SUDAN
Army chief picks PM
Army chief General Abdel-Fattah Burhan on Monday appointed the nation’s first prime minister since it plunged into civil war two years ago and following months of steady advances by the military against its paramilitary rival. Kamil al-Taib Idris is to be tasked with forming the country’s transitional government, a move long touted by Burhan, particularly after the army regained control of Khartoum in March and ousted the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) from the capital. Journalist and political analyst Osman Mirghani said that appointing Idris marks an important step toward restoring civilian-led rule and addressing the political crisis. “His chances of being accepted by various communities of the Sudanese society seems higher, even among those who support the RSF, because he has no political affiliations,” he said.
UNITED STATES
Cop killer executed
A man was yesterday executed in Indiana for the murder of a police officer in 2000, the prison department said, one of three executions to be carried out this week. Benjamin Ritchie, 45, was put to death by lethal injection at the Indiana State Prison in Michigan City after being sentenced for the murder of officer Bill Toney. Toney, a father of two, was shot to death after pursuing a van that had been stolen by Ritchie and another man from a gas station in the town of Beech Grove. A second execution was scheduled for later yesterday in Texas. Matthew Johnson, 49, was to die by lethal injection at the Texas State Penitentiary for killing convenience store worker Nancy Harris, 76, by setting her on fire in 2012. A third execution is to be carried out tomorrow is in Tennessee. Oscar Smith, 75, is to be put to death by lethal injection for the 1989 shooting and stabbing murders of his estranged wife, Judy Smith, and her two sons, Chad and Jason Burnett.
UNITED STATES
Kushner confirmed envoy
The Senate on Monday confirmed Charles Kushner, father of President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and the recipient of a presidential pardon after his conviction for witness tampering and tax evasion, to be ambassador to France. The Senate backed Kushner 51 to 45. Senator Cory Booker, who represents Kushner’s home state of New Jersey, was the only Democrat to vote along with Trump’s fellow Republicans in favor of the nomination. Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska was the only Republican who opposed it. Kushner pleaded guilty in 2005 to 18 federal counts, including tax evasion, retaliating against a federal witness and lying to the Federal Election Commission. He served two years in prison, the maximum allowed in a plea deal.
FRANCE
Denzel Washington honored
Actor Denzel Washington on Monday received a surprise honorary Palme d’Or award at the Cannes Film Festival in recognition of his outstanding career. Washington, 70, was in Cannes for the premiere of US director Spike Lee’s Highest 2 Lowest, an adaptation of Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa’s High and Low, which also premiered on Monday. Washington, who was joined by costars A$AP Rocky and Jeffrey Wright on the red carpet, stars as David King in the crime thriller that marks the fifth time he and Lee have worked together. The two-time Oscar winner’s movie roles have ranged from black activist Malcolm X, to a drunk, but heroic pilot in Flight. His turn as a rogue detective in Training Day earned him his second Oscar in 2002 following his first win in 1990 for Glory.
BACKLASH: The National Party quit its decades-long partnership with the Liberal Party after their election loss to center-left Labor, which won a historic third term Australia’s National Party has split from its conservative coalition partner of more than 60 years, the Liberal Party, citing policy differences over renewable energy and after a resounding loss at a national election this month. “Its time to have a break,” Nationals leader David Littleproud told reporters yesterday. The split shows the pressure on Australia’s conservative parties after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s center-left Labor party won a historic second term in the May 3 election, powered by a voter backlash against US President Donald Trump’s policies. Under the long-standing partnership in state and federal politics, the Liberal and National coalition had shared power
A Croatian town has come up with a novel solution to solve the issue of working parents when there are no public childcare spaces available: pay grandparents to do it. Samobor, near the capital, Zagreb, has become the first in the country to run a “Grandmother-Grandfather Service,” which pays 360 euros (US$400) a month per child. The scheme allows grandparents to top up their pension, but the authorities also hope it will boost family ties and tackle social isolation as the population ages. “The benefits are multiple,” Samobor Mayor Petra Skrobot told reporters. “Pensions are rather low and for parents it is sometimes
CONTROVERSY: During the performance of Israel’s entrant Yuval Raphael’s song ‘New Day Will Rise,’ loud whistles were heard and two people tried to get on stage Austria’s JJ yesterday won the Eurovision Song Contest, with his operatic song Wasted Love triumphing at the world’s biggest live music television event. After votes from national juries around Europe and viewers from across the continent and beyond, JJ gave Austria its first victory since bearded drag performer Conchita Wurst’s 2014 triumph. After the nail-biting drama as the votes were revealed running into yesterday morning, Austria finished with 436 points, ahead of Israel — whose participation drew protests — on 357 and Estonia on 356. “Thank you to you, Europe, for making my dreams come true,” 24-year-old countertenor JJ, whose
A documentary whose main subject, 25-year-old photojournalist Fatima Hassouna, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza weeks before it premiered at Cannes stunned viewers into silence at the festival on Thursday. As the cinema lights came back on, filmmaker Sepideh Farsi held up an image of the young Palestinian woman killed with younger siblings on April 16, and encouraged the audience to stand up and clap to pay tribute. “To kill a child, to kill a photographer is unacceptable,” Farsi said. “There are still children to save. It must be done fast,” the exiled Iranian filmmaker added. With Israel
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