AFP USA

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday threatened action against Panama without immediate changes to reduce Chinese influence on the canal, but the country’s leader insisted he was not afraid of a US invasion and offered talks.On his first trip overseas as the top US diplomat, Rubio took a guided tour of the canal accompanied by its Panamanian administrator as a South Korean-affiliated oil tanker and Marshall Islands-flagged cargo ship passed through the vital link between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.But Rubio was said to have had a firmer message in private, telling Panama that President Donald Trump had determined that the country had violated terms of the treaty that handed over the canal in 1999.He pointed to the “influence and control” of China over the canal, through which some 40 percent of US container traffic passes.Meeting President Jose Raul Mulino, Rubio “made clear that this status quo is unacceptable and that absent immediate changes, it would require the United States to take measures necessary to protect its rights under the treaty,” State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said.She did not spell out the consequences. But Trump has repeatedly refused to rule out military force. On Saturday, he imposed punishing tariffs on the top US trading partners — Canada, China and Mexico.Nearly 75 percent of cargo that went through the Panama Canal in the 2024 fiscal year came from the United States, with 21 percent from China, followed by Japan and South Korea, according to official statistics.Rubio and Trump say China has gained so much power through surrounding infrastructure that it could shut the canal down in a potential conflict and spell catastrophe for the United States.”China’s running the Panama Canal,” Trump insisted Sunday.”It was not given to China, it was given to Panama foolishly,” he told reporters as he returned to Washington from a weekend in Florida.”But they violated the agreement and we’re going to take it back, or something very powerful is going to happen.”He later added that he did not think US troops would be “necessary” in Panama. – Panama offers cooperation -Mulino painted a rosier portrait of his meeting with Rubio, whom he welcomed Rubio at his official residence in the tropical capital’s old quarter.He also announced that Panama would not be renewing an agreement to participate in China’s Belt and Road project — a massive infrastructure initiative spearheaded by Beijing — which the country had signed onto under a previous administration.”I don’t feel that there is any real threat at this time against the treaty, its validity, or much less of the use of military force to seize the canal,” Mulino told reporters.”Sovereignty over the canal is not in question,” he said, proposing technical-level talks with Washington to clear up concerns.Mulino previously ordered an audit of a Hong Kong-based company that controls ports on both sides of the canal but Trump said the step was not enough.Mulino, who until Trump’s criticism was widely regarded as a staunch US ally, also promised to step up cooperation on the new administration’s top priority — repatriating undocumented migrants.Mulino offered Rubio the use of an airstrip in the town of Meteti in Darien, the dense, prohibitive jungle that has nonetheless become a major crossing point for migrants seeking to exit South America en route to the United States.The deportation plan “suits us very well, to be honest,” Mulino said.Former president Joe Biden already sealed a deal after Mulino’s election last year to provide $6 million to assist in expelling migrants. They include Venezuelans and Ecuadorans but also Haitians desperate even for a roundabout way out of their violence-ravaged country. Few are from Panama, one of Latin America’s wealthiest countries.Rubio is expected to focus on migration on the four other stops of his trip — El Salvador, Costa Rica, Guatemala and the Dominican Republic.- Protests against Rubio -Small but intense protests broke out in Panama ahead of Rubio’s visit, with protesters burning him in effigy and police firing tear gas.The Panama Canal — which Trump has dubbed a modern “wonder of the world” — was built by the United States and opened in 1914 at the cost of thousands of lives of laborers, mostly people of African descent from Barbados, Jamaica and elsewhere in the Caribbean.Jimmy Carter negotiated the agreement that gave the canal to Panama, with the late president seeing a moral imperative for a superpower to respect a smaller country.Trump takes a vastly different view and has returned to the “big stick” approach of the early 20th century, in which the United States threatened force to have its way.

Beyonce on Sunday finally won the Grammy for the year’s best album for her culture-shaking “Cowboy Carter,” as rapper Kendrick Lamar posted a clean sweep on a night that served as a love letter to fire-ravaged Los Angeles.Chappell Roan, Charli XCX, Doechii and Sabrina Carpenter emerged as big winners at the performance-heavy gala, while heavyweights Taylor Swift and Billie Eilish went home empty-handed.Beyonce’s win for “Cowboy Carter” now makes her the most nominated, most decorated artist at the awards show ever — as well as the first Black woman to claim the top prize in this century.The triumph was all the more relevant as the 43-year-old’s ambitious, historically rooted album elevated and showcased the work of Black artists in country music, whose rich contributions the industry has repeatedly sidelined.”I just feel very full and very honored,” she said, her husband Jay-Z and daughter Blue Ivy cheering from the crowd of A-listers at Crypto.com Arena.She dedicated the prize to Linda Martell, a pioneering Black country musician featured on the album.”I hope we just keep pushing forward, opening doors,” Beyonce said.The win brought Beyonce’s total Grammys on the night to three: she also won for her collaboration with Miley Cyrus, and snagged the best country album trophy.”I really was not expecting this,” she said as she accepted that prize, her voice audibly shaking. “Sometimes genre is a code word to keep us in our place as artists.””I just want to encourage people to do what they’re passionate about and to stay persistent,” she added.- Lamar, Chappell Roan own the stage -Hip-hop laureate Lamar cleaned up thanks to his smash diss track “Not Like Us,” one of a series of songs from the Los Angeles-area native that skewer rap rival Drake.He won in all five categories in which he was nominated, including Record and Song of the Year. He lost only to himself — he was twice up for two of the rap genre prizes.”Nothing more powerful than rap music,” the 37-year-old Lamar said in accepting the top song trophy. “We are the culture.””Not Like Us” shattered streaming records, catapulted to the top of the charts and quickly became a West Coast rap anthem, beloved for its pounding bass line, rhythmic strings and exaggerated enunciation.Lamar dedicated his best record win to his hometown, which is still reeling from the fires that razed whole neighborhoods and left thousands of people displaced.The coveted prize for Best New Artist went to Chappell Roan, capping a meteoric year for the Midwestern artist who went from struggling singer to music’s It girl seemingly overnight.But in a powerful acceptance speech, she recounted how it wasn’t always easy — she was dropped from her label during the pandemic and struggled to find work.Roan demanded that labels provide artists with a “livable wage and health care.””Record labels need to treat their artists as valuable employees,” she said. “Labels, we got you, but do you got us?”- ‘Anything is possible’ – Doechii emerged as another big winner, becoming just the third woman to ever win the prize for best rap album. The second-ever winner, Cardi B, presented her with the prize.”Anything is possible,” Doechii said as she accepted the trophy through tears, speaking directly to Black girls and women like herself. “Don’t allow anybody to project any stereotypes on you that tell you that you can’t be here, that you’re too dark or that you’re not smart enough, or that you’re too dramatic or you’re too loud,” she said.”You are exactly who you need to be.”Sabrina Carpenter won for best pop vocal album, her second award of the night that followed a slapstick, Old Hollywood-inspired performance of her nominated hits “Espresso” and “Please Please Please.”Shakira scooped Best Latin Pop Album, before delivering a jaw-dropping performance of her classics and new work, gyrating around the room.And Charli XCX won three prizes including best dance/electronic album for her summer-defining “Brat” before a banging performance at the end of the night.- ‘Love you, LA’ -Sunday’s gala was an homage to the city of Los Angeles.Yet it was not a somber evening but rather one of warmth, celebrating first responders while urging donations. Host Trevor Noah said at least $7 million was raised from viewers for wildfire relief.Top LA County firefighters presented Beyonce with her big award, while students who lost their schools sang with Stevie Wonder on “We Are The World” as part of the tribute to the late music powerhouse Quincy Jones. The show opened with a supergroup including Sheryl Crow and John Legend performing Randy Newman’s track “I Love LA,” while Eilish sang her hit “Birds of a Feather” in an LA Dodgers baseball cap.”I love you LA,” she said to cheers.

Camp queen, queer icon, a searing yet irreverent songwriter with cascading vocals: Chappell Roan has soared to pop’s upper echelons on a singular blend of vulnerability and high-production performance that has earned her legions of fans.And now the Missouri musician with a waterfall of red curls is a top Grammy winner, having snapped up the prestigious prize for Best New Artist.Her over-the-top theater kid persona, complete with wildly lavish costumes and high-drama makeup that nods to drag culture, made her an unstoppable force on the festival circuit.And since then, the 26-year-old has since been truly inescapable — on TikTok, the radio, streaming, late-night shows and, eventually, a viral media cycle over her lukewarm support of presidential candidate Kamala Harris that proved, in case anyone doubted it, just how big she’d gotten.In an industry thirsty for “moments,” it seemed like Roan was a rare bird who appeared out of nowhere.But she’d actually been hustling for a decade — making music while working odd jobs, handling mental health struggles and coming into her own.- Midwest Princess -Born Kayleigh Rose Amstutz on February 19, 1998 in Willard, Missouri, Roan threw herself into the arts while never quite finding her social footing, and grappling with weighty emotions she would eventually learn were symptoms of bipolar disorder.Her YouTube performances earned attention, and she moved to Los Angeles — but then home again after Atlantic Records dropped her amid the early days of the pandemic that left the music industry reeling.But before she was cut loose, Roan dropped “Pink Pony Club,” a track that years later would blossom as one of her smash hits.Dan Nigro, the heavyweight, Grammy-winning producer who worked with Roan at Atlantic, reconnected with her in 2021, and the years-long build-up to her soaring takeoff began in earnest.For several scrappy years, she worked odd jobs, amassed followers on TikTok, underwent therapy to treat her unpredictable condition and finished her debut album.But in accepting her Best New Artist Grammy, she took the industry to task, saying that her experience of feeling “betrayed” and “dehumanized” by the label that dropped her was “devastating.””Record labels need to treat their artists as valuable employees,” she said, demanding that they pay a living wage and provide health care to emerging artists. Roan — whose stage name pays homage to her late grandfather Dennis Chappell and his favorite song, “The Strawberry Roan,” which she also noted onstage Sunday — released her bold, vulnerable album “The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess” in 2023 to critical praise.On it, she delves into themes of sexuality and yearning with a pop-forward, dance-heavy beat and impressive vocals that one critic characterized as “singing in cursive.”Her standalone single “Good Luck, Babe!” and the cheerleader-inspired dance number “Hot to Go!” found enormous audiences.She thrived on TikTok but Roan wasn’t only magnetic online: it was her extravagant presence onstage — she did New York’s Governors Ball dressed as the Statue of Liberty after arriving in a huge apple bong — that cemented her superstar status.She had that on full-display yet again at Sunday’s gala, delivering a circus-themed rodeo of a performance of “Pink Pony Club” — wearing a leather fringed corset get-up as she straddled a giant pink pony — that had the crowd on its feet.- Growing pains -Roan’s phenomenal rise has come with a price: she has spoken out about fame’s growing pains that have left her exhausted and at times afraid of aggressive fans.During a set over the summer, she broke down in tears, telling fans she felt “a little off today.”She says many of her fellow artists have reached out with sympathetic support, including Elton John — who comically called her from an unidentified number 11 times before she answered and realized it was him, she told Rolling Stone.Roan, who grew up in a conservative, Christian household, came out as a lesbian recently, and regularly sings of queer love in her songs, but refuses to be pigeonholed for her sexuality.She also isn’t shy about speaking out on topics from trans rights to supporting the Palestinian cause.Making her demand Sunday night that working artists earn health insurance and a livable wage was totally on brand.”Labels, we got you, but do you got us?” she asked.

Music’s brightest stars on Sunday rocked the red carpet at the Grammy Awards, bringing some high drama, serious style — and, as ever, lots of skin.While the Oscars tend to embrace a classic brand of Hollywood glamour, the Grammys are daring: some of the most iconic fashion looks have emerged at the storied gala, such as Jennifer Lopez’s plunging green Versace gown in 2000.Here’s a look at what the A-listers wore to the Grammys in Los Angeles:- Music royalty -Beyonce finally won the Album of the Year award for the first time in her career, and she chose a glittering Schiaparelli gown for her golden moment.A “Cowboy Carter” coded bandana motif was worked into the low-cut gown with a keyhole opening. Elbow length gloves completed the look, and the singer wore her hair long and icy blonde.Taylor Swift, who presented Beyonce with her best country album award but went home empty-handed, was dressed to impress in a sexy, sparkly red Vivienne Westwood one-shoulder mini-dress.Red is the title of one of her albums, but it is also the signature color of boyfriend Travis Kelce’s Super Bowl-bound Kansas City Chiefs. Speculation ran rampant on social media about the message she was trying to convey. Her naughty thigh chain with a “T” charm also begged the question — did it stand for Taylor, Travis or both?- High drama -Breakout star Chappell Roan, who took home the award for Best New Artist, is known for her theatrical style, and she did not disappoint.She hit the red carpet in a vintage look from Jean-Paul Gaultier inspired by Edgar Degas’s depiction of ballet dancers.The pop singer wore a fascinator to match the bright yellow and baby blue printed gown with dramatic black bows on the shoulders. Her makeup was heavy, and her signature red curls flowed loosely down her back. Her nails were long and golden — like the statuette she took home.Lady Gaga, who is also known for being sartorially dramatic (meat dress, anyone?), went for goth chic in a long-sleeved black corseted Vivienne Westwood gown with a full skirt and matching jet-black hair. – Not demure, not mindful – Besides Roan, other members of music’s new generation of pop stars didn’t let their red carpet moments go to waste, rocking decidedly sexy looks.Sabrina Carpenter, who won two Grammys in the pop categories, wore a backless baby blue JW Anderson floor-length halter gown with a feather peplum and hem. Her blonde locks were swept into a come-hither curly up-do that conjured up images of Marilyn Monroe.Charli XCX, who scooped up three Grammys, wore a gray Gaultier gown with a corset bodice and oodles of frothy chiffon — definitely very brat.And Olivia Rodrigo slayed in a daring Versace black halter gown with a plunging neckline and a nearly bare back, with just a few straps holding it together.- Head scratchers -Rapper Kanye West, who was nominated for best rap song, arrived with his wife Bianca Censori, who shed a fur coat to reveal that she was practically naked in a sheer body stocking that left everything in view.They left the event shortly after the bold arrival. Some reports suggested they were thrown out, but celebrity news website TMZ, citing a source close to the Recording Academy, said they left on their own. Singer Willow Smith, the daughter of Hollywood couple Will Smith and Jada Pinkett-Smith rolled up in a bejeweled bikini and a tuxedo-style jacket. Her actor brother Jaden had a giant black castle hat encasing his head.And singer Joy Villa, who has made no secret of her support for President Donald Trump with her looks over the years, wore a red baseball cap that bore a resemblance to the ubiquitous MAGA hats at his rallies.Villa’s chapeau, paired with a slinky golden gown, simply said: “The Hat Stays On.”

US President Donald Trump has slapped new tariffs on Chinese goods, partly in response to Beijing’s alleged role in a deadly opioid epidemic in the United States.Washington has long accused Beijing of turning a blind eye to the deadly fentanyl trade, which US authorities estimate caused tens of thousands of deaths a year. China denies responsibility.Here AFP looks at where the issue currently stands:- What is fentanyl and where does it come from? -The United States is facing an epidemic of deaths caused by fentanyl, a synthetic opioid 50 times more powerful than heroin and much easier and cheaper to produce.US officials have said it is now the leading cause of death among people aged 18 to 45.The US Drug Enforcement Agency has accused China of being “the main source for all fentanyl-related substances trafficked into the United States”.While the Congressional Research Service acknowledged last year that direct supplies of the drug from China had been stemmed by stricter controls from Beijing in 2019, it said the move had simply shifted the supply lines.Rather than the drugs being supplied directly via international courier services, it said, chemical components are instead shipped from China to Mexico, where they are then made into fentanyl and smuggled across the border.Many of those components are legal in China and have legitimate medical use as painkillers — making prosecution tricky.Beijing, which insisted there is “no such thing as illegal trafficking of fentanyl between China and Mexico”, has promised to crack down.It has pointed to its tough drug laws — some of the world’s harshest — and warned that new tariffs would “inevitably affect and damage future bilateral cooperation on drug control”.- What has the US done to crack down? -Former president Joe Biden’s administration made the fight against fentanyl a priority.In October 2023, it slapped sanctions on over two dozen China-based entities and individuals alleged to be the “source of supply” for many US-based narcotics traffickers, dark web vendors, virtual currency money launderers and Mexican cartels.The group, which included a Wuhan-based company and a number of other firms based in Hong Kong and the mainland, was alleged to be responsible for the shipment of approximately 900 kilograms of “seized fentanyl and methamphetamine precursors” shipped to the United States and Mexico.”The global fentanyl supply chain, which ends with the deaths of Americans, often starts with chemical companies in China,” the then US attorney general Merrick Garland said last year.China condemned the investigation at the time as part of a US campaign of “pressure and sanctions” against it.- What have the US and China agreed to? -China-US talks on drug control stalled in the face of some of their worst relations in years.But following a summit between Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping in San Francisco in November 2023, Washington and Beijing agreed to restart talks.Last summer, a counternarcotics working group convened in Washington and China announced it would step up its regulation of three key fentanyl precursors.But it remains to be seen whether the latest curbs will fully stop the cross-border traffickers — who the Justice Department said “adapt to tightening restrictions”.Analysts say that manufacturers are able to develop new variants of the synthetic precursors faster than they can be identified and added to scheduled lists of substances controlled by Chinese authorities.Vanda Felbab-Brown, an expert on organised crime at the Brookings Institution, had said Beijing needs to take a tougher line against domestic firms involved in the trade.”We are nowhere close to robust indictments, robust prosecutions in either the money laundering sector or smuggling of precursors to the Mexican cartels,” she said in a podcast.- Will the tariffs work? -Whether tariffs will spur greater action from Beijing is unclear.Felbab-Brown argued that Beijing’s cooperation is tied to China-US relations.”With countries with whom China has good relations or with whom it wants to build good relations… it extends law enforcement and counter-narcotics cooperation,” she explained.”And with countries with whom it has bad relations or with whom relations deteriorate, it denies the cooperation.”China’s foreign ministry has warned that Washington should “not take China’s goodwill for granted”.Compounding the problem are expansive money laundering networks that underpin the trade, which experts say requires closer coordination between Washington and Beijing to curb.”International drug cartels are increasingly turning to specialized Chinese criminal gangs for swift, cheap and secure money laundering services,” wrote Zongyuan Zoe Liu in a September report for the Council on Foreign Relations.”Obtaining support from Beijing to stop the flow of illicit fentanyl and its precursor chemicals is an important first step in addressing the supply problem,” Liu wrote.

Beyonce on Sunday won the Grammy for the year’s best country album for her culture-shaking “Cowboy Carter,” a record that served as an indictment of the Nashville-centered industry long accused of sidelining Black artists.It was the second prize of the night for the most decorated artist in Grammys history, with four more opportunities to go at the marquee music awards gala in Los Angeles, including the top album and record prizes that have eluded her.Rapper Kendrick Lamar and pop singer Charli XCX each won three prizes during a pre-show where dozens of golden gramophones were handed out.”I really was not expecting this,” said Beyonce onstage, her voice audibly shaking. “Sometimes genre is a code word to keep us in our place as artists.””I just want to encourage people to do what they’re passionate about and to stay persistent,” she told the crowd packed with A-listers, with husband Jay-Z and daughter Blue Ivy applauding from the audience.”I still am in shock. Thank you so much for this honor.”- Chappell Roan takes industry to task -The coveted prize for Best New Artist went to Chappell Roan, capping a meteoric year for the Midwestern artist who went from struggling singer to music’s It girl seemingly overnight.But that wasn’t her experience — in her acceptance speech, she recounted how she was dropped from her label during the pandemic and struggled to find work.”I told myself that if I ever won a Grammy and got to stand up here before the most powerful people in music, I would demand that labels in the industry profiting millions of dollars off of artists would offer a livable wage and health care, especially to developing artists,” she said.”It was devastating to feel so committed to my art and feel so betrayed by the system and dehumanized,” she said.”Labels, we got you, but do you got us?”Last year’s winner Victoria Monet presented that trophy after a rollicking medley from some of Roan’s fellow nominees including Doechii, Benson Boone, Teddy Swims, Shaboozey and Raye.Sabrina Carpenter won the prize for best pop vocal album, her second award of the night that followed a slapstick, Old Hollywood-inspired performance of her nominated hits “Espresso” and “Please Please Please.”Doechii meanwhile gave a moving speech to accept the prize for best rap album, holding back tears as Cardi B — who has also won the prize — handed it to her.”So many Black women out there that are watching me right now — I want to tell you, you can do it,” she said.”Don’t allow anybody to project any stereotypes on you that tell you that you can’t be here, that you’re too dark or that you’re not smart enough, or that you’re too dramatic or you’re too loud. You are exactly who you need to be.”Hip-hop poet laureate Lamar scored three Grammys as did club diva Charli XCX — and they are both among the contenders for the night’s top prizes.- Wildfire relief -Sunday’s gala was also an homage to the city of Los Angeles, a global capital of entertainment that has recently been ravaged by devastating and deadly wildfires.The night, like much of the pre-Grammy event as well as a major benefit concert, also served as a fundraiser for the music industry members impacted by the blaze, with a QR code for donations displayed throughout the gala broadcast on CBS.A supergroup including Sheryl Crow and John Legend delivered a performance of Randy Newman’s track “I Love LA” to open the show.Before accepting her prize, Roan had the crowd on its feet with a rousing, rodeo-circus performance of her smash hit and love letter to Los Angeles, “Pink Pony Club.”And top Grammy nominee Billie Eilish sang her hit “Birds of a Feather” in an LA Dodgers baseball cap on a stage with imagery capturing the mountains and valleys of the city on a clear, sunny day.”I love you LA,” she said after her performance.

Pop superstar Chappell Roan on Sunday won the Grammy for Best New Artist, besting stiff competition including from fellow artists of the moment Sabrina Carpenter and Shaboozey.The honor caps a year in which Roan went from struggling artist to music’s It girl.The 26-year-old used her acceptance speech to put the recording industry on notice to treat struggling artists with more respect and offer better social protections.”I told myself that if I ever won a Grammy and got to stand up here before the most powerful people in music, I would demand that labels in the industry profiting millions of dollars off of artists would offer a livable wage and health care, especially to developing artists,” she said to applause.She recounted how difficult it was to be dropped by her label with “zero job experience,” and then to find a job as the coronavirus pandemic swept the nation.”It was devastating to feel so committed to my art and feel so betrayed by the system and dehumanized,” she said.”Record labels need to treat their artists as valuable employees,” she said. “Labels, we got you, but do you got us?”- Festival breakthrough -Born Kayleigh Rose Amstutz on February 19, 1998 in small-town Missouri, the artist took to singing and piano at a young age, and began gaining attention for videos she uploaded to YouTube in her teens.She moved to Los Angeles and back home again to support herself as a barista before finally coming into her own with singles like “Pink Pony Club” and “Naked in Manhattan,” which found renewed fame upon release of her debut studio album.That record, “The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess,” came out to widespread acclaim, with a number of publications including it in their lists of the year’s top releasesThe bold, vulnerable album explores themes of sexuality, heartbreak and yearning with a pop-forward, dance-heavy beat, while also showcasing her impressive vocals that one critic characterized as “singing in cursive.”The album lived mostly underground for several months after its release, before exuberant performances from Roan including at major festivals saw her burst to the forefront of pop.Her artistic persona is part of the appeal: Her aesthetics frequently draw from the world of drag, coupling heavy makeup with camp costumery.Songs like “Good Luck, Babe!” and “Hot to Go!” went viral, with the former becoming her first Top 10 hit.Roan has been outspoken about her support of queer and trans rights as well as her public support of the Palestinian people, and has also spoken out about the psychological toll of her massive fame.

Steven Nelson has spent more than a dozen years on Death Row in Texas and is to be executed by lethal injection on Wednesday for the murder of a pastor that he insists he did not commit.”It’s hard at times,” the 37-year-old Nelson said in an interview with AFP at the maximum-security prison in Livingston, a town 75 miles (120 kilometers) north of Houston, where he is awaiting his execution.”You’re waiting to be put to death,” he said. “So that kind of breaks a little part of you every day… You just don’t want to do nothing.”Nelson, who was wearing a white prison jumpsuit, spoke to AFP from a cubicle behind a glass partition and arrived for the interview in handcuffs, which were removed by prison guards and put back on when he departed.Nelson was convicted of the 2011 murder of Clint Dobson, a 28-year-old pastor, during a robbery of the NorthPointe Baptist Church in Arlington, near Dallas.Dobson was beaten and suffocated. Judy Elliott, the church secretary, was also badly beaten but survived.Nelson’s appeals against his conviction and death sentence have been repeatedly rejected by Texas courts and the US Supreme Court has declined to hear his case.Nelson acknowledges that he served as a lookout during the robbery and that he entered the church after the murder to steal some items.But he says it was his two accomplices, who were never brought to trial, who were the ones who committed the murder.”I didn’t know what was going on on the inside,” he said, and his friends “blamed everything on me.””So they’re free and I’m locked up,” he said. “I’m here on Death Row because of what somebody else did.””I’m an innocent man,” Nelson said. “I’m being executed for a crime, a murder, that I did not commit when all the DNA and legal proofs have proved that I didn’t kill anybody.”- ‘Pumped full of drugs’ -Nelson married a French woman, Helene Noa Dubois, while in prison who he said has had a “major impact” on his life.”We started first as friends and as the years progressed the love and the feelings progressed more and we got married on December 4,” he said.”I’ve never had human contact with her, it’s always been behind glass,” he said.”When someone can love you behind glass and not touch you, or see what your scent smells like, none of that, and still love you deeply, unconditionally, that is something wonderful.”Nelson said he is afraid to leave his wife alone and it is up to her to decide whether she wants to witness his execution.”I really don’t want her to see that, me getting pumped full of drugs and being overdosed with drugs to kill me, to make my heart stop,” he said.”I think that would leave a bad impression. That would override the good memories we’ve had over the years, to always close her eyes and see that,” he said. “But if she makes that choice to be there then that’s her choice.”- ‘No human contact’ -Nelson has asked for his spiritual advisor, Jeff Hood, a death penalty opponent, to be in the execution chamber with him “to pray over me and give me last rites.””That’ll be the first human contact that I’ve had in 13 years,” he said. “Because back here, we have no human contact with any other inmates.”Nelson said he has spent the past dozen years in an 8-by-10-foot (2.5-by-3-meter) cell for 22 to 24 hours a day. As his execution date approaches, he is now under constant video surveillance.Death Row inmates protest executions at the prison by refusing to speak on a day that someone is being put to death.”We don’t speak, period, that whole day,” Nelson said. “We don’t talk to officers. We don’t talk to each other.”We’re mostly in our thoughts, we’re like praying, trying to have some form of connection with that person getting executed.”There were 25 executions in the United States last year.The death penalty has been abolished in 23 of the 50 US states, while three others — California, Oregon and Pennsylvania — have moratoriums in place.Three states — Arizona, Ohio and Tennessee — that had paused executions have recently announced plans to resume them. President Donald Trump is a proponent of capital punishment and on his first day in the White House he called for an expansion of its use “for the vilest crimes.”

US President Donald Trump on Sunday asserted South Africa was “confiscating” land and “treating certain classes of people very badly” as he announced he was cutting off all future funding to the country pending an investigation.The land issue in South Africa has long been divisive, with efforts to redress the inequality of white-rule drawing criticism from conservatives including Elon Musk, the world’s wealthiest person, who was born in South Africa and is a powerful Trump adviser.South African President Cyril Ramaphosa last month signed a bill that stipulates the government may, in certain circumstances, offer “nil compensation” for property it decides to expropriate in the public interest.”South Africa is confiscating land, and treating certain classes of people VERY BADLY,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.”I will be cutting off all future funding to South Africa until a full investigation of this situation has been completed!” Trump wrote.Pretoria argues the bill does not allow the government to expropriate property arbitrarily and must first seek to reach agreement with the owner.However, some groups fear a situation similar to the Zimbabwe government’s seizure of white-owned commercial farms, often without compensation, after independence in 1980.Later, in a briefing with journalists, Trump said that South Africa’s “leadership is doing some terrible things, horrible things” without giving examples.”So that’s under investigation right now. We’ll make a determination, and until such time as we find out what South Africa is doing — they’re taking away land and confiscating land, and actually they’re doing things that are perhaps far worse than that.”- South African billionaires -Land ownership is a contentious issue in South Africa with most farmland still owned by white people three decades after the end of apartheid. Since then land courts have adjudicated on a handful of land disputes and, after exhaustive processes, returned land to previously displaced owners.According to the South African government, the 1913 Natives Land Act saw thousands of Black families forcibly removed from their land by the apartheid regime. The delicate issue has been a particular rallying point for the right, with various conservative figures including Musk and right-wing journalist Katie Hopkins championing the cause of white land-owners.Musk was born in Pretoria on June 28, 1971, to an engineer father and a Canadian-born model mother, leaving the country in his late teens. The formal policy of apartheid lasted until 1990, and multi-racial elections were held in 1994.Trump has surrounded himself with powerful Silicon Valley figures who came of age in apartheid southern Africa, like David Sacks, his newly-appointed artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency czar, who co-founded PayPal along with Musk. Billionaire Peter Thiel — another PayPal cofounder, who introduced Trump to his vice president, J.D. Vance — also lived in southern Africa, including time in Namibia which was then controlled by Pretoria.  He has previously been accused of supporting the apartheid system, that violently subjugated the Black majority of South Africa to uphold white rule and economic control, something a spokesman denied on his behalf.

Beyonce on Sunday scooped her first ever Grammy in the country categories for her collaboration with Miley Cyrus, as music’s premier awards gala began with dozens of prizes handed out before the televised marquee event.Rapper Kendrick Lamar jumped out as an early top winner with three awards, as did club diva Charli XCX, while Sabrina Carpenter won her first golden gramophone.Of her 11 chances to win, Beyonce’s victory was coupled with four losses in genre categories. The other awards will be presented at the gala hosted by comedian Trevor Noah.The Beyonce paradox — she has won the most Grammys of anyone in history but has never won the top album or record prizes — has been on the minds of many people in the industry in the run-up to Sunday’s ceremony.Her early win with Cyrus for best country duo/group performance is one signal that she was on the minds of voters in Nashville, the capital of country that is infamous for promoting a rigid view of the genre that is overwhelmingly white and male.Beyonce’s “Cowboy Carter” was a critically praised, not-so-subtle indictment of the country music industry’s powers-that-be, a genre-spanning record that elevated the work of Black artists and celebrated the rich history of their work.For Album and Record of the Year, many critics think Beyonce might finally get what broad consensus believes is her due.But she faces stiff competition, including from perennial winners like Billie Eilish and Taylor Swift along with Carpenter, Charli XCX and the buzzy Chappell Roan.It appears the Recording Academy is saving several awards Beyonce is nominated for — like best Americana performance and best country album — for the telecast, which could imply a big night for Queen Bey.On Grammys eve, she already made headlines by announcing an upcoming tour in support of “Cowboy Carter.”- Beatles win -Hip-hop laureate Lamar’s early wins could also signal a big night for him: his viral smash “Not Like Us” derived from his much-publicized rap battle with Drake.Other top artists to watch include Roan and Post Malone.In true Grammy fashion, a few curiosities emerged from the handout of early awards.The Beatles — yes, those Beatles — scored the prize for best rock performance despite breaking up more than 50 years ago.Their track “Now and Then” spotlighted the Recording Academy’s ongoing debate on how to handle artificial intelligence after it used an AI tool to isolate the late John Lennon’s vocals from a poor quality demo tape they could then use as the foundation of the new song.The Fab Four are also up for Record of the Year — the track was eligible because the AI was not generative, and the nomination could be a nod from the Academy to the future of production and recording.Lennon’s son Sean accepted the rock award, saying: “They’re still in the culture, people still listen to the music. As far as I’m concerned, it’s still the greatest band of all time.”And the late US president Jimmy Carter won a posthumous Grammy — his fourth — for best audiobook, narration and storytelling recording for a collection of his final Sunday school lessons in Georgia.The early awards will continue to be doled out as A-listers hit the red carpet ahead of the main ceremony, which begins at 5:00 pm (0100 GMT Monday).- Wildfires on the mind -Despite the high-wattage star power, Grammy week — which is usually loaded up with industry parties and performances — has taken on a more somber tone than usual, as the entertainment capital reels in the aftermath of deadly wildfires that leveled entire neighborhoods just weeks ago.Organizers decided the glitzy awards show should go on, with a newfound mission to raise aid funds and pay homage to impacted industry members along with first responders.That was evident during Sunday’s pre-broadcast show, which included repeated requests for donations and homages to the “resilience” of the music community.On Friday, the annual MusiCares gala — which this year honored psychedelic jam band the Grateful Dead — raised more than $5 million in a single evening, bringing the institution’s total sum raised since the fires broke out to more than $9 million.Music powerbroker Irving Azoff, along with concert promoters Live Nation and AEG Presents, organized a massive benefit concert on Thursday featuring major stars like Lady Gaga, Eilish, Dr. Dre and even Joni Mitchell.Saturday’s annual Clive Davis gala — one of the most coveted tickets in the business — also focused on wildfire relief.