Nominations for the 2022 Tony Awards are in, and leading the pack this year with 11 nominations is MichaelR. Jackson‘s “Big, Black & Queer American Musical,” A Strange Loop.
The Pulitzer Prize-winning play — which made its world premiere in 2019 and its Broadway debut on April 26 of this year — earned recognition in categories such as Best Book of a Musical, Best Original Score and Best Musical.
A Strange Loop follows Usher who, according to Playwrights Horizons, “is a black, queer writer, working a day job he hates while writing his original musical: a piece about a black, queer writer, working a day job he hates while writing his original musical.”
Closely following Michael R. Jackson’s multi-award winning play is a musical based on another Jackson: MJ, centered around Michael Jackson‘s life and music, which earned 10 nominations, including Best Musical. MJ is also up for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role, for Myles Frost‘s portrayal of the superstar.
Nominated for Best Actress in a Featured Role is Broadway star Kenita R. Miller for for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf. The Ntozake Shange production which originally premiered in 1976, earned seven total nominations including Best Revival of a Play.
Also recognized for Best Revival is Take Me. Having won the coveted Best Play award in 2003, the baseball coming-out story is nominated this year in three other categories, including Best Actor in a Featured Role, which recognizes Grey’s Anatomy alum Jesse Williams.
Phylicia Rashad and Uzo Aduba are nominated for Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role for their work in Skeleton Crew and Clyde’s.
The 75th annual Tony Awards will take place live from Radio City Music Hall in New York on Sunday, June 12 at 8 p.m. on CBS.
Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood have released another new song with their Radiohead side project, The Smile.
The track is called “Thin Thing,” and is available now via digital outlets. It’s accompanied by a stop-motion animated video, which is streaming now on YouTube.
“Hearing the song for the first time, we imagined a frenetic fluid that carries machines, pieces of human bodies and carnivorous plants,” video directors Cristóbal León and Joaquín Cociña say. “When presenting the idea to the band, Thom told us about a dream that made him write the song. We believe the video is the conjunction of these two things.”
“Thin Thing” will appear on the upcoming debut Smile album A Light for Attracting Attention, due out this Friday, May 13. It follows the previously released songs “You Will Never Work in Television Again,” “Pana-Vision,” “The Smoke,” “Free in the Knowledge” and “Skrting on the Surface.”
The Smile, which also features drummer Tom Skinner of the band Sons of Kemet, made their live debut last year at the Glastonbury 2021 livestream event. They’ll launch their first full-length tour, which includes dates in Europe and the U.K., next week.
Olivia Rodrigo and Billie Eilish aren’t necessarily pop-punk, says Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker, but that’s not stopping him from digging their music.
Travis told Billboard that, while he respects the two young Grammy winners, statements that they’re pop-punk artists are misguided. “I like Olivia’s album [SOUR], I love everything Billie’s done. I won’t say, ‘This is pop-punk,'” he explained, saying instead their music is “inspired by pop-punk” — and he loves that.
“Everyone has been inspired by everything for so long — it just got louder this year,” he noted. “…It doesn’t mean that it’s just pop-punk or has to be categorized like that.”
The drummer continued, “Olivia Rodrigo is probably going to make an album that has a little bit of pop-punk influence and some other influences, too. Like, Billie’s going to make whatever magical music she’s going to make and she’s going to be inspired by so much.”
“You don’t have to follow the rules,” Travis said of what it takes to make good music, “Or keep it as sterile as the record label or whatever the rollout plan may be. It might be more exciting the other way.”
Olivia and Billie have both spoken out about their appreciation for the genre and its ability to channel emotions a certain way.
Olivia has been performing a few pop punk covers while on her SOUR Tour. She’s performed Avril Lavigne‘s “Complicated” on several stops and was even joined by the pop punk princess when performing in Toronto earlier this month.
Travis recently assisted Avril with her new album, LOVE SUX, and played drums on eight of the album’s 12 songs.
On Saturday, Ringo Starr was presented with an honorary doctorate by Boston’s prestigious Berklee College of Music as part of the renowned school’s 2022 commencement festivities.
The former Beatles drummer was not in attendance at the event, but accepted the honor virtually via a pre-recorded video.
“I send you all peace and love, everybody,” Ringo began his speech. “I’m sorry I can’t be with you today in person, but I do want to congratulate the Class of 2022, yeah! Well done, graduates. And I want to thank you for the honorary doctorate degree. I’m a doctor at last.”
The 81-year-old Rock & Roll Hall of Famer continued, “I never went to college, but I certainly have had a lot of experience making music, so I suppose I earned this in my own way.”
Starr then noted the great experiences he playing with different bands, including his early group Rory Storm and the Hurricanes, followed by The Beatles, and then his current All Starr Band.
Ringo concluded his speech by saying, “If I could wish anything for you, it would be that the passion and love that you have for making music…continues to guide you through wherever your career takes you next. It’s great when the success happens, and Berklee students have seen a lot of it…but it’s important to remember that’s not what this is all about. For each of us, it started with a dream to play music. And may your dream keep unfolding for you, as it has for me.”
Also receiving honorary doctorates from Berklee on Saturay were R&B singer and Berklee alumna Lalah Hathaway, award-winning composer and producer James Newton Howard, and acclaimed bass player Chuck Rainey.
For more details about Berklee’s 2022 commencement event, visit Berklee.edu.
Adrienne Warren and Joshua Henry — Jenny Anderson/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions
The nominations for the 75th annual Tony Awards were announced on Monday, with two musicals about Michael Jackson getting the love from voters.
A Strange Loop led the pack with 11 nominations, followed by MJ: The Musical and Paradise Square following with 10 noms apiece.
Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster both scored acting nominations for the revival of The Music Man; Billy Crystal was nominated for his adaptation Mr. Saturday Night; Sam Rockwell scored a nod for the David Mamet drama American Buffalo; and Phylicia Rashad earned a nomination for Skeleton Crew, while her performance in How I Learned to Drive earned a nomination for Mary-Louise Parker.
The 75th Annual Tony Awards, hosted by newly-minted West Side Story Oscar winner Ariana DeBose, will be held on June 12 at New York City’s famed Radio City Music Hall. The ceremony will air live on CBS and on Paramount+ starting at 8 p.m. Eastern time.
Here is a list of the nominees:
Best Book of a Musical Girl From The North Country – Conor McPherson MJ – Lynn Nottage Mr. Saturday Night – Billy Crystal, Lowell Ganz & Babaloo Mandel Paradise Square – Christina Anderson, Craig Lucas & Larry Kirwan A Strange Loop – Michael R. Jackson
Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre Flying Over Sunset – Music: Tom Kitt, Lyrics: Michael Korie Mr. Saturday Night – Music: Jason Robert Brown, Lyrics: Amanda Green Paradise Square – Music: Jason Howland, Lyrics: Nathan Tysen & Masi Asare SIX: The Musical – Music and Lyrics: Toby Marlow & Lucy Moss A Strange Loop – Music & Lyrics: Michael R. Jackson
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play
Simon Russell Beale – The Lehman Trilogy
Adam Godley – The Lehman Trilogy
Adrian Lester – The Lehman Trilogy
David Morse – How I Learned to Drive
Sam Rockwell – American Buffalo
Ruben Santiago-Hudson – Lackawanna Blues
David Threlfall – Hangmen
Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play
Gabby Beans – The Skin of Our Teeth
LaChanze – Trouble in Mind
Ruth Negga – Macbeth
Deirdre O’Connell – Dana H.
Mary-Louise Parker – How I Learned to Drive
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical
Billy Crystal – Mr. Saturday Night
Myles Frost – MJ
Hugh Jackman – The Music Man
Rob McClure – Mrs. Doubtfire
Jaquel Spivey – A Strange Loop
Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical
Sharon D Clarke – Caroline, or Change
Carmen Cusack – Flying Over Sunset
Sutton Foster – The Music Man
Joaquina Kalukango – Paradise Square
Mare Winningham – Girl From The North Country
Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play
Alfie Allen – Hangmen
Chuck Cooper – Trouble in Mind
Jesse Tyler Ferguson – Take Me Out
Ron Cephas Jones – Clyde’s
Michael Oberholtzer – Take Me Out
Jesse Williams – Take Me Out
Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play
Uzo Aduba – Clyde’s
Rachel Dratch – POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive
Kenita R. Miller – for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf
Phylicia Rashad – Skeleton Crew
Julie White – POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive
Kara Young – Clyde’s
Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical
Matt Doyle – Company
Sidney DuPont – Paradise Square
Jared Grimes – Funny Girl
John-Andrew Morrison – A Strange Loop
A.J. Shively – Paradise Square
Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical
Jeannette Bayardelle – Girl From The North Country
Shoshana Bean – Mr. Saturday Night
Jayne Houdyshell – The Music Man
L Morgan Lee – A Strange Loop
Patti LuPone – Company
Jennifer Simard – Company
Best Direction of a Play
Lileana Blain-Cruz – The Skin of Our Teeth
Camille A. Brown – for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf
Sam Mendes – The Lehman Trilogy
Neil Pepe – American Buffalo
Les Waters – Dana H.
Best Direction of a Musical
Stephen Brackett – A Strange Loop
Marianne Elliott – Company
Conor McPherson – Girl From The North Country
Lucy Moss & Jamie Armitage – SIX: The Musical
Christopher Wheeldon – MJ
Best Choreography
Camille A. Brown – for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf
Warren Carlyle – The Music Man
Carrie-Anne Ingrouille – SIX: The Musical
Bill T. Jones – Paradise Square
Christopher Wheeldon – MJ
Best Orchestrations
David Cullen – Company
Tom Curran – SIX: The Musical
Simon Hale – Girl From The North Country
Jason Michael Webb and David Holcenberg – MJ
Charlie Rosen – A Strange Loop
Best Play Clyde’s Hangmen The Lehman Trilogy The Minutes Skeleton Crew
Best Musical Girl From The North Country MJ Mr. Saturday Night Paradise Square SIX: The Musical A Strange Loop
Best Revival of a Play American Buffalo for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf How I Learned to Drive Take Me Out Trouble in Mind
Best Revival of a Musical Caroline, or Change Company The Music Man
Best Scenic Design of a Play
Beowulf Boritt – POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive
Michael Carnahan and Nicholas Hussong – Skeleton Crew
Es Devlin – The Lehman Trilogy
Anna Fleischle – Hangmen
Scott Pask – American Buffalo
Adam Rigg – The Skin of Our Teeth
Best Scenic Design of a Musical
Beowulf Boritt and 59 Productions – Flying Over Sunset
Bunny Christie – Company
Arnulfo Maldonado – A Strange Loop
Derek McLane and Peter Nigrini – MJ
Allen Moyer – Paradise Square
Best Costume Design of a Play
Montana Levi Blanco – The Skin of Our Teeth
Sarafina Bush – for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf
Emilio Sosa – Trouble in Mind
Jane Greenwood – Neil Simon’s Plaza Suite
Jennifer Moeller – Clyde’s
Best Costume Design of a Musical
Fly Davis – Caroline, or Change
Toni-Leslie James – Paradise Square
William Ivey Long – Diana, The Musical
Santo Loquasto – The Music Man
Gabriella Slade – SIX: The Musical
Paul Tazewell – MJ
Best Lighting Design of a Play
Joshua Carr – Hangmen
Jiyoun Chang – for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf
Jon Clark – The Lehman Trilogy
Jane Cox – Macbeth
Yi Zhao – The Skin of Our Teeth
Best Lighting Design of a Musical
Neil Austin – Company
Tim Deiling – SIX: The Musical
Donald Holder – Paradise Square
Natasha Katz – MJ
Bradley King – Flying Over Sunset
Jen Schriever – A Strange Loop
Best Sound Design of a Play
Justin Ellington – for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf
Mikhail Fiksel, Dana H. Palmer Hefferan – The Skin of Our Teeth
Nick Powell and Dominic Bilkey – The Lehman Trilogy
Mikaal Sulaiman – Macbeth
Best Sound Design of a Musical
Simon Baker – Girl from the North Country
Paul Gatehouse – SIX: The Musical
Ian Dickinson for Autograph – Company
Drew Levy – A Strange Loop
Gareth Owen –MJ
No matter how metal you think you are, you’ll probably have a tough time beating the baby who was literally born to the sound of a live Metallica show.
Luan Figueiró was born at Metallica’s concert in Brazil this past Saturday, May 7. Luan’s mom, Joice, shared her story in an Instagram post that Metallica later re-posted to their Story.
In the post, Joice explains that she was 39 weeks pregnant, and watched the show while sitting in the accessible section. She continued to feel fine after opening sets from Greta Van Fleet and Ego Kill Talent and for most of Metallica’s performance, but toward the end of the show, she started to feel contractions.
Joice’s water soon broke, and the ambulance didn’t have time to bring her to a hospital’s maternity ward.
“He was born right there…to the sound of Metallica,” Joice wrote.
While the experience was obviously overwhelming, Joice added that she’s feeling “great physically.”
(WASHINGTON) — As he seeks to close the nation’s digital divide, President Joe Biden will announce on Monday new commitments from 20 internet service providers to expand discounted, high-speed internet access to tens of millions of low-income Americans under an existing federal program.
According to a senior administration official, 20 internet providers have agreed to either increase speeds or cut prices, and to offer enrollees of the Affordable Connectivity Program, or ACP, with high-speed internet plans for no more than $30 a month. The new participation from the private sector, in conjunction with the ACP subsidy covering up to $30 a month (or $75 a month on Tribal lands), essentially makes the program free.
“For example,” the White House said in a fact sheet, “as part of this initiative, Verizon lowered the price for its Fios service from $39.99/month to $30/month for a plan that delivers download and upload speeds of at least 200 Megabits per second, and Spectrum doubled the speed of the $30/month plan it makes available to ACP participants from 50 to 100 Megabits per second.”
More than $14 billion in funding for the subsidy program was included in the $1 trillion Bipartisan Infrastructure Law which Biden signed into law last November. So far, more than 11 million households have already signed up to receive the benefit — but the White House has said 48 million households are eligible.
Participating companies unveiled Monday include AT&T, Verizon, Spectrum and Comcast, as well as several regional companies, which altogether cover more than 80% of the U.S. population, the White House said, or nearly 40% of households in the country.
“The Biden-Harris Administration is grateful for the efforts of these companies, and encourages additional internet service providers to join this effort to close the digital divide by offering high-speed, low-cost plans,” the White House said in a statement.
As he continues to push his infrastructure agenda, Biden has repeatedly recalled stories of families driving to McDonalds’ parking lots during the pandemic to connect to Wi-Fi.
“How many people did you see out in McDonald’s parking lots with their kids in their cars because they get access to the internet?” Biden said in a speech in Scranton, Pennsylvania last October.
Households with an income at or below 200% of the federal poverty level, or with a family member participating in one of several federal programs, including Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Pell Grants, Medicaid and Supplemental Security Income, are eligible for the discount.
Americans can see if they qualify at Getinternet.gov.
The administration’s effort to lower internet costs for families comes ahead of a dire inflation report expected Tuesday, as Biden struggles to keep prices down for Americans ahead of the midterm election season.
Carrie Underwood is returning to her stomping grounds on American Idol.
The superstar singer is poised to mentor the top five contestants on the show’s 20th season, live from Resorts World in Las Vegas where she’s headlining her residency, Reflection. The top five was determined during Sunday night’s episode and consists of Fritz Hager, HunterGirl, Leah Marlene,Nicolina and Noah Thompson.
“Who better to help our hopefuls earn a place in the Grand Finale?” reads the message on the American Idol Instagram, calling Carrie’s mentorship a “dream come true.”
“Can’t wait!” the powerhouse singer replies.
Carrie was crowned the American Idol champion during the show’s fourth season in 2005 and has become one of the show’s most successful winners, selling 70 million records worldwide. She’s since returned many times to perform and mentor contestants, including superfan-turned-superstar Gabby Barrett, when she competed on season 16. Gabby also returned to American Idol this season as a mentor to the top 14.
The top five episode of American Idol airs on ABC on May 15 at 8 p.m. ET.
Britney Spears and her longtime boyfriend, Sam Asghari, got engaged in September of 2021, and now, they’ve set a wedding date. Unfortunately, they’re keeping it to themselves.
On his Instagram Story on Sunday, Sam wrote, “Our lives [have] been a real life fairytale. Happy Mother’s Day to you my soon to be queen. Also the big day has been set! But nobody will know until the day after.”
The big day may be sooner rather than later, considering Britney and Sam are expecting their first child, and Britney is having her wedding dress made by Donatella Versace. On Sunday, Britney posted a pic of a cat lying on a white veil, and wrote, “Introducing Wendy!!! And yes, this is the veil to my wedding dress!!!”
Despite the fact that they’re apparently not yet married, Britney, 40, has been referring to Sam, 28, as “my husband” on social media for months.
When the couple finally does tie the knot, it’ll be Sam’s first and Britney’s third marriage. Her first, to her childhood friend Jason Alexander, was annulled after 55 hours. In 2004, she married the father of her sons, Kevin Federline, though they spit in 2007. Britney and Sam have been dating since 2016.
*EDITOR’S NOTE: This picture was taken during a trip organized by the Russian military.* – Photo by ALEXANDER NEMENOV/AFP via Getty Images
(NEW YORK) — Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “special military operation” into neighboring Ukraine began on Feb. 24, with Russian forces invading from Belarus, to the north, and Russia, to the east. Ukrainian troops have offered “stiff resistance,” according to U.S. officials.
The Russian military last month launched a full-scale ground offensive in eastern Ukraine’s disputed Donbas region, attempting to capture the strategic port city of Mariupol and to secure a coastal corridor to the Moscow-annexed Crimean Peninsula.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
May 09, 8:10 am
Zelenskyy: ‘Very soon there will be 2 Victory Days in Ukraine’
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelenskyy released a video message from Kyiv early Monday to mark the World War II victory over Nazi Germany, telling his country that “very soon there will be two Victory Days in Ukraine.”
“Today, we celebrate the Day of Victory over Nazism. And we will not give anyone a single piece of our history,” Zelenskyy said. “We are proud of our ancestors who, together with other nations in the anti-Hitler coalition, defeated Nazism. And we will not allow anyone to annex this victory, we will not allow it to be appropriated.”
“On the Day of Victory over Nazism, we are fighting for a new victory,” he added. “The road to it is difficult, but we have no doubt that we will win.”
Zelenskyy’s remarks came just hours before Russian President Vladimir Putin delivered a patriotic speech in Moscow’s Red Square on Monday morning during a military parade for Victory Day, a national holiday in Russia commemorating the Soviet Union’s defeat of the Nazis in 1945. Putin defended his invasion of neighboring Ukraine, telling Russian troops: “You are fighting for the motherland, for its future, so that no one forgets the lessons of the Second World War.”
May 09, 7:47 am
Putin defends Ukraine invasion while marking WWII victory
During a military parade in Moscow on Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed his troops fighting in neighboring Ukraine but offered little insight into his next steps.
“You are fighting for the motherland, for its future, so that no one forgets the lessons of the Second World War,” Putin said in a patriotic speech for Victory Day, a national holiday in Russia commemorating the Soviet Union’s defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II.
Columns of Russian soldiers marched through Moscow’s Red Square, alongside tanks and other military vehicles boasting huge intercontinental ballistic missiles.
“Now here, on the Red Square, soldiers and officers from many regions of our vast homeland stand shoulder to shoulder, including those who came directly from Donbas, directly from the combat zone,” Putin said.
Although he showed no signs of backing down, the Russian leader did not make any declarations of war, peace or victory during his remarks on Monday. He drew parallels between Soviet soldiers battling Nazi troops and the Russian forces fighting now in Ukraine, as he has vowed to “de-Nazify” the former Soviet republic. He also spoke of the disputed Donbas region of eastern Ukraine as if it was already part of Russia.
“These days, you are fighting for our people in the Donbas. For the security of our homeland, Russia,” he said. “You are defending what fathers and grandfathers, great-grandfathers fought for.”
Putin accused Ukraine of seeking to attain nuclear weapons and planning a “punitive operation in the Donbas, for an invasion of our historical lands, including Crimea.” He also laid blame on the West for refusing to have “an honest dialogue” about Russia’s demands for formal guarantees that Ukraine will never join NATO and that the alliance will pull back its forces from countries in eastern Europe that joined after the Cold War.
“Thus, an absolutely unacceptable threat was systematically created for us and directly at our borders,” Putin added. “The danger was growing everyday.”
He claimed that attacking Ukraine “was a forced, timely and only right decision — the decision of a sovereign, strong, independent country.”
“Russia has given a preemptive rebuff to aggression,” he said.
May 09, 5:49 am
‘No reason to celebrate’ evacuations from besieged plant, commander says
As news spread of a successful evacuation operation from the besieged Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, the deputy commander of the Azov battalion, Svyatoslav Palamar, said there was little reason to celebrate.
“Not enough is being done to try and evacuate wounded soldiers,” Palamar said, speaking at a press conference at the plant, which is surrounded by Russian forces.
Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said Saturday the first stage of the rescue operation had concluded and all civilians had been evacuated from the steel plant. Another 173 people were rescued Sunday from Azovstal and surrounding Mariupol, according to the local city council.
But Palamar said some civilians might still be trapped under the rubble of ruined shelters and that many bodies of deceased troops and civilians remain uncollected on the plant’s territory.
More than 25,000 people, most of them civilians, have been killed in Mariupol, according to Azov commanders. Half of all Russian bombardment and shelling in Ukraine was aimed at Mariupol, the battalion commanders said, adding that the city was shelled 150 times a day on average.
Russia has lost about 2,500 troops, with a further 500 wounded and over 60 destroyed tanks, in the city, Azov officials claimed. Yet the unblocking of Mariupol by military means remains difficult due to the lack of heavy weapons, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said during a joint press conference with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Kyiv on Sunday.
Russia continued over the weekend to shell Ukrainian cities. Zelenskyy said Russians have “celebrated” the Day of Remembrance and Reconciliation on May 8 by launching nine missile strikes against Odessa. Zelenskyy spoke at a press briefing in Kyiv held after his talks with visiting Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic. The Ukrainian President also met the head of the German parliament, Baerbel Bas, on Sunday. The two leaders spoke about how “German leadership in the European Union” can help Ukraine, Zelenskyy said in his nightly address on Sunday.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba tweeted Sunday that Berlin made a mistake by prohibiting Ukrainian symbols and flags at rallies during events on May 8-9.
“It’s deeply false to treat them equally with Russian symbols,” Kuleba wrote, adding that “taking the Ukrainian flag away from peaceful protestors is an attack on everyone who now defends Europe and Germany from Russian aggression with a flag in their hands.”
On Monday, as Ukraine celebrated the Day of Victory over Nazism in World War II, Zelenskyy said that the ongoing conflict was “not a war of two armies. This is a war of two worldviews.”
Russian missiles are trying to destroy Ukrainian philosophy, Zelenskyy said, because it “scares them.”
“We are free people who have their own path,” the president said. “Today we are waging war on this path and we will not give anyone a single piece of our land.”
-ABC News’ Edward Szekeres, Fidel Pavlenko, Irene Hnatiuk, Max Uzol and Uliana Lototska
May 08, 4:51 pm
Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau visits Ukraine, announces new support
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visited Ukraine on Sunday and toured devastated areas in and around Kyiv with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
During a joint news conference, Trudeau pledged Canada’s continuing support for Ukraine and condemned Russian President Vladimir Putin for atrocities he alleged Russian forces are responsible for in Ukraine.
“It is clear that Vladimir Putin is responsible for heinous war crimes,” Trudeau said. “We will continue to do the work of being there for you with whatever we can, whatever you need.”
Trudeau announced that Canada is sending additional military support to Ukraine, including drone cameras, satellite imagery, small arms and ammunition.
The prime minister also said Canada will impose new sanctions on 40 Russian individuals he alleged are complicit in Putin’s war.
“And we’re bringing forward new sanctions on 40 Russian individuals and five entities, oligarchs and close associates of the regime in the defense sector, all of them complicit in Putin’s war,” Trudeau said.
Trudeau also announced that all trade tariffs on Ukrainian imports to Canada will be lifted for the next year and that Canada is donating CA$25 million, or about US$19.3 million, to the U.N. World Food Program, which is providing emergency food assistance to people in Ukraine.
Trudeau said that he and Larissa Galadza, Canada’s ambassador to Ukraine, raised the Canadian flag at the country’s embassy in Kyiv on Sunday to signal its reopening. He called the move an “important symbol not just of Canada’s steadfast friendship with Ukraine, but of the incredible resilience and heroism of the Ukrainian people, who ensured that this city did not fall.”
-ABC News’ Christine Theodorou
May 08, 3:46 pm
Pope Francis asks for daily prayer for peace in Ukraine
Pope Francis on Sunday prayed for peace in Ukraine, entrusting to the Virgin Mary the ”sufferings and tears of the Ukrainian people.”
”In front of the war’s madness, let us please continue to pray the rosary for peace every day,” the pope told thousands of people gathered in the Vatican’s St. Peter’s Square for his weekly address and blessing.
For several Sundays in a row the pope has led prayers for peace in Ukraine and has condemned the Russian invasion of the country, calling the act of war “senseless” during an Easter Sunday Mass last month.
The pontiff also prayed for the victims of an apparent gas explosion on Friday at the Hotel Saratoga in Havana, Cuba. At least 26 people were killed in the blast at the popular hotel and around 70 people were injured.
May 08, 3:11 pm
U2’s Bono, The Edge perform surprise concert in Kyiv
U2’s frontman Bono and lead-guitarist The Edge surprised fans in Kyiv on Sunday by performing an impromptu concert in the Ukrainian capital’s central metro station.
The two Irish rockers delivered a nearly hour-long set at the Khreshchatyk Metro Station, Kyiv’s busiest metro station, as several dozen fans watched.
“The people of Ukraine are not just fighting for your own freedom, you’re fighting for all of us who love freedom,” Bono told the crowd between songs.
The musicians were joined on one of the station’s platforms by Taras Topolia, frontman of Ukrainian pop rock band Antytila. Topolia presented Bono with a piece of shrapnel he said was the remains of a missile that struck near the base in Kyiv where he is currently serving in the Ukrainian Army.
