Wow. The Kyiv Post, one of the last English-language news outlets in the FSU and a place where many young foreign correspondents — myself included — cut their teeth, is closing. Supposedly temporarily. But I'm told journalists are emptying desks and leaving the office today.
Owner Adnan Kivan wants to "change" and "expand" the company and to create editions in English, Russian, Ukrainian, and Arabic (He's Syrian), he told the Odesa TV channel he also owns. detector.media/infospace/arti…
One thing is clear, Kyiv Post has needed a facelift and a digital upgrade for a while. But I'm hearing from folks with knowledge of this shakeup that what Kivan might want is not only some "restructuring," but also what most media owners in Ukraine want: control over editorial.
Full statement from the @KyivPost newsroom: "The newsroom's attempt to save the editorial independence of the Kyiv Post elicited opposition from our owner. We consider the cessation of publication and the dismissal of the paper's staff to be an act of vengeance by Adnan Kivan."
"Goodbye, America!" That's the title of this segment on Belarusian state TV in which American Evan Neumann of California explains he fled the US to evade the FBI. He's wanted on 6 counts related to the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection and now wants asylum in authoritarian Belarus.
Here's the complaint against Evan Neumann. He's charged with assaulting, resisting, or impeding police and a host of alleged crimes related to violence, illegal entry, and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds. justice.gov/usao-dc/case-m…
Evan Neumann told Belarus state TV that he blames BLM for destroying businesses and the US government for political persecution. He says a lawyer advised him to flee to Europe. tvr.by/news/obshchest…
It's Friday, folks. This morning in Charlottesville, the first witnesses for the plaintiffs will take the stand in Sines v Kessler, the civil case filed against the "Unite the Right" organizers.
Witnesses, including the plaintiffs themselves, who were injured in the "Unite the Right" violence will testify and be questioned by the plaintiffs' legal team. But they'll also be cross-examined by the defendants' legal team, and Richard Spencer and Chris Cantwell themselves.
NEW @BuzzFeedNews: Neo-Nazi Christopher Cantwell Watched Tucker Carlson And Got Help From A White Supremacist In Prison To Prepare For His Trial In Charlottesville buzzfeednews.com/article/christ…
Cantwell worked on his legal strategy with other white supremacists who are incarcerated in the same Illinois federal prison, Matthew Hale and William “Bill” White. Plaintiffs said White has been ghostwriting Cantwell's many bizarre motions filed to court. buzzfeednews.com/article/christ…
Cantwell has admitted to getting help from White and Hale because he's "unlearned in the law and legally illiterate" and he doesn't like his handwriting. But he says they aren't ghostwriting for him.
Good morning from Charlottesville, Virginia, where opening arguments are set to begin in Sines vs. Kessler — aka the "Unite the Right" white supremacist civil trial — at 9am. If you're just catching up, here's what you need to know: buzzfeednews.com/article/christ…
Jury selection was supposed to be two days but it dragged on through a third. It was...interesting and telling. buzzfeednews.com/article/christ…
Good morning from Charlottesville! Today is day 3 of jury selections and at least two more jurors are needed to get this civil trial of white supremacists underway. A new panel of prospects was just brought into court to be considered. Opening arguments are set to begin Thursday.
If you're just catching up, here's my thread from day 1:
As you'll see in previous threads it's been hard finding qualified jurors. One thing this jury selection process has shown is how polarized we are. Listening to questioning and hearing parts of jurors' questionnaires exposes the divides. Charlottesville feels like a microcosm...
Morning from Charlottesville, Va. In federal court here today will be day 2 of jury selection in the civil trial against the white supremacist "Unite the Right" organizers. Here's how day 1 went: buzzfeednews.com/article/christ…
Jury selection underway. First woman questioned has strong feelings against the removal of Robert E. Lee statue in Charlottesville and the Black Lives Matter movement. She said on her juror questionnaire that she wasn't worried about prejudice against Black & Hispanic people.
But she also says the Unite the Right rally "made a joke" of Charlottesville and she did not support it "at all." Earlier she said that "both sides are absolutely wrong" referring to UtR and antiracist counterprotesters.