Journalist killings rose 50% in 2022, the most deaths in 5 years
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Killings of journalists around the world jumped by 50% in 2022 compared with the previous year, driven largely by attacks in Ukraine, Mexico and Haiti.
According to a report Tuesday by the New Yorkbased Committee to Protect Journalists, at least 67 news media workers were killed worldwide in 2022, the highest number since 2018. Journalists in the three countries say the increased danger has forced them to work under extreme stress.
The effect is particularly notable in Haiti, where seven journalists were killed in 2022, a huge number for a small island country of about 12 million people. Some were killed by violent street gangs that have basically taken over the capital, Port-au-Prince, but at least two were shot by police.
The CPJ noted that more than half — 35 of the 67 killings — took place in just three countries: Ukraine, Mexico and Haiti. Mexico saw 13 news workers killed, according to the committee. Other media groups have put the number at 15, which would make 2022 the deadliest year in at least three decades for Mexican journalists. In war-battered Ukraine, 15 news workers were killed last year, CPJ said.
The CPJ said it had confirmed that 41 of the 67 journalists were killed “in direct connection with their work,” and that it is investigating the motives for the 26 other slayings.
One journalist was killed in the United States last year, on Sept. 2: Jeff German, a reporter for the Las Vegas Review-Journal. A Las Vegas-area elected official about whom German had written articles has pleaded not guilty to the slaying.
Texas tornado: A powerful storm system took aim at the Gulf Coast on Tuesday, spawning a tornado that caused damage east of Houston.
There were downed power lines and damage to homes and businesses in Baytown, 25 miles east of Houston, but no reports of serious injuries, said Baytown spokesperson Jason Calder.
Footage from Houston TV station KTRK showed damage to buildings and power lines in Pasadena, a city southeast of Houston. There were no immediate reports of injuries.
An 18-year-old man who police say was involved in an ongoing gang dispute walked into the common area of an alternative education program for at-risk students and fatally shot two teenagers in a premeditated attack — chasing one of them down and shooting him several more times when he tried to run, according to a charging document released Tuesday.
Police said the shooting Monday that also left the founder of the Starts Right Here program with life-threatening injuries was a targeted attack. The founder, William Holmes, 49, underwent surgery and was in serious condition.
Police on Tuesday identified those killed as Gionni Dameron, 18, and Rashad Carr, 16.
Preston Walls, 18, of Des Moines, was charged with two counts of firstdegree murder, one count of attempted murder and one count of criminal gang participation.
Walls is jailed on $1 million bond.
Iowa student shooting:
Former President Donald Trump has abandoned efforts to revive his federal
Trump drops appeal:
lawsuit against New York Attorney General Letitia James — the second time he’s halted legal action against her after a judge last week fined him and his lawyers nearly $1 million for filing frivolous cases.
Trump’s lawyers and James’ office agreed Tuesday to a stipulation ending an appeal that had sought to reverse a judge’s decision to dismiss the lawsuit. Trump, a Republican, sued James, a Democrat, in December 2021 in an attempt to block her from investigating him and his businesses.
Trump sued James again in the wake of her September lawsuit alleging that he and his company, the Trump Organization, misled banks and others about the value of his assets, including golf courses and hotels bearing his name.
Trump dropped that lawsuit last week after a federal judge in Florida, Donald Middlebrooks, accused him of a “pattern of abuse of the courts” for filing frivolous lawsuits for
political purposes.
James’ case against Trump is pending. She wants a judge to fine him $250 million and permanently ban him from doing business in the state. The trial is scheduled for October.
Finland’s NATO bid: Finland’s foreign minister suggested Tuesday that the country may consider joining NATO without neighboring Sweden if Turkey continues to block their joint bid to enter the military alliance.
Pekka Haavisto later backpedaled, but his comments were the first time a leading government official in either Nordic country appeared to raise doubts about becoming NATO members together at a time when the alliance is seeking to present a united front in the face of Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Sweden and Finland rushed to apply for NATO membership following Moscow’s invasion, abandoning their long-standing
nonalignment policy. Their accession needs the approval of all existing NATO members, including Turkey, which has so far blocked the expansion, saying Sweden in particular needs to crack down on exiled Kurdish militants and their sympathizers.
Yellen visits Zambia farm:
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen traveled from a small farm on a rural red clay road to a ramen noodle plant in Zambia’s bustling capital of Lusaka on Tuesday to showcase Africa’s potential to help solve the world’s food shortage problems.
Yellen, midway through a 10-day tour of Africa, devoted her day to highlighting the agricultural investment potential of underdeveloped African nations, especially as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has exacerbated worldwide hunger and the cost of food.
“As we tackle acute needs now, we must also take a longer view and scale up investment in long-term
food system resilience. Africa is a perfect example of these dual challenges,” Yellen said in Chongwe, a village outside of Lusaka.
France repatriations:
France on Tuesday repatriated another group of women and children from former Islamic State group-controlled areas of Syria, the latest return of French nationals who’d been stranded in camps there, eyed warily by Paris.
The group was made up of 32 minors and 15 adult women, France’s national counterterrorism prosecutor’s office said. It said the women, ranging in age from 19 to 56, were held in custody — some on the basis of arrest warrants previously issued against them. The children were placed in the care of protective services.
The returnees had previously been detained in a sprawling, wretched and lawless camp in northeastern Syria that holds tens of thousands of women and children.