Enlarge this imageAntonio Guterres, the secretary-general of the United Nations, addre ses the media during a pre s conference at the Federal Chancellery, Vienna, Austria, Wednesday, May 11, 2022.Theresa Wey/APhide captiontoggle captionTheresa Wey/ Mitch Haniger Jersey APAntonio Guterres, the secretary-general of the United Nations, addre ses the media during a pre s conference at the Federal Chancellery, Vienna, Austria, Wednesday, May 11, 2022.Theresa Wey/APUnited Nations Secretary-General Antnio Guterres called the ma s Braden Bishop Jersey shooting in Buffalo a “vile act of racist violent extremism,” according to a statement from Farhan Haq, the U.N. chief’s deputy spokesperson. Officials say they are investigating the shooting as racially motivated hate crime. The suspected shooter, who is white, is believed to have written a 180-page screed that delves into his white supremacist beliefs.Guterres extended condolences to the families of the 10 people who were killed in the shooting, adding that he “hopes justice will be served swiftly,” according to the statement. “The Secretary-General condemns in the strongest Denard Span Jersey terms racism in all its forms and discrimination based on race, religion, belief or national origin,” the statement read. “We must all work together towards building more peaceful and inclusive societies.”Correction May 16, 2022 A previous version of this story quoted the Kyle Seager Jersey U.N. Secretary-General calling the attack a “vile act of racist extremism.” In fact, he called it a “vile act of racist violent extremism.”
Enlarge this imageHong Kong’s outspoken cardinal Joseph Zen, center, and other religious protesters hold placards with “Respects religious freedom” written on them during a demonstration outside the China Liaison Office in Hong Kong, Wednesday, July 11, 2012.Kin Cheung/APhide captiontoggle captionKin Cheung/APHong Kong’s outspoken cardinal Joseph Zen, center, and other religious protesters hold placards with “Respects religious freedom” written on them during a demonstration outside the China Liaison Office in Hong Kong, Wednesday, July 11, 2012.Kin Cheung/APHONG KONG A 90-year-old Roman Catholic cardinal, a singer and at least two others have been arrested in Hong Kong on suspicion of colluding with foreign forces to Mitch Moreland Jersey endanger China’s national security, in an action widely condemned as a further sign of Beijing’s erosion of rights in the city. The arrests further expand a blanket crackdown on all forms of di sent in the city that appears increasingly vindictive in prosecuting actions performed prior to the enactment of the national security law. The crackdown is penetrating further into the city’s long-respected economic, religious and educational institutions, along with non-governmental organizations, many of which have closed down their Hong Kong operations. A police statement said arrests were made Wednesday against two men and two women between the ages of 45 and 90 who were trustees of the 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund, which provided legal aid to people who took part in 2019 pro-democracy protests that were quashed by security forces. Another person, identified only as a 37-year-old man, was cited for failing to properly register the fund, which closed down in 2021. Those arrested had been ordered to surrender their travel documents and would be released on bail.Asia Hong Kong authorities shut down the region’s last independent news outlets Further arrests in the case are pending, the police statement said, which did not identify those detained by name. “Police investigations show that the above-mentioned persons are all trustees of the ‘612 Humanitarian Support Fund,’ suspected of make requests of foreign or overseas agencies, imposing sanctions on the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (and) endangering national security,” the statement said. Those involved were identified by rights groups as Cardinal Joseph Zen, singer-actre s Denise Ho, lawyer Margaret Ng, scholar Hui Po-keung and former Legislative Council member Cyd Ho Sau-lan. It wasn’t clear if Hui had been formally arrested. Zen was seen leaving a police Jim Rice Jersey station shortly before midnight Wednesday. Scores of pro-democracy activists have been arrested under a sweeping National Security Law imposed on the city by Beijing in 2020 following the demonstrations, including veteran lawmaker Martin Lee and publisher Jimmy Lai. The city’s independent media have been gutted and its legislature reorganized to pack it with Beijing loyalists. Zen, the retired archbishop of Hong Kong, is a fierce critic of China and has been blistering in his condemnation of the Vatican’s 2018 agreement with Beijing over bishop nominations, which he has said was a sellout of underground Christians in China. The Vatican spokesman, Matteo Bruni, said the Holy See “learned with concern the news of the arrest of Cardinal Zen and is following the evolution of the situation with extreme attention.”Ho also has been outspoken in her advocacy of civil and political rights. Her manager, Jelly Cheng, confirmed Ho’s arrest but said she had no other information. Hui was arrested at Hong Kong’s international airport as he sought to Rusney Castillo Jersey leave the city, the U.K.-based human rights group Hong Kong Watch said. “Today’s arrests signal beyond a doubt that Beijing intends to intensify its crackdown on basic rights and freedoms in Hong Kong,” said the group’s chief executive, Benedict Rogers. “We urge the international community to shine a light on this brutal crackdown and call for the immediate release of these activists,” Rogers said. The White House also called on China and Hong Kong authorities to cease targeting Hong Kong advocates and immediately release Zen and others who were “unjustly detained and charged,” deputy pre s secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Wednesday. Several leading Kong Kong activists have fled to Taiwan, Britain or elsewhere, while thousands of other Hong Kongers have chosen to leave the city, raising concerns about the economic future of the Asian financial center of 7.4 million people. The arrests follow the selection on Sunday of Hong Kong’s new leader, John Lee, a hard-line former security chief who ran unopposed in a proce s controlled by Beijing and is under U.S. sanctions for his role in the 2019 crackdown and ensuing events. Asia A look at Hong Kong’s new leader, John Lee and his history with the territory The European Union and foreign ministers from the Group of Seven industrialized countries Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the U.K. and the U.S. condemned the election as fundamentally undemocratic and a betrayal of the “one country, two systems” principle under which Hong Kong was supposed to retain its own political, legal and economic system for 50 years after the end of British colonial rule. Maya Wang, Human Rights Watch’s China senior researcher, said arresting Zen for his peaceful activities “has to be a shocking new low for Hong Kong, illustrating the city’s free fall in human rights in the past two years.” Zen’s arrest marks “the darkest day to date in the Chinese Communist Party’s incremental destruction of the vitality of Hong Kong and is likely to provoke a reconsideration by the Vatican of its several-year long diplomatic engagement with Beijing over the ordination of bishops,” said Lionel Jensen, a sociate profe sor of East Asian languages and cultures at the University of Notre Dame, who helped Blake Swihart Jersey welcome Zen to the U.S. school in 2019. The arrests were also condemned by U.S. politicians, with Sen. Ben Sa se of Nebraska, a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, saying it showed the ruling Communist Party and its leader Xi Jinping were “afraid of truth-tellers and labels them threats to national security.” Xi is “absolutely terrified of a 90-year old Catholic cardinal. Xi is a pathetic coward,” Sa se said in a statement.
Enlarge this imageFinland’s President Sauli Niinisto makes a point during a joint pre s conference with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, at the Presidential Palace in Helsinki, Finland, Wednesday, May 11, 2022.Frank Augstein/APhide captiontoggle captionFrank Augstein/ Bryce Harper Jersey APFinland’s President Sauli Niinisto makes a point during a joint pre s conference with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, at the Presidential Palace in Helsinki, Finland, Wednesday, May 11, 2022.Frank Augstein/APIn a joint statement released this morning, Prime Minister Sanna Marin and President Sauli Niinist said Finland must apply for NATO membership without delay. The announcement was widely expected and has broad support in the country: A recent poll showed that about three-quarters of all Finns support joining the military alliance. The invasion of Ukraine in February prompted Finland, Joe Ross Jersey which shares an 830-mile border with Ru sia, to move away from its long history of neutrality and military nonalignment. Europe The Ru sia-Ukraine war drives countries to consider NATO membership Finland’s neighbor Sweden also is considering joining NATO. Moscow has warned both countries against joining. On Thursday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov called Finland’s entry into NATO a threat to Ru Koda Glover Jersey sia and said it “does not make our continent more stable and safe.” Ru sia’s reaction will depend on what the expansion proce s looks like and how close Brandon Kintzler Jersey NATO’s military infrastructure gets to Ru sia’s borders, he said, adding that Ru sia will analyze events and take measures to “keep the situation in balance and maintain our security.” Hear more from NPR’s Frank Langfitt on Morning Edition. This story originally appeared in the Morning Edition live blog.