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British foreign minister Dominic Raab criticized the European Union on Sunday for treating Northern Ireland as if it were a separate country rather than part of the United Kingdom, and said that approach was causing damage to the British province.”Various EU figures here in Carbis Bay, but frankly for months now and years, have characterized Northern Ireland as somehow a separate country and that is wrong. It is a failure to understand the facts,” he told the BBC’s Andrew Marr program.Raab made his comments amid a dispute between Britain and the European Union over the interpretation of the Northern Ireland protocol, the element of the Brexit divorce deal that relates to trade in the province.Britain’s Telegraph newspaper reported that French President Emmanuel Macron had suggested Northern Ireland was not part of the United Kingdom during his meeting with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson at Group of Seven summit in Carbis Bay in southwest England.”It is a failure to understand the facts. It is a failure to appreciate what speaking around Northern Ireland in those terms and approaching the issue of the Northern Ireland protocol in those terms does, causes damage to businesses from both communities and that creates deep consternation,” Raab said.”We wouldn’t talk about Catalonia and Barcelona or Corsica in France, in those ways,” he added.Asked if Britain and the EU were heading for a trade war, Raab said the bloc needed to allow the free flow of trade between Britain and Northern Ireland. “If the Commission and the EU stick to that, indeed mark the words of President Macron, we can find a pragmatic way through,” he said.”What we cannot have is a lopsided approach, built on some of the flawed assumptions … and which have very real effects for the communities on all sides in Northern Ireland.” 
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An auction for a ride into space next month alongside Jeff Bezos and his brother ended Saturday with a winning $28 million bid.The Amazon founder’s rocket company, Blue Origin, did not disclose the winner’s name following the live online auction. The identity will be revealed in a couple weeks — closer to the brief up-and-down flight from West Texas on July 20, the 52nd anniversary of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin’s moon landing.It will be the first launch of Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket with people on board, kicking off the company’s space tourism business. Fifteen previous test flights of the reusable rocket and capsule since 2015 — short hops lasting about 10 minutes — were all successful.Saturday’s auction followed more than a month of online bidding that had reached $4.8 million by Friday. More than 7,500 people from 159 countries registered to bid, according to Blue Origin. More than 20 bidders — the high rollers — took part in Saturday’s auction.Bezos announced Monday that he and his younger brother, Mark, would be on board New Shepard’s first crew flight; the news quickly boosted bidding. The winning amount is being donated to Blue Origin’s Club for the Future, an educational effort to promote science and tech among young people.The completely automated capsule can carry up to six passengers, each of whom gets a big window. Blue Origin’s top sales director, Ariane Cornell, said following the auction that the fourth and final seat on the debut crew flight would be announced soon.Blue Origin has yet to open ticket sales to the public or divulge prices.
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SALEM, OREGON — Kip Kinkel, who killed his parents before going on a shooting rampage at his Oregon high school in 1998, killing two classmates and injuring 25 more, has given his first news interview, telling HuffPost he feels “tremendous, tremendous shame and guilt.”Kinkel, now 38, is serving a de facto life sentence at the Oregon State Correctional Institution. He spoke with the news site by phone for about 20 hours over 10 months.He said he felt guilty not just for what he did as a 15-year-old suffering from then-undiagnosed paranoid schizophrenia, but the effect his crime has had on other juvenile offenders sentenced to life terms: His case has been held up by some of his victims and by others as a reason to oppose juvenile justice reform in the state.While he has not previously given interviews because he did not want to further traumatize his victims, he said, he also began to feel that his silence was preventing those offenders from getting a second chance.“I have responsibility for the harm that I caused when I was 15,” Kinkel said. “But I also have responsibility for the harm that I am causing now as I’m 38 because of what I did at 15.”FILE – This undated file photo provided by the Oregon Department of Corrections shows Kipland Kinkel.Kinkel described how he had been hearing voices since age 12 and how he became obsessed with knives, guns and explosives, believing China was going to invade the U.S. and that the government and the Walt Disney Co. had implanted a microchip in his head.When he was caught at Thurston High School in Springfield with a stolen handgun he bought from another student on May 19, 1998, “My whole world blew up,” he said. “All the feelings of safety and security — of being able to take control over a threat — disappeared.”Facing expulsion, a possible felony charge and an enormous sense of shame, he said, the voices in his head made him believe he had to kill his parents and then return to school to “kill everybody.”He killed his parents the next day, and the day after that he opened fire in the school cafeteria, killing 16-year-old Ben Walker and 17-year-old Mikael Nickolauson and injuring 25 before being subdued by other students.He pleaded guilty — at the time, he did not want to accept his diagnosis and felt community pressure to resolve the case rather than plead not guilty by reason of insanity. He was sentenced to nearly 112 years after apologizing profusely.“I feel tremendous, tremendous shame and guilt for what I did,” he told HuffPost. “I hate the violence that I’m guilty of.”Kinkel shot Betina Lynn in the back and foot. She told HuffPost the idea of him ever getting out is “literally terrifying.” She has permanent nerve damage, a constant reminder of what happened.“Even now, more than 23 years later, I and many other survivors are still dealing with the fallout,” Lynn said. “We are all serving life sentences right alongside him.”Kinkel described how he underwent mental health treatment at the youth prison where he began his sentence and recognized he harmed innocent people, including his parents, whom he loved. He also said he cried when he learned about the 1999 massacre at Columbine High School in Colorado, afraid that he had inspired it.Fighting his sentenceKinkel, who has obtained a college degree behind bars, continues to challenge his sentence, which was upheld by the state Supreme Court. In March, his attorneys filed a petition in federal court, arguing that his plea was not voluntary — he had been off his meds for several weeks beforehand — and that his sentence was unconstitutional.“Sentencing a juvenile to die in prison because they suffer from a mental illness is a violation of the Eighth Amendment,” his lawyers wrote.In 2019, as part of a national effort to reevaluate tough-on-crime sentences for juveniles, the Oregon Legislature passed a measure to stop automatically referring 15- to 17-year-olds to adult court for certain offenses and to ensure that they weren’t sentenced to life in prison without a chance to seek parole. At the time, there were about a dozen people serving life or life-equivalent terms for crimes committed as juveniles.But critics warned that that the measure could lead to Kinkel’s release, and a month later, lawmakers passed another bill to make clear that the measure was not retroactive.“It doesn’t matter if he was 15,” Adam Walker, the brother of Kinkel’s victim Ben Walker, said in a video released at the time. “The victims don’t get second chances. Why should the offenders?”Kinkel said he watched the debate in the prison library.“It was like, there was hope,” Kinkel said. “And then the Legislature … came back and said, ‘No, we are specifically, intentionally, purposely with everything that we have, going to take this away from the kids already in the system.’”He said he doesn’t often consider the possibility of ever being released: “I don’t allow myself to spend too much time thinking about that because I think that can actually bring more suffering.”
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Denmark midfielder Christian Eriksen was taken to a hospital Saturday after collapsing on the field during a match at the European Championship, leading to the game being suspended for more than 90 minutes. The governing body of European soccer said Eriksen has been stabilized and the Danish soccer federation said he was awake. “Christian Eriksen is awake and is undergoing further examinations at Rigshospitalet,” the Danish federation wrote on Twitter. The Euro 2020 match between Denmark and Finland had been halted in the 43rd minute with the score 0-0 but was to resume at 8:30 p.m. local time. UEFA said both teams had held an emergency meeting before deciding to continue playing. The players came back out onto the field at around 7:15 p.m. to a huge ovation as they started warming up for a second time. Eriksen was given urgent medical attention on the field for about 10 minutes after collapsing near the end of the first half. He was then carried off on a stretcher. UEFA then announced the game had been suspended “due to a medical emergency.” Eriksen had just played a short pass when he fell face-forward onto the ground. His teammates immediately gestured for help and medics rushed onto the field. Eriksen was given chest compressions as his Denmark teammates stood around him in a shielding wall for privacy. Eriksen’s partner, Sabrina Kvist Jensen, went onto the field and was comforted by Denmark captain Simon Kjaer and goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel. The Finland players huddled by their bench and eventually walked off the field while the Inter Milan midfielder was still getting treatment, as did the referees. Eriksen was eventually carried off to a loud ovation, with his teammates walking next to the stretcher. Inter Milan team physician Piero Volpi told The Associated Press that the Italian club was in contact with the Danish soccer federation. “We’re in contact with the Danish federation, the team manager, the team physician. But we still don’t know anything yet,” Volpi said. “We heard what UEFA said and we’re all happy that he’s been stabilized. But that’s all we know.” Volpi added that Eriksen never contracted COVID-19, has no medical conditions that he’s aware of and has passed every medical exam without problem since joining Inter in January 2020 from Tottenham. “But we’ll talk about that when the time is right,” Volpi added of Eriksen’s medical history. “Right now, the important thing is that he recovers.” Eriksen is one of Denmark’s biggest stars and the incident brought an instant sense of shock to the Parken Stadium, where about 15,000 fans fell into hushed silence. Some supporters could be seen crying and hugging in the stands. As the fans in the stadium were waiting for updates, Finland supporters started chanting “Christian,” which was then answered by the Danish fans shouting “Eriksen.” A huge roar then went up from all supporters when the stadium announcer said Eriksen was “stable and awake.” 
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Malawi’s government said Saturday that it had received news of its diplomats’ alleged misconduct in South Africa with regret and that it would punish those involved when they returned home.South Africa on Friday declared all Malawian diplomats persona non grata for abusing diplomatic privileges and gave them 72 hours to leave the country. South Africa’s Ministry of International Relations said in a statement that the action followed an investigation that found the diplomats had been buying duty-free alcohol with cash and then reselling it to retailers.A Malawi government spokesperson, Gospel Kazako, told local media Saturday that the government had already talked with some of its South Africa-based diplomats.“What they are saying is that they are being accused of abusing the tax privileges that they had,” Kazako said. “You know, according to the Vienna Convention of 1961, diplomats have certain privileges, and one of the privileges is that of not paying tax in the hosting country on certain items and certain services. Alcohol is one of those items, so there was abuse, according to South African government.”The South African Revenue Service said the scandal, which also involved diplomats from other countries including Rwanda, Burundi and Lesotho, had led to the estimated loss of millions of dollars in unpaid taxes every month. It has not yet been determined how long the illegal enterprise was operating.Not ‘normal consumption’John Chikago, Malawi’s former high commissioner to South Africa, told VOA the matter was strange and surprising.“We buy with the diplomatic card, and you can’t just buy any amount, unless you have a party at your house or there is national day [celebration] for your country,” he said. “But if it is normal consumption, you should buy only one bottle or two bottles. But they were buying cartons. How? So, it appears there was a syndicate.”Chikago said the issue could tarnish the image of Malawian diplomats in other embassies.“That is the image we are giving to South Africa — that we are corrupt people, because embassies are the image of Malawi — so it must stop,” he said.Sheriff Kaisi, a political science lecturer at Blantyre International University, dismissed fears that the incident would affect diplomatic relations between Malawi and South Africa. But he said the image of ordinary Malawians living in South Africa could be affected.“We have quite a number of citizens living in South Africa,” he said. “They will be seen as people who are not trustworthy, people who cannot follow rules of the game.”However, Malawi’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement Friday evening that the Malawi government had conveyed regret to the South African government about the conduct of the diplomats involved, and that it would take appropriate action when the diplomats returned to Malawi.
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Dash camera video shows the moment an elephant charges at a truck with a man inside in South Africa, Tuesday, June 1. Norman Nukeri, a fuel supply driver in Hoedspruit, was on his way to a client’s lodge on June 1 when he stopped for elephant crossing the path. One elephant started coming toward the vehicle then left its path but returned and charged toward the truck and driver. The animal made contact and crumpled the vehicle’s hood, leaving Nukeri stunned but unharmed. (REUTERS) 
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The top U.S. diplomat in Hong Kong said the imposition of a new national security law had created an “atmosphere of coercion” that threatens both the city’s freedoms and its standing as an international business hub. In unusually strident remarks to Reuters this week, U.S. Consul-General Hanscom Smith called it “appalling” that Beijing’s influence had “vilified” routine diplomatic activities, such as meeting local activists, part of a government crackdown on foreign forces that was “casting a pall over the city.” Smith’s remarks highlight deepening concerns over Hong Kong’s sharply deteriorating freedoms among many officials in the administration of President Joe Biden one year after China’s parliament imposed the law. Critics of the legislation say the law has crushed the city’s democratic opposition, civil society and Western-style freedoms. FILE – Hanscom Smith, the U.S. Consul General in Hong Kong and Macau, attends a meeting in Hong Kong, China, May 17, 2021.The foreign forces issue is at the heart of the crimes of “collusion” with foreign countries or “external elements” detailed in Article 29 of the security law, scholars say. Article 29 outlaws a range of direct or indirect links with a “foreign country or an institution, organization or individual” outside greater China, covering offenses from the stealing of secrets and waging war to engaging in “hostile activities” and “provoking hatred.” They can be punished by up to life in prison. “People … don’t know where the red lines are, and it creates an atmosphere that’s not just bad for fundamental freedoms, it’s bad for business,” Smith said. “You can’t have it both ways,” he added. “You can’t purport to be this global hub and at the same time invoke this kind of propaganda language criticizing foreigners.” Smith is a career U.S. foreign service officer who has deep experience in China and the wider region, serving in Shanghai, Beijing and Taiwan before arriving in Hong Kong in July 2019. He made his comments in an interview Wednesday at the U.S. diplomatic mission in Hong Kong after Reuters sought the consulate’s views on the impact of the national security law. In a response to Reuters, Hong Kong’s Security Bureau said that “normal interactions and activities” were protected, and it blamed external elements for interfering in the city during the protests that engulfed Hong Kong in 2019. “There are indications in investigations and intelligence that foreign intervention was rampant with money, supplies and other forms of support,” a representative said. He did not identify specific individuals or groups. Government adviser and former security chief Regina Ip told Reuters it was only “China haters” who had reason to worry about falling afoul of the law. “There must be criminal intent, not just casual chat,” she said. Smith’s comments come as other envoys, businesspeople and activists have told Reuters of the chilling effect on their relationships and connections across China’s most international city. Private investigators say demand is surging among law firms, hedge funds and other businesses for security sweeps of offices and communications for surveillance tools, while diplomats describe discreet meetings with opposition figures, academics and clergy. Fourteen Asian and Western diplomats who spoke to Reuters for this story said they were alarmed at attempts by Hong Kong prosecutors to treat links between local politicians and foreign envoys as potential national security threats. In April, a judge cited emails from the U.S. mission to former democratic legislator Jeremy Tam as a reason to deny him bail on a charge of conspiracy to commit subversion. Tam, one of 47 pro-democracy politicians charged, is in jail awaiting trial; his lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment. FILE – Lawmakers Jeremy Tam and Alvin Yeung of the Hong Kong Civic Party speak in front of a row of riot police officers during a demonstration against a proposed extradition bill in Hong Kong, China, June 12, 2019.”It’s appalling that people would take a routine interaction with a foreign government representative and attribute something sinister to it,” Smith said, adding that the consulate did not want to put anyone in an “awkward situation.” In the latest ratcheting up of tensions with Western nations, Hong Kong on Friday slammed a U.K. government report that said Beijing was using the security law to “drastically curtail freedoms” in the city. Hong Kong authorities also this week lambasted the European Union for denouncing Hong Kong’s recent overhaul of its political system. ‘Tough cases’ loomAlthough local officials said last year that the security law would affect only a “tiny minority” of people, more than 100 have been arrested under the law, which has affected education, media, civil society and religious freedoms among other areas, according to those interviewed for this story.Some have raised concerns that the provisions would hurt the business community, a suggestion Ip dismissed.”I think they have nothing to worry about unless they are bent on using external forces to harm Hong Kong,” Ip said. “I speak to a lot of businessmen who are very bullish about the economic situation.” Retired judges familiar with cases such as Tam’s said they were shocked at the broad use of foreign connections by prosecutors. One told Reuters he did not see how that approach would be sustainable, as the government accredits diplomats, whose job is to meet people, including politicians. Hong Kong’s judiciary said it would not comment on individual cases. Smith said Hong Kong’s growing atmosphere of “fear, coercion and uncertainty” put the special administrative region’s future in jeopardy. “It’s been very distressing to see this relentless onslaught on Hong Kong’s freedoms and backtracking on the commitment that was made to preserve Hong Kong’s autonomy,” he said. 
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The United Nations high commissioner for human rights said Friday that violence in Myanmar is rising, deepening the crisis that began with the February 1 coup that toppled the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi.”In just over four months, Myanmar has gone from being a fragile democracy to a human rights catastrophe,” Michelle Bachelet said in a statement in Geneva, Switzerland. Bachelet put the blame on the military leadership, known as the Tatmadaw, saying it was “singularly responsible” for the crisis and “must be held to account.”“State security forces have continued to use heavy weaponry, including air strikes, against armed groups and against civilians and civilian objects, including Christian churches,” she said. “The international community needs to unify in its demand that the Tatmadaw cease the outrageous use of heavy artillery against civilians and civilian objects,” Bachelet said.Bachelet’s office said there are credible reports that at least 860 people have been killed by security forces since February 1, and more than 4,800 people, including opponents of the junta, activists of civil society and journalists, have been arbitrarily detained.The U.N. human rights chief will brief the Human Rights Council on the situation in Myanmar during its next session in July, the office said. 
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People in Taiwan, which had held off COVID-19 throughout most the global pandemic, are panicking about their health and income this month as the island grapples with its first major outbreak and shutters businesses amid limited vaccine supplies.Taiwan’s coronavirus total since the start of the global pandemic stood at 12,500 on Friday, with 385 deaths. More than 90% of the cases were recorded since May 15.   Officials in Taipei say their political rival China intervened in a vaccine import deal earlier in the year. Japan and the United States have announced vaccine donations this month to help compensate for the shortage as officials scramble to order imports and fast-track trials of a domestically produced vaccine.  People have become “really concerned” since mid-May and have begun looking for vaccines despite possible side effects, said Joanna Lei, CEO of Chunghua 21st Century Think Tank in Taiwan. Many Taiwanese with dual citizenship in the United States have hopped on U.S.-bound flights this month to get vaccines.   Taiwan is “far” from the double-digit vaccine rate that might offer “herd immunity”, she said. An estimated 1% of Taiwan’s nearly 24 million people were vaccinated as of mid-May.  “I think the really scary part is the government has no plan,” Lei said. “And they don’t have a real survey of the land because they did not do broad testing, so they actually have no clue about where things are happening.”  People line up to get their coronavirus disease (COVID-19) test at Songshan airport following an increasing number of locally transmitted cases in Taipei, Taiwan, June 2, 2021.More than 84% of Taiwanese worry about relatives getting the coronavirus and about 65% say their income will be “hit”, according to a Taiwanese Public Opinion Foundation survey released May 25. More than half of respondents called the current COVID-19 wave a “disaster” caused by humans rather than by nature.   “I see people are all quite nervous about whether their family members are going to get infected by this virus,” foundation Chairman You Ying-lung said. “You’ll find that a high proportion are very worried.”   Without vaccines, Taiwan is looking at an unknown period of forced business closures and income losses, particularly in events, recreation and restaurants. Those businesses have been shuttered or scaled back since May 15. Operators are expecting government stimulus aid if business dips far enough below pre-May 15 levels.   “For us in food and beverage, we should be optimistic about aid, because if it’s not enough, I can’t sustain the business,” said Chien Chia-hsing, owner of the 6-year-old Aussie Café in Taipei. His normal daily customer load of 50 has dropped to just a handful who get takeout. “I hope that the government can do its utmost to allocate money.” People wait to be vaccinated against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) during a vaccination session organized by the local Taiwan Affairs Office in Nanchang, Jiangxi province, China June 4, 2021.Vaccine diplomacy Japan sent 1.24 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine last week despite a protest from China, Tokyo-based Kyodo News Service reported. Washington will donate 750,000 doses, U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth announced Sunday as she visited Taiwan with two other lawmakers.   “For over a year, we’ve seen that COVID-19 strikes without regard to national borders – and we know we won’t be able to truly end the COVID-19 pandemic at home without ending it everywhere,” the senator said on her website.  Washington and Tokyo are long-standing friends of Taiwan, as all three fret over territorial disputes or deeper political issues with China.     “You always want to help friends,” said Alex Chiang, associate professor of international politics at National Chengchi University in Taipei. “They have to show friendship and that they care about the people of Taiwan.”   Taiwanese officials blame China for standing in the way of foreign-made vaccines.   “Taiwan access to vaccines continues to be slowed down by Chinese interference, while they insist we buy Chinese made ones,” presidential spokesperson Kolas Yotaka said May 19 on Twitter.     Taiwan was approaching a deal with German pharmaceutical firm BioNTech in January for millions of vaccine doses, but interference by “external forces” threw off the agreement, health minister Chen Shih-chung told local media a month later without naming China directly.    Taiwan bars Chinese-made vaccines because of their poor record before COVID-19, Chen said in an interview in January. The government’s Central Epidemic Command Center would not say for this report how many vaccines it expects from foreign sources by year’s end but pointed to “insufficient” capacity to make them worldwide.     China has claimed self-ruled Taiwan as part of its territory since the Chinese civil war of the 1940s, when Chiang Kai-shek’s Nationalists lost to the Communists and rebased in Taipei. Beijing has threatened use of force, if needed, to take Taiwan and resents foreign assistance to the island.  
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U.S. President Joe Biden begins his first overseas trip in London; what are the expectations? Plus, who was behind a deadly attack in Afghanistan that killed at least 10 at an international charity clearing land mines? And, what countries are more likely to carry out state-sponsored cyber attacks?
 
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The top U.S. envoy to Belarus told U.S. lawmakers Wednesday that the country’s dependence on Russia had significantly increased. The warning came as a U.S. Senate panel considered policy options in response to Belarus’ detention last month of opposition blogger Raman Pratasevich. VOA’s Congressional Correspondent Katherine Gypson has more from Capitol Hill.Producer: Katherine Gypson. Camera: Alexei Gorbachev.
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Apple on Monday said a new “private relay” feature designed to obscure a user’s web browsing behavior from internet service providers and advertisers will not be available in China for regulatory reasons.The feature was one of a number of privacy protections Apple announced at its annual software developer conference Monday.It will also be unavailable in Belarus, Colombia, Egypt, Kazakhstan, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkmenistan, Uganda and the Philippines, Apple said.The “private relay” feature first sends web traffic to a server maintained by Apple, where it is stripped of its IP address. From there, Apple sends the traffic to a second server maintained by a third-party operator who assigns the user a temporary IP address and sends the traffic onward to its destination website.The use of an outside party in the second hop of the relay system is intentional, Apple said, to prevent even Apple from knowing both the user’s identity and what website the user is visiting.Apple has not yet disclosed which outside partners it will use in the system but said it plans to disclose them in the future. The feature will not likely become available to the public until later this year. 
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For more than six months, fighting has engulfed Ethiopia’s Tigray Region. Those in the thick of the fighting tell VOA they are so angry they can barely speak.
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U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris will be in Guatemala and Mexico this week on a trip that spotlights migration issues at the southern U.S. border. Michelle Quinn reports.
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Two opposition parties in Somalia’s breakaway Somaliland region won a majority of seats in the region’s first parliamentary election in 16 years, the National Electoral Commission said on Sunday.Out of parliament’s 82 seats, the Somaliland National Party, called WADDANI, won 31 and the Justice and Welfare Party (UCID), won 21 seats. The ruling Unity and Development Party, Kulmiye, secured 30 seats, the electoral commission said.The vote had been stalled for a decade by a dispute among the three major parties over the makeup of the electoral commission, which was finally resolved.”Following the announcement of the election results, we have announced a political alliance to get the speaker of the Somaliland parliament,” WADDANI and UCID said in a joint statement, suggesting they would appoint a speaker together.The parties, which combined also won majority of the seats in municipal races, said that they aim to collaborate on city councils across the region and select mayors together.None of the 13 women who ran for parliament won their races.Politicians in the region had described the poll as an example of the relative stability of Somaliland, which broke away from Somalia in 1991 but has not gained widespread international recognition for its independence. The region has been mostly peaceful while Somalia has grappled with three decades of civil war.The three major parties put forward a total of 246 candidates. More than one million out of roughly four million residents had registered to vote, according to the electoral Commission.Presidential elections have taken place in Somaliland, despite the stalled parliamentary vote, most recently in 2017 when President Musi Bihi, from the Kulmiye party, was elected.The next presidential vote is planned for next year.
 
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The U.S. and the European Union voiced concern over Nigeria’s decision to indefinitely ban Twitter after the U.S. social media giant deleted a tweet from the president’s account for violating its rules. International human rights groups have also condemned the move, which followed previous attempts by the government of Africa’s most populous country to regulate social media. Nigerian telecoms operators complied with a government directive Friday to suspend access to Twitter indefinitely. The diplomatic missions of the EU, U.S., Britain, Canada and Ireland issued a joint statement late Saturday condemning the ban. “Banning systems of expression is not the answer,” it said. “Precisely the moment when Nigeria needs to foster inclusive dialogue and expression of opinions, as well as share vital information in this time of the Covid-19 pandemic.”  “The path to a more secure Nigeria lies in more, not less, communication,” it added. More than 39 million Nigerians have a Twitter account, according to NOI polls, a public opinion and research organization based in Nigeria. The platform has played an important role in public discourse in the country, with hashtags #BringBackOurGirls after Boko Haram kidnapped 276 schoolgirls in 2014, and #EndSARS during anti-police brutality protests last year. The government’s suspension came after Twitter on Wednesday deleted a remark on President Muhammadu Buhari’s account in which he referred to the country’s civil war four decades ago in a warning about recent unrest. The 78-year-old president, a former general, referred to “those misbehaving” in recent violence in the southeast, where officials blame a proscribed separatist group IPOB for attacks on police and election offices. ‘Misinformation’ “Those of us in the fields for 30 months, who went through the war, will treat them in the language they understand,” the president had posted on Twitter. The presidency denied late on Saturday that the Twitter suspension was a response to the removal of that post.   “There has been a litany of problems with the social media platform in Nigeria, where misinformation and fake news spread through it have had real world violent consequences,” a presidency spokesman Garba Shehu said in a statement.   Shehu said the removal of Buhari’s tweet was “disappointing” and said “major tech companies must be alive to their responsibilities.” Twitter said it was “deeply concerned by the blocking of Twitter in Nigeria.” “Access to the free and #OpenInternet is an essential human right in modern society.  We will work to restore access for all those in Nigeria who rely on Twitter to communicate and connect with the world. #KeepitOn,” the company said in a statement. “VPN app” was the second most searched trend Saturday on Google in Nigeria, as virtual private networks can enable Twitter users to bypass the ban. Nigeria warned however that it would prosecute violators. “Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, has directed for immediate prosecution of offenders of the Federal Government ban on Twitter operations in Nigeria,” spokesman Umar Jibrilu Gwandu said. Amnesty International condemned the ban, calling on Nigeria to “immediately reverse the unlawful suspension.””This repressive action is a clear attempt to censor dissent & stifle the civic space,” Human Rights Watch researcher Anietie Ewang said. 
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Sunday marks the 77th anniversary of D-Day, when Allied forces landed in Normandy, France, to help liberate Europe from German forces and turn the course of World War II.The June 6, 1944, operation was the largest seaborne invasion in history, involving land, sea and air forces.Nearly 160,000 troops took part in the landing, including those from the United States, United Kingdom and Canada.The anniversary of the landmark day usually draws thousands of visitors to Normandy, but for a second year, the celebrations have been scaled back because of the coronavirus pandemic.A veteran’s memoriesIn Carentan, France, Charles Shay, 96, commemorated the anniversary at a ceremony Saturday, the only U.S. veteran there. Shay was 19 and a U.S. Army medic when he landed on Omaha Beach, according to The Associated Press. The Penobscot Native American from Maine now lives in Normandy, and said he lost “many good friends” there.On Friday, the U.S. military honored retired Master Sergeant Shay during a small ceremony on Omaha Beach in Normandy, according to the Stars and Stripes newspaper.World War II history enthusiasts parade in WWII vehicles in Ouistreham, Normandy, June, 5 2021, on the eve of 77th anniversary of the assault that helped end World War II.With D-Day veterans now mostly in their mid-90s or older, there are likely only a few hundred veterans still alive, said April Cheek-Messier, the president of the U.S. National D-Day Memorial Foundation.”If you think about the fact that there are 16 million who served during World War II, there are only around 325,000 World War II veterans still living today, and of that, a very small percentage would be D-Day veterans, and we don’t know the exact number, but you can imagine they would probably only be in a few hundred,” Cheek-Messier told Fox News.Only one veteran now remains from the French commando unit that joined U.S, British, Canadian and other Allied troops in storming Normandy’s code-named beaches, the AP reported.World War II history enthusiasts parade in WWII vehicles in Ouistreham, Normandy, June 5, 2021, on the eve of 77th anniversary of the assault that helped end the war.With most of France still under strict travel restrictions for international visitors, the tourists who usually flock to Normandy to mark the D-Day anniversary will be few this year.U.S. Army Colonel Kevin Sharp and three other U.S. military officers from the 101st Airborne Division — the same division that took part in the D-Day operations — were given special, last-minute permission to attend Friday’s commemorations in Carentan.The U.S. military “really values the legacy of the soldiers and the paratroopers who came before us,” he told the AP. “It was important enough to send a small representation here to ensure that our appreciation for their sacrifices is made known.”‘They remember’Tourism may be restricted, but local residents are coming out in greater numbers, the AP said.”In France, people who remember these men, they kept them close to their heart,” Shay said. “And they remember what they did for them. And I don’t think the French people will ever forget.”By contrast, two years ago, U.S. President Donald Trump joined French President Emmanuel Macron, along with tens of thousands of international visitors, to pay their respects to D-Day soldiers on the 75th anniversary of the landing.The French government announced Friday that it planned to open its borders to foreign tourists on June 9, using a color-coded system. The new rules allow vaccinated travelers from Europe and the United States to enter the country without having to be tested for COVID-19.The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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