U.S. Navy to Name Ship After Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg

U.S. Navy to Name Ship After Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg

The ship, a replenishment oiler, is designed to carry fuel to the Navy’s operating carrier strike groups.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the Supreme Court Justice who fought for women’s rights for more than a half century before her death in 2020, will have a U.S. Navy ship named after her, military officials said on Thursday.

The U.S.N.S. Ruth Bader Ginsburg (T-AO 212), which has not yet been constructed, will be a John Lewis-class replenishment oiler ship designed to carry fuel to the Navy’s operating carrier strike groups, the Navy said in a news release.

The class and lead ship, T-AO 205, is named in honor of Representative John Lewis, a Georgia Democrat, who died in July 2020. Mr. Lewis was a stalwart of the civil rights movement and the last surviving speaker from the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963.

All of the ships in this class follow a naming convention honoring leaders who have fought for civil and human rights. Other ships in the class are named after Harvey Milk Robert F. Kennedy, the abolitionists Lucy Stone and Sojourner Truth, and two other former members of the Supreme Court: Earl Warren and Thurgood Marshall.

The oiler ships measure 742 feet long and have the ability to carry up to 162,000 barrels of oil with expansive dry cargo capacity, aviation capability and a speed of 20 knots, the Navy said.

“She is a historic figure who vigorously advocated for women’s rights and gender equality,” Carlos Del Toro, the secretary of the Navy, said in a statement about Justice Ginsburg. “It is my aim to ensure equality and eliminate gender discrimination across the Department of the Navy. She is instrumental to why we now have women of all backgrounds, experiences and talents serving within our ranks, side by side with their male Sailor and Marine counterparts.”

This will be the first U.S. Navy ship to bear Justice Ginsburg’s name and is sponsored by her daughter, Jane Ginsburg. (A sponsor typically attends key events for and maintains close ties with the ship, a spokesman for Navy said.)

Justice Ginsburg died from complications of metastatic pancreatic cancer in September 2020 at age 87. She was the second woman to serve on the Supreme Court.

She developed a rock-star following in her later years and became an unlikely cultural icon to a much younger generation. A law student, Shana Knizhnik, anointed her the Notorious R.B.G, a play on the name of the Notorious B.I.G., the famous rapper who was Brooklyn-born, like the justice. Soon the name, and Justice Ginsburg’s image — complete with a frilly lace collar — became a cultural fixture.

It was announced this week that her famous “dissent” collar, along with other items related to her tenure on the court, including a judicial robe, are being donated to the Smithsonian’s national Museum of American History.  The donation by her family coincides with the museum’s decision to award Justice Ginsburg its signature honor, the Great Americans Medal.

Before taking her seat on the Supreme Court in 1993, she had argued six cases before the court from 1973 to 1978, winning five.

Although Justice Ginsburg delivered numerous noteworthy opinions in her career on the court, one of her more notable came in 1996 when she wrote for the majority in United States v. Virginia, a case that opened doors for women to enter Virginia Military Institute.

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Rwandese court sentences Kagame’s opponent to 25 years in prison

The Rwandan prosecutors’ appeal of the verdict in Hotel Rwanda humanitarian Paul Rusesabagina’s Sham Trial concluded today in Kigali. The Court of Appeal chose to maintain the original 25 year sentence for the 67 year old Rusesabagina, which means that he will still die in prison.

While it is positive that the politicized trial process is finally over, the fact that this appeal by the prosecutors even happened adds insult to injury for a man who is only in jail because of his humanitarian work and criticism of the human rights record of the Rwandan government.

Why did the Rwandan prosecutors even go forward with an appeal to what was already effectively a life sentence? Only President Kagame and his prosecutors can tell us for sure.

International observers made it clear that Rusesabagina’s show trial had nothing to do with the law. Rather this was really all about silencing his dissent and sending a chilling message to other critics. The appeal is just more of the same.

The world needs to remember – trials of critics and perceived political opponents in Rwanda have very little to do with the law, and everything to do with politics and sending a message to others who might dissent.

It should be noted that since Paul Rusesabagina’s arrest, dozens more human rights activists, journalists and dissenters have disappeared, died or been detained for speaking out about the Kagame government transgressions.

A recent Opinion by the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, combined with the report released earlier today by the Clooney Foundation’s TrialWatch group, make it clear that Rusesabagina’s human rights and trial rights have been denied by the Rwandan government at every opportunity.

Today’s result is meaningless, because Paul Rusesabagina’s health is rapidly deteriorating with every day that passes and he will die in prison without international support.

The United Nations, European Union, members of the US Congress and UK Parliament and many others have all called for his immediate release on compassionate grounds. It is critical that this happens soon.

 

In 2005, Paul Rusesabagina was a receipient of a Medal of Freedom from president George W. Bush and was hailed globally as a hero. But in August 2020 he was apparently kidnapped from the United Arab Emirates to Rwanda.

Paul Rusesabagina thought he was heading to Burundi when he boarded an airplane in the United Arab Emirates on the night of Aug. 27, 2020. But the 66-year-old former hotelier, who inspired the acclaimed 2004 film “Hotel Rwanda,” landed behind bars in Rwanda’s capital.

Rusesabagina’s whereabouts were unknown for several days until Rwandan authorities paraded him in handcuffs during a press conference in Kigali on Aug. 31. Rusesabagina’s adopted daughters, Anaise and Carine Kanimba, were together in Washington, D.C., when they got a telephone call from their brother, telling them about their father’s arrest.

DNT News, Kigali

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The French election is just two weeks away: Russia’s invasion is overshadowing the vote

With the first round of voting in France’s presidential election less than two weeks away, the political debate is heavily influenced by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Far-right political leaders have suffered a setback in opinion polls for their links to Russia’s President Vladimir Putin while incumbent Emmanuel Macron has been criticized for being absent from the political campaign as he tries to deal with the geopolitical crisis on the continent. And, above all, the war in Ukraine has pushed up energy and food prices across Europe — fueling concerns also in France about the cost of living.

“This campaign is strange but special in a way,” Clement Beaune, France’s minister for European affairs and supporter of Macron told Charlotte Reed.

He added that when Macron was elected for the first time in 2017, people did not know him or his platform. “Now the French people know him. People know what his DNA is about,” he said, explaining why the president has not been campaigning as much as five years ago.

At the same time, he added, “people would not expect him or like him to be absent, to be absorbed by rallies, campaigning himself so basically he needs to be president.”

Macron is the European leader that speaks with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin the most and has tried to act as a bridge between Moscow and Kyiv and attempts to reach a ceasefire.

Opinion polls predict that Macron will receive 28% of the public’s support in the first round of voting, due to take place on April 10. This is followed by anti-immigrant party leader Marine Le Pen at 19% and by the far-left political veteran Jean-Luc Mélenchon at 14%, according to Poll of Polls.

The same polls suggested prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24 that Macron was going to win the first round with 25% and Le Pen would come second with 17% of the votes. The European security crisis that ensued pushed public support for Macron to 30% before coming down to the current 28%.

“Emmanuel Macron maintains a clear lead over his challengers. However, the initial boost in support for him after Putin started his invasion of Ukraine has largely worn off,” Holger Schmieding, chief economist at Barenberg, said in a note Monday.

Nonetheless, the expectation for now is that Macron will be re-elected after a second round of voting on April 24.

“Although the pandemic has slowed down his reform momentum temporarily and contributed to a significant shift away from fiscal consolidation, we maintain our long-held call that France is heading for a golden decade of faster trend growth,” Schmieding also said, based on the economic reforms that Macron has put forward both as economy minister and then as president of France.

For the far-right, the tables have turned in the wake of the invasion. Eric Zemmour, a new face in French political scene, dropped 4 percentage points in opinion polls and is now seen to be outside of the top three candidates in the first round.

Zemmour has said that Ukrainian refugees with links to France should receive visas, but defended different rules for asylum seekers based on their religion. Prior to becoming a candidate, Zemmour also said that he would like a “French Putin” to lead the nation.

Marine Le Pen, running for a third time in France’s presidential vote, has regained some political support for her comments on the cost of living and her more moderate comments on the European Union, but she also faced an initial embarrassment in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Her anti-immigrant party not only received funds from Russian banks, back in 2014, but she also printed a number of campaign flyers with a photo of herself and President Putin — which have now reportedly been binned.

“The (European) skepticism is not the same as it was five years ago,” Beaune said; in comparison with the 2017 election.

The deep reality is that people want Europe to survive, especially now against a backdrop war, he added.

Macron is once again campaigning on a pro-European platform and has used the war in Ukraine to get backing from other European leaders for some of his long-term policy aims, notably a more independent security policy for the bloc.

88% of French voters said they are worried about the situation in Ukraine in a poll shared by Ifop Monday. However, only 40% of respondents said that this would likely influence their vote in the first round of the French election.

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Hundreds of murdered civilians discovered as Russians withdraw from towns near Kyiv (GRAPHIC IMAGES)

 

As towns of Bucha and Irpin were retaken from withdrawing Russian forces, horrific photos and videos began to flow in.

Ruined houses, burned-down cars, and bodies of civilians scattered around the streets.

Dead bodies seen scattered on the ground in Bucha on April 2, 2022, after the Russian forces were forced to leave the city under their control for weeks. Many of the bodies found in Bucha have their hands tied behind their back, pointing at an organized killing. (Mikhailo Shevchenko/ Facebook)

The photos appear to prove that the Russian forces carried out targeted, organized killings of civilians in Bucha, particularly of men: They are often found shot dead, with their hands tied behind their backs.

A dead body lies on the ground in a street in Bucha, northwest of Kyiv, on April 2, 2022. (AFP via Getty Images)

Before the war, Irpin and Bucha were quiet satellite towns of Kyiv, home to 60,000 and 28,000 people, respectively.

During the Russian invasion that started on Feb. 24, the two towns became the site of fierce fighting, as Russians were trying to approach Kyiv from the northwest. Bucha spent weeks under Russian military control, while Irpin was partly controlled by Russians.

A dead body lies on the ground in a street in Bucha, northwest of Kyiv, on April 2, 2022. (AFP via Getty Images)

During this time, there were multiple reports of Russians killing civilians, including reports that adult men were singled out and murdered in Bucha. The photos appear to prove that.

Irpin was retaken from the Russians on March 28, and Bucha on April 1. A day later, the Ukrainian government said that the entire Kyiv Oblast was free of Russian forces.

According to the photographer Mikhail Palinchak, who took the photo on April 2, under the blanket are the bodies of one man and two or three naked women that Russians attempted to burn down at the side of the road 20 kilometers away from Kyiv. (Mikhail Palinchak)

According to the mayor of Bucha Anatoly Fedoruk, just in the first day after Bucha was liberated, local authorities collected 280 bodies and buried them in mass graves.

It’s far from the final death toll in Bucha. On March 12, it was reported that the citizens of Bucha buried 57 bodies in another mass grave, near a local church.

Employees examine a killed animal at the Yasnohorodka Ostrich Farm and Family Ecopark in Yasnohorodka village, some 40 kilometers from Kyiv on March 2, 2022. At least 130 ostriches of 250, as well as other animals, were killed by Russian shelling. (AFP via Getty Images)

Civilians were being murdered in Irpin, too. One photo that circulated earlier showed an improvized grave of a mother and her son, who were shot by Russians as they were trying to flee the city. Neighbors buried them in their apartment building’s courtyard.

Local residents clean up rubble in front of their damaged house in Dmytrivka village, west of Kyiv. (AFP via Getty Images)

Leaving, the Russian military left mines and other explosives in Irpin and Bucha. On April 2 only, the Ukrainian forces found and deactivated 643 explosives in Irpin, according to the State Emergency Service.

A man walks on a street with several dead bodies on the ground in Bucha, northwest of Kyiv, on April 2, 2022. (AFP via Getty Images)

Despite the Russian authorities claiming that their forces are not targeting civilians in Ukraine, there is clear evidence of the opposite. Russian forces have repeatedly attacked densely populated residential areas of Ukraine’s cities with missiles, air bombs, and artillery.

Ruined buildings in Irpin, a satellite town north-west of Kyiv, on April 1, 2022. Ukrainian forces regained control of Irpin on March 28. (Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

In Kyiv Oblast Russian forces have been shooting at evacuating civilians. In Mariupol, which has been under siege since early March with little to no connection to the outside world, several thousands of civilians are estimated to have been killed by shelling and air strikes.

Global outrage over Russian Soldiers’ massacre of civilians in Bucha, Ukraine

 Global outrage is mounting over the discovery of dozens of bodies, some with their hands bound, in towns near the Ukrainian capital after invading Russian troops retreated from the area.

Horrifying scenes of mass graves and murdered civilians in Ukraine over the weekend have drawn international outrage as Western leaders call for more robust action to punish Russia for the alleged war crimes.

Ukrainian National Police took a CNN team to the site of a mass grave in the town of Bucha, near the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, where authorities say up to 300 civilians are buried.

However, the Russian Defense Ministry denies killing civilians and claims images of lifeless bodies strew in the streets are “fake.” United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said an independent probe into the killings is “essential.

” At least 1,417 civilians have been killed in Ukraine since the Russian invasion began, the UN said today, warning that the actual death toll is likely much higher of those who died, at least 121 were children.

Ukraine has accused Russia of carrying out the killings in towns near Kyiv, including in Bucha, Irpin and Hostomel, with President Volodymyr Zelensky branding Russian forces as “murderers, torturers and rapists” who were committing “genocide” in his country. Russia, however, has denied the claims.

Its defence ministry accused Ukraine of falsifying the images of corpses in “another production” for Western media.

Western nations have voiced horror at the images, with some calling for more sanctions against Russia and others backing a war crimes inquiry by the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Here is a roundup of world reactions:

United Nations

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was “deeply shocked” by images of dead civilians in the Ukrainian town of Bucha.

An independent investigation that “leads to effective accountability” is essential, he said.

United States

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the images coming out of Bucha were “a punch to the gut” and promised to help Ukraine document “war crimes” being committed by the Russian troops.

“There needs to be accountability,” he told CNN. “But I think the most important thing is we can’t become numb to this. We can’t normalize this. This is the reality of what’s going on every single day as long as Russia’s brutality against Ukraine continues.”

NATO

Jens Stoltenberg, the secretary-general of NATO, said the graphic images coming out of Bucha show “a brutality against civilians we haven’t seen in Europe for decades”.

He told CNN’s State of the Union that “it’s absolutely unacceptable that civilians are targeted and killed” and that it was Russian President Vladimir Putin’s responsibility to stop the war.

Stoltenberg said it was “extremely important” that the ICC opens an investigation into potential war crimes in Ukraine and that those responsible are held to account.

European Union

President of the European Council Charles Michel pledged further sanctions on Moscow as he condemned “atrocities” carried out by Russian forces outside Ukraine’s capital Kyiv.

“Shocked by haunting images of atrocities committed by Russian army in Kyiv liberated region #BuchaMassacre,” he wrote on Twitter.

“EU is assisting Ukraine & NGO’s in gathering of necessary evidence for pursuit in international courts.”

The EU’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, also expressed shock at the news of “atrocities committed by Russian forces” and said the bloc will assist Ukraine in documenting war crimes.

United Kingdom

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Russia’s alleged attacks on Ukrainian civilians in towns on the outskirts of Kyiv “are yet more evidence that Russian President Vladimir Putin and his army are committing war crimes in Ukraine”.

Johnson called the attacks in the towns of Irpin and Bucha “despicable” and said he “will do everything in my power to starve Putin’s war machine”.

Johnson added that the UK will step up its sanctions and military support for Ukraine, but did not provide details.

Germany

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz promised further sanctions on Russia over the “atrocities” in Bucha.

“Putin and his supporters will feel the consequences” of their actions, Scholz said in a statement, adding that Germany will “continue to make weapons available to Ukraine so the country can defend itself against the Russian invasion”.

He also called for international organisations such as the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to be allowed access to the affected areas to independently document the “atrocities”.

German Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht also called for a “response”, saying “such crimes must not remain unanswered”. She said the EU must discuss the banning of Russian gas.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said the “images from Bucha are unbearable” and added that “Putin’s uninhibited violence is extinguishing innocent families and knows no boundaries”.

France

French President Emmanuel Macron expressed solidarity with Ukrainians, while describing the images coming out of Bucha as “unbearable”.

“The Russian authorities will have to answer for these crimes,” he said in a Twitter post.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian also issued a statement saying he firmly condemned the “massive abuses” committed by Russian forces in Ukraine.

Poland

Polish President Andrzej Duda called on Western allies to provide more weapons to Ukraine, saying the “pictures from Bucha disprove the belief that we have to seek a compromise at any cost”.

“In fact, the Defenders of Ukraine need three things above all: weapons, weapons and more weapons,” he wrote on Twitter.

Italy

Italy’s Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio told Italy’s Rai 3 channel that the events in Bucha were “unleashing a wave of indignation that will lead to new sanctions”.

He said there “could be a debate on the issue of imports of hydrocarbons from Russia” and that Italy would not veto a fifth package of sanctions.

Canada

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called the killings in Bucha “egregious and appalling” and said Russia must be held to account.

“We strongly condemn the murder of civilians in Ukraine, remain committed to holding the Russian regime accountable,” Trudeau wrote on Twitter.

Israel

Israel’s Foreign Minister Yair Lapid condemned the atrocities in Ukraine, describing deliberate harm to civilians as a war crime.

“It is impossible to remain indifferent in the face of the horrific images from the city of Bucha,” he wrote on Twitter

“Intentionally harming a civilian population is a war crime and I strongly condemn it,” he said.

Japan

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida also condemned the attacks on civilians in towns near Kyiv, describing them “as violation of international law”.

Kishida said “Japan will firmly carry out what it should do” while cooperating with the international community in possible further sanctions against Russia.

New Zealand

New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern described the reports of rape and other atrocities by Russian troops in Ukraine as “reprehensible”.

“Russia must answer to the world for what they’ve done,” she told reporters in the New Zealand capital, Wellington.

She said her cabinet is considering further measures New Zealand could take to support Ukraine and send a strong message to Russia.

“Certainly, what we as an international community are seeing are evidence of war crimes at the hands of Russia,” Ardern said.

“Ultimately it is for the International Criminal Court to make that determination, but the evidence is there and New Zealand is supporting the prosecutors in gathering that evidence and making sure that Russia is held to account,” she added.

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UNITA condemns defamation campaign against Angolan President

 

Cuito - The provincial secretary of UNITA in central Bié province, Geremias Kaunda Abílio, condemned today in Cuito the acts of defamation aimed at tarnishing the image of the President of the Republic, João Lourenço.

He was speaking to the press on the occasion of the 20 years of effective peace in the country, which is marked this Monday.

These campaigns, according to Geremias Kaunda Abílio, do not contribute in any way to the process of consolidation of peace and democracy that the country is currently experiencing.

"I think that behind this there is someone fomenting this unsavoury practice, then to try to accuse party A or B, which sometimes has nothing to do with it", he lamented.

The provincial secretary of UNITA in Bié defended the need to work together, in order to ban these practices, which do not contribute to the strengthening of peace and national reconciliation.

He said that political tolerance constitutes a fundamental element for the consolidation of peace and is the only way for Angolans to live together.

Angolan Water minister points solutions to drought in southern region

 Ondjiva - The Minister of Energy and Water, João Baptista Borges, said in Ondjiva, the construction of storage and water retention infrastructures is the solution to combat the negative effects of drought in the provinces of Cunene, Huíla and Namibe, in the next six years.

Water minister points solutions to drought in southern region Speaking to ANGOP on Monday, the minister stressed that several structuring projects should be implemented in 74 months as part of the government's strategy to combat drought in the southern region of the country.

He was speaking on the occasion of the inauguration of the Cunene River Water Transfer System in Cafu, which will benefit 235,000 families, 250,000 animals and the irrigation of 5,000 hectares of agricultural fields.

João Baptista Borges said that the Cafu canal was a great gift to the people of Cunene and would solve the problem of lack of water for most of the region's population.

He believes it will be an added value for the families that practice subsistence agriculture and by irrigation, as it will allow the production, every year, of food to sustain the local market and export to neighbouring countries.