Apr 17, 2019

Former president of Peru Alan García dies from self-inflicted gunshot wound during arrest

Alan García. Photo: AFP/Getty Images.

Former Peruvian President Alan García shot himself in the head on Wednesday, the New York Times reports, and has been confirmed dead.

Details: García, who was 69 years old, was taken to the hospital in Lima in critical condition. His personal secretary, Ricardo Pineda, verified García's death, explaining to a Peruvian radio station that as authorities arrived at his home with an arrest warrant, García locked himself in his bedroom and shot himself. He was then taken to a hospital shock unit.

Background: García served as president from 1985 to 1990 and again from 2006 to 2011, helping the country through economic hurdles in his first term and fostering growth in the early 2000s. He faced charges involving a Brazilian construction firm that admitted to $800 million in payoffs in return for attractive contracts. Per the New York Times, ongoing investigations targeted other Peruvian leaders, including Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, who was detained last week.

Go deeper

Zachary Basu, Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian

Updated 3 mins ago - World

U.S. sanctions Chinese officials over Uighur human rights abuses

Photo: Xinhua/Liu Jie via Getty Images

The Treasury Department announced Thursday that the U.S. has sanctioned four Chinese Communist Party officials and the Xinjiang Public Security Bureau for human rights abuses against Uighur Muslims and other ethnic minorities in Xinjiang.

Why it matters: The sanctions designations, pursuant to the Global Magnitsky Act passed by Congress in 2016, mark a significant escalation in the Trump administration's response to the Chinese government's detainment of over 1 million Uighurs in internment camps.

Go deeper (2 min. read)

Axios

Updated 10 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

Global: Total confirmed cases as of 2 p.m. ET: 12,118,667 — Total deaths: 551,271 — Total recoveries — 6,649,930 — Map.
U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 2 p.m. ET: 3,081,383 — Total deaths: 132,570 — Total recoveries: 953,420 — Total tested: 37,431,666 — Map.
Public health: Cases rise in 33 states — Florida reports highest single-day coronavirus death toll since pandemic began.
Science: World Health Organization acknowledges airborne transmission of coronavirus.
Travel: Young adults are most likely to have moved due to coronavirus.

Go deeper (<1 min. read)

Felix Salmon

26 mins ago - World

China's extraterritorial threat

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

All multinational companies and executives need to worry about breaking U.S. law, no matter where they're based or doing business. Now, they need to worry about Chinese law, too.

Why it matters: The projection of U.S. norms and laws around the world has been an integral (and much resented) part of America's "soft power" since 1945. As China positions itself to replace the USA as global hegemon, expect it to become increasingly assertive along similar lines.