Authorities in the French Pacific territory of New Caledonia have announced a curfew and banned gatherings after violent unrest on the archipelago with decades of tensions between indigenous Kanaks seeking independence and colonizers’ descendants who want to remain part of France. French media say the unrest started with protests against voting reforms that French lawmakers are debating in Paris which would expand voter lists. Opponents of the reforms say that would benefit pro-France politicians in New Caledonia and further marginalize the Kanak people. They once suffered from strict segregation policies and widespread discrimination.
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The daily struggle to find work for Chinese immigrants living illegally in a borough of New York is a far cry from the picture Donald Trump and other Republicans have sought to paint. The former president has repeatedly suggested that Chinese migrants are a coordinated group of “military-age” men who have come to the United States to build an “army." Immigrants who talked to The Associated Press said they came to the U.S. to escape poverty in China or the threat of persecution in their repressive home country. Asian advocacy organizations say they're concerned the exaggerated rhetoric could fuel further harassment against Asians in the U.S.
Former Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko says the long delay by the U.S. Congress in approving military aid for his country was “a colossal waste of time.” He told The Associated Press on Monday that it let Russian President Vladimir Putin inflict more suffering in the 2-year-old invasion and only prolonged the war. Yushchenko is a pro-European reformer and he was in Philadelphia to speak at a World Affairs Council event. The lack of ammunition forced Ukrainian forces to surrender village after village on the front lines. U.S. officials say they’re rushing newly approved weaponry to Ukraine. President Joe Biden pushed for months to overcome resistance from hard-right Republican lawmakers before the aid was approved last month.
Crews have set off a chain of explosives to break down the largest remaining span of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge. The demolition Monday marks a major step in freeing the grounded Dali container ship. The span landed on the ship’s bow after the Dali lost power and crashed into one of the bridge’s support columns shortly after leaving Baltimore on March 26. Since then, the ship has been stuck amid the wreckage and Baltimore’s busy port has been closed to most maritime traffic. The controlled demolition will allow the Dali to be refloated and restore traffic through the port.
A lawyer representing U.S. military families suing over a 2021 jet fuel leak into a Navy drinking water system in Hawaii is asking a judge to award plaintiffs a range of about $225,000 to about $1.25 million each in damages. Kristina Baehr is an attorney for 17 relatives of military members representing more than 7,500 others, including service members, in three federal lawsuits. The outcome of this first trial could help determine damages awarded to the others. It's not clear when a judge will issue a ruling. The U.S. government has accepted liability but disputes whether the plaintiffs were exposed to jet fuel at levels high enough to cause health effects, ranging from vomiting to rashes.
President Joe Biden on Monday issued an order blocking a Chinese-backed cryptocurrency mining firm from owning land near a Wyoming nuclear missile base, calling its proximity to the base a “national security risk.” The order forces the divestment of property operated as a crypto mining facility near the Francis E. Warren Air Force Base. It also forces the removal of certain equipment owned by MineOne Partners Ltd., a firm that is partly owned by the Chinese state. The move was made in coordination with the U.S. Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States.
