United States
On April 8, during a hearing in the trial of Derek Chauvin, the policeman accused of killing African American George Floyd, pulmonologist Martin Tobin said that the death was caused by “low oxygen” due to the behavior. by Chauvin, who kept Floyd pinned to the ground for more than nine minutes with one knee on his neck. George Smock, who specializes in emergency medicine, made it clear that Floyd’s death was not caused by taking fentanyl, a powerful opioid.
United States
President Joe Biden on April 8 equated the proliferation of firearms in the country with an epidemic and called it “a source of embarrassment internationally”, announcing six bills of limited scope. One of these punishes the handicraft manufacture of so-called ghost weapons, which have no serial number and are sometimes made with a 3D printer. Biden also advocated a ban on assault rifles, used to carry out mass massacres, which, however, are unlikely to have the numbers necessary for congress.
UK
On 8 April, unionists and Republicans clashed with each other and with police for the second consecutive night in Belfast, Northern Ireland, in violence related to the UK’s exit from the European Union. Some demonstrators threw Molotov cocktails and the police responded with water cannons. At least fifty policemen were injured.
European Union-Czech Republic
The European Court of Human Rights ruled on 8 April that compulsory vaccination against childhood diseases “is necessary in a democratic society”. The appeal was lodged by a couple of parents from the Czech Republic who refused to have their children vaccinated, who had therefore not been admitted to school.
Ukraine
On April 8, President Volodymyr Zelenskii visited the front line in the Luhansk region, in the east of the country, where clashes between the army and pro-Russian separatists have multiplied in recent weeks. On the same day, Washington and Berlin expressed their concern about the increase in Russian troops on the border between the two countries.
Kyrgyzstan
On 8 April, hundreds of people took part in a demonstration in the capital Bishkek after the killing of a woman who had been kidnapped for a forced marriage, a practice that is prohibited but still widespread in the country. Aizada Kanatbekova, 27, was kidnapped on April 5 by three men and her body was found two days later.
Sudan
Hundreds of women took part in a demonstration in Khartoum against gender inequalities on 8 April, more than two years after the fall of the Omar al Bashir regime. Meanwhile, the toll of the week-long fighting between the Masalit tribe and Arab militias in Geneina, West Darfur, has risen to at least 132 victims.
Benin
On April 8, the army forcibly repressed a demonstration in Savé against the absence of the opposition in next Sunday’s presidential elections. At least one person was shot dead. Outgoing president Patrice Talon is expected to score a clear victory in the first round.
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