority’s peace agreements with Israel. It was a formula that allowed Hamas to avoid accepting the accords and recognizing Israel.

Israel and the U.S. refused to recognize the unity government and imposed economic sanctions. The government quickly collapsed amid fighting between Hamas and Fatah, ending with Hamas’ 2007 takeover of Gaza.

China has long recognized a Palestinian state as part of its Cold War strategy to build ties with the developing world and undermine Western support for Israel. In recent years, however, it has sought to engage both sides, appointing a special envoy for Middle Eastern affairs to hold talks with both Israel and the Palestinian Authority. In March 2023, China also hosted talks between Saudi Arabia and Iran at which the two regional heavyweights agreed to restore diplomatic relations.

In other recent diplomatic developments, Hamas officials have left Cairo after talks with Egyptian officials on a new proposal for a cease-fire in Gaza, Egypt’s state-owned Al-Qahera News satellite channel said Tuesday.

The channel, which has close ties with Egyptian security agencies, said a Hamas delegation will return to Cairo with a written response to the cease-fire proposal, without saying when.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to visit Israel on his latest trip to the region, which began Monday in Saudi Arabia. He said Israel needs to do more to allow aid to enter Gaza, but that the best way to alleviate the humanitarian crisis is for the two sides to agree to a cease-fire.

Serbia’s new government to include US-sanctioned ex-intelligence chief with close ties to Russia


Aleksandar Vulin, former director of Serbia’s intelligence agency attends a press conference in Belgrade, Serbia, on Sept. 8, 2021. Serbia’s new government will include a former intelligence chief, Aleksandar Vulin who has fostered close ties with Russia and is sanctioned by the United States, the prime minister - designate Milos Vucevic said on Tuesday April 30, 2024. The inclusion of Vulin into the new government suggests further shift toward Russia despite Serbia’s proclaimed pro-EU path. 

Aleksandar Vulin, former director of Serbia’s intelligence agency listens during a press conference of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic in Belgrade, Serbia, on Oct. 8, 2022. Serbia’s new government will include a former intelligence chief, Aleksandar Vulin who has fostered close ties with Russia and is sanctioned by the United States, the prime minister - designate Milos Vucevic said on Tuesday April 30, 2024. The inclusion of Vulin into the new government suggests further shift toward Russia despite Serbia’s proclaimed pro-EU path. 

Aleksandar Vulin, former director of Serbia’s intelligence agency, right, stands in front of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic during a press conference in Belgrade, Serbia, on July 15, 2019. Serbia’s new government will include a former intelligence chief, Aleksandar Vulin who has fostered close ties with Russia and is sanctioned by the United States, the prime minister - designate Milos Vucevic said on Tuesday April 30, 2024. The inclusion of Vulin into the new government suggests further shift toward Russia despite Serbia’s proclaimed pro-EU path. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic, File)

 April 30, 2024Share


BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Serbia’s new government will include a former intelligence chief who has fostered close ties with Russia and is sanctioned by the United States, the country’s prime minister-designate said Tuesday.

Aleksandar Vulin will serve as one of several vice-premiers, said Milos Vucevic as he announced the composition of his future Cabinet, which is expected to be voted into office in the coming days in Serbia’s parliament.

Serbia is formally seeking European Union membership but has maintained friendly relations with Russia and refused to join Western sanctions against Moscow over its war in Ukraine.

The inclusion of Vulin into the new government suggests strengthening of ties with Russia despite Serbia’s formally proclaimed pro-EU path.

Opposition Movement of Free Citizens party said that by including Vulin in the new government, “Serbia is no longer nominally on the European path.”

The liberal party said that Vulin’s nomination heralds “international isolation of Serbia, conflicts in the region, ties to Russia and the introduction of bans on all civil liberties in our country.”

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In July, the U.S. imposed sanctions on Vulin, accusing him of involvement in illegal arms shipments, drug trafficking and misuse of public office.

The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control said Vulin used his public authority to help a U.S.-sanctioned Serbian arms dealer move illegal arms shipments across Serbia’s borders. Vulin is also accused of involvement in a drug trafficking ring, according to U.S. authorities.

Vulin resigned as the director of Serbia’s intelligence agency BIA after the sanctions were imposed on him. He had previously served also as both the army and police chief.

Vulin has recently received two medals of honor from Russia, one from the Russian Federal Security Service and the other was awarded to him by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Vucevic, the new prime-minister designate, previously served as Serbia’s defense minister.

The formation of the new government follows a tense parliamentary election in December that saw the ruling populist right-wing party of President Aleksandar Vucic win most seats in the 250-member assembly. The vote fueled political tensions because of reports of widespread irregularities reported by both local and international monitors. An opposition group organized street protests in the wake of the election.

Abu Dhabi-backed fund pulls out of deal to take over UK’s Telegraph newspaper group


The Telegraph papers are closely allied to the governing Conservative Party.

BY SYLVIA HUI
 April 30, 2024Share


LONDON (AP) — Britain’s Telegraph newspaper group is back up for sale Tuesday after a United Arab Emirates-backed consortium pulled out of a takeover bid following strong opposition from the U.K. government.

Abu Dhabi-backed investment fund RedBird IMI said it was withdrawing from the proposed acquisition of the Telegraph Media Group, which owns the right-leaning Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph newspapers and The Spectator magazine.

The takeover faced a backlash from Britain’s government, which voiced concerns about the impact on freedom of expression and accurate presentation of news. Last month the government said it was bringing forward legislation to block foreign state ownership of British newspapers and magazines.

Officials also launched a probe into the proposed deal’s potential impact on freedom of speech. Ofcom, the media watchdog, raised concerns that the proposed takeover could influence “the accurate presentation of news and free expression of opinion” in the publications.

The Telegraph papers are closely allied to the governing Conservative Party.

The investment group said Tuesday its plan was “no longer feasible.”

“We continue to believe this approach would have benefited the Telegraph and Spectator’s readers, their journalists and the U.K. media landscape more widely,” the fund said in a statement. “Our focus now is on providing certainty to the employees and readers of The Telegraph and The Spectator, and securing best value for the assets, which remain highly attractive.”

RedBird IMI is backed by U.S. financial firm RedBird Capital Partners and Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a member of Abu Dhabi’s royal family and the UAE’s vice president. It is run by former CNN chief Jeff Zucker.

The fund reached an agreement last year with the Barclay family, the media group’s previous owners, to provide loans to them and ensure that the family’s debts, worth some 1 billion pounds ($1.25 billion), are paid.

The deal included an option to turn the loans into equity, which would give it ownership control of the newspaper and magazine.

Britain’s Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer said she will monitor the orderly transition of the media group, “with a view to taking any further regulatory action as required.”

“The free press is a cornerstone of our democracy and we cannot take it for granted,” she said. “We are acting to ensure that we retain the ability to step in where necessary to protect the integrity and independence of these publications, given the unique role they play in our democracy.”

Gunmen kill a police officer assigned to protect polio workers in northwest Pakistan

UApril 30, 2024

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Gunmen fatally shot a police officer assigned to protect polio workers in Pakistan’s northwest, an official said Tuesday.

At least 10 police have died this year while on security duty for vaccination campaigns in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

The gunmen fired at a team working in Bajaur district, killing the officer on the spot, police officer Dilawar Khan said.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the assault.

Anti-polio campaigns in Pakistan are regularly marred by violence. Militants target vaccination teams and police assigned to protect them, falsely claiming that the campaigns are a Western conspiracy to sterilize children.

A five-day anti-polio campaign started Monday in 13 high-risk districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. More than 21,000 teams are tasked with administering vaccines to 4,423,000 children under age 5. More than 32,000 police are protecting the teams.

Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan are the only countries where the spread of polio has never been stopped.

The potentially fatal, paralyzing disease mostly strikes children under age 5 and typically spreads through contaminated water.

Former Italian foreign minister convicted for role in sale of Monte Carlo apartment

 April 30, 2024


MILAN (AP) — A former Italian foreign minister has been convicted and sentenced to two years and eight months in prison for his role in the sale of an apartment in Monte Carlo inherited by his right-wing party.

Gianfranco Fini is a former leader of the far-right Italian Social Movement, which he moved away from its neo-fascist ideology and transformed into the National Alliance, serving as foreign minister in 2004-2006 under then-Premier Silvio Berlusconi. The far-right party of Italy’s current premier, Giorgia Meloni, has roots in Fini’s parties.

Fini faced charges including money laundering in connection with the sale of the apartment in 2015 for 1.36 million euros (nearly 1.5 million euros at current exchange rates). The property had been left to the National Alliance by a countess and was sold to the father of Fini’s partner for 300,000 euros in 2008. A fraud investigation into that transaction closed without charges, and a new investigation was launched in 2017 after the second sale.

Fini told reporters after the verdict that he had been cleared of money-laundering but convicted of authorizing the sale. Fini’s partner, her father and brother were also convicted in the scheme and sentenced to between five and six years in prison.

Sentences under three years in Italy usually don’t result in jail time, and for nonviolent crimes, longer sentences usually are not served until appeals are exhausted.

Iranian-French artist Marjane Satrapi wins Spanish Asturias award for communication


 Director, illustrator and author Marjane Satrapi poses for photographers as she arrives to present the movie “La Bande des Jotas” at the 7th edition of the Rome International Film Festival in Rome. Marjane Satrapi, the acclaimed Iranian-French filmmaker and artist, has won the 2024 Princess of Asturias Foundation award for communication and humanities, the foundation announced Tuesday April 30, 2024.

 (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino, File)

BY CIARÁN GILES
April 30, 2024

MADRID (AP) — Marjane Satrapi, the acclaimed Iranian-French filmmaker and cartoonist, has won the 2024 Princess of Asturias Foundation award for communication and humanities, the Spanish organization announced Tuesday.

The foundation said Satrapi was “an essential voice in the defense of human rights and freedom.” The judges described her as “a symbol of civic engagement led by women.

“Due to her audacity and artistic production, she is considered one of the most influential people in the dialogue between cultures and generations,” they added.

Satrapi is best-known for her monochrome autobiographical comic book and film “Persepolis,” a coming-of-age tale set against the Islamic Revolution in her native Iran.

Her graphic novels also include “Broderies” (“Embroideries”) and “Poulet aux prunes” (“Chicken with plums”), which was also adapted into a film. As a filmmaker, she has directed several works, including “La Bande des Jotas” (“The Gang of Jotas”) and “Radioactive” (“Madame Curie”), a biography about the Polish physicist Marie Curie.

“Persepolis” won the Film Critics Grand Prix at the Cannes Festival in 2007 and the César Award for Best Adapted Screenplay in 2008, in addition to being nominated for Best Animated Feature at the 2008 Oscars.

According to the foundation’s biographical note, Satrapi was born in Rasht, Iran, but her parents sent her to Vienna in 1983 to finish her studies because of the extremism in their country following the 1979 Revolution.

She later returned to Tehran and enrolled in the School of Fine Arts, but in 1994 she moved to France. She studied in Strasbourg and later moved to Paris.

In 2023, she coordinated the book “Femme, vie, liberté” (“Woman, Life, Freedom”) together with a group of artists and academics to illustrate the revolts that occurred in Iran after the murder of Mahsa Amini in 2022 at the hands of the so-called “morality police.” The work denounces the repression and lack of human rights that Iranian society, especially women, suffers at the hands of the Iranian regime, the foundation said.

Satrapi was elected member of the French Academy of Fine Arts in 2024.

The 50,000-euro ($54,000) award is one of eight prizes, including the arts, social sciences, and sports, handed out annually by the Asturias foundation named after Spanish Crown Princess Leonor. They are presented each fall by the princess in the northern city of Oviedo.

The communication and humanities award was won last year by the late Italian author and philosopher Nuccio Ordine.

A massive Powerball win draws attention to a little-known immigrant culture in the US


One of the winners of a $1.3 billion Powerball jackpot last month is an immigrant from Laos who has had cancer for eight years and had his latest chemotherapy treatment last week.

BY CLAIRE RUSH AND GENE JOHNSON
UApril 30, 2024Share


SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Cheng “Charlie” Saephan wore a broad smile and a bright blue sash emblazoned with the words “Iu-Mien USA” as he hoisted an oversized check for $1.3 billion above his head.

The 46-year-old immigrant’s luck in winning an enormous Powerball jackpot in Oregon earlier this month — a lump sum payment of $422 million after taxes, which he and his wife will split with a friend — has changed his life. It also raised awareness about Iu Mien people, a southeast Asian ethnic group with origins in China, many of whose members fled from Laos to Thailand and then settled in the U.S. following the Vietnam War.

“I am born in Laos, but I am not Laotian,” Saephan told a news conference Monday at Oregon Lottery headquarters, where his identity as one of the jackpot’s winners was revealed. “I am Iu Mien.”

During the Vietnam War, the CIA and U.S. military recruited Iu Mien in neighboring Laos, many of them subsistence farmers, to engage in guerrilla warfare and to provide intelligence and surveillance to disrupt the Ho Chi Minh Trail that the North Vietnamese used to send troops and weapons through Laos and Cambodia into South Vietnam.


Winner of $1.3 billion Powerball jackpot is an immigrant from Laos who has cancer

After the conflict as well as the Laotian civil war, when the U.S.-backed government of Laos fell in 1975, they fled by the thousands to avoid reprisals from the new Communist government, escaping by foot through the jungle and then across the Mekong River into Thailand, according to a history posted on the website of Iu Mien Community Services in Sacramento, California. More than 70% of the Iu Mien population in Laos left and many wound up in refugee camps in Thailand.

Thousands of the refugees were allowed to come to the U.S., with the first waves arriving in the late 1970s and most settling along the West Coast. The culture had rich traditions of storytelling, basketry, embroidery and jewelry-making, but many initially had difficulty adjusting to Western life due to cultural and language differences as well as a lack of formal education.

There are now tens of thousands of Iu Mien — pronounced “yoo MEE’-en” — in the U.S., with many attending universities or starting businesses. Many have converted to Christianity from traditional animist religions. There is a sizeable Iu Mien community in Portland and its suburbs, with a Buddhist temple and Baptist church, active social organization, and businesses and restaurants.

Cayle Tern, president of the Iu Mien Association of Oregon, arrived in Portland with his family in 1980, when he was 3 years old. He is now running for City Council. Saephan’s Powerball win is significant for other Iu Mien, he said.

“It means so much because all of us came with so little,” Tern said. “I take pride in seeing our members of the community advance and flourish, and I just feel so good for him.”

Saephan, 46, said he was born in Laos and moved to Thailand in 1987, before immigrating to the U.S. in 1994. He graduated from high school in 1996 and has lived in Portland for 30 years. He worked as a machinist for an aerospace company.

Cheng "Charlie" Saephan points to his sash at the Oregon Lottery headquarters, April 29, 2024, in Salem, Ore. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)
Images of Cheng "Charlie" Saephan are displayed at the Oregon Lottery headquarters, April 29, 2024, in Salem, Ore. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)

He said Monday that he has had cancer for eight years and had his latest chemotherapy treatment last week.

“I will be able to provide for my family and my health,” he said, adding that he’d “find a good doctor for myself.”

Saephan, who has two young children, said that as a cancer patient, he wondered, “How am I going to have time to spend all of this money? How long will I live?”

He said he and his 37-year-old wife, Duanpen, are taking half the money, and the rest is going to a friend, Laiza Chao, 55, of the Portland suburb of Milwaukie. Chao had chipped in $100 to buy a batch of tickets with them.

Chao, was on her way to work when Saephan called her with the news: “You don’t have to go anymore,” he said.

In the weeks leading up to the drawing, he wrote out numbers for the game on a piece of paper and slept with it under his pillow, he said. He prayed that he would win, saying, “I need some help — I don’t want to die yet unless I have done something for my family first.”

Cheng “Charlie” Saephan listens to a question from the media at the Oregon Lottery headquarters, April 29, 2024, in Salem, Ore.

 (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)

The winning Powerball ticket was sold in early April at a Plaid Pantry convenience store in Portland, ending a winless streak that had stretched more than three months. The Oregon Lottery said it had to go through a security and vetting process before announcing the identity of the person who came forward to claim the prize.

Under Oregon law, with few exceptions, lottery players cannot remain anonymous. Winners have a year to claim the top prize.

The jackpot had a cash value of $621 million before taxes if the winner chose to take a lump sum rather than an annuity paid over 30 years, with an immediate payout followed by 29 annual installments. The prize is subject to federal taxes and state taxes in Oregon.

The $1.3 billion prize is the fourth largest Powerball jackpot in history, and the eighth largest among U.S. jackpot games, according to the Oregon Lottery.

The biggest U.S. lottery jackpot won was $2.04 billion in California in 2022.
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Johnson reported from Seattle.