Agency Reporter

Kelly Bryant arrived for nephew Daunte Wright’s viewing this week to find the church guarded by a dozen members of the Minnesota Freedom Fighters, a Black militia armed with AR-15-style rifles.

It was just a day after a jury had convicted white former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin of murdering a Black man, George Floyd, 46, last May.

The city was still tense as it prepared for Wright’s funeral on Thursday.

The 20-year-old Black father was fatally shot by a police officer during a traffic stop on April 11 in Brooklyn Center, a Minneapolis suburb.

An initial department review found that the officer who shot Wright – Kim Potter – a 26-year veteran of the police force who has since resigned, mistook her gun for a Taser. Potter has been charged with second-degree manslaughter.

A graphic police body-camera video released after the shooting sparked protests outside the Police Department and calls for Potter to be charged with murder.

Officers in riot gear used tear gas and wooden batons in clashes with demonstrators last week.

Brooklyn Center’s mayor issued a curfew for the city of about 30,000 residents but lifted it late Wednesday after several peaceful nights.

Bryant, 41, a gas station assistant manager from Hudson, Wisconsin, credited protesters with supporting the family, especially her sister Katie Wright, Daunte Wright’s mother.

“They’ve been by Katie’s side this whole time. That means a lot to us.

“I felt safe coming in here,” Bryant said after attending Wright’s viewing Wednesday.

But she added, “I’ve never been to a funeral with AR-15s.”

Bryant and other relatives wore T-shirts bearing a photo of Wright and his namesake 1-year-old son that read, “Justice for Daunte.”

“We want justice, for (Potter) to be held accountable,” said Bryant’s friend Christal Luellen, 40, as she stood with Bryant in the lobby of Shiloh Temple International Ministries in northern Minneapolis, where his funeral was set for noon on Thursday.

“We definitely hope it stays peaceful,” Luellen said.

Wright’s parents and other relatives filed past his open white casket adorned with red roses at the start of Wednesday’s viewing.

Then members of the public were allowed to file through.

One visitor brought a bouquet of multicolored flowers. Another hugged Wright’s mother.

Several accepted tissues from a chaplain and dabbed at their eyes.

“He became the child of America,” family attorney Benjamin Crump told the crowd of about 100, then turned to address the Wrights: “You won’t be fighting alone.

“We’ll be fighting with you in and outside the courtroom.”

The Rev. Al Sharpton, who eulogised Floyd last year and is scheduled to deliver the eulogy at Wright’s funeral, said Chauvin’s guilty verdict doesn’t let Minnesota off the hook.

“Minnesota doesn’t have the right to talk about what it did right until they get this right,” he said, adding: “Don’t tell us what you did for George Floyd and ignore what happened to Daunte Wright.”

READ ALSO:Chauvin convicted of murder in Floyd case

“They’re an interracial family that believes in harmony and love,” Sharpton said of the Wrights.

Wright’s father, Aubrey Wright, nodded and applauded.

When police stopped Daunte Wright earlier this month for expired tags, he had an outstanding misdemeanor warrant for charges from March that alleged he possessed a pistol without a permit and fled a police officer.

Sharpton said Wright’s record was irrelevant.

“Don’t put Daunte on trial,” he said when Potter is the one facing charges.

“She shot him. He didn’t shoot nobody,” he added.

Wright’s aunt agreed. “Daunte wasn’t an angel. We all have said it. But he also was young enough to get his life on the right path,” Bryant said — if he had lived.

She said she has reached out to the mother of Ma’Khia Bryant, the 16-year-old Black girl, no relation, who was fatally shot by police Tuesday in Columbus, Ohio.

“We need to shine a spotlight on all these cops. We need to hold every one of them accountable,” her friend Luellen said.

Bryant added: “Or else it will happen to someone else’s kids.” (tca/dpa/NAN)

Agency Reporter

South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Wednesday reaffirmed his prudent approach toward the issue of whether to grant special pardons to two imprisoned former presidents, Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye.

He emphasised the need to consider public consensus on the politically sensitive matter and its possible impact on national unity during his luncheon meeting with Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon and Busan Mayor Park Heong-joon at Cheong Wa Dae.

Moon was responding to a proposal from the Busan mayor that Moon takes the measure for the sake of promoting national unity, although he did not use the word pardon directly, according to a senior Cheong Wa Dae official.

Moon replied that it is heartbreaking and regrettable that the aged former presidents, who are reportedly in poor health, were in jail.

“I can’t help thinking about public consensus on the issue.

“And it should be considered in a way to help promote national unity.

“ (We) should take the elements into account together,” Moon was quoted as saying.

Both of the mayors belong to the conservative main opposition People Power Party (PPP).

It was quite unusual for Moon to have a separate meeting with PPP members at Cheong Wa Dae.

Early this year, South Korea’s Supreme Court upheld a 20-year prison sentence for the impeached former President Park over bribery and embezzlement.

Lee, another former conservative president, was earlier sentenced to 17 years in jail for similar charges.

Another sensitive issue of whether Lee Jae-yong, the imprisoned de facto leader of Samsung Group, should be given a presidential pardon was not discussed, the Cheong Wa Dae official told reporters on the condition of anonymity.

The Seoul mayor asked the government to relax restrictions on the reconstruction of old and shabby apartment buildings.

Oh said that relevant authorities are using strict safety inspections to control apartment reconstruction on the pretext of worries about the possibility of fueling home price hikes.

The president countered Oh’s view, saying his liberal government is not hampering such reconstruction itself.

Moon pointed out, however, that it is not appropriate to make profit-oriented reconstruction easy, the Cheong Wa Dae official said on background.

Many agree that a shortage of brand-new apartments is behind unrelenting housing price hikes especially in and around Seoul in recent years.

The liberal Moon administration has been criticised for having long focused on restricting mortgage and raising property-holding taxes, rather than increasing housing supply, to stabilise the market.

The Seoul mayor, meanwhile, proposed that South Korea shift its focus to win the right to host the 2032 Summer Olympics in Seoul from the push for co-hosting the event with Pyongyang.

Moon responded that it is still too early to give up the bid in spite of North Korea’s announcement that it would not participate in the Tokyo Olympics scheduled to open in July.

The president did not rule out the possibility of a breakthrough being produced in efforts to revive dialogue with Pyongyang during his summit talks with U.S. President Joe Biden in late May.

The North may also avert its decision not to join the Tokyo games, given previous cases, and a way could open for co-hosting the 2032 event, Moon added.

The meeting was arranged now that it is very important to pool wisdom with the mayors of the capital and South Korea’s second-largest city, Cheong Wa Dae spokesperson Park Kyung-mee said earlier in a statement.

It marked the start of Moon’s full-fledged campaign to reach out to the opposition bloc, critical of his leadership in the home stretch, since his Democratic Party (DP) was overwhelmingly defeated in the April 7 by-elections.

Earlier, Moon carried out a Cabinet reshuffle to replace the prime minister, five ministers, and some key Cheong Wa Dae aides.

Former DP lawmaker Lee Cheol-hee was appointed as senior secretary for political affairs.

Moon also urged Cheong Wa Dae to strengthen communication and cooperation with opposition parties and called for the establishment of a special system for cooperation with the local governments that have new mayors. (Yonhap/NAN)

By Ekaete Bassey with agency reports

Walter Frederick “Fritz” Mondale, who served as vice president under then-President Jimmy Carter before waging his own unsuccessful White House bid in 1984, has died, according to a family spokesperson.

He was 93.

According to sources, Mondale died at home in downtown Minneapolis surrounded by family. And no cause was given for his death.

“Well my time has come. I am eager to rejoin Joan and Eleanor,” Mondale said in a statement to his staff which was released to the public after his death, referring to his late wife Joan, who died in 2014, and daughter Eleanor, who died in 2011 at age 51. “Before I go I wanted to let you know how much you mean to me.”

Mondale served as vice president under Jimmy Carter from 1977 to 1981.

The Somali National Army (SNA), has killed a senior Shabab operative and arrested two others in an operation in the Middle Shabelle region, a military officer confirmed on Monday.

Abshir Mohamud, SNA commander for Unit 3, told military radio that the army conducted a planned operation on Sunday along the road linking Balad and Jowhar towns in southern Somalia and inflicted casualties on the militants.

READ ALSO: Pathway to Somalia

“Our forces killed a senior Shabab commander, who was in charge of planting landmines in the Middle Shabelle region,’’ Mohamud said, adding that the forces also killed Mohamud’s bodyguard and apprehended two other senior Shabab leaders in the operation.

Somali government forces have intensified operations against al-Shabab in southern regions, but the militants still control some rural areas in those regions, conducting ambushes and planting landmines. (Xinhua/NAN)

By Ekaete Bassey with agency reports

An almost 90-year-old car that once belonged to Britain’s late Prince Philip is now the centrepiece of a seaside museum in Sri Lanka.

The Duke of Edinburgh, whose funeral will be on Saturday, was a car aficionado who bought the 1935 Standard Nine for 12 pounds when he was based in Colombo with the British Navy in 1940.

According to reports, the prince acknowledged that the Standard was the first car he bought. He also became a patron of the Standard Motor Car club.

Gardiner’s hotel, one of the oldest in the former British colony, has built a museum around the silver and black sedan, preserving it for the enjoyment of guests and tourists.

Read Also: Edun hails Prince Philip’s enduring legacy

Prince Philip, who died at 99 last week, was known to love cars and often choose to drive himself.

But in 2019, he surrendered his driving licence at the age of 97 after a collision that flipped his car and injured two other people.

According to sources, during the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral procession on Saturday, a bespoke Land Rover Defender that he helped design will bear his coffin to the Windsor Castle.

By Ekaete Bassey with agency reports

Health professionals in Sweden are sounding the alarm over concerns of a sperm donation shortage spurred by the coronavirus pandemic halting inseminations in large parts of the healthcare system

With sperm donors deterred from travelling to hospitals during the pandemic, doctors at public fertility clinics say the worsening shortage could result in years-long delays for assisted pregnancy treatments.

Those planning to begin their own family now have to wait for around 30 months or more compared to about six months in the past year.

Reports reveal this scarcity is not peculiar to public healthcare centres.

Private clinics in the Scandinavian country are also grappling with sperm deficit, but they are now buying sperm from abroad.

According to the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology, Sweden is among the countries with the highest assisted conception rates in the world.

However, the country also has strict policies around sperm donations, with a sperm sample only eligible to be used by a maximum of six women and most sperm samples in the country have reached their legal capacity.

The Duke of Cambridge, Prince William, has issued a statement in commemoration of Queen Elizabeth II’s husband, Prince Philip, who died this past Friday, saying that he will miss his grandfather.

“My grandfather was an extraordinary man and part of an extraordinary generation

“Catherine and I will continue to do what he would have wanted and will support The Queen in the years ahead.

“I will miss my Grandpa but I know he would want us to get on with the job,” Prince William said in a statement published online.

Prince Philip’s life was “defined by service – to his country and Commonwealth,” William added.

READ ALSO: Gun salutes to mark death of Prince Philip

Philip, who held the title of Duke of Edinburgh, died “peacefully” aged 99 on Friday

The UK declared eight days of national mourning ahead of his funeral, which is set to take place at St George’s Chapel, on the grounds of Windsor Castle, this coming Saturday.

William’s brother, Prince Harry, reportedly flew back to the UK from his home in the United States this past weekend in order to attend the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral.

(Sputnik/NAN)