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by Paolo Cappelli
20 April 2021The English press celebrates the victory of the fans, today, with the retreat of the Premier League's greats from the Super League.
On the first of the German newspapers the reassuring face of Armin Laschet, the candidate chancellor of the CDU, while the headlines of the Indian newspapers have very little comfort: contagions and covid deaths spread in the country, but Prime Minister Modi invites the governors of the states to resort to local lockdowns as little as possible.
The news of the day, however, is the conviction of Derek Chauvin: what changes in the United States, does it mend the wounds of months of racial tensions?
NYT
Derek Chauvin guilty of murder for George Floyd's death
it took the jurors 10 hours in council chamber to issue the sentence for second degree murder, maximum penalty 40 years, third degree murder (maximum penalty 25 years) and manslaughter (maximum penalty 10 years). The sentence will be established within eight weeks by the judge who presided over the trial. The verdict represents a harsh and rare conviction for police violence, after multiple cases of officers not indicted or convicted by the courts. The conviction for the three types of crime could be challenged on appeal. Why one act and three different cases? Why Chauvin was found guilty of causing the death of a human while committing or attempting an assault (second degree murder);to have unintentionally caused Floyd's death by an act of reckless contempt for human life (third degree murder) and to have acted by assuming the risk of causing death to someone else (manslaughter). None of these offenses resulted in the jury needing to ascertain that Chauvin intended to kill George Floyd. In August, the trial of the agents who were with Chauvin during Floyd's detention. Floyd's murder spawned a mass movement for racial justice not seen in America since the 1960s.In August, the trial of the agents who were with Chauvin during Floyd's detention. Floyd's murder spawned a mass movement for racial justice not seen in America since the 1960s.In August, the trial of the agents who were with Chauvin during Floyd's detention. Floyd's murder spawned a mass movement for racial justice not seen in America since the 1960s.
WSJ
Many Americans are relieved that justice has been done for Floyd, while others have sighed that there have been no riots as some feared in the event of even partial acquittal. Our conclusion is that the jury and the justice system performed better than the politicians anticipated or how they did, while understanding the violent protests and demanding a guilty verdict from afar. Unless the verdict is overturned on appeal, 45-year-old Chauvin risks living behind bars for more than a decade. It would be nice if all this stimulated reflection among those who exploited Floyd's murder for political purposes. But I probably won't be like that. Even after the verdict,commentators who applauded the jury credited last year's riots in American cities with inspiring him. Not the facts. Not the law. But illegal protests. If most Americans truly believe that only chaos in the streets can guarantee justice in America, then this verdict will mean little and many more riots await us. On this point, President Biden has been of little help, despite his inaugural calls for unity and healing. Yesterday before the verdict, Mr. Biden said he was "praying" that the jury would reach "the right verdict" and that the evidence was "overwhelming". This is outrageous interference with the administration of justice. Even though the jury was isolated at the time,his words could have reached the jurors if the council chamber had moved on. They could become grounds for a judicial error. Someone should ask the new Attorney General, Merrick Garland, what he thinks of those useless presidential comments. The verdict showed that the legal system is not systematically racist and that a police officer who abused his power can be found guilty. American justice isn't perfect, but it works.The verdict showed that the legal system is not systematically racist and that a police officer who abused his power can be found guilty. American justice isn't perfect, but it works.The verdict showed that the legal system is not systematically racist and that a police officer who abused his power can be found guilty. American justice isn't perfect, but it works.
Slate
Aymann Ismail, reportage from the streets of Minneapolis waiting for the verdict a few meters from where George Floyd died
I was with Marcia Howard, the unofficial guardian of the square who now bears Floyd's name. "Today we can see if the people of Minneapolis can look at something with their eyes and not be fooled by the thought that they haven't seen what they have seen," he told me. I had never seen Howard, a former marine who lives two hundred meters from this place, very excited before. But now it was. At the intersection the crowd swelled, hundreds gathered to hear the verdict together. There were the usual chants: "Say his name! George Floyd!" But others remained silent. A woman beside me sobbed, overcome with anxiety. "I want to be confident. There has to be justice this time," she told me. "I need justice". Then the reading of the verdict.The applause. It was a mass catharsis. The woman I was talking to broke down in tears again, this time with joy. "We count too!" he shouted several times in a hoarse voice.
NYPost
insane Maxine
Judge says Chauvin case could have a twist on appeal for Waters' threats.
Remember when the left used to go crazy over President Trump's propensity to drop rhetorical bombs in pending investigations and prosecutions? Good times, good times. Well, Trump is gone and we see leftist provocateurs drop rhetorical bombs on the Derek Chauvin murder trial in the George Floyd case. We saw Congressman Maxine Waters, a California Democrat, arrive in Minnesota week to interfere in its judicial system, in violation of the mayor's curfew, utter words that can only be interpreted as an incitement to violence. Surprisingly, rather than distancing themselves from such blatant conduct, Democratic leaders support it.House Speaker Nancy Pelosi insists the California Congresswoman has nothing to apologize for. For his part, President Biden did not wait for the ruling to release the stunning public statement in which he "prayed" that Chauvin would be sentenced.
Washington Post
Three guilty verdicts, a much needed step
EJ Dionne: Jury decision of accountable citizens - "normal people from all walks of life," Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison called them violence by police officers is, and must be declared, unacceptable. He says racism must be recognized for what it is. Murder is murder. And the fact that this killing was carried out by an agent who was sworn to obey the law made the crime even more shameful. The importance of the Chauvin verdict should not be underestimated, but it alone will not transform the relationship between police officers and black Americans. It is a big step forward, but only the beginning.
Former President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle welcomed the verdict but added that "if we are honest with ourselves, we know that true justice is much more than a single verdict in a single trial". The Obamas have called for "concrete reforms that will reduce and ultimately eliminate racial prejudice in our criminal justice system." The jury's verdict proved that change is possible. He also signaled to the world that the struggle for racial equality in the United States, a long history of victories and defeats, of progress and setbacks, of peace and violence, could once again bend towards justice.
on Twitter has unleashed a shower of criticism Nancy Pelosi's statement to CBS: thank you George Floyd "for sacrificing your life for justice".
Barbara Ransby, a University of Illinois history professor and longtime black activist, reacted quickly:
"Did Pelosi just say" George Floyd, thank you for sacrificing your life for justice "? He tweeted -" He did not SACRIFICE his life.
His life was taken with violence. "Another user, @Chris_Lee_Cal, tweeted:" I'm pretty sure he wasn't signed up to be murdered by a cop. "One user, @marginoferror tweeted:" 'Sacrifice your own life is something that people have to do for themselves.
Floyd was murdered.
We just had a trial on this!
".
Welt
Laschet is the candidate for the chancellery: "thank you Markus Soder"
Laschet's victory on question K will not extinguish the perplexities and unease of Söder's supporters in the Union. Now the CDU chancellor candidate must find the promised "central role" for the head of the CSU. The difficulties are not lacking: after Annalena Baerbock and Armin Laschet were proclaimed chancellors for the Greens and the Union, the Forsa polls of CDU and CSU collapsed - the Greens, on the other hand, rose to the top. The Union yesterday in the trend barometer compared to last week drops by seven percentage points to 21%. The Greens have increased by five points and, with 28%, have undermined the Union from the first place. The SPD could not benefit from the collapse of the Union, on the contrary: it fell by two points to 13%. The liberals of FDP are at 12%,up The left has risen by one point to 7%. For AfD alone, 11%, nothing has changed.
Handelsblatt
Green light for Laschet
The CDU leader has prevailed in the fight for the candidacy for chancellor of the CDU / CSU. The business community now wants him to send a strong signal for change. "Instead of bureaucracy and redistribution, we must once again put international competitiveness and strengthening the business location at the center of politics," asked Arndt Kirchhoff, president of the state association of business associations in North Rhine Westphalia.
FAZ
Laschet wants to set a clear direction with the help of Soder
Laschet, the candidate of pain, by BERTHOLD KOHLER: Armin Laschet has won the battle of his life against Markus Söder. In the autumn, however, he can only win with the support of those who now doubt him. HEIKE GÖBEL: Union will be needed in the Chancellery when it stops competing with Verdi and Rossi for the most expensive climate and welfare. Laschet must differentiate the Union from the message "the state can do everything".
Times of India
Reassuring workers in the workplace, saving the country from lockdown, must remain the last option, Narendra Modi tells governors. But the infected are 294 thousand only yesterday, 28 thousand only in New Delhi with 277 deaths in the city. The rate of increase in positive last week was 62%, 2 thousand deaths every 24 hours for days now
From the Editor
El Tiempo (Colombia)
Chile, the health system is on the verge of collapse, despite vaccination having reached 50% of the population
The country is experiencing a strong wave of covid-19 despite having vaccinated 50% of its population. After resisting the onslaught of the first wave, the Chilean health system is now in collapse, the intensive care beds, due to the sharp increase in infections, are at 97%.
In the Guillermo Grant hospital in Concepción, ICU beds have been quintupled, also converting pediatric wards into places to assist coronavirus patients.
"During the first wave, the health system went into crisis; not only is it receiving covid-19 patients - explains Francisca Crispi, president of the Metropolitan Medical College, but also with other diseases postponed in the past that today require intensive care beds. record of over 9,000 new infections a day. The staff is now exhausted. ”
Why have covid-19 cases increased in Chile, despite the rapid and efficient vaccination?
Chile was supposed to be the brightest spot for Latin America in the fight against covid-19, a country with 19 million inhabitants had begun purchasing vaccines early by reaching agreements with pharmaceutical companies shortly before the pandemic began. By early 2021, the country had achieved one of the highest vaccination rates in the world. Johns Hopkins University says Chile is now approaching 1.1 million covid-19 cases and 25,000 deaths.
What went wrong?
Health authorities and experts say the world can learn a lot from a multifactorial "perfect storm" that hit Chile. During the Christmas holidays and the New Year holidays, there was a forced push that supported the reopening of schools. shopping centers and services. "Initially, the rapid pace with which the vaccinations were taking place and their level of effectiveness gave a feeling of security to the population and their level of effectiveness - said Francisco Álvarez public health expert from Chile - caused a maximum slowdown of the restrictions".“We have seen entire families go to buy gifts and the population gathered in shopping centers - he continues - But above all, travel between provinces has been allowed and the virus has traveled with them. In January, on the other hand, in Chile it is summer, the high season for national and international travel. People have received two misleading messages: 'you can go on vacation anywhere in the country or abroad', and 'we are one of the leading countries in Latin America for the number of vaccinations carried out'. People realized that the risk of contracting the virus had probably passed - Alvarez said - and relaxed measures. This created the perfect storm. ”Many Chileans traveled to Europe and other countries with a high incidence of cases, which contributed to the rebound.There were at least six clandestine parties attended by mainly young people from Santiago, the capital. This produced spikes in covid-19 in a region that had had a relatively low number of cases until then. The authorities were once again forced to take drastic measures to fight the pandemic. The schools, which had been reopened for face-to-face lessons, were closed again. Only essential services and activities, such as supermarkets, remain open. Thirteen million Chileans across the country were re-incarcerated at the end of March. The Minister of Health, Paris, then admitted that Chile “has made mistakes that have probably caused pain to many families - says Paris - I apologize. We have done everything possible to do things in the best possible way ”.
Nezavisimaya Gazeta (ng.ru)
L
'Saudi Arabia is Iran an alternative alliance with Israel?
Saudi Arabia and Iran plan to hold talks this week to normalize relations that broke five years ago. The two regional rivals began a dialogue to restore meaningful contact on April 9. The mediator was the Iraqi government. The peace initiative seems like an obvious attempt by Riyadh to please its ally Washington, which is betting on conciliation with Tehran. But the move has a downside. The Iranian-Saudi rapprochement risks obscuring the prospect of establishing diplomatic relations between the Arab monarchy and Israel.
During the first round of consultations, which took place on April 9, the Saudi delegation was led by Khalid bin Ali al-Humaydan, head of the general secret services. The meeting was confirmed to FT by the Iraqis. According to an unnamed official, Baghdad is determined to reconcile its opponents. Thus, the Iraqi side has already managed to "facilitate contacts" between Iran and Egypt, Iran and Jordan, the FT source recalled. The interlocutor then added: Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kazimi "wants to personally play a role in making Iraq a bridge between the antagonistic powers".
The de-escalation in Yemen would have been one of the items on the agenda of the Iranian-Saudi talks. In this neighboring country of Saudi Arabia, the confrontation between the Saudi-backed central government and the Houthis, believed to be Iranian-sponsored, has been ongoing since August 2014. In March 2015, at the request of the central authorities, the Arab monarchy, supported by the air forces of Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, conducted a military operation against the Houthis. Despite its duration, Ansar Allah's hold on Saudi territory has not weakened: Saudi territory continues to be subjected to intense combined attacks.
It is possible that Saudi Arabia's decision to speak face-to-face with Iran was influenced by the continued vulnerability of its oil infrastructure. In recent months, the Houthis' cross-border attacks on Saudi Aramco's refining plants have increased. It is no coincidence that Saudi officials are represented at meetings in Baghdad by the head of the intelligence agency: security concerns remain a priority for Riyadh. However, the main factor influencing the Saudis' decision was apparently the willingness of US President Joseph Biden's administration to bring Iran back to the negotiating table and restore the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) to reduce tensions in Middle East.