Most Viewed Videos

The Belhaven University football team stands on the sidelines as their game against Millsaps College begins on Thursday.

Leslie Gamboni for NPR


hide caption

toggle caption

Leslie Gamboni for NPR

The Belhaven University football team stands on the sidelines as their game against Millsaps College begins on Thursday.

Leslie Gamboni for NPR

Rain, shine, dry faucets or low water pressure, in the South the game must go on.

Some residents in Jackson, Miss., have been without running water for days, while others have been under a boil water notice for more than a month. But unreliable water has been a way of life in Jackson for years and that wasn’t enough to stop football fans from seeing the season open between two division III Jackson schools — Millsaps College, playing as the home team, and Belhaven University as the away team.

Players’ family members drove in from out of state to support their sons. They also brought with them cases of water after hearing about the on-and-off water pressure in the dorms. Flooding of the Pearl River, which cuts through Jackson, led to the city’s main water treatment plant failing and a scramble for clean water as the system lost pressure.

Millsaps College said Friday night that they had good water pressure. But it’s been fluctuating, so the school brought in portable toilets and mobile shower units just in case they need to be rolled out.

Bogan Brewer, a member of the Belhaven University football team, drinks water on the sidelines during Belhaven’s game versus Millsaps college.

Leslie Gamboni for NPR


hide caption

toggle caption

Leslie Gamboni for NPR

Bogan Brewer, a member of the Belhaven University football team, drinks water on the sidelines during Belhaven’s game versus Millsaps college.

Leslie Gamboni for NPR

Once the game started, it was easy to forget about the water crisis. The away bleachers sat hundreds of fans wearing Belhaven’s green and gold. A blue Powerade sat under one man’s sneaker while the concession stand sold condensation-covered Dasani water bottles for $3. On the field, benches were lined with classic green and yellow Gatorade squeeze bottles.

The rare reminder of the city’s water woes came when the game’s announcer thanked Infinite Insurance for providing 37,000 bottles of water for students and players.

Belhaven freshman Alyssa Pearson came to support her fellow Belhaven athletes after her soccer team beat Sul Ross State University earlier in the day. Water’s been a non-issue during the game, though the other night it was a problem post-game — after wrapping up play she was ready for a quick shower, but found her dorm no longer had any water pressure. She went off-campus to clean up.

Belhaven fans cheer in the stands at the Belhaven University vs. Millsaps College football game in Jackson, Mississippi.

Leslie Gamboni for NPR


hide caption

toggle caption

Leslie Gamboni for NPR

Belhaven fans cheer in the stands at the Belhaven University vs. Millsaps College football game in Jackson, Mississippi.

Leslie Gamboni for NPR

In Acworth, Ga., where Pearson’s from, boil water notices aren’t the norm like in Jackson. It’s been a tough education — not enough to make her consider transferring, but she has been learning what it’s like to brush her teeth with bottled water and wonder just what else is coming out of the shower head.

“I have no idea if my toilet is going to flush or not today,” Pearson said.

Dry toilet lines are new for Belhaven senior Izzy Erickson, but boil water notices have been a constant of her four years here. She’s not planning on letting the crisis ruin her senior year, but she’s ready to be done with Jackson.

“I know I won’t be living here after college, so I guess I have that to look forward to,” Erickson said.

Jakuria Ahmed attends the Belhaven University football game with her baby.

Leslie Gamboni for NPR


hide caption

toggle caption

Leslie Gamboni for NPR

Jakuria Ahmed attends the Belhaven University football game with her baby.

Leslie Gamboni for NPR

Other seniors give the low water pressure a shoulder shrug — just another chance to embrace the Belhaven edict of overcoming adversity. One baseball player lives off campus and lets friends enjoy his working shower when the dorm’s water flow is more of a drip.

Jackson State University senior Patrick Powe Jr. spends his free time delivering water to residents living in Jackson’s affordable housing communities — many residents either don’t have a car to get to the drive-through water distribution sites or can’t afford to spend the gas waiting potentially hours for the pick-up.

School sporting events continue throughout Jackson despite the water crisis.

Leslie Gamboni for NPR


hide caption

toggle caption

Leslie Gamboni for NPR

School sporting events continue throughout Jackson despite the water crisis.

Leslie Gamboni for NPR

Tonight, he’s in the stands supporting his former high school teammate playing for Belhaven, which won the game 49-1. He’s had to deal with water issues all his life but part of what makes this crisis different is how long it’s lasting. Some residents have been under a boil water notice for a month and there’s no timeline for repairs. But Powe said even if the city’s water is still undrinkable for Jackson State’s first home game Sept. 17, he’ll still be there at Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium cheering on his team.

“I’m still going to be in the Vet, Jackson State from head to toe, cheering our boys on,” he said.

Source Article from https://www.npr.org/2022/09/03/1120968912/jackson-mississippi-water-football-crisis

ROME, March 5 (Reuters) – Italian police have seized villas and yachts worth 143 million euros ($156 million) from five high-profile Russians who were placed on sanctions lists following Moscow’s attack on Ukraine, the government said on Saturday. read more

The luxury properties were sequestered in some of Italy’s most prestigious retail estate locations – the island of Sardinia, by Lake Como and in Tuscany – while two superyachts were grabbed at their moorings in northern ports.

The police operations were part of a coordinated drive by Western states to penalise wealthy Russians and try to force President Vladimir Putin to withdraw his troops from Ukraine.

A list issued by Prime Minister Mario Draghi’s office showed the most valuable asset now in police hands is a 65 metre (215 ft) yacht, the “Lady M”, which has a price tag of 65 million euros and belonged to Russia’s richest man, Alexey Mordashov.

It was impounded in the port of Imperia.

A second luxury vessel, the Lena, was seized in the nearby port of Sanremo. It was worth some 50 million euros and was owned by Gennady Timchenko, whom Putin has described as one of his closet associates.

Billionaire businessman Alisher Usmanov had a villa worth 17 million euros seized on the Mediterranean island of Sardinia, while Oleg Savchenko, a member of the Russian parliament, had his 17th century house near the Tuscan city of Lucca, worth some 3 million euros, taken from him.

An undisclosed number of properties valued at 8 million euros were confiscated in Como from state TV host Vladimir Soloviev, who reportedly complained on Russian television when he found out last month he risked losing his Italian villas.

“But you told us that Europe has sacred property rights,” he was quoted saying by The Daily Beast.

Russian oligarchs have bought numerous villas in choice Italian settings over the past 20 years and sources have said more assets are expected to be seized in coming days.

Uzbekistan-born metals and telecoms tycoon Usmanov is well known in Italy for owning multiple properties on Sardinia, while Italian media say Mordashov owned a villa worth some 66 million euros ($72 million) on the same island.

Taking into account the assets of his whole family, Forbes magazine estimates that Mordashov had an estimated net worth of $29.1 billion before sanctions hit.

Mirko Idili, a coordinator of the CISL union in Sardinia, has warned that the sanctions and a reduced presence of rich Russians this summer could negatively affect the island’s economy and put more than 1,000 jobs at risk.

Italian banks were instructed by the Bank of Italy’s financial intelligence division on Friday to urgently let it know of all measures taken to freeze the assets of people and entities placed on the EU list. read more

($1 = 0.9152 euros)

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Source Article from https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/italy-seizes-oligarchs-villas-yachts-initial-sweep-2022-03-05/


Alan Cowell contributed reporting.

The Daily is made by Lisa Tobin, Rachel Quester, Lynsea Garrison, Clare Toeniskoetter, Paige Cowett, Michael Simon Johnson, Brad Fisher, Chris Wood, Jessica Cheung, Stella Tan, Alexandra Leigh Young, Lisa Chow, Eric Krupke, Marc Georges, Luke Vander Ploeg, M.J. Davis Lin, Dan Powell, Dave Shaw, Sydney Harper, Robert Jimison, Mike Benoist, Liz O. Baylen, Asthaa Chaturvedi, Rachelle Bonja, Diana Nguyen, Marion Lozano, Corey Schreppel, Anita Badejo, Rob Szypko, Elisheba Ittoop, Chelsea Daniel, Mooj Zadie, Patricia Willens, Rowan Niemisto, Jody Becker, Rikki Novetsky, John Ketchum, Nina Feldman, Will Reid, Carlos Prieto, Sofia Milan, Ben Calhoun and Susan Lee.

Our theme music is by Jim Brunberg and Ben Landsverk of Wonderly. Special thanks to Sam Dolnick, Paula Szuchman, Lisa Tobin, Larissa Anderson, Cliff Levy, Lauren Jackson, Julia Simon, Mahima Chablani, Desiree Ibekwe, Wendy Dorr, Elizabeth Davis-Moorer, Jeffrey Miranda, Renan Borelli and Maddy Masiello.

Source Article from https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/09/podcasts/the-daily/queen-elizabeth-monarchy.html

The Association of Tour Operators in Russia (ATOR) says it is feeling the impact of the European Commission’s stricter visa processing conditions for Russian citizens, as nine European countries now “no longer accept documents from tourists.”

Last Friday, the European Union (EU) made the decision to suspend the visa facilitation agreement with Russia, making it harder for Russians to travel in Europe.

“The visa facilitation agreement with the Russian Federation has been suspended. This means that Russian citizens will receive Schengen visas under the general conditions of the EU Visa Code,” ATOR wrote on their website Tuesday. 

ATOR describes itself as the largest association of tour operators in Russia.

According to tour operators, the list of EU countries that have so far issued and continue to accept documents for visas for tourist trips include Italy, Spain, Greece, France, Hungary and Cyprus. Notably, the visas being granted are national visa — not Schengen, which allows a tourist access to other European countries too.

“Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Denmark, Belgium and the Netherlands no longer accept documents from tourists,” it claimed.  

In response, the European Commission referred CNN to their visa guidelines, which were posted online last Friday. The guidelines outlined how short-stay visa applications lodged by Russian citizens should now be processed. 

European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson said last Friday that “being a tourist in the EU is not a fundamental right.”

“Member States are advised to check thoroughly and with a great level of scrutiny visa applications from Russian citizens. Visas should be refused where consulates identify security risks,” she continued.

“The EU will remain open to those who need to be protected, like journalists, dissidents, human rights activists, and people traveling for family reasons,” Johansson said.

According to the guidelines consulates are able to “adapt their procedures” and are allowed to “take up 45 days” on deciding Russian tourist visa applications, as opposed to the “15 days in regular cases.”

“Member States should refrain from issuing multiple-entry visas with long validity, as Russian citizens may not meet the conditions for entering the EU in the long run, given the economic instability, the restrictive measures and political developments in Russia,” the new guidelines add. 

At the start of September The Czech Republic, and Latvia already started to take measures to restrict Russian travel, while Estonia banned Russians who already had visas from entering the country.

CNN contacted the foreign affairs ministries of the Netherlands, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, Denmark, and Belgium, and they have not responded yet to requests for comment. 

Source Article from https://www.cnn.com/europe/live-news/russia-ukraine-war-news-09-14-22/index.html

BEIJING (AP) — Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russia’s Vladimir Putin and leaders from India and Central Asia gathered Thursday in Uzbekistan for a summit of a security group formed by Beijing and Moscow as a counterweight to U.S. influence.

The meeting Friday of the eight-nation Shanghai Cooperation Organization is overshadowed by Putin’s attack on Ukraine and strains in China’s relations with Washington, Europe, Japan and India due to disputes over technology, security and territory.

The event in the ancient sultanate of Samarkand is part of Xi’s first foreign trip since the outbreak of coronavirus pandemic 2 1/2 years ago, underscoring Beijing’s desire to assert itself as a regional power.

Putin and Xi were due to meet one-on-one and discuss Ukraine, according to the Russian president’s foreign affairs adviser, Yuri Ushakov.

Xi’s government, which said it had a “no limits” friendship with Moscow before the invasion, has refused to criticize the attack. Beijing and India are buying more Russian oil and gas, which helps Moscow offset the impact of Western sanctions.

China “states explicitly that it understands the reasons that forced Russia to launch a special military operation,” Ushakov said Thursday, according to the Russian news agency ITAR-Tass.

Putin planned to meet Friday with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, ITAR-Tass said, citing Ushakov.

There was no indication whether Modi might meet Xi. Chinese-Indian relations are strained due to clashes between soldiers from the two sides in a dispute over a border in a remote area of the Himalayas.

Other SCO governments include Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan and Tajikistan.

The meeting planned to consider an application by Iran, an observer of the group, to become a full member, according to ITAR-Tass.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, which has the status of “dialogue partner,” was also in attendance.

Putin and Erdogan planned on Friday to “evaluate the effectiveness” of a deal under which wheat exports from Ukraine via the Black Sea resumed, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said, according to ITAR-Tass.

The Chinese leader is promoting a “Global Security Initiative” announced in April following the formation of the Quad by Washington, Japan, Australia and India in response to Beijing’s more assertive foreign policy. Xi has given few details, but U.S. officials complain it echoes Russian arguments in support of Moscow’s attack on Ukraine.

The region is part of China’s multibillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative to expand trade by building ports, railways and other infrastructure across an arc of dozens of countries from the South Pacific through Asia to the Middle East, Europe and Africa.

On Thursday, Xi met with President Sadyr Zhaparov of Kyrgyzstan and said Beijing supports the “early operation” of a planned railway linking China, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, the Chinese foreign ministry said.

China’s economic inroads into Central Asia have fueled unease in Russia, which sees the region as its sphere of influence.

Xi made a one-day visit Wednesday to Kazakhstan en route to Uzbekistan. Pope Francis was in Kazakhstan, but they didn’t meet.

Source Article from https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-putin-japan-india-asia-dbe2a0bda954e06bb8fcb7cccbd39b21

Source Article from https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/27/china/shanghai-covid-lockdown-intl/index.html

KYIV, Sept 26 (Reuters) – Voting in referendums in Ukraine aimed at annexing territory to Russia enters a fourth day on Monday, after the United States warned of “catastrophic consequences” if Moscow used nuclear weapons to protect any annexed regions.

The votes in four eastern Ukrainian regions, which Kyiv and the West regard as a sham, saw Russian-backed officials carry ballot boxes from door to door, accompanied by security officials, said Luhansk’s regional governor.

Serhiy Gaidai said residents’ names were taken down if they failed to vote correctly or refused to cast a ballot.

“A woman walks down the street with what looks like a karaoke microphone telling everyone to take part in the referendum,” the governor added in an interview posted online.

“Representatives of the occupation forces are going from apartment to apartment with ballot boxes. This is a secret ballot, right?”

Russian forces control territory in the four regions that represents about 15% of Ukraine, or roughly the size of Portugal. It would add to Crimea, an area nearly the size of Belgium, that Russia claims to have annexed in 2014.

Russia’s parliament could move to formalise the annexations within days.

By incorporating the areas of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia into Russia, Moscow could portray efforts to retake them as attacks on Russia itself, a warning to Kyiv and its Western allies.

U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said the United States would respond to any Russian use of nuclear weapons against Ukraine and had spelled out to Moscow the “catastrophic consequences” it would face.

“If Russia crosses this line, there will be catastrophic consequences for Russia,” Sullivan told NBC’s “Meet the Press” television program on Sunday.

“The United States will respond decisively.”

The latest U.S. warning followed Wednesday’s thinly veiled nuclear threat by President Vladimir Putin, who said Russia would use any weapons to defend its territory.

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov made the point more directly at a news conference on Saturday.

He was speaking after a speech to the U.N. General Assembly in New York, in which he repeated Moscow’s false claims to justify the invasion that the elected government in Kyiv was illegitimately installed and filled with neo-Nazis.

Asked if Russia would have grounds for using nuclear weapons to defend annexed regions, Lavrov said Russian territory, including that “further enshrined” in Russia’s constitution in the future, was under the “full protection of the state”.

In an interview broadcast on Sunday, British Prime Minister Liz Truss told CNN, “We should not be listening to his (Putin’s) sabre-rattling and his bogus threats.

“Instead, what we need to do is continue to put sanctions on Russia and continue to support the Ukrainians.”

FIGHTING

Heavy fighting saw more than 40 towns hit by Russian shelling, Ukraine officials said on Monday.

In the 24 hours to Monday morning, Russian forces launched five missile and 12 air strikes, as well as more than 83 attacks from multiple rocket-propelled grenades, the general staff of Ukraine’s armed forces said.

More than 40 settlements in all were affected by enemy fire, mostly in southern and southeast Ukraine.

Two drones launched by Russian forces into Ukraine’s Odesa region hit military objects, causing a fire and setting off ammunition, Ukraine’s southern command said on Monday.

“As a result of a large-scale fire and the detonation of ammunition, the evacuation of the civilian population was organised,” it said on messaging app Telegram.

“Preliminarily, there have been no casualties.”

Countering Russian attacks, Ukraine’s air forces launched 33 strikes, hitting 25 “enemy” areas, the general staff added.

Reuters could not independently verify the accounts.

PROTESTS IN RUSSIA OVER DRAFT

On Wednesday, Putin ordered Russia’s first military mobilization since World War Two, unleashing protests across Russia and sending many men of military age fleeing.

On Sunday, two of Russia’s most senior lawmakers tackled a string of mobilisation complaints, ordering regional officials to swiftly solve “excesses” that stoked public anger.

More than 2,000 people have been detained across Russia for protests at the draft, says independent monitoring group OVD-Info. With criticism of the conflict banned, the demonstrations were among the first signs of discontent since the war began.

In Russia’s Muslim-majority southern region of Dagestan, police clashed with protesters, leading to the detention of at least 100 people.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy acknowledged the Russian protests in a Sunday video address.

“Keep on fighting so that your children will not be sent to their deaths – all those that can be drafted by this criminal Russian mobilisation,” he said.

“Because if you come to take away the lives of our children – and I am saying this as a father – we will not let you get away alive.”

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Source Article from https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/shelling-hits-southern-ukraine-russia-un-spotlight-over-escalation-2022-09-25/