BUFFALO: Shocked residents of Buffalo, New York gathered Sunday at vigils and church services to mourn 10 people fatally shot by an alleged white supremacist in an act one official described as “domestic terrorism, pure and simple.”
The suspected shooter, identified as 18-year-old Payton Gendron, was arrested at the scene, a grocery store in a predominantly Black neighborhood after police rushed to respond to emergency calls.
He had driven from his home town of Conklin, more than 200 miles (320 kilometers) away, police said.
Gendron was arraigned late Saturday on a single count of first-degree murder and held without bail, the Erie County district attorney’s office said. He pleaded not guilty.
The shooter was wearing body armor, carried an assault rifle and live-streamed the attack, police said, adding that of the 10 dead and three wounded, 11 were African Americans.
Residents gathered outside the store for the vigil, while New York Governor Kathy Hochul, the state’s Attorney General Letitia James and Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown addressed a service at the city’s True Bethel Baptist Church.
In alternately angry and mournful tones, speakers denounced the latest eruption of racist violence and the ready availability of high-power guns in what has become a sadly familiar scene across America.
Hochul, herself a Buffalo native, described the crime as a “military-style execution” — she said the shooter carried an AR-15 assault weapon — and said racist messaging was “spreading like wildfire.”
Hochul called on officials of both political parties to “make sure these people crawl back into their holes and stay there.”
Speaking on ABC, she described social media as “instruments of this evil,” saying the platforms allowed racist themes to “spread like a virus.”
The attack evoked memories of some of the worst racist attacks in recent US history, including the 2015 killing by a young white man of nine worshippers in a Black church in South Carolina, and the 2019 attack by a white man in Texas that claimed 23 lives, most of them Latino.
Attorney General James, who is Black, described Saturday’s attack as “domestic terrorism, plain and simple” and said the shooter would be prosecuted “to the fullest extent of the law.”
Mayor Brown, speaking Sunday on CNN, admonished “lawmakers in Washington” who he said “fail to act” on gun control.
“The message to this country is these mass shootings have to end. There has to be sensible gun control,” Brown said.
“Enough is enough.”
The gunman shot four people in the store’s parking lot, three of them fatally, before entering the supermarket.
Among those killed inside was a retired police officer working as a security guard. He fired several shots at the assailant before being shot himself, police said.
When police arrived, the shooter put the gun to his neck, but was talked down and surrendered.
The victims were ordinary shoppers and store workers.
One, according to a Twitter post, was a 77-year-old “mother, grandma & missionary” who “loved singing, dancing & being with family” and who for 25 years had run a weekly pantry to feed the poor.
At a Sunday vigil in Buffalo’s Elim Christian Fellowship church, pastor T. Anthony Bronner urged both prayer and political action.
“Some of us are very angry this morning,” he said, but “we respond in prayer — and we respond on our feet.”
The shooting is being investigated as a hate crime and “racially motivated violent extremism,” Stephen Belongia, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Buffalo field office, told reporters.
Media reports linked the shooter to a 180-page manifesto that described a white supremacist ideology and laid out a plan to target a mainly Black neighborhood.
A spokesperson for streaming service Twitch told AFP the shooter used the platform to broadcast the attack live, and that the company had removed the stream “less than two minutes after the violence started.”
In addition to mentioning the South Carolina church shooting, the gunman reportedly said he had been “inspired” by the gunman who killed 51 people in a New Zealand mosque in March 2019.
A semi-automatic weapon used in Saturday’s shooting also had a racial epithet written on its barrel, according to local daily The Buffalo News, citing a local official.
In a video call to True Bethel Baptist Church, New York Senator Charles Schumer called racism “the poison of America” and said: “We must tackle the scourge of gun violence and finally ban the weapons of war from our streets.”
But in the face of a strong pro-gun lobby, past efforts by the US Congress at tightening the nation’s gun laws have generally fallen short — even after horrific shootings.
The United States suffered 19,350 firearm homicides in 2020, up nearly 35 percent compared to 2019, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in its latest data.
America mourns victims of racist mass shooting at store
https://arab.news/nx44t
America mourns victims of racist mass shooting at store
- The shooter was arrested at the scene, a grocery store in a predominantly Black neighborhood
- Gendron reportedly said he was “inspired” by the gunman who killed 51 people in a New Zealand mosque in 2019
Vehicle crashes into entrance at Manila airport, killing 2 people including a 4-year-old girl
- Dozens of emergency personnel could be seen at Ninoy Aquino International Airport surrounding a black SUV that had rammed into a wall by an entrance
The other victim was an adult male, the humanitarian group said in a statement.
Other people were injured in the incident and the driver of the vehicle was in police custody, according to the airport’s operator, New NAIA Infra Co, and the Red Cross.
Dozens of emergency personnel could be seen at Ninoy Aquino International Airport surrounding a black SUV that had rammed into a wall by an entrance. The vehicle was later removed from the site.
The airport operator said it is coordinating with the authorities to investigate the incident.
Australia’s re-elected prime minister says voters chose unity over division
- Canada’s opposition leader, Pierre Poilievre, lost his seat after Trump declared economic war on the US neighbor
- Albanese said he would speak to Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky later Sunday
MELBOURNE, Australia: Australia’s re-elected Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Sunday was greeted by well-wishers at a Sydney café and said the country had voted for unity over division.
Albanese’s center-left Labour Party won an emphatic victory in elections on Saturday. As vote counting continued, the government was on track to win at least 85 seats in the 150-seat House of Representatives, the lower chamber where parties need a majority to form an administration.
Labor held 78 seats in the previous Parliament, and gaining seats in a second term is rare in Australian politics.
“The Australian people voted for unity rather than division,” Albanese told reporters in the crowded café in inner-suburban Leichhardt where he and his fiancee, Jodie Haydon, gathered with colleagues and supporters for coffee.
“We’ll be a disciplined, orderly government in our second term, just like we have been in our first,” he added.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers, the government’s top economic minister, explained the election result as voters seeking stability after US President Donald Trump’s tariff disruptions to the global economy.
“This was beyond even our most optimistic expectations,” Chalmers told Australian Broadcasting Corp. of the election result.
“We know that this second term has been given to us by the Australian people because they want stability in uncertain times,” he added.
Australian election result reminiscent of Canada
In an election result reminiscent of Canada’s recent contest, conservative opposition leader Peter Dutton lost his parliamentary seat. His alliance of parties was reduced to 37 seats.
Canada’s opposition leader, Pierre Poilievre, lost his seat after Trump declared economic war on the US neighbor. Poilievre had previously been regarded as a shoo-in to become Canada’s next prime minister and shepherd his Conservative Party back into power for the first time in a decade.
Senior Australian lawmakers say they feared late last year they would become the first government to be tossed out after a single three-year term since the turmoil of the Great Depression in 1931.
Like the center-left Canadian government, the Australian government had linked their political opponents to Trump’s administration and its Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency.
Australia was hit during the five-week election campaign with 10 percent tariffs on exports to the United States despite trading with its bilateral free trade partner at a deficit for decades.
Opposition leader branded ‘DOGE-y Dutton’
The opposition leader was branded “DOGE-y Dutton,” and Labor warned that a Dutton government would slash public sector services to pay for seven government-funded nuclear power plants.
Labor said Dutton never campaigned at any of the proposed power plant sites and argued the conservatives realized that nuclear reactors were not popular. There is no nuclear power generation in Australia.
Labor also accused Dutton of igniting culture wars. While Albanese stands before the Australian flag and two Indigenous flags at media announcements, Dutton had said that as prime minister, he would only stand in front of the national flag.
Indigenous Australians account for 4 percent of the population and are the nation’s most disadvantaged ethnic minority.
Chalmers said the direct impacts of US tariffs on Australia were “manageable and relatively modest.”
“But there is a huge downside risk in the global economy. I think what’s happening, particularly between the US and China, does cast a dark shadow over the global economy. And we’re not uniquely impacted by that. But we’re really well-placed. We are quite well-prepared,” Chalmers said.
Albanese has become the first Australian prime minister to lead a party to consecutive election victories since conservative John Howard in 2004.
Revolving door for Australian political leaders
Howard’s 11-year reign ended at the next election in 2007. Like Dutton, Howard also lost his seat in Parliament as well as his government. Howard’s departure coincided with the start of an extraordinary period of political instability that created a revolving door for political leaders. There have been six prime ministers since Howard, including one who served in the role twice in separate stints three years apart.
Albanese said the first world leader to congratulate him on his election victory was Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape, who phoned at 7:45 a.m.
“He’s a very good friend,” Albanese said. “I told him it’s a bit early to call.”
Albanese had also spoken to New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and received text messages of congratulation from British Prime Minister Kier Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron.
Albanese said he would speak to Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky later Sunday.
Indian PM says Albanese re-election to strengthen ties
- India is expected to host a summit meeting of the Quad later this year
NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese on Saturday on his general election victory, saying it would strengthen ties between the nations.
India has deepened defense cooperation with Australia in recent years as part of the Quad alliance with the United States and Japan, a grouping seen as a bulwark against China.
Modi said he looked forward to working together to “further deepen” ties with Australia and “advance our shared vision for peace, stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific.”
India is expected to host a summit meeting of the Quad later this year.
“Congratulations on your resounding victory and re-election... This emphatic mandate indicates the enduring faith of the Australian people in your leadership,” Modi said on X.
Albanese wooed Modi during a visit to Australia in 2023, referring to him as the “boss” during a massive rally of Indian-Australians.
Modi had earlier hosted Albanese in India, when they performed a lap of honor aboard a cricket-themed golf cart before a Test match, and bonded over their countries’ shared love of the sport.
Romanians vote in a presidential redo after voided election sparked deep political crisis
- The election redo is a crossroads moment for Romania as it seeks to restore its democracy and retain its geopolitical alliances
- The decision to annul the election and the ban on Georgescu’s candidacy drew criticism from US Vice President JD Vance, Elon Musk and Russia, which publicly supported his candidacy in the rerun
BUCHAREST, Romania: Romanians are casting ballots Sunday in a critical presidential election redo after last year’s annulled vote plunged the European Union and NATO member country into its worst political crisis in decades.
Eleven candidates are vying for the presidency and a May 18 runoff is expected. Polls opened at 7 a.m. (0400 GMT) and will close at 9 p.m. (1800 GMT). Romanians abroad have been able to vote since Friday.
Romania’s political landscape was shaken last year when a top court voided the previous election in which the far-right outsider Calin Georgescu topped first-round, following allegations of electoral violations and Russian interference, which Moscow has denied.
Like many countries in the EU, anti-establishment sentiment is running high in Romania, fueled by high inflation and cost of living, a large budget deficit and a sluggish economy. Observers say the malaise has bolstered support for nationalist and far-right figures like Georgescu, who is under investigation and barred from the rerun.
While data from local surveys should be taken with caution, a median of polls suggests that hard-right nationalist George Simion will enter the runoff, likely pitting him against Bucharest Mayor Nicusor Dan, or the governing coalition’s candidate, Crin Antonescu.
Dan, a 55-year-old mathematician and former anti-corruption activist who founded the Save Romania Union party (USR) in 2016, is running on a pro-EU “Honest Romania” ticket. He says Romania needs a president “who has the will and the ability to reform the system.”
Veteran centrist Antonescu, 65, has campaigned on retaining Romania’s pro-Western orientation, while Victor Ponta, a former prime minister between 2012 and 2015, has also pushed a MAGA-style “Romania First” campaign and boasts of having close ties to the Trump administration.
Another hopeful, Elena Lasconi, came second in last year’s first round ballot and is participating in the rerun. She has positioned herself as a staunchly pro-Western, anti-system candidate, railing against what she describes as a corrupt political class.
Distrust in the authorities remains widespread, especially for those who voted for Georgescu, a sizeable electorate that Simion has sought to tap into.
“The anti-establishment sentiment is not like an anarchic movement, but is against the people who destroyed this country,” Simion, who came fourth in last year’s race and later backed Georgescu, told The Associated Press. “We are not a democratic state anymore.”
Simion said that his hard-right nationalist Alliance for the Unity of Romanians party is “perfectly aligned with the MAGA movement,” capitalizing on a growing wave of populism in Europe after US President Donald Trump’s political comeback. AUR rose to prominence in a 2020 parliamentary election, proclaims to stand for “family, nation, faith, and freedom,” and has since doubled its support.
The election redo is a crossroads moment for Romania as it seeks to restore its democracy and retain its geopolitical alliances, which have become strained since the canceled election fiasco.
The decision to annul the election and the ban on Georgescu’s candidacy drew criticism from US Vice President JD Vance, Elon Musk and Russia, which publicly supported his candidacy in the rerun.
The presidential role carries a five-year term and significant decision-making powers in national security and foreign policy.
Japan protests China’s airspace ‘violation’ near disputed islands
- The Japanese foreign ministry said in a statement released late Saturday that its vice minister lodged “a strong protest” with the Chinese ambassador to Japan
- On the same day, China’s coast guard announced it had used a helicopter to “expel” a Japanese airplane from airspace around the disputed islands
TOKYO: Tokyo has lodged a protest against Beijing after a Chinese helicopter “violated” Japan’s airspace and four vessles entered its territorial waters around disputed islands.
The islands in the East China Sea — known as the Diaoyu in China and Senkaku in Japan — are claimed by Beijing but administered by Tokyo and are a frequent hotspot in bilateral tensions.
The Japanese foreign ministry said in a statement released late Saturday that its vice minister lodged “a strong protest” with the Chinese ambassador to Japan “over the intrusion of four China Coast Guard vessels into Japan’s territorial waters around the Senkaku Islands” on the same day.
The vice minister also protested “the violation of Japan’s territorial airspace by a helicopter launched from one of the China Coast Guard vessels, strongly urging (China) to ensure that similar acts do not recur.”
Japan’s defense ministry said the helicopter flew within Japanese airspace for about 15 minutes on Saturday near the Senkaku islands.
“The Self-Defense Forces responded by scrambling fighter jets,” the ministry said.
Public broadcaster NHK and other local media reported that this is the first time a Chinese government helicopter violated the Japanese airspace off the disputed islands.
On the same day, China’s coast guard announced it had used a helicopter to “expel” a Japanese airplane from airspace around the disputed islands.
Liu Dejun, spokesman for China’s coast guard, said a Japanese civilian aircraft “illegally entered” the airspace of the islands at 11:19 am (GMT 0219) and left five minutes later.
Beijing frequently announces it has driven Japanese vessels and aircraft away from the islands, but Japanese officials have told AFP that Chinese authorities sometimes announce expulsions when none have occurred.
Unnamed Japanese officials told local media that Beijing was possibly reacting to a small Japanese civilian aircraft flying near the islands.
Chinese and Japanese patrol vessels in the East China Sea have routinely staged dangerous face-offs around disputed islands.
Tensions between China and other claimants to parts of the East and South China Seas has driven Japan to deepen ties with the Philippines and United States.
