Musician Wyclef Jean has revealed how he was put in handcuffs after being mistaken for an armed robber.
The Grammy-winner shared a video on his Twitter page hours after being detained by police in Los Angeles.
The 18-second clip shows the former Fugees star confused about why he is being detained.
"I'm in LA right now, coming from the studio with T-Baby, ya'll see the police have handcuffs on me," he is heard saying.
"They just took off my Haitian bandana. That's what's going on right now with Wyclef in LA right now," he explains.
"The LAPD have me in cuffs for absolutely nothing."
Police later confirmed they had detained the 47-year-old rapper while searching for an armed robbery suspect.
A West Hollywood patrol unit thought his car matched the description.
"LAPD another case of mistaken identity. Black man with red bandana robbed a gas station as I was in the studio working but I'm in handcuffs?" he tweeted.
"They proceeded to ignore me," he explained in a later tweet.
"I was treated like a criminal until other police showed up and pointed out they had wrong person."
Wyclef Jean is a Haiti-born musician and actor who rose to fame in the mid-90s alongside Lauryn Hill in the Fugees.
He is a known advocate for humanitarian causes and even filed to run for president in the 2010 Haitian elections.
"I was asked by the police to put my hands up. Then I was told do not move. I was instantly hand cuffed before being asked to identify myself," he wrote on Twitter.
"As some one who has law enforcers in my family, I was appalled by this behavior of the LAPD."
The officers who stopped the musician are understood to be from LA County Sheriff's Department, rather than LAPD itself.
Wednesday, March 22, 2017
Holyrood to vote on Nicola Sturgeon's call for second referendum
Nicola Sturgeon faces a make-or-break vote in the Scottish Parliament later as MSPs decide whether or not to back her fight for a second independence referendum.
The First Minister will call on MSPs to back her request to Westminster for a Section 30 order, allowing for a legally-binding vote to be held.
Last week, Ms Sturgeon announced plans to hold another vote on Scotland's future some time between autumn 2018 and spring 2019, but the Prime Minister asserted "now is not the time" for another referendum.
Conservative, Labour and Liberal Democrat MSPs have said they will block such a ballot.
However, the pro-independence Scottish Greens, who have six MSPs, are expected to give the First Minister the support she needs for her motion to be passed after the conclusion of a two-day debate this afternoon.
:: What are the arguments for and against indyref2?
Making her case for a new vote on Wednesday, Ms Sturgeon told the Scottish Parliament there was an "unquestionable democratic mandate for an independence referendum".
She said the UK Government would be "wrong and unfair" to stand in the way of Scotland "even having a choice", adding that Theresa May should set out a timetable for a referendum if she doesn't agree with holding it before spring 2019.
The First Minister will call on MSPs to back her request to Westminster for a Section 30 order, allowing for a legally-binding vote to be held.
Last week, Ms Sturgeon announced plans to hold another vote on Scotland's future some time between autumn 2018 and spring 2019, but the Prime Minister asserted "now is not the time" for another referendum.
Conservative, Labour and Liberal Democrat MSPs have said they will block such a ballot.
However, the pro-independence Scottish Greens, who have six MSPs, are expected to give the First Minister the support she needs for her motion to be passed after the conclusion of a two-day debate this afternoon.
:: What are the arguments for and against indyref2?
Making her case for a new vote on Wednesday, Ms Sturgeon told the Scottish Parliament there was an "unquestionable democratic mandate for an independence referendum".
She said the UK Government would be "wrong and unfair" to stand in the way of Scotland "even having a choice", adding that Theresa May should set out a timetable for a referendum if she doesn't agree with holding it before spring 2019.
North Korea 'fails' in new missile test: South
A new North Korean missile test appeared to have ended in failure, according to South Korean and US officials.
The reported failed launch on Wednesday came during large-scale annual military drills involving US and South Korean forces that the North has called a rehearsal for an invasion.
Seoul's defence ministry said in a statement that Pyongyang fired one missile from an air base in the eastern port of Wonsan but the launch was believed to had failed.
"We are in the process of analysing what type of missile it was," it added.
The statement came after Japan's Kyodo news service, citing an unidentified government source, said the North might have launched several missiles and that they were a failure.
A US military spokesman also said they had detected a failed North Korean missile launch attempt, with a missile exploding within seconds of its launch.
"US Pacific Command detected what we assess was a failed North Korean missile launch attempt ... in the vicinity of Kalma," Commander Dave Benham, a spokesman for US Pacific Command, said in a statement, referring to an air field on North Korea's east coast.
"A missile appears to have exploded within seconds of launch," Benham said, adding that work was being carried out on a more detailed assessment.
The reported failed launch on Wednesday came during large-scale annual military drills involving US and South Korean forces that the North has called a rehearsal for an invasion.
Seoul's defence ministry said in a statement that Pyongyang fired one missile from an air base in the eastern port of Wonsan but the launch was believed to had failed.
"We are in the process of analysing what type of missile it was," it added.
The statement came after Japan's Kyodo news service, citing an unidentified government source, said the North might have launched several missiles and that they were a failure.
A US military spokesman also said they had detected a failed North Korean missile launch attempt, with a missile exploding within seconds of its launch.
"US Pacific Command detected what we assess was a failed North Korean missile launch attempt ... in the vicinity of Kalma," Commander Dave Benham, a spokesman for US Pacific Command, said in a statement, referring to an air field on North Korea's east coast.
"A missile appears to have exploded within seconds of launch," Benham said, adding that work was being carried out on a more detailed assessment.
Tuesday, March 21, 2017
North Korea to pursue development of ICBM - envoy
North Korea will pursue the development of inter-continental ballistic missiles and first strike capability, an envoy has said.
The Pyongyang official said his country has nothing to fear from any threats by the US that it will broaden sanctions.
Instead, Choe Myong-Nam warned, North Korea will accelerate its nuclear and missile programme.
It comes after the country released a propaganda video purporting to show a US aircraft carrier on fire.
Mr Choe, deputy ambassador at the DPRK (North Korean) mission to the United Nations in Geneva, told Reuters his country would work towards developing the sort of nuclear capability that allowed it to strike at an enemy first.
It would also aim to build a long-range missile that had the potential to hit targets on other continents.
In the last few weeks, the US has held joint military exercises with South Korea which America says are defensive.
President Trump said soon after taking office that he would not let North Korea possess a weapon that could threaten the US.
A senior US official in Washington said on Monday that the Trump administration is considering sweeping sanctions as part of measures to counter North Korea's nuclear and missile threat.
The Pyongyang official said his country has nothing to fear from any threats by the US that it will broaden sanctions.
Instead, Choe Myong-Nam warned, North Korea will accelerate its nuclear and missile programme.
It comes after the country released a propaganda video purporting to show a US aircraft carrier on fire.
Mr Choe, deputy ambassador at the DPRK (North Korean) mission to the United Nations in Geneva, told Reuters his country would work towards developing the sort of nuclear capability that allowed it to strike at an enemy first.
It would also aim to build a long-range missile that had the potential to hit targets on other continents.
In the last few weeks, the US has held joint military exercises with South Korea which America says are defensive.
President Trump said soon after taking office that he would not let North Korea possess a weapon that could threaten the US.
A senior US official in Washington said on Monday that the Trump administration is considering sweeping sanctions as part of measures to counter North Korea's nuclear and missile threat.
Goldman Sachs will move jobs out of London before Brexit deal struck
Goldman Sachs will begin moving hundreds of people out of London before any Brexit deal is struck, the banking giant's European boss has said.
The remarks from Richard Gnodde, chief executive of Goldman Sachs International, come as Theresa May prepares to trigger Article 50 for leaving the European Union next week.
Banks have been working on their response to the vote for several months after warnings before the June referendum that such an outcome would result in jobs moving.
Mr Gnodde told CNBC: "We are going to start to execute on those contingency plans."
"For this first period, this is really the period as we put in place contingency plans, this is in the hundreds of people as opposed to anything greater than that."
However he added that London would remain a "very significant global hub".
The bulk of the Wall Street firm's European operations are in Britain, where it has around 6,000 employees providing services across Europe.
:: EU leaders to hold first Brexit summit on 29 April
Financial firms rely on "passporting" rights to sell their services across the continent but these look likely to go after the Prime Minister said the UK would leave the single market.
Mr Gnodde said the big question was whether the Britain and the EU would agree on transitional arrangements as they try to hammer out a Brexit deal.
He said: "We can't bank on them so we have to have contingency plans and that's what we're going to start to execute on."
Mr Gnodde said Goldman would initially start hiring staff in Europe and moving people out of London, as well as investing in infrastructure and technology over the next 18 months.
He did not say which locations would benefit but mentioned that Goldman had banking licences in France and Germany and offices in several European cities.
Mr Gnodde added: "What our eventual footprint will look like depends on the outcome of negotiations and what we're obliged to do because of them.
"Whatever the scenario, whatever the outcome, London will remain for us a very significant regional hub and a very significant global hub."
The remarks come after London mayor Sadiq Khan warned that banks could start making plans to move out of the UK as soon as Article 50 is triggered - if there is no reassurance that there will be a transitional deal.
HSBC and UBS have warned that they could each transfer 1,000 jobs from London.
The remarks from Richard Gnodde, chief executive of Goldman Sachs International, come as Theresa May prepares to trigger Article 50 for leaving the European Union next week.
Banks have been working on their response to the vote for several months after warnings before the June referendum that such an outcome would result in jobs moving.
Mr Gnodde told CNBC: "We are going to start to execute on those contingency plans."
"For this first period, this is really the period as we put in place contingency plans, this is in the hundreds of people as opposed to anything greater than that."
However he added that London would remain a "very significant global hub".
The bulk of the Wall Street firm's European operations are in Britain, where it has around 6,000 employees providing services across Europe.
:: EU leaders to hold first Brexit summit on 29 April
Financial firms rely on "passporting" rights to sell their services across the continent but these look likely to go after the Prime Minister said the UK would leave the single market.
Mr Gnodde said the big question was whether the Britain and the EU would agree on transitional arrangements as they try to hammer out a Brexit deal.
He said: "We can't bank on them so we have to have contingency plans and that's what we're going to start to execute on."
Mr Gnodde said Goldman would initially start hiring staff in Europe and moving people out of London, as well as investing in infrastructure and technology over the next 18 months.
He did not say which locations would benefit but mentioned that Goldman had banking licences in France and Germany and offices in several European cities.
Mr Gnodde added: "What our eventual footprint will look like depends on the outcome of negotiations and what we're obliged to do because of them.
"Whatever the scenario, whatever the outcome, London will remain for us a very significant regional hub and a very significant global hub."
The remarks come after London mayor Sadiq Khan warned that banks could start making plans to move out of the UK as soon as Article 50 is triggered - if there is no reassurance that there will be a transitional deal.
HSBC and UBS have warned that they could each transfer 1,000 jobs from London.
No African citizens granted visas for African trade summit in California
An annual African trade summit in California had no African attendees this year after at least 60 people were denied visas, according to event leaders.
The African Global Economic and Development Summit, a three-day conference at the University of Southern California (USC), typically brings delegations from across Africa to meet with business leaders in the US in an effort to foster partnerships. But this year, every single African citizen who requested a visa was rejected, according to organizer Mary Flowers.
Some are now questioning whether the denials to the Los Angeles event could be tied to the anti-immigration policies of Donald Trump, who is pushing forward with a travel ban against six Muslim-majority countries despite ongoing legal challenges.
Flowers said roughly 60 to 100 people from at least a dozen nations were denied entry to the summit, which went on as planned with a much smaller group last Thursday through Saturday.
“I don’t know if it’s Trump or if it’s the fact that the embassies that have been discriminating for a long time see this as an opportunity, because of talk of the travel ban, to blatantly reject everyone,” Flowers said in an interview on Monday. “These trade links create jobs for both America and Africa. It’s unbelievable what’s going on.”
The problems for the trade summit mark the latest example of restricted travel to the US under Trump, whose controversial immigration policies and rhetoric have impacted a wide range of industries and communities. Soccer players, musicians, doctors, tech workers, protesters and others from across the globe have been denied access to the US, which has also experienced a slump in tourism since Trump’s inauguration.
Rejected participants at the trade summit came from Nigeria, Cameroon, Angola, Ethiopia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Ghana, South Africa and more, according to Flowers. Trump’s travel ban covers Somalia, Sudan and Libya in Africa, and citizens from those countries did not seek visas for the event.
“This conference puts Americans in touch with real people so they can do real business,” said Flowers, CEO of Global Green Development Group, which does economic development work in Africa.
A spokesperson for the US state department declined to comment on claims of rejections for summit participants, saying in a statement: “We cannot speculate on whether someone may or may not be eligible for a visa, nor on any possible limitations … Applications are refused if an applicant is found ineligible under the Immigration and Nationality Act or other provisions of US law.”
This is not the first time the summit has struggled with visa problems, according to Flowers, who has been organizing the event since 2013. In past years, she said, roughly 40% of interested African participants were denied entry.
But the 100% rejections this year meant there were only 50 to 75 participants total instead of the 150 to 200 who typically attend, she said. “Financially, that’s a gaping hole – a whole bunch of people who would have contributed not just to the event and to USC, but to the city around.”
She said many of the applicants who were rejected had already registered for the event and paid initial visa fees, but then were denied after short interviews – even when they brought extensive documentation, such as bank statements and property records.
The long-term impact of the visa denials is a lack of new trade links and business partnerships between US entrepreneurs and African nations, said Flowers, who also represents southern California as a member of the District Export Council, a trade group affiliated with the US commerce department.
Analysis Trump's new travel ban was blocked. How did it happen, and what's next?
Has the chaos surrounding the rollout of Trump’s revised travel ban left you confused? Here’s everything you need to know
Read more
“This summit is designed to bring Africa to America’s doorstep for investments and trade,” said Flowers, who is now working on a power plant project in Nigeria, with a collaboration that emerged from a past trade summit.
“We can’t have the government telling us to go do business with Africa and then you slam the doors in their face,” she added, noting that Trump has been in contact with Nigeria’s president. “We can’t survive as an internal country. We have to operate globally or we won’t be powerful.”
Following the visa rejections, Flowers is now also in contact with US congresswoman Karen Bass, who represents Los Angeles and is the ranking member of the Africa subcommittee.
“When restrictive policies and practices are followed by US embassies when granting visas to Africans, it can hurt opportunities between US and African business entities,” Bass said in a statement to the Guardian on Monday. “I encourage the Department of State to make sure these policies are flexible enough to encourage the free flow of business ideas and opportunities.”
The African Global Economic and Development Summit, a three-day conference at the University of Southern California (USC), typically brings delegations from across Africa to meet with business leaders in the US in an effort to foster partnerships. But this year, every single African citizen who requested a visa was rejected, according to organizer Mary Flowers.
Some are now questioning whether the denials to the Los Angeles event could be tied to the anti-immigration policies of Donald Trump, who is pushing forward with a travel ban against six Muslim-majority countries despite ongoing legal challenges.
Flowers said roughly 60 to 100 people from at least a dozen nations were denied entry to the summit, which went on as planned with a much smaller group last Thursday through Saturday.
“I don’t know if it’s Trump or if it’s the fact that the embassies that have been discriminating for a long time see this as an opportunity, because of talk of the travel ban, to blatantly reject everyone,” Flowers said in an interview on Monday. “These trade links create jobs for both America and Africa. It’s unbelievable what’s going on.”
The problems for the trade summit mark the latest example of restricted travel to the US under Trump, whose controversial immigration policies and rhetoric have impacted a wide range of industries and communities. Soccer players, musicians, doctors, tech workers, protesters and others from across the globe have been denied access to the US, which has also experienced a slump in tourism since Trump’s inauguration.
Rejected participants at the trade summit came from Nigeria, Cameroon, Angola, Ethiopia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Ghana, South Africa and more, according to Flowers. Trump’s travel ban covers Somalia, Sudan and Libya in Africa, and citizens from those countries did not seek visas for the event.
“This conference puts Americans in touch with real people so they can do real business,” said Flowers, CEO of Global Green Development Group, which does economic development work in Africa.
A spokesperson for the US state department declined to comment on claims of rejections for summit participants, saying in a statement: “We cannot speculate on whether someone may or may not be eligible for a visa, nor on any possible limitations … Applications are refused if an applicant is found ineligible under the Immigration and Nationality Act or other provisions of US law.”
This is not the first time the summit has struggled with visa problems, according to Flowers, who has been organizing the event since 2013. In past years, she said, roughly 40% of interested African participants were denied entry.
But the 100% rejections this year meant there were only 50 to 75 participants total instead of the 150 to 200 who typically attend, she said. “Financially, that’s a gaping hole – a whole bunch of people who would have contributed not just to the event and to USC, but to the city around.”
She said many of the applicants who were rejected had already registered for the event and paid initial visa fees, but then were denied after short interviews – even when they brought extensive documentation, such as bank statements and property records.
The long-term impact of the visa denials is a lack of new trade links and business partnerships between US entrepreneurs and African nations, said Flowers, who also represents southern California as a member of the District Export Council, a trade group affiliated with the US commerce department.
Analysis Trump's new travel ban was blocked. How did it happen, and what's next?
Has the chaos surrounding the rollout of Trump’s revised travel ban left you confused? Here’s everything you need to know
Read more
“This summit is designed to bring Africa to America’s doorstep for investments and trade,” said Flowers, who is now working on a power plant project in Nigeria, with a collaboration that emerged from a past trade summit.
“We can’t have the government telling us to go do business with Africa and then you slam the doors in their face,” she added, noting that Trump has been in contact with Nigeria’s president. “We can’t survive as an internal country. We have to operate globally or we won’t be powerful.”
Following the visa rejections, Flowers is now also in contact with US congresswoman Karen Bass, who represents Los Angeles and is the ranking member of the Africa subcommittee.
“When restrictive policies and practices are followed by US embassies when granting visas to Africans, it can hurt opportunities between US and African business entities,” Bass said in a statement to the Guardian on Monday. “I encourage the Department of State to make sure these policies are flexible enough to encourage the free flow of business ideas and opportunities.”
President Donald Trump gives daughter Ivanka White House office
Donald Trump has increased his family's grip on the White House by installing his daughter Ivanka close to the Oval Office and giving her access to state secrets.
An administration official confirmed reports that the President's 35-year-old daughter would be getting her own West Wing office, classified information clearance, and a government-issued phone.
The admission will dismay anti-nepotism campaigners, coming two months after her husband Jared Kushner was given a senior position in the administration.
Mr Kushner's appointment as a chief adviser to President Trump overturned decades of legal advice on a law that states public officials cannot "appoint, employ, promote, advance, or advocate for appointment" a relative to their own departments.
The clearance was issued on the President's inauguration day by the Justice Department, which advised that Congress "has not blocked, and most likely could not block, the President from seeking advice from family members in their personal capacities".
Since her father was elected, Ms Trump has raised conflict of interest questions by appearing at meetings with world leaders, including with Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in November.
It was later revealed that the meeting came at the same time she was trying to negotiate a lucrative deal for her clothing line with a state-backed Japanese firm.
She was seated next to German Chancellor Angela Merkel last week at a White House meeting on trade attended by the CEOs of BMW and Siemens, despite her only relevant qualification being a degree in economics.
Ms Trump's 'mini-bio' on the movie database IMDb, on which artists and their agents provide the content for a fee, states: "She is known for her work on The Apprentice USA (2004), Born Rich (2003) and 15th Annual Miss Teen USA Pageant (1997)."
An administration official confirmed reports that the President's 35-year-old daughter would be getting her own West Wing office, classified information clearance, and a government-issued phone.
The admission will dismay anti-nepotism campaigners, coming two months after her husband Jared Kushner was given a senior position in the administration.
Mr Kushner's appointment as a chief adviser to President Trump overturned decades of legal advice on a law that states public officials cannot "appoint, employ, promote, advance, or advocate for appointment" a relative to their own departments.
The clearance was issued on the President's inauguration day by the Justice Department, which advised that Congress "has not blocked, and most likely could not block, the President from seeking advice from family members in their personal capacities".
Since her father was elected, Ms Trump has raised conflict of interest questions by appearing at meetings with world leaders, including with Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in November.
It was later revealed that the meeting came at the same time she was trying to negotiate a lucrative deal for her clothing line with a state-backed Japanese firm.
She was seated next to German Chancellor Angela Merkel last week at a White House meeting on trade attended by the CEOs of BMW and Siemens, despite her only relevant qualification being a degree in economics.
Ms Trump's 'mini-bio' on the movie database IMDb, on which artists and their agents provide the content for a fee, states: "She is known for her work on The Apprentice USA (2004), Born Rich (2003) and 15th Annual Miss Teen USA Pageant (1997)."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)