International
Brazil’s Bolsonaro vetoes second culture funding bill
AFP
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro vetoed a bill Thursday that would grant $600 million in aid to artists and cultural programs reeling from the coronavirus pandemic, the second such legislation he has blocked in a month.
The administration said the latest measure was “against the public interest,” and that both bills had failed to properly source funding to cover their budgets.
Critics accused the far-right president of waging a “war on culture.”
The latest legislation was dubbed the Aldir Blanc Bill, for a noted Brazilian composer who died of Covid-19 in 2020.
Like the previous bill — also named for a famous Brazilian who died of Covid, the actor and comedian Paulo Gustavo — it aimed to assist a cultural sector still suffering from the impact of pandemic shut-downs.
Passed in March, the Blanc Bill would have extended Covid-19 emergency funds for cultural projects, allocating three billion reais ($600 million) annually to state and local governments for five years starting in 2023.
“This is another episode in Bolsonaro’s war on culture,” Mariana Conti, a candidate for governor of Sao Paulo for the left-wing Socialism and Liberty Party (PSOL), wrote on Twitter.
“The arguments for his veto are unfounded,” tweeted opposition Senator Jandira Feghali, one of the bill’s sponsors, calling the president “an enemy of culture.”
Bolsonaro, who comes up for reelection in October, has often been accused of attacking culture and the arts.
He downgraded Brazil’s culture ministry to a secretariat on taking office in 2019, and his administration has faced repeated allegations of using its control over federal funding for the arts to try to censor projects it sees as ideologically threatening.
International
Man arrested after deliberately driving into seven children in Osaka
Japanese police arrested a man on Thursday after he rammed his car into a group of seven schoolchildren in an apparent deliberate attack in the city of Osaka.
The children, who were on their way home from school, sustained injuries and were taken to the hospital. All seven remained conscious, according to local authorities.
An Osaka police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the suspect is a 28-year-old man from Tokyo. The officer shared statements the man made after his arrest: “I was fed up with everything, so I decided to kill people by driving into several elementary school children,” the suspect reportedly said.
The man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.
The injured children, aged between seven and eight, included a seven-year-old girl who suffered a fractured jaw. The six other children—all boys—suffered minor injuries such as bruises and scratches and were undergoing medical evaluation.
Witnesses described the car as “zigzagging” before hitting the children. One witness told Nippon TV that a girl was “covered in blood” and the others appeared to have scratches.
Another witness said the driver, who was wearing a face mask, looked to be in shock when school staff pulled him from the vehicle.
Violent crimes are rare in Japan, though serious incidents do occur from time to time. In 2008, Tomohiro Kato drove a two-ton truck into pedestrians in Tokyo’s Akihabara district, then fatally stabbed several victims. Seven people were killed in that attack.
Internacionales
Clashes erupt during may day protests across France amid calls for better wages
May Day protests in France were marked by a heavy police presence and clashes between demonstrators and law enforcement in several cities.
In Paris, Lyon, and Nantes, thousands took to the streets to demand better wages, fairer working conditions, and to voice their dissatisfaction with President Emmanuel Macron’s government.
While the majority of the demonstrations remained peaceful, isolated confrontations broke out in some areas. Protesters threw objects at the police, prompting the use of tear gas and resulting in several arrests.
Videos showing police crackdowns circulated widely on social media, drawing criticism from labor unions and human rights advocates, who denounced the authorities’ response to the protests.
International
Kristi Noem credits Trump for mass migrant deportations by mexican president
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem claimed that Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has deported “more than half a million” migrants due to pressure from former President Donald Trump.
During a cabinet meeting highlighting the “achievements” of Trump’s administration in its first 100 days, Noem asserted that under the Republican leader’s influence, “Mexico has finally come to the table” to negotiate on migration and fentanyl trafficking.
“The president of Mexico told me she has returned just over half a million people before they reached our border,” Noem stated, criticizing media reports that suggest the Biden administration deported more migrants than Trump’s.
“I wish those deportations were counted,” Noem added, “because those people never made it to our border—she sent them back because you made her.” She went on to thank Trump: “They never made it here because they got the message—because you were so aggressive.”
Noem has made controversial claims about Sheinbaum in the past, prompting the Mexican leader to refute them.
On April 1, Sheinbaum responded to one such statement by declaring, “The president answers to only one authority, and that is the people of Mexico,” after Noem said on Fox News that she gave Sheinbaum “a list of things Trump would like to see” and that Mexico’s actions would determine whether Trump granted tariff relief.
Man arrested after deliberately driving into seven children in Osaka
Clashes erupt during may day protests across France amid calls for better wages
Kristi Noem credits Trump for mass migrant deportations by mexican president
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