Push to arm Ukraine putting strain on weapons stockpile
WASHINGTON >> The planes take off almost daily from Dover Air Force Base in Delaware — hulking C-17s loaded up with Javelins, Stingers, howitzers and other material being hustled to Eastern Europe to resupply Ukraine's military in its fight against Russia.
But theres' a growing concern as the war drags on: Can the U.S. sustain the cadence of shipping vast amounts of arms to Ukraine while maintaining the healthy stockpile it may need if a new conflict erupts with North Korea, Iran or elsewhere?
The U.S. already has provided about 7,000 Javelins, about one-third of its stockpile, to Ukraine, according to an analysis by Mark Cancian, a senior adviser with the Center for Strategic and International Studies international security program.
Analysts also estimate that the United States has sent about onequarter of its stockpile of shoulderfired Stinger missiles to Ukraine.
Marking the end of Ramadan: A woman buys a balloon after Eid al-Fitr prayers to mark the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan at Sunda Kelapa port in Jakarta, Indonesia, Monday.
Flooding forces evacuation in parts of Manitoba after rains
WINNIPEG >> Flooding has forced evacuations in some parts of Manitoba after heavy rains caused rivers to swell.
The Manitoba government said some regions in the province's south received four to six times the normal amount of precipitation in April, much of it in the form of snow that was melting at the same time as heavy rains on the weekend.
The Peguis First Nation, about 150 kilometers (93.2 miles) north of Winnipeg, was placed under a mandatory evacuation order after ice jams on the Fisher River drove up water levels.
`'We have probably 480 someodd homes that are completely surrounded by water and roads have been breached,” Chief Glen Hudson said Monday.
Close to 900 people were evacuated. Residents were sent to hotels in nearby communities, including Selkirk, Gimli and Winnipeg.
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Tribes' awarding of mineral rights to be challenged
BISMARCK, N.D. >> North Dakota is challenging the federal government's awarding of lucrative mineral rights under a Missouri River reservoir to the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation, otherwise known as the Three Affiliated Tribes.
The state attorney general's office said Friday that it filed notice with the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., that it plans to intervene in the tribes' lawsuit against the federal government.
The Interior Department ruled in February that the tribes own the mineral rights, in what has been a long-running dispute. An Obama appointee affirmed the tribes' ownership of the rights in 2017, but a Trump appointee ruled in the state's favor in 2020 before the Biden administration scrapped that ruling last year.
At stake is an estimated $100 million in unpaid royalties held in trust and future payments certain to come from oil drilling beneath the river.
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Fired officer charged with murder in shooting of boy, 12
PHILADELPHIA >> A fired Philadelphia police officer has been charged with murder in the shooting of a fleeing 12-year-old boy, who prosecutors said Monday was on the ground and unarmed when the officer fired the fatal shot. Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner announced first- and third-degree murder charges against former Officer Edsaul Mendoza in the shooting of Thomas “T.J.” Siderio on March 1, saying video showed to the grand jury contradicts the officer's version of events. Police say the youth had first fired a shot at an unmarked police car, injuring one of four plainclothes officers inside.
Mendoza, 26, was also charged with voluntary manslaughter and other charges, according to a grand jury presentment unsealed Monday. He had been suspended from his job March 8 with intent to fire.
Court records show Mendoza surrendered Sunday and was denied bail, rare treatment for former law enforcement officers facing charges.
Suu Kyi charged with bribery as new trial is set to open
BANGKOK >> Ousted Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi went on trial Monday in a new corruption case against her, alleging she took $550,000 in bribes from a construction magnate.
She is charged with two counts under the country's the Anti-Corruption Act, with each count punishable by up to 15 years in prison and a fine.
Suu Kyi has been detained since the army ousted her elected government in February 2021 and has not been seen or allowed to speak in public since then. She is being tried in closed sessions and her lawyers cannot speak publicly on her behalf or about her trial because of a gag order placed on them.
She has already been sentenced to 11 years' imprisonment after being convicted of illegally importing and possessing walkie-talkies, violating coronavirus restrictions, sedition and another corruption charge.