UN Chief condemns racist attack at US store

By Deepak Arora

UNITED NATIONS, May 16: Appalled by the killing of 10 people in a vile act of racist violent extremism that took place in Buffalo, New York, on Saturday, UN Secretary-General António Guterres has extended his deepest condolences to the families and loved ones of the victims and hopes that justice will be served swiftly.

The spokesman said the Secretary-General condemns, in the strongest terms, racism in all its forms and discrimination based on race, religion, belief or national origin.

"We must all work together towards building a more peaceful and inclusive society," he said in the statement.

The suspect, 18-year-old Payton S. Gendron, who is white, live-streamed the attack, which was carried out at a Tops supermarket in a predominantly black area of the city, located in the northeastern United States. Most of the victims were African American.

The gunman was arrested following a stand-off with the police.

The incident marked the deadliest mass shooting in the United States this year.

It follows other recent racist massacres, including the June 2015 murder of nine African Americans at a church in Charleston, South Carolina, and the October 2018 attack on the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in which 11 people were killed and six wounded.

Angelina Jolie Makes Surprise Ukraine Trip, Meets Children, Volunteers

LVIV, May 1: Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie visited the Ukrainian city of Lviv on Saturday, going to the station to meet people displaced by the war with Russia before later leaving after air-raid sirens sounded.

Jolie, 46, is a special envoy for the United Nations refugee agency, which says more than 12.7 million people have fled their homes in the past two months, which represents around 30% of Ukraine's pre-war population.

During the visit to the station, Jolie met volunteers working with the displaced, who told her that each of the psychiatrists on duty spoke to about 15 people a day. Many of those in the station are children aged from two to 10, according to volunteers.

"They must be in shock ... I know how trauma affects children, I know just having somebody show how much they matter, how much their voices matter, I know how healing that is for them," she said in reply.

At one point during her visit to the station, she tickled a small girl dressed in red, who laughed out in delight. She also posed for photos with the volunteers and some of the children.

Later on, air-raid sirens started to sound, and Jolie together with her aides walked quickly out of the station and got into a waiting car.

Last month, in her role as special envoy, Jolie visited Yemen, where millions of people have been displaced by war.