AP PHOTOS: The Tiananmen Square crackdown anniversary in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan
BEIJING, HONG KONG, TAIPEI (AP) — For most Chinese, the 36th anniversary of a bloody crackdown that ended pro-democracy protests in China has passed like any other weekday. And that's just how the ruling Communist Party wants it.
Security was tight Wednesday around Beijing's Tiananmen Square, where weeks of student-led protests shook the party in 1989. Hundreds and possibly thousands of people were killed after the military was sent in to end the protests. The Communist Party bans any public commemoration of the events. In recent years, that ban has been extended to Hong Kong, and it is only in Taiwan that June 4 gatherings can still take place.
This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.

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San Francisco Chronicle
13 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Points of Light, founded by the Bush family, aims to double American volunteerism by 2035
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The Bush family's nonprofit Points of Light will lead an effort to double the number of people who volunteer with U.S. charitable organizations from 75 million annually to 150 million in 10 years. The ambitious goal, announced in New Orleans at the foundation's annual conference, which concluded Friday, would represent a major change in the way Americans spend their time and interact with nonprofits. It aspires to mobilize people to volunteer with nonprofits in the U.S. at a scale that only federal programs like AmeriCorps have in the past. It also coincides with deep federal funding cuts that threaten the financial stability of many nonprofits and with an effort to gut AmeriCorps programs, which sent 200,000 volunteers all over the country. A judge on Wednesday paused those cuts in some states, which had sued the Trump administration. Jennifer Sirangelo, president and CEO of Points of Light, said that while the campaign has been in development well before the federal cuts, the nonprofit's board members recently met and decided to move forward. 'What our board said was, 'We have to do it now. We have to put the stake in the ground now. It's more important than it was before the disruption of AmeriCorps,'' she said in an interview with The Associated Press. She said the nonprofit aims to raise and spend $100 million over the next three years to support the goal. Points of Light, which is based in Atlanta, was founded by President George H.W. Bush to champion his vision of volunteerism. It has carried on his tradition of giving out a daily award to a volunteer around the country, built a global network of volunteer organizations and cultivated corporate volunteer programs. Speaking Wednesday in New Orleans, Points of Light's board chair Neil Bush told the organization's annual conference that the capacity volunteers add to nonprofits will have a huge impact on communities. 'Our mission is to make volunteering and service easier, more impactful, more sustained," Bush said. "Because, let's be honest, the problems in our communities aren't going to fix themselves.' According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau and AmeriCorps, the rate of participation has plateaued since 2002, with a noticeable dip during the pandemic. Susan M. Chambré, professor emerita at Baruch College who studied volunteering for decades, said Points of Light's goal of doubling the number of volunteers was admirable but unrealistic, given that volunteer rates have not varied significantly over time. But she said more research is needed into what motivates volunteers, which would give insight into how to recruit people. She also said volunteering has become more transactional over time, directed by staff as opposed to organized by volunteers themselves. In making its case for increasing volunteer participation in a recent report, Points of Light drew on research from nonprofits like Independent Sector, the National Alliance for Volunteer Engagement and the Do Good Institute at the University of Maryland. Sirangelo said they want to better measure the impact volunteers make, not just the hours they put in, for example. They also see a major role for technology to better connect potential volunteers to opportunities, though they acknowledge that many have tried to do that through apps and online platforms. Reaching young people will also be a major part of accomplishing this increase in volunteer participation. Sirangelo said she's observed that many young people who do want to participate are founding their own nonprofits rather than joining an existing one. 'We're not welcoming them to our institutions, so they have to go found something,' she said. 'That dynamic has to change.' As the board was considering this new goal, they reached out for advice to Alex Edgar, who is now the youth engagement manager at Made By Us. They ultimately invited him to join the board as a full voting member and agreed to bring on a second young person as well. 'I think for volunteering and the incredible work that Points of Light is leading to really have a deeper connection with my generation, it needs to be done in a way that isn't just talking to or at young people, but really co-created across generations,' said Edgar, who is 21. Karmit Bulman, who has researched and supported volunteer engagement for many years, said she was very pleased to see Points of Light make this commitment. 'They are probably the most well known volunteerism organization in the country and I really appreciate their leadership,' said Bulman, who is currently the executive director of East Side Learning Center, a nonprofit in St. Paul. Bulman said there are many people willing to help out in their communities but who are not willing to jump through hoops to volunteer with a nonprofit. 'We also need to recognize that it's a pretty darn stressful time in people's lives right now,' she said. "There's a lot of uncertainty personally and professionally and financially for a lot of people. So we need to be really, really flexible in how we engage volunteers." ___


Hamilton Spectator
18 minutes ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Interpol issues red notice for Ghana's ex-finance minister over corruption claims
ACCRA, Ghana (AP) — Global police organization Interpol placed Ghana 's former finance minister Ken Ofori-Atta on its red notice list on Friday for allegedly using public office for personal gain. The notice follows a request from the West African country's prosecutors who have declared Ofori-Atta a 'fugitive' after he failed to appear before an investigative panel this month citing medical reasons. The former minister's lawyers said they submitted medical records to the court showing he is receiving treatment abroad. His exact location remains unclear. Ofori-Atta's lawyer, Frank Davies, told The Associated Press that the declaration of his client as a 'fugitive' is 'very condescending' and 'an unfettered infringement of Ofori-Atta's rights to personal liberty and freedom of movement.' Davies said the former minister had informed the authorities of his intention to travel outside the country for medical attention since February. An Interpol red notice — while not an arrest warrant — alerts law enforcement agencies to locate and detain Ofori-Atta pending extradition. Ofori-Atta, who served as finance minister from 2017 to 2024 for the New Patriotic Party , is accused of having been involved in several corruption cases, including the misuse of $58 million of public funds for a national cathedral project that never materialized. Last December, the NPP's candidate Mahamudu Bawumia lost the the presidential election to the National Democratic Congress nominee John Mahama. Since taking office in January, Mahama has launched an anti-corruption campaign aimed at recovering $20 billion in alleged stolen state funds. Critics, however, say the effort has spared allies of his administration. Ofori-Atta has not commented on the accusations, but has said in the past he was unlawfully treated by the prosecution. In March, he filed a lawsuit against the office of the special prosecutor, requesting the removal of 'damaging' content from the office's social media platforms. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .


New York Post
29 minutes ago
- New York Post
Trump's open to discussion and committed to NATO, Germany's chancellor says
BERLIN (AP) — German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Friday, a day after meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House, that he encountered a U.S. administration open to discussion and returned confident that Washington remains committed to NATO. Merz described his Oval Office meeting and extended lunch with Trump as constructive but also candid, noting that the two leaders expressed different views on Ukraine. 'Yesterday, in the meeting at the Oval Office, I expressed a distinctly different position on the topic of Ukraine than the one Trump had taken, and not only was there no objection, but we discussed it in detail again over lunch,' Merz said in Berlin after his return. 5 German Chancellor Friedrich Merz (right) said the U.S administration is open to discussion and returned confident that Washington remains committed to NATO, after meeting with President Trump. Xinhua/Shutterstock Thursday's White House meeting marked the first time the two sat down in person. Merz, who became chancellor in May, avoided the kind of confrontations in the Oval Office that have tripped up other world leaders, including Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy and South Africa's Cyril Ramaphosa. The two leaders opened with pleasantries. Merz presented Trump with a gold-framed birth certificate of the president's grandfather, Friedrich Trump, who emigrated from Kallstadt, Germany. Trump called Merz a 'very good man to deal with.' The American administration, he said, is open to discussion, listens, and is willing to accept differing opinions. 5 Merz gifted President Trump with a gold-framed birth certificate of his grandfather during their meeting at the White House on June 5. REUTERS 5 Trump describes Merz as a 'very good man to deal with.' AP Add he added that dialogue should go both ways: 'Let's stop talking about Donald Trump with a raised finger and wrinkled nose. You have to talk with him, not about him.' He said he also met with senators on Capitol Hill, urging them to recognize the scale of Russian rearmament. 'Please take a look at how far Russia's armament is going, what they are currently doing there; you obviously have no idea what's happening,' he said he told them. 'In short, you can talk to them, but you must not let yourself be intimidated. I don't have that inclination anyway.' 5 Chancellor Merz strategizes talking with president Trump by 'talking with him, not about him.' REUTERS Merz, who speaks English fluently, stressed the need for transatlantic trust and said he reminded Trump that allies matter. 'Whether we like it or not, we will remain dependent on the United States of America for a long time,' he said. 'But you also need partners in the world, and the Europeans, especially the Germans, are the best-suited partners. 'This is the difference between authoritarian systems and democracies: authoritarian systems have subordinates. Democracies have partners — and we want to be those partners in Europe and with America.' 5 The German Chancellor stresses the importance of allyship with the U.S. AP He reiterated that the U.S. remains committed to NATO, particularly as Germany and others boost their defense spending. Trump has in the past suggested that the U.S. might abandon its commitments to the alliance if member countries don't meet defense spending targets. 'I have absolutely no doubt that the American government is committed to NATO, especially now that we've all said we're doing more. We're ensuring that we can also defend ourselves in Europe, and I believe this expectation was not unjustified,' Merz said. 'We've been the free riders of American security guarantees for years, and we're changing that now.'