Top Stories Today – April 10, 2019
Top Stories Today – April 10, 2019
New Zealand votes to change gun law
New Zealand’s parliament has voted to ban all types of semi-automatic weapons and assault rifles following the Christchurch attacks. The gun reform bill passed 119-1 after the final reading in parliament. It is expected to become law within the next few days after receiving royal assent from the governor general. PM Jacinda Ardern announced changes to the law after 50 people were killed last month by a suspected lone gunman at two mosques in Christchurch.
She said in the parliament on Wednesday that when she visited the victims in hospital none of them had just one gunshot wound. “These weapons were designed to kill, and they were designed to maim and that is what they did on the 15th of March,” Ardern told MPs. BBC
Mueller report will be released within a week
Attorney General William P. Barr said he will deliver the Mueller report to Congress and the public within a week, reiterating his earlier promise to release it by mid-April. Testifying before the House Appropriations Committee on Tuesday, Barr said he would be transparent about redactions in the report. But he demurred when asked whether he has briefed the White House on it.
The Justice Department inspector general expects to finish an examination of aspects of the Russia investigation by May or June, Barr revealed. The New York Times
Israel’s Netanyahu wins reelection
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu secured a clear path to reelection on Wednesday, with religious-rightist parties set to hand him a parliamentary majority despite a close contest against his main centrist challenger, a vote tally showed.
With more than 97 percent of votes counted, Netanyahu’s conservative Likud party looked likely to muster enough support to control 65 of the Knesset’s 120 seats and be named to head the next coalition government – a record fifth term as premier. Reuters
Trump denies reinstating family separation policy
President Donald Trump told reporters Tuesday that his administration is not looking to resume the separation of parents and children at the US-Mexico border, denying reports that it is something he has been pushing for. “We’re not looking to do that, no,” he told reporters. Trump added that when families are not separated, “you have many more people coming. They are coming like it’s a picnic, like, ‘Let’s go to Disneyland.'”
In April 2018, the Trump administration rolled out its “zero-tolerance” policy, promising to prosecute all people found crossing the border illegally. When families were caught, the parents went to jail while their children ended up in detention centers or foster care. CNN
Lawmakers hold hearing on white nationalism
The House Judiciary Committee held a hearing Tuesday on the rise of white nationalism, prompted by last month’s shootings at two New Zealand mosques that left at least 50 people dead. YouTube livestreamed the hearing but had to disable the chat after about 30 minutes due to an influx of racist and anti-Semitic comments, The Associated Press reports.
Executives from Google and Facebook were asked by lawmakers how their companies are working to keep hate crimes from spreading; the New Zealand gunman livestreamed his attack and posted a racist manifesto. “There is no place for terrorism or hate on Facebook,” the company’s director of public policy, Neil Potts, said. “We remove any content that incites violence.” The Associated Press via The Week
Detained US investor in Russia may get house arrest
Russian law enforcement has applied to have detained US investor Michael Calvey released on house arrest pending a trial on charges of embezzlement. The Moscow City Court says the Investigative Committee, a law enforcement agency, filed an application to be reviewed Thursday regarding Calvey and a Russian colleague.
Calvey and five colleagues have been in custody since February on allegations of embezzlement involving a Russian bank where Calvey’s firm, Baring Vostok, has a controlling stake. They all deny wrongdoing. Calvey’s arrest sent shockwaves through the Moscow business community, as he had avoided political controversy and helped develop Russian tech companies. The Voice of America