International
Biden says that Floyd’s death at the hands of the police four years ago changed the world
President Joe Biden said on Friday that the death of African-American George Floyd at the hands of the Police four years ago, which raised massive protests in the United States and other countries, changed the world and “shook the conscience of our country.”
“The day before Floyd’s funeral, his little daughter Gianna told me ‘Dad has changed the world,’” Biden recalled according to a statement from the White House. “Four years after the murder of his father, there is no doubt that he has done it.”
On May 25, 2020, in Minneapolis (Minnesota), Floyd was arrested by police officers from that city and one of them, Derek Chauvin, pressed his knee for more than nine minutes on the neck of the victim who was handcuffed and asked for help.
The autopsy determined that Floyd’s heart had stopped beating while he was subjected to Chauvin and that his death had been a homicide caused by a cardiopulmonary arrest, although the consumption of fentanyl and a heart disease were factors that contributed to his death.
Floyd’s murder, recorded on video, triggered a huge wave of protests in several cities in the United States against racism and police violence that lasted for months and gave impetus to the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement.
“Floyd should be alive today,” Biden said. “His assassination shook the conscience of our nation and reminded us that our country has never fully fulfilled its highest ideal of a system of impartial justice for all.”
“As a result, we witnessed one of the largest civil rights movements in the history of our nation, in which people from all sectors marched together against racism and systemic injustice,” he added.
Biden pointed out that black and Latino communities “too often have endured the onslaught of injustice.”
After Floyd’s death, the city of Minneapolis reached a reconciliation for 27 million dollars with his family. Chauvin was prosecuted and convicted in June 2021, he received a sentence of 22 and a half years in prison.
Three other police officers involved in the incident were convicted of violating Floyd’s civil rights.
International
U.S. to Limit Visa Duration for Foreign Students and Journalists
The United States has announced new limits on the legal length of stay for foreign students and journalists, marking the latest tightening of immigration policies under President Donald Trump.
The changes, outlined in an administrative rule published on Thursday, are expected to take effect in September, unless Congress blocks the measure.
Under the new policy, holders of student visas will be allowed to remain in the United States for no more than four years.
Foreign journalists will be limited to 240-day stays—approximately eight months—with the possibility of applying for extensions of the same duration.
The policy imposes even stricter rules on Chinese journalists, whose visas will be capped at 90 days.
More than 100 international news organizations and press freedom groups, including Agence France-Presse (AFP), criticized the measure in an open letter, arguing that it would reduce both the quantity and quality of international coverage of events in the United States.
The Republican Party, led by President Trump, currently holds a majority in Congress and has pledged to curb both illegal immigration and certain forms of legal immigration.
Previously, the United States generally issued student visas for the full duration of an academic program, while foreign journalists could receive visas valid for up to five years.
Central America
Nicaragua Cuts Diplomatic Ties With Italy Over Red Brigades Dispute
The Nicaraguan government announced on Thursday that it is severing diplomatic relations with Italy following criticism from the Italian government over Nicaragua’s long-standing decision to shelter Alessio Casimirri, a former member of the Red Brigades convicted in Italy for the 1978 kidnapping and murder of former Prime Minister Aldo Moro.
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani criticized the administration of co-presidents Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo on Wednesday for continuing to provide refuge to Casimirri, who was sentenced in Italy to six life terms for his role in Moro’s abduction and killing.
In a statement issued Thursday, Nicaragua’s Foreign Ministry said it was ending all diplomatic relations with Italy, describing Tajani’s remarks as “unjustified, aggressive, and irresponsible.”
Tajani made the comments during a gathering of conservative leaders from Europe and Latin America held in Madrid.
“We have absolutely nothing in common with the positions of extremist governments such as Nicaragua, a country that continues to harbor dangerous Red Brigades terrorists like Alessio Casimirri,” Tajani said, according to Italian media.
The diplomatic break marks a new escalation in tensions between the two countries over the decades-old case involving Casimirri, who has lived in Nicaragua for many years despite repeated calls from Italy for his extradition.
International
U.S. Strikes Hit Areas Near Strait of Hormuz as Tensions With Iran Escalate
Several U.S. strikes targeted areas near the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, according to Iranian state media citing local authorities, as hostilities between the United States and Iran intensified.
Officials in Iran’s Hormozgan Province said the island of Qeshm was struck multiple times by what they described as U.S. missiles during the evening. The reports were carried by the Iranian news agencies Fars and Tasnim.
Iranian state television also reported that the Bandar Abbas region, located on the Iranian coast overlooking the Strait of Hormuz, was the target of what authorities described as an “enemy U.S. air attack.”
According to local officials quoted by state television, no casualties have been reported following the strikes.
The reported attacks come amid renewed military tensions between Washington and Tehran, although U.S. authorities had not immediately commented on the reported operations.
U.S. to Limit Visa Duration for Foreign Students and Journalists
Nicaragua Cuts Diplomatic Ties With Italy Over Red Brigades Dispute
U.S. Strikes Hit Areas Near Strait of Hormuz as Tensions With Iran Escalate
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