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BBC World News, I'm Tom Dewsbury. Hello.
The United States has offered a $5 million reward for information leading to the arrest in Haiti of the gang leader Jimmy Chérizier, who controls much of the capital Port-au-Prince. Federal prosecutors announced criminal charges against Chérizier, who is also known as Barbecue, including conspiracy to violate U.S. sanctions. More details from our Central America correspondent, Will Grant. Chérizier was already facing a whole raft of sanctions from the U.N., France, Britain, among others. And now, of course, Washington has added to that long list of alleged crimes, essentially saying that what he's been doing in conjunction with a U.S. citizen in North Carolina is trying to get around the U.S. sanctions by channeling money from the Haitian diaspora in the U.S. in order to pay for the many, many foot soldiers that he has in Haiti, how essentially he controls the Haitian capital. President Zelenskyy says Ukraine will not abandon the Donbass, the eastern region that Russia and its proxies now largely control. He warned that doing so would give Russia a springboard for future attacks. It's believed annexing the Donbass will be a key demand of the Russian leader when he meets Mr. Trump on Friday in Alaska, where Mr. Zelenskyy hasn't been invited. Kira Rudik's a Ukrainian MP. "What are the security guarantees that are going to be provided to Ukraine? Because without that, any discussions about territories, swapping lands, etc., do not make any sense. We have been in the ceasefire agreements with Russia since 2014, and we can tell you for a fact that they are not to honor them." The Trump administration significantly changed a U.S. government report on global human rights to soften criticism of countries that have been strong partners to President Trump. At the same time, there's increased criticism of Brazil and South Africa, both of which have sparred with the Trump administration. More details from Tom Bateman. This year's document significantly reduces criticism of countries led by Mr. Trump's allies. Criticism of prison conditions has disappeared in the section on El Salvador, to where Mr. Trump has sent migrants from the U.S. into a notorious mega-prison. The section on Israel is dramatically pared back and contains no mention of the humanitarian crisis or death toll in Gaza. Human rights groups have accused the administration of weaponizing the report for political reasons. One former official told the BBC it contained few truths, many half-truths, and nothing like the truth. National Guard troops are starting to arrive in Washington, D.C., a day after President Trump said he'd deploy them and take control of the U.S. Capitol's police force. Mr. Trump says he wants to tackle out-of-control violent crime, which figures have shown is at a 30-year low. World news from the BBC. Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Palestinians will be allowed to leave Gaza before the army expands its operations. Speaking to Israeli media, he denied they were being pushed out. Israel's military has been preparing a broader offensive in the north and center of Gaza, despite criticism at home and abroad. Previous calls to resettle Palestinians outside the devastated territory have been condemned internationally as ethnic cleansing. Mexico has transferred 26 detained high-ranking cartel figures to the United States in the wake of pressure from President Trump to crack down on fentanyl smuggling. The U.S. Department of Justice had requested that Mexico hand over the suspected criminals. None of them have been named. It's the second such prison transfer. In February, Mexico sent 29 suspected traffickers to the U.S. South Korea's former first lady Kim Keon Hee has been arrested after a court issued a warrant. Her arrest, along with last month's arrest of her husband, the former President Yoon Suk Yeol, makes the pair the first presidential couple to be jailed. Je Seung Lee has the details. Kim Keon Hee is the first wife of a South Korean president to be arrested. She's been accused of stock manipulation, election interference and bribery. And she's said to have accepted luxury gifts from a shaman from the very influential Unification Church in exchange for business favors. Kim Keon Hee is the wife of the former President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was impeached over that botched attempt to impose martial law last December. Now, he's already in jail. He's charged for insurrection. Several hundred people have gone swimming in the River Spree in Berlin to protest against a 100-year law banning the practice. Activists want a stretch of the river running through the German capital to be open to bathing. The ban was brought in in 1925 because of pollution. Like other places in Europe, Berlin's been in a sweltering heatwave. BBC News. |