We briefly interrupted our coverage of the mass killing in Uvalde to report on the mass shooting in Chattanooga overnight. pic.twitter.com/bZEbaIrFwC
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) May 29, 2022
US marks Memorial Day weekend with at least 11 mass shootings
After a shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, that claimed the lives of 19 children and two teachers last week, many politicians, public figures and gun-control advocates said the US government should ensure mass shootings could not happen again.
But mass shootings have already happened again — and again. At least 14 mass shootings have taken place across the United States since Tuesday, from California to Arizona and Tennessee.
This Memorial Day weekend alone — spanning Saturday, Sunday and the federal holiday on Monday — there have been at least 11 mass shootings.
These incidents, gleaned from local news reports and police statements, meet the threshold for mass shootings as defined by the Gun Violence Archive, a nonprofit research organization.
GVA defines a mass shooting as one in which "four or more people are shot or killed, not including the shooter." Several of those shootings occurred at parties, and one at a Memorial Day event.
At least seven people have been killed and 49 injured in the mass shootings over the holiday weekend, according to GVA and local news sources. Since the Uvalde shooting last Tuesday, at least 10 people have been killed and 61 were injured in mass shootings.
Brian Stelter, chief media correspondent and news anchor at CNN, interrupted a broadcast Sunday about the response to the mass shooting in Uvalde to tell viewers about another - in Tennessee.
"Mass killings like Buffalo and Uvalde become national news, but many mass shootings do not. They just end up being local stories," Stelter said, in a clip that has been viewed over 334,000 times on Twitter.
On Saturday evening, six teenagers were injured by gunfire in Chattanooga, Tenn., in what Mayor Tim Kelly said was probably "an altercation between other teenagers."
The victims, who were between the ages of 13 and 15, were transported to a hospital, and two had life-threatening injuries, according to the Chattanooga Police Department.
(Source: The Washington Post)
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Erdogan, Putin discuss situation in Ukraine, bilateral relations
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the situation in Ukraine during a phone conversation on Monday, the office of the Turkish leader said.
"Regional issues were discussed, such as the Russian operation in Ukraine, as well as Turkish-Russian relations. Erdogan said that steps were needed that will minimize the negative consequences of the war and strengthen confidence by quickly restoring the ground for peace between Russia and Ukraine.
"President Erdogan proposed holding meeting with Russia, Ukraine and the UN in Istanbul and play a role in a possible monitoring mechanism if both sides agree in principle," the office said.
Erdogan also said during the talks that "attacks by the terrorist organization PKK/ YPG [Kurdistan Workers' Party] against Turkey and the Syrian civilian population continue in Syria."
(Source: Sputnik News)
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Putin urged to hold direct negotiations with Zelensky
The leaders of France and Germany have urged Russia’s Vladimir Putin to hold "direct and serious negotiations" with Ukraine’s president, the German chancellor’s office said.
Emmanuel Macron and Olaf Scholz spoke to Putin by phone for 80 minutes.
The pair "insisted on an immediate ceasefire and a withdrawal of Russian troops", the chancellor’s office said.
Russia’s leader said Moscow was open to resuming dialogue with Kyiv, according to the Kremlin.
It did not mention the possibility of direct talks between Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky. The Ukrainian president earlier said he was not “eager” for talks, but added they would likely be necessary to end the conflict.
France and Germany also urged Putin to release 2,500 Ukrainian fighters taken as prisoners of war at the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol.
(Source: The Daily Times)
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WATCH: Trump urges Biden to put safe schools ahead of Ukraine
During his speech at the pro-gun conference for the National Rifle Association (NRA) at the weekend, former US president Donald Trump called on the Washington government to prioritise funding for school security in the country instead of sending aid to war-torn Ukraine.
The three-day annual convention in Houston comes just days after the mass shooting at the Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, where 19 children and two teachers were killed.
“We spent trillions in Iraq and Afghanistan and got nothing for it. Before we nation-build the rest of the world, we should be building safe schools for our own children in our own nation,” said Trump.
Read more here.
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Ofc it's the liverpool fans
— Yasser (@078Yasser) May 28, 2022
Give madrid the ucl @ChampionsLeaguepic.twitter.com/QB5ceqmmsi
French minister blames Liverpool fans for chaos at Champions League final
Following Real Madrid’s 1-0 in over Liverpool in Saturday’s Champions League final, France sports minister has blamed Liverpool fans for the crowd problems which delayed the game.
Reuters reported that Liverpool fans without valid tickets were responsible for the crowd problems at the Champions League final, which was exacerbated by local youths who attempted to force their way into the stadium.
“What we really have to bear in mind is that what happened, first of all, was this mass gathering of the British supporters of the Liverpool club, without tickets, or with fake tickets,” said French Sports Minister Amelie Oudea-Castera.
“When there are that many people by the entrance to the stadium, there will be people trying to force their way in through the doors of the Stade de France, and a certain number of youths from the nearby area who were present tried to get in by mixing in with the crowd,” she told French radio RTL.
Read more here.
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NATO to boost defence across entire territory, not only eastern flank - Stoltenberg
Nato wants to reinforce defence capabilities both in the east and throughout the alliance's entire territory to be able to counter threats from any direction, bracing for a long conflict in Ukraine which its intelligence anticipated back in Autumn 2021, Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Monday.
Nato will hold a summit in Madrid from June 29-30.
Stoltenberg told Spanish newspaper ABC that NATO expects the summit to boost preparedness and strengthen defences throughout the alliance's entire territory and not just the eastern flank.
He said nobody can tell precisely how soon the conflict in Ukraine would end but noted that Nato had shared intelligence on Ukraine last autumn and that the alliance should be ready that hostilities there would last long.
Stoltenberg also urged Nato countries to support Ukraine's right to self-defence.
(Source: Sputnik News)
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Few seem to realize that China is leading the world in renewable energy generation and electric vehicles. Whatever you may think of China, this is simply a fact.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 29, 2022
Musk: China leading the world in EVs, renewable energy
Elon Musk on Monday said that whatever the world thinks of China, the country is leading the race in electric vehicles (EVs) and renewable energy.
Tesla has one of its Gigafactory in Shanghai that is currently facing logistics issues due to Covid-19 lockdowns and is slowly getting back on track.
In a tweet, Musk said: "Few seem to realise that China is leading the world in renewable energy generation and electric vehicles. Whatever you may think of China, this is simply a fact."
Musk, who has refused to manufacture Tesla cars in India unless the government is allowed to sell and provide service to its electric vehicles, has always praised China and its work culture.
Earlier this month, the Tesla CEO Elon said that American people do not want to work while their Chinese counterparts are way better when it comes to finishing the job.
The world's richest man, during the 'Financial Times Future of the Car' summit, said that China is a land of super-talented people.
"I think there will be some very strong companies coming out of China, there are just a lot of super-talented hardworking people in China who strongly believe in manufacturing," he told the audience.
"They won't just be burning the midnight oil, they will be burning the 3am oil, they won't even leave the factory type of thing, whereas in America people are trying to avoid going to work at all," Musk added.
(Source: IANS)
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Russia promises stable gas supply to Serbia
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Sunday that his country will continue to supply natural gas to Serbia uninterruptedly, during a phone call with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.
Putin and Vucic discussed bilateral relations in detail, including “steps to expand mutually beneficial trade and economic cooperation,” and exchanged views on the “situation in Ukraine and developments around Kosovo,” the Kremlin said in a statement.
It added that the leaders reaffirmed their common position to strengthen the strategic partnership between Russia and Serbia.
(Source: ANI/Xinhua)
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Palestinian presidency rejects Israeli PM's remarks on Jerusalem
The Palestinian presidency on Sunday rejected the remarks of Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, in which he said that "Jerusalem is a unified city."
Palestinian Presidential Spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh said in a press statement that "East Jerusalem and all its holy sites will remain the eternal capital of the state of Palestine under the United Nations resolutions and international law."
"Security and stability would never be achieved in the region as long as Israel continues its war on the Palestinian people and their land," he said.
Abu Rudeineh added the only way to achieve stability and everlasting peace is "to gain the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, mainly establishing an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital."
"The Israeli remarks will never give legitimacy to the occupation of the city of Jerusalem," he noted, adding that the US is requested to bear its responsibilities "to stop the Israeli violations and stop its double-standard policy."
(Source: Xinhua News Agency)
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Washington, D.C. residents pay tribute to victims of Uvalde school shooting
Dozens of residents in northwest Washington, DC on Sunday paid tribute to victims of the mass school shooting in Uvalde, Texas.
Organizers displayed 21 empty chairs standing for 19 children and two teachers killed in the Uvalde shootout on a lawn outside a local church.
A lady read their names one by one, echoed by residents attending the memorial at noon.
US President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden traveled to Uvalde on Sunday to meet with the families of the victims and survivors of the massacre.
They also visited a memorial constructed outside Robb Elementary School — the site of the horrific shooting that occurred on Tuesday.
"From the benefit of hindsight, where I'm sitting now, of course, it was not the right decision," said Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steven McCraw.
McCraw said of the commander's decision to wait for tactical teams to arrive to storm the classroom. "It was the wrong decision, period."
(Source: Xinhua News Agency)
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Nepal plane crash: All 22 people on board suspected dead, 14 bodies recovered
All 22 people on board the Tara Air plane that crashed in Nepal's Mustang District on Sunday are suspected dead and 14 bodies have been recovered from the incident site.
"We have suspected all the passengers on board the aircraft have lost their lives. Our preliminary assessment has shown that no one could have survived the crash but the official statement is due," Phadindra Mani Pokhrel, spokesperson for Home Ministry told ANI on Monday.
Officials present at the plane crash site have recovered 14 bodies till now. The bodies will be flown to Kathmandu for postmortem, they said.
(Source: ANI)
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Court jails Egyptian former presidential candidate for 15 years
An Egyptian court sentenced former presidential candidate Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh and several prominent figures from the banned Muslim Brotherhood to lengthy jail terms on Sunday on accusations including plotting to overthrow the state.
Aboul Fotouh, who is in his early 70s and according to his family suffers from several medical conditions, was sentenced to 15 years in prison, subject to appeal, the court ruling said.
Rights groups say thousands of politicians, activists and journalists are detained in Egypt after unfair trials or without legal basis.
Aboul Fotouh quit the Muslim Brotherhood in 2011 after disagreements over the role of religion in politics and founded the more centrist Strong Egypt party, launching an independent bid for the presidency in 2012.
(Source: Reuters News)
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Elon Musk outlines his plan for Twitter
Elon Musk plans to gear Twitter towards “80 percent of the population”.
The Tesla boss is trying to buy the micro-blogging platform but he has now predicted that his version of Twitter would frustrate “the far left and far right”.
Musk, who is the world's richest man, said on the platform: “If I were to own Twitter, it would be geared towards the middle 80 percent of the population, so technically the far left and far right would probably be dissatisfied.”
In a subsequent tweet, Musk confessed to feeling "a bit sad".
Read more here.