New 'dreams' on Martin Luther King 50th anniversary

People march while commemorating the 50th anniversary of the assassination of the Rev Martin Luther King, in Memphis. Photo / AP

On April 4th, 1968 at 7:05 p.m. central time, Dr. King’s life was cut tragically short. 50 years later a need for his dream to be fulfilled is far greater than ever.
Share your dream & post your own #DreamStillLives video. Spread love...spread hope. pic.twitter.com/51BaCW78GC

— Stevie Wonder (@StevieWonder) April 5, 2018

United States: On the 50th anniversary of the Reverend Martin Luther King's assassination, Meryl Streep, Sir Elton John and Barack Obama are among dozens of stars to share their "dreams". Samuel L Jackson, Sir Paul McCartney and Katy Perry were joined by London Mayor Sadiq Khan to share their hopes for the future in a video. Stevie Wonder urged viewers to share their visions on Twitter under the hashtag #DreamStillLives in honour of the civil rights icon of non-violence, who was silenced aged 39 by a gunman. Obama, joined by his wife Michelle, said: "Our dream is of a world where we recognise each other's common humanity and that we shape for our children, peace, justice and opportunity for all." Streep said she wants Dr King's theory on the arc of history bending towards justice to bend "a little more sharply" in the near future. Sir Elton called for the eradication of Aids and Sir Paul said he wants world harmony. Whoopi Goldberg, Jamie Foxx, Harry Styles, Bruce Springsteen, Bette Midler, Demi Lovato, Tiger Woods, Chadwick Boseman, Serena Williams and Lupita Nyong'o were among others to pledge their visions.

Brazil: Justices on Brazil's top court appeared to be moving towards denying a petition from former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to stay out of prison while he appeals a 12-year sentence for corruption, a ruling that could affect the country's stability ahead of October elections. Da Silva leads presidential polls despite his conviction and several other corruption charges that have yet to be tried. A Supreme Federal Tribunal decision to allow a lower court to force the ex-leader to begin serving his sentence could all but doom his candidacy and generate protests. Four justices had voted against da Silva and one in his favour. The matter would be decided once six of the 11 members voted a particular way.

More than 22 million people in Yemen need humanitarian aid and protection. We must prevent the world’s worst humanitarian crisis from becoming a long-term tragedy. https://t.co/eWobxveSEH pic.twitter.com/nEyhKaj6iG

— António Guterres (@antonioguterres) April 3, 2018

Yemen: Saudi air defence forces say they shot down a missile launched by Yemeni rebels at the southern Saudi border city of Jizan. The rebels say the attack was aimed at an Aramco oil facility. The Saudi-led coalition fighting the rebels known as Houthis said the attack caused shrapnel that landed in residential neighbourhoods. It said the rocket was fired from the rebels' stronghold of Saada in northern Yemen.

Australia: Car-free superblocks could be introduced in Melbourne's CBD to tackle population growth, and reduce overcrowding and congestion. The zones, already used in Barcelona, Spain, could be introduced in parts of the CBD, with shared spaces prioritised for walking, cycling, residents' cars and deliveries, and speed limits reduced to 10km/h. Other ideas include imposing a 30km/h speed limit for the city grid and reducing pedestrian light wait times, the City of Melbourne says. "Pedestrian crowd crush is a big issue in Melbourne and with the number of people in our city set to grow by 50 per cent in the next 20 years, we need to think about how we address that," City of Melbourne Councillor Nicolas Frances Gilley said. Reducing vehicle access in the CBD could also help prevent car attacks like the deadly rampages on Bourke and Flinders streets last year.

Scott Pruitt's defense is that he has absolutely no idea what is going on at the EPA, the agency he supposedly runs https://t.co/qLphCsZbo0

— Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) April 4, 2018

United States: In a marked change in tone, the White House says US President Donald Trump is not okay with recent revelations involving the embattled head of the Environmental Protection Agency. For his part, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt is denying he knew about big raises given to two of his closest aides and insisting he did nothing wrong in renting a bargain-priced condo tied to an energy lobbyist. Pruitt spoke in a series of interviews with Fox News and other conservative media outlets in an attempt to shore up his eroding position in an Administration that has seen other top officials depart after ethical missteps.

Science: Research has shown eating broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage and brussels sprouts to be particularly beneficial for the hearts of elderly women. A University of Western Australia study of more than 950 women aged 70 and older found those who ate more vegetables had thinner artery walls. A thickening of the artery walls, known as atherosclerosis, is an underlying cause of cardiovascular disease. Published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, the study showed cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli proved the most beneficial.

Saudi Arabia lifted a 35-year ban on movie theaters last December. In two weeks, the first cinema will open in Riyadh. Here's AMC's rendering of what it will look like: pic.twitter.com/JqOHjWvJl9

— Erich Schwartzel (@erichschwartzel) April 4, 2018

Saudi Arabia: The kingdom's first cinema in more than 35 years will open on April 18 in the capital Riyadh, authorities say after agreeing with AMC Entertainment Holdings to open up to 40 theatres over the next five years. Movie theatres will not be segregated by gender like most other public places in the deeply conservative country, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters. Saudi Arabia had cinemas in the 1970s but its powerful clerics closed them. Despite the cinema ban, Hollywood films and recent television series are widely watched at home and discussed in Saudi Arabia.

Sierra Leone: The country's election commission declared main opposition candidate Julius Maada Bio as the West African nation's new president, giving the opposition party its first presidency in 10 years. Bio won a runoff vote with 51.8 per cent of valid votes cast, the National Electoral Commission said. The former military leader running for the Sierra Leone Peoples Party beat ruling party candidate Samura Kamara, who received 48.1 per cent of the votes.

15 Changes of leadership in Africa in the last 15 months: Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Botswana, Ghana, Liberia, Somalia, Benin, Libya, CAR, Angola, Lesotho, Seychelles, Mauritius and soon Sierra Leone. Average 1 per month! pic.twitter.com/0sQzzmo0eY

— Carlos Lopes (@LopesInsights) April 2, 2018

Australia: A thrill-seeking man is recovering in hospital after surviving a paraglider crash in southern Tasmania. The 46-year-old South Hobart man suffered non-life threatening injuries after crashing his glider in the Tasmanian National Park at Arthurs Peak. Paramedics treated the man at the scene, overlooking Eaglehawk Neck and on steep and rocky terrain, before he was winched to safety and transferred to the Royal Hobart Hospital in a stable condition.

United States: Law enforcement agencies have seized over 100 homes in the Sacramento, California-area this week as part of a sweeping crackdown on a criminal marijuana-growing operation funded by China-based criminal groups. In a two-day sweep, the Justice Department said hundreds of federal agents and local police executed search warrants at about 74 homes and two business offices believed to be used for marijuana-growing operations. At the same time, the Justice Department filed civil forfeiture actions against 100 homes, a legal action allowing the government to confiscate assets if there is probable cause to believe a crime was committed.

Sri Lanka PM Ranil Wickremesinghe survives no-confidence motion https://t.co/HspZApm6Jz pic.twitter.com/xPFkZb5Mq9

— Al Jazeera News (@AJENews) April 4, 2018

Sri Lanka: The country's leader comfortably overcame a no-faith vote, strengthening his hand within the unity government formed by parties traditionally opposed to each other. The motion against Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe brought by MPs supporting the country's former strongman Mahinda Rajapaksa and debated in Parliament received 76 votes in favour and 122 against. The parties within the unity government are led by Wickremesinghe and President Maithripala Sirisena. The main allegation against Wickremesinghe involved his appointment of a Singaporean as the central bank governor who is now accused of leaking inside information to benefit his son-in-law in a treasury bond sale.