US Business

Leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), the United States’ largest Protestant denomination, published a 205-page list on Thursday of ministers and other church workers who have been accused of sexual abuse.

The public release of the list comes days after an independent investigation said the church had for years suppressed reports of sexual abuse against priests and church staff. 

“This list is being made public for the first time as an initial, but important, step towards addressing the scourge of sexual abuse and implementing reform in the Convention,” the SBC said in a statement on its website. 

Investigative firm Guidepost’s probe, published Sunday, found that for nearly two decades, survivors and advocates who sounded the alarm over sexual misconduct faced “resistance, stonewalling, and even outright hostility” from members of the church’s executive committee. 

On Thursday, the SBC said that it hoped “that churches will utilize this list proactively to protect and care for the most vulnerable among us.”

The newly released list contains hundreds of entries — some of them partially or fully redacted — detailing allegations, convictions and some cases that were not reported to the police. 

Some of the allegations in the list relate to the sexual abuse of children as young as five years old. 

In 2019, a bombshell investigation by two Texas newspapers revealed hundreds of predators and more than 700 victims of sexual abuse within the SBC since 1998.

The SBC has thousands of churches and 15 million members, mostly in the southern United States.

China’s foreign ministry on Friday accused US Secretary of State Antony Blinken of “smearing” the country, after America’s top diplomat delivered a landmark policy speech calling for action to counterbalance Beijing’s influence.

In the most comprehensive statement to date on China by US President Joe Biden’s administration, Blinken said on Thursday the Asian power posed “the most serious long-term challenge to the international order”.

China has faced a chorus of warnings from the United States and Western allies in recent days over its growing influence and global ambitions.

Blinken warned on Thursday of China’s “intent to reshape the international order” and called on countries to defend the status quo.

He also accused Beijing of raising tensions over Taiwan — a self-ruled island China claims as its territory — and said Beijing has “cut off Taiwan’s relations with countries around the world and (is) blocking it from participating in international organisations”.

Beijing hit out angrily at the speech on Friday, saying it “spreads false information, exaggerates the China threat, interferes in China’s internal affairs and smears China’s domestic and foreign policies”.

Foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told reporters that China “firmly opposed” the speech and it showed Washington sought to “contain and suppress China’s development and maintain US hegemony and power”.

The United State recently launched a loose new trade framework across Asia and has set up a forum with the European Union to set technological standards.

The efforts are aimed at uniting like-minded nations as China dominates new fields, such as artificial intelligence.

Blinken acknowledged a growing consensus that other nations cannot change the trajectory of China, saying that under President Xi Jinping it has become “more repressive at home, more aggressive abroad”.

“There is growing convergence about the need to approach relations with Beijing with more realism,” he said.

– ‘Coexist and cooperate’ –

The speech by the US secretary of state contrasted with the approach under former president Donald Trump, whose administration spoke in stark terms of an all-out global conflict with China.

On trips to Africa and Latin America, where China has invested billions of dollars in infrastructure, Blinken has downplayed US-China competition and has not asked nations to take sides.

“We are not looking for conflict or a new Cold War. To the contrary, we’re determined to avoid both,” he said in his speech.

“We don’t seek to block China from its role as a major power, nor to stop China — or any other country for that matter — from growing their economy or advancing the interests of their people.”

But he said that defending the current global order, including international law and agreements, would “make it possible for all countries — including the United States and China — to coexist and cooperate”.

Biden on Monday made waves by offering the most explicit pledge in decades that the United States would militarily defend Taiwan from any invasion by Beijing.

The pledge angered Beijing, which warned Washington not to “underestimate” China’s resolve and capabilities.

On Thursday, Biden insisted that Washington was not deviating from its longstanding stance on Taiwan and said it was Beijing that had raised tensions, including with near-daily military flights close to the island.

“While our policy has not changed, what has changed is Beijing’s growing coercion,” Blinken said.

Governments including Australia and New Zealand have also sounded alarm this week over leaked documents that appeared to show a plan to build broad security cooperation between China and the Pacific Islands.

China, which insists its cooperation with Pacific Island countries “does not target any country,” has sent its Foreign Minister Wang Yi on a trip across the region this week to discuss dramatic expansion of Beijing’s security and economic engagement.

US gun lobby group the National Rifle Association (NRA) will hold its annual convention in Texas on Friday, days after a horrific school shooting in the state killed 19 children and two teachers. 

The meeting will be held in Houston, a few hours drive east of the elementary school in the small town of Uvalde where an 18-year-old gunman used an assault rifle to carry out the massacre on Tuesday.

Former US president Donald Trump on Wednesday confirmed that he will attend the NRA meeting, saying that the United States “needs real solutions and real leadership in this time, not politicians and partisan considerations.” 

In a statement on its website, the NRA — which has been instrumental in preventing the passage of stricter firearms regulations — said the mass murder in Uvalde was “the act of a lone, deranged criminal.”

On Thursday, Texas police faced angry questions over why it took an hour to neutralize the gunman, as video emerged of desperate parents begging officers to storm the school.

In one jolty, nearly seven-minute clip posted on YouTube, parents are seen screaming expletives at police trying to keep them away from Robb Elementary School.

“It’s my daughter!” one woman bellows in chaotic scenes of crying and shoving.

Angeli Rose Gomez, whose children were inside, told The Wall Street Journal she was handcuffed by federal marshals after she and others pushed police to intervene.

In another video, parents at what is apparently the rear of the building complain angrily that police are doing nothing as the country’s worst school shooting in a decade unfolds.

One woman, frantic about her son, yells to police: “If they’ve got a shot, shoot him or something. Go on.”

Jacinto Cazares, whose daughter Jacklyn died on Tuesday, said he raced to the school when he heard about the shooting.

“There was at least 40 lawmen armed to the teeth but didn’t do a darn thing (until) it was far too late,” Cazares told ABC News Wednesday.

Daniel Myers and his wife Matilda — both local pastors — told AFP they saw parents at the scene growing frantic as police seemed to wait on reinforcements before entering the school.

“Parents were desperate,” said Daniel Myers, 72. “One family member, he says: ‘I was in the military, just give me a gun, I’ll go in. I’m not going to hesitate. I’ll go in.'”

– ‘Approximately an hour’ –

The tight-knit Latino community was changed forever when Salvador Ramos, an 18-year-old with a history of being bullied, entered the school and gunned down students and teachers with an assault rifle.

Relatives said the husband of one of the teachers killed in the attack died Thursday from a medical emergency — caused by grief over the loss of his wife. The couple had four children.

Facing rapid-fire questioning by journalists on the police response, Victor Escalon of the Texas Department of Public Safety said investigators were still working to piece together exactly what happened.

After shooting his own grandmother, Ramos crashed her vehicle near the school, Escalon said, then fired on bystanders before entering the school through a door that was apparently unlocked.

Officers went in minutes later, but were held back by gunfire and called for backup. A tactical team including US Border Patrol agents entered and killed the gunman “approximately an hour later.”

In the interim, officers evacuated students and teachers and unsuccessfully tried to negotiate with the gunman, who held them back with rifle fire, Escalon said.

– ‘I have no words’ –

Speaking out for the first time, Ramos’ mother Adriana Reyes told ABC News her son could be aggressive when angry but was “not a monster” — and that she was not aware he had been buying weapons.

“I had an uneasy feeling sometimes, like ‘what are you up to?'” she told ABC Wednesday evening. “We all have a rage, that some people have it more than others.”

“Those kids… I have no words,” Reyes said through tears. “I don’t know what to say about those poor kids.”

Students who went to high school with Ramos said he bullied others as well as being on the receiving end of abuse.

“I do vividly remember him being a bully in school. It wasn’t just that he was getting bullied, he was also the bully,” 18-year-old Jaime Cruz told AFP.

The Uvalde shooting was the deadliest since 20 elementary-age children and six staff were killed at the Sandy Hook school in Newtown, Connecticut in 2012.

– ‘Common sense’ –

Gun manufacturer Daniel Defense, which made the assault rifle used in Uvalde, told AFP it will not attend the NRA’s convention in Houston in light of the “horrifying tragedy.”

“We believe this week is not the appropriate time to be promoting our products in Texas at the NRA meeting,” said the company, which stated its gun had been “criminally misused” in the attack. 

Texas Governor Greg Abbott has brushed aside calls for tougher gun laws in his state — where attachment to the right to bear arms runs deep.

US President Joe Biden — who will head to Uvalde on Sunday — has called on lawmakers to take on the gun lobby and enact “common sense gun reforms.”

Gun control activists and lawmakers gathered outside the US Capitol Thursday, vowing no letup in their efforts in the run-up to November’s midterm elections.

“Gun violence prevention is going to be on the ballot,” said the Democratic senator from Connecticut, Richard Blumenthal.

The March for Our Lives advocacy group — founded by survivors of the 2018 Parkland school shooting in Florida — has called for nationwide protests on June 11 to press for gun control.

Here are the latest developments in the war in Ukraine:

– Pro-Russian forces claim capture of key town – 

Moscow-backed separatist forces in eastern Ukraine say they have captured Lyman, a strategic town connecting key cities in the east.

The pro-Russian rebels in the Donetsk region said they had “liberated and taken full control of 220 settlements, including Krasny Liman”, using an old name for Lyman.

After failing to take Kyiv and being driven back from the outskirts of the second city of Kharkiv, Russia is waging all-out war for the Donetsk and Lugansk regions, which together make up Donbas, Ukraine’s industrial heartland.

In a sign that Kharkiv is not yet out of harm’s way, nine people were killed in shelling of the northeastern city on Thursday.

– Zelensky warns of ‘genocide’ in Donbas –

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky accuses Moscow of carrying out a “genocide” in Donbas, where Russian forces are also closing in on the cities of Severodonetsk and Lysychansk.

In his daily televised address, Zelensky warns that Russia’s offensive could empty Donbas of its population.

“All this, including the deportation of our people and the mass killings of civilians, is an obvious policy of genocide pursued by Russia,” he says.

Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba accuses allies of dragging their feet on arms deliveries, telling his German counterpart that Ukraine needs heavy weapons “as soon as possible.”

– Russian to boost grain exports –

Russia says it plans to ramp up grain exports against the backdrop of a looming global food crisis exacerbated by the war in Ukraine. 

Agriculture Minister Dmitry Patrushev says Russia will increase its grain exports from over 37 million tonnes in the 2021-2022 season ending June 30 to 50 million tonnes in the new season starting July 1.

Kyiv and the West blames Russia’s blockade of Ukrainian ports for stalling grain exports from Europe’s breadbasket.

President Vladimir Putin told Italy’s Prime Minister Mario Draghi in a telephone call he was ready to make a “significant contribution” to averting a global food crisis if the West lifts sanctions imposed on Russia.

– German ‘train lift’ –

A top US defence official says Germany is working on a plan to get up to 22 million tonnes of Ukrainian grain, currently blocked in ports, out of the country by rail.

General Christopher Cavoli tells US lawmakers that Germany’s railway company has dedicated a special train service to get the exports out.

“They are doing what they call a Berlin train lift, an analogy to the Berlin Airlift (an Allied plan to overcome a Soviet blockade of west Berlin in 1949) to dedicate trains to pulling wheat right out of Ukraine into western Europe,” he says.

– Russian guards sacked for refusing to fight –

A Russian court confirms the dismissal of 115 national guardsmen who were sacked after refusing to take part in the war in Ukraine.

The case heard by a military court in Russia’s southern Kabardino-Balkaria republic appears to be the first involving troops refusing to be part of Russia’s offensive in Ukraine.

The case was heard behind closed doors.

– Mariupol ‘to get Russian curriculum’ –

A Ukrainian official says Russian troops occupying Mariupol have cancelled school summer holidays in the southeastern port city to prepare pupils for switching to a Russian curriculum.

“The occupiers have announced the extension of the school year until September 1,” city official Petro Andryushchenko wrote on social media.

“Throughout the summer, children will have to study Russian language, literature and history as well as maths classes in Russian,” Andryushchenko said. 

There was no confirmation of the announcement from the Russian side.

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Disney announced a new live-action “Star Wars” series featuring Jude Law at a major fan convention Thursday — but any mention of upcoming films in the beloved sci-fi franchise was conspicuously absent, as the company focuses on its streaming service.

Harrison Ford and Ewan McGregor were among the stars who appeared on stage before a raucous and outlandishly dressed crowd in Anaheim, California for “Star Wars Celebration,” a four-day gathering held every few years, usually tied to new movies.

But television shows dominated the opening presentation, which featured unseen footage from “Andor” and the third season of “The Mandalorian” — plus the surprise announcement of a world premiere for McGregor’s “Obi-Wan Kenobi.”

Fans in attendance will be the first to watch two episodes from the series, the day before it launches on Disney+.

McGregor and Hayden Christensen, who both reprise their roles from the “Star Wars” prequel film trilogy for the series about the iconic Jedi master and his apprentice-turned-nemesis Darth Vader, both appeared at the event. 

As for Law, he will appear in the previously unconfirmed series “Skeleton Crew,” created by “Spider-Man: No Way Home” director Jon Watts, it was announced.

“It’s the story about a group of kids — about 10 years old — from a tiny little planet, who accidentally get lost in the ‘Star Wars’ galaxy,” said Watts.

– Fans ‘showed up’ –

Disney bought Lucasfilm for $4 billion in 2012 and immediately began pumping out films including a new trilogy, and spin-offs “Solo” and “Rogue One,” but has since slowed its big-screen “Star Wars” output.

The decision followed diminishing box office returns and mixed reviews — and the all-important launch of its Disney+ streaming service.

Disney+ has gained more than 130 million subscribers since its 2019 launch, defying most analyst expectations, and creator of smash hit launch show “The Mandalorian” Jon Favreau thanked “Star Wars” fans for their role in its rapid rise.

“One group, the ‘Star Wars’ fans, showed up when they launched Disney+… you all helped make Disney+ a success,” said Favreau.

Favreau presented footage from the third season of “The Mandalorian,” in which the disgraced bounty hunter — accompanied by Baby Yoda — vows to earn forgiveness “for my transgressions.”

Tony Gilroy, who wrote the Jason Bourne action films, said another new series “Andor” will be set five years before spin-off movie “Rogue One,” and will feature two 12-episode seasons.

Returning star Diego Luna said the series will portray a younger, more selfish version of his character Cassian Andor — a pilot who sacrifices himself at the end of the film to fight the Empire.

“The beauty of this show is, there’s no way they’ll kill me,” he joked.

Favreau confirmed shooting has just begun on yet another series, “Ahsoka,” starring Rosario Dawson.

But while Disney has three “Star Wars” movies on its schedule, and has previously announced films from directors Taika Waititi, Rian Johnson and Patty Jenkins, none were mentioned on stage Thursday.

Lucasfilm head Kathleen Kennedy told Variety there would be “plenty of time to showcase” upcoming movies in the future.

– Indiana Jones –

Instead, the presentation ended with a performance from veteran composer John Williams, who conducted a live orchestra through his latest music for “Obi-Wan Kenobi.”

Williams — who turned 90 this year — was lauded by Ford, who played Han Solo in the original “Star Wars” films, as well as “Indiana Jones.”

“That music follows me everywhere I go… that music was playing on the speakers in the operating room when I had my last colonoscopy,” joked Ford.

“I passed,” he added, to laughter and loud cheers.

Ford, himself 79, said the fifth “Indiana Jones” film was “almost completed” and confirmed it will premiere in June 2023.

Meanwhile outside the convention center, thousands of hardcore “Star Wars” fans waved multi-colored lightsabers, exchanged gossip on the upcoming shows, and posed for photos dressed as their favorite bounty hunters, droids and Jedi warriors.

“Star Wars Celebration” runs through Sunday.