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New York Congressman Pleads Not Guilty To Insider Trading Charges Enlarge this image toggle caption Alex Wong/Getty Images Alex Wong/Getty Images Updated at 8:08 p.m. ET Rep. Chris Collins, R-N.Y., was arrested Wednesday on charges related to insider trading. A federal grand jury accused the Buffalo-area lawmaker of passing nonpublic information about a biotech company to his son, who traded on the information and passed it along to others. "Congressman Collins cheated our markets and our justice system," said Geoff Berman, the interim U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. "He placed his family and friends above the public good." Collins was indicted along with his son, Cameron, and Stephen Zarsky, the father of Cameron's fiancĂ©e. According to the newly-unsealed indictment, timely sales based on inside information allowed Cameron Collins, Zarsky and others to avoid losses totaling more than $768,000 when the biotech company, Innate Immunotherapeutics, failed a key clinical trial. Rep. Collins was a director of the company and also a major investor. According to the indictment, Collins was attending the congressional picnic at the White House on June 22, 2017, when he received an email from Innate's CEO, notifying him that a promising drug had failed a clinical trial. Within minutes, Collins telephoned his son, who then passed the information along to others. "The crime that he committed was to tip his son Cameron so that Cameron and a few select others could trade on the news while the investing public remained in the dark," Berman said. Collins and the other defendants are charged with securities and wire fraud, conspiracy and lying to investigators. The congressman pleaded not guilty and was released on bond. "I believe I acted properly and within the law at all times with regard to my affiliation with Innate," Collins told reporters Wednesday night. "The charges that have been levied against me are meritless, and I will mount a vigorous defense in court to clear my name." Collins stressed that he had not sold any of his own shares in the company. His stock lost 92 percent of its value after the adverse results of the clinical trial were made public. According to the indictment, the elder Collins was not able to sell his stock because it was held in Australia, where trading had been halted in advance of the company's announcement. Over-the-counter trading continued, however, in the U.S., where Cameron Collins' and Zarky's shares were held. Collins' dealings with Innate Immunotherapeutics are also the subject of an ongoing congressional ethics probe. He had promoted the stock to former Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga. Price's own holdings in the company became an issue when he was nominated to be President Trump's first secretary of health and human services. House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., called on the House Ethics Committee to conduct its own review of the new allegations against Collins. "While his guilt or innocence is a question for the courts to settle, the allegations against Rep. Collins demand a prompt and thorough investigation by the House Ethics Committee," Ryan said in a statement. "Insider trading is a clear violation of the public trust. Until this matter is settled, Rep. Collins will no longer be serving on the House Energy and Commerce Committee." The Securities and Exchange Commission filed a parallel civil complaint that seeks to bar Collins from serving as an officer or director of any public company in the future. Collins, who is one of the wealthiest members of Congress, was the first member to publicly endorse Donald Trump during the 2016 presidential campaign. He also served on Trump's transition team. Berman said prosecutors were mindful of the upcoming midterm election but added that did not color the timing of the indictment. Collins' Democratic challenger, Nate McMurray, called the charges "shocking and sad, but not surprising." "Anyone who's been paying attention knows what's going on," McMurray said in a statement. "And now the jig is up, because no matter how this is spun, it's clear that the swamp is alive and well in Washington, DC." The nonpartisan Cook Political Report rates the district as likely to remain in GOP hands. Collins is believed to be the first member of Congress to face charges related to insider trading, even though lawmakers are privy to all kinds of inside information and some are active stock traders. A study of stock trades by U.S. Senators in the 1990s found they outperformed the market by an average of 12 percent per year. "They're either geniuses at the stock market, or they know something that we don't know," said Craig Holman, a lobbyist with Public Citizen's Congress Watch division. In 2012, after a "60 Minutes" expose, Congress passed a law requiring members to disclose their stock trades within 45 days. Since that new transparency standard took effect, Holman said, the volume of trading on the Senate side has declined by more than two-thirds. ||||| The felony charges lodged Wednesday against Rep. Chris Collins, R-Clarence, sound complicated — securities fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy, among others. But the underlying scheme at the center of federal prosecutors' case is actually quite simple: Collins tipped his son off to bad news coming from a biotechnology company, allowing his son and seven others to sell off their stock before its value tanked. Here's a look at how the U.S. Attorney's Office in Manhattan and the Securities and Exchange Commission say all it went down: Chris Collins, 68, owned a big chunk of Australia-based company Innate Immunotherapeutics Limited — about 16.8 percent, according to federal prosecutors. Collins was also a member of the company's board of directors. His son, Cameron, 25, was also a big shareholder, owning about 2.3 percent of Innate's shares. More: Rep. Chris Collins arrested in insider trading case: What we know now In 2014, Innate began testing a drug the company had hoped would help treat a form of multiple sclerosis. It had the potential to be a big moneymaker for the company since there aren't many treatments available for the disease. But in June 2017, the company got bad news: The drug had failed its trial. It didn't show any promise in treating the disease. It was a nightmare scenario for the company that was sure to cause its stock price to plummet. The company's CEO emailed Collins and other Innate directors on June 22, 2017, to say the drug had failed. Collins was attending a congressional picnic at the White House when he got the email. More: Rep. Chris Collins arrested in insider trading case: What we know now "Wow," Collins wrote back at 7:10 p.m., according to the indictment. "Makes no sense. How are these results even possible???" As an Innate director, Collins was required to keep that information secret. At 7:11 p.m. — about 15 seconds after he replied to Innate's CEO — Collins called his son, phone records in the indictment show. His son didn't pick up, leading to several rounds of phone tag until the pair connected at 7:16 p.m. Prosecutors say Chris Collins told his son in that phone call about the failed drug trial. "He tipped his son to confidential corporate information at the expense of regular investors," U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman said. Collins didn't sell off — but his son and allies did Chris Collins couldn't sell off his stock, according to prosecutors; He was already under a congressional ethics investigation and his stock was in the Australian markets, which had already halted trading of Innate stock. Over the next few days, however, Cameron Collins sold off nearly 1.4 million shares of Innate stock. Prosecutors have also accused Cameron Collins of tipping off his fiancee, his fiancee's parents and a friend. They sold off stock or tried to, too. After markets closed on June 26, Innate announced the news of the failed drug trial public. The stock tanked — dropping from a value of about 46 cents per share on June 26 to about 4 cents per share the next day. Cameron Collins and seven others — including his fiancee's father, Stephen Zarsky, who was also charged in the case — avoided losses of about $768,000 by selling off their stock, according to prosecutors. "This was the drop that was anticipated by the co-conspirators," Berman said. "They could only sell those shares on the initial tip of inside information by Congressman Collins." When the FBI interviewed Collins about the alleged scheme, prosecutors say he lied to cover his tracks. The congressman spoke to the FBI on April 25, 2018. "During this interview, Christopher Collins stated, in substance and in part, that he did not tell Cameron Collins, the defendant, the drug trial results before the public announcement," according to the indictment. Cameron Collins and Stephen Zarsky, 66, are also accused of lying to the FBI. For their role in the alleged scheme, Chris Collins, Cameron Collins and Zarsky are facing 11 felony charges each. Each of the defendants are charged with seven counts of securities fraud and one count each of wire fraud, making false statements, conspiracy to commit securities fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. They're also facing a civil complaint from the SEC, which could carry financial penalties. Chris Collins' attorneys Jonathan New and Jonathan Barr say their client is innocent, saying they will "mount a vigorous defense to clear his good name." "We are confident he will be completely vindicated and exonerated," they said in a statement. ||||| BUFFALO, NY-- Congressman Chris Collins (R-Clarence) was arrested Wednesday morning after a federal grand jury indicted him on insider trading charges as well as lying to federal agents. Collins was charged, along with his son Cameron Collins and Stephen Zarsky, the father of Cameron Collin's fiancee. All are being processed by the FBI in Manhattan. The charges stem from an ethics investigation that was launched last year following accusations that Collins shared non-public information about an Australian biotech company. The indictment alleges Chris Collins passed the information on to his son Cameron, who allegedly used the information to purchase stock and tip others. Cameron Collins is accused of providing that information to Zarsky, and others not named in the indictment, for the same purpose. Collins is a board member of the biotech company, called Innate Immunotherapeutics Limited. Investigators say Collins also holds 16.8% of Innate's stock. All along, Collins denied any wrongdoing. Attorneys representing Rep. Collins issued this statement on Wednesday: "We will answer the charges filed against Congressman Collins in Court and will mount a vigorous defense to clear his good name. It is notable that even the government does not allege that Congressman Collins traded a single share of Innate Therapeutics stock. We are confident he will be completely vindicated and exonerated. Congressman Collins will have more to say on this issue later today." The U.S. Attorney's Office in Manhattan will speak about the indictment during a news conference scheduled for noon. 2 On Your Side will have more details as they become available. U.S. v. Christopher Collins Et Al Indictment 18 Cr 567 by WGRZ-TV on Scribd ||||| Rep. Chris Collins (R-N.Y.) has been arrested by the FBI for insider trading related to an Australian biotechnology company. Collins, one of the largest shareholders of Innate Immunotherapeutics and a board member of the biotech firm, faces charges of securities fraud. His son and the father of his son’s fiancee were also indicted and charged with fraud. He allegedly passed private information about the company to his son, Cameron Collins, who used the information to make timely trades and tip off others, according to the indictment. The indictment says the congressman informed his son and Stephen Zansky, the father of his son’s fiancee, about the unpublicized trial failure of a drug the company had developed, which would later cause stock prices to plummet. They sold their stocks in the company before the public announcement, which caused the company’s stock prices to drop by 92 percent. Chris Collins, his son and Zansky avoided $768,000 in losses, according to the indictment. The defendants have also been charged with counts of wire fraud and false statements. Attorneys for Chris Collins released a statement Wednesday morning, noting that the congressman would say more on the issue later in the day. “It is notable that even the government does not allege that Congressman Collins traded a single share of Innate Therapeutics stock. We are confident he will be completely vindicated and exonerated,” the statement reads. Collins, one of Donald Trump’s earliest supporters in his presidential bid, reportedly talked up the company’s stock to his colleagues, including members of Congress, last year. At the time, he denied discussing Innate Immunotherapeutics with other members of Congress, but he said he did tell some constituents about the company’s stock. In July 2017, the Office of Congressional Ethics found “a substantial reason” to believe that Collins violated securities law. This story has been updated with more details about the indictment. ||||| Rep. Christopher Collins of New York was arrested on federal charges relating to securities fraud Wednesday, in a case involving an Australian biotech company. A Securities and Exchange Commission complaint against Collins — the first congressional Republican to endorse President Donald Trump’s bid for the White House — also details charges against his son Cameron and the father of his son’s girlfriend, Stephen Zarsky. All three have pleaded not guilty to the charges against them. The SEC complaint says that in June 2017, Rep. Collins passed on nonpublic information about Innate Immunotherapeutics’ INNMF, +25.00% IIL, -1.67% unexpectedly negative drug-trial results to his son. Collins was a board member of the company. The case says that Cameron Collins sold nearly 1.4 million shares based on nonpublic information. Zarsky also allegedly traded on the insider information. By selling shares before the drug-trial results were announced to the public, Cameron Collins, Stephen Zarsky and those they tipped off avoided losses of about $768,600, the SEC said. Rep. Collins “cheated our markets and our justice system,” said Geoffrey Berman, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, at a news conference. “He placed his family and friends above the public good.” From the MarketWatch archives: Innate Immunotherapeutics stock plummets 92% after midstage clinical trial miss Rep. Collins, according to the complaint, got an email from Innate’s chief executive officer about the results while attending an official event on the South Lawn of the White House on June 22, 2017. (Read the SEC’s complaint.) “Wow. Makes no sense. How are these results even possible???” the congressman responded, before calling his son from the same event. What’s more, the complaint indicates Collins took steps in the weeks leading up to the trial results to ensure his son’s Innate shares would be “readily tradeable.” At the time, Collins and his son and daughter each owned shares held by an Australian agent that couldn’t be sold in the U.S. Rep. Collins, his son and Zarsky are also charged with making false statements to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. “Congressman Collins couldn’t keep his crime a secret forever,” Berman said. “The FBI asked to interview him, and, instead of telling the truth, he lied.” Lawyers for Collins said in a statement that the government “does not allege that Congressman Collins trade a single share of Innate Therapeutics stock.” That’s true, but the government says the congressman benefited in other ways. The SEC’s complaint says Rep. Collins got a “personal benefit” from tipping off his son, and that the congressman “also knew or recklessly disregarded that Cameron Collins would trade on his tip.” In a 2016 Supreme Court case, the high court ruled unanimously that “giving a gift of trading information is the same thing as trading by the tipper followed by a gift of the proceeds.” “We are confident he will be completely vindicated and exonerated,” said Collins lawyers Jonathan Barr and Jonathan New. Berman told reporters that politics did not “enter into our decision making” regarding the case, which comes ahead of highly anticipated November midterm elections. “We bring a case when a case is ready to be brought.” The Buffalo News reported that Collins, whose congressional district encompasses portions of the Buffalo and Rochester areas, vowed in an email to supporters that he’ll stay in office, run for re-election and fight to clear his name. Also see: Congressman may have broken law with biotech he held, watchdog says ||||| Rep. Chris Collins (R-NY) was arrested Wednesday on federal charges of insider trading for allegedly using his position at a pharmaceutical company to leak information to his son, who then used it to dump company stock before it crashed. He is also charged with lying to the FBI. Collins sat on the board of directors of Innate Immunotherapeutics, an Australian pharma company where he was also lead shareholder. Cameron Collins, his son, was also a shareholder, as was Cameron’s father-in-law to-be. All three have been charged with conspiracy to commit securities fraud by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. House Speaker Paul Ryan said Collins will not serve on the energy and commerce committee “until this matter is settled.” Innate was anxiously awaiting the results of an FDA trial for its experimental multiple-sclerosis drug in 2017 when it got news the drug failed. The FDA told Innate’s CEO, who then told the board of directors, including Collins. “I have bad news to report,” the CEO’s email began. Minutes later, Collins frantically called to his son while he was attending a congressional picnic at the White House. After trying six times, Collins finally got through to Cameron and allegedly told him Innate’s drug was a bust. Cameron then gave the news to his fiancée’s family, who were also invested in Innate: the fiancée, her father Stephen Zarsky, his wife, as well as Zarky's friend. (Zarsky also allegedly tipped off his brother, his sister, and a long-standing friend, who were all invested in Innate.) Ironically, it was Cameron who convinced the family to invest in the first place, according to the indictment. When U.S. markets opened the following morning, Cameron placed an order to sell 16,508 shares of Innate stock. Over the next few days, he placed dozens more orders. One time, Cameron was on the phone with his father when placed an order to dump 50,000 shares. Zarksy’s family also sold off stock, the feds say. Feds say the trades allowed them all to “avoid over $768,000 in loses that they would have otherwise incurred if they had sold their stock in Innate after the Drug Trial results became public.” When the news finally did go public, Innate’s stock dropped 92 percent in value in one day. Though Collins is accused of providing inside information, authorities say he did not trade on it because his Innate shares were listed on the Australian stock exchange, where trading was halted as soon as Innate heard from the FDA. (U.S. trading was not halted.) Collins’ lawyers highlighted that in a statement defending him. "We will answer the charges filed against Congressman Collins in Court and will mount a vigorous defense to clear his good name. It is notable that even the government does not allege that Congressman Collins traded a single share of Innate Therapeutics stock. We are confident he will be completely vindicated and exonerated. Collins already faced a congressional investigation over the allegations before criminal charges were ever filed. Indeed, just days before the alleged insider trading, he was interviewed by the Office of Congressional Ethics about his dealings with Innate. OCE recommended the House Ethics Committee probe Collins over his apparent use of office to benefit Innate. (The committee has not formally begun its investigation.) Collins’s son and Zarksy are also charged with lying to the FBI. They and Collins also face counts of wire fraud and mail fraud. Since he was elected to Congress in 2012, Collins has risen to become one of President Donald Trump’s most vocal supporters. Collins was the first member of Congress to endorse Trump during the presidential campaign. Collins was a wealthy Buffalo-area businessman before entering Congress. In 2005, he invested $5 million in the company that later became Innate. Over the next decade, Collins pitched friends, family and even fellow congressmen on Innate. By mid-2017, almost 30 percent of Innate was owned by Collins or his associates. Shareholders included his two children, four campaign donors, and his chief of staff, and six Republican congressman. ||||| Rep. Chris Collins, R-N.Y., has been arrested on charges of securities and wire fraud. Rep. Chris Collins, who represents New York's 27th District, was arrested Wednesday morning in New York on federal charges related to securities fraud. The District Attorney for the Southern District of New York will hold a press conference on the charges at 12 p.m. ET. A 22-page civil complaint accuses Collins, and associates, including Collins' son Cameron, of using inside information from negative clinical trial tests conducted by Innate, an Australian biotech company, and selling $1.78 million Innate shares before the bad news went public and the share price plummeted. In an accompanying criminal complaint, Collins is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, making a false statement and seven counts of securities fraud. Collins' attorneys Jonathan Barr and Jonathan New issued this statement on Wednesday morning: "We will answer the charges filed against Congressman Collins in Court and will mount a vigorous defense to clear his good name. It is notable that even the government does not allege that Congressman Collins traded a single share of Innate Therapeutics stock. We are confident he will be completely vindicated and exonerated." USA Today will provide coverage of the press conference in the player above. ||||| The FBI has arrested New York Rep. Chris Collins on securities fraud-related charges, law enforcement officials said. The congressman, a Republican who hails from western New York, surrendered to the FBI at 26 Federal Plaza Wednesday morning, officials said. He’s expected to appear in Manhattan federal court later today. Collins was one of the first members of Congress to endorse President Donald Trump during his presidential campaign. Last fall, the Office of Congressional Ethics released a report that said the congressman may have violated House rules when he bought discounted stock that wasn’t available to the public and was offered to him based on his status as a politician. The report also found that Collins, a board member of Australia-based Innate Immunotherapeutics, may have shared nonpublic information about the company, another possible violation. Innate had been in the process of developing a drug to treat Multiple Sclerosis in 2017, according to the indictment. When the product failed drug trials in June 2017, however, the public results sent Innate stock prices plummeting by 92 percent. Collins — one of Innate's largest stockholders — had access to information about the company and its research that wasn't available to the public, the indictment alleges. When Collins found out about the trial results, he allegedly told his son Cameron Collins, also an Innate stockholder, who told his then-girlfriend’s father Stephen Zarsky, as well as several other stockholders. Cameron Collins, Zarsky, and the stockholders Collins told subsequently sold their Innate stock before prices plunged, narrowly avoiding hundreds of thousands of dollars in losses, the indictment says. Chris Collins faces charges including conspiracy to commit securities fraud, securities fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud, though the indictment doesn't claim that he sold his own Innate stock. Cameron Collins and Zarsky are both charged in the indictment as well. The congressman's attorneys Jonathan Barr and Jonathan New, of BakerHostetler, on Wednesday said they would "answer the charges filed against [Collins] in court and... mount a vigorous defense to clear his good name." "It is notable that even the government does not allege that Congressman Collins traded a single share of Innate Therapeutics stock," they said in a statement, noting that Collins would speak about the indictment later in the day on Wednesday. "We are confident he will be completely vindicated and exonerated." In her own statement, House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi said Americans "deserve better than the GOP's corruption, cronyism and incompetence." "The charges against Congressman Collins show the rampant culture of corruption and self-enrichment among Republicans in Washington today," she said. "The Ethics Committee must accelerate its own investigation into Congressman Collins' illegal abuse of the public trust." ||||| New York Congressman Chris Collins spoke out late Wednesday hours after a federal grand jury indicted him on charges including insider trading, vowing to fight the "meritless" accusations and pledging to continue his November election bid. At a news conference, the Republican addressed the accusations in a seven-minute statement after which he didn't take any questions. He said he hasn't violated ethical guidelines or laws with his personal investments and vowed to remain on the ballot for re-election in New York's 27th Congressional District in November. "The charges that have been levied against me are meritless and I will mount a vigorous defense in court to clear my name," Collins said. Collins and two co-defendants surrendered to authorities Wednesday morning in Manhattan, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for New York’s Southern District. All three pleaded not guilty when they were arraigned in federal court, with bail for each set at $500,000. The judge set a return date of Oct. 11 for a status hearing. More: New York GOP Rep. Chris Collins arrested on insider trading charges More: Along with Rep. Chris Collins, here are other lawmakers indicted while in office A federal indictment charges Collins his son Cameron, and Stephen Zarsky, the father of Cameron's fiancée, with wire fraud, conspiracy to commit securities fraud and seven counts of securities fraud. Rep. Collins is also charged with making false statements to the FBI. "These charges are a reminder that this is a nation of laws and that everybody stands equal before the bar of justice," said Geoffrey Berman, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, at a noon press briefing. "Congressman Collins, who by virtue of his office helps to write the laws of this nation, acted as if the law didn't apply to him. The charges today demonstrate once again that no matter what the crime or who committed it, we stand committed in the pursuit of justice without fear or favor." ► READ: Collins arrested: What we know now Specifically, Rep. Collins is accused of receiving inside information about negative clinical trial tests conducted by Innate Immunotherapeutics, an Australian biotech company with which he has long been associated. He then is accused of passing that information on to his son, prompting the son and others to sell 1.78 million Innate shares shortly before the bad news was made public in June 2017 and the share price plummeted. Those others included Cameron Collins' fiancée, Lauren Zarsky, her mother, Dorothy, and other friends and family members. They avoided losses of $768,600, according to the complaint filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission. "Congressman Collins had a legal duty to keep that inside information secret until it was released by the company to the public," Berman said. "Instead, as alleged, he decided to commit a crime. He placed his family and friends above the public good." In a message to supporters Wednesday afternoon, Collins said he and his son look forward to clearing their names and being exonerated at trial. "My connections with the company are well known," Collins said. "I believe I acted properly, and within the law, at all times with regard to my affiliation with Innate. Throughout my tenure in Congress, I have followed all rules and all ethical guidelines when it comes to my personal investments." Includes reporting by staff writers Steve Orr and Gary Craig, Albany correspondent Jon Campbell and Washington bureau correspondent Nicole Gaudiano, all part of the USA TODAY Network. ||||| Rep. Chris Collins, R-N.Y., has been arrested on insider trading charges lodged by the Justice Department, law enforcement officials said Wednesday morning. The indictment obtained from a federal grand jury also charges Collins' son, Cameron Collins, as well as the father of his fiancee, Stephen Zarsky. The indictment relates to Australian biotech company Innate Immunotherapeutics, on which Collins served as a board member. In June 2017, Collins passed nonpublic information about Innate's drug trial results to his son in order to help him "make timely trades in Innate stock and tip others," the indictment alleges. His son then traded on that inside information and passed it to Zarsky, along with numerous unnamed co-conspirators, "so that they could utilize the information for the same purpose," according to the indictment. Zarsky, too, allegedly traded on the inside knowledge and passed it along to yet more unnamed co-conspirators. In total, the three defendants avoided "over $768,000 in losses that they would have otherwise incurred" had they sold their stock after the information was made public, according to the indictment. | U.S. Representative Chris Collins (R–NY) is arrested on charges of securities and wire fraud, conspiracy and lying to investigators. He is accused of passing nonpublic information about Innate Immunotherapeutics, a biotech company, to his son, who traded on the information and passed it along to others. Collins was a director of the company and also a major investor. |
Syrian group: Death toll in blast in rebel town rises to 67 BEIRUT (AP) — A Syrian search-and-rescue group says the death toll from an explosion that destroyed two apartment buildings in a rebel-held town in the country's northwest the previous day has risen to 67. The Civil Defense, also known as the White Helmets, says rescuers were still searching through the rubble in Sarmada on Monday, looking for survivors from the blast. It says 35 wounded people have already been found. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights gave a slightly higher death toll, saying 69 died, including 17 children. The Observatory says 52 of the victims were civilians; the rest were militants or couldn't be identified. The Observatory said an arms depot in the basement of a building had detonated, bringing down two five-story apartment buildings. The report could not be independently confirmed. ||||| BEIRUT (Reuters) - The number of people killed when an explosion ripped through a building thought to be storing weapons in rebel-held northwestern Syria has climbed to 69 including 17 children, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported on Monday. The explosion happened in a residential building in the town of Sarmada in Idlib province near the Turkish border on Sunday. Idlib forms part of the last major rebel stronghold in Syria. ||||| Syrian group: Death toll in blast in rebel town rises to 67 BEIRUT (AP) — A Syrian search-and-rescue group says the death toll from an explosion that destroyed two apartment buildings in a rebel-held town in the country's northwest the previous day has risen to 67. The Civil Defense, also known as the White Helmets, says rescuers were still searching through the rubble in Sarmada on Monday, looking for survivors from the blast. It says 35 wounded people have already been found. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights gave a slightly higher death toll, saying 69 died, including 17 children. The Observatory says 52 of the victims were civilians; the rest were militants or couldn't be identified. The Observatory said an arms depot in the basement of a building had detonated, bringing down two five-story apartment buildings. The report could not be independently confirmed. ||||| Syrian group: Death toll in blast in rebel town rises to 67 BEIRUT (AP) — A Syrian search-and-rescue group says the death toll from an explosion that destroyed two apartment buildings in a rebel-held town in the country's northwest the previous day has risen to 67. The Civil Defense, also known as the White Helmets, says rescuers were still searching through the rubble in Sarmada on Monday, looking for survivors from the blast. It says 35 wounded people have already been found. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights gave a slightly higher death toll, saying 69 died, including 17 children. The Observatory says 52 of the victims were civilians; the rest were militants or couldn't be identified. The Observatory said an arms depot in the basement of a building had detonated, bringing down two five-story apartment buildings. The report could not be independently confirmed. ||||| Beirut: An explosion at a weapons depot in a rebel-held town in northwest Syria killed at least 39 civilians including a dozen children Sunday, a monitor said. An AFP correspondent at the site in Sarmada in Idlib province near the Turkish border said the explosion of unknown origin caused two buildings to collapse. "Rescue workers used a bulldozer to remove rubble and extract trapped people," the correspondent said. Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor, said a previous toll of 12 civilians killed increased after more bodies were retrieved from the rubble. "The explosion occurred in a weapons depot in a residential building in Sarmada," said the head of the Britain-based monitor, which relies on a network of sources inside Syria. "But the cause of the blast was not yet clear", Abdel Rahman added. He said most of those killed were family members of fighters from Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, an alliance led by jihadists from Syria's former Al-Qaeda affiliate, who had been displaced to the area from the central province of Homs. "A rescue worker carried the motionless body of a small child from the wreckage to an ambulance," the AFP correspondent said. Behind mounds of rubble, the facade of a building was scorched black, due to a fire after the blast. A civil defence source told AFP that women and children were among the dead. "But rescue workers had pulled out five people who were still alive", the source said. Most of Idlib is controlled by rebels and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, but the Islamic State (IS) group also has sleeper cells in the area. The regime holds a small slither of southeastern Idlib. In recent months, a series of explosions and assassinations - mainly targeting rebel officials and fighters - have rocked the province. While some attacks have been claimed by IS, most are the result of infighting since 2018 between other groups. In recent days, regime forces have ramped up their deadly bombardment of southern Idlib and sent reinforcements to nearby areas they control. President Bashar al-Assad has warned that government forces intend to retake Idlib, after his Russia-backed regime regained control of swathes of rebel-held territory elsewhere. Around 2.5 million people live in the province, half of them displaced by fighting in other parts of the country. More than 350,000 people have been killed and millions displaced since Syria's civil war started in 2011 with the brutal repression of anti-government protests. ||||| The toll in the explosion at a weapons depot in northwestern Syria has risen to 69, mostly civilians including 17 children, a monitor said on Monday as search operations continued. Sunday's blast of unknown origin in the town of Sarmada in Idlib province took the lives of 52 civilians, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. The explosion also killed 17 members of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a jihadist-led alliance, according to the Britain-based monitor, which relies on a network of sources inside Syria. "Rescue operations are still ongoing," observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP, more than 24 hours after the blast at the depot inside a residential building. Most of the civilians killed were family members of HTS fighters displaced to the area from the central province of Homs, he said. HTS controls more than half of Idlib province and is led by jihadists from Syria's former Al-Qaeda affiliate. Most of the rest is held by rebels, while the regime also holds a slither of the province's southeast. The Islamic State jihadist group also has sleeper cells in the area. In recent months, a series of explosions and assassinations — mainly targeting rebel officials and fighters — have rocked the province. While some attacks have been claimed by IS, most are the result of infighting since last year between other groups. Regime forces have in the past week ramped up their deadly bombardment of southern Idlib and sent reinforcements to nearby areas they control. President Bashar al-Assad has warned that government forces intend to retake control of Idlib, after his Russia-backed regime regained chunks of territory from rebels and jihadists in other parts of Syria. Around 2.5 million people live in the province, half of them displaced by fighting in other regions of the country. More than 3,50,000 people have been killed and millions displaced since Syria's civil war started in 2011 with the brutal repression of anti-government protests. ||||| An explosion of unknown origin at a weapons depot Sunday in the northwestern Syrian province of Idlib killed at least 69 civilians including 17 children, in addition to scores of injuries. Mustafa Hajj Yusuf, the head of Idlib Civil Defense, earlier acknowledged the death toll at least as 39 dead and 45 injured. He later told Anadolu Agency that search and rescue operation was concluded as of Monday morning and 17 civilians, mostly women and children, were pulled under the rubble. The number of the injured stands at 50. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also confirmed the casualty toll on Monday. An AFP correspondent at the site in the opposition-held town of Sarmada near the Turkish border said the explosion caused two buildings to collapse. On Sunday morning, rescue workers used a bulldozer to remove rubble and extract trapped people, the correspondent said. Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor, earlier said the death toll could rise as dozens were still missing. "The explosion occurred in a weapons depot in a residential building in Sarmada," the head of the Britain based monitor said. But the cause of the blast was "not yet clear", Abdel Rahman added. A rescue worker carried the motionless body of a small child from the wreckage to an ambulance, the AFP correspondent said. Behind mounds of rubble, the facade of a building was scorched black, due to a fire after the blast. A civil defense source told AFP that women and children were among the dead. But rescue workers had pulled out "five people who were still alive", the source said. Most of Idlib is controlled by Turkish backed opposition fighters, while parts of it are controlled by terrorist groups led by al-Qaida linked Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, but the Daesh terror group also has sleeper cells in the area. In recent months, a series of explosions and assassinations -- mainly targeting opposition officials and fighters -- have rocked the province. While some attacks have been claimed by Daesh, most are the result of infighting since last year between various other groups. In recent days, regime forces have ramped up their deadly bombardment of southern Idlib and sent reinforcements to nearby areas they control. Bashar al-Assad has warned that regime forces intend to retake Idlib, after his regime regained control of swathes of opposition held territory elsewhere. Around 2.5 million people live in the province, half of them displaced by fighting in other parts of the country. More than 350,000 people have been killed and millions displaced since Syria's civil war started in 2011 with the brutal repression of anti-government protests. ||||| An explosion at a weapons depot in a rebel-held town in northwest Syria killed at least 39 civilians including a dozen children Sunday, a monitor said. The explosion happened in the town of Sarmada, which is near the Turkish border and north of the provincial capital Idlib city. Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group, said a previous death toll of 12 increased after more bodies were retrieved from the rubble. But the cause of the blast was "not yet clear", Mr Abdel Rahman added. He said most of those killed were family members of fighters from Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), an alliance led by jihadists from Syria's former Al-Qaeda affiliate, who had been displaced to the area from the central province of Homs. A civil defence source told AFP news agency that women and children were among the dead. But rescue workers had pulled out "five people who were still alive", the source said. ||||| An explosion at a weapons depot in a rebel-held town in north-west Syria killed at least 39 civilians, including a dozen children, according to reports. Rescue workers used bulldozers to remove rubble and extract people trapped in the two buildings flattened by the explosion in Sarmada in Idlib province on Sunday. A civil defence source told AFP that rescue workers had pulled out “five people who were still alive”. But the death toll rose as more bodies were retrieved from the rubble, according to Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group. Three members of the jihadist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham were also killed, he said. “The explosion occurred in a weapons depot in a residential building in Sarmada,” said Abdel Rahman, whose group relies on a network of sources inside Syria. The cause of the blast was “not yet clear”, he added. Most of those killed were family members of fighters from HTS, an alliance led by jihadists from Syria’s former al-Qaida affiliate, who had been displaced to the area from the central province of Homs. A rescue worker carried the motionless body of a small child from the wreckage to an ambulance, an AFP correspondent at the scene said. White Helmet rescue workers attempted to lift part of a floor of one of the buildings with a tall crane, as three young boys watched on in silence, perched on a rock. Behind mounds of rubble, the facade of a building was scorched black, due to a fire after the blast. Most of Idlib is controlled by rebels and HTS, but the Islamic State jihadist group also has sleeper cells in the area. In recent months, a series of explosions and assassinations – mainly targeting rebel officials and fighters – have rocked the province. While some attacks have been claimed by IS, most are the result of infighting since last year between other groups. Regime forces have since last week ramped up their deadly bombardment of southern Idlib and sent reinforcements to nearby areas they control. On Friday, 12 civilians, three of them children, were killed in regime bombardment of the towns of Khan Sheikhun and al-Tah. Assad has warned that government forces intend to retake Idlib, after his Russia-backed regime regained control of large parts of rebel-held territory in other parts of Syria. On Thursday, government helicopters dropped leaflets over towns in the eastern part of Idlib urging people to surrender. The United Nations appealed the same day for talks to avert “a civilian bloodbath” in the province. Jan Egeland, head of the UN’s humanitarian taskforce for Syria, said: “The war cannot be allowed to go to Idlib.” Around 2.5 million people live in the province, half of them displaced by fighting in other regions of the country. More than 350,000 people have been killed and millions displaced since Syria’s civil war started in 2011 with the brutal repression of anti-government protests. ||||| By AFP - Aug 13,2018 - Last updated at Aug 13,2018 Destroyed buildings are seen on Sunday following an explosion at an arms depot in a residential area in Syria's northern Idlib province city of Sarmada, in which 12 people were reportedly killed (AFP photo) BEIRUT — An explosion at a weapons depot in a rebel-held town in northwest Syria killed at least 39 civilians including a dozen children on Sunday, a monitor said. An AFP correspondent at the site in Sarmada in Idlib province near the Turkish border said the explosion of unknown origin caused two buildings to collapse. Rescue workers used a bulldozer to remove rubble and extract trapped people, the correspondent said. Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor, said a previous toll of 12 civilians killed increased after more bodies were retrieved from the rubble. "The explosion occurred in a weapons depot in a residential building in Sarmada," said the head of the Britain-based monitor, which relies on a network of sources inside Syria. But the cause of the blast was "not yet clear", Abdel Rahman added. He said most of those killed were family members of fighters from Hayat Tahrir Al Sham, an alliance led by extremists from Syria's former Al Qaeda affiliate, who had been displaced to the area from the central province of Homs. A rescue worker carried the motionless body of a small child from the wreckage to an ambulance, the AFP correspondent said. White Helmet rescue workers attempted to lift part of a floor of one of the buildings with a tall crane. Nearby, three young boys watched on in silence, perched on a rock. Behind mounds of rubble, the facade of a building was scorched black, due to a fire after the blast. A civil defence source told AFP that women and children were among the dead. But rescue workers had pulled out “five people who were still alive”, the source said. Most of Idlib is controlled by rebels and Hayat Tahrir Al Sham, but Daesh also has sleeper cells in the area. In recent months, a series of explosions and assassinations — mainly targeting rebel officials and fighters — have rocked the province. While some attacks have been claimed by Daesh, most are the result of infighting since last year between other groups. In recent days, regime forces have ramped up their deadly bombardment of southern Idlib and sent reinforcements to nearby areas they control. On Friday, 12 civilians, three of them children, were killed in regime bombardment of the towns of Khan Sheikhun and Al Tah. President Bashar Assad has warned that government forces intend to retake Idlib, after his Russia-backed regime regained control of swathes of rebel-held territory elsewhere. On Thursday, government helicopters dropped leaflets over towns in Idlib’s eastern countryside urging people to surrender. The United Nations appealed the same day for talks to avert “a civilian bloodbath” in the province. Jan Egeland, head of the UN’s humanitarian taskforce for Syria, said: “The war cannot be allowed to go to Idlib”. Around 2.5 million people live in the province, half of them displaced by fighting in other parts of the country. More than 350,000 people have been killed and millions displaced since Syria’s civil war started in 2011 with the brutal repression of anti-government protests. | A report by the SOHR says that the explosion of an arms depot in Sarmada, Idlib Governorate, Syria, kills at least 69 people, including 17 children. The cause of the blast is "not yet clear". Most of the victims were reportedly family members of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham militants. |
"Andremo avanti fino a quando non avremo tirato fuori l'ultimo disperso. Le ricerche vanno avanti e non sono mai state sospese ma, ovviamente si sta restringendo l'area operativa". Lo hanno affermato i vigili del fuoco. "Non stiamo più operando in alcune aree dove abbiamo scongiurato la presenza di dispersi - spiega - che sono l'area a margine destro del torrente, i capannoni industriali e il lato della ferrovia più prossimo alle civili abitazioni". ||||| A large section of the Morandi viaduct upon which the A10 motorway runs collapsed in Genoa, Italy. ||||| At least 22 people died on Tuesday after a motorway bridge collapsed in Genoa, Italy. As per latest reports, the death toll can significantly increase as the authorities continue to carry out search and rescue operations at the incident site. Italian Deputy Transport Minister Edoardo Rixi lamented the loss of lives due to poor construction of the bridge and said that it is an important bridge in the city and such collapse of it is not acceptable. Earlier in the day at around 11:30 am (local time), the central section of the bridge collapsed and fell down from a height of at least 50 metres. The broken section fell over a river and some railroad tracks and buildings. According to the local fire brigade, the reason for the collapse was heavy torrential rainfall in the area. There was heavy traffic on the bridge when the incident happened and all the vehicles that were moving on the 80-metre-long central section suffered dearly when it collapsed suddenly. When the ambulance service arrived at the spot, one of its officials said that there are dozens feared dead. Initial reports suggested at least 10 people dead and involvement of 20 vehicles in the accident but now it is being reported that the number of fatalities and crashed vehicles can be far greater. Train services around Genoa have been suspended for time being. The bridge, which is 1.2 km long, was built on the A10 toll motorway in the 1960s and it underwent renovations in 2016. The highway is a major artery to the Italian Riviera and to France’s southern coast. ||||| GENOA, Italy (Reuters) - At least 35 people were killed when a motorway bridge collapsed in torrential rains on Tuesday morning over buildings in the northern Italian port city of Genoa, Italy’s ANSA news agency cited fire brigade sources as saying. A 50-metre high section of the bridge, including one set of the supports that tower above it, crashed down in the rain onto the roof of a factory and other buildings, crushing vehicles below and plunging huge slabs of reinforced concrete into the nearby riverbed. “People living in Genoa use this bridge twice a day, we can’t live with infrastructures built in the 1950s and 1960s,” Deputy Transport Minister Edoardo Rixi said on SkyNews24, speaking from Genoa. Within hours of the disaster, the anti-establishment government which took office in June said it showed Italy needed to spend more to improve its dilapidated infrastructure, ignoring EU budget constraints if necessary. “We should ask ourselves whether respecting these (budget) limits is more important than the safety of Italian citizens. Obviously for me it is not,” said deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, who leads the right-wing League which governs with the 5-Star Movement. Helicopter footage on social media showed trucks and cars stranded on either side of the 80-metre long collapsed section of the Morandi Bridge, built on the A10 toll motorway in the late 1960s. One truck was shown just metres away from the broken end of the bridge. Motorist Alessandro Megna told RAI state radio he had been in a traffic jam below the bridge and seen the collapse. “Suddenly the bridge came down with everything it was carrying. It was really an apocalyptic scene, I couldn’t believe my eyes,” he said. Transport Minister Danilo Toninelli told Italian state television the disaster pointed to a lack of maintenance, adding that “those responsible will have to pay.” But Stefano Marigliani, the motorway operator Autostrade’s official responsible for the Genoa area, told Reuters the bridge was “constantly monitored and supervised well beyond what the law required.” He said there was “no reason to consider the bridge was dangerous.” Restructuring work was carried out in 2016 on the 1.2 km-long bridge, first completed in 1967. The motorway is a major artery to the Italian Riviera and to France’s southern coast. Autostrade, a unit of Atlantia, said work to shore up its foundation was being carried out at the time of the collapse. But the head of the civil protection agency, Angelo Borrelli, said he was not aware that any maintenance work was being done on the bridge. Borrelli said there were 30-35 vehicles on the bridge when the middle section came down, including three lorries. He said 13 people had been hospitalised, including five in a critical condition. Some 200 firefighters were on the scene, the fire service said, and Sky Italia television said four people had been pulled from the rubble. Police footage showed firemen working to clear debris around a crushed truck, while other fireman nearby scaled some of the huge broken slabs of reinforced concrete that had supported the bridge. The government has pledged to increase public investments and lobby the European Commission to have the extra spending excluded from EU deficit calculations. “The tragic facts in Genoa remind us of the public investments that we so badly need,” said Claudio Borghi, the League’s economy spokesman. The office of Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said he was heading to Genoa in the evening and would remain there on Wednesday. Defence minister Elisabetta Trenta said the army was ready to offer manpower and vehicles to help with the rescue operations. Train services around Genoa have been halted. Shares in Atlantia, the toll road operator which runs the motorway, were suspended after falling 6.3 percent. ||||| A motorway bridge collapsed on Tuesday over the northern Italian port city of Genoa in what the transport minister said was likely to be “an immense tragedy”. The head of the local ambulance service said there were “dozens of dead”, Italian news agency Adnkronos reported. The local fire brigade said also victims were likely after the bridge collapsed at around 11:30am during torrential rainfall. Italian television showed images of the collapsed bridge, which was built on the A10 toll motorway in the 1960s. Restructuring work on the bridge was carried out in 2016. An witness told Sky Italia television he saw “eight or nine” vehicles on the bridge when it collapsed in what he said was an “apocalyptic scene”. Transport Minister Danilo Toninelli said in a tweet that he was “following with great apprehension what seems like an immense tragedy”. Genoa is located between the sea and the mountains of northwestern Italy. Its rugged terrain means that motorways that run through the city and the surrounding area are characterised by long viaducts and tunnels. ||||| At least 22 people were killed when a motorway bridge collapsed in torrential rains on Tuesday morning over buildings in the northern Italian port city of Genoa, and the deputy transport minister said the death toll would rise. At least 22 people were killed when a motorway bridge collapsed in torrential rains on Tuesday morning over buildings in the northern Italian port city of Genoa, and the deputy transport minister said the death toll would rise. 'Apocalyptic scene' - At least 22 confirmed dead as bridge collapses on motorway in northern Italy An 80-metre section of the bridge, including one set of the supports that tower above it, crashed down in the rain onto the roof of a factory and other buildings, crushing at least one truck and plunging huge slabs of concrete into the river below. "It's not acceptable that such an important bridge... was not built to avoid this kind of collapse," Deputy Transport Minister Edoardo Rixi said on SkyNews24, speaking from Genoa. He said the collapse had killed at least 22 people but the number of dead would climb. Helicopter footage on social media showed trucks and cars stranded on either side of the 50-metre high collapsed section of the Morandi Bridge, which was built on the A10 toll motorway in the 1960s. One truck was shown just metres away from the broken end of the bridge. Restructuring work on the 1.2 km-long bridge, a major artery to the Italian Riviera and to France's southern coast, was carried out in 2016. The highway operator said work to shore up its foundation was being carried out at the time of the collapse, adding that the bridge was constantly monitored. A witness told Sky Italia television he saw "eight or nine" vehicles on the bridge when it collapsed in what he said was an "apocalyptic scene". Some 200 firefighters were on the scene, the fire service said, and Italian news agency ANSA said two survivors had been pulled out of the rubble under the collapse. Police footage showed firemen working to clear debris around a crushed truck, while other fireman nearby scaled broken slabs of the collapsed bridge support. Transport Minister Danilo Toninelli told Italian state television the disaster showed the dilapidated state of Italy's infrastructure and a lack of maintenance, adding that "those responsible will have to pay." Italy's anti-establishment government which took office in June has pledged to increase public investments and lobby the European Commission to have the extra spending excluded from EU deficit calculations. "The tragic facts in Genoa remind us of the public investments that we so badly need," said Claudio Borghi, economics spokesman of the right-wing League party, which governs with the 5-Star Movement. The office of Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said he was heading to Genoa in the evening and would remain there on Wednesday. Defence minister Elisabetta Trenta said the army was ready to offer manpower and vehicles to help with the rescue operations. Train services around Genoa have been halted. Shares in Atlantia, the toll road operator which runs the motorway, were suspended after falling 6.3pc after news of the collapse. ||||| Part of a motorway viaduct in the northwestern Italian city of Genoa collapsed on Tuesday, the local fire brigade said, adding that several cars could have been involved in the accident. Italian news agency Adnkronos, citing local ambulance services, reported that there were "dozens of dead" in the collapse. What we know so far:
• Some 200 meters (656 feet) of road from Morandi Bridge collapsed onto an industrial zone in the port city at around 11:30 a.m. local time (0930 UTC).
• Rescue operations are underway to remove the rubble.
• Local police said the bridge collapsed during a severe downpour and violent storm.
• A bridge was constructed in 1960s as part of the A10 toll motorway. Restructuring was carried out in 2016.
• Authorities had no information regarding the number of potential victims. Italy's Transport Minister Danilo Toninelli said the bridge collapse looked like an "immense tragedy." Franco Nativo, a local journalist on the scene, told Italian broadcaster SkyTG24 that he could see "at least eight to nine" vehicles crushed under the rubble from the bridge. "It is an apocalyptic scene," Nativo added. ||||| Rescuers at work amid the rubble after a highway bridge collapsed in Genoa, Italy. A large section of the Morandi viaduct upon which the A10 motorway runs collapsed in Genoa on Tuesday. Several people have died, rescue sources said. Several vehicles were crushed under the rubble with dead people inside, the sources said. A huge stretch of a highway bridge collapsed during a sudden storm in northwestern Italy on Tuesday, crushing vehicles. Authorities said that about 10 vehicles were involved. The section of the Morandi bridge in the port city of Genoa collapsed amid torrential rain, Italy’s Ansa news agency reported. Italian media reported that deaths occurred, but a local police officer said the number of victims wasn't known. Private broadcaster Sky TG24 reported that the 200-meter (660-foot) section fell over an industrial zone. Firefighters told The Associated Press there are concerns about gas lines. Video captured the sound of a man screaming: "Oh god, oh, god." Other images showed a green truck that had stopped on the bridge yards short of a gaping hole. At least two people were pulled out of the rubble alive and have been taken to the hospital, Ansa reported. The 330-foot tall bridge was built in the 1960s, the BBC reported. It runs over homes, shopping centers, factories, a railway line and a river, according to Ansa. ||||| REPORTS have indicated that 35 people have died following the collapse of part of a motorway bridge in Genoa, Italy. The 1km-long Morandi Bridge, part of the A10 motorway, collapsed just before noon during adverse weather. The Italian news agency ANSA reports that the death toll is up to 35. The latest update from state police is that at least 20 people have dead with 14 wounded, although they are unable to confirm if that is the total number of fatalities. Around 200 firefighters are currently at the scene as rescue efforts continue. Transport Minister Danilo Toninelli tweeted to say he was following the developments but feared it would develop into an ‘immense tragedy’. The Dipartimento della Protezione Civile (Civil Protection Department) a national body that deals with exceptional events, has despatched a team to Genoa. The bridge passes over the Polcevera River and is located between the districts of Sampierdarena and Cornigliano. Restructuring work on the bridge, which was constructed in the 1960s, was carried out in 2016. ||||| ROME (Reuters) - A motorway bridge collapsed on Tuesday over the northern Italian port city of Genoa, killing dozens of people according to the local ambulance service, in what the transport minister said was likely to be “an immense tragedy”. A section of the bridge crashed down from a height of about 50 metres over a river and some railroad tracks and buildings. It collapsed at about 11:30 a.m. (0930 GMT) during torrential rainfall, the local fire brigade said. The head of the ambulance service said there were “dozens of dead”, according to Italian news agency Adnkronos. At least 10 people were killed and 20 vehicles were involved, local police sources said. Helicopter footage on social media showed trucks and cars stranded on either side of the roughly 80-metre long collapsed section of the bridge, which was built on the A10 toll motorway in the 1960s. An ambulance official told Reuters the service could only confirm two injured people so far, “but we suppose there are unfortunately a lot of dead.” Restructuring work on the bridge, which was 1.2 km long in total, was carried out in 2016. The highway operator said work to shore up the foundation of the bridge was being carried out at the time of the collapse, adding that the bridge was constantly monitored. The highway is a major artery to the Italian Riviera and to France’s southern coast. Train services around Genoa have been halted. A witness told Sky Italia television he saw “eight or nine” vehicles on the bridge when it collapsed in what he said was an “apocalyptic scene”. Transport Minister Danilo Toninelli said in a tweet that he was “following with great apprehension what seems like an immense tragedy”. The office of Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said he was heading to Genoa in the evening and would remain there on Wednesday. Defence minister Elisabetta Trenta said the army was ready to offer manpower and vehicles to help with the rescue operations. Shares in Atlantia, the toll road operator which runs the motorway, were suspended after falling 6.3 percent after news of the collapse. | The Ponte Morandi viaduct collapses on the A10 motorway in Genoa, Italy. 38 people are confirmed dead, 16 others are seriously injured, 5 are missing and 632 displaced. 35 cars and three heavy vehicles are involved in the accident. Several homes are also damaged and people inside them also injured. |
CHICAGO — For the second time this month, more than 60 people were shot over the course of a weekend in Chicago. At least eight of the 61 people struck by bullets this weekend have died, Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson confirmed during a Monday morning press conference. That includes two missing teenage boys found dead in a field late Sunday night, reports CBS Chicago. "It's no secret that we had another unacceptable violent weekend," Johnson said during a press conference in which he called for legislation that would toughen Illinois laws regarding repeat gun crimes and make it harder to purchase a weapon after committing certain crimes. Johnson said three persons of interest are in custody in connection with several of the shooting incidents this weekend. He noted that officers also shut down 68 block parties over the weekend for illegal activity, seized 83 guns, and arrested 29 people on gun charges. The weekend's fatal shootings included: • Daquan Albright, 17, shot and killed near 73rd and Claremont around 6:15 p.m. Sunday, • a 19-year-old man shot and killed near 40th and Calumet around 3:30 p.m. Sunday, • Dennis Thomas Jr., 33, shot and killed while sitting in a car in the 4600 block of North Clifton around 8:10 a.m. Sunday, • a 23-year-old man shot in the back on the sidewalk on the 2300 block of West 72nd around 8 p.m. Saturday, • a 27-year-old man shot and killed near 70th and Sangamon shortly before 3 p.m. Friday, • and 15-year-old Steven Rosenthal, who authorities say shot himself in the head while fleeing police Friday evening. Rosenthal's family has disputed that he killed himself, and is demanding to see police body-camera video of the incident. Police have said ballistics and camera evidence shows no officers fired their weapons, but the department has not said if it will release body-camera video. The weekend's bloodshed also included at least two mass shootings. Five people were wounded in a shooting after a softball game Sunday night in the South Shore neighborhood. Police said someone in a black van opened fire near 75th and Dante shortly before 11 p.m., striking four men and a woman. A 30-year-old man shot in the ankle, a 40-year-old woman shot in the calf, a 42-year-old man shot in the arm, and an adult male shot in the chest all were being treated at the University of Chicago trauma center. The man shot in the chest was in serious condition, the other three were not seriously hurt. A 26-year-old man who was shot in the leg was stabilized at Jackson Park Hospital & Medical Center. The other mass shooting happened Friday night in the Englewood neighborhood. Police said six of the people were out in front of a home near 65th and Marshfield, enjoying a summer evening, when they heard gunfire. A 3-year-old boy was among those wounded. A seventh person was struck by a stray bullet in her back yard. ||||| Six people were fatally shot over the weekend, including four teenagers; 52 other people were injured. Superintendent Johnson said 29 people were arrested on gun charges and 83 guns were seized. Twenty-six of the people involved in the shootings are already known to the Chicago Police Department. Charges are pending against three people from shooting incidents over the weekend, including the case of two teen boys who were found shot to death in a field in the Golden Gate neighborhood. Six-hundred additional officers were deployed to areas with the most violence. They people who were holding large gatherings without a permit. Sixty-eight of those gatherings were shutdown. Many incidents this month have been mass shootings where the shooters targeted large groups. ||||| Six people were killed in shootings across Chicago over the weekend, police said.Since 5 p.m. Friday, a total of 59 people were shot, leaving six killed and 53 wounded.In the latest incident, two teenagers who had been reported missing were found shot to death in a field on the Far South Side.The two teenagers, just 16 and 17 year old, were found dead at about 11:57 p.m. in a field on East 131st Street between Eberhart and Rhodes avenues after being reported missing days ago.The family of 16-year-old Raysuan Turner said he has been missing since Friday. He was found dead in the field along with 17-year-old Darnelle Flowers, who had also been missing since Friday.Also Sunday night, five people were shot after a softball game in the Grand Crossing neighborhood.The shooting occurred just before 11 p.m. in the 7400-block of South Dante Avenue.The victims were gathered after their weekly game, when investigators said a black van pulled up, and someone started shooting. One of the victims is in serious condition.The first fatal shooting occurred Saturday night in the Englewood neighborhood.A 26-year-old man was shot in the back in the 2300-block of West 72nd Street at about 8 p.m., police said. A witness told police they saw the victim on the sidewalk and heard gun shots.The victim was transported to Advocate Christ Medical Center, where he later died. He was identified to the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office as Matthew Hudson.No one is in custody. Area Central detectives are investigating.Sunday morning in the Uptown neighborhood, a person was shot and killed by someone riding a bicycle, police said.The victim was sitting in a vehicle in the 4600-block of North Clifton Ave. at about 8:10 a.m. when someone pulled up in a bicycle and shot the victim several times, police said.The victim was pronounced dead at the scene. The shooter fled in an unknown direction.Also Sunday, a 19-year-old man who was fatally shot at about 3:30 p.m. while leaning against a parked vehicle in the 4000-block of South Calumet, police said. The victim was talking to an acquaintance when another vehicle pulled up and someone started firing several shots.No one was in custody and Area Central detectives are investigating.In one incident Saturday night, three men were wounded near a back-to-school peace rally which was attended by hundreds of children.The men were shot near Seward Park on the Near North Side. A 54-year-old man was shot in his upper-right leg; a 43-year-old man was shot in the lower left leg and upper right arm; and a 28-year-old man was shot in the back. Two victims, ages 54 and 43, were hospitalized in stable condition. The 28-year-old was hospitalized in critical condition.All of the victims were innocent bystanders, witnesses said.Chicago police said that they seized 83 guns and arrested 29 people on gun charges over the weekend. ||||| In this city, someone gets shot an average of about once per hour. That was the sobering reality in Chicago this weekend, when at least 58 people were shot, police said. “We had another unacceptable, violent weekend,” Chicago police Superintendent Eddie T. Johnson said. “These acts are tragic, senseless and cowardly.” Six of those shooting victims died — including two teenagers found dead in a field with multiple gunshot wounds. Police found their bodies late Sunday night after their cell phones pinged near Golden Gate Park, CNN affiliate WBBM reported. They were reported missing Friday. Authorities are still investigating the motive for the killings, but say robbery is a possibility. Another five people were injured in a shooting after a softball game Sunday night, CNN affiliate WGN reported. Players and their friends had gathered after the game near 74th Street and Dante Avenue when a man inside a black van suddenly showed up and started firing at the group. This latest rash of violence happened despite an additional 600 officers on the streets of Chicago this weekend — part of a surge in police presence that started earlier this month. “But the simple fact of it is, the police department can’t do it alone,” Johnson said. This is what brought rival gang members together in Chicago He called on witnesses and anyone who knows who’s responsible to speak up and break the culture of silence. Despite the challenges, detectives are making progress on this weekend’s wave of violence, Johnson said. “We already have three persons of interest in custody from weekend incidents,” with more expected, the police chief said Monday. He also said that since Friday, 83 illegal guns have been taken off the streets, and 29 people have been arrested on gun-related charges. “But we really have a lot more work to do,” Johnson said, “and we need everyone — everyone — to come to the table.” ||||| Forty six people have been shot, two fatally, in weekend shootings across Chicago, police said.The first fatal shooting occurred Saturday night in the Englewood neighborhood.A 26-year-old man was shot in the back in the 2300-block of West 72nd Street at about 8 p.m., police said. A witness told police they saw the victim on the sidewalk and heard gun shots.The victim was transported to Advocate Christ Hospital, where he later died. He has been identified to the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office as Matthew Hudson.No one is in custody. Area Central detectives are investigating.Sunday morning in the Uptown neighborhood, a person was shot and killed by someone riding a bicycle, police said.The victim was sitting in a vehicle in the 4600-block of North Clifton Ave. at about 8:10 a.m. when someone pulled up in a bicycle and shot the victim several times, police said.The victim was pronounced dead at the scene. The shooter fled in an unknown direction.Area North detectives are investigating.Saturday night, three men were shot near Seward Park on the Near North Side as children were leaving a back-to-school peace rally. A 54-year-old man was shot in his upper-right leg; a 43-year-old man was shot in the lower left leg and upper right arm; and a 28-year-old man was shot in the back.Two victims, ages 54 and 43, were hospitalized in stable condition. The 28-year-old was hospitalized in critical condition.All of the victims were innocent bystanders, witnesses said.Since Friday at 6 p.m., an additional 41 people have been shot. ||||| CHICAGO (CBS) — Sixty-one people were shot in Chicago over the weekend, eight of them fatally, including two missing teenage boys found dead in a field late Sunday night. The bloodshed made for the second most violent weekend of the year in Chicago, and the second weekend this month at least 60 people were shot. Police Supt. Eddie Johnson planned to speak about the weekend’s shootings at 10:30 a.m. Monday at Chicago Police Headquarters. CPD spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said three people of interest were in custody in connection with some of the shootings as of Monday morning. Officers also shut down 68 gatherings over the weekend for illegal activity, seized 83 guns, and arrested 29 people on gun charges. Most recently, a 16-year-old boy and a 17-year-old boy were found shot and killed in a field on the edge of Golden Gate Park at 130th and Eberhart. The father of one boy identified him as 16-year-old Raysuan Turner. The other boy’s identity has not been confirmed, but community activist Andrew Holmes said both boys had been reported missing on Friday. RELATED STORIES: Missing Boys Found Shot To Death On Far South Side | Family Demands Answers From CPD After 15-Year Old Commits Suicide | 5,000 Attend Fight For Peace Fest In North Lawndale | 3 Shot, 1 Beaten During Picnic To Promote Peace | Undaunted In Face Of Shootings, Englewood Residents March In Back To School Parade | 3-Year-Old Boy Among 7 Wounded In Englewood Shooting
• Daquan Albright, 17, was shot and killed near 73rd and Claremont around 6:15 p.m. Sunday,
• a 19-year-old man shot and killed near 40th and Calumet around 3:30 p.m. Sunday,
• Dennis Thomas Jr., 33, was shot and killed while sitting in a car in the 4600 block of North Clifton around 8:10 a.m. Sunday,
• a 23-year-old man shot in the back on the sidewalk on the 2300 block of West 72nd around 8 p.m. Saturday,
• a 27-year-old man shot and killed near 70th and Sangamon shortly before 3 p.m. Friday,
• and 15-year-old Steven Rosenthal, who authorities say shot himself in the head while fleeing police Friday evening. Rosenthal’s family has disputed that he killed himself, and is demanding to see police body camera video of the incident. Police have said ballistics and camera evidence shows no officers fired their weapons, but the department has not said if it will release body camera video. The weekend’s bloodshed also included at least two mass shootings. Five people were wounded in a shooting after a softball game Sunday night in the South Shore neighborhood. Police said someone in a black van opened fire near 75th and Dante shortly before 11 p.m., striking four men and a woman. A 30-year-old man shot in the ankle, a 40-year-old woman shot in the calf, a 42-year-old man shot in the arm, and an adult male shot in the chest all were being treated at the University of Chicago trauma center. The man shot in the chest was in serious condition, the other three were not seriously hurt. A 26-year-old man who was shot in the leg was stabilized at Jackson Park Hospital & Medical Center. The other mass shooting happened Friday night in the Englewood neighborhood. Police said six of the people were out in front of a home near 65th and Marshfield, enjoying a summer evening, when they heard gunfire and realized they had been shot. The victims included a 3-year-old boy. A seventh person was struck by a stray bullet in her back yard.
• Victim #1: A 27-year-old was shot in the torso and transported to University of Chicago Hospital, where he was stabilized.
• Victim #2: A 3-year-old boy was shot in the left shin and transported to Comer Children’s Hospital, where he was stabilized.
• Victim #3: A 30-year-old man was shot in the left leg and transported to St. Bernard Hospital, where he was stabilized.
• Victim #4: A 29-year-old man was shot in the left calf and drove himself to St. Bernard Hospital, where he was stabilized.
• Victim #5: A 30-year-old man was shot in the lower back and drove himself to Mt. Sinai Hospital in serious condition.
• Victim #6: A 26-year-old man was shot in the left and and left leg and was drove himself to to St. Bernard Hospital, where he was stabilized.
• Victim #7: A 38-year-old woman’s left arm was grazed by a bullet. She was treated on the scene. Police sources said the area is known for gang activity, but that hasn’t been linked to the crime just yet. Meantime, at a Saturday picnic organized to promote peace, people had gathered in Seward Park when some young people came by and started shooting. At least htree people were wounded in the attack, including a 28-year-old man who was critically wounded. A fourth person was beaten at the scene. The bloody weekend comes two weeks after the most violent weekend of the year in Chicago, when 66 people were shot on the first weekend of August, 12 of them fatally. That weekend’s shootings prompted the Chicago Police Department to deploy hundreds of extra officers to five of the districts hardest hit by gun violence. ||||| CHICAGO, Illinois — In this city, someone gets shot an average of about once per hour. That was the sobering reality in Chicago this weekend, when at least 58 people were shot between Friday afternoon and late Sunday night, according to the Chicago Police Major Incident Notification System. Five of those shooting victims died — including two teenagers found dead in a field with multiple gunshot wounds. Police found their bodies late Sunday night after their cell phones pinged near Golden Gate Park, CNN affiliate WBBM reported. They were reported missing Friday. Another five people were injured in a shooting after a softball game Sunday night, CNN affiliate WGN reported. Players and their friends had gathered after the game near 74th Street and Dante Avenue when a man inside a black van suddenly showed up and started firing at the group. No arrests have been reported. Police are expected to release a statement later Monday about this weekend’s bloodshed. But Mayor Rahm Emanuel has already vented his frustration about the gun violence in his city. In the first weekend of August, Chicago had 66 shootings — including 12 killings. “We as a city, in every corner, have an accountability and a responsibility. If you know who did this, be a neighbor, speak up,” Emanuel said earlier this month. He dismissed the notion that hotter weather will lead to more violence. “You can talk about the weather, but the weather didn’t pull the trigger. You can talk about jobs, and they count, but in parts of the city where there aren’t jobs, people did not pull the trigger,” he said. “There are values. There are too many guns on the street, too many people with criminal records on the street, and there is a shortage of values about what is right and what is wrong.” ||||| A new TV channel for Joe has the staff mocking him. A 1666 fire in London destroys almost everything in it’s path. The shootings in Chicago need to get more attention. What would happen if that many shootings took place in the Twin Cities? ||||| The bloodshed riddling parts of the city of Chicago continued well into the weekend as four people were killed and another 54 were wounded by gunfire. Officials told Fox News on Monday the shootings this weekend are up compared to the same weekend in 2017 that saw 48 people shot and 5 killed. Other reports showed that six people were killed and 53 were wounded. Among those killed were the two teenagers who had been reported missing days ago. They found shot to death Sunday night in a field on the Far South Side of the city, police said. The two teenagers, 16-year-old Raysuan Turner and 17-year-old Darnelle Flowers, were found at about 11:57 p.m. in a field on East 131st Street between Eberhart and Rhodes avenues. They had been reported missing days earlier, FOX 32 Chicago reported. Earlier on Sunday night, five people were shot after a weekly softball game in the Grand Crossing neighborhood. Police said the victims were gathered for a game when a black van pulled up and someone started shooting. ABC 7 Chicago reported on of the victims was listed in serious condition. Across the city, the news of shootings this weekend were coming in faster than police could get to the scene. As Fox News previously reported that 25 people – including a 3-year-old boy – were shot in the city over a span of roughly 14 hours from Friday afternoon to early Saturday. Police said the child was hit in his left shit in the Englewood neighborhood on the South Side. He was transported to a children’s hospital and was in stable condition on Friday night. During a back-to-school “peace picnic” held at a playground, police said three people were shot while fourth person was beaten up. The event was held to promote peace and community. “It’s senseless and should have never happened,” event organizer Raymond Hatcher told reporters. “We were doing well. Everything was going swell and then a group of guys who were not associated with us, came to the event intoxicated.” Amid the surging violence and bloodshed, pressure has been building for action by Mayor Rahm Emanuel, or for his resignation. He came under fire this past week for comments linking the violence outbursts in his city and the moral character of people in some ethnic neighborhoods. “This may not be politically correct,” he said, “but I know the power of what faith and family can do. … Our kids need that structure. … I am asking … that we also don’t shy away from a full discussion about the importance of family and faith helping to develop and nurture character, self-respect, a value system and a moral compass that allows kids to know good from bad and right from wrong.” Critics attacked him for laying blame on the victims of the violence. Fox News’ Barnini Charkraborty and Matt Finn contributed to this report. ||||| Forty-six people were shot, three fatally, in weekend shootings across Chicago, police said.The first fatal shooting occurred Saturday night in the Englewood neighborhood.A 26-year-old man was shot in the back in the 2300-block of West 72nd Street at about 8 p.m., police said. A witness told police they saw the victim on the sidewalk and heard gun shots.The victim was transported to Advocate Christ Medical Center, where he later died. He was identified to the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office as Matthew Hudson.No one is in custody. Area Central detectives are investigating.Sunday morning in the Uptown neighborhood, a person was shot and killed by someone riding a bicycle, police said.The victim was sitting in a vehicle in the 4600-block of North Clifton Ave. at about 8:10 a.m. when someone pulled up in a bicycle and shot the victim several times, police said.The victim was pronounced dead at the scene. The shooter fled in an unknown direction.Area North detectives are investigating.The third fatality was a 19-year-old man who was fatally shot at about 3:30 p.m. Sunday while leaning against a parked vehicle in the 4000-block of South Calumet, police said. The victim was talking to an acquaintance when another vehicle pulled up and someone started firing several shots.No one was in custody and Area Central detectives are investigating.In one incident Saturday night, three men were wounded near a back-to-school peace rally which was attended by hundreds of children.The men were shot near Seward Park on the Near North Side. A 54-year-old man was shot in his upper-right leg; a 43-year-old man was shot in the lower left leg and upper right arm; and a 28-year-old man was shot in the back. Two victims, ages 54 and 43, were hospitalized in stable condition. The 28-year-old was hospitalized in critical condition.All of the victims were innocent bystanders, witnesses said. | Sixty-one people are shot over the weekend in Chicago, including twelve in two mass shootings. Eight die, including five teenagers. Police arrest three people in connection with the shootings and 29 on other firearms charges, and seize 83 guns. |
A magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck the eastern coast of Venezuela Tuesday afternoon, according to the USGS.The quake hit around 2:30 p.m. on the northeast coast of the South American nation, about 13 miles southwest from the town of Irapa.Buildings were evacuated in the capital Caracas and people fled homes as the damage was being evaluated. Shaking was felt as far away as Colombia's capital.It was initially estimated at 7.0, but the USGS later updated the magnitude to 7.3.The depth was estimated at 76 miles.DEVELOPING: This story will be updated as more details become available. ||||| UPDATE: 6:55 p.m. EDT—Nestor Luis Reverol, Venezuela's interior minister, wrote on Twitter that first responders were ready to "address any emergency" following Tuesday's earthquake. It was not immediately clear whether there were any significant damage or fatalities. UPDATE: 6:36 p.m. EDT—The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center revised its forecast following an earthquake north of Venezuela on Tuesday, saying there was no tsunami threat from the quake. "Minor sea level fluctuations up to 30 cm above and below the normal tide may occur in coastal areas near the earthquake over the next few hours and continuing for up to several hours," the PTWC said. The center previously said some waves were possible. UPDATE: 6:18 p.m. EDT—The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said based on preliminary information about the earthquake, "hazardous tsunami waves are possible for coasts located within 300 km of the earthquake epicenter." The PTWC said waves were possible along the coasts of Grenada, Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela. The center urged people located in threatened coastal areas to watch for information from national and local authorities. UPDATE: 5:56 p.m. EDT—The USGS revised the strength of Tuesday's earthquake from a 7.0 magnitude to a 7.3 magnitude. Buildings were evacuated in Caracas, the Associated Press reported. Original story: A 7.0 magnitude earthquake hit near Venezuela early Tuesday evening, the United States Geological Survey confirmed. The quake hit about 30 miles from Guiria, Sucre, Venezuela, at 5:31 EDT. People reported feeling shaking in Grenada as well as Trinidad and Tobago and other places. It was unclear whether there was any significant damage or injuries as a result of Tuesday's quake. This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available. ||||| Buildings in the capital Caracas have been evacuated and shaking has been felt across the Caribbean This article is more than 1 year old This article is more than 1 year old Venezuela’s northern coast has been rocked by a powerful earthquake that was felt across the Caribbean and sent people rushing out into the streets hundreds of kilometres away in the capital, Caracas. The United States Geological Survey said a 7.3-magnitude earthquake had struck off the South American country’s northern coast at 5.31pm local time on Tuesday, east of the city of Carúpano at a depth of 123km (76 miles). The Colombian Geological Service said it was a 7.0-magnitude quake. The earthquake was felt more than 600km further east in Caracas, where the crisis-stricken nation’s political leaders were celebrating a “revolutionary” new economic plan they claim will rescue Venezuela’s crumbling economy but economists fear will make it worse. According to Associated Press, the confusing moments after the quake were captured on state television as Diosdado Cabello, one of Venezuela’s most powerful politicians, was delivering a speech at a pro-government rally. “Earthquake!” many members of the audience cried, pointing to the ground, as Cabello and others looked from side to side. “I had never felt such a strong earthquake 😨,” tweeted María Ramírez Cabello, a Venezuelan journalist who was in Ciudad Bolívar at the time of the quake, alongside images of people running out of a supermarket. Footage posted on social media by another Venezuelan journalist showed terrified residents racing out into the street after the quake struck. Érika Ortega Sanoja (@ErikaOSanoja) [VIDEO] #Sismo en #CiudadTiuna, #Caracas, se sintió fortísimo. Vecinos en alerta en la planta baja. Todo en calma. pic.twitter.com/WY6jMd5gF7 Venezuela’s interior minster, Néstor Luis Reverol, tweeted: “We call on all of the people of Venezuela to remain calm.” Authorities were ready to deal with “any emergency”, he added. In a short address to the nation Reverol added: “We want to inform you … that at 5.31 we had a 6.3 magnitude earthquake [that] was felt in various states of the country [including] Nueva Esparta, Sucre, Monagas, Bolívar, Delta Amacuro, Aragua, Carabobo and the capital.” “So far there have been no reports of any victims,” the minister said. Venezuela’s state-run broadcaster, Telesur, also reported there were no immediate reports of victims or damage. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Part of the abandoned skyscraper Torre de David leans precariously in Caracas after the quake. Photograph: Federico Parra/AFP/Getty Images However, photographs posted on social media showed that the “Tower of David”, a notorious and symbolic abandoned skyscraper in Caracas that featured in the television series Homeland, had been severely damaged by the quake. Buildings around the 52-floor vertical slum were reportedly being evacuated on Tuesday afternoon, according to one local journalist. In a statement, Venezuela’s seismological research foundation (Funvisis) said it recommended “keeping calm since acts of this nature are normal in Venezuela, since we live in a seismic country”. Edwin Rojas, the governor of Sucre, the state nearest to the epicentre, posted a video on his official Twitter in which he said he had received a phone call from the president, Nicolás Maduro, and sought to reassure citizens. “All of the state’s 15 municipalities … felt a big impact but thank God there are no victims to mourn and no damage,” Rojas said. ||||| CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — A powerful earthquake has shaken eastern Venezuela, causing buildings to be evacuated in the capital of Caracas. The U.S. Geological Survey put the magnitude of Tuesday’s quake at 7.0 and said it had a depth of 53 miles (87 kilometers). Its epicenter was 13 miles (22 kilometers southwest of Irapa, Venezuela. The quake was felt as far away as Colombia’s capital and in the Venezuelan capital office workers evacuated buildings and people fled homes. ||||| There has been an earthquake in Venezuela Tremors have felt more than 200 miles away The United States Geological Survey recorded the earthquake in the coastal town of Irapa and tremors were felt 286 miles (622 km) away in the capital of Caracas. The quake, which was centred near the town of Guiria, was felt as far away as the capital, Caracas, causing buildings to be evacuated, The USGS put the magnitude of the quake at 7.3 and said it had a depth of 76 miles (123 kilometres). Its epicentre was 12 miles (20 kilometres) north-west of Yaguaraparo. The population of the affected region lives in areas where structures are vulnerable to earthquake shaking, according to the USGS. The most vulnerable buildings are those made from unreinforced brick and wood. A tsunami advisory has been issued in the Caribbean. Footage which emerged on social media following the earthquake showed buildings in Maturin being shaken heavily and people running into the street. In Trinidad and Tobago, phone lines and power have been out and there have been reports of structural damage to buildings. THIS IS A BREAKING STORY. REFRESH FOR UPDATES. ||||| A major earthquake of magnitude 7.3 struck the northern coast of Venezuela on Tuesday and shook buildings as far away as the capital, Caracas, the U.S. Geological Survey said. The quake was centred near the town of Carupano, an area of poor fishing communities and was felt as far away as neighbouring Colombia to the east and nearby island nations like Trinidad and Tobago, and St. Lucia, to the west and north. There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage, Venezuelan Interior Minister Nestor Reverol said in an internet broadcast on Tuesday. The U.S. Pacific Tsunami Center said the quake could cause small tsunami waves along the coast near the epicentre, 23 miles (37 km) southwest of the town of Carupano. USGS Geophysicist Jessica Turner said the quake's depth, 76.5 miles (123.11 km) below the surface, would dampen some of the shaking but not enough to prevent damage. "A 7.3 magnitude quake is going to cause some damage particularly as in this area structures are vulnerable. The Earth is able to absorb some of the energy, but a 7.3 quake produces a lot of energy," she said by telephone. Turner said the quake's depth caused the quake to be felt as far away such as in Caracas, where witnesses said buildings were shaken. "I feel like I'm about to faint. I'm shaking. It was long," said telemarketing worker Sheny Fuentes, 22, speaking outside her work building in eastern Caracas. "I'm relieved that it doesn't seem like damage was that bad. We would have been even more affected (given Venezuela's economic crisis) - there are already people eating from the garbage and buildings aren't well made," she told Reuters. ||||| AN earthquake of magnitude 7.3 has struck the northern coast of Venezuela, the US Geological Survey said. There are fears it could cause small tsunami waves along the coast near the epicentre. The quake shook buildings as far as the capital, Caracas, witnesses said. The quake was initially reported as a magnitude 6.7 and then 7.0 near the town of Carupano. The quake was felt as far away as Colombia's capital of Bogota, and in Caracas where office workers and residents fled from their buildings and homes. People took to Twitter sharing their vision from the quake. A magnitude 7.3 quake is considered major and is capable of causing widespread, heavy damage, that will continue to be felt. A similar magnitude earthquake occurred in the same area in 1997 and left dozes dead. ||||| There has been an earthquake in Venezuela Tremors have felt more than 200 miles away The United States Geological Survey recorded the earthquake in the coastal town of Irapa and tremors were felt 286 miles (622 km) away in the capital of Caracas. The quake, which was centred near the town of Guiria, was felt as far away as the capital, Caracas, causing buildings to be evacuated, The USGS put the magnitude of the quake at 7.3 and said it had a depth of 76 miles (123 kilometres). Its epicentre was 12 miles (20 kilometres) north-west of Yaguaraparo. The population of the affected region lives in areas where structures are vulnerable to earthquake shaking, according to the USGS. The most vulnerable buildings are those made from unreinforced brick and wood. A tsunami advisory has been issued in the Caribbean. Footage which emerged on social media following the earthquake showed buildings in Maturin being shaken heavily and people running into the street. In Trinidad and Tobago, phone lines and power have been out and there have been reports of structural damage to buildings. A witness in Cumana, which is near the epicentre, said there were initial reports of several injuries at a shopping centre as an escalator collapsed. Firefighter captain John Boquett said there are no initial reports of injuries or major damage in the capital. In 1997, a quake of similar magnitude in the same area left dozens dead. THIS IS A BREAKING STORY. REFRESH FOR UPDATES. ||||| Venezuela has been hit by a magnitude 7.3 earthquake which has affected the northern part of the country. The quake had originally measured 6.7 but was later upgraded to 7.3 by the United States Geological Survey. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center has issued an alert, saying that "hazardous waves" are possible 300km from the epicentre. The earthquake centered near the town of Guiria, was felt as far away as the capital, Caracas, where it shook buildings, witnesses said. Videos posted to social media shows dozens of people screaming and shouting as the terrifying tremors shook buildings and streets. The scale of damage to the affected areas is not yet clear. The epicentre is around 100km from Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago's capital city. Shaking was reported in other Caribbean islands including Grenada, an island popular with holidaymakers. Were you involved in the earthquake? Send video to webnews@trinitymirror.com Earleir the U.S. Pacific Tsunami Center said the quake, which was fairly deep, could cause small tsunami waves along the coast near the epicenter, 23 miles (37 km) southwest of the town of Carupano. A magnitude 7.3 quake is considered major and is capable of causing widespread, heavy damage, but the quake was 76.5 miles (123.11 km) deep, which would have dampened the shaking. "A 7.3 magnitude quake is going to cause some damage particularly as in this area structures are vulnerable. The Earth is able to absorb some of the energy, but a 7.3 quake produces a lot of energy", one expert said. "I feel like I'm about to faint. I'm shaking. It was long," telemarketing worker Sheny Fuentes, 22, speaking outside her work building in eastern Caracas. "I'm relieved that it doesn't seem like damage was that bad. "We would have been even more affected (given Venezuela's economic crisis) - there are already people eating from the garbage and buildings aren't well made," she told Reuters. Last week a powerful 6.3-magnitude earthquake hit Lombok early on Sunday morning, two weeks after the disaster which killed at least 460 people and put the island on the verge of a humanitarian crisis. The US Geological Survey estimated the depth of that tremor to be 7.9 km (4.9 miles). ||||| Aug. 21 (UPI) -- A magnitude-7.3 earthquake struck off the coast of Venezuela on Tuesday, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The quake's center was located near the town of Guiria and tremors were felt as far as the capital of Caracas, about 286 miles away. It struck at 5:31 p.m. and had a depth of about 76.5 miles, the USGS said. Venezuela's interior minster, Néstor Luis Reverol, wrote a tweet encouraging the people of Venezuela to remain calm, adding there hadn't been reports of any victims. He also shared photos of the abandoned financial center, known as the Tower of David, in Caracas was damaged, causing the top five floors to slant on a 25-degree incline. The surrounding areas were evacuated as a precaution, Reverol said. | A magnitude 7.3 earthquake strikes off the coast of Venezuela, prompting building evacuations in Caracas. Buildings shake across Caribbean and South America's North coast. Several buildings are destroyed. |
NEW YORK (AP) - The unveiling of federal criminal charges against President Donald Trump's former personal lawyer came with drama as attorney Michael Cohen went farther than prosecutors were willing to go in pointing fingers. Not only did Cohen plead guilty to all eight charges, but he directly implicated the president in the payment of hush money to two women who claim they had affairs with him. How did the court appearance play out and what are the implications? Some questions and answers: Cohen, Trump's longtime "fixer," claimed his ex-boss - described only as the "candidate," was to blame for hush money paid to porn star Stormy Daniels and a former Playboy model to influence the 2016 election. He told U.S. District Judge William H. Pauley III that he arranged a $150,000 payment from a media company to the model "in coordination with, and at the direction of, a candidate for federal office." He said it was "for the principle purpose of influencing the election." In the second instance, Cohen said he arranged a $130,000 payment to Daniels "in coordination with, and at the direction of, the same candidate." The emotional Cohen, who shook his head repeatedly during the 40-minute proceeding and cried outside court, did not name the two women either. But the amounts and the dates all lined up with payments made to Daniels and Playboy Playmate Karen McDougal in the weeks and months leading up to the presidential election. Other charges included tax evasion and making false statements to a bank. A plea agreement with prosecutors calls for Cohen, 51, to get about four to five years in prison at his sentencing, which is scheduled for Dec. 12. He remains free in the meantime. Before the guilty plea, speculation swirled about whether Cohen could deliver more dirt on his former boss as part of the deal. His legal team, as if to prove his value, took the unusual step of going public with a tape recording his client made of Trump discussing one of the hush-money payments. But a plea agreement Cohen signed on Tuesday made no mention of cooperation. By contrast, the agreement struck last year with Trump's former national security advisor, Michael Flynn, spelled out that he had to fully cooperate with the expectation he could be rewarded with a more lenient sentence. Robert Mintz, a former federal prosecutor now in private practice, said there's still a chance that Cohen could be cooperating under a separate agreement that's under seal. "For a variety of reasons, prosecutors may not want to announce to the world that a defendant has agreed to cooperate," he said. Still, he added, prosecutors also could "have concluded that any additional information that he could provide beyond his public statements doesn't rise to the level of substantial assistance." WHAT WAS THE REACTION TO COHEN'S GUILTY PLEA? As cable networks were showing split-screen coverage of the dueling conviction and plea bargain by two former loyalists, Trump boarded Air Force One in the afternoon on the way to a rally in West Virginia. He ignored shouted questions from reporters about both former aides, retreating to his private stateroom on the airliner. As Cohen left the courthouse, a couple of people outside chanted, "Lock him up!" "If those payments were a crime for Michael Cohen, then why wouldn't they be a crime for Donald Trump?" Cohen's lawyer, Lanny Davis, tweeted. Daniel Petalas, former prosecutor in the Justice Department's public integrity section, said, "This brings President Trump closer into the criminal conduct." Michael Avenatti says Cohen's plea should open the door to questioning Trump about "what he knew, when he knew it, and what he did about it." Avenatti told The Associated Press that he was certain "cooperation was occurring" between Cohen and prosecutors, saying he had been made "very familiar" with what's going on. Laurie Levenson, a former federal prosecutor and professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, noted the possibility of Cohen cooperating should be worrying to the president and his allies. "What it shows is that the people close to the president have criminal exposure and it may mean they don't need Cohen to cooperate," she said. Associated Press writers Stephen R. Groves and Michael R. Sisak in New York, Jonathan Lemire and Catherine Lucey in Washington and Michael Balsamo in Los Angeles contributed to this report. ||||| Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer and fixer, pleaded guilty Tuesday to campaign-finance violations and other charges, saying Trump directed him to arrange the payment of hush money to porn star Stormy Daniels and a former Playboy model to fend off damage to his White House bid. Cohen’s extraordinary account marks the first time that any Trump associate has gone into open court and implicated Trump himself in a crime, though whether or when a president can be prosecuted remains a matter of legal dispute. The guilty plea was part of a double dose of bad news for Trump: It came at almost the same moment his former campaign chairman Paul Manafort was convicted in Alexandria, Virginia, of eight financial crimes in the first trial to come out of special counsel Robert Mueller’s sprawling Russia investigation. In a deal reached with federal prosecutors, Cohen, 51, pleaded guilty to eight counts, including tax evasion. He could get about four to five years in prison at sentencing December 12. In entering the plea, Cohen did not name the two women or even Trump, recounting instead that he worked with an “unnamed candidate” to influence the election. But the amounts and the dates all lined up with the $130,000 paid to Daniels and the $150,000 that went to Playboy Playmate Karen McDougal to buy their silence in the weeks and months leading up to the 2016 presidential election. Both women claimed to have had affairs with Trump, which he denies. Cohen, his voice shaky as he answered questions from a federal judge, said one payment was “in coordination and at the direction of a candidate for federal office,” and the other was made “under direction of the same candidate.” However, in the charging documents, a news release and comments outside the courthouse, prosecutors did not go as far as Cohen did in open court in pointing the finger at the president. Prosecutors said Cohen acted “in coordination with a candidate or campaign for federal office for purposes of influencing the election.” As cable networks were showing split-screen coverage of the conviction and plea bargain by two of his former loyalists, Trump himself boarded Air Force One on his way to a rally in West Virginia and ignored shouted questions about the men. Trump’s personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, noted in a statement that “there is no allegation of any wrongdoing against the president in the government’s charges against Mr. Cohen.” Daniel Petalas, a former prosecutor in the Justice Department’s public integrity section, said, “This brings President Trump closer into the criminal conduct.” “The president has certain protections while a sitting president, but if it were true, and he was aware and tried to influence an election, that could be a federal felony offense,” Petalas said. “This strikes close to home.” After the court hearing, which ended with Cohen released on $500,000 bail, the lawyer wiped away tears as he gazed out a courthouse window. He left the building and headed straight for a black SUV with tinted windows. A couple of people outside chanted, “Lock him up!” as they recorded the scene with their phones. Under federal law, expenditures to protect a candidate’s political fortunes can be construed to be campaign contributions, subject to federal laws that bar donations from corporations and set limits on how much can be given. “If those payments were a crime for Michael Cohen, then why wouldn’t they be a crime for Donald Trump?” Cohen’s lawyer, Lanny Davis, tweeted. Cohen’s plea follows months of scrutiny from federal investigations and a falling-out with the president, for whom Cohen once said he would “take a bullet.” The FBI raided Cohen’s hotel room, home and office in April and seized more than 4 million items. The search sought bank records, communications with Trump’s campaign and information on the payments to the two women. According to prosecutors, the payment to McDougal was made through the parent company of the National Enquirer. Cohen made the payment to Daniels through his own company and then was reimbursed by Trump, he said. Trump denied to reporters in April that he knew anything about Cohen’s payments to Daniels, but the explanations from him and Giuliani have shifted multiple times since. The president has fumed publicly about the raid, branding it “a witch hunt,” an assault on attorney-client privilege and a politically motivated attack by enemies in the FBI. But privately he has worried about what information Cohen may have after working for the Trump Organization for a decade. “Obviously it’s not good for Trump,” Sol Wisenberg, who conducted grand jury questioning of President Bill Clinton during the Whitewater investigation, said of the plea bargain. “I’m assuming he’s not going to be indicted because he’s a sitting president, Wisenberg added. “But it leads him closer to ultimate impeachment proceedings, particularly if the Democrats take back the House.” The Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel has held that a president cannot be indicted while in office. Trump’s lawyers have said that Mueller plans to adhere to that guidance, though Mueller’s office has never confirmed that. There would presumably be no bar against charging a president after he leaves the White House. Daniels said Tuesday that she and her lawyer, Michael Avenatti, feel vindicated and look forward to apologies “from the people who claimed we were wrong.” Nothing made public so far indicates Cohen has agreed to cooperate with prosecutors, but Avenatti said he is certain that is happening. Mueller’s team, which is looking into Russian interference in the presidential election, came across some of the evidence against Cohen in the course of its investigation and referred the matter to federal prosecutors in New York. Deputy U.S. Attorney Robert Khuzami said that in addition to the campaign finance violations, Cohen failed to report more than $4 million in income between 2012 and 2016, including $1.3 million from his taxi medallion holdings. Cohen also lied to a financial institution by failing to disclose more than $14 million in debt and obtaining a $500,000 home equity line of credit he wasn’t entitled to, Khuzami said. Cohen used that credit line to fund the Daniels payment, prosecutors said. After making the hush money payments, Cohen submitted phony invoices to Trump’s company, ostensibly for services rendered in 2017, the prosecutor said. “Those involves were a sham,” Khuzami said. “He provided no legal services for the year 2017. It was simply a means to obtain reimbursement for the unlawful contributions.” Before the election, Cohen had been a trusted member of the Trump organization, working out of an office in Trump Tower next to one used by his boss. He raised millions for Trump’s campaign. The president’s initial support for Cohen after the raid soon degenerated into a public feud, with Cohen hinting he might cut a deal with prosecutors. When Cohen’s team produced a recording he had made of Trump discussing one of the hush-money payments, Trump tweeted: “What kind of lawyer would tape a client? So sad!” For all the latest World News, download Indian Express App ||||| Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer and “fixer,” pleaded guilty Tuesday to campaign-finance violations and other charges, saying he and Trump arranged the payment of hush money to porn star Stormy Daniels and a former Playboy model to influence the election. Cohen’s account appears to implicate Trump himself in a crime, though whether — or when — a president can be prosecuted remains a matter of legal dispute. The guilty plea came almost at the same moment former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort was convicted in Alexandria, Virginia, of eight financial crimes in the first trial to come out of special counsel Robert Mueller’s sprawling Russia investigation. In a deal reached with federal prosecutors, Cohen, 51, pleaded guilty to eight counts in all, including tax evasion and making a false statement to a financial institution. He could get about four to five years in prison at sentencing Dec. 12. In entering the plea, Cohen did not name the two women or even Trump, recounting instead that he worked with an “unnamed candidate.” But the amounts and the dates all lined up with the payments made to Daniels and Playboy Playmate Karen McDougal in the weeks and months leading up to the 2016 White House election. Cohen, his voice shaky as he answered questions from a federal judge, said one payment was “in coordination and at the direction of a candidate for federal office,” and the other was made “under direction of the same candidate.” As cable networks were showing split-screen coverage of the dueling conviction and plea bargain by two former loyalists, Trump boarded Air Force One in the afternoon on the way to a rally in West Virginia. He ignored shouted questions to reporters about both former aides, retreating to his private stateroom on the airliner. Cohen left the building and headed straight for a black SUV with tinted windows. A couple of people outside chanted, “Lock him up!” as they recorded the scene with their phones. Cohen’s plea follows months of scrutiny from federal investigations and a falling-out with the president, whom he previously said he would “take a bullet” for. The FBI raided Cohen’s hotel room, home and office in April and seized more than 4 million items. The search sought bank records, communications with Trump’s campaign and information on a $130,000 payment to Daniels and a $150,000 one to McDougal. Both women claimed Trump had affairs with them, which he denies. Trump denied to reporters in April that he knew anything about Cohen’s payments to Daniels, though the explanation from the president and his attorney Rudy Giuliani have shifted multiples times since. The president has fumed publicly about what he felt was government overreach, while privately worrying about what material Cohen may have after working for the Trump Organization for a decade. Trump branded the raid “a witch hunt,” an assault on attorney-client privilege and a politically motivated attack by enemies in the FBI. “Obviously it’s not good for Trump,” Sol Wisenberg, who conducted grand jury questioning of President Bill Clinton during the Whitewater investigation, said of Cohen plea bargain. “I’m assuming he’s not going to be indicted because he’s a sitting president, Wisenberg added. “But it leads him closer to ultimate impeachment proceedings, particularly if the Democrats take back the House.” The Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel, which provides legal advice and guidance to executive branch agencies, has held that a president cannot be indicted while in office. Trump’s lawyers have said that Mueller plans to adhere to that guidance, though Mueller’s office has never confirmed that. There would presumably be no bar against charging a president after he leaves the White House. Laurie Levenson, a former federal prosecutor and professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, noted that the deal does not require Cohen to cooperate, but does not preclude it from happening, which should be worrying to the president and his allies. “What it shows is that the people close to the president have criminal exposure and it may mean they don’t need Cohen to cooperate,” she said. Levenson argued that the deal also knocks back the argument that the investigations swirling around Trump are a “witch hunt.” “No longer can you say Mueller is on a witch hunt when you have his own lawyer pleading guilty to things that were designed to impact the election,” she said. Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff of California, a member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, said in a statement: “The factual basis of the plea, potentially implicating the president in illegal campaign finance violations, adds to the president’s legal jeopardy.” Mueller’s team, which is looking into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, came across the some of the evidence against Cohen in the course of its investigation and referred the matter to federal prosecutors in New York. Deputy U.S. Attorney Robert Khuzami said that in addition to the campaign finance violations, Cohen failed to report more than $4 million in income between 2012 and 2016, including about $2.5 million from interest payments on a personal loan and $1.3 million from his taxi medallion holdings. Cohen also lied to a financial institution by failing to disclose more than $14 million in debt and obtaining a $500,000 home equity line of credit he wasn’t entitled to, Khuzami said. After making the hush money payments, Cohen submitted phony invoices to Trump’s company, ostensibly for services rendered in 2017, the prosecutor said. “Those involves were a sham,” Khuzami said. “He provided no legal services for the year 2017. It was simply a means to obtain reimbursement for the unlawful contributions.” Before the election, Cohen had been a trusted member of the Trump organization, working out of an office in Trump Tower next to one used by his boss. He raised millions for Trump’s campaign and, after being interviewed by the House Intelligence Committee last year, told Vanity Fair that Trump had no part in the suspected Russian conspiracy to tamper with the election. The president’s initial support for Cohen after the raid soon degenerated into a public feud, prompting speculation that, to save himself, Cohen might be willing to tell prosecutors some of the secrets he helped Trump keep. When Cohen’s team produced a recording he had made of Trump discussing one of the hush-money payments, Trump tweeted: “What kind of lawyer would tape a client? So sad!” ||||| NEW YORK (AP) — Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer and fixer, pleaded guilty Tuesday to campaign-finance violations and other charges, saying Trump directed him to arrange the payment of hush money to porn star Stormy Daniels and a former Playboy model to influence the election. Cohen’s account appears to implicate Trump himself in a crime, though whether — or when — a president can be prosecuted remains a matter of legal dispute. The guilty plea was part of a double dose of bad news for Trump: It came at almost the same moment his former campaign chairman Paul Manafort was convicted in Alexandria, Virginia, of eight financial crimes in the first trial to come out of special counsel Robert Mueller’s sprawling Russia investigation. In a deal reached with federal prosecutors, Cohen, 51, pleaded guilty to eight counts, including tax evasion. He could get about four to five years in prison at sentencing Dec. 12. In entering the plea, Cohen did not name the two women or even Trump, recounting instead that he worked with an “unnamed candidate.” But the amounts and the dates all lined up with the $130,000 paid to Daniels and the $150,000 that went to Playboy Playmate Karen McDougal to buy their silence in the weeks and months leading up to the 2016 White House election. Both women claimed to have had affairs with Trump, which he denies. Cohen, his voice shaky as he answered questions from a federal judge, said one payment was “in coordination and at the direction of a candidate for federal office,” and the other was made “under direction of the same candidate.” Daniel Petalas, a former prosecutor in the Justice Department’s public integrity section, said, “This brings President Trump closer into the criminal conduct.” “The president has certain protections while a sitting president, but if it were true, and he was aware and tried to influence an election, that could be a federal felony offense,” Petalas said. “This strikes close to home.” However, in the charging documents, a news release and comments outside the courthouse, prosecutors did not go as far as Cohen did in open court in pointing the finger at the president. Prosecutors said Cohen acted “in coordination with a candidate or campaign for federal office for purposes of influencing the election.” As cable networks were showing split-screen coverage of the conviction and plea bargain by two of his former loyalists, Trump himself boarded Air Force One on his way to a rally in West Virginia and ignored shouted questions about the men. Trump’s personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, noted in a statement that “there is no allegation of any wrongdoing against the president in the government’s charges against Mr. Cohen.” After the court hearing, which ended with Cohen released on $500,000 bail, the lawyer wiped away tears as he gazed out a courthouse window. He left the building and headed straight for a black SUV with tinted windows. A couple of people outside chanted, “Lock him up!” as they recorded the scene with their phones. Under federal law, expenditures to protect a candidate’s political fortunes can be construed as campaign contributions, subject to federal laws that bar donations from corporations and set limits on how much can be given. “If those payments were a crime for Michael Cohen, then why wouldn’t they be a crime for Donald Trump?” Cohen’s lawyer, Lanny Davis, tweeted. Cohen’s plea follows months of scrutiny from federal investigations and a falling-out with the president, for whom Cohen once said he would “take a bullet.” The FBI raided Cohen’s hotel room, home and office in April and seized more than 4 million items. The search sought bank records, communications with Trump’s campaign and information on the payments to the two women. According to prosecutors, the payment to McDougal was made through the parent company of the National Enquirer. Cohen made the payment to Daniels through his own company and then was reimbursed by Trump, he said. Trump denied to reporters in April that he knew anything about Cohen’s payments to Daniels, but the explanations from him and Giuliani have shifted multiple times since. The president has fumed publicly about the raid, branding it “a witch hunt,” an assault on attorney-client privilege and a politically motivated attack by enemies in the FBI. But privately he has worried about what information Cohen may have after working for the Trump Organization for a decade. “Obviously it’s not good for Trump,” Sol Wisenberg, who conducted grand jury questioning of President Bill Clinton during the Whitewater investigation, said of the plea bargain. “I’m assuming he’s not going to be indicted because he’s a sitting president, Wisenberg added. “But it leads him closer to ultimate impeachment proceedings, particularly if the Democrats take back the House.” The Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel has held that a president cannot be indicted while in office. Trump’s lawyers have said that Mueller plans to adhere to that guidance, though Mueller’s office has never confirmed that. There would presumably be no bar against charging a president after he leaves the White House. Daniels said Tuesday that she and her lawyer, Michael Avenatti, feel vindicated and look forward to apologies “from the people who claimed we were wrong.” Nothing made public so far indicates Cohen has agreed to cooperate with prosecutors, but Avenatti said he is certain that is happening. Mueller’s team, which is looking into Russian interference in the presidential election, came across some of the evidence against Cohen in the course of its investigation and referred the matter to federal prosecutors in New York. Deputy U.S. Attorney Robert Khuzami said that in addition to the campaign finance violations, Cohen failed to report more than $4 million in income between 2012 and 2016, including $1.3 million from his taxi medallion holdings. Cohen also lied to a financial institution by failing to disclose more than $14 million in debt and obtaining a $500,000 home equity line of credit he wasn’t entitled to, Khuzami said. Cohen used that credit line to fund the Daniels payment, prosecutors said. After making the hush money payments, Cohen submitted phony invoices to Trump’s company, ostensibly for services rendered in 2017, the prosecutor said. “Those involves were a sham,” Khuzami said. “He provided no legal services for the year 2017. It was simply a means to obtain reimbursement for the unlawful contributions.” Before the election, Cohen had been a trusted member of the Trump organization, working out of an office in Trump Tower next to one used by his boss. He raised millions for Trump’s campaign. The president’s initial support for Cohen after the raid soon degenerated into a public feud, with Cohen hinting he might cut a deal with prosecutors. When Cohen’s team produced a recording he had made of Trump discussing one of the hush-money payments, Trump tweeted: “What kind of lawyer would tape a client? So sad!” Associated Press writers Tom Hays, Stephen R. Groves and Michael R. Sisak in New York; Jonathan Lemire and Catherine Lucey in Washington; and Michael Balsamo in Los Angeles contributed to this report.
• Trump’s Ex Campaign Manager Paul Manafort Guilty On Eight Charges
• Cop Allegedly Says He Has His Gun Pulled ‘Because You’re Not White’ [Video] SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER: LIKE US ON FACEBOOK. FOLLOW US ON TWITTER AND INSTAGRAM ||||| Yana Paskova/Getty Images(NEW YORK) — Michael Cohen, the former longtime fixer and personal attorney for Donald Trump, appeared in federal court Tuesday afternoon, pleaded guilty to eight counts and said in open court that he made illegal campaign contributions “in coordination and at the direction of a candidate for federal office.” The campaign finance violations are associated with Cohen’s role in alleged hush money agreements with two women, Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal, who claim to have had affairs with Trump. The “candidate” Cohen referred to was not named in court but the criminal information identifies Cohen as the personal attorney “to Individual-1, who at that point had become the President of the United States.” The information states that Cohen made a contribution to “Individual-1” and “did so by making and causing to be made an expenditure, in cooperation, consultation, and concert with, and at the request and suggestion of one or more members of the campaign, to wit, COHEN made a $130,000 payment to Woman-2 to ensure that she not publicize damaging allegation before the 2016 presidential election and thereby influence that election.” “I participated in this conduct for the principal purpose” of influencing an election, Cohen said. The president’s current personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, was quick to react. “There is no allegation of any wrongdoing against the President in the government’s charges against Mr. Cohen. It is clear that, as the prosecutor noted, Mr. Cohen’s actions reflect a pattern of lies and dishonesty over a significant period of time,” Giuliani said in a statement. An attorney for Cohen, Lanny Davis, issued a statement as well. “Michael Cohen took this step today so that his family can move on to the next chapter,” he said. “This is Michael fulfilling his promise made on July 2nd to put his family and country first and tell the truth about Donald Trump,” Davis continued, referring to comments Cohen made in an interview with ABC News Chief Anchor George Stephanopoulos. “Today he stood up and testified under oath that Donald Trump directed him to commit a crime by making payments to two women for the principal purpose of influencing an election. If those payments were a crime for Michael Cohen, then why wouldn’t they be a crime for Donald Trump?” Davis said. Cohen had agreed to a deal with federal prosecutors in New York that required him to plead guilty to the violations of campaign finance law as well as several felony charges of bank fraud and tax evasion. The tax charges stem from Cohen’s personal business dealings and investments in real estate and the taxi industry. When the federal judge asked Cohen if he understood that he could get a maximum sentence of 65 years in prison if sentenced consecutively, Cohen said “yes.” The government estimates Cohen would face some significant prison time under the deal, which will also require Cohen to make a substantial monetary forfeiture. Though Cohen has been for weeks publicly signaling a willingness to consider a cooperation pact with authorities, it is unclear if there is a provision in the deal that requires Cohen to cooperate in ongoing federal investigations, either in New York or in Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. There was no immediate indication of a cooperation agreement with the government — but the absence of a cooperation deal – while it would be notable – would not completely eliminate the possibility that Cohen could subsequently provide information to investigators that might result in a more lenient sentence. Given Cohen’s proximity to Trump during the past decade, including throughout his meteoric rise from mogul and reality television star to the White House, observers consider him one of most potent legal thorns to confront Trump’s presidency since he took office. “The guy who knows where all the bodies are buried,” said Seth Hettena, an author and veteran journalist who has chronicled Trump’s business career. The investigation into Cohen was referred to New York’s Southern District by special counsel Robert Mueller, and if Cohen agrees to cooperate, the information he provides could benefit the investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election. But it remains unclear if he has committed to cooperate. Cohen’s relationship with Trump dates to the mid-2000’s after Cohen, who owned condominiums in multiple Trump buildings in New York, took Trump’s side in a legal dispute with the condo board at Trump World Tower on Manhattan’s East Side. Cohen eventually went to work for the Trump Organization, where he held the positions of executive vice president and special counsel to Donald J. Trump. “Michael Cohen has great insight into the real estate market,” Trump said of Cohen in a 2007 New York Post interview. “He has invested in my buildings because he likes to make money – and he does.” In addition to working inside the Trump Organization as a lawyer and problem solver, Cohen built a diverse portfolio of investments. At one point that included running 260 yellow cabs with a Ukrainian-born partner – a partnership that ended in 2012. He also invested millions in real estate, often turning a tidy profit. For instance, a building he bought in 2011 on the Lower East Side of Manhattan for $2.1 million, sold three years later for $10 million in cash. The FBI raid on Cohen’s home and office in April gave the most significant indication his business dealings could become a legal problem for him. Then in May, Evgeny Friedman, 46, a Russian immigrant known as the “Taxi King,” struck a plea deal that included a commitment to assist federal prosecutors investigating Cohen’s business practices. At the time, veteran defense attorney Michael Volkov, who is not tied to this case, told ABC News he thought that spelled trouble for Cohen’s legal prospects. “The government now has a strong inside witness who can assist in explaining many of Cohen’s business activities and potential fraud schemes, especially when it came to valuing the medallions for loan purposes,” Volkov said at the time. In a Tweet shortly after Friedman’s plea arrangement, Cohen sought to distance himself from Friedman. “I am one of thousands of medallion owners who entrust management companies to operate my medallions according to the rules of the NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission,” Cohen wrote. “Gene Freidman and I are not partners and have never been partners in this business or any other.” Hettena, author of the book Trump/Russia: A Definitive History, said Cohen’s legal trouble is not a surprise to anyone who closely studied his legal career. “This is a pattern with him,” Hettena said. “This is a guy who is willing to cut corners. To bend rules. Whatever is going to help whatever interest he is serving.” For more than a decade around the office in Trump Tower – and around New York – Cohen’s loyalty to Trump was unquestioned as he developed a reputation as Trump’s “pit bull.” “It means that if somebody does something Mr. Trump doesn’t like, I do everything in my power to resolve it to Mr. Trump’s benefit,” Cohen said in a 2011 interview with ABC News. “If you do something wrong, I’m going to come at you, grab you by the neck and I’m not going to let you go until I’m finished.” In 2010, Cohen was among the creators of a website, ShouldTrumpRun.org, that sought to encourage the New York real estate tycoon and reality television star to pursue a challenge to President Barrack Obama in the 2012 election. “I think the world of [Trump],” Cohen told ABC News in the 2011 interview. “I respect him as a businessman, and I respect him as a boss.” Cohen’s dealings at the Trump family business covers a broad sweep of its global empire – including several projects that have caught the attention of federal investigators. Cohen played an integral role in early discussions about a possible Trump Tower in Moscow – negotiations that were going on during the early months of the 2016 presidential campaign. Cohen has confirmed he attended a lunch meeting with a Ukrainian politician one week after Trump took office, where the two men discussed the potential for Cohen to share a Ukraine peace proposal with his contacts at the White House. “He could be extremely valuable,” said Matthew G. Olsen, a former federal prosecutor and ABC News contributor. “He was not just a personal lawyer but also was President Trump’s so-called fixer for a number of years. So he would have had access to lots of very personal information involving his business dealings.” Cohen’s name appeared repeatedly in the now infamous dossier of unverified allegations, which included salacious claims about Trump, prepared by former British intelligence agent Christopher Steele. The agent, who was hired by Fusion GPS, an opposition research firm that was paid initially by Republicans and later by Democrats, alleged in the dossier that Cohen was involved in attempting to covering up contacts between Russian operatives and members of Trump campaign, according to the document. In January, he tweeted “Enough is enough of the #fake #RussianDossier” before filing a lawsuit against Buzzfeed, the news outlet that first published the document – a suit he later withdrew. In January – the Wall Street Journal first revealed Cohen’s role in negotiating a secret non-disclosure agreement with adult-film actress Stephanie Clifford, aka Stormy Daniels. The deal – which was executed less than two weeks prior to the November presidential election – paid Daniels $130,000 in exchange for her silence. Government watchdog groups quickly filed complaints with the Federal Election Commission and the Department of Justice, asking the agencies to investigate for possible violations of campaign finance law. Following the disclosure of the Daniels’ deal, Cohen insisted that he had acted on his own in the Daniels deal and that he had not been reimbursed by the campaign or the Trump Organization. He told ABC News that the funds used to pay Daniels came from an existing home equity line of credit. Two sources familiar with the search warrant that led to the raids on Cohen properties told ABC News in April that federal agents were hunting for records tied to Cohen’s personal business dealings and secret deals with Trump’s alleged mistresses, media organizations during the 2016 presidential campaign. On April 5, four days before the authorities raided Cohen’s properties in New York, President Trump told reporters on Air Force One that he didn’t know why Cohen had paid Daniels or where he had gotten the money to pay her. The president later acknowledged, in a financial disclosure form filed last month with the Office of Government Ethics, that he had reimbursed Cohen. Then there is Karen McDougal, who in August 2016 signed a $150,000 deal with American Media Inc., the publisher of the National Enquirer, that transferred to the company the rights to her story of an alleged ten-month romantic affair with Trump in 2006. The magazine never published her story. McDougal alleged in a lawsuit filed earlier this year that Cohen had allegedly conspired with her former attorney to bury the story. McDougal settled her lawsuit. President Trump, through his representatives, has denied the allegations of McDougal and Daniels. ||||| Federal investigators are examining whether President Donald Trump's former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, committed bank and tax fraud worth more than $20 million, according to a media report. The New York Times, citing anonymous sources, said authorities were focusing on loans obtained for taxi businesses owned by Cohen and his family. The bank loans under examination were provided by Sterling National Bank and Melrose Credit Union, the Times reported. Investigators are looking into whether Cohen obtained the loans by misrepresenting his assets. Investigators were also considering whether Cohen had violated campaign finance and other laws when he made financial arrangements to pay women to stay silent about alleged affairs with then-candidate Trump in 2016. Prosecutors may file charges by the end of August, two sources told the Times. Cohen, who long served as Trump's fixer, has been under investigation for months. In April, federal investigators for the Southern District of New York seized roughly 4 million files from Cohen's home, business office and hotel room. Last week, a court-appointed special master who reviewed the material said investigators would have access to most of those records. More: Feds win access to records seized from ex-Trump lawyer Michael Cohen More: Michael Cohen tapes: Here's what we know about the secret recordings The investigation has ruptured the once close relationship between Cohen and Trump. In July, Cohen reportedly said the president had been aware of a 2016 meeting at Trump Tower to obtain damaging about Hillary Clinton. Cohen also released a tape in which he and Trump discuss buying the rights of former Playboy model Karen McDougal's story about having an affair with Trump. ||||| NEW YORK (AP) — The unveiling of federal criminal charges against President Donald Trump's former personal lawyer came with drama as attorney Michael Cohen went farther than prosecutors were willing to go in pointing fingers. Not only did Cohen plead guilty to all eight charges, but he directly implicated the president in the payment of hush money to two women who claim they had affairs with him. How did the court appearance play out and what are the implications? Some questions and answers: Cohen, Trump's longtime "fixer," claimed his ex-boss — described only as the "candidate," was to blame for hush money paid to porn star Stormy Daniels and a former Playboy model to influence the 2016 election. He told U.S. District Judge William H. Pauley III that he arranged a $150,000 payment from a media company to the model "in coordination with, and at the direction of, a candidate for federal office." He said it was "for the principle purpose of influencing the election." In the second instance, Cohen said he arranged a $130,000 payment to Daniels "in coordination with, and at the direction of, the same candidate." The emotional Cohen, who shook his head repeatedly during the 40-minute proceeding and cried outside court, did not name the two women either. But the amounts and the dates all lined up with payments made to Daniels and Playboy Playmate Karen McDougal in the weeks and months leading up to the presidential election. Other charges included tax evasion and making false statements to a bank. A plea agreement with prosecutors calls for Cohen, 51, to get about four to five years in prison at his sentencing, which is scheduled for Dec. 12. He remains free in the meantime. Before the guilty plea, speculation swirled about whether Cohen could deliver more dirt on his former boss as part of the deal. His legal team, as if to prove his value, took the unusual step of going public with a tape recording his client made of Trump discussing one of the hush-money payments. But a plea agreement Cohen signed on Tuesday made no mention of cooperation. By contrast, the agreement struck last year with Trump's former national security advisor, Michael Flynn, spelled out that he had to fully cooperate with the expectation he could be rewarded with a more lenient sentence. Robert Mintz, a former federal prosecutor now in private practice, said there's still a chance that Cohen could be cooperating under a separate agreement that's under seal. "For a variety of reasons, prosecutors may not want to announce to the world that a defendant has agreed to cooperate," he said. Still, he added, prosecutors also could "have concluded that any additional information that he could provide beyond his public statements doesn't rise to the level of substantial assistance." WHAT WAS THE REACTION TO COHEN'S GUILTY PLEA? As cable networks were showing split-screen coverage of the dueling conviction and plea bargain by two former loyalists, Trump boarded Air Force One in the afternoon on the way to a rally in West Virginia. He ignored shouted questions from reporters about both former aides, retreating to his private stateroom on the airliner. As Cohen left the courthouse, a couple of people outside chanted, "Lock him up!" "If those payments were a crime for Michael Cohen, then why wouldn't they be a crime for Donald Trump?" Cohen's lawyer, Lanny Davis, tweeted. Daniel Petalas, former prosecutor in the Justice Department's public integrity section, said, "This brings President Trump closer into the criminal conduct." Michael Avenatti says Cohen's plea should open the door to questioning Trump about "what he knew, when he knew it, and what he did about it." Avenatti told The Associated Press that he was certain "cooperation was occurring" between Cohen and prosecutors, saying he had been made "very familiar" with what's going on. Laurie Levenson, a former federal prosecutor and professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, noted the possibility of Cohen cooperating should be worrying to the president and his allies. "What it shows is that the people close to the president have criminal exposure and it may mean they don't need Cohen to cooperate," she said. Associated Press writers Stephen R. Groves and Michael R. Sisak in New York, Jonathan Lemire and Catherine Lucey in Washington and Michael Balsamo in Los Angeles contributed to this report. ||||| NEW YORK (AP) — In his guilty plea, Michael Cohen says hush money payments to women were made “at the direction” of Trump . ||||| Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump's former personal lawyer and fixer, pleaded guilty Tuesday to campaign-finance violations and other charges, saying Trump directed him to arrange the payment of hush money to porn star Stormy Daniels and a former Playboy model to fend off damage to his White House bid.Cohen's extraordinary account marks the first time that any Trump associate has gone into open court and implicated Trump himself in a crime, though whether - or when - a president can be prosecuted remains a matter of legal dispute.The guilty plea was part of a double dose of bad news for Trump: It came at almost the same moment his former campaign chairman Paul Manafort was convicted in Alexandria, Virginia, of eight financial crimes in the first trial to come out of special counsel Robert Mueller's sprawling Russia investigation.In a deal reached with federal prosecutors, Cohen, 51, pleaded guilty to eight counts , including tax evasion. He could get about four to five years in prison at sentencing Dec. 12.In entering the plea, Cohen did not name the two women or even Trump, recounting instead that he worked with an "unnamed candidate" to influence the election.But the amounts and the dates all lined up with the $130,000 paid to Daniels and the $150,000 that went to Playboy Playmate Karen McDougal to buy their silence in the weeks and months leading up to the 2016 presidential election. Both women claimed to have had affairs with Trump, which he denies.Cohen, his voice shaky as he answered questions from a federal judge, said one payment was "in coordination and at the direction of a candidate for federal office," and the other was made "under direction of the same candidate."However, in the charging documents, a news release and comments outside the courthouse, prosecutors did not go as far as Cohen did in open court in pointing the finger at the president. Prosecutors said Cohen acted "in coordination with a candidate or campaign for federal office for purposes of influencing the election."As cable networks were showing split-screen coverage of the conviction and plea bargain by two of his former loyalists, Trump himself boarded Air Force One on his way to a rally in West Virginia and ignored shouted questions about the men.Trump's personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, noted in a statement that "there is no allegation of any wrongdoing against the president in the government's charges against Mr. Cohen."Daniel Petalas, a former prosecutor in the Justice Department's public integrity section, said, "This brings President Trump closer into the criminal conduct.""The president has certain protections while a sitting president, but if it were true, and he was aware and tried to influence an election, that could be a federal felony offense," Petalas said. "This strikes close to home."After the court hearing, which ended with Cohen released on $500,000 bail, the lawyer wiped away tears as he gazed out a courthouse window. He left the building and headed straight for a black SUV with tinted windows. A couple of people outside chanted, "Lock him up!" as they recorded the scene with their phones.Under federal law, expenditures to protect a candidate's political fortunes can be construed to be campaign contributions, subject to federal laws that bar donations from corporations and set limits on how much can be given."If those payments were a crime for Michael Cohen, then why wouldn't they be a crime for Donald Trump?" Cohen's lawyer, Lanny Davis, tweeted.Cohen's plea follows months of scrutiny from federal investigations and a falling-out with the president, for whom Cohen once said he would "take a bullet."The FBI raided Cohen's hotel room, home and office in April and seized more than 4 million items. The search sought bank records, communications with Trump's campaign and information on the payments to the two women.According to prosecutors, the payment to McDougal was made through the parent company of the National Enquirer. Cohen made the payment to Daniels through his own company and then was reimbursed by Trump, he said.Trump denied to reporters in April that he knew anything about Cohen's payments to Daniels, but the explanations from him and Giuliani have shifted multiple times since.The president has fumed publicly about the raid, branding it "a witch hunt," an assault on attorney-client privilege and a politically motivated attack by enemies in the FBI. But privately he has worried about what information Cohen may have after working for the Trump Organization for a decade."Obviously it's not good for Trump," Sol Wisenberg, who conducted grand jury questioning of President Bill Clinton during the Whitewater investigation, said of the plea bargain."I'm assuming he's not going to be indicted because he's a sitting president, Wisenberg added. "But it leads him closer to ultimate impeachment proceedings, particularly if the Democrats take back the House."The Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel has held that a president cannot be indicted while in office. Trump's lawyers have said that Mueller plans to adhere to that guidance, though Mueller's office has never confirmed that. There would presumably be no bar against charging a president after he leaves the White House.Daniels said Tuesday that she and her lawyer, Michael Avenatti, feel vindicated and look forward to apologies "from the people who claimed we were wrong."Nothing made public so far indicates Cohen has agreed to cooperate with prosecutors, but Avenatti said he is certain that is happening.Mueller's team, which is looking into Russian interference in the presidential election, came across some of the evidence against Cohen in the course of its investigation and referred the matter to federal prosecutors in New York.Late Tuesday, Cohen's lawyer told MSNBC's Rachel Maddow that Cohen has knowledge on certain subjects that should be of interest to Mueller and is "more than happy to tell the special counsel all that he knows."Deputy U.S. Attorney Robert Khuzami said that in addition to the campaign finance violations, Cohen failed to report more than $4 million in income between 2012 and 2016, including $1.3 million from his taxi medallion holdings.Cohen also lied to a financial institution by failing to disclose more than $14 million in debt and obtaining a $500,000 home equity line of credit he wasn't entitled to, Khuzami said. Cohen used that credit line to fund the Daniels payment, prosecutors said.After making the hush money payments, Cohen submitted phony invoices to Trump's company, ostensibly for services rendered in 2017, the prosecutor said."Those involves were a sham," Khuzami said. "He provided no legal services for the year 2017. It was simply a means to obtain reimbursement for the unlawful contributions."Before the election, Cohen had been a trusted member of the Trump organization, working out of an office in Trump Tower next to one used by his boss. He raised millions for Trump's campaign.The president's initial support for Cohen after the raid soon degenerated into a public feud, with Cohen hinting he might cut a deal with prosecutors.When Cohen's team produced a recording he had made of Trump discussing one of the hush-money payments, Trump tweeted: "What kind of lawyer would tape a client? So sad!"---------- ||||| In his guilty plea, Michael Cohen says hush money payments to women were made "at the direction" of Trump NEW YORK (AP) — In his guilty plea, Michael Cohen says hush money payments to women were made "at the direction" of Trump . | Michael Cohen, the ex-lawyer of U.S. President Donald Trump, pleads guilty to eight felony financial charges. He admits that a $150,000 hush money payment in August 2016, "at the direction" of an unnamed candidate, was for the "principal purpose of influencing" the 2016 presidential election. He is released on $500,000 bail until his sentencing on December 12. He faces up to 65 years, though prosecutors recommend 46 to 63 months. |
(CNN) The man accused of pursuing and killing 20-year-old Mollie Tibbetts had worked four years at an Iowa dairy farm based on false identification, his employer said Wednesday. "What we learned in the last 24 hours is that our employee was not who he said he was," said Dane Lang, the co-owner and manager of Yarrabee Farms. That revelation came about an hour after the employee, Cristhian Bahena Rivera, was arraigned on a first-degree murder charge for the killing of Tibbetts. His bond was set at $5 million and his next court hearing is scheduled for August 31. Tibbetts went missing last month after going out for an evening run in Brooklyn, Iowa, and her disappearance launched an extensive search in the region. On Tuesday, Rivera -- who confessed to following her as she ran on a country road -- led authorities to the field where a body believed to be hers was buried under corn stalks, officials said. Rivera, a 24-year-old Mexican man who officials said came to the US illegally, largely remained silent in court, answering yes or no questions in Spanish through an interpreter. His defense attorney, Allan Richards, said Rivera came to the US as a minor, held a job in the community and has no prior criminal record. What we know about the suspect Cristhian Rivera was charged with the murder of Mollie Tibbetts, a 20-year-old college student, in an Iowa court on Wednesday, August 22, 2018. Rivera worked for the past four years at Yarrabee Farms. In applying for the job, Rivera provided a state ID and Social Security card that was verified through the Social Security Administration's verification system, according to Lang. But those forms of ID were not of Rivera, he said. "All of us are saddened by the tragic death of Mollie and the realization that one of our coworkers was involved," he said. Lang said that Rivera was an employee in good standing who came to work on time and got along with his coworkers. Neither he nor his employees noticed anything suspicious about Rivera's behavior after Tibbetts vanished, he said. "This guy stayed around for 35 days after he did this," Lang said. "Nobody noticed anything different." Yarrabee Farms is owned in part by Craig Lang, a prominent Iowa Republican who ran for Iowa secretary of agriculture this summer. US Citizenship and Immigration Services spokesperson Michael Bars told CNN that Rivera did not make any requests for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, that might have provided him legal status in the US. "We have found no record in our systems indicating he has any lawful immigration status," Bars said. Officials did not explain why Rivera killed Tibbetts, said Rick Rahn, special agent in charge at the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation. "I can't really speak to you about the motive," Rahn said. "I can just tell you it seems that he followed her and seemed to be drawn to her on that particular day and for whatever reason he chose to abduct her." Tibbetts' family speaks out Tibbetts' family released a statement Wednesday thanking their supporters and asking for privacy. "Our hearts are broken. On behalf of Mollie's entire family, we thank all of those from around the world who have sent their thoughts and prayers for our girl. We know that many of you will join us as we continue to carry Mollie in our hearts forever," the family said. "At this time, our family asks that we be allowed the time to process our devastating loss and share our grief in private. Again, thank you for the outpouring of love and support that has been shared in Mollie's name. We remain forever grateful." An autopsy to determine when and how Tibbetts died is planned for Wednesday. The final autopsy results are expected in four-eight weeks, although some preliminary results may be available in the next few days, according to Mitch Mortvedt, assistant director of the Iowa Department of Public Safety. A monthlong search Mollie Tibbetts, here with her father, disappeared on an evening jog on July 18. Tibbetts was studying psychology at the University of Iowa and wanted to get a doctorate and write books, her father said. Her disappearance set off an extensive search that brought in hundreds of leads but no clues as to where she was. Authorities had been looking for Tibbetts for about a month when they found home surveillance video that showed a car following a woman running on July 18. After watching it for hours, investigators found clues that led them to Rivera. He didn't resist when authorities tried to detain him, Rahn said. According to court documents, the suspect said in an interview that when he approached Tibbetts, she pulled out her cell phone and told Rivera she was going to "call the police" and that caused him to get angry. Rivera alleged he blacked out at some point and woke up at an intersection in rural Poweshiek County, court documents state. At that point, he realized he had put the woman in the trunk of his car, and when he took her out, he saw blood on the side of her head, the arrest warrant states. He left the body in a cornfield and covered it with corn leaves, the warrant adds. Rivera led authorities to a corn field on Tuesday morning, where they found a body covered in corn leaves. Tibbetts' clothing was also found at the scene. Suspect came to US illegally Shawn Neudauer, a spokesman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said the agency on Tuesday sent a detainer request to local authorities for Rivera, who is from Mexico. That means ICE could take custody of Rivera if he was released from local custody. President Donald Trump referred to the case while speaking at a rally in Charleston, West Virginia on Tuesday night. Rivera's immigration status was cited by Republican leaders to argue for a change in American immigration policy.President Donald Trump referred to the case while speaking at a rally in Charleston, West Virginia on Tuesday night. "You heard about today with the illegal alien coming in very sadly from Mexico. And you saw what happened to that incredible beautiful young woman. Should have never happened. Illegally in our country," he said. "We've had a huge impact but the laws are so bad, the immigration laws are such a disgrace. We're getting it changed but we have to get more Republicans." ||||| Officials believe they have found the body of Mollie Tibbetts, a student at Iowa who had been missing for more than a month. Officials believe they have found the body of Mollie Tibbetts, a student at Iowa who had been missing for more than a month. Investigators believe they have found the body of Mollie Tibbetts, a University of Iowa student who has been missing for more than a month. (Source: Iowa Department of Criminal Investigation via AP, File) MONTEZUMA, Iowa (AP) - A man from Mexico living in the U.S. illegally has confessed to kidnapping college student Mollie Tibbetts while she was running in her small Iowa hometown, killing her and dumping her body in a cornfield, authorities said Tuesday. Cristhian Bahena Rivera, 24, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder in the death of Tibbetts, whose July 18 disappearance set off a massive search involving state and federal authorities. Rivera led investigators early Tuesday to a body believed to be Tibbetts in a cornfield about 12 miles (19 kilometers) southeast of Brooklyn, Iowa, where Tibbetts was last seen running, Division of Criminal Investigation special agent Rick Rahn said. "I can't speak about the motive. I can just tell you that it seemed that he followed her, seemed to be drawn to her on that particular day, for whatever reason he chose to abduct her," Rahn told reporters at a news conference outside the sheriff's office in Montezuma, where Rivera was being jailed. The news that the highly publicized and gruesome crime was allegedly committed by a person in the country illegally drew immediate outrage. Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, a Republican, said: "As Iowans, we are heartbroken, and we are angry." "We are angry that a broken immigration system allowed a predator like this to live in our community, and we will do all we can to bring justice to Mollie's killer," she said in a statement. The arrest is likely to spark calls for a further crackdown on illegal immigration, which President Donald Trump has made a core policy of his administration. He often has claimed widespread crime by people living in the country illegally, citing among other things the indictments of 11 suspected MS-13 gang members from El Salvador charged in connection with the slayings of two Virginia teens. Trump also has held events at the White House with members of "angel families," whose relatives were killed by immigrants. Although Trump claims legal U.S. residents are less likely to commit crime, several studies from social scientists and the libertarian think tank Cato Institute find that isn't accurate and states with a higher share of people living in the country illegally have lower violent crime rates. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said that it lodged a federal immigration detainer for Rivera after he was arrested on the murder charge. That move means the agency has probable cause to believe he is subject to deportation. Investigators said they believed Rivera had lived in the area from four to seven years. Rahn declined comment on his employment history, but described Rivera as someone who lived in a rural area and kept to himself. A search of Iowa court records revealed no prior criminal history, and it's unclear whether he had ever been subject to prior deportation proceedings. Rivera's Facebook page described him as being from Guayabillo, a community of less than 500 people in the state of Guerrero. It's about a three-hour drive from the resort city of Acapulco. Investigators said they zeroed in on Rivera after obtaining footage from surveillance cameras in Brooklyn. The footage showed a Chevy Malibu connected to Rivera that was driving back and forth as Tibbetts was running in the area, Rahn said. An affidavit attached to the criminal complaint against Rivera alleged that he admitted to investigators he got out of his car and started running alongside Tibbetts. Tibbetts grabbed her phone and said she was going to call the police. The affidavit says Rivera panicked and then said he blacked out. Rivera next remembers seeing her earphones on his lap, and taking her bloody body out of the trunk of his car, it said. "The defendant further described during the interview that he dragged Tibbetts on foot from his vehicle to a secluded location in a cornfield," the affidavit said. Investigators said they had earlier searched the area for Tibbetts but didn't find her, noting the body was covered by corn stalks when recovered early Tuesday. Rahn said that Rivera was cooperating with investigators and speaking with the help of a translator. He said an autopsy would be performed on the body Wednesday by the state medical examiner's office, which would assist investigators in understanding whether Tibbetts had been assaulted or tried to fight him off. A conviction on first-degree murder carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole in Iowa, which doesn't have the death penalty. On Tuesday night, deputies were guarding a trailer where the suspect had lived on a gravel road outside Brooklyn near a dairy farm. Tibbetts' disappearance set off a massive search involving dozens of officers from the FBI, as well as state and local agencies. They focused much of their efforts in and around Brooklyn, searching farm fields, ponds and homes. Investigators asked anyone who was around five locations, including a car wash, a truck stop and a farm south of town, to report if they saw anything suspicious on July 18. Last week, Vice President Mike Pence met privately with the Tibbetts family during a visit to Iowa and told them that "you're on the hearts of every American." At Brooklyn City Hall, city clerk Sheri Sharer said Tuesday was a sad day for the town. "It never crossed our mind that she wouldn't come home safe," she said. The University of Iowa mourned the loss of Tibbetts, a psychology major who would have started her junior year this week. "We are deeply saddened that we've lost a member of the University of Iowa community," said university official Melissa Shivers, who urged students to seek counseling and other support services as needed. Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. ||||| A man from Mexico living in the U.S. illegally has confessed to kidnapping college student Mollie Tibbetts while she was running in her small Iowa hometown, killing her and dumping her body in a cornfield, authorities said Tuesday. Cristhian Bahena Rivera, 24, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder in the death of the 20-year-old Tibbetts, whose July 18 disappearance set off a massive search involving state and federal authorities. Rivera led investigators early Tuesday to a body believed to be Tibbetts in a cornfield about 19 kilometres southeast of Brooklyn, Iowa, where Tibbetts was last seen running, Division of Criminal Investigation special agent Rick Rahn said. "I can't speak about the motive. I can just tell you that it seemed that he followed her, seemed to be drawn to her on that particular day, for whatever reason he chose to abduct her," Rahn told reporters at a news conference outside the sheriff's office in Montezuma, where Rivera was being held on $1 million US cash-only bond. "You heard about today with the illegal alien coming in, very sadly, from Mexico and you saw what happened to that incredible, beautiful young woman," Trump told the crowd in Charleston. "Should've never happened. Illegally in our country. We've had a huge impact, but the laws are so bad. The immigration laws are such a disgrace, we're getting them changed, but we have to get more Republicans. We have to get 'em." Iowa's two Republican senators also described Tibbetts' death as a tragedy "that could have been prevented," and Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds said residents were heartbroken and angry. "We are angry that a broken immigration system allowed a predator like this to live in our community, and we will do all we can to bring justice to Mollie's killer," Reynolds, a Republican, said in a statement. Trump has made further crackdown on illegal immigration a core policy of his administration. He often has claimed widespread crime by people living in the country illegally, citing among other things the indictments of 11 suspected MS-13 gang members from El Salvador charged in connection with the slayings of two Virginia teens. Trump also has held events at the White House with members of "angel families," whose relatives were killed by immigrants. Although Trump claims legal U.S. residents are less likely to commit crime, several studies from social scientists and the libertarian think-tank Cato Institute find that isn't accurate and states with a higher share of people living in the country illegally have lower violent crime rates. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said that it lodged a federal immigration detainer for Rivera after he was arrested on the murder charge. That move means the agency has probable cause to believe he is subject to deportation. Investigators said they believed Rivera had lived in the area from four to seven years. Rahn declined comment on his employment history, but described Rivera as someone who lived in a rural area and kept to himself. A search of Iowa court records revealed no prior criminal history, and it's unclear whether he had ever been subject to prior deportation proceedings. Rivera's Facebook page described him as being from Guayabillo, a community of less than 500 people in the state of Guerrero. It's about a three-hour drive from the resort city of Acapulco. Investigators said they zeroed in on Rivera after obtaining footage from surveillance cameras in Brooklyn. The footage showed a Chevy Malibu connected to Rivera that was driving back and forth as Tibbetts was running in the area, Rahn said. An affidavit attached to the criminal complaint against Rivera alleged that he admitted to investigators he got out of his car and started running alongside Tibbetts. Tibbetts grabbed her phone and said she was going to call the police. The affidavit says Rivera panicked and then said he blacked out. Rivera next remembers seeing her earphones on his lap, and taking her bloody body out of the trunk of his car, it said. "The defendant further described during the interview that he dragged Tibbetts on foot from his vehicle to a secluded location in a cornfield," the affidavit said. Investigators said they had earlier searched the area for Tibbetts but didn't find her, noting the body was covered by corn stalks when recovered early Tuesday. Rahn said that Rivera was co-operating with investigators and speaking with the help of a translator. He said an autopsy would be performed on the body Wednesday by the state medical examiner's office, which would assist investigators in understanding whether Tibbetts had been assaulted or tried to fight him off. Rivera's initial court appearance is scheduled for 1 p.m. CT Wednesday in Montezuma. A conviction on first-degree murder carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole in Iowa, which doesn't have the death penalty. On Tuesday night, deputies were guarding a trailer where the suspect had lived on a gravel road outside Brooklyn near a dairy farm. Tibbetts's disappearance set off a massive search involving dozens of officers from the FBI, as well as state and local agencies. They focused much of their efforts in and around Brooklyn, searching farm fields, ponds and homes. Investigators asked anyone who was around five locations, including a car wash, a truck stop and a farm south of town, to report if they saw anything suspicious on July 18. Last week, Vice-President Mike Pence met privately with the Tibbetts family during a visit to Iowa and told them that "you're on the hearts of every American." At Brooklyn City Hall, city clerk Sheri Sharer said Tuesday was a sad day for the town. "It never crossed our mind that she wouldn't come home safe," she said. The University of Iowa mourned the loss of Tibbetts, a psychology major who would have started her junior year this week. "We are deeply saddened that we've lost a member of the University of Iowa community," said university official Melissa Shivers, who urged students to seek counselling and other support services as needed. Rahn said he met with the parents and other relatives of Tibbetts to inform them of the arrest Tuesday. He told them that the investigation revealed that they had "raised a great daughter." "We got to know Mollie," he said. "She was a phenomenal individual." ||||| Police: Man in the U.S. illegally charged with murder in the death of Iowa college student Mollie Tibbetts MONTEZUMA, Iowa (AP) — Police: Man in the U.S. illegally charged with murder in the death of Iowa college student Mollie Tibbetts. ||||| The disappearance of a well-liked college student from America’s heartland had touched many people since she vanished one month ago while out for a run. But the stunning news that a Mexican man living in the U.S. illegally has allegedly confessed to kidnapping and murdering her thrust the case into the middle of the contentious immigration debate and midterm elections. President Donald Trump seized on the man’s arrest in the death of Mollie Tibbetts on Tuesday to call the nation’s immigration laws “a disgrace” that will only be fixed by electing more Republicans. Iowa’s Republican governor, facing a tough re-election challenge in November, blasted an immigration system that “allowed a predator like this to live in our community.” And Iowa’s two GOP U.S. senators called the death a tragedy that “could have been prevented.” Cristhian Bahena Rivera, 24, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder in the death of the 20-year-old Tibbetts, whose July 18 disappearance set off a massive search involving state and federal authorities. Rivera led investigators early Tuesday to a body believed to be Tibbetts in a cornfield about 19 kilometres southeast of Brooklyn, Iowa, where Tibbetts was last seen going for a routine evening run, Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation special agent Rick Rahn said. “I can’t speak about the motive. I can just tell you that it seemed that he followed her, seemed to be drawn to her on that particular day, for whatever reason he chose to abduct her,” Rahn told reporters at a news conference outside the sheriff’s office in Montezuma, where Rivera was jailed on $1 million cash-only bond. Within hours, Trump noted the arrest at a rally in West Virginia on a day when his former personal lawyer and ex-campaign chairman both faced major legal problems. “You heard about today with the illegal alien coming in, very sadly, from Mexico and you saw what happened to that incredible, beautiful young woman,” Trump told the crowd in Charleston. “Should’ve never happened. Illegally in our country. We’ve had a huge impact, but the laws are so bad. The immigration laws are such a disgrace, we’re getting them changed, but we have to get more Republicans. We have to get ’em.” Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds said residents were heartbroken and angry. U.S. Sens. Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst vowed: “We cannot allow these tragedies to continue.” Trump has made further crackdown on illegal immigration a core policy of his administration. He often has claimed widespread crime by people living in the country illegally, citing among other things the indictments of 11 suspected MS-13 gang members from El Salvador charged in connection with the slayings of two Virginia teens. Trump also has held events at the White House with members of “angel families,” whose relatives were killed by immigrants. Although Trump claims legal U.S. residents are less likely to commit crime, several studies from social scientists and the libertarian think-tank Cato Institute find that isn’t accurate and that states with a higher share of people living in the country illegally have lower violent crime rates. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said it lodged a federal immigration detainer for Rivera after he was arrested on the murder charge. That move means the agency has probable cause to believe he is subject to deportation. Investigators said they believed Rivera had lived in the area from four to seven years. WATCH: Iowa authorities say Cristhian Rivera was charged with murder in the death of Mollie Tibbetts In a statement late Tuesday, Yarrabee Farms said Rivera had worked at its farms for the last four years and was an employee in good standing. The Brooklyn-based company said it was shocked to hear that Rivera was charged in Tibbetts’ death. Yarrabee Farms is owned by the family of Craig Lang, a prominent Republican who previously served as president of the Iowa Farm Bureau. A search of Iowa court records revealed no prior criminal history, and it’s unclear whether he had ever been subject to prior deportation proceedings. Rivera’s Facebook page described him as being from Guayabillo, a community of less than 500 people in the Mexican state of Guerrero. It’s about a three-hour drive from the resort city of Acapulco. Investigators said they zeroed in on Rivera after obtaining footage from surveillance cameras in Brooklyn. The footage showed a Chevy Malibu connected to Rivera that was driving back and forth as Tibbetts was running in the area, Rahn said. An affidavit attached to the criminal complaint against Rivera alleged that he admitted to investigators he got out of his car and started running alongside Tibbetts. Tibbetts grabbed her phone and said she was going to call the police. The affidavit said Rivera panicked and then said he blacked out. Rivera next remembers seeing her earphones on his lap, and taking her bloody body out of the trunk of his car, it said. “The defendant further described during the interview that he dragged Tibbetts on foot from his vehicle to a secluded location in a cornfield,” the affidavit said. Investigators said they had earlier searched the area for Tibbetts but didn’t find her, noting the body was covered by corn stalks when recovered early Tuesday. READ MORE: Trump administration halts policy of turning over immigrant parents to prosecutors Rahn said Rivera was co-operating with investigators and speaking with the help of a translator. He said an autopsy would be performed on the body Wednesday by the state medical examiner’s office, which would assist investigators in understanding whether Tibbetts had been assaulted or tried to fight him off. Rivera’s initial court appearance is scheduled for 1 p.m. Wednesday in Montezuma. A conviction on first-degree murder carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole in Iowa, which doesn’t have the death penalty. Tibbetts’ disappearance set off a massive search involving dozens of officers from the FBI, as well as state and local agencies. They focused much of their efforts in and around Brooklyn, searching farm fields, ponds and homes. Investigators asked anyone who was around five locations, including a car wash, a truck stop and a farm south of town, to report if they saw anything suspicious on July 18. Last week, Vice-President Mike Pence met privately with the Tibbetts family during a visit to Iowa and told them that “you’re on the hearts of every American.” At Brooklyn City Hall, city clerk Sheri Sharer said Tuesday was a sad day for the town. “It never crossed our mind that she wouldn’t come home safe,” she said. The University of Iowa mourned the loss of Tibbetts, a psychology major who would have started her junior year this week. “We are deeply saddened that we’ve lost a member of the University of Iowa community,” said university official Melissa Shivers, who urged students to seek counselling and other support services as needed. Rahn said he met with the parents and other relatives of Tibbetts to inform them of the arrest Tuesday. He told them that the investigation revealed that they had “raised a great daughter.” “We got to know Mollie,” he said. “She was a phenomenal individual.” ||||| (Reuters) - A 24-year-old farm worker charged with the murder of an Iowa college student who disappeared while jogging is in the country legally, contrary to the claims of prosecutors that he was an illegal immigrant, his attorneys said on Wednesday. Attorneys for Cristhian Rivera made the assertion in a motion seeking a gag order for his upcoming court proceedings and trial over the murder of 20-year-old Mollie Tibbetts, a case that has drawn extensive international news coverage. “The government is promoting the idea that Cristhian is not present in this jurisdiction legally,” defense attorney Allan Richards said in the court documents, adding that such comments would prejudice his right to a fair trial. “Former leader of Iowa’s educational system (The Iowa Board of Regents) Craig Lang has verified that Cristhian is in this jurisdiction legally,” Richards wrote. “Cristhian has complied with his documented status since arriving in the USA as a minor.” Representatives for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the claim by Rivera’s attorneys. Rick Rahn, special agent in charge of the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, told reporters following Rivera’s arrest on Monday that he was in the country illegally and that investigators believed he was from Mexico. On Tuesday evening, U.S. President Donald Trump made an apparent reference to the case during a campaign speech in West Virginia. “You heard about today with the illegal alien coming in, very sadly, from Mexico and you saw what happened to that incredible, beautiful young woman,” said Trump, without naming Rivera or Tibbetts specifically. Rivera was taken into custody on Monday after police said he was identified in security video taken from a camera outside a house in Brooklyn, Iowa, where Tibbetts was last seen alive. Rivera’s black Chevrolet Malibu appeared in the video, helping lead investigators to him, Rahn said. Tibbetts is also seen jogging in one of the clips from the surveillance camera, Rahn said. The July disappearance of Tibbetts, who attended the University of Iowa, touched off a massive search and international headlines. A woman’s body was found in a cornfield about 10 miles from Brooklyn, where Tibbetts was staying at her boyfriend’s residence, authorities said on Tuesday. No positive identification has yet been made on the remains, as of Wednesday afternoon, said Mitch Mortvedt, spokesman for the Iowa Department of Public Safety, by telephone. ||||| The Latest: Suspect to appear in court in Iowa woman's death MONTEZUMA, Iowa (AP) — The Latest on a man in the U.S. illegally who is accused in the kidnapping and killing of an Iowa college student (all times local): The man charged in the kidnapping and killing of an Iowa college student is expected to make his initial court appearance Wednesday afternoon. Cristhian Bahena Rivera is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Mollie Tibbetts, who disappeared July 18 from Brooklyn, Iowa. He's set to appear at the Poweshiek County Courthouse in Montezuma at 1 p.m. A criminal complaint alleges Rivera followed Tibbetts while she was out for a run, abducted and killed her, and dumped her body in a cornfield. Investigators say Rivera led them to a body believed to be Tibbetts early Tuesday. An autopsy is scheduled Wednesday by the state medical examiner to determine the cause of death. Court records don't list an attorney for Rivera, who is jailed on a $1 million cash-only bond. Authorities say a man in the U.S. illegally has confessed to kidnapping a 20-year-old University of Iowa student, killing her and dumping her body in a cornfield. Twenty-four-year-old Cristhian Bahena Rivera is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Mollie Tibbetts of Brooklyn, Iowa. Rivera is being held on a $1 million cash-only bond. An initial court appearance is scheduled for 1 p.m. Wednesday. Tibbetts' July 18 disappearance set off a massive search involving state and federal authorities. Division of Criminal Investigation special agent Rick Rahn says Rivera led investigators early Tuesday to a body believed to be Tibbetts. President Donald Trump noted the arrest and called for immigration law changes at a rally in West Virginia. And Republican Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds said residents "are angry that a broken immigration system allowed a predator like this to live in our community." ||||| MONTEZUMA, Iowa — The attorney for a Mexican man accused of killing an Iowa college student challenged the government’s statement Wednesday that the suspect has been living in the United States illegally. Cristhian Bahena Rivera, 24, made his first appearance in court in the death of Mollie Tibbetts, whose July 18 disappearance while out jogging set off a massive search. In a court document, defense attorney Allan M. Richards stated that an employer has said Rivera has legal permission to be in the U.S. The document named Craig Lang, a former head of the Iowa Board of Regents, which oversees the state’s three public universities. Lang is co-owner of a dairy that employed Rivera. Rivera’s immigration status was confirmed by an E-Verify electronic immigration status check, the Lang family said in a statement. Richards sought a gag order and said comments about the case by President Donald Trump would “poison the entire possible pool of jury members.” He also asked that the proceedings be closed. “The government has weighed in at the highest levels with a predisposition that my client is guilty,” he said. Rivera, who was ordered held on $5 million bond, has allegedly confessed to the killing, which was quickly thrust into the immigration debate shaping the midterm elections. Trump seized on the man’s arrest on Tuesday to call the nation’s immigration laws “a disgrace” that will only be fixed by electing more Republicans. Iowa’s Republican governor, facing a tough re-election challenge in November, blasted an immigration system that “allowed a predator like this to live in our community.” And Iowa’s two GOP U.S. senators called the death a tragedy that “could have been prevented.” Rivera led investigators early Tuesday to a body believed to be Tibbetts in a cornfield about 12 mile southeast of Brooklyn, Iowa, where she was last seen going for an evening run, Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation special agent Rick Rahn said. “I can’t speak about the motive. I can just tell you that it seemed that he followed her, seemed to be drawn to her on that particular day, for whatever reason he chose to abduct her,” Rahn told reporters. Within hours, Trump noted the arrest at a rally in West Virginia. “You heard about today with the illegal alien coming in, very sadly, from Mexico and you saw what happened to that incredible, beautiful young woman,” Trump told the crowd in Charleston. “Should’ve never happened. Illegally in our country. We’ve had a huge impact, but the laws are so bad. The immigration laws are such a disgrace. We’re getting them changed, but we have to get more Republicans. We have to get ‘em.” Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds said residents were heartbroken and angry. Sens. Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst vowed that they “cannot allow these tragedies to continue.” Trump has made crackdown on illegal immigration a core policy of his administration. He often has claimed widespread crime by people living in the country illegally, citing among other things the indictments of 11 suspected MS-13 gang members from El Salvador charged in connection with the slayings of two Virginia teens. Trump also has held events at the White House with members of “angel families,” whose relatives were killed by immigrants. Although Trump claims legal U.S. residents are less likely to commit crime, several studies from social scientists and the libertarian think tank Cato Institute have concluded that isn’t accurate and that states with a higher share of people living in the country illegally have lower violent crime rates. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said it lodged a federal immigration detainer for Rivera after he was arrested on the murder charge. That move means the agency has probable cause to believe he is subject to deportation. Investigators said they believed Rivera had lived in the area from four to seven years. In a statement late Tuesday, Yarrabee Farms said Rivera had worked at its farms for the last four years and was an employee in good standing. The Brooklyn-based company said it was shocked to hear that Rivera was charged in Tibbetts’ death. Yarrabee Farms is owned by the family of Craig Lang, a prominent Republican who previously served as president of the Iowa Farm Bureau. A search of Iowa court records revealed no prior criminal history, and it’s unclear whether he had ever been subject to prior deportation proceedings. Rivera’s Facebook page described him as being from Guayabillo, a community of less than 500 people in the Mexican state of Guerrero. It’s about a three-hour drive from the resort city of Acapulco. Investigators said they zeroed in on Rivera after obtaining footage from surveillance cameras in Brooklyn. The footage showed a Chevy Malibu connected to Rivera that was driving back and forth as Tibbetts was running in the area, Rahn said. An affidavit attached to the criminal complaint against Rivera alleged that he admitted to investigators he got out of his car and started running alongside Tibbetts. Tibbetts grabbed her phone and said she was going to call the police. The affidavit said Rivera panicked and then said he blacked out. Rivera next remembers seeing her earphones on his lap, and taking her bloody body out of the trunk of his car, it said. Rivera was cooperating with investigators and speaking with the help of a translator, Rahn said. An autopsy was planned for Wednesday. A conviction on first-degree murder carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole in Iowa, which does not have the death penalty.
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• Golden State Killer trial to be held in Northern California Tibbetts would have started her junior year at the University of Iowa, where she was a psychology major. Her family released a statement Wednesday thanking people from around the world for the “outpouring of love and support that has been shared in Mollie’s name.” The statement added, “We know that many of you will join us as we continue to carry Mollie in our hearts forever.” ||||| An arrest has finally been made in the case of missing University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts. Earlier today, it was announced that there was a break in the case when the body of a young woman was found in a rural field in Poweshiek County, Iowa. The body that was recovered is believed to be that of Mollie Tibbetts but the identity has yet to be confirmed by authorities. According to the Washington Post, 24-year-old Christhian Behena Rivera, who is an undocumented immigrant, was arrested this afternoon after he led authorities to Tibbetts’ body. ABC News shares that Rivera lives in the rural area where Tibbetts first went missing. He has reportedly lived and worked in the area for the past four to seven years. Rick Rahn of the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation announced earlier today that Rivera has been charged with first-degree murder. According to People, authorities first approached Rivera on Monday and led detectives to Tibbetts’ body earlier this morning. The body had been dumped in a cornfield in Guernsey, Iowa, which is about a 15-minute drive from Brooklyn, Iowa, where Mollie first went missing. According to police, Rivera admitted to approaching Mollie when she was on an evening jog. Mollie, who became frightened when she was approached, threatened to call the police at one point. Rahn said that Rivera then confessed that he caught up with Tibbetts and a struggle ensued. It was at that point that the 24-year-old says that he “blacked out.” Surveillance footage led police to their suspect, according to Rahn. “Through that we were able to identify a vehicle that we believed belonged to Mr. Rivera. From that we were able to track his patterns and the routes that he took. We were also able to find Mollie running on this video and we were able to determine that he was one of the last ones to have seen Mollie running.” As the Inquisitr previously reported, Mollie was last seen jogging through her hometown of Brooklyn, Iowa, on July 18. She was dog sitting for her boyfriend, Dalton Jack, and his brother, but was reported missing the following day when she failed to show up for her job at a local daycare. She was last seen around 7:30 p.m. local time and Jack said that he did receive a Snapchat message from Mollie that evening where she appeared to be indoors. An award fund for tips leading to an arrest in the case was set up and the donations had reached upwards of $400,000 before Rivera was taken into custody. ||||| DES MOINES — Cristhian Rivera, the man accused in the death of a 20-year-old University of Iowa student, worked for an Iowa farm owned by the brother of a prominent Iowa Republican. In a statement Tuesday night, Dane Lang, of Yarrabee Farms, said Rivera was an “employee in good standing” and was “shocked to hear” Rivera was implicated in the death of Mollie Tibbetts. Dane Lang is related to Craig Lang, the former president of both the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation and the Iowa Board of Regents and a 2018 Republican candidate for state secretary of agriculture. Documents immediately reviewed by the Des Moines Register listed several owners of Yarrabee Farms, including Dane Lang and Eric Lang, Craig's brother. On Tuesday, authorities said they found a body in a cornfield that they tentatively identified as Tibbetts', based on clothing found at the scene, according to a criminal complaint. Rivera, 24, who resides in rural Poweshiek County, Iowa, was charged Tuesday with first-degree murder in the alleged abduction and death of Tibbetts, according to the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation. During a news conference Tuesday, authorities said Rivera was employed and lived in the area for four to seven years, but they would not disclose his employer. In a statement, Dane Lang said Rivera worked for Yarrabee Farms for four years and passed the government’s vetting process. Investigators visited the farm Monday to speak with employees. Investigators said Rivera was in the country without proper legal documentation. In the wake of Rivera's arrest, Republicans, including President Donald Trump and Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, inveighed against the country's immigration system. Trump alluded to the case at a rally in West Virginia on Tuesday: “You heard about today with the illegal alien coming in, very sadly, from Mexico and you saw what happened to that incredible, beautiful young woman,” he said, shaking his head. “Should’ve never happened.” Tibbetts was last seen the night of July 18. Read the full statement from Yarrabee Farms below: “First and foremost, our thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of Mollie Tibbetts. This is a profoundly sad day for our community. All of us at Yarrabee Farms are shocked to hear that one of our employees was involved and is charged in this case. This individual has worked at our farms for four years, was vetted through the government's E-Verify system, and was an employee in good standing. On Monday, the authorities visited our farm and talked to our employees. We have cooperated fully with their investigation. Yarrabee Farms follows all laws related to verifying employees are legal to work in the United States, and we regularly seek outside counsel to ensure we stay up-to-date on employment law matters. We keep records on all employees and have shared that information with authorities. We appreciate the hard work of law enforcement officials. We will continue to cooperate with authorities as the investigation moves forward.” © Gannett Co., Inc. 2018. All Rights Reserved | Cristhian Bahena Rivera, a Mexican man accused of killing University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts after entering the U.S. illegally, appears in a Poweshiek County court for arraignment on first-degree murder. His bail is set at US$5 million. If released by local police, he may be arrested by ICE. |
The closest known extinct relatives of modern humans were the thick-browed Neanderthals and the mysterious Denisovans. Now, a bone fragment from a Siberian cave, perhaps from a teenage girl, has revealed the first known hybrid of these groups, a new study concludes. The finding confirms interbreeding that had been only hinted at in earlier genetic studies. A number of now-extinct human lineages not only lived alongside modern humans but even interbred with them, leaving traces of their DNA in the modern human genome. These lineages included the stocky Neanderthals, as well as the enigmatic Denisovans, known only from a few teeth and bones unearthed in Denisova Cave in the Altai Mountains. [In Images: The First Bone from a Neanderthal-Denisovan Hybrid] Archaeological excavations have revealed that Neanderthals and Denisovans coexisted in Eurasia, with Neanderthal bones ranging from 200,000 to 40,000 years old unearthed mostly in western Eurasia and Denisovans so far only known from fossils ranging from 200,000 to 30,000 years old found in eastern Eurasia. Prior work unearthed Neanderthal remains in Denisova Cave, raising questions on how closely they interacted. "A Neanderthal and a Denisovan were genetically more distant from each other than any two people living today are," study co-author Viviane Slon, a paleogeneticist at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, said in an email to Live Science. "So we do not think that they met very often." The scientists investigated a 1-inch-long (2.5 centimeters) bone fragment, dubbed "Denisova 11," that archaeologists found in 2012 in Denisova Cave. This shard came from a long bone, such as a shinbone or a thighbone, but scientists knew little else about it. "You can't even tell if it's human or animal by looking at it,"study senior author Svante Pääbo, an evolutionary geneticist at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, told Live Science in a phone call. The researchers analyzed proteins extracted from Denisova 11 and more than 2,000 other bone fragments from Denisova Cave, which revealed the fragment came from a human. The thickness of the outer part of the bone suggested that Denisova 11 belonged to a female who was at least 13 years old when she died, while radiocarbon dating suggested Denisova 11 was more than 50,000 years old. The scientists next ground to a powder a sample from Denisova 11 and sequenced the DNA from the bone dust. Previous genetic research suggested that the Neanderthal and Denisovan lineages diverged more than 390,000 years ago, the researchers said. Those genetic studiesalso hinted at interbreeding between Neanderthals and Denisovans, but the extent to which they interbred was unclear, Live Science previously reported. "I never thought we would be so lucky as to find an actual offspring of the two groups," Slon said in the email. The researchers also found that the Denisovan father of the individual Denisova 11 had at least one Neanderthal ancestor, possibly as far back as 300 to 600 generations before his lifetime. "So, from this single genome, we are able to detect multiple instances of interactions between Neandertals and Denisovans," study co-author Benjamin Vernot, a population geneticist at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, said in the statement. In addition, the scientists found that the teenage girl's Neanderthal mother was genetically more similar to the Neanderthals of Western Europe than to a different Neanderthal that lived earlier in Denisova Cave. This find suggests that Neanderthals migrated between western and eastern Eurasia for tens of thousands of years. So far, scientists have sequenced the genomes of only six people from Denisova Cave. That one of these had Neanderthal and Denisovan parents may suggest, from a statistical point of view, that interbreeding may have been common whenever these groups did interact, Pääbo said. "It makes you believe that when these groups met, they may have mixed freely with each other," he said. All in all, these findings suggest that modern humans, Neanderthals and Denisovans intermingled when they encountered each another, Pääbo said. "Neanderthals and Denisovans may have disappeared just because they were absorbed into modern human populations." The researchers are continuing to look for ancient human DNA, not just in the thousands of other bone fragments in Denisova Cave, but from the sediments that accumulated there as well. "It's fun to think that there are probably many more discoveries to be made from remains found at the site," Slon said. The scientists published their findings online today (Aug. 22) in the journal Nature. ||||| View of the valley from above the Denisova Cave archaeological site in Siberia. Bence Viola / Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology ||||| People’s sexual indiscretions may follow them for a very long time. Scientists say they just determined that the bone of a girl who died 50,000 years ago shows that she had a Neanderthal mother and a Denisovan father. It’s not the first evidence of sex between humans of different subspecies, but the surprising finding indicates that different human subtypes were moving around and mixing things up very commonly in the prehistoric past. And the ancient DNA shows evidence of even more blending, the researchers reported Wednesday in the journal Nature. The father of the girl was also part Neanderthal, they found. “We knew from previous studies that Neanderthals and Denisovans must have occasionally had children together,” Viviane Slon, an evolutionary anthropologist at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology who worked on the study, said in a statement. “But I never thought we would be so lucky as to find an actual offspring of the two groups.” The researchers did not have much to work with — just a fragment of bone found in a remote cave in Siberia. But they got enough DNA from the fragment to sequence it and compare it with DNA from the remains of known Neanderthals, from other bones also found in the Denisova cave, from the remains of modern humans and from chimpanzees. The bone indicated that it had belonged to a female at least 13 years old at death. DNA inherited from the mother, called mitochondrial DNA, was clearly Neanderthal, the team found. The girl is called Denisova 11 because the bone represents the 11th distinct individual found in the cave. “Genome-wide signatures show that the Denisova 11 individual has a Neanderthal and a Denisovan parent,” the team wrote in their report. DNA inherited from the father was more of a mix: mostly Denisovan, but with its own sprinkling of ancient Neanderthal. While anthropologists knew that Neanderthals and Denisovans were both alive at the same time, they also know that they must have been fairly distinct from one another. The two lines split genetically nearly 400,000 years ago. Both subspecies were replaced by modern humans about 40,000 years ago, although many people alive today carry some Neanderthal or Denisovan DNA. “It is striking that we find this Neanderthal/Denisovan child among the handful of ancient individuals whose genomes have been sequenced,” said Svante Pääbo, an expert on ancient DNA and director of the department of evolutionary genetics at the Max Planck Institute. "Neanderthals and Denisovans may not have had many opportunities to meet," he said in a statement. "But when they did, they must have mated frequently — much more so than we previously thought.” Scientists know quite a bit about Neanderthals, who were not, as commonly portrayed, shorter or stupider than modern humans. Evidence shows that they used art and made jewelry. The Denisovans are more mysterious. There is not enough evidence from the tiny scraps of bone and tooth found so far to say what they looked like or to say anything about their behavior. There’s just enough DNA to show that they were genetically distinct from Neanderthals and from modern humans. It’s not clear why our particular species won the evolutionary race for survival. It's possible that modern human ancestors killed off the others, but equally possible that a small genetic advantage simply allowed modern humans to outbreed their cousins. There’s not even enough to say what happened to the young girl whose bone gives away so much history about interspecies impropriety. But there’s a hint about her fate, either before or after death, left on the piece of bone that was found. “The surface … is chemically eroded, possibly due to carnivore digestion,” the team wrote. ||||| A 13-year-old girl who died over 50,000 years ago may not have had a long time alive on this planet, but she was in fact very special. Millennia later, a fragment of her skeleton reveals that she was the first-generation result of a mating between two different species of hominin. Her mum was a Neanderthal, and her dad was a Denisovan, genome sequencing has revealed. So this tiny sliver of her remains represents direct evidence that the two species were interbreeding. "We knew from previous studies that Neanderthals and Denisovans must have occasionally had children together," said evolutionary geneticist Viviane Slon of Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Germany. "But I never thought we would be so lucky as to find an actual offspring of the two groups." The existence of the Denisovans wasn't uncovered until 2010, but since then we've learned more and more about them. Neanderthals and Denisovans were probably the same group originally. But, sometime over 390,000 years ago, they separated, and evolved into two distinct, but closely related populations. They coexisted in Eurasia for a long time. Although Denisovans are only known from bones found in one location - the Denisova Cave in Siberia (actually named after a bloke named Denis) - Neanderthal remains were also found there. But it didn't mean they hung out there at the same time. So the discovery of this adolescent girl, named Denisova 11 (or Denny, as nicknamed by the researchers), is an astonishingly solid confirmation that the two groups knew each other, and interacted. Denny is known only from a small fragment of bone, found in the cave in 2012 by Russian archaeologists. Based on a protein analysis, it was confirmed to be a hominin bone, so it was transferred to the Max Planck Institute for further study. There, researchers analysed the bone and determined that it was likely part of a tibia, femur or humerus. Based on that assumption, the bone's cortical thickness indicates that Denny was at least 13 years old when she died, while radiocarbon dating put the time of her death over 50,000 years ago. Next, they took DNA samples from the bone, and sequenced Denny's genome. They discovered her sex - and her unusual parentage. A Neanderthal mother and Denisovan father. "An interesting aspect of this genome is that it allows us to learn things about two populations - the Neanderthals from the mother's side, and the Denisovans from the father's side," said geneticist Fabrizio Mafessoni of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. Denny's DNA revealed that her mother was genetically closer to a population of Neanderthals who had lived in Western Europe than those who had lived in Denisova Cave in the East some 20,000 years earlier. This indicates that the Neanderthals were migrating across Europe tens of thousands of years before they disappeared. But Denny's mum wasn't the only one with a story to tell. Dad's DNA was interesting too. Based on what the researchers could glean from Denny's bone, he'd had at least one Neanderthal ancestor. "So from this single genome, we are able to detect multiple instances of interactions between Neanderthals and Denisovans," said geneticist Benjamin Vernot of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. What's interesting is that the two groups remained genetically distinct, rather than intermingling to form one species that incorporated both. This, the researchers noted in their paper, could mean that their zones of overlap were limited, both temporally and geographically. But one more thing is really interesting. So far, only four other Denisovans have been identified via DNA analysis. Denny is the fifth. "It is striking that we find this Neanderthal/Denisovan child among the handful of ancient individuals whose genomes have been sequenced," said evolutionary geneticist Svante Pääbo, Director of the Department of Evolutionary Genetics at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology and senior author of the study. "Neanderthals and Denisovans may not have had many opportunities to meet. But when they did, they must have mated frequently - much more so than we previously thought." Isn't it amazing what we can learn from a single piece of ancient bone? The team's research has been published in the journal Nature. ||||| Scientists uncover remains of first known child of one Denisovan, one Neanderthal parent Scientists have uncovered the first known child to parents of different species of ancient humans. A small bone fragment discovered in a Siberian cave has been identified as belonging to a girl with a Neanderthal mother and Denisovan father. The two extinct groups of humans differ far more than any two present-day groups of people but are our closest ancient human relatives. The study, published in Nature, gives a rare insight into their lives. The team, led by palaeogeneticists Viviane Slon and Svante Pääbo of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, conducted the genome analysis on the bone fragment uncovered in the Denisova Cave in Russia. "We knew from previous studies that Neanderthals and Denisovans must have occasionally had children together," Dr Slon told Nature. Very few — less than 20 early human ancestors — have had their genomes sequenced. "It is striking that we find this Neanderthal/Denisovan child among the handful of ancient individuals whose genomes have been sequenced," said Dr Pääbo. The study also revealed that the Denisovan father had at least one Neanderthal ancestor. "So from this single genome, we are able to detect multiple instances of interactions between Neanderthals and Denisovans," said Benjamin Vernot from the MPI-EVA, a third co-author of the study. The Denisova cave lends its name to the Denisovans, who were first identified by a fingertip found within the cave in 2008. The fingertip was the first of a string of notable archaeological discoveries to be found within the cave. A Denisovan tooth was found in 2010, and bone in 2013, that suggested early Europeans were more closely related to Denisovans than Neanderthals. Scientists already knew that Neanderthals, Denisovans, and early modern humans must have interbred because mixed DNA lingers in people today, but the new study is the first to identify a first-generation child with such parents. The two species lived until about 40,000 years ago, Neanderthals in the west and Denisovans in the east, however the cave — and the wider Altai region — are known to have been home to both groups. The study shows that Neanderthals migrated between western and eastern Europe and Asia tens of thousands of years before they died out. ||||| Scientists have for the first time discovered a first-generation individual of mixed ancestry from two distinct human groups. Analysis of a bone discovered in a Siberian cave revealed the female, who died 90,000 years ago, had a Neanderthal mother and a Denisovan father. The 13-year-old female, nicknamed “Denny” by scientists, is an example of interbreeding between now-extinct human groups, say scientists. Pontus Skoglund, population geneticist at the Francis Crick Institute, said: “To find a first-generation person of mixed ancestry from these groups is absolutely extraordinary. “It’s really great science coupled with a little bit of luck.” The complete picture of Denny’s ancestry had been incomplete for a number of years – only her mother’s side was known after researchers discovered mitochondiral DNA in her remains came from a Neanderthal. The most recent study set out to compare DNA variation in Denny with that of three other hominins, a Neanderthal, a Denisovan and a modern-day human (Homo Sapien) from Africa. Palaeogeneticists Viviane Slon and Svante Paabo at Germany’s Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology carried out genome analysis on a bone taken from the Denisova cave in the Altai Mountains of Russia. Bone fragment (“Denisova 11”) was found in 2012 at Denisova Cave in Russia by Russian archaeologists (T. Higham/University of Oxford) A 40% match was found with the Denisovan, as well as a 40% match for the Neanderthal, while bone density gave away the teenager’s age. Scientists confirmed Denny came from two separate hominins – and not two hybrids – by looking at where the genomes between Neanderthals and Denisovans differ. After comparing Denny’s DNA to genomes of a Neanderthal and a Denisovan, researchers found she had one set of chromosomes from each hominin. Denisovans, now extinct, were a group of humans first identified from DNA analysis of a finger bone discovered in the same place a decade ago. Neanderthals also lived in the cave. Scientists have been aware of breeding between diffrent humant human groups, including between Denisovans and Homo Sapiens, thanks to variation among humans. But this is the first time a first-generation offspring from the pairing has been discovered. Scientists now think such a mix could be more common than initially thought. “We knew from previous studies that Neandertals and Denisovans must have occasionally had children together, but I never thought we would be so lucky as to find an actual offspring of the two groups,” said Slon. The findings were published in Nature. ||||| Her mother was a Neanderthal, but her father was Denisovan, a distinct species of primitive human that also roamed the Eurasian continent 50,000 years ago, scientists reported Wednesday in the journal Nature. Nicknamed by Oxford University scientists, Denisova 11—her official name—was at least 13 when she died, for reasons unknown. "There was earlier evidence of interbreeding between different hominin, or early human, groups," said lead author Vivian Slon, a researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. "But this is the first time that we have found a direct, first-generation offspring," she told AFP. Denny's surprising pedigree was unlocked from a bone fragment unearthed in 2012 by Russian archeologists at the Denisova Cave in the Altai Mountains of Siberia. Analysis of the bone's DNA left no doubt: the chromosomes were a 50-50 mix of Neanderthal and Denisovan, two distinct species of early humans that split apart between 400,000 to 500,000 years ago. "I initially thought that they must have screwed up in the lab," said senior author and Max Planck Institute professor Svante Paabo, who identified the first Denisovan a decade ago at the same site. Worldwide, fewer than two dozen early human genomes from before 40,000 years ago—Neanderthal, Denisovan, Homo sapiens—have been sequenced, and the chances of stumbling on a half-and-half hybrid seemed vanishingly small. "The very fact that we found this individual of mixed Neanderthal and Denisovan origins suggests that they interbred much more often than we thought," said Slon. Paabo agreed: "They must have quite commonly had kids together, otherwise we wouldn't have been this lucky." A 40,000 year-old Homo sapiens with a Neanderthal ancestor a few generations back, recently found in Romania, also bolsters this notion. But the most compelling evidence that inter-species hanky-panky in Late Pleistocene Eurasia may not have been that rare lies in the genes of contemporary humans. About two percent of DNA in non-Africans across the globe today originate with Neanderthals, earlier studies have shown. Denisovan remnants are also widespread, though less evenly. "We find traces of Denisovan DNA—less than one percent—everwhere in Asia and among native Americans," said Paabo. "Aboriginal Australians and people in Papua New Guinea have about five percent." Taken together, these facts support a novel answer to the hotly debated question of why Neanderthals—which had successfully spread across parts of western and central Europe—disappeared some 40,000 years ago. Up to now, their mysterious demise has been blamed on disease, climate change, genocide at the hands of Homo sapiens, or some combination of the above. But what if our species—arriving in waves from Africa—overwhelmed Neanderthals, and perhaps Denisovans, with affection rather than aggression? "Part of the story of these groups is that they may simply have been absorbed by modern populations," said Paabo. "The modern humans were more numerous, and the other species might have been incorporated." Recent research showing that Neanderthals were not, in fact, knuckle-dragging brutes makes this scenario all the more plausible. Our genetic cousins executed sophisticated hunting strategies in groups; made fires, tools, clothing and jewellery; and buried their dead with symbolic ornaments. They painted animal frescos on cave walls at least 64,000 years ago, well before most Homo sapiens arrived in Europe. Far less is known about Denisovans, but they may have suffered a similar fate. Paabo established their existence with an incomplete finger bone and two molars dated to some 80,000 years ago. Among their genetic legacy to some modern humans is a variant of the gene EPAS1 that makes it easier for the body to access oxygen by regulating the production of haemoglobin, according to a 2014 study. Nearly 90 percent of Tibetans have this precious variant, compared with only nine percent of Han Chinese, the dominant—and predominantly lowland—ethnic group in China. Neanderthals and Denisovans might have intermingled even more but for the fact that the former settled mostly in Europe, and the latter in central and East Asia, the researchers speculated. More information: Viviane Slon et al, The genome of the offspring of a Neanderthal mother and a Denisovan father, Nature (2018). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-018-0455-x ||||| One can be forgiven for thinking that the first modern humans who ventured out of Africa stumbled into a vibrant bar scene. DNA from just a single cave in Siberia revealed that it had been occupied by two archaic human groups that had interbred with the newly arrived modern humans. This included both the Neanderthals, whom we knew about previously, and the Denisovans, who we didn't even know existed and still know little about other than their DNA sequences. The DNA also revealed that one of the Denisovans had a Neanderthal ancestor a few hundred generations back in his past. But in almost all of these cases, the ancestry seems to have come from a single exchange of chromosomes many generations prior. There was little indication that the interbreeding was frequent. Now, the same cave has yielded a bone fragment that indicates the interbreeding may have been common. DNA sequencing revealed that the bone fragment's original owner had a mom that was Neanderthal and a father who was Denisovan. The fact that we have so few DNA samples from this time and that one is the immediate product of intermating gives us a strong hint that we should expect more examples in the future. What is this? The Denisova Cave sits within Russia near its borders with China, Kazakhstan, and Mongolia. It appears to have conditions that favor the preservation of ancient DNA, as bones from the site have yielded high-quality genomes from both Neanderthals and Denisovans. It does not seem to have favored the preservation of skeletons themselves, as most material has been fragmentary; all we know about the appearance of Denisovans comes from a molar and a small finger bone, though dating indicates they occupied the cave more than 30,000 years after the Neanderthal. Because of the fragmentary nature of many of the bones, the team exploring the cave has been slowly going through them, determining which ones are human by looking at the collagen that comprises much of the bone. An ID of human caused them to focus more on a fragment called Denisova 11, which originated in a long bone (like an arm or leg bone) of an individual who was at least in their teens. Beyond that, there was nothing even distinctive enough to determine what part of the body the fragment originated in, much less which group of humans its owner belonged to, although carbon dating placed it at a time when Denisovans were known to occupy the cave. To find out more, the researchers sequenced its mitochondrial DNA. Since this is only passed on via the egg, it tells you about an organism's mother. In this case, the mitochondrial DNA was clearly Neanderthal, which was somewhat surprising, given the date on the bone. In any case, this was enough for the researchers to decide to sequence the genome of Denisova 11. It was completed so that the average base was sequenced 2.6 times, meaning that there are still a lot of gaps and uncertainties in the genome. Still, it was enough to perform some detailed analyses. The first thing that was clear was that Denisova 11 was a she; X-chromosome sequences showed up as often as ones from any other chromosome, suggesting she had a pair of them. The other was that the researchers' excavation techniques were very good, as contamination with the DNA from those who did the excavating couldn't account for more than 1.7 percent of the total sequences. Beyond that, most of the results were unexpected. Because we now have several Neanderthal and Denisovan genomes, we have some sense of how they consistently differ from each other and from the genomes of modern humans. Running Denisova 11 through an analysis of these differences showed she was a nearly even mix. Instead of being mostly Neanderthal, as you would expect from the mitochondrial DNA, only 39 percent of the DNA fragments were clearly Neanderthal. Another 42 percent, by contrast, were Denisovan, meaning she was nearly an even mix of the two groups of archaic humans. The authors checked other samples they sequenced at the same time for signs of contamination and also looked at whether there might be a software glitch, but the results held up. There are two ways to explain that. One is that she's an immediate product of a mating between these two different people. The second is that she's part of a population of hybrids, where her parents both carried mixes of Neanderthal and Denisovan DNA. To figure out which was happening, the researchers looked at each individual site where Neanderthals and Denisovans differ. If Denisova 11 were the product of a mixed population, you'd expect a fair number of these sites to be either all Neanderthal or all Denisovan, since the genomes should be pretty randomly mixed. If she were the immediate product of a mating between individuals from distinct groups, you would expect many of these sites to have one Neanderthal and one Denisovan version. (You wouldn't expect them all to be like that, because we don't know the full diversity of either Neanderthals or Denisovans at this point.) The results clearly favored her being a 50-50 mix. "We conclude that Denisova 11 did not originate from a population carrying equal proportions of Neanderthal and Denisovan ancestry," the researchers conclude. "Rather, she was the offspring of a Neanderthal mother, who contributed her [mitochondrial] DNA, and a Denisovan father." The differences were also spread evenly throughout her genome, as you'd expect if each half of every chromosome pair came from a different group of ancestors. A more detailed look at her ancestry showed there were at least five small regions where both chromosomes seem to have had a Neanderthal ancestry, suggesting that Denisova 11's father came from a population that had already interbred with Neanderthals in the distant past. And her mother seems to be most closely related to a Neanderthal skeleton found in Croatia, rather than a descendent of the Neanderthals that occupied the same cave tens of thousands of years earlier. The authors argue that, despite the indications left in modern genomes, Denisova 11 strongly suggests that interbreeding was common whenever two different groups overlapped. After all, we don't have a lot of genomes from archaic humans, and we've already found one that's the direct product of interbreeding between two groups. So why is there the difference between this expectation and what we've seen in other genomes, which suggests the two groups seem to be largely distinct lineages? For one, we don't really know how often different populations overlapped. Based on where modern populations have higher levels of Denisovan DNA, we can infer that Denisovans inhabited East Asia, but the details on where and when simply aren't known. The full extent of Neanderthals' range is also poorly constrained. All of which means that interbreeding could have been limited by the fact that the populations simply didn't meet up that often. "This, as well as possibly reduced fitness of individuals of mixed ancestry, may explain why Neanderthals and Denisovans remained genetically distinct," the authors conclude. By contrast, modern humans seem to have displaced archaic ones fairly rapidly, suggesting there was a limited time window in which interbreeding could have taken place. Still, the clear signs of interbreeding and apparent past willingness to live together may indicate that the modern humans absorbed earlier populations rather than completely displacing them. But there's also a little nugget in the paper that suggests this won't be the last time the Denisovan Cave revolutionizes our understanding of our ancestry. The only skeletons mentioned in the paper are Denisova 3 and Denisova 11, but the paper notes that there have been "over 2,000 undiagnosed bone fragments excavated in Denisova Cave." That means there are probably a lot more potential sources of DNA we still haven't looked at yet. ||||| Together with their sister group the Neandertals, Denisovans are the closest extinct relatives of currently living humans. “We knew from previous studies that Neandertals and Denisovans must have occasionally had children together,” said Viviane Slon, researcher at the MPI-EVA and one of three first authors of the study. “But I never thought we would be so lucky as to find an actual offspring of the two groups.” The ancient individual is only represented by a single small bone fragment. “The fragment is part of a long bone, and we can estimate that this individual was at least 13 years old”, said Bence Viola of the University of Toronto. The bone fragment was found in 2012 at Denisova Cave (Russia) by Russian archaeologists. It was brought to Leipzig for genetic analyses after it was identified as a hominin bone based on its protein composition. “An interesting aspect of this genome is that it allows us to learn things about two populations – the Neandertals from the mother’s side, and the Denisovans from the father’s side”, explained Fabrizio Mafessoni from the MPI-EVA who co-authored the study. The researchers determined that the mother was genetically closer to Neandertals who lived in western Europe than to a Neandertal individual that lived earlier in Denisova Cave. This shows that Neandertals migrated between western and eastern Eurasia tens of thousands of years before their disappearance. Analyses of the genome also revealed that the Denisovan father had at least one Neandertal ancestor further back in his family tree. “So from this single genome, we are able to detect multiple instances of interactions between Neandertals and Denisovans”, said Benjamin Vernot from the MPI-EVA, the third co-author of the study. “It is striking that we find this Neandertal/Denisovan child among the handful of ancient individuals whose genomes have been sequenced”, added Svante Pääbo, Director of the Department of Evolutionary Genetics at the MPI-EVA and lead author of the study. “Neandertals and Denisovans may not have had many opportunities to meet. But when they did, they must have mated frequently – much more so than we previously thought.” ||||| Analysis of a bone fragment found in a Siberian cave from a young female who died 90,000 years ago has revealed she was half Neanderthal and half Denisovan. The girl, thought to be aged around 13, is an example of interbreeding between now-extinct human groups. She is the first first-generation individual of mixed ancestry from two distinct human groups to be discovered. Most modern non-African humans have traces of Neanderthal DNA and some Asian populations have Denisovan DNA, showing that Homo sapiens, Neanderthals and Denisovans interbred. As Neanderthal populations spread eastwards they encountered Denisovans, and the girl in the cave, nicknamed Denny by researchers, is the result of mating between a Neanderthal mother and a Denisovan father. Pontus Skoglund, population geneticist at the Francis Crick Institute, said: "To find a first-generation person of mixed ancestry from these groups is absolutely extraordinary. It's really great science coupled with a little bit of luck." A fragment of one of Denny's long bones was found in the Siberian cave several years ago. Previous tests had been able to establish sex and when she died. The most recent analysis compared Denny's DNA to genomes of a Neanderthal and a Denisovan. Researchers found she had one set of chromosomes from each hominin. Currently earliest fossils of Neanderthals in Europe are dated at 430,000 years ago and thereafter Neanderthals expanded into southwest and Central Asia. They died out around 40,000 years ago, possibly as a result of competition following the exodus of Homo sapiens (modern humans) from Africa between 60,000 and 40,000 years ago, although DNA analysis shows interbreeding between the two species. A now-extinct subspecies of archaic humans, Denisovans ranged from Siberia to southeast Asia. They lived among and interbred with the ancestors of some modern humans with about 3% to 5% of the DNA of Melanesians and Aboriginal Australians and around 6% in Papuans deriving from Denisovans. | A bone fragment found in Denisova Cave, Denisova 11, is identified as that of a girl who died 50,000 years ago aged at least 13. Genome-wide signatures tell that she had a Neanderthal mother and a mostly-Denisovan father. This first find of a prehistoric first-generation mixed offspring shows that different archaic human subtypes sometimes migrated, and then mixed more frequently than previously thought. |
The Italian Interior Minister thanked the Albanian Government as the non-European Union country agreed to accept 20 of the 190 migrants who docked in Catania, Sicily, last week. Speaking at a League party reception in the Italian northern town of Pinzolo, Mr Salvini argued the Albanian Government demonstrated to be "better" than the French one. Ireland was the only EU member state to have agreed to welcome some of the migrants despite Emmanuel Macron's promises to Italy to share the burden of asylum seekers. Speaking to League supporters Mr Salvini said: “Do you know where some of the migrants will end up as they disembark in the next few hours? ||||| INNSBRUCK, Austria (AP) — The Latest on Europe’s migrant crisis (all times local): An Italian coast guard ship has docked in Sicily but is still awaiting permission to disembark its 67 migrants, after two of them were accused of threatening their rescuers if they were taken back to Libya. Interior Minister Matteo Salvini said Thursday he won’t let the migrants off until there is clarity over what happened after an Italian commercial tugboat rescued them over the weekend. Italy’s transport minister said some migrants made death threats against the crew. The threats prompted the Italian coast guard to board the migrants and bring them to Trapani. Salvini said he wanted to know if the crew “exaggerated” in reporting the threats. Speaking in Austria after a meeting of EU interior ministers about migration, Salvini said: “If someone lied, they’ll pay. If there was violence, it will be punished.” Salvini said he hoped Italy’s hard-line position on migration becomes the European position, for the sake of the bloc’s integrity. He says “if you drastically reduce the departures and arrivals, the problems inside the EU among individual countries will also be reduced.” France has taken in a group of 78 asylum-seekers, mainly from Eritrea and Sudan, after their charity rescue ship was blocked form ports in Italy and Malta. The French Interior Ministry said the group arrived in France on Thursday from Spain, where the Aquarius rescue ship that saved them was allowed to dock last month. The ministry said the 78 were identified as in need of protection as refugees and will be housed in regions in southeast and northern France while they go through the asylum process. The Aquarius, carrying 630 migrants, drew wide attention after Italy and Malta refused the aid ship docking rights. Spain and France eventually agreed to accept the passengers. France has taken in a much smaller share of migrants in recent years than neighboring Germany or Italy. An Italian coast guard ship is in the waters off Sicily awaiting permission to disembark its 67 migrants, some of whom are accused of mutiny and threatening their rescuers if they were taken back to Libya. Interior Minister Matteo Salvini has vowed to identify, jail and prosecute the “criminals” rescued over the weekend by a commercial tugboat off Libya. Transport Minister Danilo Toninelli has said a few of the migrants made death threats against the tug’s crew, apparently fearing they would be returned to Libyan detention centers. The tug alerted Italian authorities to the threats, and the migrants were transferred to the coast guard ship Diciotti, which remained off the coast of Trapani on Thursday. On Trapani’s docks were activists protesting Italy’s hard-line position on migrants. Many wore the red T-shirts that have become a symbol of those favoring a broader welcome for migrants, many of whom dress their children in red to make them easier to spot in cases of shipwreck. The top security officials of Germany, Italy and Austria are touting their hard line on migration issues, saying Europe needs to protect its exterior borders and crack down on human smuggling. Germany’s Horst Seehofer held talks with his Austrian and Italian counterparts, Herbert Kickl and Matteo Salvini, Thursday morning ahead of a wider meeting of European Union interior ministers. Kickl says the group wants “to send a clear message to the world, and especially to the traffickers, that it won’t be possible anymore in the future, shouldn’t be possible anymore to step on European soil if you don’t have a right to protection.” Seehofer says the ministers, all hardliners on migration, are seeking European solutions, but “all three of us know that this is going to be a Herculean task.” Copyright © 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed. ||||| The migrants, mainly from Eritrea, had been stranded in the port of Catania since Monday because the government refused to let them off the boat until other EU states agreed to take some of them in. Interior Minister Matteo Salvini said Albania had offered to accept 20 of the migrants and Ireland 20-25, while the rest would be housed by Italy’s Catholic Church “at zero cost” to the Italian taxpayer. “The church has opened its heart and opened its wallet,” Salvini, from the right-wing League party, told supporters at a rally in Pinzolo in northern Italy on Saturday evening. Salvini, who has led a popular crackdown against immigration since the government took office in June, also announced that he had been placed under investigation by a Sicilian prosecutor for abuse of office, kidnapping and illegal arrest. “Being investigated for defending the rights of Italians is a disgrace,” he said. On Saturday, the United Nations called for reason from all sides after a meeting of envoys from 10 EU states in Brussels a day earlier failed to break the deadlock. “Frightened people who may be in need of international protection should not be caught in the maelstrom of politics,” the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR said in a statement. The agency appealed to EU member states to “urgently” offer relocation places to the rescued people, in line with an agreement at an EU summit in June, and in the meantime, urged Italy to allow “the immediate disembarkation of those on board.” Rome had refused to back down, despite criticism from rights groups and the opposition, with Salvini saying he considered the attacks he received to be a “badge of honor.” The only help from within the bloc came late on Saturday from Ireland, whose offer to take in 20-25 migrants followed a pledge from non-EU member Albania to take in 20. Italy’s Foreign Ministry called Albania’s offer “a signal of great solidarity and friendship that Italy greatly appreciates.” Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte attacked the EU for its lack of support and said Italy may refuse to back the bloc’s multiyear budget currently under discussion. He said on Facebook that Friday’s meeting in Brussels had been “a defeat for Europe”, and “a clear violation of the spirit of solidarity” that should be a founding principle of the Union. Before the breakthrough late on Saturday, thirteen migrants - seven women and six men - were ordered off the boat by doctors after a check-up carried out at around midday. They finally left the boat one-by-one some six hours later, stepping down a flight of steps to touch dry land for the first time since leaving Libya at least 10 days ago. The 13 were taken by ambulance to Catania’s Garibaldi hospital. Italian media reported that among them there were three cases of suspected tuberculosis and two of suspected pneumonia. Medical officials on the spot did not confirm this. The remaining 137 migrants disembarked in the early hours of Sunday to be taken to a reception center in the Sicilian city of Messina, from which they will be distributed to the Church dioceses as well as Ireland and Albania. More than 650,000 people have reached Italian shores since 2014, and even though the numbers have fallen steeply in the last year, Rome says it will not let any more rescue ships dock unless the migrants are shared out around the EU. “The next ship can turn around and go back where it came from because our limit has been reached,” Salvini said. Earlier this week, Italy let 27 unaccompanied minors leave the vessel. Prior to that, another 13 people needing urgent hospital attention were allowed to disembark. During their five days docked at Catania, the mostly young men on board sheltered from the sun under a large green tarpaulin that covered around half the deck, with clothes hanging from it to dry. Some occasionally waved to reporters gathered on the quayside. Around 200 protesters gathered at the port on Saturday, some waving left-wing flags, calling for the migrants to be allowed off. They later skirmished with police. Meanwhile, in Rome, prosecutor Luigi Patronaggio questioned several Interior Ministry officials as part of his criminal investigation over the migrants being held against their will. At that time, the investigation was said to be against “unknown persons”, but Salvini said he was responsible for his ministry’s actions, challenging the prosecutor to arrest him. The 5-Star Movement, the League’s coalition partner, has so far backed Salvini’s hard line, and its Transport Minister Danilo Toninelli, who is responsible for the country’s ports, on Saturday renewed the government’s attacks on the EU. “Nobody can give lessons to Italy on its humanitarian efforts”, he said. “The government is only asking the EU give some sense to its own existence.” ||||| CATANIA, Italy (Reuters) - Doctors ordered on Saturday that 16 sick migrants be allowed to leave the Italian rescue ship docked for five days in a Sicilian port as Interior Minister Matteo Salvini said he was working on a “positive solution” for the remaining 134 people on board. The migrants, mainly from Eritrea, have been stranded in the port of Catania since Monday because the Italian government is refusing to let them off the boat until other European Union states agree to take some of them in. The United Nations called on Saturday for reason from all sides after a meeting of envoys from 10 EU states in Brussels a day earlier failed to break the deadlock. “Frightened people who may be in need of international protection should not be caught in the maelstrom of politics, the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR said in a statement. It appealed to EU member states to “urgently” offer relocation places to the rescued people, in line with an agreement at an EU summit in June, and in the meantime urged Italy to allow “the immediate disembarkation of those on board.” But the anti-establishment government that took office three months ago shows no sign of backing down, despite fierce criticism from rights groups and the opposition. More than 650,000 people have reached Italian shores since 2014 and Rome says it will not let any more rescue ships dock unless the migrants are shared out around the EU. “I am totally untroubled and I am working, with good prospects of success, on a positive solution,” said Salvini, leader of the right-wing League party, adding that he considered the criticism he received to be a “badge of honour.” Inspectors from the Italian Health Ministry and the Red Cross went on board the coastguard vessel Diciotti to visit the migrants, some of whom have been refusing food in protest at being detained on board for days under the hot sun. Following the check up, they ordered that 11 women and five men be allowed off the boat and taken to Catania’s Garibaldi hospital. They have not yet disembarked but Salvini’s Interior Ministry said they would do so shortly. No information was immediately given on their health problems. Stefano Principato, a Red Cross representative, said the health of most of the migrants “isn’t particularly critical,” adding their problems “are more psychological than physical.” Earlier this week Italy let 27 unaccompanied minors leave the vessel. Prior to that, 13 people needing urgent hospital attention were evacuated from the ship, which picked up the migrants in the Mediterranean 10 days ago. The mostly young men now on board shelter from the sun under a large green tarpaulin that covers around half the deck, with clothes attached to it hanging out to dry. Some occasionally wave to reporters gathered at the port. The 5-Star Movement, the League’s coalition partner, has so far backed Salvini’s hard line, and on Tuesday its Transport Minister Danilo Toninelli, who is responsible for the country’s ports, renewed the government’s attacks on the EU. “Nobody can give lessons to Italy on its humanitarian efforts,” he tweeted. “The government is only asking the EU give some sense to its own existence.” ||||| ROME (AP) - Italy's Catholic bishops offered to care for a majority of 140 migrants the country's government had prevented from leaving an Italian coast guard ship docked for days in a Sicilian harbor because politics shouldn't be practiced at the expense of the poor, prominent churchmen said Sunday. Cardinal Gualtiero Bassetti, president of the Italian bishops' conference, told Italian state TV the bishops worked with Italy's Interior Ministry "in a spirit of collaboration" to help end the stalemate over where the asylum-seekers the coast guard ship rescued would go. Parishes will care for some 100 migrants, while Albania and Ireland each will accept about 20 under an arrangement announced late Saturday night by Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte. The majority of the migrants were disembarked from the Diciotti at a dock in Catania early Sunday. The ship rescued 190 migrants on Aug. 16, most of them young men fleeing harsh rule in Eritrea, and docked in Catania four days later. Anti-migrant Interior Minister Matteo Salvini refused to let passengers who were not minors or ill off the ship until fellow European Union nations volunteered to take the asylum-seekers. Except for Ireland, none did. Albania is not an EU member, and Cardinal Bassetti expressed appreciation to leaders there and in Ireland, which Pope Francis was visiting over the weekend. Francis, who as pope also is the bishop of Rome, has used his papacy to stress the need for society to care for migrants and others in need. On Sunday, Bassetti urged more "involvement by Europe, but also by the whole world" in addressing the needs of migrants and refugees. In separate comments, another bishops' conference official, the Rev. Ivan Maffeis, told Sky TG24 TV that the Italian churchmen got involved because "you can't do politics on the backs of the poor." A government office that safeguards the rights of people who have been detained determined last week that the migrants were being kept on the ship unjustly and without proper authorization. A Sicily-based prosecutor formally notified Salvini on Saturday he was being investigated for suspected abduction, illegal arrest and abuse of office. Any prosecution of Salvini would be handled by a special tribunal for government ministers, and Salvini's fellow senators would have to vote on whether to lift his Parliamentary immunity if the case progresses. Salvini staunchly defended his actions, saying he was keeping Italians safe. Much of his electoral base blames migrants for crime. Frances D'Emilio is on Twitter at www.twitter.com /fdemilio ||||| Italy's Deputy Prime Minister Investigated After Migrants Kept Aboard Ship For 6 Days After six days, 134 migrants were allowed to disembark an Italian coastguard vessel docked in Sicily. Italy's Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini refused to let the migrants off the boat until he was assured other European nations would help by taking in some of the migrants. Salvini, who is also the country's interior minister and leader of the far-right League, is now under investigation for his role in the detention. The Ubaldo Diciotti vessel originally picked up 190 people on Aug. 15 from an overcrowded boat in the Mediterranean Sea near the Italian island of Lampedusa. Thirteen people were evacuated for emergency medical treatment. Most of the migrants are from Eritrea, the BBC reports. When the boat docked at the Sicilian port of Catania last Monday, Salvini initially allowed 27 children travelling alone to leave the vessel and then 16 more people, who doctors identified as needing medical care. The remaining migrants were not allowed off until Salvini was assured they would "go elsewhere," according to the Guardian. Following the announcement of the formal investigation into his role in the standoff, Salvini granted permission for the remaining migrants to leave the boat on Saturday. The Italian church will reportedly take in the majority of the migrants, while Albania offered to take 20 migrants and Ireland said it would take 20-25 migrants. The resolution came as the U. N. appealed to EU members to "urgently" offer relocation places for the migrants. The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi urged the European States to "do the right thing" and offer asylum for people "rescued from the Mediterranean Sea in their time of need." "The time has come to end the back-and-forth that has seen countries competing in a race to the bottom on who can take the least responsibility for people rescued at sea," Grandi said in a statement. "It is dangerous and immoral to put the lives of refugees and asylum-seekers at risk while States engage in a political tug-of-war on long-term solutions," he said. According to EU rules, people must seek asylum in the location they arrive, but Italy has started barring boats from docking. The BBC's Danny Eberhardt told NPR that Salvini is being investigated for suspected illegal confinement and abuse of power but that Salvini shows no signs of backing away from his policy of blocking ports to migrants. "I think it will be hard to stop us," Salvini said to a room full of his supporters on Saturday. "Because they can investigate me, they can arrest me. But they can't arrest the desire for change of 60 million Italians." "The next ship can turn around and go back where it came from because our limit has been reached," Salvini said. ||||| Doctors ordered on Saturday that 16 sick migrants be allowed to leave the Italian rescue ship docked for five days in a Sicilian port as Interior Minister Matteo Salvini said he was working on a "positive solution" for the remaining 134 people on board. CATANIA, Italy: Doctors ordered on Saturday that 16 sick migrants be allowed to leave the Italian rescue ship docked for five days in a Sicilian port as Interior Minister Matteo Salvini said he was working on a "positive solution" for the remaining 134 people on board. The migrants, mainly from Eritrea, have been stranded in the port of Catania since Monday because the Italian government is refusing to let them off the boat until other European Union states agree to take some of them in. The United Nations called on Saturday for reason from all sides after a meeting of envoys from 10 EU states in Brussels a day earlier failed to break the deadlock. "Frightened people who may be in need of international protection should not be caught in the maelstrom of politics, the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR said in a statement. It appealed to EU member states to "urgently" offer relocation places to the rescued people, in line with an agreement at an EU summit in June, and in the meantime urged Italy to allow "the immediate disembarkation of those on board." But the anti-establishment government that took office three months ago shows no sign of backing down, despite fierce criticism from rights groups and the opposition. More than 650,000 people have reached Italian shores since 2014 and Rome says it will not let any more rescue ships dock unless the migrants are shared out around the EU. "I am totally untroubled and I am working, with good prospects of success, on a positive solution," said Salvini, leader of the right-wing League party, adding that he considered the criticism he received to be a "badge of honour." Inspectors from the Italian Health Ministry and the Red Cross went on board the coastguard vessel Diciotti to visit the migrants, some of whom have been refusing food in protest at being detained on board for days under the hot sun. Following the check up, they ordered that 11 women and five men be allowed off the boat and taken to Catania's Garibaldi hospital. They have not yet disembarked but Salvini's Interior Ministry said they would do so shortly. No information was immediately given on their health problems. Stefano Principato, a Red Cross representative, said the health of most of the migrants "isn't particularly critical," adding their problems "are more psychological than physical." Earlier this week Italy let 27 unaccompanied minors leave the vessel. Prior to that, 13 people needing urgent hospital attention were evacuated from the ship, which picked up the migrants in the Mediterranean 10 days ago. The mostly young men now on board shelter from the sun under a large green tarpaulin that covers around half the deck, with clothes attached to it hanging out to dry. Some occasionally wave to reporters gathered at the port. The 5-Star Movement, the League's coalition partner, has so far backed Salvini's hard line, and on Tuesday its Transport Minister Danilo Toninelli, who is responsible for the country's ports, renewed the government's attacks on the EU. "Nobody can give lessons to Italy on its humanitarian efforts," he tweeted. "The government is only asking the EU give some sense to its own existence." ||||| ROME (AP) — Italy and Malta squabbled Friday over who was responsible for rescuing 450 migrants crowded aboard a fishing boat in the Mediterranean as the vessel, apparently not seeking help, headed toward a tiny island off Sicily. Italian Transport Minister DaniloToninelli had tweeted that Malta was obliged under maritime law to rescue the migrants since they were in the Maltese search-and-rescue area earlier on Friday and also provide the fishing boat with safe harbor. But Malta retorted that when Rome’s maritime rescue coordination center informed it about the vessel, the boat was already far closer to the tiny Sicilian island of Lampedusa than it was to Maltese shores. The Maltese interior ministry also said that persons aboard the vessel announced their intention to proceed to Lampedusa. Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini, who’s leading the new populist’s government campaign to keep more migrants from reaching Italian shores, was adamant that the boat wouldn’t dock in any Italian port. “This boat cannot, must not arrive,” Salvini tweeted. “We already have given, you understand.” Salvini was apparently referring to the costs that Italy has incurred in the last few years caring for some 600,000 migrants who were rescued at sea and brought to Italian shores. On Thursday, Salvini was thwarted thanks to Italian presidential intervention in his determination that 67 migrants rescued earlier in the week by an Italian tug in the waters off Libya not set foot in Italy. The tug’s captain had told the Italian coast guard that the migrants were threatening the crew after it appeared that the tug would turn them over to the Libyan coast guard. The Italian coast guard vessel Diciotti arrived in the port of Trapani, in western Sicily, on Thursday, but the migrants were kept aboard while Salvini vowed that “delinquents” among the migrants would be jailed, then expelled, leaving it unclear for hours if the other passengers would be allowed off to seek asylum. After President Sergio Mattarella expressed humanitarian concerns about the migrants, authorities granted the Italian ship docking permission. Salvini insists that the Libyan coast guard deal with migrants in waters off the largely lawless North African country. But U.N. officials and human rights advocates say migrants are at risk for torture, beatings, rape and other atrocities in Libyan detention centers. Two African migrants were escorted off the Diciotti Thursday night by Italian police. The other migrants, including young children and women then came down the gangway to be taken to a center for identification. Salvini had said a Sudanese and a Ghanaian among the migrants allegedly tried to hijack the tug so it wouldn’t return them to Libya. Italian media quoted Trapani Prosecutor Alfredo Morvillo as saying the investigation would be carried out without bowing to any political pressures. No arrests were immediately made. In an interview with Italian radio station RTL on Friday, Salvini insisted that no more “fake refugees” would arrive, referring to the large percentage of migrants who see their asylum bid fail. The Italian news agency ANSA quoted a social worker for UNICEF, the U.N. children’s advocacy agency, and the aid group InterSos as saying the migrants recounted several minutes of “great confusion and fear.” Sahar Ibrahim was also quoted as saying that migrants said they were ready to dive into the sea to avoid being sent back to Libya. Frances D’Emilio is on twitter at www.twitter.com/fdemilio Copyright © 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed. ||||| CATANIA, Italy, Aug 25 (Reuters) - Doctors ordered on Saturday that 16 sick migrants be allowed to leave the Italian rescue ship docked for five days in a Sicilian port as Interior Minister Matteo Salvini said he was working on a "positive solution" for the remaining 134 people on board. The migrants, mainly from Eritrea, have been stranded in the port of Catania since Monday because the Italian government is refusing to let them off the boat until other European Union states agree to take some of them in. The United Nations called on Saturday for reason from all sides after a meeting of envoys from 10 EU states in Brussels a day earlier failed to break the deadlock. "Frightened people who may be in need of international protection should not be caught in the maelstrom of politics, the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR said in a statement. It appealed to EU member states to "urgently" offer relocation places to the rescued people, in line with an agreement at an EU summit in June, and in the meantime urged Italy to allow "the immediate disembarkation of those on board." But the anti-establishment government that took office three months ago shows no sign of backing down, despite fierce criticism from rights groups and the opposition. More than 650,000 people have reached Italian shores since 2014 and Rome says it will not let any more rescue ships dock unless the migrants are shared out around the EU. "I am totally untroubled and I am working, with good prospects of success, on a positive solution," said Salvini, leader of the right-wing League party, adding that he considered the criticism he received to be a "badge of honour." Inspectors from the Italian Health Ministry and the Red Cross went on board the coastguard vessel Diciotti to visit the migrants, some of whom have been refusing food in protest at being detained on board for days under the hot sun. Following the check up, they ordered that 11 women and five men be allowed off the boat and taken to Catania's Garibaldi hospital. They have not yet disembarked but Salvini's Interior Ministry said they would do so shortly. No information was immediately given on their health problems. Stefano Principato, a Red Cross representative, said the health of most of the migrants "isn't particularly critical," adding their problems "are more psychological than physical." Earlier this week Italy let 27 unaccompanied minors leave the vessel. Prior to that, 13 people needing urgent hospital attention were evacuated from the ship, which picked up the migrants in the Mediterranean 10 days ago. The mostly young men now on board shelter from the sun under a large green tarpaulin that covers around half the deck, with clothes attached to it hanging out to dry. Some occasionally wave to reporters gathered at the port. The 5-Star Movement, the League's coalition partner, has so far backed Salvini's hard line, and on Tuesday its Transport Minister Danilo Toninelli, who is responsible for the country's ports, renewed the government's attacks on the EU. "Nobody can give lessons to Italy on its humanitarian efforts," he tweeted. "The government is only asking the EU give some sense to its own existence." (Writing by Gavin Jones Editing by Helen Popper) ||||| CATANIA: Doctors ordered on Saturday that 16 sick migrants be allowed to leave the Italian rescue ship docked for five days in a Sicilian port as Interior Minister Matteo Salvini said he was working on a "positive solution" for the remaining 134 people on board. The migrants, mainly from Eritrea, have been stranded in the port of Catania since Monday because the Italian government is refusing to let them off the boat until other European Union states agree to take some of them in. The United Nations called on Saturday for reason from all sides after a meeting of envoys from 10 EU states in Brussels a day earlier failed to break the deadlock. "Frightened people who may be in need of international protection should not be caught in the maelstrom of politics, the UN refugee agency UNHCR said in a statement. It appealed to EU member states to "urgently" offer relocation places to the rescued people, in line with an agreement at an EU summit in June, and in the meantime urged Italy to allow "the immediate disembarkation of those on board." But the anti-establishment government that took office three months ago shows no sign of backing down, despite fierce criticism from rights groups and the opposition. More than 650,000 people have reached Italian shores since 2014 and Rome says it will not let any more rescue ships dock unless the migrants are shared out around the EU. "I am totally untroubled and I am working, with good prospects of success, on a positive solution," said Salvini, leader of the right-wing League party, adding that he considered the criticism he received to be a "badge of honour." Inspectors from the Italian Health Ministry and the Red Cross went on board the coastguard vessel Diciotti to visit the migrants, some of whom have been refusing food in protest at being detained on board for days under the hot sun. Following the check up, they ordered that 11 women and five men be allowed off the boat and taken to Catania's Garibaldi hospital. They have not yet disembarked but Salvini's Interior Ministry said they would do so shortly. No information was immediately given on their health problems. Stefano Principato, a Red Cross representative, said the health of most of the migrants "isn't particularly critical," adding their problems "are more psychological than physical." Earlier this week Italy let 27 unaccompanied minors leave the vessel. Prior to that, 13 people needing urgent hospital attention were evacuated from the ship, which picked up the migrants in the Mediterranean 10 days ago. The mostly young men now on board shelter from the sun under a large green tarpaulin that covers around half the deck, with clothes attached to it hanging out to dry. Some occasionally wave to reporters gathered at the port. The 5-Star Movement, the League's coalition partner, has so far backed Salvini's hard line, and on Tuesday its Transport Minister Danilo Toninelli, who is responsible for the country's ports, renewed the government's attacks on the EU. "Nobody can give lessons to Italy on its humanitarian efforts," he tweeted. "The government is only asking the EU give some sense to its own existence." | Italian Minister of the Interior Matteo Salvini is placed under investigation for possible illegal detention and kidnapping. He subsequently gives permission for the remaining 134 migrants to disembark. Ireland will take 25 migrants, Albania 20. The Italian church says it will take in the others. |
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Sheriff Mike Williams: "The suspect who took his own life" A participant in a video game tournament in Jacksonville, Florida, has shot dead two people before killing himself, police say. They named the killer as David Katz, 24, from Baltimore and say he used one hand gun. No other suspects are sought. Eleven other people were injured on Sunday at Jacksonville Landing, a large shopping and entertainment complex. Some unconfirmed reports say Katz had become angry after losing at the American football eSports event. The victims are not being officially named until their next-of-kin are informed, although tributes to two gamers have started appearing on social media. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Florida shooting: 'It shouldn't happen anywhere' Florida has seen several mass shootings in recent years, including at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando in 2016, when 49 people died, and the Marjory Stoneman Douglas School in Parkland in February this year, when 17 people were killed. 'Worst day of my life' Participants were playing the American football game Madden NFL 19 at the GLHF Game Bar in Jacksonville Landing when shooting erupted on Sunday afternoon. Image copyright GLHF Game Bar Image caption The incident was reported at a game tournament in a restaurant A video stream of the event being aired on the Twitch platform appears to show two competitors playing a game when a red dot flashes on one of their sweatshirts, followed by gunfire. Drini Gjoka, a 19-year-old player taking part, described the shooting in a series of posts on Twitter, calling it "the worst day of [his] life". He tweeted that a bullet had hit his thumb. Another competitor Chris "Dubby" McFarland said a bullet had grazed his head. People fled for shelter when the shooting began and police appealed to them to stay calm as Swat teams checked the area for possible accomplices before it was confirmed that only one gunman had been involved. Some reports in US media say Katz was a known gamer, using the name "Bread" or "Sliced Bread", and had been the winner of at least one Madden championship in 2017. He was believed to have been staying in a nearby hotel. The FBI confirmed its agents had searched the home of Katz's father in the Inner Harbor area of Baltimore on Sunday evening. 'Scared for my life' Taylor Poindexter from Chicago said she saw the gunman taking aim at people in the room. Image copyright Reuters Image caption Taylor Poindexter: "He was popping rounds" "We did see him, two hands on the gun, walking back, just popping rounds," she said. "I was scared for my life and my boyfriend's." "There were nine victims transported by JFRD [Jackonville Fire and Rescue Department] to area hospitals. Some of those have gunshot wounds. There were two additional gunshot victims that self-transported themselves to local hospitals," said Sheriff Mike Williams. "Tonight, Jacksonville is mourning. We've faced an occurrence that is all too common that will require us to continue to do the hard work of public safety," said Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry. EA Sports, the company that owns Madden and approved the competition, told the BBC it was "devastated by this horrific event... a senseless act of violence that we strongly condemn". It sent its heartfelt sympathies to the families of the victims. ||||| Police investigate the scene of a multiple shooting at the Jacksonville Landing after a mass shooting during a Madden Championship Series competition at the Good Luck Have Fun video game bar inside Chicago Pizza at The Jacksonville Landing. Reports say there are four dead including the shooter and 7 other victims at the Jacksonville, Florida location Sunday, August 26, 2018. [AP Photo/Will Dickey/Florida Times-Union] CORRECTS YEAR TO 2018 - Law enforcement patrols the St. Johns River by boat just outside the Jacksonville Landing where an active shooter was reported Sunday, Aug. 26, 2018 in Jacksonville, Fla. after a gunman opened fire Sunday during an online video game tournament that was being livestreamed from a Florida mall, killing multiple people and sending many others to hospitals. (AP Photo/Laura Heald) Florida Highway patrolmen block the entrance to the Main Street Bridge near the scene of a mass shooting at Jacksonville Landing in Jacksonville, Fla., Sunday, Aug. 26, 2018. Florida authorities are reporting multiple fatalities at the riverfront mall that was hosting a video game tournament. (AP Photo/John Raoux) Bomb squad police prepare a robot to enter a parking garage a block away from the scene of a multiple shooting at the Jacksonville Landing Sunday, Aug. 26, 2018, during a video game competition in Jacksonville, Fla. A gunman opened fire Sunday during an online video game tournament that was being livestreamed from a Florida mall, killing multiple people and sending many others to hospitals, authorities said. (Will Dickey/The Florida Times-Union via AP) Police barricade a street near the Jacksonville Landing in Jacksonville, Fla., Sunday, Aug. 26, 2018. Florida authorities are reporting multiple fatalities after a mass shooting at the riverfront mall in Jacksonville that was hosting a video game tournament. (AP Photo/Laura Heald) Police investigate the scene of a multiple shooting at the Jacksonville Landing Sunday, Aug. 26, 2018, during a video game competition in Jacksonville, Fla. A gunman opened fire Sunday during an online video game tournament that was being livestreamed from a Florida mall, killing multiple people and sending many others to hospitals, authorities said. (Will Dickey/The Florida Times-Union via AP) Police investigate the scene of a multiple shooting at the Jacksonville Landing Sunday, Aug. 26, 2018, during a video game competition in Jacksonville, Fla. A gunman opened fire Sunday during an online video game tournament that was being livestreamed from a Florida mall, killing multiple people and sending many others to hospitals, authorities said. (Will Dickey/The Florida Times-Union via AP) A police officer directs a pedestrian away from a blocked-off area near the scene of a mass shooting at Jacksonville Landing in Jacksonville, Fla., Sunday, Aug. 26, 2018. Florida authorities are reporting multiple fatalities at the riverfront mall that was hosting a video game tournament. (AP Photo/John Raoux) Police investigate the scene at the Jacksonville Landing Sunday, Aug. 26, 2018, after a mass shooting during a Madden Championship Series competition at the Good Luck Have Fun video game bar at The Jacksonville Landing in Jacksonville, Fla. A gunman opened fire Sunday during an online video game tournament that was being livestreamed from a Florida mall, killing multiple people and sending many others to hospitals, authorities said. (Will Dickey/The Florida Times-Union via AP) CORRECTS YEAR TO 2018 - Law enforcement patrols the St. Johns River by boat just outside the Jacksonville Landing where an active shooter was reported Sunday, Aug. 26, 2018 in Jacksonville, Fla. after a gunman opened fire Sunday during an online video game tournament that was being livestreamed from a Florida mall, killing multiple people and sending many others to hospitals. (AP Photo/Laura Heald) Jacksonville Sheriff Mike Williams, right, holds a news conference, Sunday, Aug. 26, 2018, in Jacksonville, Fla., after a gunman opened fire Sunday during an online video game tournament that was being livestreamed from a Florida mall, killing multiple people and sending many others to hospitals. (AP Photo/Laura Heald) State Attorney Melissa Nelson, left, arrives to the scene of a multiple shooting at the Jacksonville Landing Sunday, Aug. 26, 2018, during a video game competition in Jacksonville, Fla. A gunman opened fire Sunday during an online video game tournament that was being livestreamed from a Florida mall, killing multiple people and sending many others to hospitals, authorities said. (Will Dickey/The Florida Times-Union via AP) JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A gunman opened fire Sunday at an online video game tournament as it was being livestreamed from a Florida mall, killing two people and then fatally shooting himself in an attack that sent several others to hospitals, authorities said. Jacksonville Sheriff Mike Williams said authorities believe 24-year-old David Katz of Baltimore carried out the attack using at least one handgun at the Jacksonville Landing, a collection of restaurants and shops along the St. Johns River. He said the man died from a self-inflicted gunshot, adding authorities were still making final confirmation of his identity with the FBI assisting them in Baltimore. Nine other people were wounded by gunfire and all were in stable condition Sunday evening after going to hospitals, Williams said. He added that two others were hurt as people sought to flee the gunfire in the panic and chaos that ensued. Katz was in Jacksonville for the “Madden NFL 19” video game tournament, authorities said. The games maker, EA Sports, lists a David Katz as a 2017 championship winner. Thee competition was held in a gaming bar that shares space with a pizzeria. Viewers could watch the games online and see the players. Investigators were looking into online video that appeared to capture the scene right before the shooting began, Williams said. A red dot that appears to be a laser pointer is visible on the chest of a player seconds before the first of about a dozen gunshots rings out. Marquis Williams, 28, and his girlfriend, Taylor Poindexter, 26, both from Chicago, were ordering pizza at the bar when they heard the first shot. “Initially we thought it was a balloon popping, but there weren’t any balloons in the room,” said Williams, who had taken part in the tournament earlier. “Then we heard repeat shots and we took off running.” Williams added: “The first shot everybody just turned and looked. After the second, third and fourth shots, everybody took off and ran for the exits.” Taylor Poindexter, an aspiring gamer, said she had hoped to gain some experience at the tournament. She said she never saw the face of the man who was shooting. But she recalled, “We did see him with two hands on a gun walking back just popping rounds.” He said the two ran to a nearby restaurant where workers were waving people in, hiding in a bathroom until police arrived. Jason Lake, the founder and CEO of compLexity, a company that owns professional e-sports teams, said on Twitter that one of his players, 19-year-old Drini Gjoka, was shot in the thumb. Gjoka tweeted: “The tourney just got shot up. Im leavinng and never coming back.” Then: “I am literally so lucky. The bullet hit my thumb. Worst day of my life.” On Sunday evening, an FBI official in Baltimore confirmed that its agents were searching the family home of the man authorities said they believe was behind the attack. An FBI spokesman, Dave Fitz, said agents had gone to the house of the man’s father in Baltimore. He declined to release specifics, citing the ongoing investigation. In Washington, White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said President Donald Trump had been briefed on the attack and the White House was monitoring the situation. The Jacksonville Landing, in the heart of the city’s downtown, also hosts concerts and other entertainment. It was the site of a Trump rally in 2015, early in his campaign for the White House. The sheriff’s office used Twitter and Facebook immediately after the shooting to warn people to stay far away and to ask anyone who was hiding to call 911. Police also barricaded a three-block radius around the mall and police boats patrolled the nearby river. Police also took up positions on a bridge overlooking the river. ||||| Jacksonville Sheriff's Office says there's been a mass shooting at the Jacksonville Landing; people told to stay away JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Jacksonville Sheriff's Office says there's been a mass shooting at the Jacksonville Landing; people told to stay away. ||||| JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Jacksonville Sheriff's Office says there's been a mass shooting at the Jacksonville Landing; people told to stay away. By The Associated Press ||||| Three people are dead, three victims and the shooter, and 11 are wounded following a mass shooting Sunday at the Jacksonville Landing during a Madden Football video game tournament. Not all who were injured were shot, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office. The suspected shooter, named by the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office as David Katz, is dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to the Associated Press. WATCH: Witness: 'I'm not going to blame guns for this' Police are not looking for any other suspects and a motive is not yet known, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office. The video game tournament took place inside of the GLHF Game Bar inside of the Landing. The suspect, who has not yet been identified, was found dead at the scene, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office. The victims in the shooting have not yet been identified. During a news conference, the sheriff's office made mention of a video being shared on social media which shows streams of video games during the tournament when the shooting occurred. First Coast News had initially shared the video, but is not showing it anymore after learning that multiple people were killed. The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office is on the scene of a mass shooting at the Jacksonville Landing, multiple fatalities have been reported. LIVE BLOG: Latest on the shooting at the Jacksonville Landing Two police sources tell First Coast News that there are four people dead and 11 people injured. A witness at the scene said he traveled to Jacksonville for the tournament and said, "This is just sad, it shouldn't happen, it honestly should never happen. I'm not going to blame guns for this." We are hearing from witnesses that people who were working in Hooters are on lockdown and are not able to leave. SWAT is finding people hiding in The Landing. SWAT is encouraging those who are hiding in place, not to come out but call 911 instead. ATF and the FBI are on scene assisting the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office. JSO is the lead investigative agency for today's shooting at the Jacksonville Landing. FBI Jacksonville has deployed personnel to the scene. Additional FBI resources are available to assist. Further media inquiries should be made to the JSO PIO. Thank you, SA Christine Windness, FBI Jacksonville-Media Coordinator. JSO warns to stay many blocks away from the area for safety. Victims speak out on Twitter about their experience during the shooting. Three victims of the mass shooting are being treated at Memorial Hospital and are labeled in stable condition, according to Memorial's spokesperson, Peter Moberg. UF Health has six victims in their hospital. One victim is in serious condition and the other five are in good condition. One person who was injured fleeing the scene, but not shot, is at Baptist Hospital. The Salvation Army is feeding first responders on scene: The Jacksonville Landing made a statement on the shooting via Twitter: The NFL made a statement via Twitter on the shooting: Former and current football players also reacted via Twitter. EA, the creators of the Madden football game, have released statements via Twitter: “We are deeply saddened at the incident and pray for everyone involved. The Jacksonville Landing is fully cooperating with the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office and all ongoing investigations.” Senator Marco Rubio has also released a statement via Twitter: Former Jacksonville Mayor Alvin Brown has spoken out about the shooting at the Landing: First Coast News has a crew at the scene and this story will be updated with more information. Here is a live video of our coverage via YouTube. ||||| BALTIMORE (WJZ) — WJZ has learned the Jacksonville, Florida mass shooting suspect is from Baltimore, Maryland. Multiple law enforcement agencies in Jacksonville and Baltimore are working together to learn more information about the shooter. ATF and FBI agents are on the scene of a home in the Federal Hill area near the Inner Harbor, which may be associated with the Jacksonville shooter. The Jacksonville’s Sheriff’s Office said they believe the shooter is 24-year-old David Katz of Baltimore. The shooting occurred Sunday at a video game tournament at a shopping and dining complex in downtown Jacksonville, Florida, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said Sunday. The FBI is investigating an address in the city and calling this a “criminal” matter not using the word “terrorism.” No officials numbers have been reported by the sheriff’s office, but Action Jax, the CBS-affiliate in Jacksonville, reports 11 injured and four dead. One suspect, who was identified only as a white man, is dead at the scene, Jacksonville Sheriff Mike Williams said at a news conference, adding that there were no outstanding suspects. The Sheriff’s Office said on Twitter there were “multiple” fatalities and “many” transported to hospitals. The shooting occurred at the Jacksonville Landing complex during a qualifying event for the Madden 19 Tournament at the GLHF Game Bar, according to the Twitter of CompLexity Gaming, one of the gaming teams. The Landing is an open-air marketplace with stores, bars and restaurants in downtown Jacksonville along the St. Johns River. The story is developing. WJZ will have more on this as more information becomes available. Follow @WJZ on Twitter and like WJZ-TV | CBS Baltimore on Facebook ||||| Two people were killed when a gunman opened fire at a Madden 19 video game tournament along Jacksonville's scenic riverfront, police said Sunday. Sheriff Mike Williams said the lone shooter was among the dead and had taken his own life. He identified the suspected gunman as David Katz, a 24-year-old white man from Baltimore, Maryland. The other two deceased persons have not been identified. Williams said nine of the injured were taken to hospitals, seven of them with gunshot wounds. Two other injured persons sought hospital care on their own. "I'm happy to report they're all in stable condition at this time,'' said Williams. Initial news media reports indicated there were four fatalities, but Williams corrected the number as three. Police are not looking for any other suspects and a motive is not yet known. The esports gaming tournament took place at Chicago Pizza in the Jacksonville Landing, said Williams, and his office received 911 calls at 1:34 p.m. ET reporting a shooting. A live feed from the tournament was underway when the shooting took place, and the audio feed is interrupted by the sound of several gunshots. Braheem Johnson of Jacksonville was working at the Chicago Pizza restaurant next door to the Game Bar when the shots rang out. He caught a glimpse of the shooter, who he described as a young male of average build, firing into the crowd with a large-caliber handgun sporting a laser sight attachment. "I just heard shots and I looked at the window and I see him," Johnson said. "Dude came in there, basically like, to kill basically. It’s like he was just in his rampage. He didn’t know what he wanted to do after. … Everybody started running and everything.’’ Johnson barricaded himself and some customers in the restaurant and grabbed two knives, adding, "If you come into this kitchen, you're bound to get stabbed." He described seeing the wounded, some still sprinting for the door despite the injuries. Johnson stayed in the restaurant along with the customers until the police came. Jacksonville Sheriff's officers investigate the shooting at Jacksonville Landing on August 26, 2018 in Jacksonville, Florida. White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said President Donald Trump had been briefed and was monitoring the situation. Gov. Rick Scott said he had promised Mayor Curry and other officials in Jacksonville any state support they might need. Scott, who was preparing to fly to Jacksonville from his home in Naples, also spoke with Mayor Lenny Curry and other Jacksonville officials, according to Scott spokesman John Tupps. "Today, this evening, tonight, Jacksonville is mourning. We have faced an occurrence that is all too common. It will require us to continue to do the hard work of public safety to make sure people are safe," Curry said. "One violent crime in our city is one too many. Tonight we pray for the wounded and we pray for the families of those we’ve lost.’’ He added, “Gov. Scott and scores of leaders from around the state have expressed their condolences and support. To all those and anyone watching I say this: Pray for Jacksonville as we deal with this senseless tragedy.’’ Jacksonville is about 300 miles north of Parkland, where a gunman killed 17 people in a rampage at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Valentine's Day. Sen. Bill Nelson issued a statement after Sunday's shooting saying "Word of another tragic mass shooting in our state brings shock and outrage." Video game giant Electronic Arts issued a statement saying it was "aware of an incident at a sanctioned Madden Championship Series competition in Jacksonville. We are working with authorities to gather facts at this stage." Complexity Gaming, a professional gaming team that had a player participating in the event at the GLHF Game Bar, said on Twitter participant Grini Gjoka was grazed in the hand but was "away from the scene and safe." Gjoka tweeted that he was hit in the thumb when the tournament "got shot up." "Worst day of my life," Gjoka said. "I will never take anything for granted ever again. Life can be cut short in a second." The Jacksonville Landing is an entertainment complex along the St. Johns River. The area includes waterfront restaurants and an indoor shopping mall. The GLHF Game Bar – GLHF stands for good luck, have fun – bills itself online as "Jacksonville's home for gamers and nerds alike." The shooting took place less than two days after a gunfire at a high school football game a few miles away left one person dead and two wounded. ||||| (CNN) — The Jacksonville, Florida, Sheriff’s Office said there was a mass shooting with multiple fatalities at a downtown shopping-dining complex on Sunday and urged people to stay far away from the area. “Mass shooting at the Jacksonville Landing. Stay far away from the area. The area is not safe at this time. STAY AWAY #TheLandingMassShooting,” the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said on Twitter. The shooting occurred during a qualifying event for the Madden 19 Tournament at the GLHF Game Bar, according to the Twitter of CompLexity Gaming, one of the gaming teams. One Madden participant, Young Drini, was grazed in the hand and is away from the scene and safe, Complexity said. On an online stream of the Madden event posted to the website Twitch, several loud gunshots can be heard and the game abruptly stops. Federal law enforcement officials are monitoring the situation in Jacksonville. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) is responding to the scene in Jacksonville Landing, a law enforcement source told CNN. The Jacksonville Landing is an open-air marketplace with stores, bars and restaurants in downtown Jacksonville along the St. Johns River. ||||| Four people are dead and 11 are wounded following a mass shooting Sunday at the Jacksonville Landing during a Madden Football video game tournament. The suspected shooter is dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to the Associate Press. Police are not looking for any other suspects and a motive is not yet known, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office. The video game tournament took place inside of the GLHF Game Bar inside of the Landing. The suspect, who has not yet been identified, was found dead at the scene, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office. The victims in the shooting have not yet been identified. During a news conference, the sheriff's office made mention of a video being shared on social media which shows streams of video games during the tournament when the shooting occurred. First Coast News had initially shared the video, but is not showing it anymore after learning that multiple people were killed. The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office is on the scene of a mass shooting at the Jacksonville Landing, multiple fatalities have been reported. LIVE BLOG: Latest on the shooting at the Jacksonville Landing Two police sources tell First Coast News that there are four people dead and 11 people injured. A witness at the scene said he traveled to Jacksonville for the tournament and said, "This is just sad, it shouldn't happen, it honestly should never happen. I'm not going to blame guns for this." Graphic video of moment shooting began in Madden gaming tournament at Jacksonville Landing. Warning: graphic language: We are hearing from witnesses that people who were working in Hooters are on lockdown and are not able to leave. SWAT is finding people hiding in The Landing. SWAT is encouraging those who are hiding in place, not to come out but call 911 instead. ATF and the FBI are on scene assisting the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office. JSO warns to stay many blocks away from the area for safety. Three victims of the mass shooting are being treated at Memorial Hospital and are labeled in stable condition, according to Memorial's spokesperson, Peter Moberg. UF Health has six victims in their hospital. One victim is in serious condition and the other five are in good condition. EA, the makers of the Madden football game, have released statements via Twitter: “We are deeply saddened at the incident and pray for everyone involved. The Jacksonville Landing is fully cooperating with the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office and all ongoing investigations.” Senator Marco Rubio has also released a statement via Twitter: First Coast News has a crew at the scene and this story will be updated with more information. Here is a live video of our coverage via YouTube. ||||| Three people were fatally shot at the scene of a video game tournament, including the gunman, who took his own life, Jacksonville, Florida Sheriff Mike Williams said. Nine other people suffered gunshot wounds, Williams said. Multiple people were killed in a shooting during a video game tournament at a shopping and dining complex in downtown Jacksonville, Florida, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said Sunday afternoon. Four people have died, including the gunman, at the shooting at the Jacksonville Landing, according to a law enforcement official briefed on the incident. Eleven others were injured, the source said. The suspect, identified only as a white man, died at the scene, Sheriff Mike Williams said at a news conference, adding that there were no outstanding suspects. The Sheriff’s Office said on Twitter there were “multiple” fatalities and “many” transported to hospitals. The shooting occurred at the Jacksonville Landing complex during a qualifying event for the Madden 19 Tournament at the GLHF Game Bar, CompLexity Gaming, one of the gaming teams, said on Twitter. The Landing is an open-air marketplace with stores, bars and restaurants in downtown Jacksonville along the St. Johns River. At least three people injured in the shooting were transported to Memorial Hospital and all are in stable condition, hospital spokesperson Pete Moberg said. One person is being treated for a minor injury at Baptist Medical Center, spokesperson Cindy Hamilton said. UF Health Jacksonville received six patients, including one in serious condition. The victims ranged in age from 20 to 35 years old. The victim in serious condition had multiple gunshot wounds to the chest, and doctors are monitoring this patient’s heart. At least three patients were shot once, and three were shot more than once, UF Health said. In an online stream of the Madden event posted to the website Twitch, several loud gunshots can be heard and the game abruptly stops. After several shots ring out, people can be heard screaming, and one person cries out, “Oh f**, what’d he shoot me with?” The stream did not show the shooting. The event was the Southeastern Qualifier for the Madden NFL Championship Series for Madden NFL 19, according to the bar’s Facebook page. “This is your chance to earn your spot in the first Major’s Live Finals happening in October 2018. Don’t hesitate to secure your spot,” the post read in part. Ryen Alemon, who came from Texas to participate in the gaming tournament, said he ducked down and ran toward the restroom when he heard the gunshots. He stayed there for about 10 minutes and then ran from the scene. “I’m still shocked, I can hardly talk,” he said. Sheriff Williams said the area had been cleared of witnesses and asked that people do not come downtown because of the size of the crime scene. Malik Brunson said he was at a nearby Hooters restaurant when the shooting occurred. “All I heard was he got a gun and the shooting started. One of the men ran into Hooters with the shot wounds, they locked us in the restaurant,” he said in a social media message. CompLexity Gaming Founder and CEO Jason Lake said one of their gamers, a 19-year-old who goes by Drini, was shot in the thumb but managed to escape and is going to be fine. Lake told CNN that the shooting may make the growing eSports industry reconsider security at events. “To have someone walk into an event like this that’s all about good sportsmanship and teamwork and just good vibes, and do something like this, it’s heartbreaking,” he said. “I think the eSports industry as a whole is going to have to step back and take a look at further strengthening our security.” President Donald Trump has been briefed on the situation, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said. Gov. Rick Scott said he spoke to President Trump, who offered federal resources. Federal law enforcement officials are monitoring the situation in Jacksonville. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) is responding to the scene in Jacksonville Landing, a law enforcement source told CNN. “The nation once again looks to Florida with grief and heavy hearts,” former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who was seriously wounded in a mass shooting, said in a statement. “The massacre in Jacksonville is a tragic reminder of the threats we face from gun violence, no matter who we are or where our day takes us,” said Giffords, who co-founded a gun violence prevention organization. “And it’s yet another devastating indictment of this country’s inability to keep our kids safe.” | The sheriff's office reports a mass shooting at a Madden 19 tournament at the Jacksonville Landing shopping mall in Jacksonville, Florida. Two attendees are killed, and nine others are taken to nearby hospitals. The suspected shooter is reported dead at the scene. |
TEHRAN – President Hassan Rouhani on Tuesday appeared before the Majlis to answer lawmakers’ questions, mostly regarding current economic situation. In four out of five questions, Rouhani failed to satisfy the MPS, and the case is probably going to be referred to the Judiciary. Lawmakers posed questions on his administration’s handling of economic issues, including a high unemployment rate, slow economic growth and a devaluation of national currency rial as well as smuggling of goods and foreign currency. The lawmakers were also critical of the continuation of banking sanctions against Tehran despite the 2015 nuclear deal -- under which those restrictions should no longer exit. Responding to the lawmakers’ questions, Rouhani defended his administration’s performance in two rounds and also called for unity among all forces to tackle the existing shortcomings. In his remarks, Rouhani said, “What is important for us is to join hands to tackle people’s problem. People do not want you ask me questions and me to deliver digits and numbers; to go on reading these notes. People do not want this. People know the pain, they do better than you and I do. People understand their economic problems day by day and second by second.” “It is not important whether you or I talk about feeling the fact that people’s lives have been laden with problems. And if we and you are thinking of transitory remedies, people will not have it.” In another part of his answers, Rouhani referred to America’s mounting pressure on Iran, saying, “We will not let America’s schemes turn out successful… We will not allow a bunch of anti-Iranians who have gathered in the White House today try to conspire against us.” He added, “The White House should not think it will be happy of the conclusion of today’s session. It should know that it will be utterly saddened by the conclusion of today’s session…. We have no fear either of America or of problems. We will get through problems well.” First assuming power in 2013, Rouhani's “Prudence and Hope” government has been credited with clinching a historical nuclear accord with world states only two years later. The agreement, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), relieved the country of nuclear-related sanctions – including those imposed by the U.S., and was subsequently endorsed in the form of a UN Security Council resolution. In May, however, the U.S. left the deal in clear breach of its international obligations, and reinstated sanctions against Iran as part of its fresh campaign of economic pressure. A first round of the bans came in force earlier this month, while the second batch is due to take effect in early November. The Majlis has on several occasions called Rouhani’s ministers to account. Already this month, it has removed Labor Minister Ali Rabi’ei and Economy Minister Masoud Karbasian in back-to-back impeachments. SP/PA ||||| LONDON (Reuters) - Iran’s parliament voted on Tuesday to reject President Hassan Rouhani’s explanations for economic hardship after a dramatic grilling on live TV, a sign his pragmatic faction is losing sway to hardline rivals as new U.S. sanctions begin to bite. The vote in parliament came two days after lawmakers sacked the minister of economy and finance and weeks after they sacked the labor minister, blaming them for the collapse of the rial currency and surging inflation. Rouhani won two landslide elections on a platform of economic reform and opening Iran up to the outside world, and his pragmatic supporters have a majority in the parliament. But his reputation and political influence have taken a sharp hit as his promised economic gains have failed to materialize. His highest profile achievement was to negotiate the lifting of financial sanctions on Iran in a 2015 deal with world powers over its nuclear program, but U.S. President Donald Trump pulled out in May and Washington has re-imposed sanctions. Rouhani spoke out in parliament in defense of his economic record, blaming the country’s woes on the U.S. sanctions rather than his team’s management. But a majority of lawmakers voted to reject his explanation in four out of five areas. There were conflicting reports about what would follow from the vote: several Iranian news agencies said Rouhani’s case would now be referred to the judiciary, although the spokesman for the parliamentary leadership, Behrouz Nemati, said lawmakers must hold further discussion before that would take place. The action in parliament is a further sign of how the Trump administration’s decision to re-impose sanctions could affect Iran’s leadership and its relationship with the outside world, potentially for decades to come. Iran’s rulers have been divided between a pragmatic faction that aims for better international relations, and hardliners who are wary of reforms. Trump’s decision to abandon the nuclear deal was opposed by U.S. allies in Europe, who argued that he undermined Rouhani and strengthened the hands of the hardliners. While Rouhani and his cabinet run Iran’s day-to-day affairs, ultimate authority lies with the Supreme Leader, 79-year-old Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in power since 1989. Weakening the pragmatists now could affect the choice of Khamenei’s successor. For now, Rouhani’s own position appears safe. The judiciary could determine that he broke the law and parliament has the power to impeach him, but experts on Iranian politics say power struggles are more likely to play out indirectly. “The parliament’s move is politically motivated and indicates that tensions would increase in the Islamic Republic in coming months,” Saeed Laylaz, an Iranian economist, told Reuters by telephone from Tehran. “Iranian political factions have always used international issues to pursue their domestic gains,” he added. After the sacking of the two ministers this month, Tasnim news agency reported that 70 lawmakers had signed a motion to impeach a third: the Minister of Industry, Mines and Business. Rouhani has bowed to pressure and fired the head of the central bank. A deputy central bank governor was arrested by the judiciary on corruption charges in a crackdown that also saw foreign exchange dealers rounded up. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani speaks during a parliamentary session in Tehran, Iran August 28, 2018. President Official Website/Handout via REUTERS “U.S. PLOT” The lawmakers asked Rouhani on Tuesday about five subjects: unemployment, slow economic growth, the fall of the rial, cross-border smuggling, and the lack of access by Iranian banks to global financial services. The parliament found only Rouhani’s answer about banks satisfactory. “I want to assure the Iranian nation that we will not allow the U.S. plot against the Islamic Republic to succeed,” Rouhani told parliament. “We will not let this bunch of anti-Iranians in the White House be able to plot against us.” Iran’s official unemployment rate is 12 percent, with youth unemployment as high as 25 percent in a country where 60 percent of the 80 million population is under 30. The rial has lost more than two-thirds of its value in a year. Iran’s economy has suffered not only from sanctions but also from pervasive corruption and the concentration of its wealth and trade in the hands of big firms controlled by the hardline Revolutionary Guards military force. Washington imposed a new round of sanctions in August targeting Iran’s trade in gold and other precious metals, its purchases of U.S. dollars and its car industry. Worse is yet to come, with a new round of sanctions to be imposed in November that Washington says aims to cut Iran’s oil exports to zero. The plunge in the currency and soaring inflation have sparked sporadic demonstrations against profiteering and corruption, with many protesters chanting slogans against both the government and Supreme Leader Khamenei. Rouhani said such anti-government protests had encouraged Trump to try to provoke more unrest by harming Iran’s economy. Slideshow (2 Images) “The protests tempted Trump to withdraw from the nuclear deal,” he said, asking lawmakers to support his cabinet and not add to anti-government sentiment. Although the economic problems were critical, Rouhani said: “More important than that is that many people have lost their faith in the future of the Islamic Republic and are in doubt about its power.” ||||| Pressures mounted on Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Tuesday as lawmakers summoned him to answer questions on weak economic growth and rising prices, but the parliament was not convinced by his answers and referred the case to the judiciary. Defending his cabinet’s performance, Rouhani said the economic troubles only began when Washington reimposed sanctions on Tehran, but many lawmakers were not satisfied with the answer according to vote results at the end of the session. If the majority of lawmakers are not convinced with the president’s answers, they can see it as “a breach of law” and refer the case to the judiciary. The lawmakers have the power to impeach the president, and vote on his lack of competence, but such a motion is not before parliament at this stage. On Sunday, Iran’s parliament sacked the minister of economic affairs and finance due to the sharp fall in the rial currency and the deterioration in the economic situation. In early August Iranian lawmakers voted out the minister of labour and last month Rouhani replaced the head of the central bank. Rouhani, a pragmatist who reduced tension with the West by striking a nuclear deal with world powers in 2015, now himself faces a backlash from hardliners after U.S. President Donald Trump pulled out of the pact in May. Rouhani said anti-government protests in early January encouraged Trump to withdraw from the nuclear deal as he was hopeful that economic hardship would stir more unrest in Iran. The demonstrations, which began over economic hardship and high prices and included chants slogans against the government and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, spread to more than 80 cities and towns and resulted in 25 deaths. “The protests tempted Trump to withdraw from the nuclear deal,” he said, asking lawmakers to support his cabinet and not add to anti-government sentiment. Although the economic problems were critical, Rouhani said: “More important than that is that many people have lost their faith in the future of the Islamic Republic and are in doubt about its power.” The nuclear deal had lifted sanctions on Tehran in return for curbs on its nuclear programme. But Washington imposed a new round of sanctions in August targeting Iran’s trade in gold and other precious metals, its purchases of U.S. dollars and its car industry. A new round of sanctions to be imposed in November targets Iranian oil sales. “I want to assure the Iranian nation that we will not allow the U.S. plot against the Islamic Republic to succeed,” Rouhani said told parliament in a session that was broadcast live on state television. “We will not let this bunch of anti-Iranians in the White House be able to plot against us.” The lawmakers asked Rouhani about the government’s failure in tackling the rise of unemployment, slow economic growth, and the fall of the country’s currency rial – as well as revenue-sapping cross-border smuggling operations. Rouhani said his government had asked the powerful Revolutionary Guards to help them in tackling the smuggling. Lawmakers also asked why the government had not adopted reforms in the financial sector and foreign exchange market, and sought an explanation why, more than two years after the nuclear deal, Iranian banks still had only limited access to global financial services. The parliament only found Rouhani’s answer about the banking satisfactory and referred the rest to the hardline judiciary. For all the latest World News, download Indian Express App ||||| Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has appeared before the Parliament to answer a series of questions raised by lawmakers on his administration’s economic performance. During Tuesday’s parliamentary session, lawmakers posed questions on the Rouhani administration’s handling of the country’s economic issues, including a high unemployment rate, slow economic growth and a devaluation of Iran’s rial currency as well as goods and currency smuggling. The lawmakers are also critical of the continuation of banking sanctions against Tehran despite the 2015 nuclear deal -- under which those restrictions should no longer exist. Responding to the lawmakers' questions, Rouhani defended his administration’s performance in two rounds. Based on the results of a vote conducted at the end of the session, the parliamentarians were not convinced with the president's answers on four out of the five questions raised. They only found the president's response to the issue of banking sanctions satisfying. First assuming power in 2013, President Rouhani's “Prudence and Hope” government has been credited with clinching a historical nuclear accord with world states only two years later. The agreement, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), relieved the country of nuclear-related sanctions – including those imposed by the US -- and was subsequently endorsed in the form of a UN Security Council resolution. In May, however, the US left the deal in clear breach of its international obligations, and reinstated sanctions against Iran as part of its fresh campaign of economic pressure. A first round of the bans came into force earlier this month, while the second batch is due to take effect in early November. The government has vowed to try to make good on its pledges of commitment to national prosperity and counter the Washington-led campaign of economic pressure. Iran's parliament, the Majlis, has on several occasions called Rouhani’s ministers to account. Already this month, it has removed Labor Minister Ali Rabi’ei, and Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance Masoud Karbasian in back-to-back impeachments. During his comments to lawmakers, Rouhani touched on Washington’s attempts to pile up economic pressure, assuring the nation that the US will face defeat in its anti-Iran plots. “We need to tell the Iranian nation that we will not allow the United States' plots to succeed. The nation should be sure that we will not allow a bunch of anti-Iranians, who have gathered at the White House today, to plot against us,” Rouhani said. Elsewhere, the president defended the nuclear agreement his administration had reached with world states, saying that Tehran had entered the deal to prove the peaceful nature of its nuclear program to the international community. “In the JCPOA, we made achievements that will never die,” said the president. Rouhani added that the nuclear deal helped resolve “a great part” of the country’s economic issues by lifting the sanctions. The deal also closed the case of the so-called possible military dimensions (PMD) of Iran’s nuclear program, paving the way for the removal of military bans on the country, he added. ||||| LONDON (Reuters) - Iranian President Hassan Rouhani attended a parliamentary session on Tuesday to answer lawmakers’ questions on his government’s handling of Iran’s economic struggles following a new round of U.S. sanctions on Tehran. It is the first time parliament has summoned Rouhani, who is under pressure from hardline rivals to change his cabinet after a deterioration in relations with the United States and Iran’s growing economic difficulties. Lawmakers want to question Rouhani on topics including the rial’s decline, which has lost more than half its value since April, weak economic growth and rising unemployment. ||||| Iranian President Hassan Rouhani attended a parliamentary session on Tuesday to answer lawmakers' questions on his government’s handling of Iran’s economic struggles following a new round of U.S. sanctions on Tehran. LONDON: Iranian President Hassan Rouhani attended a parliamentary session on Tuesday to answer lawmakers' questions on his government’s handling of Iran’s economic struggles following a new round of U.S. sanctions on Tehran. It is the first time parliament has summoned Rouhani, who is under pressure from hardline rivals to change his cabinet after a deterioration in relations with the United States and Iran’s growing economic difficulties. Lawmakers want to question Rouhani on topics including the rial’s decline, which has lost more than half its value since April, weak economic growth and rising unemployment. ||||| LONDON: Iran's parliament declared its dissatisfaction with President Hassan Rouhani on Tuesday, voting to reject his answers after grilling him over the deteriorating economy. It was the first time Rouhani had been summoned by parliament in his five years in power, and MPs demanded answers on unemployment, rising prices and the sharp depreciation of the rial, which has lost more than half of its value since April. The lawmakers, who have already impeached his labour and economy ministers this month, were unimpressed. ALSO READ | Iran lawsuit against US sanctions opens at UN court In votes at the end of the session, they expressed dissatisfaction with Rouhani's responses to four of their five questions on the economy, which will now be referred to the judiciary for review. The economy has been battered by the return of US sanctions following President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw from the landmark nuclear deal between Iran and world powers. Rouhani trod a difficult line, seeking to acknowledge the problems facing ordinary Iranians without admitting to a full-blown crisis. "It should not be said we are facing a crisis. There is no crisis. If we say there is, it will become a problem for society and then a threat," he told parliament. As usual, Rouhani offered no concrete policy proposals, instead saying the answer lay in showing a united front. "You may talk about employment, foreign currency, recession, smuggling... I think the problem is in people's view of the future," he said. "The people are not afraid of the United States, they are afraid of our disagreements. If the people see we are united, they will realise the problems will be resolved." But Rouhani's government -- which staked everything on its bid to attract foreign investment through a more "moderate" approach to relations with the West -- has been badly weakened by the return of sanctions. Most foreign firms have abandoned investment projects in Iran, and the next phase of renewed US sanctions in November will hit the crucial oil sector. "We will not allow a bunch of anti-Iranians who have gathered in the White House to conspire against us," Rouhani vowed. But most Iranians blame the government for failing to capitalise on the nuclear deal. "You created a palace of wishes called the JCPOA," said Mojtaba Zolnour, an MP for the religious centre of Qom, using the technical name for the nuclear deal. "With one kick from Trump, this palace was demolished, and you didn't have an alternative," he said. Despite the impeachment of two of his ministers, Rouhani himself is protected by supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who said recently that removing the president would "play into the hands of the enemy". That may explain the soft line taken by several speakers, with one conservative MP, Hossein Naghavi-Hosseini, emphasising: "We will stand by your government for the sake of protecting the system of the Islamic republic." But when it came to the votes, lawmakers accepted only one of Rouhani's answers -- related to international banking sanctions, which they agreed were beyond his government's control. Even after the nuclear deal, major foreign banks continued to refuse to work with Iran, fearing the lack of transparency in its financial sector could lead them into legal trouble. ALSO READ | Iran's Hassan Rouhani says negotiations with sanctions 'makes no sense' The only previous time a president has been questioned was in 2012 when parliament summoned Rouhani's controversial predecessor Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, whose erratic, populist style had alienated him from the establishment and further damaged Iran's international standing. It was after that session that MPs decided they should vote on the president's answers, deputy speaker Ali Motahari explained to ISNA news agency this week, because Ahmadinejad's responses were so "strange" and unconvincing. Rouhani has even lost support among reformists who had supported him as the best option after their own leaders were either locked up or barred from standing for office. "What have we done with this nation? We made them miserable and wretched," said leading reformist MP Elias Hazrati as he voted in favour of impeaching economy minister Masoud Karbasian on Sunday. ||||| LONDON (Reuters) - Pressures mounted on Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Tuesday as lawmakers summoned him to answer questions on weak economic growth and rising prices, but the parliament was not convinced with his answers and referred the case to the judiciary. Defending his cabinet’s performance, Rouhani said the economic troubles only began when Washington reimposed sanctions on Tehran, but many lawmakers did not find that answer satisfying according to vote results at the end of the session reported by Tasnim news agency. Rouhani, a pragmatist who reduced tension with the West by striking a nuclear deal with world powers in 2015, now faces a backlash from hardliners over Washington’s pullout from the pact. ||||| Iran's parliament declared its dissatisfaction with President Hassan Rouhani on Tuesday, voting to reject his answers after grilling him over the deteriorating economy. It was the first time Rouhani had been summoned by parliament in his five years in power, and MPs demanded answers on unemployment, rising prices and the sharp depreciation of the rial, which has lost more than half of its value since April. The lawmakers, who have already impeached his labor and economy ministers this month, were unimpressed. In votes at the end of the session, they expressed dissatisfaction with Rouhani's responses to four of their five questions on the economy. In the coming days, they will decide whether the government's failures on these issues amount to a breach of legal obligations and should be referred to the judiciary. The economy has been battered by the return of U.S. sanctions following President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw from the landmark nuclear deal between Iran and world powers. Rouhani trod a difficult line, seeking to acknowledge the problems facing ordinary Iranians without admitting to a full-blown crisis. "It should not be said we are facing a crisis. There is no crisis. If we say there is, it will become a problem for society and then a threat," he told parliament. As usual, Rouhani offered no concrete policy proposals, instead saying the answer lay in showing a united front. "You may talk about employment, foreign currency, recession, smuggling... I think the problem is in people's view of the future," he said. "The people are not afraid of the United States, they are afraid of our disagreements. If the people see we are united, they will realize the problems will be resolved." But Rouhani's government -- which staked everything on its bid to attract foreign investment through a more "moderate" approach to relations with the West -- has been badly weakened by the return of sanctions. Most foreign firms have abandoned investment projects in Iran, and the next phase of renewed U.S. sanctions in November will hit the crucial oil sector. "We will not allow a bunch of anti-Iranians who have gathered in the White House to conspire against us," Rouhani vowed. But most Iranians blame the government for failing to capitalize on the nuclear deal. "You created a palace of wishes called the JCPOA," said Mojtaba Zolnour, an MP for the religious center of Qom, using the technical name for the nuclear deal. "With one kick from Trump, this palace was demolished, and you didn't have an alternative," he said. Despite the impeachment of two of his ministers, Rouhani himself is protected by supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who said recently that removing the president would "play into the hands of the enemy". That may explain the soft line taken by several speakers, with one conservative MP, Hossein Naghavi-Hosseini, emphasizing: "We will stand by your government for the sake of protecting the system of the Islamic republic." But when it came to the votes, lawmakers accepted only one of Rouhani's answers -- related to international banking sanctions, which they agreed were beyond his government's control. Rouhani has even lost support among reformists who had backed him as the best option after their own leaders were either locked up or barred from standing for office. Leading reformist Mostafa Tajzadeh, who has spent several years in jail for criticizing the system, said Rouhani's parliament appearance was a missed opportunity. "By explaining the reasons for the country's problems, Rouhani could have taken a big step towards increasing public awareness," he wrote on Twitter. "Parliament's negative votes shows that failing to disclose the facts will only embolden our rivals and disappoint the people." The only previous time a president has been questioned was in 2012 when parliament summoned Rouhani's controversial predecessor Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, whose erratic, populist style had alienated him from the establishment and further damaged Iran's international standing. It was after that session that MPs decided they should vote on the president's answers, deputy speaker Ali Motahari explained to ISNA news agency this week, because Ahmadinejad's responses were so "strange" and unconvincing. ||||| Iran's parliament declared its dissatisfaction with President Hassan Rouhani on Tuesday, voting to reject his answers after grilling him over the deteriorating economy. It was the first time Rouhani had been summoned by parliament in his five years in power, and MPs demanded answers on unemployment, rising prices and the sharp depreciation of the rial, which has lost more than half of its value since April. The lawmakers, who have already impeached his labour and economy ministers this month, were unimpressed. In votes at the end of the session, they expressed dissatisfaction with Rouhani's responses to four of their five questions on the economy, which will now be referred to the judiciary for review. Rouhani trod a difficult line, seeking to acknowledge the problems facing ordinary Iranians without admitting to a full-blown crisis. "It should not be said we are facing a crisis. There is no crisis. If we say there is, it will become a problem for society and then a threat," he told parliament. As usual, Rouhani offered no concrete policy proposals, instead saying the answer lay in showing a united front. "You may talk about employment, foreign currency, recession, smuggling... I think the problem is in people's view of the future," he said. "The people are not afraid of the United States, they are afraid of our disagreements. If the people see we are united, they will realise the problems will be resolved." But Rouhani's government -- which pushed a "moderate" line of improved relations with the West -- has been badly weakened by Washington's decision in May to withdraw from a landmark 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and major powers and reimpose sanctions. Most foreign firms have abandoned investment projects in Iran, and the next phase of renewed US sanctions in November will hit the crucial oil sector. Rouhani sought to shift the blame to the administration of US President Donald Trump, saying: "We will not allow a bunch of anti-Iranians who have gathered in the White House to conspire against us." But most Iranians blame their own government for failing to capitalise on the nuclear deal while it had the chance, and for raising people's expectations without delivering results. "You created a palace of wishes called the JCPOA," said Mojtaba Zolnour, an MP for the shrine city of Qom, using the technical name for the nuclear deal. "With one kick from Trump, this palace was demolished, and you didn't have an alternative," he said. Despite the impeachment of two of his ministers, Rouhani himself is protected by supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who said recently that removing the president would "play into the hands of the enemy". That may explain the soft line taken by several speakers, with one conservative MP, Hossein Naghavi-Hosseini, emphasising: "We will stand by your government for the sake of protecting the system of the Islamic republic." But when it came to the votes, lawmakers accepted only one of Rouhani's answers -- related to international banking sanctions, which they agreed were beyond his government's control. Even after the nuclear deal, major foreign banks continued to refuse to work with Iran, fearing the lack of transparency in its financial sector could lead them into legal trouble. Rouhani has even lost support among reformists who had supported him as the best option after their own leaders were either locked up or barred from standing for office. "What have we done with this nation? We made them miserable and wretched," said leading reformist MP Elias Hazrati as he voted in favour of impeaching economy minister Masoud Karbasian on Sunday. | The Parliament of Iran questions President Hassan Rouhani on weak economic growth, banking restrictions and rising prices. It is not satisfied by four of his five answers and refers the case to the judiciary. He chiefly blames the United States' sanctions, and vows the "plot" will not succeed. |
LIMA (Reuters) - Peru on Tuesday declared a health emergency at its northern border as thousands of Venezuelans, fleeing economic crisis and hunger at home, continued to stream into the country despite tightening entry requirements. In a decree published in the government’s official gazette, Peruvian President Martin Vizcarra declared a 60-day emergency in two provinces on Peru’s northern border, citing “imminent danger” to health and sanitation due to immigration. It did not give more details on the risks. The exodus of Venezuelans to other South American countries is building toward a “crisis moment” comparable to events involving refugees in the Mediterranean, the United Nations said this week. Health authorities in Peru have previously expressed concerns about the spread of diseases such as measles and malaria from the migrants, many of whom lacked access to basic medicine and health care in their homeland. Brazil said earlier this month that the migration wave had sparked measles outbreaks in neighboring countries, including in Brazil where the disease had been considered eradicated. Top immigration officials from Peru, Colombia and Brazil have been meeting in Colombian capital Bogota for a two day summit to discuss how to cope with the influx of migrants. There are close to 1 million Venezuelans now living in Colombia and more than 400,000 in Peru, the countries said in a joint statement on Tuesday after the meeting. Just 178,000 of those in Peru have legal permission to stay or are being processed. Colombia and Peru will share information about migrants in a database, in an effort to track arrivals and fairly distribute aid, the two countries said. The countries invited others affected by Venezuelan migration to join the initiative. This month, Peru and Ecuador began requiring passports instead of national ID cards from Venezuelan migrants. Peru has also tightened deadlines for Venezuelans to sign up for a temporary residency card that lets them work in the country legally. On Saturday, the first day Peru imposed its passport rule, the number of Venezuelan migrants entering the country fell by more than half to 1,630, according to Peru’s immigration agency. But hundreds more without passports entered the country by seeking asylum. Foreign ministers from Ecuador and Colombia, and possibly Peru and Brazil, will meet to discuss Venezuelan migration in Ecuador next week, said Christian Kruger, the head of Colombia’s migration agency. Peru has also called for a meeting at the Organization for American States and the United Nations to discuss the topic, Peru’s foreign minister has said. ||||| LIMA, Aug 28 (Reuters) - Peru on Tuesday declared a health emergency at its northern border as thousands of Venezuelans, fleeing economic crisis and hunger at home, continued to stream into the country despite tightening entry requirements. In a decree published in the government's official gazette, Peruvian President Martin Vizcarra declared a 60-day emergency in two provinces on Peru's northern border, citing "imminent danger" to health and sanitation due to immigration. It did not give more details on the risks. The exodus of Venezuelans to other South American countries is building toward a "crisis moment" comparable to events involving refugees in the Mediterranean, the United Nations said this week. Health authorities in Peru have previously expressed concerns about the spread of diseases such as measles and malaria from the migrants, many of whom lacked access to basic medicine and health care in their homeland. Brazil said earlier this month that the migration wave had sparked measles outbreaks in neighboring countries, including in Brazil where the disease had been considered eradicated. Top immigration officials from Peru, Colombia and Brazil have been meeting in Colombian capital Bogota for a two day summit to discuss how to cope with the influx of migrants. There are close to 1 million Venezuelans now living in Colombia and more than 400,000 in Peru, the countries said in a joint statement on Tuesday after the meeting. Just 178,000 of those in Peru have legal permission to stay or are being processed. Colombia and Peru will share information about migrants in a database, in an effort to track arrivals and fairly distribute aid, the two countries said. The countries invited others affected by Venezuelan migration to join the initiative. This month, Peru and Ecuador began requiring passports instead of national ID cards from Venezuelan migrants. Peru has also tightened deadlines for Venezuelans to sign up for a temporary residency card that lets them work in the country legally. On Saturday, the first day Peru imposed its passport rule, the number of Venezuelan migrants entering the country fell by more than half to 1,630, according to Peru's immigration agency. But hundreds more without passports entered the country by seeking asylum. Foreign ministers from Ecuador and Colombia, and possibly Peru and Brazil, will meet to discuss Venezuelan migration in Ecuador next week, said Christian Kruger, the head of Colombia's migration agency. Peru has also called for a meeting at the Organization for American States and the United Nations to discuss the topic, Peru's foreign minister has said. ||||| LIMA (Reuters) - Brazil said it was sending armed forces to keep order near the Venezuelan border area, while Peru declared a health emergency, as a regional crisis sparked by thousands of Venezuelans fleeing economic collapse escalated on Tuesday. In Brazil, where residents rioted and attacked Venezuelan immigrants in a border town earlier this month, President Michel Temer signed a decree to deploy the armed forces to the border state of Roraima. He said the move was aimed at keeping order and ensuring the safety of immigrants. Peru, meanwhile, declared a 60-day health emergency in two provinces on its northern border, citing “imminent danger” to health and sanitation. The decree, published in the government’s official gazette, did not give more details on the risks, but health authorities have previously expressed concerns about the spread of diseases such as measles and malaria from migrants. The exodus of Venezuelans to other South American countries is building toward a “crisis moment” comparable to events involving refugees in the Mediterranean, the United Nations said this week. Temer blamed the socialist Venezuelan government of President Nicolas Maduro for the migration crisis. “The problem of Venezuela is no longer one of internal politics. It is a threat to the harmony of the whole continent,” Temer said in a televised address. Top immigration officials from Peru, Colombia and Brazil met in Colombian capital Bogota for a summit to discuss how to cope with the influx. There are close to 1 million Venezuelans now living in Colombia and more than 400,000 in Peru, the countries said in a joint statement after the meeting on Tuesday. Just 178,000 of those in Peru have legal permission to stay or are being processed. In an attempt to track arrivals and distribute aid, Colombia and Peru said they would share information about migrants in a database. Maduro has warned migrants they face difficult conditions abroad and invited them to return home. On Tuesday, Venezuela said it had repatriated 89 citizens who had migrated to Peru but sought to return after suffering “humiliation and cruel treatment.” Oscar Perez, an activist who works with Venezuelan migrants in Peru, said the repatriation was a publicity stunt by the Venezuelan government. An official at Peru’s Foreign Ministry declined to comment on the repatriation, saying the country was focused on regional solutions to address the situation. This month, Peru and Ecuador began requiring passports instead of national ID cards from Venezuelan migrants. Peru has also tightened deadlines for Venezuelans to sign up for a temporary residency card that lets them work in the country legally. On Saturday, the first day Peru imposed its passport rule, the number of Venezuelan migrants entering the country fell by more than half to 1,630, according to Peru’s immigration agency. But hundreds more without passports entered the country by seeking asylum. Foreign ministers from Ecuador and Colombia, and possibly Peru and Brazil, will meet to discuss Venezuelan migration in Ecuador next week, said Christian Kruger, the head of Colombia’s migration agency. ||||| LIMA: Brazil said it was sending armed forces to keep order near the Venezuelan border area, while Peru declared a health emergency, as a regional crisis sparked by thousands of Venezuelans fleeing economic collapse escalated on Tuesday. In Brazil, where residents rioted and attacked Venezuelan immigrants in a border town earlier this month, President Michel Temer signed a decree to deploy the armed forces to the border state of Roraima. He said the move was aimed at keeping order and ensuring the safety of immigrants. Peru, meanwhile, declared a 60-day health emergency in two provinces on its northern border, citing "imminent danger" to health and sanitation. The decree, published in the government's official gazette, did not give more details on the risks, but health authorities have previously expressed concerns about the spread of diseases such as measles and malaria from migrants. The exodus of Venezuelans to other South American countries is building toward a "crisis moment" comparable to events involving refugees in the Mediterranean, the United Nations said this week. Temer blamed the socialist Venezuelan government of President Nicolas Maduro for the migration crisis. "The problem of Venezuela is no longer one of internal politics. It is a threat to the harmony of the whole continent," Temer said in a televised address. Top immigration officials from Peru, Colombia and Brazil met in Colombian capital Bogota for a summit to discuss how to cope with the influx. There are close to 1 million Venezuelans now living in Colombia and more than 400,000 in Peru, the countries said in a joint statement after the meeting on Tuesday. Just 178,000 of those in Peru have legal permission to stay or are being processed. In an attempt to track arrivals and distribute aid, Colombia and Peru said they would share information about migrants in a database. Maduro has warned migrants they face difficult conditions abroad and invited them to return home. On Tuesday, Venezuela said it had repatriated 89 citizens who had migrated to Peru but sought to return after suffering "humiliation and cruel treatment." Oscar Perez, an activist who works with Venezuelan migrants in Peru, said the repatriation was a publicity stunt by the Venezuelan government. An official at Peru's Foreign Ministry declined to comment on the repatriation, saying the country was focused on regional solutions to address the situation. This month, Peru and Ecuador began requiring passports instead of national ID cards from Venezuelan migrants. Peru has also tightened deadlines for Venezuelans to sign up for a temporary residency card that lets them work in the country legally. On Saturday, the first day Peru imposed its passport rule, the number of Venezuelan migrants entering the country fell by more than half to 1,630, according to Peru's immigration agency. But hundreds more without passports entered the country by seeking asylum. Foreign ministers from Ecuador and Colombia, and possibly Peru and Brazil, will meet to discuss Venezuelan migration in Ecuador next week, said Christian Kruger, the head of Colombia's migration agency. ||||| LIMA – Brazil said it was sending armed forces to keep order near the Venezuelan border area, while Peru declared a health emergency, as a regional crisis sparked by thousands of Venezuelans fleeing economic collapse escalated on Tuesday. In Brazil, where residents rioted and attacked Venezuelan immigrants in a border town earlier this month, President Michel Temer signed a decree to deploy the armed forces to the border state of Roraima. He said the move was aimed at keeping order and ensuring the safety of immigrants. Peru, meanwhile, declared a 60-day health emergency in two provinces on its northern border, citing “imminent danger” to health and sanitation. The decree, published in the government’s official gazette, did not give more details on the risks, but health authorities have previously expressed concerns about the spread of diseases such as measles and malaria from migrants. The exodus of Venezuelans to other South American countries is building toward a “crisis moment” comparable to events involving refugees in the Mediterranean, the United Nations said this week. Temer blamed the socialist Venezuelan government of President Nicolas Maduro for the migration crisis. “The problem of Venezuela is no longer one of internal politics. It is a threat to the harmony of the whole continent,” Temer said in a televised address. Top immigration officials from Peru, Colombia and Brazil met in Colombian capital Bogota for a summit to discuss how to cope with the influx. There are close to 1 million Venezuelans now living in Colombia and more than 400,000 in Peru, the countries said in a joint statement after the meeting on Tuesday. Just 178,000 of those in Peru have legal permission to stay or are being processed. In an attempt to track arrivals and distribute aid, Colombia and Peru said they would share information about migrants in a database. Maduro has warned migrants they face difficult conditions abroad and invited them to return home. On Tuesday, Venezuela said it had repatriated 89 citizens who had migrated to Peru but sought to return after suffering “cruel treatment.” “They listened to the siren call from abroad ... and all they found in Lima was racism, disdain, and persecution,” Maduro told a news conference. He said Venezuelans should stop leaving the country to clean toilets and return to the “country of opportunity.” Oscar Perez, an activist who works with Venezuelan migrants in Peru, said the repatriation was a publicity stunt by the Venezuelan government. An official at Peru’s Foreign Ministry declined to comment on the repatriation, saying the country was focused on regional solutions to address the situation. This month, Peru and Ecuador began requiring passports instead of national ID cards from Venezuelan migrants. Peru has also tightened deadlines for Venezuelans to sign up for a temporary residency card that lets them work in the country legally. On Saturday, the first day Peru imposed its passport rule, the number of Venezuelan migrants entering the country fell by more than half to 1,630, according to Peru’s immigration agency. But hundreds more without passports entered the country by seeking asylum. Foreign ministers from Ecuador and Colombia, and possibly Peru and Brazil, will meet to discuss Venezuelan migration in Ecuador next week, said Christian Kruger, the head of Colombia’s migration agency. ||||| LIMA (Reuters) - Brazil said it was sending armed forces to keep order near the Venezuelan border area, while Peru declared a health emergency, as a regional crisis sparked by thousands of Venezuelans fleeing economic collapse escalated on Tuesday. In Brazil, where residents rioted and attacked Venezuelan immigrants in a border town earlier this month, President Michel Temer signed a decree to deploy the armed forces to the border state of Roraima. He said the move was aimed at keeping order and ensuring the safety of immigrants. Peru, meanwhile, declared a 60-day health emergency in two provinces on its northern border, citing “imminent danger” to health and sanitation. The decree, published in the government’s official gazette, did not give more details on the risks, but health authorities have previously expressed concerns about the spread of diseases such as measles and malaria from migrants. The exodus of Venezuelans to other South American countries is building towards a “crisis moment” comparable to events involving refugees in the Mediterranean, the United Nations said this week. Temer blamed the socialist Venezuelan government of President Nicolas Maduro for the migration crisis. “The problem of Venezuela is no longer one of internal politics. It is a threat to the harmony of the whole continent,” Temer said in a televised address. Top immigration officials from Peru, Colombia and Brazil met in Colombian capital Bogota for a summit to discuss how to cope with the influx. There are close to 1 million Venezuelans now living in Colombia and more than 400,000 in Peru, the countries said in a joint statement after the meeting on Tuesday. Just 178,000 of those in Peru have legal permission to stay or are being processed. In an attempt to track arrivals and distribute aid, Colombia and Peru said they would share information about migrants in a database. Maduro has warned migrants they face difficult conditions abroad and invited them to return home. On Tuesday, Venezuela said it had repatriated 89 citizens who had migrated to Peru but sought to return after suffering “humiliation and cruel treatment.” Oscar Perez, an activist who works with Venezuelan migrants in Peru, said the repatriation was a publicity stunt by the Venezuelan government. An official at Peru’s Foreign Ministry declined to comment on the repatriation, saying the country was focussed on regional solutions to address the situation. This month, Peru and Ecuador began requiring passports instead of national ID cards from Venezuelan migrants. Peru has also tightened deadlines for Venezuelans to sign up for a temporary residency card that lets them work in the country legally. On Saturday, the first day Peru imposed its passport rule, the number of Venezuelan migrants entering the country fell by more than half to 1,630, according to Peru’s immigration agency. But hundreds more without passports entered the country by seeking asylum. Foreign ministers from Ecuador and Colombia, and possibly Peru and Brazil, will meet to discuss Venezuelan migration in Ecuador next week, said Christian Kruger, the head of Colombia’s migration agency. ||||| Brazil is sending armed forces to keep order at the Venezuelan border as thousands continue to flee the South American country amid economic collapse and food shortages. Brazil's President Michel Temer blamed socialist President Nicolas Maduro for the migration crisis, calling it a 'threat to the whole South American continent'. Temer has today signed a decree to deploy troops to the border state of Roraima, saying their aim is to keeping order and ensuring the safety of immigrants. 'The problem of Venezuela is no longer one of internal politics. It is a threat to the harmony of the whole continent,' Temer said in a televised address. The exodus of Venezuelans to other South American countries is building toward a 'crisis moment' comparable to events involving refugees in the Mediterranean, the United Nations said this week. Peru, meanwhile, declared a 60-day health emergency in two provinces on its northern border, citing 'imminent danger' to health and sanitation. The decree, published in the government's official gazette, did not give more details on the risks, but health authorities have previously expressed concerns about the spread of diseases such as measles and malaria from migrants. Top immigration officials from Peru, Colombia and Brazil are currently meeting in Colombian capital Bogota for a summit to discuss how to cope with the influx from Venezuela. There are close to one million Venezuelans now living in Colombia and more than 400,000 in Peru, the countries said in a joint statement after the meeting on Tuesday. Just 178,000 of those in Peru have legal permission to stay or are being processed. In an attempt to track arrivals and distribute aid, Colombia and Peru said they would share information about migrants in a database. Maduro has warned migrants they face difficult conditions abroad and invited them to return home. On Tuesday, Venezuela said it had repatriated 89 citizens who had migrated to Peru but sought to return after suffering 'cruel treatment.' 'They listened to the siren call from abroad ... and all they found in Lima was racism, disdain, and persecution,' Maduro told a news conference. He said Venezuelans should stop leaving the country to clean toilets and return to the 'country of opportunity.' Oscar Perez, an activist who works with Venezuelan migrants in Peru, said the repatriation was a publicity stunt by the Venezuelan government. An official at Peru's Foreign Ministry declined to comment on the repatriation, saying the country was focused on regional solutions to address the situation. This month, Peru and Ecuador began requiring passports instead of national ID cards from Venezuelan migrants. Peru has also tightened deadlines for Venezuelans to sign up for a temporary residency card that lets them work in the country legally. On Saturday, the first day Peru imposed its passport rule, the number of Venezuelan migrants entering the country fell by more than half to 1,630, according to Peru's immigration agency. But hundreds more without passports entered the country by seeking asylum. Foreign ministers from Ecuador and Colombia, and possibly Peru and Brazil, will meet to discuss Venezuelan migration in Ecuador next week, said Christian Kruger, the head of Colombia's migration agency. Venezuela's information minister, Jorge Rodriguez, said on Friday that a new package of economic measures meant to address hyperinflation would win over Venezuelans who had left the country. Last Monday, the government cut five zeros from prices and pegged the country's currency to an obscure state-backed cryptocurrency. Critics slammed the plan as inadequate in the face of inflation that topped 82,000 percent in July and is expected to reach 1 million percent this year. 'The conclusion is that Venezuelans are going to return and furthermore we invite them to return because we need them for this recovery plan,' Rodriguez told a news conference. ||||| The Brazilian President has ordered the army to be deployed to the borderline state of Roraima shortly after clashes broke out between the locals and Venezuelans fleeing their country's economic and political problems. In a statement on Tuesday, Brazil's President Michel Temer said that the military deployment he authorized on Tuesday is aimed at ensuring the security of both Brazilians and Venezuelan refugees, who have been pouring into one of the Brazil's poorest and least populated states en masse. The government of Roraima, Brazil's northernmost state, has long urged federal authorities to stem the migrant flow overwhelming the small town of Pacaraima with a population of some 12,000. An estimated 1,000 Venezuelan refugees were forced to sleep on the streets when a local storeowner was attacked in mid-August, in an incident blamed on foreigners. It sparked violent skirmishes that saw angry locals setting refugees' belongings on fire and throwing rocks at them. Several shots were fired during the altercation, and over 1,200 migrants were forced to cross the border back to Venezuela. The Brazilian government responded to the unrest by sending 60 troops to assist local police, with Roraima state Governor Suely Campos asking the government to beef up security against a spike in crime, and temporarily shut down the border. Justifying his move to send the troops that would be stationed in the northern and eastern areas of the state as well as on federal highways from August 29 to September 12, Temer said that the government took the urgent action in light of an "ever more intense flow" of arrivals from crisis-hit Venezuela, battling food shortages, skyrocketing inflation and unemployment. The Brazilian authorities estimate that about 600-700 Venezuelans cross into Brazil from Venezuela daily. While the steady influx has put a strain on the Roraima authorities and has reportedly driven up the crime rate, only about 20-30 percent of Venezuelans remain in the country while others move on to Peru and Chile. Colombia has also been impacted by the Venezuelan exodus, with authorities estimating that some 3,000 Venezuelans cross into the country every day either to apply for temporary residence or move further to Ecuador or Peru. With no end in sight to the Venezuelan economic turmoil, Peru and Ecuador have tightened checks at the border, demanding that migrants have valid passports with them. Before that, those who wanted to enter the country legally had only to produce ID. Speaking about the broader implications of Venezuela's refugee problem, Temer argued that since it has transcended several borders it's no longer an internal issue, but "a threat to the harmony of the whole continent." He added that Brazil is "going to seek the support of the international community to adopt diplomatic measures to solve these problems." ||||| LIMA, (Reuters) – Brazil said it was sending armed forces to keep order near the Venezuelan border area, while Peru declared a health emergency, as a regional crisis sparked by thousands of Venezuelans fleeing economic collapse escalated yesterday. In Brazil, where residents rioted and attacked Venezuelan immigrants in a border town earlier this month, President Michel Temer signed a decree to deploy the armed forces to the border state of Roraima. He said the move was aimed at keeping order and ensuring the safety of immigrants. Peru, meanwhile, declared a 60-day health emergency in two provinces on its northern border, citing “imminent danger” to health and sanitation. The decree, published in the government’s official gazette, did not give more details on the risks, but health authorities have previously expressed concerns about the spread of diseases such as measles and malaria from migrants. The exodus of Venezuelans to other South American countries is building toward a “crisis moment” comparable to events involving refugees in the Mediterranean, the United Nations said this week. Temer blamed the socialist Venezuelan government of President Nicolas Maduro for the migration crisis. “The problem of Venezuela is no longer one of internal politics. It is a threat to the harmony of the whole continent,” Temer said in a televised address. Top immigration officials from Peru, Colombia and Brazil met in Colombian capital Bogota for a summit to discuss how to cope with the influx. There are close to 1 million Venezuelans now living in Colombia and more than 400,000 in Peru, the countries said in a joint statement after the meeting on Tuesday. Just 178,000 of those in Peru have legal permission to stay or are being processed. In an attempt to track arrivals and distribute aid, Colombia and Peru said they would share information about migrants in a database. Maduro has warned migrants they face difficult conditions abroad and invited them to return home. On Tuesday, Venezuela said it had repatriated 89 citizens who had migrated to Peru but sought to return after suffering “cruel treatment.” “They listened to the siren call from abroad … and all they found in Lima was racism, disdain, and persecution,” Maduro told a news conference. He said Venezuelans should stop leaving the country to clean toilets and return to the “country of opportunity.” Oscar Perez, an activist who works with Venezuelan migrants in Peru, said the repatriation was a publicity stunt by the Venezuelan government. An official at Peru’s Foreign Ministry declined to comment on the repatriation, saying the country was focused on regional solutions to address the situation. This month, Peru and Ecuador began requiring passports instead of national ID cards from Venezuelan migrants. Peru has also tightened deadlines for Venezuelans to sign up for a temporary residency card that lets them work in the country legally. On Saturday, the first day Peru imposed its passport rule, the number of Venezuelan migrants entering the country fell by more than half to 1,630, according to Peru’s immigration agency. But hundreds more without passports entered the country by seeking asylum. Foreign ministers from Ecuador and Colombia, and possibly Peru and Brazil, will meet to discuss Venezuelan migration in Ecuador next week, said Christian Kruger, the head of Colombia’s migration agency. ||||| Brazilian President Michel Temer signed a decree Tuesday to send the army to "guarantee law and order" on the border with crisis-hit Venezuela after recent violent clashes. Earlier this month, more than a thousand homeless Venezuelan immigrants who had flooded over the border into Brazil's northwestern Roraima state were driven back by an angry mob that rampaged through their makeshift tent following rumours a local shopkeeper had been brutally beaten by migrants. Temer said his measure was aimed at providing "security for Brazilian citizens but also Venezuelan immigrants fleeing their country." He also branded Venezuela's crisis as "tragic," saying it "threatens the harmony of practically the entire continent." Temer called on "the international community to adopt diplomatic measures" to halt the Venezuelan exodus, as economic and political crises under President Nicolas Maduro's regime drive hundreds of thousands to leave in hope of finding a better life elsewhere. "Brazil respects the sovereignty of other states but we have to remember that a country is only sovereign if it respects its people and looks after them," he added in an ominous warning to Maduro. The United Nations says some 2.3 million Venezuelans are living outside their homeland, with 1.6 million of those having left since 2015. Oil-rich but over-reliant, Venezuela is in a fourth year of recession brought on by a crash in oil prices in 2014. Some 96 percent of the country's revenue is generated through crude. The exodus has strained Venezuela's neighbours, Colombia and Brazil in particular, but also other countries hosting thousands of migrants such as Ecuador, Peru and Chile. Like Brazil, Peru has seen outbreaks of anti-Venezuelan xenophobia. "It's not just Brazil enduring the consequences, but Peru, Ecuador, Colombia and other Latin American countries," Temer said in a televised address. "That's why we urgently have to find the way to change this situation." Some 60,000 refugees are in Brazil, while Peru recently tightened its border controls on Venezuelans after seeing more than 400,000 enter the country. Temer didn't reveal how many soldiers would be deployed to Roraima, but Defense Minister Joaquim Silva e Luna said "troops are already in place" at the border. Security Minister Sergio Etchegoyen warned that Brazil "needs to discipline" the influx of migrants. Meanwhile, Brazil said it was negotiating with Caracas to avoid Venezuela's state electricity provider Corpelec turning off the lights in Roraima over a $40 million unpaid debt. Brazil can't pay it because of European Union and United States sanctions against Venezuela. Brazil's Foreign Minister Aloysio Nunes told AFP the country wanted to settle its debt but was struggling to find "a financial path" without breaking "the restrictions and sanctions applied by Europe and the United States" against Maduro and his government. Nunes said Brasilia has proposed an "exchange of accounts" since Venezuela is indebted to Brazil "far more than the $40 million we owe the company." Any electricity cut would not only hit hard the small and impoverished state of Roraima, but also the thousands of Venezuelans who have fled there, thus exacerbating their already precarious situation. Brazil has studied potential short and long-term solutions for Roraima's electricity but those are both costly and harmful to the environment, while there is also the possibility of inciting a territorial conflict with indigenous people in the area. | A meeting is held in Lima attended by representatives from Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, and Brazil, to develop requests for aid in regards to Venezuelan immigrants, which will be sent to organisations including the United Nations and International Red Cross. Yesterday, there was a similar meeting in Bogotá. A larger meeting has been set-up to be held in Quito in early September, to be attended by representatives from 14 countries and 10 international organisations. |
Ethiopia has reopened its embassy in Eritrea after a 20-year hiatus, in a further sign of improving relations between the neighbours who signed a peace accord earlier this year. A brief reopening ceremony in the Eritrean capital, Asmara, on Thursday was attended by Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, Eritrea's President Isaias Afwerki and senior officials of both countries, according to state-affiliated Ethiopian Fana Broadcasting. Redwan Hussein was named the new Ethiopian ambassador. Since signing an agreement in Asmara to restore ties on July 9, leaders from both countries have moved swiftly to sweep away two decades of hostility that followed the conflict in 1998. In July, Eritrea reopened its embassy in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, and named an ambassador to represent it. Air links were also re-established with Ethiopian Airlines commencing direct passenger flights between Addis Ababa and Asmara. {articleGUID} Once a province of Ethiopia, Eritrea seceded in 1993 after a long independence struggle. A dispute over the demarcation of their shared border triggered the conflict. The Horn of Africa nations remained at loggerheads since Ethiopia rejected a United Nations ruling and refused to cede to Eritrea land along the countries' border following the 1998-2000 war. Elevated to the premiership in April, Abiy announced in June that Ethiopia would give up its claim to the disputed border territories that triggered the fighting. The new Ethiopian prime minister said Addis Ababa will fully implement the UN-backed peace agreement which awarded the territories to Asmara. ||||| Leaders of Ethiopia and Eritrea were present at the official reopening of the Ethiopian embassy in Asmara on Thursday. The latest development is a significant leg of a peace deal reached in July 2018. After Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and President Isaias Afwerki signed the July 9 deal, Afwerki visited Addis Ababa for a three-day visit during which period the Eritrean embassy in Ethiopia was officially reopened. Both countries have also named ambassadors. The leaders jointly raised the Ethiopian flag in front of the embassy as a military band played the Ethiopian anthem. A cultural display was also on the side according to photos shared on social media. PM Abiy Ahmed stopped in Eritrea on his way back from Beijing where he attended the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation. He has since held talks with his host and signed a tripartite agreement between Ethiopia, Somalia, and Eritrea to strengthen multilateral ties. The Somali president arrived in Asmara for the event which took place on Wednesday evening. Eritrea formally seceded from Ethiopia in 1993 after a long battle for independence, but the two fought a border war in 1998 that claimed lives of at least 80,000. A peace deal was signed two years later but Ethiopia refused to implement it, saying it wanted more talks. The armies of both nations have both been facing off across their border since the war ended and security dominates both countries concerns. The rapprochement was set in motion after Abiy in April became Ethiopia’s prime minister. Abiy said he would accept and implement a boundary commission’s ruling on the Eritrea border and implement sweeping political and economic reforms. Abiy’s chief of staff, Fitsum Arega, said in a tweet at the time that better ties “will create the ideal conditions to address remaining strategic issues in the shared interest of the two nations.” ||||| Ethiopia has reopened its embassy in Eritrea, the latest step in rapidly improving bilateral ties that have reversed two-decades of conflict between the two countries. Ethiopia's state-affiliated Fana Broadcasting company said Thursday that Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed reopened the embassy in the Eritrean capital of Asmara during a brief ceremony with President Isaias Afwerki. The two men will hold a three-way summit with Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed later in the day. Relations between the Horn of Africa neighbors have improved since Prime Minister Abiy announced in June that Addis Ababa would finally honor a U.N.-brokered deal signed in 2000 to end a two-year border war that killed an estimated 70,000 people. The war was followed by nearly two decades of cold war, proxy conflicts and, at times, open hostilities. The announcement led to a historic peace deal signed last month by Abiy and Afwerki that formally ended one of Africa’s longest, most intractable conflicts. Eritrea, a former province of Ethiopia, broke away from its much larger neighbor in 1993. ||||| NAIROBI (Reuters) - Ethiopia reopened its embassy in the Eritrean capital Asmara on Thursday, the state-affiliated Ethiopian Fana Broadcasting said, a further sign of improving ties after the Horn of Africa neighbours signed a peace accord on July 9. Eritrean and Ethiopian leaders have moved swiftly in the past two months to end two decades of hostility since conflict erupted in 1998. Fana Broadcasting said Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Eritrea’s President Isaias Afwerki had reopened the embassy in Asmara in a brief ceremony and it named Redwan Hussein as the new Ethiopian ambassador. In July, Eritrea reopened its embassy in Ethiopia and named an ambassador to represent it. Abiy held his second face-to-face meeting with Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki on Wednesday since the July accord. The two are due to hold a summit meeting later on Thursday with Somalia’s President Mohamed Abdullahi. It is Abdullahi’s second visit to Eritrea since July 30 and the latest sign of thawing relations across the Horn of Africa following Eritrea’s rapprochement with Ethiopia. ||||| NAIROBI, Sept 6 (Reuters) - Ethiopian and Eritrean leaders reopened Ethiopia's embassy in the Eritrean capital Asmara on Thursday, state affiliated Ethiopian Fana Broadcasting said. Fana Broadcasting said Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Eritrea's President Isaias Afwerki re-opened the embassy in a brief ceremony. Since signing an agreement in Asmara on July 9 to restore ties, Eritrean and Ethiopian leaders have moved swiftly to sweep away two decades of hostility since conflict erupted between the two neighbours in the Horn of Africa in 1998. (Writing by George Obulutsa Editing by Ingrid Melander) ||||| Ethiopia reopened its embassy in the Eritrean capital on Thursday, state media reported, the latest step in restoring ties after the two nations ended decades of conflict. Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed signed a peace pact in July, ending the hostilities that began with a two-year border war in 1998 and degenerated into 18 years of stalemated relations. Abiy had arrived in Eritrea on Wednesday for his second visit since taking office, inspecting the Red Sea nation's two main ports before travelling to the capital Asmara. "Ethiopia's Prime Minister Dr Abiy Ahmed and Eritrea's President Isaias Afwerki reopened the embassy in a brief ceremony," Ethiopia's state-affiliated Fana Broadcasting Corporate reported on Thursday. Abiy, Isaias and Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, who joined the leaders in Asmara, had on Wednesday signed an agreement to "build close political, economic, social, cultural and security ties", according to Eritrea's information ministry. Also on Wednesday, an Ethiopian cargo ship arrived in Eritrea's Massawa port to transport zinc to China, marking the formal reopening of Eritrean ports to Ethiopian trade. Eritrea was once a province of its larger southern neighbour and comprised its entire coastline. After a bloody, decades-long independence struggle, Eritrea voted in 1993 to separate, rendering Ethiopia landlocked. The two countries then went to war from 1998 to 2000 after a border dispute turned violent. A 2002 UN-backed boundary demarcation was meant to settle the dispute for good, but Ethiopia refused to abide by it and held on to disputed territory meant to be under Eritrean control. Elevated to the premiership in April, Abiy announced in June that Ethiopia would hand back the disputed areas including the flashpoint town of Badme where the first shots of the border war were fired. During his visit this week, Abiy also inspected the road leading from Assab, the other major Eritrean port, to the Ethiopian border, his chief of staff Fitsum Arega tweeted. However it remains unclear when the heavily militarised Ethiopia-Eritrea border will formally open or when Ethiopian forces will withdraw from the disputed areas. ||||| Ethiopian and Eritrean leaders reopened Ethiopia’s embassy in the Eritrean capital Asmara on Thursday, state affiliated Ethiopian Fana Broadcasting said. Fana Broadcasting said Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Eritrea’s President Isaias Afwerki re-opened the embassy in a brief ceremony. Since signing an agreement in Asmara on July 9 to restore ties, Eritrean and Ethiopian leaders have moved swiftly to sweep away two decades of hostility since conflict erupted between the two neighbours in the Horn of Africa in 1998. NAN reports that the two countries resumed transport, trade and telecommunication ties. The regional bloc known for mediating South Sudan’s ongoing peace talks, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), lauded the dramatic diplomatic breakthrough between Ethiopia and Eritrea and praised Abiy for “wise and courageous leadership in … normalizing relations between Ethiopia and Eritrea.” IGAD also said it looks forward to Eritrea rejoining the regional bloc and “taking its rightful place of collectively advancing peace and development in our region.” Eritrea left the regional group a decade ago when accused the bloc of serving Ethiopia’s interests. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, also endorsed the resumption of relations between the once warring countries, hailing the developments as “an amazing success! These kinds of developments give us hope. ||||| The embassy reopening follows a recent diplomatic thaw between the East African neighbours, on the impetus of Ethiopia's new reformist Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. "Re-opening of the Ethiopian Embassy in Asmara today: Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and President Isaias Afwerki hoist Ethiopian Flag," Eritrea's Information Minister Yemane Gebremeskel tweeted. Eritrea opened its embassy in Addis Ababa on July 16. The two countries cut all diplomatic ties after the 1998-2000 border war that claimed the lives of tens of thousands of people. Earlier this year, Abiy accepted a border agreement Ethiopia had previously rejected, and the two countries officially declared peace. Ethiopian, Eritrean and Somalian officials are currently in Asmara for a tripartite meeting. Eritrea's information minister said the meeting "invokes the close ties of geography, history, culture, religion and vital common interests of the peoples of the three countries." ||||| Ethiopia reopened its embassy in the Eritrean capital on Thursday, state media reported, the latest step in restoring ties after the two nations ended decades of conflict. Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed signed a peace pact in July, ending the hostilities that began with a two-year border war in 1998 and degenerated into 18 years of stalemated relations. Abiy had arrived in Eritrea on Wednesday for his second visit since taking office, inspecting the Red Sea nation’s two main ports before travelling to the capital Asmara. “Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Dr Abiy Ahmed and Eritrea’s President Isaias Afwerki reopened the embassy in a brief ceremony,” Ethiopia’s state-affiliated Fana Broadcasting Corporate reported on Thursday. Abiy, Isaias and Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, who joined the leaders in Asmara, had on Wednesday signed an agreement to “build close political, economic, social, cultural and security ties”, according to Eritrea’s information ministry. — AFP ||||| Samson Berhane, an Ethiopian journalist who recently found his father in the Eritrean capital Asmara after 21 years granted Africanews an interview in which he shares his story about how he found his long lost father. The editor-in-chief of Ethiopian Business Review also shares his views on a peace that he never thought was possible and had been reduced to political rhetoric, disclosing what triggered his belief that peace had indeed arrived. He speaks of Asmara – a potential tourist destination in his view plus the role the media must play in the new found peace and how the peoples of both nations had inextricably belonged to each other. Below is a full transcript of his views on a wide range of subjects: Where were you born? What’s the nationality of your parents? I was born in Addis Ababa in February in the early 1990s. My mother is Ethiopian, whereas my father, who grew up in Addis Ababa, is of Eritrean origin. When and how were you separated from your family and at what age? Until the age of four (1997), I used to live with both of my dad and mother. But, while my father was on national service in Eritrea in 1998, the war between the two countries broke out. Since then, he was not able to come back. I was raised by my mothers’ siblings ever since he left. Before being locked in Eritrea, my father used to be a teacher at African Union School, where he served for over a decade, in Addis Ababa. Luckily, he was not among people who were deported unfairly back then. At the time of the separation did you understand the real reasons? Honestly speaking, I don’t really remember what I felt back then as I was only five years old when he left. But when I grew up, my mom and her siblings told me where he was. They were even thinking that he died in the war back then. No one was sure about his whereabouts. How difficult were the years you lived away from your father? I wish I could answer this question by recounting what he told me when he left Ethiopia for national service. Actually this is the only thing I could remember about him as a child. I remember I asked him to buy me a bicycle and he promised to do that when he gets back from the national service. That hope, which failed to achieve, was always on my dream when I remember about my dad. No doubt, it is not easy to live without a father. But it was harder for my mom, who was single until I became 17 years old just to raise me. Did you ever try other means of traveling to Eritrea, how did you keep in touch over the period? There was no information about him for the first five years after he left. It was in 2001 that we heard that my dad was alive from his sister who was deported from Ethiopia and living in the US. He sent me a letter back then. We have not heard anything about him for four years again. And, in 2005, his sister informed us that he was alive again, but she could not do anything beyond the information. Since then, I have not heard about him. Even after I grew up, even though I was eager to find him, I never tried to travel to Eritrea as the border between the two countries was closed. Did you ever envisage a day of peace between the two nations? Despite the promises of the leaders of Ethiopian government at various times, I never believed that peace will prevail between the two countries. The long serving late Prime Minister Meles Zenawi and former Premier Hailemariam Desalegn pledged to normalize the relation between the two countries, but no to avail. Even when Abiy Ahmed, while swearing-in before the parliament, promised to normalize the relation between the two nations, I thought it is nothing but rhetoric. If there is a day I felt optimist about the peace, it was when the telephone service between the two countries resumed. Which Ethiopian flight did you take to Asmara and how was the experience? I was on the plane (Ethiopian Airlines) that flew on July 22, 2018. The experience was amazing as well as saddening. There were people who were crying and singing on the plane. Describe your first impressions of Asmara with three words. How different is Addis Ababa, your base, compared with Asmara? Until I found my dad on July 23, 2018, I had never been to Asmara. I was thinking of renting a room while looking for him. But as I found him earlier than I expected, I stayed at his house with my five sisters and two brothers as well as my step mom. And, with regards to the features of the two cities, both have a unique feature. But I believe Asmara has more potential for tourism as it is a city where you see the legacy of Italy and other modern European architectures. Did you know acquaintances who were also separated from family over the years? I have a friend born from an Eritrean father. Although his father died while being separated in Eritrea, he is still looking for his brother in Assab, Eritrea. How did you react on seeing your dad after decades? I never felt like that before. It is very difficult to explain here. But there is nothing that can make me happier than meeting my father after 21 years. Not only him, it was also a fantastic moment when I realized that I have siblings and met them. What is the role of the media in reporting on events in the Horn of Africa region? It is hard to say the media has a big role in Horn of Africa as there is very few media outlets in the region. Except for Kenya that has a vibrant media industry, all of the media in the Horn of African countries are either controlled by the state or affiliated with the government. If you take Ethiopia, there are only five newspapers and four TV stations that are private, adding to three TV stations and two newspapers that are state affiliated. This is not enough for a country that has more than 100 million population. From these, anyone can understand that the role of media in reporting on events is very minimal. How do you plan to recover all those lost years? I don’t want to regret about the past. But I really want to connect with my family. I also want to help my brothers and sisters in the future. What are the three most crucial elements that unite people on both sides? Both eat the same foods. Both have the same cultures. Both have similar life style. Would you agree the impasse did not have backing of the peoples of both nations, why? Nothing could stop the two people from being united. It is a people that had been living together for centuries. Even now, the people have respect for Eritrea on its territory, unlike what has been two or three decades ago. People, who don’t have any relatives there, are even eager to go to Eritrea and find their old friends. How can the new order be consolidated in your view? I believe both countries should be transparent on procedures that will be undertaken to normalize the relation between the two countries. That will have an impact on the further implementation of the peace accord. for more news items on Ethiopia | Ethiopia reopens its embassy in the Eritrean capital Asmara. After the 1998-2018 Eritrean–Ethiopian War, both countries signed a peace accord in July 2018. Also in July, Eritrea reopened its embassy in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa. |
Presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro grimaces right after being stabbed in the stomach during a campaign rally in Juiz de Fora, Brazil, Thursday, Sept. 6, 2018. Bolsonaro, a leading presidential candidate in Brazil, was stabbed during the campaign event, though officials and his son said the injury is not life-threatening. (AP Photo/Raysa Leite) Presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro grimaces right after being stabbed in the stomach during a campaign rally in Juiz de Fora, Brazil, Thursday, Sept. 6, 2018. Bolsonaro, a leading presidential candidate in Brazil, was stabbed during the campaign event, though officials and his son said the injury is not life-threatening. (AP Photo/Raysa Leite) RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Jair Bolsonaro, a leading presidential candidate whose heated rhetoric has electrified some voters and angered others in a deeply polarized Brazil, was stabbed at a campaign event Thursday and suffered serious abdominal injuries. Police said the suspected attacker was in custody. Dr. Luiz Henrique Borsato, who performed emergency surgery, said Thursday night that the right-wing candidate was in serious but stable condition and would remain in intensive care for at least seven days. The first round of Brazil’s presidential election is Oct. 7. The doctor said the two-hour procedure stopped serious internal bleeding and repaired most of the damage from the knifing. The candidate will need further surgery within months for a part of his intestines that was temporarily fixed with a colostomy, the surgeon said. “We can’t say when he will be able to leave hospital,” Borsato said. “But in the first hours after the surgery his recovery has been very satisfactory.” Numerous videos on social media showed Bolsonaro, who has promised to crack down on crime in Latin America’s largest nation, being stabbed with a knife to the lower part of his stomach while campaigning in Juiz de Fora, a city about 125 miles (200 kilometers) north of Rio de Janeiro. At the moment of the attack, Bolsonaro was on the shoulders of a supporter, looking out at the crowd and giving a thumbs up with his left hand. After the attack, he is seen flinching and then goes out of view. Other videos show supporters carrying him to a car and hitting a man who was apparently the suspect. Police spokesman Flavio Santiago confirmed to The Associated Press that 40-year-old Adelio Bispo de Oliveira had been arrested in connection with the incident. De Oliveira was beaten badly by Bolsonaro supporters after the attack. The man was arrested in 2013 for another assault, police said. Luis Boudens, president of the National Federation of Federal Police, told AP that the assailant appeared to be mentally disturbed. “Our agents there said the attacker said he was ‘on a mission from God,’” Boudens reported. “Their impression is that they were not dealing with a mentally stable person. He didn’t expect to be arrested so quickly; agents reacted in seconds.” Bolsonaro’s son, Flavio Bolsonaro, initially posted on Twitter that the injury was superficial and his father was fine. However, an hour later he posted another tweet saying the wound was “worse than we thought.” He arrived at the hospital “almost dead,” Flavio wrote. “His condition now seems stabilized. Please pray.” A statement from federal police said the candidate had bodyguards. In the videos, Bolsonaro does not appear to be wearing a protective vest. Such measures are rare for candidates in Brazil. “This episode is sad,” President Michel Temer told reporters in Brasilia. “We won’t have a rule of law if we have intolerance.” Bolsonaro, a former army captain, is second in the polls to jailed ex-President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who has been barred from running but continues to appeal. Despite being a congressman since 1991, Bolsonaro is running as an outsider ready to upend the establishment by cracking down on corruption in politics and reducing crime, in part by giving police a freer hand to shoot and kill while on duty. While Bolsonaro has a strong following, he is also a deeply polarizing figure. He has been fined, and even faced charges, for derogatory statements toward women, blacks and gays. He speaks nostalgically about the country’s 1964-1985 military dictatorship and has promised to fill his government with current and former military leaders. Earlier this week, Bolsonaro said during a campaign event that he would like to shoot corrupt members of the leftist Workers’ Party, which made da Silva its candidate. The comment prompted an immediate rebuke from the attorney general, who asked Bolsonaro to explain that comment. His vice presidential running mate, Hamilton Mourao, is a retired general who blamed leftists for the knife attack. Underling Brazil’s divisions, people took to Twitter to either to decry the stabbing and ask for prayers for Bolsonaro or to say the candidate had brought it upon himself and even may have staged it. The top five trending topics in Brazil were related to the stabbing. Other presidential candidates quickly denounced the stabbing and many of them decided to suspend their campaign events Friday. “Politics is done through dialogue and by convincing, never with hate,” tweeted Geraldo Alckmin, former governor of Sao Paulo who has focused negative ads on Bolsonaro. Fernando Haddad, who is expected to take da Silva’s place on the Workers’ Party ticket, called the attack “absurd and regrettable.” The attack comes at a time of increasingly heated rhetoric, and sometimes violence, related to campaigns and candidates. In March, while da Silva was on a campaign tour in southern Brazil before his imprisonment, gunshots hit buses in his caravan. No one was hurt, and da Silva, who is in jail on a corruption conviction, was not in the vehicles that were hit. Also in March, Marielle Franco, a left-leaning black councilwoman in Rio de Janeiro, was shot to death along with her driver after attending an event on empowering black women. It wasn’t immediately clear how the attack on Bolsonaro might reshape a presidential race very much up in the air with the front-runner, da Silva, in jail. In many ways, the incident feeds Bolsonaro’s narrative that Brazil is in chaos and needs a strong hand to steady it. “It’s likely that Bolsonaro will use the attack to argue his opponents are desperate, that they had no other way to stop him,” said Mauricio Santoro, a political science professor at Rio de Janeiro’s state university. A handful of Bolsonaro supporters held a vigil in São Paulo on Thursday night, and briefly exchanged insults with leftists. ‘They made Bolsonaro a martyr,’ said Jonatan Valente, a student. ‘I think the left shot itself in the foot because with this attack they will end up electing Bolsonaro.’” ___ Associated Press reporters Marcelo Silva de Sousa in Rio de Janeiro and Sarah DiLorenzo and Victor Caivano in Sao Paulo contributed to this report. |||||
• Far-right Brazilian politician Jair Bolsonaro was stabbed in the stomach during a campaign rally.
• Footage from the event shows the candidate sitting on a supporters' shoulders and waving to the crowd when a man suddenly plunges a knife into his abdomen.
• His son tweeted that the candidate arrived at the hospital "almost dead" but his condition had stabilized.
• Bolsonaro is known for his controversial and outspoken views, and garnered comparisons to President Donald Trump.
• Brazil's campaign season has already been wrought with controversy as the country gears up for the October 7 elections. Far-right Brazilian politician Jair Bolsonaro was stabbed in the stomach during a campaign rally on Thursday as the nation gears up for what will likely be a divisive election. Footage from the event shows the candidate sitting on a supporters' shoulders and waving to the crowd when a man suddenly plunges a knife into his abdomen. Bolsonaro was visibly in pain and was whisked away by his supporters into a car. The suspected stabber was swiftly jumped and beaten by the crowd of supporters attending the rally. 40-year-old Adelio Bispo de Oliveira has been identified by police as a suspect. His motive remains unclear. Bolsonaro's son confirmed the attack on Twitter and initially said the wounds were "superficial," though he later wrote that his father's condition is "more serious than expected." He added that the knife perforated Bolsonaro's organs, and that he had arrived at the hospital "almost dead." Bolsonaro underwent surgery and his condition appears to have stabilized. The 63-year-old is known for his nationalistic policies and controversial views against homosexuality, refugees, and minorities. He is widely considered to be the front-runner for the upcoming October elections, and his outspoken political approach and larger-than-life persona has garnered comparisons to President Donald Trump. Bolsonaro has faced backlash for his statements in the past. In 2015, he told Brazilian newspaper Zero Hora that men and women should not receive the same salaries as men because women get pregnant. He was also ordered to pay fellow congresswoman Maria do Rosario $2,500 for saying that she was "not worth raping" because "she is very ugly." Brazil's presidential election has already been wrought with controversy. Two candidates on opposite sides of the political spectrum have been charged with corruption, and former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva had began a strong reelection campaign despite being sentenced to 12 years in prison for money laundering and corruption. The Supreme Court barred his candidacy last week, though he has vowed to appeal the decision. ||||| Far-right Brazilian politician Jair Bolsonaro was stabbed in the stomach during a campaign rally on Thursday as the nation gears up for what will likely be a divisive election. Footage from the event shows the candidate sitting on a supporters' shoulders and waving to the crowd when a man suddenly plunges a knife into his abdomen. Bolsonaro was visibly in pain and was whisked away by his supporters into a car. The suspected stabber was swiftly jumped and beaten by the crowd of supporters attending the rally. 40-year-old Adelio Bispo de Oliveira has been identified by police as a suspect. His motive remains unclear. Bolsonaro's son confirmed the attack on Twitter and initially said the wounds were "superficial," though he later wrote that his father's condition is "more serious than expected." He added that the knife perforated Bolsonaro's organs, and that he had arrived at the hospital "almost dead." Bolsonaro underwent surgery and his condition appears to have stabilized. The 63-year-old is known for his nationalistic policies and controversial views against homosexuality, refugees, and minorities. He is widely considered to be the front-runner for the upcoming October elections, and his outspoken political approach and larger-than-life persona has garnered comparisons to President Donald Trump. Bolsonaro has faced backlash for his statements in the past. In 2015, he told Brazilian newspaper Zero Hora that men and women should not receive the same salaries as men because women get pregnant. He was also ordered to pay fellow congresswoman Maria do Rosario $2,500 for saying that she was "not worth raping" because "she is very ugly." Brazil's presidential election has already been wrought with controversy. Two candidates on opposite sides of the political spectrum have been charged with corruption, and former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva had began a strong reelection campaign despite being sentenced to 12 years in prison for money laundering and corruption. The Supreme Court barred his candidacy last week, though he has vowed to appeal the decision. ||||| Brazilian right-wing presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro was slightly wounded Thursday when an assailant stabbed him at a rally, the politician's son said. "Jair Bolsonaro suffered an attack, a stabbing with a knife in the region of the abdomen. But it was only superficial, thank God," and he is well," Flavio Bolsonaro wrote on Twitter. ||||| RIO DE JANEIRO — Jair Bolsonaro, a leading Brazilian presidential candidate whose heated rhetoric has electrified some voters and angered others in a deeply polarized electorate, was stabbed during a campaign event Thursday and was undergoing surgery. Officials and his son said the far-right candidate was in stable condition, though the son also said Bolsonaro suffered severe blood loss and arrived to the hospital "almost dead." Numerous videos on social media showed Bolsonaro, who has promised to crack down on crime in Latin America's largest nation, being stabbed with a knife to the lower part of his stomach. At the moment of the attack, Bolsonaro was on the shoulders of a supporter, looking out at the crowd and giving a thumbs up with his left hand. After the attack, he is seen flinching and then goes out of view. Other videos show supporters carrying him to a car and hitting a man who was apparently the attacker. Police spokesman Flavio Santiago confirmed to The Associated Press that his attacker had been arrested. Bolsonaro was taken to a hospital in the city he was campaigning, Juiz de Fora, about 125 miles (200 kilometers) north of Rio de Janeiro, and was in good condition, Santiago said. Santiago said the attacker was identified as Adelio Bispo de Oliveira. He said the suspect was beaten badly by Bolsonaro supporters after the attack. The man was arrested in 2013 for another assault, police said. Luis Boudens, president of the National Federation of Federal Police, told the AP that the assailant appeared to be deranged. "Our agents there said the attacker was 'on a mission from God,'" Boudens said. "Their impression is that they were not dealing with a mentally stable person. He didn't expect to be arrested so quickly, agents reacted in seconds." In a statement, the hospital said Bolsonaro was in surgery but did not elaborate. Bolsonaro's son, Flavio Bolsonaro, initially posted on Twitter that the injury was superficial and his father was fine. However, an hour later he posted another tweet saying the wound was "worse than we thought." Flavio said the puncture had hit parts of his father's liver, lung and intestines and he lost a lot of blood. He arrived at the hospital "almost dead," Flavio wrote. "His condition now seems stabilized. Please pray." A statement from federal police said the candidate had bodyguards. In the videos, Bolsonaro does not appear to be wearing a protective vest. Such measures are rare for candidates in Brazil. "This episode is sad," President Michel Temer told reporters in Brasilia. "We won't have a rule of law if we have intolerance." Bolsonaro, a former army captain, is second in the polls to jailed ex-President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who has been barred from running but continues to appeal. Despite being a congressman since 1991, Bolsonaro is running as an outsider ready to upend the establishment by cracking down on corruption in politics and reducing crime, in part by giving police a more free hand to shoot and kill while on duty. While Bolsonaro has a strong following, he is also a deeply polarizing figure. He has been fined, and even faced charges, for derogatory statements toward women, blacks and gays. ||||| Far-right Brazilian presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro has been stabbed in the street. He was knifed in the abdomen today while campaigning for next month's election, his son Flavio said in a Twitter message sent from his verified account. Bolsonaro - sometimes dubbed 'Brazil's Donald Trump' - screamed in pain after being stabbed, then fell backwards into the arms of those around him. A shocking video appears to show him being carried away by a group of men, as he clutches his stomach. It took a few moments for the crowd to realise what happened, but they quickly rushed the candidate out of the street. Bolsonaro is recovering in a hospital from a wound that was "only superficial," his son has confirmed, saying that he was not seriously hurt and is doing fine. Police in the Brazilian city have arrested a man who allegedly stabbed the presidential candidate. Globo TV showed images of Bolsonaro in the midst of a crowd in Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais state, when he was stabbed. The news channel says the politician is undergoing surgery. Fernando Haddad, who will likely be the Workers Party presidential candidate, said the stabbing was a "shame" and a "horror." Leftist rival Ciro Gomes took to Twitter to express outrage at the political violence. Brazil's front-running far-right presidential candidate rallied supporters yesterday with a message of a clean break from the past as a new opinion poll showed him consolidating his support among voters. Bolsonaro, a former army captain, is running on an anti-graft, law-and-order campaign. "We're going to sweep the leaders of these parties into the dustbin of history," Bolsonaro told several thousand backers at a rally in a working class suburb of Brazil. Bolsonaro then kicked into the crowd an inflatable doll portraying jailed former president and PT founder Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Lula, who easily leads opinion polls, is banned from running because of a graft conviction. A poll by Ibope showed Bolsonaro increasing his lead by two percentage points to 22 percent for the October 7 first-round vote, though he would lose to most rivals in a likely runoff ballot. ||||| Brazil's Presidential Front-Runner Is Seriously Wounded In Attack At Campaign Rally The leading candidate in next month's presidential election in Brazil has been stabbed at a campaign rally and is reportedly in serious but stable condition following surgery. Jair Bolsonaro, a former army captain whose far-right views have placed him ahead in the polls, was being carried on the shoulders of supporters in the southeastern state of Minas Gerais when he was suddenly attacked by someone in the crowd. Supporters of Bolsonaro then descended on the assailant, beating him before police were able to take the man into custody. Video of the incident shows Bolsonaro giving a thumbs-up just before being stabbed. The candidate appears to grimace, then double over in pain. He is then lowered and quickly bundled into a car. Police say they have arrested a 40-year-old man identified as Adelio Obispo de Oliveria in connection with the stabbing. Reuters quotes officials as saying the suspect is mentally disturbed. According to reports, doctors say it could take Bolsonaro up to two months to fully recover and that he would be in the hospital for at least a week — throwing the rest of the campaign into question. "His internal wounds were grave and put the patient's life at risk," said Dr. Luiz Henrique Borsato, who operated on the candidate, according to Reuters. The doctor said the biggest challenge for medical staff would be preventing an abdominal infection. Bolsonaro has sparked outrage among many in Brazil for his racist and homophobic comments on the campaign trail. Even so, he has remained strong in the polls. His would-be closest rival, former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, has been disqualified from the race after being convicted of corruption. Bolsonaro is well ahead of other presidential hopefuls in the opinion polls. They include former Senator Marina Silva and Gerald Alckmin, a former governor of São Paulo. As Reuters notes, "The attack on Bolsonaro, 63, is a dramatic twist in what was already Brazil's most unpredictable election since the country's return to democracy three decades ago. Corruption investigations have jailed scores of powerful businessmen and politicians in recent years, and alienated infuriated voters." ||||| The stabbing of a leading Brazilian presidential candidate has the potential to reshape the election contest after dramatically exposing the deep polarisation in Latin America's largest nation. Far-right Social Liberal Party congressman Jair Bolsonaro was seriously injured after a man stabbed him in the abdomen during a campaign event in Juiz de Fora. The former army captain has promised to crack down on crime, and has long argued that Brazil is in chaos and needs a strong hand. After the attack, Brazilians surged on to social media to argue over whether the incident supports Mr Bolsonaro's assertions that the country is off the rails, or whether his heated rhetoric contributed to inciting the attack. Dr Luiz Henrique Borsato, who performed emergency surgery on the candidate, said Mr Bolsonaro's recovery is "satisfactory" so far. He said the candidate would remain in hospital for at least a week after a two-hour operation to stop serious internal bleeding. In videos of the moment of the attack posted on social media, Mr Bolsonaro could be seen on the shoulders of a supporter, looking out at the crowd and giving a thumbs-up sign with his left hand. He is seen flinching and then goes out of view. Other videos show supporters carrying him to a car and hitting a man who appears to have been the attacker. A suspect, identified by authorities as 40-year-old Adelio Bispo de Oliveira, was arrested within seconds. Police did not identify a motive, but one official said the man appeared to be mentally unstable. After more than four years of revelations of widespread corruption within Brazil's political class, anger is running high in the country, and analysts initially predicted this poll would see huge changes. But no true outside candidate has emerged. Instead, Mr Bolsonaro, despite being a congressman since 1991, has harnessed much of the anger and presented himself as a maverick who will clean up a corrupt system. He also promises to confront a surge in crime, in part by giving police a freer hand to shoot to kill while on duty. The public's anger is partially responsible for making this year's campaign the most unpredictable in years for Brazil, and the attack could lead to another seismic shift. The man leading the polls, former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, has been barred from running by electoral authorities because he was convicted of corruption and is in jail. That puts Mr Bolsonaro in the lead position, though it is unclear how the attack might affect the campaign for the October 7 presidential ballot. In the hours following the attack in Juiz de Fora, about 125 miles north of Rio de Janeiro, Mr Bolsonaro's supporters predicted it would carry him to the presidency. "They made Bolsonaro a martyr," said Jonatan Valente, a student who joined a small vigil for Mr Bolsonaro in Sao Paulo. "I think the left shot itself in the foot because with this attack they will end up electing Bolsonaro." However, it is unknown when the candidate can get out again on the campaign trail or if his injuries will impede his ability to campaign. Download: The STV News app is Scotland's favourite and is available for iPhone from the App store and for Android from Google Play. Download it today and continue to enjoy STV News wherever you are. ||||| Bolsonaro was stabbed in the abdomen while in the city of Juiz de Fora in Minas Gerai state. Brazilian media has reported the far-right candidate suffered a serious liver injury in the attack. Television images of the campaign rally show Jair Bolsonaro on the shoulders of supporters moments before he was attacked. After being stabbed, he fell backward into the crowd. Police in Juiz de Fora say they have arrested a man who they say carried out the attack. ||||| A leading presidential candidate in Brazil has been stabbed at a campaign event, suffering serious abdominal injuries. Dr Luiz Henrique Borsato, who performed emergency surgery, said on Thursday night that right-wing candidate Jair Bolsonaro was in serious but stable condition and would remain in intensive care for at least seven days. The first round of Brazil's presidential election is October 7. The doctor said the two-hour procedure stopped serious internal bleeding and repaired most of the damage from the knifing. The candidate will need further surgery within months for a part of his intestines that was temporarily fixed with a colostomy, the surgeon said. "We can't say when he will be able to leave hospital," Dr Borsato said. "But in the first hours after the surgery his recovery has been very satisfactory." Numerous videos on social media showed Mr Bolsonaro, who has promised to crack down on crime in Latin America's largest nation, being stabbed with a knife to the lower part of his stomach while campaigning in Juiz de Fora, a city about 125 miles north of Rio de Janeiro. At the moment of the attack, Mrr Bolsonaro was on the shoulders of a supporter, looking out at the crowd and giving a thumbs up with his left hand. After the attack, he is seen flinching and then goes out of view. Other videos show supporters carrying him to a car and hitting a man who was apparently the suspect. Police spokesman Flavio Santiago confirmed to The Associated Press that 40-year-old Adelio Bispo de Oliveira had been arrested in connection with the incident. Mr Bolsonaro's son, Flavio Bolsonaro, initially posted on Twitter that the injury was superficial and his father was fine. However, an hour later he posted another tweet saying the wound was "worse than we thought." He arrived at the hospital "almost dead," Mr Flavio wrote. "His condition now seems stabilized. Please pray." Body of British teenager, 16, found in lake during trip to France A statement from federal police said the candidate had bodyguards. In the videos, Mr Bolsonaro does not appear to be wearing a protective vest. Such measures are rare for candidates in Brazil. "This episode is sad," President Michel Temer told reporters in Brasilia. "We won't have a rule of law if we have intolerance." Mr Bolsonaro, a former army captain, is second in the polls to jailed ex-president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who has been barred from running but continues to appeal. Despite being a congressman since 1991, Mr Bolsonaro is running as an outsider ready to upend the establishment by cracking down on corruption in politics and reducing crime, in part by giving police a freer hand to shoot and kill while on duty. While Mr Bolsonaro has a strong following, he is also a deeply polarising figure. He speaks nostalgically about the country's 1964-1985 military dictatorship and has promised to fill his government with current and former military leaders. Earlier this week, Mr Bolsonaro said during a campaign event that he would like to shoot corrupt members of the leftist Workers' Party, which made da Silva its candidate. The comment prompted an immediate rebuke from the attorney general, who asked Mr Bolsonaro to explain that comment. His vice presidential running mate, Hamilton Mourao, is a retired general who blamed leftists for the knife attack. Other presidential candidates quickly denounced the stabbing and many of them decided to suspend their campaign events on Friday. "Politics is done through dialogue and by convincing, never with hate," tweeted Geraldo Alckmin, former governor of Sao Paulo who has focused negative ads on Mr Bolsonaro. Fernando Haddad, who is expected to take da Silva's place on the Workers' Party ticket, called the attack "absurd and regrettable". British Airways data hack - this is how to find out if you're affected It was not immediately clear how the attack on Mr Bolsonaro might reshape a presidential race very much up in the air with the front-runner, da Silva, in jail. A handful of Bolsonaro supporters held a vigil in Sao Paulo on Thursday night, and briefly exchanged insults with leftists. "They made Bolsonaro a martyr,' said Jonatan Valente, a student. "I think the left shot itself in the foot because with this attack they will end up electing Bolsonaro'." | Brazilian presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro is stabbed in the abdomen and seriously injured at a campaign rally. He is expected to be in intensive care for at least seven days. Police arrest a 40-year-old man they say appears mentally disturbed. |
Mohamed El-Shahed, AFP | Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohamed Badie during a trial in Cairo in Aug. 2015. He was sentenced to life in prison on Sept. 8, 2018. An Egyptian court on Saturday sentenced 75 people to death, including top leaders of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, for their involvement in a 2013 protest that was broken up by security forces in an operation that killed at least 600 people. Advertising Read more In a case involving 739 defendants facing charges ranging from murder to damaging property, the court also sentenced to life in prison the head of the Brotherhood, Mohammed Badie, and 46 others. Mahmoud Abu Zaid, a photojournalist known as "Shawkan" whose detention has been decried by rights groups at home and abroad, received five years in prison. He was detained in August 2013, meaning that he should walk free within days for time served. The sit-in at a square in a Cairo suburb was staged by supporters of Mohammed Morsi, a Brotherhood stalwart. He became Egypt's first freely elected president in 2012 but was ousted a year later by the military, then led by President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, following days of street protests calling on him to step down. One of Morsi's sons, Osama, was among 22 defendants who received 10-year jail terms. A total of 374 were sentenced to 15 years and 215 to five years. Proceedings were dropped against five defendants who have died since the trial began. Saturday's convictions can be appealed. 'The sentence wasn't based on any evidence' (AP) ||||| ES News email The latest headlines in your inbox ES News email The latest headlines in your inbox Enter your email address Continue Please enter an email address Email address is invalid Fill out this field Email address is invalid You already have an account. Please log in Register with your social account or click here to log in I would like to receive lunchtime headlines Monday - Friday plus breaking news alerts, by email Update newsletter preferences Egypt sentenced 75 people to death, including prominent Islamist leaders, over a sit-in 2013 which ended in the killing of hundreds of protesters. Senior Brotherhood leaders Essam al-Erian and Mohamed Beltagi and prominent Islamist preacher Safwat Higazi are among the dozens sentenced to death by hanging. The August 2013 Rabaa massacre ended in the deaths of hundreds of protesters when Egyptian security services cleared mass camps which had occupied the capital's al-Nahda and Rabaa al-Adawiya squares. The military raided the two sites after six weeks of peaceful protests in support of President Mohamed Morsi, ousted in a military coup, developed into large camps occupying the squares. Police and soliers used tear gas, rubber bullets and live ammunition to disperse the crowds while bulldozing the camp, which broke out into fatal fires. At least 817 were killed in the dispersal - or closer to 1,000 according to Human Rights Watch estimates. HRW called the massacre "one of the world's largest killings of demonstrators in a single day in recent history". Egyptian courts jailed 262 people from three years to life in January, for charges ranging from causing he death of two policemen to attempted murder and vandalism, Reuters reported. The government accused the Muslim Brotherhood of encouraging an Islamist insurgency since Morsi’s removal and said militants had killed hundreds of Egyptian soldiers and police. There were reports that police pursued armed protesters, and Brotherhood sources accused the police of using snipers to shoot civilians from nearby rooftops. Human Rights Watch branded the violent clash a "massacre" and crime against humanity, alleging that the "use of force was planned and co-ordinated by top government officials, including current president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. Leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, Mohammed Badie, who had been in hiding for a week before being arrested in a residential flat in Nasr City, and has already been sentenced to life in connection to terrorism offences. The group is deemed a terror organisation by Saudi Arabia. ||||| Egyptian photojournalist Mahmoud Abu Zeid, also known as Shawkan, looks on behind a fence during his trial in Cairo, Egypt, on Saturday (Reuters photo) CAIRO — An Egyptian court on Saturday issued death sentences for 75 people, including prominent Islamist leaders, and jailed more than 600 others over a 2013 sit-in which ended with the killing of hundreds of protesters by security forces. The sentencing concluded the mass trial of some 700 people accused of offences including murder and inciting violence during the pro-Muslim Brotherhood protest at Rabaa Adawiya Square in Cairo. The government says many protesters were armed and that eight members of the security forces were killed. It initially said more than 40 police had died. Rights groups say more than 800 protesters died in the single most deadly incident during the unrest that followed Egypt's 2011 popular uprising. Amnesty International condemned Saturday's decision, calling the trial "disgraceful". In Saturday's hearing at the vast Tora Prison complex south of Cairo, a criminal court sentenced to death by hanging several prominent Islamists including senior Brotherhood leaders Essam Al Erian and Mohamed Beltagi and preacher Safwat Higazi. Muslim Brotherhood spiritual leader Mohamed Badie and dozens more were given life sentences, judicial sources said. Others received jail sentences ranging from five to 15 years. Cases were dropped against five people who had died while in prison, judicial sources said, without giving further details. Following weeks of protests in 2013 against the ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi by the military — led at the time by Egypt's current President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi — security forces violently broke up the demonstrators at Rabaa Square. They arrested hundreds of people who were charged with inciting violence, murder and organising illegal protests. Rights groups have criticised the trial for including many peaceful protesters and journalists. An award-winning photographer who covered the protests, Mahmoud Abu Zeid, was sentenced to five years in jail, but would soon be released because his five years in detention during the trial are counted towards the sentence, judicial sources said. Abu Zeid, also known as Shawkan, was awarded a United Nations press freedom prize this year. He was charged with belonging to a banned group and possessing firearms. "We condemn today's verdict in the strongest terms," Amnesty International said in a statement. "The fact that not a single police officer has been brought to account... shows what a mockery of justice this trial was." Since Sisi was elected president in 2014, authorities have justified a crackdown on dissent and freedoms as being directed at militants and saboteurs trying to undermine the state. Death sentences have been handed down to hundreds of his political opponents on charges such as belonging to an illegal organisation or planning to carry out an attack. Supporters say a security crackdown is needed to stabilise Egypt, which still faces an Islamist insurgency in the Sinai Peninsula and is reeling financially from years of unrest. Critics say the erosion of freedoms and silencing of political opponents is the worst Egypt has seen in its modern history. ||||| An Egyptian court has sentenced 75 people to death, including senior leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood, over a 2013 sit-in protest in Cairo that ended with the killing of hundreds of protesters. Senior Brotherhood leaders Essam el-Erian and Mohamed Beltagi were sentenced to death, while Mohamed Badie, the Brotherhood's spiritual leader, was handed a life sentence. Prominent photojournalist Mahmoud Abu Zeid, also known as Shawkan, was handed a five-year sentence but should walk free for time served. He was arrested in August 2013 while covering the killings in Cairo. Lawyers for Shawkan said he would be out in a "few days". Those sentenced on Saturday are accused of security-related offences, including incitement to violence and organising illegal protests. On August 14, 2013, police dispersed a mass sit-in protest in Cairo's Rabaa al-Adawiya Square. The security forces killed more than 800 people in a matter of hours, in what Human Rights Watch (HRW) concluded "likely amounted to crimes against humanity". Government forces moved in with armoured vehicles, bulldozers, and hundreds of security forces moving in the early hours. According to HRW, about 85,000 protesters joined the sit-in, which extended for over 45 days and grew larger and more organised with time. The protest was staged by supporters of Mohamed Morsi, Egypt's first elected president and Muslim Brotherhood leader, who was overthrown by the military a few weeks earlier. Thousands were arrested on the day of the massacre and in the months following. ||||| A court in Egypt’s Cairo on Saturday sentenced 75 members and affiliates of the Muslim Brotherhood to death in a mass trial of 739 people who had held protests in favour of former President Mohamed Morsi in 2013. All the accused were charged after authorities violently dispersed the protest at Rabaa al-Adawiya square in Cairo on August 14, 2013, killing hundreds. The 75 sentenced to death face several charges, from murder and “incitement to break the law” to “membership of a banned group” and “being part of an illegal gathering”, The Guardian reported. The most prominent figures who were handed the death penalty were senior Muslim Brotherhood leader Essam el-Erian, politician Mohamed el-Beltagy, Salafi cleric Safwat Hegazy, former Youth Minister Osama Yassin and cleric Abdel-Rahman el-Barr. The court also sentenced the Muslim Brotherhood’s supreme leader, Mohammed Badie, and 46 others to life imprisonment. As many as 374 accused, mostly Morsi supporters, were sentenced to 15 years in detention. Osama Morsi, the son of the detained Mohamed Morsi and 21 others were jailed for 10 years. As many as 215 accused, including photojournalist Mahmoud Abu Zeid, were sentenced to five years in jail. Rights group Amnesty International had earlier called the trial “grossly unfair” and “a grotesque parody of justice”. The 2013 Egyptian coup saw of the end of the Muslim Brotherhood’s government, and brought Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to power. ||||| An Egyptian court on Saturday issued death sentences for 75 people, including prominent Islamist leaders, and jailed more than 600 others over a 2013 sit-in which ended with the killing of hundreds of protesters by security forces. The sentencing concluded the mass trial of some 700 people accused of offences including murder and inciting violence during the pro-Muslim Brotherhood protest at Rabaa Adawiya square in Cairo. The government says many protesters were armed and that eight members of the security forces were killed. It initially said more than 40 police had died. Rights groups say more than 800 protesters died in the single most deadly incident during the unrest that followed Egypt’s 2011 popular uprising. Amnesty International condemned Saturday’s decision, calling the trial “disgraceful”. In Saturday’s hearing at the vast Tora prison complex south of Cairo, a criminal court sentenced to death by hanging several prominent Islamists including senior Brotherhood leaders Essam al-Erian and Mohamed Beltagi and preacher Safwat Higazi. Muslim Brotherhood spiritual leader Mohamed Badie and dozens more were given life sentences, judicial sources said. Others received jail sentences ranging from five to 15 years. Cases were dropped against five people who had died while in prison, judicial sources said, without giving further details. Following weeks of protests in 2013 against the ouster of Islamist President Mohamed Mursi by the military — led at the time by Egypt’s current president, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi — security forces violently broke up the demonstrators at Rabaa square. They arrested hundreds of people who were charged with inciting violence, murder and organizing illegal protests. Rights groups have criticized the trial for including many peaceful protesters and journalists. An award-winning photographer who covered the protests, Mahmoud Abu Zeid, was sentenced to five years in jail, but would soon be released because his five years in detention during the trial are counted toward the sentence, judicial sources said. Abu Zeid, also known as Shawkan, was awarded a United Nations press freedom prize this year. He was charged with belonging to a banned group and possessing firearms. Also, Like us on facebook ||||| related media assets (image or videos) available. Click to see the gallery. 3 related media assets (image or videos) available. Click to see the gallery. An Egyptian court on Saturday issued death sentences for 75 people, including prominent Islamist leaders, and jailed more than 600 others over a 2013 sit-in which ended with the killing of hundreds of protesters by security forces. CAIRO: An Egyptian court sentenced 75 people to death on Saturday including prominent Islamist leaders Essam al-Erian and Mohamed Beltagi over a 2013 sit-in which ended with security forces killing hundreds of protesters. The sentencing, which included jail terms for more than 600 others, concluded a mass trial of people accused of murder and inciting violence during the pro-Muslim Brotherhood protest at Rabaa Adawiya square in Cairo. The decision can be appealed within 60 days. Rabaa square was the single most deadly incident in unrest which followed the 2011 popular uprising that toppled Egypt's longtime leader Hosni Mubarak. It occurred weeks after the military ousted Egypt's first freely elected head of state, Islamist president Mohamed Mursi. The government says many protesters were armed and that eight members of the security forces were killed. Rights groups say more than 800 protesters died. Amnesty International condemned Saturday's decision, calling the trial "disgraceful". Those sentenced to jail included a U.S. citizen, Moustafa Kassem, rights group Pretrial Rights International said. Washington is Cairo's closest Western ally and one of its top aid donors. President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Saturday met U.S. Central Command chief General Joseph Votel as the two countries launched a joint military exercise off Egypt's Mediterranean coast. In Saturday's hearing at the vast Tora prison complex south of Cairo, a criminal court sentenced to death by hanging several prominent Islamists including senior Brotherhood leaders al-Erian and Beltagi and preacher Safwat Higazi. Muslim Brotherhood spiritual leader Mohamed Badie and dozens more were given life sentences, judicial sources said. Others received jail sentences ranging from five to 15 years. Cases were dropped against five people who died while in prison, judicial sources said. Following weeks of protests against the ouster of Islamist President Mursi by the military, which at the time was led by current president Sisi, security forces violently broke up the Rabaa square demonstration. They arrested hundreds of people who were charged with inciting violence, murder and organising illegal protests. Rights groups have criticised the trial for including many peaceful protesters and journalists. An award-winning photographer who covered the protests, Mahmoud Abu Zeid, was sentenced to five years in jail, but would soon be released because his five years in detention during the trial are counted towards the sentence, judicial sources said. Abu Zeid, also known as Shawkan, was awarded a UN World Press Freedom Prize this year. He was charged with belonging to a banned group and possessing firearms. "We condemn today's verdict in the strongest terms," Amnesty International said in a statement. "The fact that not a single police officer has been brought to account ... shows what a mockery of justice this trial was." Since Sisi was elected president in 2014, authorities have justified a crackdown on dissent and freedoms as being directed at militants and saboteurs trying to undermine the state. Death sentences have been handed down to hundreds of his political opponents on charges such as belonging to an illegal organisation or planning to carry out an attack. Often the sentences are not carried out, but rights groups say hangings have increased in recent years, with dozens taking place each year. For executions to take place, Sisi must issue a final approval. Supporters say a security crackdown is needed to stabilise Egypt, which still faces an Islamist insurgency in the Sinai Peninsula and is reeling financially from years of unrest. Critics say the erosion of freedoms and silencing of political opponents is the worst Egypt has seen in its modern history. ||||| An Egyptian court has sentenced 75 prominent members and affiliates of the Muslim Brotherhood to death, as part of a mass trial that includes 739 people charged after the violent dispersal of a protest camp in support of former Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi in 2013. The majority of protesters who died in the dispersal at Rabaa al-Adawiya square in Cairo were pro-Morsi protesters and Brotherhood members and affiliates. They had staged a sit-in days before Morsi was ousted by Abdel Fatah al-Sisi in a military coup on 3 July 2013, and continued the protest until it was violently dispersed on 14 August 2013. The 75 face the death penalty for a range of offences, from murder to “incitement to break the law”, membership of a banned group or being part of an illegal gathering. The verdict, by judge Hassan Farid el-Shami, was announced on Saturday in Cairo’s heavily fortified Tora prison courthouse, in a trial Amnesty International has condemned as “a grotesque parody of justice”. Among those who received death sentences were senior Muslim Brotherhood leader Essam el-Erian, politician Mohamed el-Beltagy, Salafi preacher Safwat Hegazy, former youth minister Osama Yassin and cleric Abdel-Rahman el-Barr. The court also sentenced the group’s supreme leader, Mohammed Badie, in addition to 46 others, to life in prison. Five defendants died during the legal process. A total of 374 defendants, mainly Morsi suppporters, were given 15 years in detention, while Osama Morsi, the son of the detained former president, as well as 21 others, were sentenced to 10 years. The judge also sentenced 215 defendants, including photojournalist Mahmoud Abu Zeid, known as Shawkan, to five years, causing dozens of defendants in the soundproof cage to rejoice. “He [Shawkan] already spent five years, which means he will get out,” lawyer Karim Abdel Rady wrote on Twitter, adding that despite the release Shawkan will be on probation for another five years. “Assuming that they [Shawkan and the other 214 defendants] have not been sentenced in other cases or that they are not held in pre-trial detention in other cases, they should be released,” Amnesty International’s Egypt campaigner, Hussein Baoumi, told the Guardian. “This raises an important point, which is the practice of prolonged pre-trial detention, which is so commonplace in the Egyptian legal system and effectively [renders] defendants in Egypt guilty until proven otherwise,” Baoumi added. Several others as well as Shawkan have already spent five years in detention, two years of which were spent during the prosecution’s investigations, and all the verdicts can be appealed. Shawkan, who was arrested in 2013, went to cover the raid on the protest camp at Rabaa for the UK-based photo agency Demotix. He was frequently pictured during the trial posing as though he was holding a camera in the defendants’ cage, an attempt to demonstrate to the world that Egypt had incarcerated a journalist for doing their job. Egypt is currently ranked 161 out of 180 countries for journalistic safety and freedom of the press by Reporters Without Borders. The final verdict ended a prolonged period of pre-trial detention, long past the two-year legal limit in Egypt, amid a crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood group as well as all political opposition to the rule of Sisi. “The trial from the start lacked any standards of a fair trial. This is a classic example of why Egypt needs to abolish the death penalty,” said Baoumi. Saturday’s case is one of dozens that were brought after the Rabaa massacre, with thousands of Brotherhood members and affiliates accused of committing acts of terrorism and violence. Outside the courthouse, a female relative of former youth minister Osama Yassin, who was sentenced to death, said the verdicts were “absurd and unfair”. “They were the ones getting killed in Rabaa, yet they are the ones now being trialled and given death sentences.” Baoumi said that the court had not approved all the requested witnesses. “The defence wanted to summon around 230-240 witnesses, but the court only approved 50-60 witnesses. He added that the “judge refused to admit into evidence several CDs that were were favourable to the defence”. Human Rights Watch estimates that at least 817 people were killed on 14 August 2013, when Egyptian security forces attacked the camp at Rabaa al-Adawiya square in Cairo, in an act the watchdog labelled “likely crimes against humanity”. ||||| An Egyptian court has ruled 75 people must be executed for their involvement in a sit-in protest by Islamists in 2013 which was broken up by security forces, leaving at least 600 people dead. Those convicted, in a case involving 739 defendants, included senior leaders of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood. Charges ranged from murder to damaging property. The court in Cairo sentenced the head of the Brotherhood, Mohammed Badie, and 46 others to life in prison. The sit-in at a square in a Cairo suburb was staged by supporters of Mohammed Morsi, a Brotherhood stalwart. He became Egypt’s first freely elected President in 2012 but was ousted a year later by the military, then led by President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. One of Mr Morsi’s sons, Osama, was among 22 defendants who received 10-year jail terms. A total of 374 people were sentenced to 15 years and 215 to five years. The convictions can be subject to appeal. ||||| (AFRICAN EXAMINER) – An Egyptian court on Saturday upheld death sentences against 75 people for participating in a 2013 sit-in protest in support of deposed President Mohammed Morsi. Those convicted included senior officials in Morsi’s now-banned Muslim Brotherhood group, state television reported on its website. BThirty-one of the 75 defendants were tried in absentia. The head of the Muslim Brotherhood, Mohammed Badie, was sentenced to 25 years in jail in the same case. In July, the Cairo Criminal Court recommended death sentences for the 75 defendants. The court also announced that the sentences would be referred to the country’s chief Islamic Legal Authority, the grand mufti, for a non-binding opinion, as required by Egyptian law. The same court issued Saturday’s ruling after consultations with the mufti. The mufti’s opinion was not released but it appears that he did not take the unusual step of opposing the death sentences. Among the accused in the case is award-winning photojournalist Mahmoud Abu Zeid, who was on Saturday given five years in prison. Abu Zeid, also known as Shawkan, has been in jail since August 14, 2013, when he was arrested while covering the sit-in. Procedures will now start for releasing Shawkan, 30, because he has already served more than five years in pre-trial detention, judicial sources said. On Saturday, the court also sentenced 46 others to 25 years in prison each in the same case. Prison terms ranging from 15 to five years were given to 612 co-defendants. Charges were dropped against five other defendants who had died since the legal proceedings began. The court also ruled that all the rulings could be appealed. The case is related to the sit-in protest staged in mid-2013 by Morsi’s loyalists in Rabaa al-Adawiya Square in Cairo. In August 2013, security forces cleared the protest with force. The operation, in which hundreds of people were killed, came more than a month after the army deposed Morsi, Egypt’s first democratically elected but divisive president. The defendants were charged with murder, holding an armed gathering, damaging public property, illegal possession of weapons and belonging to an outlawed group, a reference to the Muslim Brotherhood. “These sentences were handed down in a disgraceful mass trial of more than 700 people, and we condemn today’s verdict in the strongest terms,” said Najia Bounaim, the watchdog’s North Africa campaigns director. “The death penalty should never be an option under any circumstances. “The fact that not a single police officer has been brought to account for the killing of at least 900 people in the Rabaa and Nahda protests shows what a mockery of justice this trial was,” she added, citing another pro-Morsi sit-in held in mid-2013 near Cairo. The Egyptian government has repeatedly said that the country’s judiciary operates independently. Months after Morsi’s ouster, Egyptian authorities declared the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organisation and rounded up thousands of its members and loyalists in the toughest crackdown on the group since it was created in 1928. (dpa/NAN) | A court in Egypt sentences 75 people to death for participating in a pro-Morsi sit-in protest in a Cairo suburb in 2013. The breakup of that protest at Rabaa Square by Egyptian authorities resulted in over 600 deaths. Of the 739 defendants, Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohamed Badie and 46 others are sentenced to life in prison, 374 receive 15-year jail terms, 22 are sentenced to 10 years and 215 people, including Mahmoud Abu Zeid (Shawkan), to five years in jail. |
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Footage shows the crash involving Moldovan President Igor Dodon Moldovan President Igor Dodon has been injured in a traffic accident north-west of the capital Chisinau. A lorry overtook a vehicle in wet weather near the town of Straseni and crashed into the presidential convoy. One of the cars in the convoy overturned. President Dodon was taken to hospital but suffered only scratches and bruises, officials say. The 43-year-old, an ally of Russia's Vladimir Putin, has led the former Soviet Republic since December 2016. Image copyright EPA Image caption Mr Dodon is an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin Pictures posted on social media after Sunday's accident show the wreckage of a car by the side of the road. The accident comes just hours after Gennady Gagulia, the prime minister of Abkhazia, a Russian-backed republic that broke away from Georgia in the 1990s, died in a car crash. ||||| Moldovan President Igor Dodon has been hospitalized after a serious road accident that saw his vehicle overturned, according to local media. RIA news agency reported that Dodon was not hurt in the crash, quoting one of his aides. Two vehicles in Dodon's convoy collided with a truck on the Straseni - Calarasi highway located northwest of capital Chisinau. Local reports showed two overturned cars on the side of the highway, and a truck that was exposed to a head-on collision. 43-year-old Dodon took office in December 2016. He is regarded as a pro-Kremlin figure in the former Soviet republic, which also seeks closer ties with the EU with a sizable portion of the population seeking reunification with Romania. The accident came a day after Gennady Gaguliya, the prime minister of the breakaway Georgian province of Abkhazia, died in a car crash as his motorcade returned from the airport following a visit to Syria. Abkhazia, which unilaterally declared independence in 1993, was recognized by Russia in 2008. ||||| Moldovan President Igor Dodon has been injured in traffic accident north-west of the capital Chisinau.Local media say the crash happened when an...Read more via BBC – https://ift.tt/2wWXUYZ Get more World News ||||| Moldovan President Igor Dodon has been injured in a traffic accident north-west of the capital Chisinau. A lorry overtook a vehicle in wet weather near the town of Straseni and crashed into the presidential convoy. One of the cars in the convoy overturned. President Dodon was taken to hospital but suffered only scratches and bruises, officials say. The 43-year-old, an ally of Russia’s Vladimir Putin, has led the former Soviet Republic since December 2016. Pictures posted on social media after Sunday’s accident show the wreckage of a car by the side of the road. The accident comes just hours after Gennady Gagulia, the prime minister of Abkhazia, a Russian-backed republic that broke away from Georgia in the 1990s, died in a car crash. ||||| Moldovan President Igor Dodon was rushed to hospital after his motorcade was involved in a car accident near the city of Straseni, a police spokesperson has confirmed., local media reported., sources told local news agency Unimedia. Video footage of the crash site shows two black cars in a ditch near the road, one of which is overturned. A white truck with a damaged cabin can be also seen on the road."President Igor Dodon feels fine. He didn't require medical treatment," Dodon's adviser Maxim Lebedinschi wrote on Facebook. He added that another vehicle crashed into the motorcade while violating traffic rules.While the president was unharmed, his mother was injured in the crash, a member of Dodon's security team told TASS news agency.Two presidential security guards were also rushed to hospital. "The presidential motorcade was abiding by the traffic rules. Then a truck, coming from the opposite direction, hit two cars of the SPPS [State Protection and Guard Service]," the SPPS head Anatol Gorea told Publika.md.Igor Dodon, 43, assumed the presidency in 2016, having previously served as deputy prime minister and minister of economy. ||||| The President of Moldova, Igor Dodon, was hospitalized with slight injuries after his car turned over yesterday, the Eastern European country’s security services said. The accident occured on a wet road some 50 km to the south of capital Chisinau, according to a statement from the security services. The driver of another car was also injured. Dodon was scratched and bruised, the statement said. Pro-Moscow Dodon won the presidency in 2016 after beating a pro-European rival. ||||| The video shows the presidential motorcade moving along the road with the cars in the opposite lane being pressed against the roadside, as it is likely that a police car was driving in front of Dodon's vehicle. Suddenly, however, a truck left its lane, taking up almost the entire carriageway. The driver of the presidential Mercedes attempted to escape the collision but failed, resulting in the car flying into a ditch and turning over. The truck then rammed the police jeep, from which the video was being filmed. According to the latest reports, no-one from the presidential family was injured. ||||| While Moldova's authorities have given only vague information about Sunday's car accident involving President Igor Dodon, some of his fellow Socialists insist someone was trying to kill him.After Moldova's President, Igor Dodon, was involved in a car accident on Sunday,Socialist deputy Vlad Batrincea wrote on Facebook.He later added a list of reasons why some people might want to hurt Dodon, starting with Dodon's verbally stated intention to stand as a Socialist candidate in future parliamentary elections.The President is seen as "a danger to the [pro-EU] government and right-wing parties, and to their Euro-Atlantic curators", Batrincea maintained.He argued thatSocialists routinely accuse Romania and the US of trying to force Moldova into their camp and away from Moscow.The defeated Socialist candidate for the mayoral race for Chisinau in June,, implying that the two incidents were somehow related."It is strange that. We are not exactly conspiracy theories adepts, but we understand we need to be more careful and cautious from now on," said Ceban.President Dodon himself has revealed few details about the accident beyond a brief message that he is OK."Everything is in order, without serious trauma, neither to me nor to family members," Dodon said.But Ceban insisted that the accident was not minor."The President avoided disclosing details of the consequences of the accident because he did not want to focus on his condition. But," Ceban said.The presidential car was hit on Sunday morning by a truck, which skidded on a wet road. Police opened an investigation into the incident, ||||| CHISINAU: Moldovan President Igor Dodon was involved in a car crash on Sunday but was not seriously hurt, his press office said. "There was a car accident, thanks to God everyone is safe and sound," said spokeswoman Carmina Lupei. Dodon's condition is satisfactory, Anatilie Golea, head of the Moldovan state security service, said. He added that Dodon suffered only scratches and bruises. Russian news agencies had reported earlier that Dodon had been taken to hospital after his car collided with a truck, citing Moldovan TV channel Publika. ||||| Moldovan President Igor Dodon has been taken to hospital after a serious traffic accident. Two vehicles in the presidential convoy were involved in a crash with a lorry, near the town of Straseni, north-west of the capital Chisinau. The president later told Russia's Itar-Tass news agency that "all is OK". But reports say his mother suffered serious injuries. Mr Dodon, 43, has led the former Soviet Republic since December 2016. Some reports suggest Sunday's accident happened when an oncoming lorry overtook a vehicle and crashed into the convoy. Pictures on social media show an overturned car by the side of the road. | Moldovan President Igor Dodon is involved in a highway accident when his official motorcade is struck by a truck coming from the opposite direction. Several passengers, including the president and members of his family, suffer moderate injuries and are hospitalized. Reports indicate that the Moldovan head of state is in good health. |
(STOCKHOLM) — Sweden’s ruling party was headed for its worst showing in decades as voters flocked Sunday to an anti-immigrant party with white supremacist roots that was poised to become the third-biggest force in parliament. With more than four-fifths of ballots counted, Sweden’s national election commission reported the governing Social Democrats had 28.1 percent of the vote, making it likely to lose a significant number of seats despite emerging with the most support. The Moderates party was next at 19.2 percent, while the far-right Sweden Democrats that before the election inspired fear of an anti-migrant backlash that would produce a dramatic ideological swing had 17.9 percent. The Sweden Democrats received 13 percent of vote in the last election held four years ago. The results Sunday made it unlikely any single party would secure a majority of the 175 seats in the Riksdagen, Sweden’s parliament. It could take weeks or months of coalition talks before the next government is formed. Both the left-leaning bloc led by the Social Democrats and the center-right bloc have said they would refuse to consider the Sweden Democrats as a potential coalition partner. Sunday’s election was the first in Sweden since its government in 2015 allowed 163,000 migrants into the Scandinavian country with a population of 10 million. The number was far lower than the asylum-seekers Germany accepted that year, but the highest per capita of any European nation. The Sweden Democrats — led by Jimmie Akesson — worked to soften its neo-Nazi image while helping to break down longstanding taboos on what Swedes could say openly about immigration and integration without being shunned as racists The potential of a surge by the party had many Swedes worried about an erosion of the humanitarian values that have long been a foundation of their country’s identity. “This election is a referendum about our welfare,” Prime Minister Stefan Lofven said. “It’s also about decency, about a decent democracy … and not letting the Sweden Democrats, an extremist party, a racist party, get any influence in the government.” At the party’s rally on Saturday, Akesson strongly criticized Lofven’s government for “prioritizing” the cause of immigrants over the needs of citizens. “This government we have had now . they have prioritised, during these four years, asylum-seekers,” Akesson said, giving an exhaustive list of things he says the government has failed to do for Swedish society because of migrants. ||||| STOCKHOLM – Sweden headed for a hung parliament after an election on Sunday that saw support for the nationalist Sweden Democrats surge, as one of Europe’s most liberal nations turned right amid fears over immigration. Far-right parties have made spectacular gains throughout Europe in recent years as anxieties grow over national identity and the effects of globalisation and immigration following armed conflict in the Middle East and North Africa. In Sweden, an influx of 163,000 asylum seekers in 2015 - the most in Europe in relation to the country’s population of 10 million - has polarized voters and fractured the long-standing political consensus. With almost all districts having reported, the ruling centre-left Social Democrats and Greens and their Left Party parliamentary allies had 40.6% of the vote, while the opposition centre-right Alliance was at 40.3%. That gave the centre-left 144 seats in the 349-seat parliament against 142 for the Alliance, suggesting weeks of uncertainty before a workable government can be formed. The Sweden Democrats, a party with roots in the white supremacist fringe, won 17.6% and 63 seats, up from 12.9% and 49 seats in the last election four years ago, the biggest gain by any party in Sweden’s parliament, the Riksdag. The results were largely in line with the conventional opinion polls tracked by Reuters in the run-up to the election but well below some online surveys that had predicted the Sweden Democrats could become the largest party. While the results also fell short of leader Jimmie Akesson’s predictions of 20% of the vote or more, he told a party rally it was nevertheless the winner of the election. “We will gain huge influence over what happens in Sweden during the coming weeks, months and years,” Akesson told party colleagues. Akesson hopes his party, which wants Sweden to leave the European Union and freeze immigration, can play a decisive role in negotiations over forming a government. He called on Ulf Kristersson, the centre-right Alliance’s candidate for the premiership, to choose between seeking support from the Sweden Democrats for an Alliance government or to accept another four years of Social Democrat Prime Minister Stefan Lofven. Kristersson called on Lofven to resign, but rebuffed Akesson. “We have been completely clear during the whole election. The Alliance will not govern or discuss how to form a government with the Sweden Democrats,” he said. The Sweden Democrats, shunned by all the other parties since entering parliament in 2010, have promised to sink any Cabinet that refuses to give them a say in policy, particularly on immigration. Lofven said he would not resign and called for cross-party cooperation to resolve the political impasse. “There is no side with a majority. Then it is only natural to work across the political divide to make it possible to govern Sweden,” Lofven said. The election will add to concerns in Brussels as the European Union enters campaign mode ahead of the European Parliament election in May, which could give more voice to eurosceptic groups and thwart efforts at closer EU integration. The record levels of those seeking asylum in 2015 magnified worries about a welfare system in Sweden that many voters already believe is in crisis, even though refugee numbers have fallen sharply since then. Lengthening queues for critical operations, shortages of doctors and teachers and the failures of police to deal with inner-city gang violence have shaken faith in the “Swedish model”, built on a promise of comprehensive welfare and social inclusion. Akesson had labeled the vote a choice between immigration and welfare in a campaign that was unusually antagonistic. Voting in central Stockholm, student Katze Collmar, 32, said the campaign had been “really unpleasant”. “It feels like Sweden could take a step in this election that we won’t be able to recover from very easily.” Lofven could hold on to power unless the Alliance accepts some kind of support from the Sweden Democrats, at a likely cost of the populists having more say over immigration policy. But he would need to overcome decades of acrimony between the two blocs and get support from parties on the center-right, something they have ruled out. ||||| Swedish political parties face weeks of haggling to form a government after voters delivered a hung parliament on Sunday, with the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats saying they hold the balance of power. A preliminary allocation of parliamentary seats gave the centre-left bloc – uniting the minority governing Social Democrat and Green parties with the Left Party – 144 seats versus 143 for the centre-right Alliance bloc. The Sweden Democrats, who want to leave the European Union, won 62 seats, up from 49 in the 349-seat Riksdag where 175 seats are needed to form a majority. Doing a deal with them would give either bloc a majority but the mainstream parties have ruled out cooperating with a party which has roots in the white supremacist fringe. Both blocs have declared themselves victors in the election, but need additional support to form a viable government without the Sweden Democrats, who want influence over immigration policy. There are a number of ways out of the tangle. The Alliance of the Moderates, Centre, Liberals and Christian Democrats looks set to be slightly smaller than the centre-left. But it will hope for backing from the Sweden Democrats to oust Prime Minister Stefan Lofven and to install Moderate leader Ulf Kristersson as his replacement. However, a formal agreement with the Sweden Democrats would very likely see the Centre and Liberal parties, who want looser immigration policies, jump ship. It is not clear whether the Centre and Liberal parties would take part in a government that had no formal support from the Sweden Democrats but in practice relied on their votes to install a prime minister. On Monday, Sweden Democrats leader Jimmie Akesson invited the Moderates and Christian Democrats to formal negotiations but was quickly rebuffed. Akesson said his party would vote against any government that did not give it a say in policy. The Social Democrats and Greens could retain power in the unlikely event that Prime Minister Lofven survives a mandatory vote on whether to replace him. Lofven said he would remain in office in the coming weeks and called for cooperation across the political divide. When voting for a prime minister in parliament, a proposal is passed unless a majority of all 349 lawmakers vote against. This has allowed minority governments to rule. The Alliance would need the Sweden Democrats to back a vote to oust Lofven and install Kristersson. The Alliance could join a grand coalition with the Social Democrats and possibly the Greens to exclude the Sweden Democrats. The Left Party, Sweden’s former Communist party, would also be left out. But the Moderates – the biggest party in the Alliance – are not interested in cooperating with the Social Democrats and such a deal would also raise questions about democratic accountability. Voters might see the Sweden Democrats as the country’s only opposition party. The Moderates could form a one-party government but that would require support from the Sweden Democrats as well as the smaller centre-right parties. Moderate leader Kristersson has ruled this out, and the Centre and Liberal parties would probably not go along with the idea if the Sweden Democrats were given any significant say over policy while remaining outside the government. Parliament opens on Sept. 25. If Lofven is ousted, the speaker is allowed to give a maximum of four prime ministerial candidates the opportunity to form a government. If they all fail, fresh elections must be called. There is no formal time limit for negotiations, but the deadline for the budget is Nov. 15. If no new government is in place by then, the current government, continuing as caretakers, would put forward a budget until a new cabinet can take office. ||||| You would never find a scene like this during a British general election. Outside a railway station in the Stockholm suburbs, all the main parties have little cabins neatly lined up like exhibitors at a trade show. Each offers coffee, literature and a chair for those who might want a longer chat. Superficially, it is all very polite, very democratic — very Swedish, in fact. Today, though, all the attention is focused on one stand. And there is a tense atmosphere. A young crowd, mainly students, have surrounded the stall of the nationalist Sweden Democrats. ‘Will you deport all people like me — who don’t look white?’ asks Joel Svensson, 26, pointing his finger at a middle-aged man. Half-Colombian, half-Gambian, Joel has lived in Sweden for 15 years, works at Foot Locker, speaks Swedish, pays his (hefty) taxes and is increasingly agitated. ‘Will you deport all Muslims?’ he shouts. ‘Only those who don’t have citizenship and don’t obey the law,’ says the party worker. Two policemen turn up in case things escalate but they do not. Eventually, Joel and his group walk off but he is still angry. Sweden, he tells me, has become much more racist in recent years. ‘Things are changing here and they want to blame someone. People just don’t understand that they need immigrants like me,’ he says. However, there is a similar sense of frustration back at the Sweden Democrats’ hut. ‘People tear up our leaflets and tell us to **** off,’ says retired accountant Dan Strom, 69, a member of the party for three years. ‘I get used to it. But what really upsets people these days is all the crime.’ Crime and immigration are dominating an election which has become so un-Swedish that many people talk openly about a national identity crisis. Gangland shootings are so commonplace they barely make the news. A new fad for synchronised car-burnings has been making the headlines instead. All of it is blamed — however unfairly — on immigrants in a country where 20 per cent of the population were born elsewhere. Now comes fresh data (unearthed last month by state TV) that rape is on the increase, that nearly 60 per cent of all convicted rapists since 2015 have been foreign-born and that 40 per cent had been in Sweden for less than a year. It helps explain why the Sweden Democrats have gone so swiftly from the fringes to the political mainstream. Just three years ago, they were social outcasts. Now, they could be the largest single party when Sweden goes to the polls on Sunday while the centre-left Social Democrats, who lead the current coalition government, are on track for their worst result since before ABBA were born. Though the Sweden Democrats’ roots are in neo-Nazi yobbery during the Eighties, they have succeeded in reinventing themselves as an authentic family-friendly voice of Nordic conservatism. The old fascistic torch logo has been replaced with a cute hippy-style flower, giving their campaign a surreal soap powder feel. At the last election, they doubled their vote and won 49 of the 349 seats in parliament. In tomorrow’s election, they are expected to win 20 to 25 per cent and could well hold the balance of power in a fractious parliament where no one party will have control. Dull, worthy, Swedish politics have suddenly got both alarming and interesting. For they are following the same pattern which we have seen across Europe recently as anti-immigration parties wreak political havoc in Holland, France, Germany, Italy, Hungary, Austria, Poland and elsewhere. Now it is happening in ultra-liberal Sweden, too, which has accepted more migrants per head of population than any EU nation — 250,000 since 2015. L ast year’s terrorist attack in Stockholm, when a failed asylum-seeker drove a truck through a crowded pedestrian precinct, killing four, still resonates . For many Swedes, though, this is just part of a wider issue. As with Trump supporters in America, there are large numbers who feel rejected by a complacent political establishment no longer on their wavelength. In the Stockholm suburb of Solna, I meet Julia Kronild, the Sweden Democrat MP who would be foreign secretary if they ever formed a government. Her CV is not what one might expect. A social worker before entering parliament in 2010, her political journey began while she spent a year and half working for a charity in Papua New Guinea. ‘I was an assistant nurse and teacher there. For me, it was important to learn their language and their ways,’ she says. ‘I came back to Sweden and I could see things were changing. We had immigrants coming here and everyone said that we had to change our ways.’ As a former aid worker, Julia says that she is all in favour of foreign aid but that asylum must be sought in the nearest safe nation. ‘I have been to refugee camps and we need to spend more money in those areas, not here,’ she says. ‘We need to take away the pull factors that bring people here. Why is it cheaper for asylum-seekers to get dental care than for the elderly?’ Many dispute these statistics, along with so many other incendiary claims by the Sweden Democrats, but it is a narrative that has taken root. For decades, Swedish elections were all the same. The Social Democrats would win by a mile and carry on building the Swedish dream: thumping taxes in exchange for cradle-to-grave welfare and just enough money for a modest holiday shack on the coast. It’s the sort of utopian vision Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, had in mind this week when he talked of pushing up taxes to make Britain less ‘unjust’. The difference is that Sweden grew up accepting the idea that if you give most of your money to the state, the state will spend it wisely. In Britain, we beg to differ. And now the Swedes are having their doubts, too. ‘People used to have a very clear idea of what it meant to be Swedish,’ says Johan Hakelius, editor of the leading news magazine, Fokus. ‘But we now have a political class who don’t realise quite how elitist they are. People turn to the Sweden Democrats, not because they are racist, it’s because they see it as the only party that thinks like they do.’ The other parties accuse the Sweden Democrats of scare tactics. ‘They are painting a very dark picture of Sweden but we need to have faith in the future,’ says Annie Loof, the leader of the (centre-Right) Centre Party. I meet her at the studios of TV4, Sweden’s equivalent of ITV, where four of the eight main party leaders have come for a live, on-air grilling. Here, too, is Jonas Sjostedt, leader of the Left Party, who called themselves ‘The Communists’ until 1990, another extremist party enjoying a surge in the polls. A former Volvo shop steward and Jeremy Corbyn fan, Jonas tells me that he has Momentum activists on his campaign team and will be speaking at the Labour Party conference. Perhaps Labour will adopt Jonas’s latest vote-winner: a plan to cut the working day from eight to six hours (that should do wonders for Sweden’s public sector bill). Yet the main media focus at this debate is on the leader of Sweden Democrats, Jimmie Akesson. Just 39, he joined the party as a teenager, wears a trim beard and Harry Potter glasses and is both wary and weary of journalists. Each day brings fresh scandals about his party — today it’s an MP fiddling his expenses — to which he retorts that no other party is subjected to the same scrutiny. I ask him how it feels to be the man who has made this the most unSwedish election in history. ‘It’s not my ambition to be that guy. They have given me that role,’ he says but his message is uncompromising: ‘If you’re an immigrant, you should become Swedish and be Swedish.’ He rejects comparisons with other extreme European parties — ‘I think we have more of a Nordic society. I don’t think I have that much in common with Le Pen [leader of the French National Front] or AfD [Germany’s hard Right]’ — and tries to present his party as a Swedish UKIP. ‘I’ve met Nigel Farage,’ he says, adding that he likes a pint of British beer and favours a referendum on EU membership, though ‘Swexit’ is not a burning issue now. Swedes are not sure whether to be flattered or dismayed that the world is taking such an interest in their election. Today, it remains a delightful place to visit, astonishingly expensive — £9 for a ham sandwich — but also obsessively house-proud. Even walking around a council estate in Rinkeby, the notorious immigrants-only Stockholm district routinely described as a ‘no-go zone’, I fail to spot any graffiti. What’s more, someone has mown neat stripes across the communal lawn. Just days before there was a shooting on the same spot. What makes this election stranger still is that the economy is in rude health. Unemployment is at a historic low. The ruling Social Democrats should be way out in front. Instead, they face their worst result since World War I. ‘Young people have just forgotten how hard life used to be and how much we have achieved,’ says retired therapist, Inger Hettman, a despairing Social Democrat supporter whom I meet in the town of Nykvarn. I talk to a number of voters on both the Left and Right who say they are considering a vote for the Sweden Democrats. Few wish to be named, of course. But Leif, an engineer from Lulea, sums up a common view. He says: ‘I think they are asking the right questions. I’m just not sure whether they would provide the right answers.’ Back in Rinkeby, I ask the local MP why Sweden is so divided. Amir Adan, 33, is half-Somali, half-Swedish and belongs to the Moderates, Sweden’s Tories. ‘Four years ago, we didn’t talk about immigration at all while the only party that did was the Sweden Democrats,’ he says. ‘We should all have talked about it more.’ They are certainly talking about it now. ||||| “But it will not happen in cooperation with the Sweden Democrats.” This significantly reduces the probability the centre-right Alliance coalition will secure a Parliamentary majority via an official or unofficial deal with the Sweden Democrats. All major Swedish parties, including those on the right, have ruled out any formal deal with the Sweden Democrats. The Alliance coalition, led by the Moderate Party, is projected to receive 143 seats with 99 percent of districts counted. It also contains the Liberal Party, Centre Party and Christian Democrats. With the majority of the votes counted, the Liberal Party is sitting on 5.5 percent of the vote. Ahead of the Alliance coalition by just one seat is a left-wing coalition led by current Prime Minister Stefan Lofven, containing the Social Democrats, Green Party and formerly communist Left Party. Sweden Democrats leader Jimmie Akesson has told reporters he will not support any government which does not give his party influence in the future government. He has also claimed any new government must have majority support in the Riksdag, Sweden’s Parliament, despite the fact Sweden’s electoral system does allow for minority governments. His comments could be interpreted as a call for the centre-right Moderate Party to reach out and make a deal with the Sweden Democrats, which would allow them to gain greater control in the Riksdag. However the Liberal Party leaders intervention makes this extremely difficult, and suggests that any attempt by the Moderate Party to reach an arrangement with the Sweden Democrats would result in the Alliance electoral coalition collapsing. ||||| Sweden was headed for a hung parliament last night after a surge by the nationalist Sweden Democrats, a party with neo-Nazi roots. Sweden was headed for a hung parliament last night after a surge by the nationalist Sweden Democrats, a party with neo-Nazi roots. In one of Europe's most liberal nations, it was the latest in a series of spectacular gains for far-right parties across the continent. The gains have come amid growing anxiety over national identity and the effects of globalisation and immigration following armed conflict in the Middle East and North Africa. In Sweden, an influx of 163,000 asylum seekers in 2015 - the highest in Europe in relation to the country's population of 10 million - has polarised voters and fractured the political consensus. Partial results, with some 80pc of districts counted, showed the ruling centre-left Social Democrats and Greens and their Left Party allies winning 40.6pc of the vote, while the opposition centre-right Alliance were seen at 40.1pc. The Sweden Democrats, founded by white supremacists, rose to 17.8pc from 12.9pc in the last election four years ago, in effect securing the balance of power. Their result looked set to fall short of their own leaders' predictions of a vote of 20pc or more. Nevertheless, their leader Jimmie Akesson told a party rally: "We will gain huge influence over what happens in Sweden during the coming weeks, months and years". With neither main bloc able to command a majority, the Sweden Democrats - who want the country to leave the EU and put a freeze on immigration - could play a decisive role in negotiations over forming a government. Those negotiations to thrash out a compromise look set to be complex and drawn-out. Mr Akesson challenged Ulf Kristersson, the centre-right Alliance's candidate for the premiership, to choose between seeking support from the Sweden Democrats and the incumbent Social Democrat prime minister, Stefan Löfven. The election will add to the concerns in Brussels as the EU enters campaign mode in the run-up to the European Parliament election in May. That campaign could end up giving more voice to eurosceptic groups and thwart efforts at closer EU integration. In Sweden, the record levels of asylum seekers in 2015 magnified worries about a welfare system that many voters already believe is in crisis, even though the numbers of refugees arriving have fallen sharply since then. Lengthening queues for critical operations, shortages of doctors and teachers and the failures of police to deal with inner-city gang violence have shaken faith in the "Swedish model", built on a promise of comprehensive welfare and social inclusion. Akesson labelled the vote a choice between immigration and welfare in a campaign that was unusually antagonistic. Voting in central Stockholm, student Katze Collmar, 32, said the campaign had been "really unpleasant", adding: "It feels like Sweden could take a step in this election that we won't be able to recover from very easily." Mainstream politicians have so far ruled out co-operation with the Sweden Democrats. But centre-left and centre-right parties face an uphill battle in trying to form a viable coalition government. ||||| Preliminary results show the far-right party secured a record 17.6 percent of the vote and 63 seats, up from 12.9 percent four years ago. Centre-left incumbent Social Democrats (formed of the Social Democrats and Green Party) took a 40.6 percent share, its worst result in years, giving it 144 seats in 349-seat Parliament. Centre-right alliance (the Moderates, Liberals, Centre and Christian Democrats) trailed just behind with 40.3 percent and 142 seats. Sweden Democrats leader Jimmie Akesson said his party were the “real winners” of the election and would act as “kingmakers” in the formation of a new government. He said: “We will gain huge influence over what happens in Sweden during the coming weeks, months and years.” The anti-EU leader, who wants a “Swexit” referendum, says he will tell the ruling parties “how to govern the country … We strengthen our kingmaker role. We will will have an immense influence over what happens in Sweden in the coming weeks, months, years.” Mr Akesson has demanded a stop to rising immigration after Sweden took in a record 163,000 asylum seekers following the 2015 migrant crisis. Prime Minister Stefan Lofven rebuked calls for his resignation following the hung parliament result and said the moderates needed to unite to keep the Sweden Democrats out of power. He said: “There is no side with a majority. Then it is only natural to work across the political divide to make it possible to govern Sweden.” The final results will not be confirmed until Wednesday, once overseas votes are counted, but the political deadlock follows 99 percent of confirmed votes. Negotiations could take months with talks expected to be “complicated”, according to Chief Analyst at Nordea Markets Andreas Wallstrom. He added: "We have seen the problems in the past four years with a weak minority government and now we will see the same problems but even more so." The far-right gains have proved a shocking result for Sweden, usually one of the most liberal nations in Europe. Voters’ sway to the hard right is linked to a concern about rising gang violence in Sweden and fears over globalisation. Mr Lofven’s party could maintain its hold in government with support from the Sweden Democrats in return for input from the populist party about immigration policies. But following the result he said the moderate parties have a “moral responsibility” to shun the Sweden Democrats and form their own ruling coalition. ||||| STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Swedish political parties face weeks of haggling to form a government after voters delivered a hung parliament on Sunday, with the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats saying they hold the balance of power. A preliminary allocation of parliamentary seats gave the centre-left bloc - uniting the minority governing Social Democrat and Green parties with the Left Party - 144 seats versus 143 for the centre-right Alliance bloc. The Sweden Democrats, who want to leave the European Union, won 62 seats, up from 49 in the 349-seat Riksdag where 175 seats are needed to form a majority. Doing a deal with them would give either bloc a majority but the mainstream parties have ruled out cooperating with a party which has roots in the white supremacist fringe. Both blocs have declared themselves victors in the election, but need additional support to form a viable government without the Sweden Democrats, who want influence over immigration policy. There are a number of ways out of the tangle. The Alliance of the Moderates, Centre, Liberals and Christian Democrats looks set to be slightly smaller than the centre-left. But it will hope for backing from the Sweden Democrats to oust Prime Minister Stefan Lofven and to install Moderate leader Ulf Kristersson as his replacement. However, a formal agreement with the Sweden Democrats would very likely see the Centre and Liberal parties, who want looser immigration policies, jump ship. It is not clear whether the Centre and Liberal parties would take part in a government that had no formal support from the Sweden Democrats but in practice relied on their votes to install a prime minister. On Monday, Sweden Democrats leader Jimmie Akesson invited the Moderates and Christian Democrats to formal negotiations but was quickly rebuffed. Akesson said his party would vote against any government that did not give it a say in policy. The Social Democrats and Greens could retain power in the unlikely event that Prime Minister Lofven survives a mandatory vote on whether to replace him. Lofven said he would remain in office in the coming weeks and called for cooperation across the political divide. When voting for a prime minister in parliament, a proposal is passed unless a majority of all 349 lawmakers vote against. This has allowed minority governments to rule. The Alliance would need the Sweden Democrats to back a vote to oust Lofven and install Kristersson. The Alliance could join a grand coalition with the Social Democrats and possibly the Greens to exclude the Sweden Democrats. The Left Party, Sweden’s former Communist party, would also be left out. But the Moderates - the biggest party in the Alliance - are not interested in cooperating with the Social Democrats and such a deal would also raise questions about democratic accountability. Voters might see the Sweden Democrats as the country’s only opposition party. The Moderates could form a one-party government but that would require support from the Sweden Democrats as well as the smaller centre-right parties. Moderate leader Kristersson has ruled this out, and the Centre and Liberal parties would probably not go along with the idea if the Sweden Democrats were given any significant say over policy while remaining outside the government. Parliament opens on Sept. 25. If Lofven is ousted, the speaker is allowed to give a maximum of four prime ministerial candidates the opportunity to form a government. If they all fail, fresh elections must be called. There is no formal time limit for negotiations, but the deadline for the budget is Nov. 15. If no new government is in place by then, the current government, continuing as caretakers, would put forward a budget until a new cabinet can take office. ||||| Voters handed Sweden’s ruling party its worst-ever election result and delivered a parallel lift to a far-right party with white supremacist roots, preliminary results showed. After a campaign dominated by debates over immigration, the centre-left Social Democratic Party emerged with the greatest share of the vote — 28.4% as the count neared completion — yet looking at holding fewer parliament seats and having its mandate to govern questioned. The potential for an immigration backlash to result in a big boost for the far-right Sweden Democrats inspired fear among many Swedes before the election. It received a little more than one in six votes, or 17.6%. Its showing was not as strong as the one-in-five polls had predicted, but good for a third-place finish that had the party’s leader telling supporters, “We won.” Prime Minister Stefan Lofven, who brought the Social Democrats to power in 2014, said he intended to remain in the job. The leader of the Moderates party that came in second, Ulf Kristersson, already had called on Mr Lofven to resign and claimed the right to form Sweden’s next government. Sounding sombre and firm, Mr Lofven told his supporters the election presented “a situation that all responsible parties must deal with,” adding that “a party with roots in Nazism” would “never ever offer anything responsible, but hatred.” “We have a moral responsibility. We must gather all good forces. We won’t mourn, we will organise ourselves,” he said. Final election returns were expected later in the week. The preliminary results made it unlikely any party would secure a majority of 175 seats in the 349-seat Riksdag, Sweden’s parliament. It could take weeks or months of coalition talks before the next government is formed. Both the left-leaning bloc led by the Social Democrats and the centre-right bloc in which the Moderates is largest of four parties have said they would refuse to consider the Sweden Democrats as a coalition partner. Sweden — home to the Nobel prizes and militarily neutral for the better part of two centuries — has been known for its comparatively open doors to migrants and refugees. Sunday’s general election was the first since the country of 10 million took in a record 163,000 refugees in 2015 as mass migration to Europe rose dramatically. MR Lofven eventually said Sweden no longer could cope with the influx and immigration laws were tightened. Like other far-right parties in Europe, the Sweden Democrats worked to soften its neo-Nazi image in the lead-up to the election. The party symbol was switched from a flame thrower to a flower. Members known for making pro-Third Reich statements were pushed out. It made its first mark in politics with municipal council seats in 2006, and since then slowly helped revise long-accepted social norms for what Swedes could say openly about foreigners and integration without being considered racist. At the Swedish Democrat’s election eve rally on Saturday, party leader Jimmie Akesson criticised Mr Lofven’s government for “prioritising” the needs of new immigrants the ones of Swedish citizens. Mr Akesson was jubilant as he addressed supporters a day later, declaring the estimated 14 parliament seats the Social Democrats picked up a victory other parties could not ignore in coalition negotiations. “This party has increased and made the biggest gains. Everything is about us,” Mr Akesson said. “I am ready to talk with others.” Turnout in the election was reported at 84.4%, up from 83% in 2014. ||||| STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Sweden faces a political impasse after its mainstream centre-left and centre-right blocs virtually tied in an election on Sunday, while the far-right - which neither wants to deal with - made gains on a hardline anti-immigration platform. With nearly all votes counted on Monday, the ruling centre-left Social Democrats and Greens and their Left Party parliamentary ally had 40.6 percent of the vote, while the opposition centre-right Alliance was on 40.3 percent. That translates into a single-seat advantage in the 349-member Riksdag. The Sweden Democrats, a party with white supremacist roots, won 17.6 percent, about 5 percentage points more than four years ago. It was the biggest gain of any party and in line with conventional opinion polls but fell short of the 20-30 percent their leader Jimmie Akesson had predicted. “Most signs pointed towards the Sweden Democrats taking over the position as the second-biggest party in Sweden. But the expected ... bang did not happen,” the liberal Expressen daily said in an opinion piece. “Sweden is now on steadier grounds than what we could have feared before the election.” Many online surveys, which in the last election had gauged the Sweden Democrats’ vote better than conventional polls, had signalled they could dethrone the Social Democrats as the nation’s biggest party - a position the centre-left has held for a century. In the end, the Sweden Democrats were beaten by Prime Minister Stefan Lofven’s Social Democrats by a 10 percentage point margin and eclipsed also by Ulf Kristersson’s Moderates, the Alliance’s candidate for the premiership. “In some sense we’re happy the Sweden Democrats didn’t grow more than they did,” Liberal Party lawmaker Allan Widman told Reuters. “The bigger they become, the more hard pressed all other parties become.” The Sweden Democrats’ success follows a rise in popularity of other far-right parties in Europe amid growing anxiety over national identity, the effects of globalisation and fears over immigration boosted by conflicts in the Middle East and Africa. Sweden saw itself as a “humanitarian superpower” for years, but a rise in gang violence in immigrant-dominated, socially deprived city suburbs has also won support for the Sweden Democrats. After the arrival of 163,000 asylum seekers in 2015 - the most in Europe in relation to the country’s population of 10 million, the government suspended many of its liberal asylum policies. There was a sense of relief among supporters of mainstream parties about the far-right’s less dramatic gains. That was shared in Brussels. “It is clear that the claim that the far-right is on an inexorable roll and will devour everything that stands in its way is false,” said one EU official, while acknowledging that there is fragmentation among parties. Still, the Swedish election underscored a broader shift to the right in one of Europe’s most socially progressive nations. Senior figures in the mainstream parties headed into meetings on Monday to produce a strategy for forming a government. But the process could take weeks and possibly fail, with the Sweden Democrats vowing to sink any cabinet that doesn’t give them a say in policy. “We won’t participate in letting through a government which doesn’t give us influence,” Akesson said on local channel TV4. “On the contrary, we will do what we can to take down any such government.” Akesson hopes his party, which wants Sweden to leave the European Union and freeze immigration, can play a decisive role in negotiations over forming a government, a prospect so far rejected by all other parties. He challenged Kristersson to choose between seeking support from the Sweden Democrats for an Alliance government or accept four more years of Lofven as prime minister. Kristersson called on Lofven to resign, but also rebuffed Akesson. “We have been completely clear during the whole election. The Alliance will not govern or discuss how to form a government with the Sweden Democrats,” he said. Both sides laid claim to being best placed to form a government, although votes from Swedes living abroad are not due to be declared until Wednesday and these could still sway the final outcome slightly. Yet in the same breath, leaders of both sides called for bipartisan accommodation to avoid gridlock in parliament. Sweden’s centre-left and centre-right have ruled together only a handful of times since the mid-1930s. Also, a 2014 accord to neutralise the Sweden Democrats and let the biggest bloc rule proved deeply unpopular among centre-right grassroot members and rapidly unravelled. “Something has got to give,” Umea University political scientist Magnus Blomgren said. “Whether that’s an agreement across the political divide in some way or not, something has to be done.” A new election will be called if parliament doesn’t agree on a prime minister after four attempts. | The center-left parties that form the current government obtain 40.6% of the vote, the center-right alliance winning 40.3%. The far-right Sweden Democrats gain 17.6%. A long process to form a coalition government now seems likely. |
Suspect in deadly car attack on Chinese town square ‘wanted to take revenge on society’ ||||| BEIJING (Reuters) - Eleven people were killed and 44 injured after a car plowed into a crowded square in southern China and the driver attacked people with a knife and spade seeking “revenge” on society for previous criminal convictions, the government said on Thursday. The car drove onto the square in Mishui town, part of Hengyang city in Hunan province, in the early evening on Wednesday, the Hengyang government said in a statement. The driver, surnamed Yang but whose sex the government did not provide, drove the car alone onto the square, then attacked people using a spade and a knife, the statement added. Yang has a long criminal record with previous convictions for selling drugs, theft and attacking people, which caused him to harbor a desire for “revenge on society”, the government said. Yang has been detained, it said, without giving other details. Video images carried on state media showed several bodies on the ground as bystanders tended to some of them. The government originally said three people died, but raised the death toll in subsequent statements. There was no indication that the incident was terror related. In February, 18 people were injured when a minivan caught fire and mounted the pavement in a busy part of central Shanghai and plowed into pedestrians. Investigations showed the fire was caused by a driver who was smoking a cigarette inside the vehicle while illegally transporting highly flammable substances. The government is generally nervous about such incidents after a car plowed through pedestrians in the northern part of Beijing’s Tiananmen Square in 2013, killing the three people in the car and two bystanders. Beijing blamed that on separatists from China’s restive far western region of Xinjiang. ||||| BEIJING (Reuters) - Nine people died and 46 were injured after a car plowed into a crowded square in southern China on Wednesday and police have detained the driver, the local government said. The car drove onto the square in Mishui town, part of Hengyang city in Hunan province, shortly before 8 p.m. (1200GMT), the Hengyang government said in a statement, adding that the driver had a criminal record. Video images carried on state media showed several bodies on the ground as bystanders tended to some of them. The government originally said three people died, but raised the death toll to nine in a statement late on Wednesday. There was no indication in the government statement or state media reports that the incident was terror related. ||||| At least 11 people were killed and a further 44 were injured when a car ploughed into crowds in a public square in central China. The driver then exited the vehicle and chased people with a shovel and knife. The incident took place shortly after 7:30pm local time Wednesday in Hengyang city in Hunan province. A dance event was being held in the Mishui town square at the time of the attack. Video shared by Chinese state media shows scores of people fleeing in panic as the attack unfolded. Eyewitness footage uploaded to social media shows multiple bodies strewn across the square with people tending to the injured on the blood-soaked pavement, to the sounds of despairing screams all around. During the attack, the suspect exited the vehicle and chased bystanders with a spade and knife, The Guardian reports. “There was a vicious incident that a person drove deliberately into crowds at Mijiang Square,” the local government said in a press statement, as cited byCNN. The suspect, a 54-year-old man named as Yang Zanyun from the local area is in custody. He was a known criminal having served various prison sentences for arson and assault convictions. “[The suspect] has been sentenced many times for drug trafficking, theft, and other crimes, creating a desire for revenge on society,” the Hengyang government statement said. Authorities have no yet given a motive and no official mention of terrorism has been made. READ MORE: 7 injured in Paris after man armed with knife, iron bar goes on stabbing spree China has witnessed several mass casualty attacks in recent years including an apparent terrorist attack at the Kunming train station on March 1, 2014 in which 31 civilians were killed and over 140 were injured in a mass stabbing attack perpetrated by six men and two women believed to be Xinjiang separatists. In April of this year, nine students were killed and 10 injured in a knife attack outside a school in the Shaanxi province in Northern China. The attack was reportedly a revenge attack as the suspect, named only as 28-year-old Zhao, was bullied at the school. Think your friends would be interested? Share this story! ||||| At least nine people were killed and 46 injured on Wednesday night after a man intentionally drove a vehicle into a crowded pedestrian square in a southern Chinese city, according to local officials and state news outlets. Around 7:30 p.m., a driver plowed his car into several people in the square in Hengyang City, Hunan Province, the local government said in a posting on Weibo, China’s popular social media platform. The government statement called the attack a “malicious case of intentional driving” and said a man had been taken into custody. An investigation has begun, the statement said, but there was no mention of terrorism as a possible motive. The injured were taken to hospitals; at least three were in serious condition. Videos of the incident were posted to social media and widely shared, depicting scenes of carnage and chaos in the square, which was crowded for an event. Several clips from national news networks showed the wounded and dead lying in the square, blood near their crumpled bodies. People ran to their aid, screaming and crying as they frantically sought to help. ||||| BEIJING (Reuters) - Three people died and 43 were injured when a car ploughed into a crowded square in southern China on Wednesday and police have detained the driver, the local government said. The car drove onto the square in Mishui town, part of Hengyang city in Hunan province, shortly before 8 p.m. (1200GMT), the Hengyang government said in a statement, adding that the driver had a criminal record. Video images carried on state media showed several bodies on the ground as bystanders tended to some of them. There was no indication in the government statement or state media reports that the incident was terror related. ||||| Beijing: Nine people were killed and 46 others injured when a man drove his SUV into a crowd and later went on a stabbing spree in China's Hunan province on Wednesday evening. The attack took place as people had gathered in a square by the river in Hengdong county. The driver, Yang Zanyun, 54, first ploughed through the people with his vehicle and later got out of it and went on a rampage attacking people with a knife. Nine people were killed and 46 others were injured, state-run Global Times reported. Yang was detained by the police, who said he has a criminal record and has been jailed several times. Knife attacks by disgruntled people in public places and schools to highlight their grievances periodically occur in China. Several bystanders posted graphic video footage shortly after the incident on Chinese social media. In the videos, dozens of people can be seen lying on the ground, some in pools of blood, while panicked crowds and emergency services personnel gather around them, Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported. Local media reports quoted a restaurant manager in the vicinity of the attack as saying that he saw a red Land Rover suddenly ploughing through a crowd of people at a high speed after 7 pm. A large number of mostly elderly people were dancing or walking in the square after dinner, at that time. Many fell to the ground after they were hit by the speeding SUV. Uyghur militants from Xinjiang from the East Turkestan Islamic Movement have also, in the past, attacked crowds with speeding cars. ||||| (BEIJING) — The death toll has risen to 11 with another 44 people hospitalized after a man allegedly drove an SUV deliberately into a crowd in central China before jumping out and attacking victims with a dagger and shovel, local authorities said Thursday. The Hengyang city government said the suspect in the case had previous convictions for crimes including drug trafficking, theft and assault and, acting alone, had sought to “get revenge on society.” That appeared to rule out terrorism, although vehicles have previously been used in attacks blamed on militant Muslim separatists from the Uighur ethnic minority group. Police identified the suspect as 54-year-old Yang Zanyun from Hengyang’s Hengdong county in the largely agricultural province of Hunan. Tuesday night’s attack happened in a public square where Chinese typically gather to dance in groups or enjoy the cool evening breezes. The SUV apparently appeared without warning, jumping the curb before plowing into the crowd. China has experienced violent attacks in public places in recent years, including bombings and arson of buses and buildings. Occasionally, the attacks are attributed to militant separatists, though such incidents have become less common in recent years amid a stifling security crackdown. In 2013, an SUV plowed through a crowd in front of Beijing’s Forbidden City before crashing and catching fire, killing five, including the vehicle’s three occupants. Police blamed the attack on Uighur extremists inspired by jihadi ideology. More commonly though, the motivation is identified as mental illness, alienation from society or a desire to settle scores. Chinese law restricts the sale and possession of firearms, and mass attacks are generally carried out with knives or homemade explosives. Many of those incidents have occurred at schools, including several in 2010 in which nearly 20 children were killed, prompting a response from top government officials and leading many schools to beef up security. However, in June, a man used a kitchen knife to attack three boys and a mother near a school in Shanghai, killing two of the children. Last year, police said a man set off an explosion at the front gate of a kindergarten in eastern China, which struck as relatives gathered to pick up their children at the end of the day, killing eight people. ||||| BEIJING — An SUV crashed into a crowd at a public square in central China on Wednesday evening, killing at least nine people and injuring more than 40 others, the city government said. Police arrested the suspected driver of a red SUV that plowed into a large group of people at the square in the seat of Hengdong county of Hunan Province, according to a government microblog account. Around 46 people were injured, the Hengyang city government office in charge of online information and propaganda said. The Beijing Youth Daily, a publication of the ruling Communist Party’s youth league, said on its official microblog account police were investigating the crash. There was no mention of terrorism or any other motive. Police identified the suspect as a 54-year-old Chinese man named Yang Zanyun from the same county who had served several prison sentences for convictions including arson and assault, the newspaper said. Calls to the Hengdong county public security bureau rang unanswered while an official who picked up the phone at the county government office would only confirm the death toll before hanging up the phone. China has experienced violent attacks in public places in recent years, including bombings and arson of buses and buildings, sometimes by people trying to settle personal scores or grievances against society. Occasionally, the attacks are attributed to militant separatists, though such attacks have become less common in recent years. In 2013, an SUV plowed through a crowd in front of Beijing’s Forbidden City before crashing and catching fire, killed five, including the vehicle’s three occupants. Police blamed the attack on Muslim separatists from the Uighur ethnic minority group. ||||| BEIING: Three people were killed and 43 others injured when a man drove his SUV into a crowd and later went on a stabbing spree in China 's Hunan province on Wednesday evening.The attack took place as people had gathered in a square by the river in Hengdong county The driver, Yang Zanyun, 54, first ploughed through the people with his vehicle and later got out of it and went on a rampage attacking people with a knife.Three people were killed and 43 others were injured, state-run China Daily reported.Yang was detained by the police, who said he has a criminal record and has been jailed several times.Knife attacks by disgruntled people in public places and schools to highlight their grievances periodically occur in China.Several bystanders posted graphic video footage shortly after the incident on Chinese social media . In the videos, dozens of people can be seen lying on the ground, some in pools of blood, while panicked crowds and emergency services personnel gather around them, Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported. | A man plows his car into a crowd of people at a busy square in Hengyang, Hunan, China, before exiting his vehicle and stabbing bystanders. Eleven people are killed and 44 others are injured. The attacker was detained and identified by police as a convicted drug dealer and thief, who said that "he wanted to take revenge on society". |
As 400-mile-wide Florence pounded away at the coast with torrential downpours and surging seas, rescue crews used boats to reach more than 360 people besieged by rising waters in New Bern, while many of their neighbors awaited help. More than 60 people had to be rescued in another town as a cinderblock motel collapsed at the height of the storm's fury. ||||| Emergency officials on Wednesday urged millions of residents along the southeastern U.S. coast to finish preparations ahead of Hurricane Florence, which is expected to unleash damaging winds and life-threatening amounts of rain when it makes landfall this week. Florence was at last report a Category 3 storm with maximum sustained winds of 195 kilometers (121 miles) per hour. Although it weakened slightly Wednesday afternoon, forecasters do not expect Florence’s strength to change much before it comes ashore near the North Carolina-South Carolina border. The massive system was about 700 kilometers (435 miles) southeast of Wilmington, North Carolina. The National Hurricane Center said Florence was “forecast to be an extremely dangerous major hurricane when it nears the U.S. coast late Thursday and Friday.” “This is not going to be a glancing blow,” the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Jeff Byard said in Washington. The governors of the Carolinas, Virginia, Maryland and Georgia all declared states of emergency. Byard again urged residents in danger zones to heed warnings to either evacuate or hunker down. “There will be disruptions in our services,” he said. “The power will go off. Infrastructure will be damaged. Homes will be damaged or destroyed. So, again, the time to act is now.” There was particular concern about the storm lingering once it nears the coast and moves onshore, allowing it to dump torrential amounts of rain in parts of North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. That happened last year when Hurricane Harvey dumped more than 150 centimeters (60 inches) of rain on the Houston, Texas, area. Forecasters at the hurrican center warned that as much as 101 centimeters (40 inches) of rain could fall on some parts of North Carolina, with a storm surge of up to 4 meters (13 feet). Along with the high winds and storm surge, forecasters are very concerned that Florence could be a slow-moving storm. It could linger along the Atlantic Coast, dumping massive amounts of rain before drifting inland and bringing its heavy rainfall across the South and into the Mid-Atlantic states by early next week. President Donald Trump said his administration was “as ready as anybody has ever been” to respond to the storm. “We’ll handle it. We’re ready. We’re able,” Trump said Wednesday outside the White House. “We’re fully prepared. Food, medical, everything you can imagine, we are ready.” The president signed federal emergency declarations for the Carolinas and Virginia, a move that freed up federal money and resources. He also urged residents who live in the path of the storm to “get out of its way. Don’t play games with it. It’s a big one.” More than 1 million people along the coasts of North and South Carolina and southern Virginia have fled. They have faced gas shortages at some stations, while those who have chosen to stay put are clearing store shelves of emergency supplies. Experts said this could be the strongest storm to hit the Carolina coast in more than 60 years. The most powerful and only Category 4 hurricane in recorded history to hit the North Carolina coast was Hurricane Hazel in October 1954. Nineteen people in North Carolina were killed, and 15,000 homes were destroyed. ||||| At least four people, including a mother and her infant, have died in North Carolina as Hurricane Florence slowly moves through the Carolinas, officials said Friday. Two people died in Wilmington after a tree fell on their house, the city’s police department said. “WPD can confirm the first two fatalities of Hurricane #Florence in Wilmington. A mother and infant were killed when a tree fell on their house,” police tweeted Friday afternoon. “The father was transported to (New Hanover Regional Medical Center) with injuries.” The hospital said it has received three injured patients. In the town of Hampstead, emergency responders going to a call for cardiac arrest Friday morning found their path blocked by downed trees. When they got to the home, the woman was deceased, Chad McEwen, assistant county manager for Pender County, said. The fourth person who died was a man in Lenoir County who was plugging a cord into a generator, Gov. Roy Cooper’s office said. Florence is inching along after making landfall hours earlier in North Carolina, trapping people in flooded homes and promising days of destruction and human suffering. Storm surges, punishing winds and rain are turning some towns into rushing rivers — and the Category 1 hurricane is expected to crawl over parts of the Carolinas into the weekend, pounding some of the same areas over and over. “The storm is going to continue its violent grind across our state for days,” Cooper warned residents at a news conference. In the besieged city of New Bern, North Carolina, rescuers had plucked more than 200 people from rising waters by midmornin, but about 150 more had to wait as conditions worsened and a storm surge reached 10 feet, officials said. By Friday morning, Florence already had:
• Sapped power to more than 620,000 customers in North and South Carolina, emergency officials said.
• Forced 26,000 people into more than 200 emergency shelters across the Carolinas.
• Pushed more than 60 people to evacuate from a hotel in Jacksonville, North Carolina, after part of the roof collapsed, city officials said.
• Prompted 4,000 National Guard soldiers and 40,000 electric workers to mobilize in response.
• Canceled more than 1,100 flights along the East Coast on Friday and Saturday.
• Florence’s location: By 3 p.m., Florence’s center was about 35 miles northeast of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and was crawling at 6 mph, with maximum sustained winds of 75 mph.
• Prolonged, dangerous winds: Hurricane-force winds extend 70 miles from Florence’s center. The storm is expected to lumber into far southeastern North Carolina and eastern South Carolina through Saturday, punishing the area with rain and damaging winds.
• Flooding for miles: Up to 40 inches of rain, and storm surges pushing water inland and not allowing rivers to drain, “will produce catastrophic flash flooding and prolonged significant river flooding,” the National Hurricane Center says. “You’re going to have flooding miles and miles inland,” the center’s director, Ken Graham, said.
• Areas threatened: A hurricane warning is in place for South Santee River in South Carolina to Bogue Inlet and Pamlico Sound, North Carolina. Surges of 10 feet were reported early Friday in Morehead City and elsewhere in North Carolina, the National Weather Service said.
• Record gusts: Wilmington’s airport recorded a 105-mph wind gust — the fastest measured since Hurricane Helene hit the city in 1958, the National Hurricane Center said.
• Nuclear plant shutdown: A nuclear power plant in Brunswick, North Carolina, shut down operations because of the storm, the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission said on Twitter. “Plant procedures call for the reactors to be shut down before the anticipated onset of hurricane-force winds,” agency spokesman Joey Ledford told CNN. Federal officials had said midweek they weren’t concerned about that facility or five other nuclear plants in the storm’s path, calling them “hardened.” Expert scientists, however, had said they were worried about Brunswick because of scant public information about its readiness. Florence’s rain will bring 40 inches to some parts of the Carolinas, forecasters said. Rainfall totals will be similar to those in hurricanes Dennis and Floyd in 1999, the National Weather Service’s Chris Wamsley said “The only difference is, back then it was within 14 days,” he said. With Florence, “we’re looking at the same amount of rainfall in three days.” More than 1 million people had been ordered to evacuate before the streets became inundated. Florence’s circulation was pushing water ashore, especially north of its eye, in coastal or riverside towns such as New Bern and Belhaven, turning land to lakes. In New Bern, where dozens awaited rescue Friday morning, Peggy Perry said rising water forced her into the upper level of her home. “In a matter of seconds, my house was flooded up to the waist, and now it is to the chest,” said Perry, who was trapped early Friday with three relatives. “We are stuck in the attic.” Swift-water rescue teams from out of state helped local rescuers evacuate people whenever conditions allowed. One team from Maryland helped with about 40 rescues in New Bern starting Thursday, member Mitchell Rusland said. Craven County, where New Bern is located, had logged more than 100 service calls from residents trapped on their roofs or in their cars, county spokeswoman Amber Parker said. In Belhaven, the Pungo River roared into town, crashing up against homes at a waist-high level and higher late Thursday and early Friday, video from Amy Johnson showed. Morehead City resident Rebecca Marson said she decided not to evacuate because her surgeon husband wanted to remain behind with other first responders. They’re riding out the storm at their home with four children — ages 11 to 17 — a friend, four dogs, two chinchillas, a cat and a lizard. Marson said they’d lost power and they have enough food and water to last for days. Employees at New Bern’s WCTI-TV station fled their studio Thursday night due to rising floodwaters. A posting on social media showed a meteorologist saying on air they had to evacuate. In the footage, he leaves the studio, with radar of Florence’s rain bands playing on a loop. Just west of downtown Wilmington, firefighters spent hours Friday morning and afternoon trying to rescue two adults and a child from a house after about a 30,000-pound tree fell on it, fire officials said. Crews lifted the tree enough to get one injured man out, and were working to lift it completely to reach the two others, who weren’t communicating with rescuers, Wilmington fire official Patrick Campbell said. Wilmington Fire Chief Buddy Martinette praised his firefighters, who by policy are supposed to stop operating when winds pick up above 50 mph. “We haven’t been … able to get in that policy. … ,” Marinette said. “The firefighters have basically been out here all during the hurricane,” answering rescue and fire calls. In Morehead City, Brooke Kittrell rode out the storm Thursday and Friday with her boyfriend aboard their docked boat, hoping it didn’t break loose and slam something. She succeeded — staying awake all night, retying broken dock lines in howling winds. But there were times she thought they wouldn’t survive, she told CNN. “I honestly cried,” Kittrell said. “I was born and raised here and been through every storm the last 30 years, but this one seems to be doing more damage than we expected.” By Friday morning, the shore was flooded, and buildings were damaged, in video she put up on Facebook. In Jacksonville, North Carolina, city officials posted photos of toppled gas pumps and a downed trees early Friday, warning residents to take shelter and avoid roadways. Officials in several states have declared states of emergency, including in the Carolinas, Georgia, Virginia and Maryland, where coastal areas are still recovering from summer storms. Florence is one of four named storms in the Atlantic. ||||| Hurricane Florence was making landfall in North Carolina early Friday with a life-threatening storm surge that pushed water inland for miles and screaming winds that destroyed buildings in its path.Seventy people had to be pulled from a collapsing motel at the height of the storm, and many more who defied evacuation orders were hoping to be rescued.The powerful storm inundated coastal streets with ocean water and left tens of thousands without power. Forecasters said "catastrophic" freshwater flooding was expected along waterways far from the coast of the Carolinas.As of 6 a.m., Florence was centered just 10 miles east of Wilmington, North Carolina. Its forward movement was 6 mph. Hurricane-force winds extended 90 miles (150 kilometers) from its center, and tropical-storm-force winds up to 195 miles.Winds bent trees toward the ground and raindrops flew sideways as Florence moved in for an extended stay, with enough of its killer winds swirling overseas to maintain its power. Forecasters said the onslaught could last for days, leaving a wide area under water from both heavy downpours and rising seas.The wind howled and sheets of rain splattered against windows of a hotel before dawn in Wilmington, where Sandie Orsa of Wilmington sat in a lobby lit by emergency lights after the power failed."(It's) very eerie, the wind howling, the rain blowing sideways, debris flying," said Orsa, who lives nearby and fears splintering trees will pummel her house.The storm's intensity held at about 90 mph, and it appeared that the north side of the eye was the most dangerous place to be as Florence moved ashore.The National Hurricane Center said a gauge in Emerald Isle, North Carolina, reported 6.3 feet north of Wilmington.And about 46 miles farther up the waterfront, in New Bern, about 150 people were waiting to be rescued from floods on the Neuse River, WXII-TV reported. The city said two FEMA teams were working on swift-water rescues and more were on the way."Surviving this storm will be a test of endurance, teamwork, common sense and patience." Gov. Roy Cooper warned, describing day after day of disastrous weather to come.Cooper also requested additional federal disaster assistance in anticipation of what his office called "historic major damage" across the state.More than 80,000 people were already without power as the storm began buffeting the coast, and more than 12,000 were in shelters. Another 400 people were in shelters in Virginia, where forecasts were less dire.Prisoners were affected, too. North Carolina corrections officials said more than 3,000 people were relocated from adult prisons and juvenile centers in the path of Florence, and more than 300 county prisoners were transferred to state facilities.Officials said some 1.7 million people in the Carolinas and Virginia were warned to evacuate, but it's unclear how many did. The homes of about 10 million were under watches or warnings for the hurricane or tropical storm conditions.Spanish moss waved in the trees as the winds picked up in Wilmington, and floating docks bounced atop swells at Morehead City. Ocean water flowed between homes and on to streets on the Outer Banks; waves crashed against wooden fishing piers.Coastal towns in the Carolinas were largely empty, and schools and businesses closed as far south as Georgia.A buoy off the North Carolina coast recorded waves nearly 30 feet (9 meters) high as Florence churned toward shore.Forecasters said conditions will continue to deteriorate as the storm pushes ashore early Friday near the North Carolina-South Carolina line and makes its way slowly inland. Its surge could cover all but a sliver of the Carolina coast under as much as 11 feet (3.4 meters) of ocean water, and days of downpours could unload more than 3 feet of rain, touching off severe flooding.Once a Category 4 hurricane with winds of 140 mph, the hurricane was downgraded to a Category 1 on Thursday night.Forecasters said that given the storm's size and sluggish track, it could cause epic damage akin to what the Houston area saw during Hurricane Harvey just over a year ago, with floodwaters swamping homes and businesses and washing over industrial waste sites and hog-manure ponds.The hurricane was seen as a major test for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which was heavily criticized as slow and unprepared for Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico last year.As Florence drew near, President Donald Trump tweeted that FEMA and first responders are "supplied and ready," and he disputed the official conclusion that nearly 3,000 people died in Puerto Rico, claiming the figure was a Democratic plot to make him look bad.Not everyone was taking Florence too seriously: About two dozen locals gathered Thursday night behind the boarded-up windows of The Barbary Coast bar as Florence blew into Wilmington."We'll operate without power; we have candles. And you don't need power to sling booze," said owner Eli Ellsworth.Others were at home hoping for the best."This is our only home. We have two boats and all our worldly possessions," said Susan Patchkofsky, who refused her family's pleas to evacuate and stayed at Emerald Isle with her husband. "We have a safe basement and generator that comes on automatically. We chose to hunker down." ||||| MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. — Time is running short to get out of the way of Hurricane Florence, a monster of a storm that has a region of more than 10 million people in its potentially devastating sights as it zeroes in on the Southeastern coast. Forecasters said wind speeds have dropped from a high of 140 mph (225 kph) to 110 mph (175 kph), reducing it from a Category 4 storm to a Category 2, and additional fluctuations and weakening were likely as it swirled toward land. But authorities warned Florence has an enormous wind field that has been growing larger, raising the risk of the ocean surging on to land and making Florence extremely dangerous. "Do you want to get hit with a train or do you want to get hit with a cement truck?" said Jeff Byard, an administrator with the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The National Hurricane Center's best guess was that Florence would blow ashore as early as Friday afternoon around the North Carolina-South Carolina line, then slog its rainy way westward with a potential for catastrophic inland flooding that could swamp homes, businesses and farm fields. About 5.25 million people live in areas under hurricane warnings or watches, and 4.9 million live in places covered by tropical storm warnings or watches, the National Weather Service said. Weather Underground meteorology director Jeff Masters said Florence eventually could strike as merely a Category 1 hurricane with winds less than 100 mph (160 kph), but that's still enough to cause at least $1 billion in damage. Water kills more people in hurricanes than wind, and he said it will still be an extremely dangerous storm for rain and storm surge. Patio furniture is seen in the pool in an effort to keep it from flying away as people prepare ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Florence on September 12, 2018 in Myrtle Beach. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images) The hurricane center is forecasting the storm to hover near the coast Saturday with winds of around 80 mph (130 kph) before landfall, but with rainfall in the 20 to 30 inches (50 to 75 centimeter) range and up to 13 feet (nearly 4 meters) of storm surge. President Donald Trump both touted the government's readiness and urged people to get out of the way. "Don't play games with it. It's a big one," he said at the White House. As of 11 p.m. EDT Wednesday, the storm was centered 260 miles (455 kilometers) east southeast of Wilmington, North Carolina, moving northwest at 17 mph (28 kph). The hurricane center said Florence will approach the coast Friday and linger for a while before rolling ashore. The cone of probability for Hurricane Florence as of 11:00 p.m. EDT, Sept. 12, 2018. At this time, Florence was a Category 2 hurricane. (Credit: NOAA) It's unclear exactly how many people fled, but more than 1.7 million people in the Carolinas and Virginia were warned to clear out. Airlines had canceled nearly 1,000 flights and counting. Home Depot and Lowe's activated emergency response centers to get generators, trash bags and bottled water to stores before and after the storm. The two hardware chains said they sent in a total of around 1,100 trucks. Duke Energy, the nation's No. 2 power company, said Florence could knock out electricity to three-quarters of its 4 million customers in the Carolinas, and outages could last for weeks. Workers are being brought in from the Midwest and Florida to help in the storm's aftermath, it said. Boarding up his home in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, Chris Pennington watched the forecasts and tried to decide when to leave. "In 12 or 18 hours, they may be saying different things all over again," he said. Computer models of exactly what the storm might do varied, adding to the uncertainty. Reacting to the possibility of a more southerly track, Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal declared an emergency but did not immediately order any evacuations. "I ask all Georgians to join me in praying for the safety of our people and all those in the path of Hurricane Florence," Deal said. Al Brookins poses with his shirt that lists some of the previoius hurricanes he has lived through before the arrival of Hurricane Florence September 12, 2018 in Atlantic Beach, North Carolina. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) In Virginia, where about 245,000 residents were ordered to evacuate low-lying areas, officials urged people to remain away from home despite forecast changes showing Florence's path largely missing the state. Their entire neighborhood evacuated in Wilmington, North Carolina, David and Janelle Garrigus planned to ride out Florence at their daughter's one-bedroom apartment in Charlotte. Unsure of what they might find when they return home, the couple went shopping for a recreational vehicle. "We're just trying to plan for the future here, not having a house for an extended period of time," David Garrigus said. Melody Rawson evacuated her first-floor apartment in Myrtle Beach and arrived at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Georgia, to camp for free with three other adults, her disabled son, two dogs and a pet bird. "We hope to have something left when we get home," she said. Three other Southern raceways also opened campgrounds to evacuees. Forecasters worried the storm's damage will be all the worse if it lingers on the coast. The trend is "exceptionally bad news," said University of Miami hurricane researcher Brian McNoldy, since it "smears a landfall out over hundreds of miles of coastline, most notably the storm surge." With South Carolina's beach towns more in the bull's-eye because of the shifting forecast, Ohio vacationers Chris and Nicole Roland put off their departure from North Myrtle Beach to get the maximum amount of time on the sand. Most other beachgoers were long gone. "It's been really nice," Nicole Roland said. "Also, a little creepy. You feel like you should have already left." Associated Press writers Seth Borenstein in Washington; Jonathan Drew in Wilmington, North Carolina; Jennifer Kay in Miami; Gary Robertson in Raleigh, North Carolina; Sarah Rankin and Denise Lavoie in Richmond, Virginia; Meg Kinnard in Columbia, South Carolina; Skip Foreman in Charlotte, North Carolina; Jeff Martin in Hampton, Georgia; David Koeing in Dallas; and Jay Reeves in Atlanta contributed to this report. Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. ||||| Despite being downgraded again late Thursday night, this time to a Category 1 storm, Hurricane Florence has brought hurricane-force winds and life-threatening storm surge. It made landfall along the coast of North Carolina near Wrightsville Beach at 7:15 a.m. Friday. Here's a roundup of videos taken from people in the storm. The first video above, taken by Mark Cogdell, shows a gas station on Market St. in Wilmington, North Carolina collapsing in Hurricane Florence's winds. This next video shows huge waves and storm surge crashing into a structure in North Topsail Beach. More storm surge can be seen outside a home in Belhaven, North Carolina in this video from Amy Johnson. Here's video of New Bern, North Carolina where hundreds of people were trapped in flood waters. “We’re estimating we’ve rescued 150-200,” New Bern Police Lt. David Daniels said early Friday morning, who estimates an additional 150-200 are waiting to be rescued. The video below, taken in Wilmington, North Carolina, shows a large tree being split in half in Florence's winds. ||||| Watch live coverage from Gray TV affiliate WITN out of Wilmington, N.C. Hurricane Florence made landfall in North Carolina early Friday, pushing a life-threatening storm surge of floodwater miles inland and ripping apart buildings with screaming wind and pelting rain. More than 60 people had to be pulled from a collapsing motel at the height of the storm, and many more who defied evacuation orders were hoping to be rescued. Pieces of buildings ripped apart by the storm flew through the air. Most ominously, forecasters said the terrifying onslaught would last for hours and hours, because Florence was barely creeping along and still drawing energy from the ocean. Florence made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane at 7:15 a.m. at Wrightsville Beach, a few miles east of Wilmington, as the center of its eye moved onshore, the National Hurricane Center said. Coastal streets flowed with frothy ocean water, and more than 415,000 homes and businesses were without power, mostly in North Carolina, according to poweroutage.us, which tracks the nation's electrical grid. Forecasters said "catastrophic" freshwater flooding was expected along waterways far from the coast of the Carolinas. Florence's fiercest winds will linger around the coast for hours since the storm was moving forward at only 6 mph (9 kph). Hurricane-force winds extended 80 miles (130 kilometers) from its center, and tropical-storm-force winds reached out to 195 miles (315 kilometers).
• Many streets under water in Washington, N.C. Winds bent trees toward the ground and raindrops flew sideways as Florence moved in for an extended stay, with enough of its killer winds swirling overseas to maintain its power. Forecasters said the onslaught could last for days, leaving a wide area under water from both heavy downpours and rising seas. The wind howled and sheets of rain splattered against windows of a hotel before dawn in Wilmington, where Sandie Orsa of Wilmington sat in a lobby lit by emergency lights after the power failed. "(It's) very eerie, the wind howling, the rain blowing sideways, debris flying," said Orsa, who lives nearby and fears splintering trees will pummel her house. The storm's maximum sustained winds held at about 90 mph (144 kph), and it appeared that the north side of the eye was the most dangerous place to be as Florence moved ashore. A gust of 105 mph (169 kph) was recorded at Wilmington airport, surpassing the power of Hurricane Fran two decades ago. The National Hurricane Center said a gauge in Emerald Isle, North Carolina, reported 6.3 feet (1.92 meters) of inundation. Emerald Isle is about 84 miles 135 kilometers) north of Wilmington. And about 46 miles farther up the waterfront, in New Bern, about 150 people were waiting to be rescued from floods on the Neuse River, WXII-TV reported. The city said two FEMA teams were working on swift-water rescues and more were on the way. The worst of the storm's fury had yet to reach coastal South Carolina, where emergency managers said people could still leave flood-prone areas. "There is still time, but not a lot of time," said Derrec Becker of the South Carolina Department of Emergency Management. More than 80,000 people in North Carolina already were without power as the storm began buffeting the coast, and more than 12,000 were in shelters. Another 400 people were in shelters in Virginia, where forecasts were less dire. North Carolina corrections officials said more than 3,000 people were relocated from adult prisons and juvenile centers in the path of Florence, and more than 300 county prisoners were transferred to state facilities. Officials said some 1.7 million people in the Carolinas and Virginia were warned to evacuate, but it's unclear how many did. The homes of about 10 million were under watches or warnings for the hurricane or tropical storm conditions. Spanish moss waved in the trees as the winds picked up in Wilmington, and floating docks bounced atop swells at Morehead City. Ocean water flowed between homes and on to streets on the Outer Banks; waves crashed against wooden fishing piers. Coastal towns in the Carolinas were largely empty, and schools and businesses closed as far south as Georgia. Forecasters said conditions will continue to deteriorate as the storm makes its way slowly inland. Its surge could cover all but a sliver of the Carolina coast under as much as 11 feet (3.4 meters) of ocean water, and days of downpours could unload more than 3 feet (0.9 meters) of rain, touching off severe flooding. Once a Category 4 hurricane with winds of 140 mph (225 kph), the hurricane was downgraded to a Category 1 on Thursday night. Forecasters said that given the storm's size and sluggish track, it could cause epic damage akin to what the Houston area saw during Hurricane Harvey just over a year ago, with floodwaters swamping homes and businesses and washing over industrial waste sites and hog-manure ponds. The hurricane was seen as a major test for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which was heavily criticized as slow and unprepared for Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico last year. Not everyone was taking Florence too seriously: About two dozen locals gathered Thursday night behind the boarded-up windows of The Barbary Coast bar as Florence blew into Wilmington. Others were at home hoping for the best. "This is our only home. We have two boats and all our worldly possessions," said Susan Patchkofsky, who refused her family's pleas to evacuate and stayed at Emerald Isle with her husband. "We have a safe basement and generator that comes on automatically. We chose to hunker down." Associated Press writers Seth Borenstein in Washington; Jeffrey Collins in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina; Jennifer Kay in Miami; Gary Robertson in Raleigh, North Carolina; Sarah Rankin and Denise Lavoie in Richmond, Virginia; Meg Kinnard in Columbia, South Carolina; Skip Foreman in Charlotte, North Carolina; Jeff Martin in Hampton, Georgia; David Koenig in Dallas; Gerry Broome at Nags Head, North Carolina; and Jay Reeves in Atlanta contributed to this report. |||||
• The outer bands of Hurricane Florence have started to hit the coast of the Carolinas as it was downgraded to a Category 1 storm late Thursday night, with sustained winds topping 90 mph.
• The National Hurricane Center warned of "life-threatening storm surge and rainfall" in the Carolinas and mid-Atlantic states.
• Hurricane and storm surge warnings are in effect from the South Santee River in South Carolina to Duck, North Carolina.
• Over 5 million people are under hurricane warnings and watches as of Thursday morning. The outer bands of Hurricane Florence have started to hit the coast of the Carolinas as it was downgraded to a Category 1 storm late Thursday night, with sustained winds topping 90 mph. Hurricane Florence's center is expected to make landfall somewhere near the border between North and South Carolina on Friday, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC), bringing life-threatening storm surge and rainfall. But the storm's intensity is already being felt — weather stations along the North Carolina coast have registered sustained wind speeds of up to 53 mph, with gusts up to 74 mph. "If you are in the path of Florence, please stay safe and take shelter today," FEMA said on Twitter Thursday morning. "Communicate with family and friends. Let them know where you are and how you’ll stay in touch." The NHC has issued hurricane and storm surge warnings for the coastal areas between the South Santee River in South Carolina and Duck, North Carolina as well as Albemarle and Pamlico Sounds. A storm surge watch previously announced for areas north of Duck, North Carolina were canceled. Powerful waves and walls of water are expected to rush inland when the storm arrives, bringing catastrophic flooding. North Carolina's barrier islands, from Cape Fear to Cape Lookout could see the biggest storm surge: between 9 and 11 feet. Parts of North Carolina's coast, including Hatteras and the Outer Banks, are already experiencing waves of around 30 feet, according to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration buoys. Much of the rest of the Carolina coastline, from the Virginia border down to Edisto Beach, South Carolina is under hurricane and storm surge watch. Hurricane-force winds extend up to 80 miles from Florence's center and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 195 miles. The NHC issued an additional tropical storm warning south of Santee River to Edisto Beach on Thursday. "This is a very serious storm. The power could go out for many weeks," Brock Long, the administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said Thursday morning. Florence was expected to slow down considerably late Thursday going into Friday, according to the NHC, meaning it will likely sit over the Carolinas late into the weekend, pounding the area near the shore with rain. Read More: Where Hurricane Florence's eye is due to make landfall Around 5.25 million people live in areas under hurricane warnings or watches, and 4.9 million live in places covered by tropical storm warnings or watches, the National Weather Service said, per The Associated Press "Storm surge is why many of you have been placed under evacuation, and we are asking citizens to please heed the warning. Your time is running out," Long said. Florence was hovering about 50 miles south of Morehead City, North Carolina, late Thursday night and 60 miles southeast of Wilmington, North Carolina. The storm was moving northwest at about 6 mph. Five states have declared states of emergency ahead of the storm: Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, and Maryland, along with Washington, DC. Evacuation orders are in place in one of South Carolina's four coastal counties. Virginia's governor, Ralph Northam, issued a mandatory evacuation order for residents of the state's low-lying coastal areas as well. In North Carolina, evacuations have been ordered in Dare County, which includes the Outer Banks, as well as other coastal counties, according to The Observer. In a press conference on Wednesday, North Carolina's governor, Roy Cooper, warned residents: "Disaster is at the doorstep. If you're on the coast there is still time to get out safely." The storm could leave thousands of buildings flooded. Duke Energy, the Carolinas' major power supplier, said up to 3 million customers could lose power, perhaps for weeks, according to The New York Times. "This may be a marathon, not a sprint," Cooper added. Read More: The 14 most important things you should do to prepare for a hurricane Florence is currently a Category 1 hurricane, meaning it has maximum wind speeds between 74 and 95 mph. Predicting hurricane paths is a difficult science, and there are still uncertainties about this storm's track. But if predictions hold, Florence's center could make landfall near Wilmington, North Carolina on Friday morning. "A life-threatening storm surge is now highly likely along portions of the coastlines of South Carolina and North Carolina, and a storm surge warning is in effect for a portion of this area," the NHC said Thursday. The chart below shows the probability that an area that will see winds of at least 39 mph. The area in purple corresponds to a 90% or higher probability of experiencing those gusts. Hurricane Florence is predicted to slow over the Carolinas and Virginia, where rainfall totals could reach 40 inches. Heavy rain, up to 10 inches, may extend as far inland as Charlotte, North Carolina's largest city, and Raleigh, its capital. The NHC also said the storm's effects — including rain, high winds, rip currents, and tidal surges — would most likely be felt outside the "cone of probability" and could extend hundreds of miles from the storm's center. Sluggish or stalled hurricanes — like Hurricane Harvey, which flooded swaths of Houston, Texas, and the Gulf Coast last year — can become even more dangerous as they stick around, pouring rain. These types of slow-moving hurricanes are becoming more frequent. Recent research from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration found that storms had slowed by an average of 10% over land between 1949 and 2016. Read more: Why the deluge from Hurricane Florence could could be so intense Other storms are churning as well There are three other named storms in the Atlantic right now. Tropical Storm Isaac is about 220 miles southeast of Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic, with sustained wind speeds of about 40 mph. The NHC has issued a tropical storm warning for the islands of Martinique, Dominica, and Guadeloupe. Tropical Storm Helene has wind speeds of 65 mph, and will likely approach the Azores, an autonomous region of Portugal, late Saturday or Sunday. It's not close enough to land for any watches or warnings to be in effect now, though. Meanwhile, in the Pacific Ocean, Super Typhoon Mangkhut is expected to make landfall in the Philippines on Saturday. It has sustained wind speeds of to 150 mph, and could be bigger and stronger than Florence when it hits land. The storm is then expected to move toward southern China, Vietnam, and Laos. Tropical Storm Olivia has passed Hawaii, and tropical storm warnings have been lifted.
• Hurricane Florence could dump up to 40 inches of rain on parts of the Carolinas — here's why the deluge may be so intense
• 'Watch out, America!': Astronauts in space photographed Hurricane Florence, and they say the view is 'chilling'
• Watch storm conditions on these livestreams of North and South Carolina beaches in Hurricane Florence's path
• Hurricane Florence is a Category 2 storm — here's what those labels really mean
• The 14 most important things you should do to prepare for a hurricane ||||| (CNN) — The rain turned sideways Thursday, rivers swelled and floodwaters began to fill streets as massive Hurricane Florence trudged toward North Carolina. The Category 2 storm’s outer bands lashed towns on the barrier islands and on some of the Tar Heel State’s rivers while the center of the cyclone was looking at a possible Friday afternoon landfall. In Morehead City, the rain and surf pounded the shoreline and took aim at the few boats still in the water. In New Bern, on the Neuse River, a CNN team had to keep shifting position in a park as the water kept rising until it was too dangerous to stay in the area. Farther south, in Carolina Beach, the northern end of the town was being swamped as waters crashed over the dunes. Some areas also saw the first of the hurricane-force winds. At Cape Lookout there were sustained winds of 82 mph and gusts that came close to 100. “With this storm, it’s a Category 2 but the storm surge and the flooding is going to be that of a category 4,” CNN Meteorologist Jennifer Gray said Thursday night. She said the momentum the storm has generated on its long trip across the Atlantic won’t go away just “because the winds decrease a couple miles an hour.” While wind speeds dropped Thursday, forecasters reminded people that what makes Florence extremely dangerous are the potentially deadly storm surges, the expected mammoth coastal flooding and historic rainfall. Florence is expected to go move slowly as it approaches North and South Carolina, whipping hurricane-force winds and dumping relentless rain at least through Saturday. “It’s not going to take much in a lot of these areas to saturate the soil, so trees are going to come down really easily” and knock down power lines, said Ken Graham, director of the National Hurricane Center.
• Florence is getting closer: As of 8 p.m. ET Thursday, the center of Florence was about 85 miles east-southeast of Wilmington, North Carolina, and about 145 miles east of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The storm’s forward speed had slowed to 5 mph and forecasters were concerned it might have stalled.
• When is landfall? Florence’s center will approach the North and South Carolina coasts late Thursday and Friday. The actual landfall — when the center of the eye reaches land — will be Friday afternoon at the earliest, said Neil Jacobs of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
• Widespread power outages: More than 88,000 homes and businesses are without power, the North Carolina Emergency Management agency said.
• Many flights are canceled: More than 1,300 flights along the US East Coast have been canceled through Friday. Bookmark this simplified site if you’re in the storm’s path or have a weak phone connection Millions either flee or prepare for mayhem The tropical cyclone is expected to unload 10 trillion gallons of rainfall in North Carolina, weather.us meteorologist Ryan Maue said. That’s enough to fill more than 15 million Olympic-size swimming pools. In the North Carolina town of Rodanthe, on Hatteras Island, Rebecca Well Hooper shot video of the pier early Thursday afternoon. “There is some damage … but it is still standing strong. There is overwash but nothing we are not used to,” she said. Despite days of warnings to evacuate, some residents are staying put — even if they don’t want to. Cheryl Browning lives with her husband and son, who has terminal cancer, in Richlands, North Carolina. They also have three dogs and three parrots. Browning’s choice to stay in the hurricane warning zone wasn’t easy, she said, but she “could not find anywhere to go.” “Either no (hotel) rooms are available, or we are denied because the breed or size of dogs,” she said. “Many that will accept them only allow one per room. And since we have three dogs and three parrots, they’re requesting us to purchase two to six rooms.” And there’s no way her family could afford that — or the $1,728 per room another hotel quoted. Other residents have told CNN they’re not evacuating because emergency shelters won’t accept pets. “Since my husband retired and my health declined, we have his retirement as an income. He is the only caregiver to me and my son,” Browning said. “So since we can’t find anything within our means … we’ve opted to stay.” Her neighbors gave her the key to their house, which is two stories and might be safer from flooding, she said. It’s a kind gesture but doesn’t alleviate Browning’s fear. “I’m not going to lie: I’m scared,” she said. “But I think it’ll be OK.” More than 1 million people have been ordered to evacuate and authorities urged them to get going before the streets become inundated. “Inland flooding kills a lot of people. … Please keep that in mind,” and consider leaving soon, Brock Long, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said midmorning Thursday. In North Carolina, Florence is expected to dump up to 40 inches of rain and storm surge will be high. “Catastrophic effects will be felt outside the center of the storm due to storm surge,” North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said Thursday morning. “Tens of thousands of structures are expected to be flooded, and many more by rising rivers and creeks.” In Murrell’s Inlet, South Carolina, Mikey Zalloum of Uncle Mikey’s Brick Oven Pizza sweated as he worked feverishly to make pies Thursday night. His bustling pizza restaurant is one of the few businesses open in the evacuated town. Why is he open when the town is mostly evacuated? He said he has been through this many times in his 15 years in the Myrtle Beach area and that “nothing is going to happen.” He said he usually doesn’t make the pizzas himself, but he was on Thursday because “everybody is scared,” including most of his staff. Officials in several states have declared states of emergency, including in the Carolinas, Georgia, Virginia and Maryland, where coastal areas are still recovering from summer storms. ||||| Hurricane Florence smashed into the US East Coast Friday with howling winds, torrential rains and life-threatening storm surges as emergency crews scrambled to rescue hundreds of people stranded in their homes by flood waters. Forecasters warned of catastrophic flooding and other mayhem from the monster storm, which is only Category 1 but physically sprawling and dangerous. The port city of Wilmington woke Friday to the sound of exploding electrical transformers with strong gusts throwing street signs and other debris as well as water in all directions, according to an AFP reporter at the scene. The storm officially made landfall near Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina at 7:15 am (1115 GMT), the National Hurricane Center said. Ken Graham, the NHC’s director, warned the slow pace of the storm exacerbated its danger even to areas outside its immediate path. “The longer you have this hurricane wind flow, the longer you push that water well inland,” he said. Rescue workers in North Carolina meanwhile were scrambling to save people stranded in their homes. Video footage showed parking lots in the riverfront town of New Bern turn into shallow lakes of dirty gray water as heavy rain fell. New Bern Police Lt. David Daniels said early Friday morning that between 150 and 200 people had been rescued so far, with others still waiting for help. “Currently ~150 awaiting rescue in New Bern,” City Hall said on Twitter. Nearly 300,000 customers in North Carolina were meanwhile reported to be without power as the outer band of the storm approached. In its 1200 GMT advisory, the center said Florence was packing winds of 90 miles per hour (150 kph) and moving northwest at six miles per hour (10 kilometers per hour). It added the greatest threats to life came from storm-surges while “catastrophic flash flooding and prolonged significant river flooding” was expected, with some areas receiving up to 40 inches of rainfall. In a display of the early effects of the storm, one flood gauge on the Neuse River in New Bern, North Carolina, showed 10 feet (three meters) of flooding, the NHC said. With winds picking up along the coastline earlier Thursday, federal and state officials had issued final appeals to residents to get out of the path of the “once in a lifetime” weather system. “This storm will bring destruction,” North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper said. “Catastrophic effects will be felt.” The NHC said hurricane-force winds extended outward 80 miles from the center of the storm and tropical storm-force winds extended nearly 195 miles out. A tornado watch was also in effect for parts of North Carolina. Brock Long, the administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), warned the danger was not only along the coast: “Inland flooding kills a lot of people, unfortunately, and that’s what we’re about to see,” he said. About 1.7 million people in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia are under voluntary or mandatory evacuation orders and millions of others live in areas likely to be affected by the storm. Myrtle Beach, a South Carolina beach resort, was deserted with empty streets, boarded up storefronts and very little traffic. A state of emergency has been declared in five coastal states – North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Maryland and Virginia. Duke Energy, a power company in the Carolinas, estimated that one million to three million customers could lose electricity because of the storm and that it could take weeks to restore. Not everybody was heeding orders to evacuate, however. Antonio Ramirez, a construction worker from El Salvador living in Leland, North Carolina, said he planned to ride out the worst of the weather with his dog Canelo. “The shelters are not taking dogs,” Ramirez said. “I’m not leaving him here.” In Wilmington, residents who had decided not to evacuate were lining up to get ice from a vending machine – $2 for a 16-pound (7.2-kilo) bag. “I have no generator,” said Petra Langston, a nurse. “I learned from the past to keep the ice in the washing machine.” Perched on the porch of his home, carpenter Tony Albright was calmly awaiting Florence’s arrival, beer in hand. “I built this house myself, so I’m not worried at all, I know it’s solid,” he said. “I charged the batteries of my electronic devices, I have beers and video games.” For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android. | Hurricane Florence makes landfall in Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina, as a Category 1 hurricane. and leaves over 895,000 residences and businesses without electrical power. A 105 mph (169 km/h) gust hits Wilmington, the strongest wind recorded there since Hurricane Helene in 1958. Florence is later downgraded to a Tropical Storm as it moves inland with sustained winds of 70 mph (110 km/h). |
HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong and southern China hunkered down under red alert Sunday as strong winds and heavy rain from Typhoon Mangkhut lashed the densely populated coast, a day after the biggest storm of the year left at least 28 dead from landslides and drownings in the northern Philippines. Nearly half a million people had been evacuated from seven cities in Guangdong province, the gambling enclave of Macau closed down casinos for the first time and the Hong Kong Observatory warned people to stay away from the Victoria Harbour landmark, where storm surges battered the waterfront reinforced with sandbags. Mangkhut is due to make landfall in Guangdong later Sunday. The national meteorological center said southern China "will face a severe test caused by wind and rain" and urged officials to prepare for possible disasters. The Librador family inside their house that is heavily damaged by typhoon Mangkhut on September 15, 2018 in Alcala, Philippines. On Sunday morning, the typhoon packed sustained winds of 155 kilometers (96 miles) per hour and gusts of up to 190 kph (118 mph). The Hong Kong Observatory said although Mangkhut had weakened slightly, its extensive, intense rainbands were bringing heavy downfall and frequent squalls. Hundreds of flights were canceled. All high-speed and some normal rail services in Guangdong and Hainan provinces were also halted Sunday, the China Railway Guangzhou Group Co. said. In Fujian province and elsewhere, tens of thousands of fishing boats returned to port and construction work came to a stop. Philippine National Police Director General Oscar Albayalde told The Associated Press that 20 people had died in the Cordillera mountain region, four in nearby Nueva Vizcaya province and another outside of the two regions. Three more deaths have been reported in northeastern Cagayan province, where the typhoon made landfall before dawn Saturday. An overturned tricycle is seen next to a destroyed house after Super Typhoon Mangkhut hit the town of Alcala, Cagayan province in the Philippines on September 15, 2018. Among the fatalities were an infant and a 2-year-old child who died with their parents after the couple refused to immediately evacuate from their high-risk community in a Nueva Vizcaya mountain town, said Francis Tolentino, an adviser to Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte. "They can't decide for themselves where to go," he said of the children, expressing frustration that the tragedy was not prevented. Tolentino, who was assigned by Duterte to help coordinate disaster response, said at least two other people were missing. Mayor Mauricio Domogan said at least three people died and six others were missing in his mountain city of Baguio after strong winds and rain destroyed several houses and set off landslides, which also blocked roads to the popular vacation destination. It was not immediately clear whether the dead and missing had been included in the overall death toll. About 87,000 people had evacuated from high-risk areas of the Philippines. Tolentino and other officials advised them not to return home until the lingering danger had passed. An aerial view shows the fishing village of Tai O in Hong Kong on September 15, 2018, a day before the expected arrival of Super Typhoon Mangkhut. In Cagayan's capital, Tuguegarao, where the typhoon hit land, Associated Press journalists saw a severely damaged public market, its roof ripped apart and wooden stalls and tarpaulin canopies in disarray. Outside a popular shopping mall, debris was scattered everywhere and government workers cleared roads of fallen trees. The Tuguegarao airport terminal also was damaged, its roof and glass windows shattered by strong winds. The typhoon struck at the start of the rice and corn harvesting season in the northern breadbasket, prompting farmers to scramble to save what they could of their crops, Cagayan Gov. Manuel Mamba said. In Hong Kong, Security Minister John Lee Ka-chiu urged residents to prepare for the worst. "Because Mangkhut will bring winds and rains of extraordinary speeds, scope and severity, our preparation and response efforts will be greater than in the past," Lee said. "Each department must have a sense of crisis, make a comprehensive assessment and plan, and prepare for the worst." Cathay Pacific said all of its flights would be canceled between 2:30 a.m. Sunday and 4 a.m. Monday. The city of Shenzhen also canceled all flights between Sunday and early Monday morning. Hainan Airlines canceled 234 flights in the cities of Haikou, Sanya, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Zhuhai scheduled this weekend. For the first time in the history of Macau, next door to Hong Kong, casinos were ordered to close from 11 p.m. Saturday, the South China Morning Post reported. The gambling city suffered catastrophic flooding during Typhoon Hato last August that left 10 dead and led to accusations of corruption and incompetence at its meteorological office. Associated Press writers Aaron Favila and Joeal Calupitan in Tuguegarao, Philippines, Jim Gomez in Manila, Philippines, and Gillian Wong in Beijing contributed to this report. Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. ||||| Nearly half a million people had been evacuated from seven cities in China Typhoon Mangkhut barrelled into southern China on Sunday after lashing the northern Philippines with strong winds and heavy rain that left at least 36 people dead and dozens more feared buried in a landslide. Ahead of the massive typhoon, nearly half a million people had been evacuated from seven cities in China’s Guangdong province, the gambling enclave of Macau closed casinos for the first time and the Hong Kong Observatory warned people to stay away from the Victoria Harbour landmark, where storm surges battered the sandbag-reinforced waterfront. Mangkhut made landfall in the city of Taishan in Guangdong province at 5 p.m. local time, packing wind speeds of 162 kilometres (100 miles) per hour. State television broadcaster CGTN reported that surging waves flooded a seaside hotel in the city of Shenzhen. Authorities in southern China had issued a red alert, the most severe warning, as the national meteorological centre said the densely populated region would face a “severe test caused by wind and rain” and urged officials to prepare for possible disasters. On Sunday morning, the typhoon packed sustained winds of 155 kilometres (96 miles) per hour and gusts of up to 190 kph (118 mph). The Hong Kong Observatory said although Mangkhut had weakened slightly, its extensive, intense rainbands were bringing heavy downfall and frequent squalls. Hundreds of flights were cancelled. All high-speed and some normal rail services in Guangdong and Hainan provinces were also halted, the China Railway Guangzhou Group Co. said. In Hong Kong, a video posted online by residents showed the top corner of an old building break and fall off while in another video, a tall building swayed as strong winds blew. The storm also broke windows, felled trees, tore bamboo scaffolding off buildings under construction and flooded areas with sometimes waist-high waters, according to the South China Morning Post. The paper said the heavy rains brought storm surges of 3 metres (10 feet) around Hong Kong. Hong Kong Security Minister John Lee Ka-chiu urged residents to prepare for the worst. “Because Mangkhut will bring winds and rains of extraordinary speeds, scope and severity, our preparation and response efforts will be greater than in the past,” Lee said. “Each department must have a sense of crisis, make a comprehensive assessment and plan, and prepare for the worst.” Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific said all of its flights would be cancelled between 2:30 a.m. Sunday and 4 a.m. Monday. The city of Shenzhen also cancelled all flights between Sunday and early Monday morning. Hainan Airlines cancelled 234 flights in the cities of Haikou, Sanya, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Zhuhai scheduled this weekend. In Macau, next door to Hong Kong, casinos were ordered to close from 11 p.m. Saturday, the first time such action was taken in the city, the South China Morning Post reported. Macau suffered catastrophic flooding during Typhoon Hato last year, leading to accusations of corruption and incompetence at its meteorological office. In Macau’s inner harbour district on Sunday, the water level reached 1.5 metres (5 feet) and was expected to rise further. The district was one of the most affected by floods from Typhoon Hato, which left 10 people dead. In Fujian province and other parts of southern China, tens of thousands of fishing boats returned to port and construction work came to a stop. In the northern Philippines, at least 40 people, mostly gold miners, are feared to have been trapped in a landslide in a mountain town that was pummeled by the typhoon before it blew out of the country late Saturday. Police Superintendent Pelita Tacio told The Associated Press by phone that dozens of rescuers, including army troops and police, have dug out at least seven bodies from the huge mound of mud and rocks in the far-flung town of Itogon in Benguet province. A part of the mountainside collapsed on the miners’ bunkhouses Saturday at the height of the typhoon’s onslaught, Tacio said, adding that rescuers were scrambling to pull out the body of another victim pinned by rocks and mud before she left the area Sunday. At least 36 people, including the eight miners retrieved in Itogon, have died in typhoon-related incidents in the Philippines, mostly from landslides and collapsed houses. Mangkhut made landfall on Saturday on the northeastern tip of Luzon island in the Philippines with sustained winds of 205 kilometres (127 mph) and gusts of 255 kph (158 mph). The Philippines, which was battered by the typhoon on Saturday, appeared to have been spared the high number of casualties many had feared. In 2013, Typhoon Haiyan left more than 7,300 people dead or missing, flattened villages and displaced more than 5 million in the central Philippines. A massive evacuation ahead of Mangkhut helped lessen potential casualties, with about 87,000 people evacuating from high-risk areas, officials said. Philippine National Police Director General Oscar Albayalde told The Associated Press that 20 people had died in the Cordillera mountain region, four in nearby Nueva Vizcaya province and another outside of the two regions. Three more deaths were reported in northeastern Cagayan province, where the typhoon made landfall. The typhoon struck at the start of the rice and corn harvesting season in the Philippines’ northern breadbasket, prompting farmers to scramble to save what they could of their crops, Cagayan Gov. Manuel Mamba said. Gomez reported from Manila, Philippines. Associated Press writers Aaron Favila and Joeal Calupitan in Tuguegarao, Philippines, and Gillian Wong in Beijing contributed to this report. Vincent Yu And Jim Gomez, The Associated Press Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. ||||| Typhoon aims at south China after killing 28 in Philippines TUGUEGARAO, Philippines (AP) — Typhoon Mangkhut roared toward densely populated Hong Kong and southern China on Sunday after ravaging across the northern Philippines with ferocious winds and heavy rain that left at least 28 dead in landslides and collapsed houses. The strongest storm so far this year in the world sliced across the northern tip of Luzon Island on Saturday, a breadbasket that is also a region of flood-prone rice plains and mountain provinces with a history of deadly landslides. More than 5 million people were in the path of the typhoon, equivalent to a Category 5 Atlantic hurricane when it hit the Philippines. On Sunday morning, It packed sustained winds of 155 kilometers (96 miles) per hour and gusts of up to 190 kph (118 mph). Hong Kong and southern China issued the highest storm signals. The Guangdong provincial office in charge of flood prevention said Sunday that nearly half a million people had been evacuated from seven cities. The Hong Kong Observatory said although Mangkhut had weakened slightly, its extensive, intense rainbands were bringing heavy downfall and frequent squalls. Storm surge of about 3 ½ meters (9.8 feet) or above is expected at the city's waterfront Victoria Harbour, the observatory said, appealing on the public to avoid the shoreline. Philippine National Police Director General Oscar Albayalde told The Associated Press that 20 had died in the Cordillera mountain region, four in nearby Nueva Vizcaya province and another outside of the two regions. Three more deaths have been reported in northeastern Cagayan province, where the typhoon made landfall. Among the fatalities were an infant and a 2-year-old child who died with their parents after the couple refused to immediately evacuate from their high-risk community in a Nueva Vizcaya mountain town, said Francis Tolentino, an adviser to Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte. "They can't decide for themselves where to go," he said of the children, expressing frustration that the tragedy was not prevented. Tolentino, who was assigned by Duterte to help coordinate disaster response, said at least two other people were missing. Mayor Mauricio Domogan said at least three people died and six others were missing in his mountain city of Baguio after strong winds and rain destroyed several houses and set off landslides, which also blocked roads to the popular vacation destination. It was not immediately clear whether the dead and missing had been included in the overall death toll. About 87,000 people had evacuated from high-risk areas of the Philippines. Tolentino and other officials advised them not to return home until the lingering danger had passed. In Cagayan's capital, Tuguegarao, where the typhoon made landfall, Associated Press journalists saw a severely damaged public market, its roof ripped apart and wooden stalls and tarpaulin canopies in disarray. Outside a popular shopping mall, debris was scattered everywhere and government workers cleared roads of fallen trees. Many stores and houses were damaged but most residents remained indoors as occasional gusts sent small pieces of tin sheets and other debris flying dangerously. The Tuguegarao airport terminal also was damaged, its roof and glass windows shattered by strong winds. The typhoon struck at the start of the rice and corn harvesting season in Cagayan, a major agricultural producer, prompting farmers to scramble to save what they could of their crops, Cagayan Gov. Manuel Mamba said. In Hong Kong, Security Minister John Lee Ka-chiu urged residents to prepare for the worst. Cathay Pacific said all of its flights would be canceled between 2:30 a.m. local time on Sunday and 4 a.m. Monday. "Because Mangkhut will bring winds and rains of extraordinary speeds, scope and severity, our preparation and response efforts will be greater than in the past," Lee said. "Each department must have a sense of crisis, make a comprehensive assessment and plan, and prepare for the worst." In nearby Fujian province in China, 51,000 people were evacuated from fishing boats and around 11,000 vessels returned to port. China's National Meteorological Center issued an alert saying Mangkhut would make landfall somewhere on the coast in Guangdong province on Sunday afternoon or evening. Ferry services in the Qiongzhou Strait in southern China were halted on Saturday and helicopters and tugboats were dispatched to Guangdong to transfer offshore workers to safety and warn ships about the typhoon, China's official Xinhua News Agency reported. Mangkhut, the Thai word for mangosteen fruit, is the 15th storm this year to batter the Philippines, which is hit by about 20 a year and is considered one of the world's most disaster-prone countries. In 2013, Typhoon Haiyan left more than 7,300 people dead or missing, flattened villages, swept ships inland and displaced more than 5 million in the central Philippines. Associated Press writers Jim Gomez in Manila, Philippines, and Gillian Wong in Beijing contributed to this report. ||||| HONG KONG (AP) — Typhoon Mangkhut barreled into southern China on Sunday after lashing the northern Philippines with strong winds and heavy rain that left at least 64 people dead and dozens more feared buried in a landslide. More than 2.4 million people had been evacuated in southern China's Guangdong province by Sunday evening to flee the massive typhoon and nearly 50,000 fishing boats were called back to port, state media reported. The gambling enclave of Macau closed casinos for the first time and the Hong Kong Observatory warned people to stay away from the Victoria Harbour landmark, where storm surges battered the sandbag-reinforced waterfront. Hong Kong's RTHK broadcaster cited experts as saying Mangkhut was expected to be the strongest typhoon to hit the city in decades. The Hong Kong Observatory issued its strongest storm warning for 10 hours on Sunday, just slightly shorter than the record time of 11 hours set by Typhoon York in 1999, the South China Morning Post reported. The storm made landfall in the Guangdong city of Taishan at 5 p.m., packing wind speeds of 162 kilometers (100 miles) per hour. State television broadcaster CGTN reported that surging waves flooded a seaside hotel in the city of Shenzhen. Groceries flew off the shelves of supermarkets in the provincial capital of Guangzhou as residents stocked up in anticipation of being confined at home by the typhoon, China's official Xinhua News Agency said. Authorities in southern China issued a red alert, the most severe warning, as the national meteorological center said the densely populated region would face a "severe test caused by wind and rain" and urged officials to prepare for possible disasters. Hundreds of flights were canceled. All high-speed and some normal rail services in Guangdong and Hainan provinces were also halted, the China Railway Guangzhou Group Co. said. In Hong Kong, a video posted online by residents showed the top corner of an old building break and fall off, while in another video, a tall building swayed as strong winds blew. The storm also broke windows, felled trees, tore bamboo scaffolding off buildings under construction and flooded areas with sometimes waist-high waters, according to the South China Morning Post. The paper said the heavy rains brought storm surges of 3 meters (10 feet) around Hong Kong. Hong Kong Security Minister John Lee Ka-chiu urged residents to prepare for the worst. "Because Mangkhut will bring winds and rains of extraordinary speeds, scope and severity, our preparation and response efforts will be greater than in the past," Lee said. "Each department must have a sense of crisis, make a comprehensive assessment and plan, and prepare for the worst." Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific said all of its flights would be canceled between 2:30 a.m. Sunday and 4 a.m. Monday. The city of Shenzhen also canceled all flights between Sunday and early Monday morning. Hainan Airlines canceled 234 flights in the cities of Haikou, Sanya, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Zhuhai scheduled over the weekend. In Macau, next door to Hong Kong, casinos were ordered to close from 11 p.m. Saturday, the first time such action was taken in the city, the South China Morning Post reported. Macau suffered catastrophic flooding during Typhoon Hato last year, leading to accusations of corruption and incompetence at its meteorological office. In Macau's inner harbor district, the water level reached 1.5 meters (5 feet) on Sunday and was expected to rise further. The district was one of the most affected by floods from Typhoon Hato, which left 10 people dead. In the northern Philippines, Mangkhut made landfall Saturday on the northeastern tip of Luzon island with sustained winds of 205 kilometers (127 miles) per hour and gusts of 255 kph (158 mph). Dozens of people, mostly small-scale miners and their families, were feared to have been trapped by a landslide in the far-flung village of Ucab in Itogon town in the northern Philippines' Benguet province, Itogon Mayor Victorio Palangdan said by phone on Sunday. Palangdan said three villagers who nearly got buried by the huge pile of mud and rocks told authorities they saw residents rush into an old three-story building, a former mining bunkhouse that has been transformed into a chapel, at the height of the typhoon's onslaught Saturday afternoon. "That was not an authorized evacuation center," Palangdan said, but expressed sadness that the villagers, many of them poor miners, had few options to survive in a region where big corporations have profited immensely from gold mines. Police Superintendent Pelita Tacio said 34 villagers had died and 36 remained missing in the landslides in Ucab and another village in Itogon town. Rescuers were scrambling to pull out the body of a victim from the mound of mud and rocks in Ucab before Tacio left the area Sunday. "It's very sad. I could hear villagers wailing in their homes near the site of the accident," Tacio said by phone. Rescuers were hampered by rain and mud, and the search and rescue operation was suspended at nightfall and will resume at daybreak Monday, Palangdan said. Police and their vehicles could not immediately reach the landside-hit area because the ground was unstable and soaked from the heavy rains, regional police chief Rolando Nana told the ABS-CBN TV network. Overall, at least 64 people have died in typhoon incidents in the northern Philippines, mostly from landslides and collapsed houses, according to the national police. Forty-five other people were missing and 33 were injured in the storm. The hardest-hit province was Benguet, where 38 people died, mostly in two landslides, and 37 are missing, the police said. Still, the Philippines appeared to have been spared the high number of casualties many had feared. In 2013, Typhoon Haiyan left more than 7,300 people dead or missing, flattened villages and displaced more than 5 million in the central Philippines. A massive evacuation ahead of Mangkhut helped lessen potential casualties, with about 87,000 people evacuating from high-risk areas, officials said. Philippine National Police Director General Oscar Albayalde told The Associated Press that 20 people died in the Cordillera mountain region, four in nearby Nueva Vizcaya province and another outside of the two regions. Three more deaths were reported in northeastern Cagayan province, where the typhoon made landfall. The typhoon struck at the start of the rice and corn harvesting season in the Philippines' northern breadbasket, prompting farmers to scramble to save what they could of their crops, Cagayan Gov. Manuel Mamba said. Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. ||||| Typhoon Mangkhut began to lash southern China on Sunday, the latest stop along a destructive path that has left dozens dead and many missing. At least 64 people have died in the Philippines, according to The Associated Press. Two people were reported killed in China's Guangdong province, according to Chinese state media. As the typhoon approached the Pearl River Delta, the country's National Observatory issued its highest alert level. Hundreds of flights were canceled. Thousands of fishing boats were called back to port. And more than 2.4 million people were relocated, according to the AP. In Hong Kong, videos posted to social media showed buildings swaying, roofs torn off, scaffolding collapsing and windows blown out by fierce winds. Gusts of winds reached up to 127 miles per hour, NPR's Rob Schmitz reported, sending debris flying. On flooded streets that resembled rivers, some residents traveled by canoe. Waves along the Hong Kong coastline reached as high as 40 feet, according to The New York Times. Authorities were preparing to protect two nuclear plants, Taishan and Yangjiang along the coastline. "All emergency duty personnel of Taishan Nuclear Power have been on the job, all preparations have been implemented, and the Taishan Nuclear Power Base is ready," managers said in a statement, according to the Times. After the typhoon hit Macau, 15 people were reported injured and 20,000 households lost power, according to the South China Morning Post. Electricity supplier Companhia de Electricidade de Macau said it suspended power to low-lying areas and will return it when the water level recedes. Yaonan Li, a resident in downtown Zhuhai, some 15 minutes outside Macau, told NPR the government was nervous about the typhoon but had learned its lesson from a typhoon last year. "The Zhuhai city government spent the financial subsidy that they received from the central government last year on rebuilding the city," paving new roads and reinforcing sidewalks, he said. The government announced the closure of its bustling casinos, heritage sites and museums. Schools will be suspended for a day, the South China Morning Post reported. Mangkhut arrived in China after making landfall Saturday morning on Luzon, the largest island in the Philippines. With sustained winds of more than 120 mph, it was stronger than Hurricane Florence when it made landfall with the Carolinas. Dozens of people have died and more are feared to be trapped by landslides, especially in the Cordillera mountain region. Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte traveled to Cagayan province Sunday to assess the damage and recovery efforts. "I share the grief of those who lost loved ones," he said, calling it "an act of God," according to the Philippine News Agency. He also said he was "very, very satisfied" with the government's overall response. The National Food Authority planned to release nearly 5,000 bags of rice to relief agencies and local government units, the Philippine Information Agency stated. The Philippine Red Cross shared video and images of rescue efforts, including a nighttime search for families in "neck deep floods." The ceiling of a district hospital, "leaving the emergency room, laboratory, Out Patient Department, terrace and lobby unusable," it said. The military planned to send two C-130 airplanes and 10 helicopters for relief and rescue operations, according to CNN. By 8 p.m. local time in China, the Hong Kong Observatory said winds had weakened. It downgraded its warning level for the typhoon. "As gales and violent squalls are still occurring in places, precautions should not yet be relaxed," it added. Mangkhut is expected to move west over northern Vietnam. ||||| Yet amid the suffering, there was also relief that the situation was not much worse. The initial casualty toll was far lower than officials had feared in the days before the storm made landfall early Saturday on the Philippines’ largest and most populous island. But it could be days or weeks before the storm’s true human toll is known. It will also take time to assess how much damage was done to the country’s prime agricultural region and to the economy. Damage to farms could be extensive — and costly for the nation. The region is the country’s largest food producer, and the destruction of crops could lead to food shortages, higher costs and inflation. The number of confirmed fatalities is almost certain to rise as people begin assessing damage from the typhoon. But if the numbers are limited, it will be, at least in part, a testament to the preparedness of authorities following disastrous storms in recent years. Determined not to see a repeat of Typhoon Haiyan, which killed more than 6,000 people in the central Philippines in 2013, officials had evacuated more than 105,000 people to temporary shelters before Typhoon Mangkhut hit. Communications in the disaster zone were hampered by power and cell service outages, and access was difficult in many places because of flooding and road closures. In one community after another, emergency workers reported downed trees and badly damaged buildings. Signs, tin roofs and gates that had been torn free flew about. The typhoon, with wind speeds reaching 170 mph before reaching land, could have caused far more damage if it had hit Luzon farther south and closer to Manila — a megacity of more than 12 million people. The area of Luzon that the typhoon hit hardest is primarily agricultural and, with more than 4 million people, is less densely populated than other parts of the country. Leaving the Philippines behind Saturday evening, Typhoon Mangkhut took aim at Hong Kong and southern China, where it was expected make landfall on Sunday. This article originally appeared in The New York Times. Hannah Beech and Richard C. Paddock © 2018 The New York Times ||||| HONG KONG (AP) — Typhoon Mangkhut wreaked havoc on the northern Philippines and southern China, leaving dozens of people dead and forcing millions to evacuate. The massive storm made landfall on Saturday on the northeastern tip of Luzon island in the Philippines with sustained winds of 205 kilometers (127 miles) per hour and gusts of 255 kph (158 mph). It then moved on to Hong Kong and elsewhere in southern China. Chinese state media cited the Guangdong provincial meteorological station as saying that by Sunday evening, more than 2.4 million people had been relocated and nearly 50,000 fishing boats called back to port. The gambling enclave of Macau closed casinos for the first time and the Hong Kong Observatory warned people to stay away from the Victoria Harbour landmark, where storm surges battered the sandbag-reinforced waterfront. ||||| Typhoon Mangkhut began to lash southern China on Sunday, the latest stop along a destructive path that has left dozens dead and many missing. At least 64 people have died in the Philippines, according to The Associated Press. Two people were reported killed in China's Guangdong province, according to Chinese state media. As the typhoon approached the Pearl River Delta, the country's National Observatory issued its highest alert level. Hundreds of flights were canceled. Thousands of fishing boats were called back to port. And more than 2.4 million people were relocated, according to the AP. In Hong Kong, videos posted to social media showed buildings swaying, roofs torn off, scaffolding collapsing and windows blown out by fierce winds. Gusts of winds reached up to 127 miles per hour, NPR's Rob Schmitz reported, sending debris flying. On flooded streets that resembled rivers, some residents traveled by canoe. Waves along the Hong Kong coastline reached as high as 40 feet, according to The New York Times. Authorities were preparing to protect two nuclear plants, Taishan and Yangjiang along the coastline. "All emergency duty personnel of Taishan Nuclear Power have been on the job, all preparations have been implemented, and the Taishan Nuclear Power Base is ready," managers said in a statement, according to the Times. After the typhoon hit Macau, 15 people were reported injured and 20,000 households lost power, according to the South China Morning Post. Electricity supplier Companhia de Electricidade de Macau said it suspended power to low-lying areas and will return it when the water level recedes. Yaonan Li, a resident in downtown Zhuhai, some 15 minutes outside Macau, told NPR the government was nervous about the typhoon but had learned its lesson from a typhoon last year. "The Zhuhai city government spent the financial subsidy that they received from the central government last year on rebuilding the city," paving new roads and reinforcing sidewalks, he said. The government announced the closure of its bustling casinos, heritage sites and museums. Schools will be suspended for a day, the South China Morning Post reported. Mangkhut arrived in China after making landfall Saturday morning on Luzon, the largest island in the Philippines. With sustained winds of more than 120 mph, it was stronger than Hurricane Florence when it made landfall with the Carolinas. Dozens of people have died and more are feared to be trapped by landslides, especially in the Cordillera mountain region. Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte traveled to Cagayan province Sunday to assess the damage and recovery efforts. "I share the grief of those who lost loved ones," he said, calling it "an act of God," according to the Philippine News Agency. He also said he was "very, very satisfied" with the government's overall response. The National Food Authority planned to release nearly 5,000 bags of rice to relief agencies and local government units, the Philippine Information Agency stated. The Philippine Red Cross shared video and images of rescue efforts, including a nighttime search for families in "neck deep floods." The ceiling of a district hospital, "leaving the emergency room, laboratory, Out Patient Department, terrace and lobby unusable," it said. The military planned to send two C-130 airplanes and 10 helicopters for relief and rescue operations, according to CNN. By 8 p.m. local time in China, the Hong Kong Observatory said winds had weakened. It downgraded its warning level for the typhoon. "As gales and violent squalls are still occurring in places, precautions should not yet be relaxed," it added. Mangkhut is expected to move west over northern Vietnam. ||||| HONG KONG (AP) — Typhoon Mangkhut barreled into southern China on Sunday, killing two people after lashing the Philippines with strong winds and heavy rain that left at least 64 dead and dozens more feared buried in a landslide. More than 2.4 million people had been evacuated in southern China's Guangdong province by Sunday evening to flee the massive typhoon and nearly 50,000 fishing boats were called back to port, state media reported. It threatened to be the strongest typhoon to hit Hong Kong in nearly two decades. That warning came after Mangkhut's devastating march through the northern Philippines, where the storm made landfall Saturday on Luzon island with sustained winds of 205 kilometers (127 miles) per hour and gusts of 255 kph (158 mph). Police Superintendent Pelita Tacio said 34 villagers had died and 36 remained missing in landslides in two villages in Itogon town in the northern Philippine mountain province of Benguet. Itogon Mayor Victorio Palangdan told The Associated Press by phone that at the height of the typhoon's onslaught Saturday afternoon, dozens of people, mostly miners and their families, rushed into an old three-story building in the village of Ucab. The building — a former mining bunkhouse that had been transformed into a chapel — was obliterated when part of a mountain slope collapsed. Three villagers who managed to escape told authorities what happened. "They thought they were really safe there," the mayor said. He expressed sadness that the villagers, many of them poor, had few options to survive in a region where big corporations have profited immensely from gold mines. Rescuers were scrambling to pull out the body of a victim from the mound of mud and rocks in Ucab before Tacio, the police official, left the area Sunday. "I could hear villagers wailing in their homes near the site of the accident," Tacio said. The tragedy came as Florence, another major storm, unleashed catastrophic flooding across the Carolinas in the United States, where more than 30 inches of rain since Friday threatened a deluge of historic proportions as the storm slowly crawled inland from the coast. Muddy river waters swamped entire communities and the coastal city of Wilmington, North Carolina, was cut off by the flood waters. In China, meanwhile, Mangkhut continued its destructive path, with Hong Kong bracing for a storm that could be the strongest to hit the city since Typhoon York in 1999. A video posted online by residents showed the top corner of an old building break and fall off, while in another video, a tall building swayed as strong winds blew. The storm shattered glass windows on commercial skyscrapers in Hong Kong, sending sheets of paper pouring out of the buildings, fluttering and spiraling as they headed for the debris-strewn ground, according to several videos posted on social media. Mangkhut also felled trees, tore bamboo scaffolding off buildings under construction and flooded some areas of Hong Kong with waist-high waters, according to the South China Morning Post. The paper said the heavy rains brought storm surges of 3 meters (10 feet) around Hong Kong. The storm made landfall in the Guangdong city of Taishan at 5 p.m., packing wind speeds of 162 kilometers (100 miles) per hour. State television broadcaster CGTN reported that surging waves flooded a seaside hotel in the city of Shenzhen. In Macau, next door to Hong Kong, casinos were ordered to close from 11 p.m. Saturday, the first time such action was taken in the city, the South China Morning Post reported. In the city's inner harbor district, the water level reached 1.5 meters (5 feet) on Sunday and was expected to rise further. The area was one of the most affected by floods from Typhoon Hato, which left 10 people dead last year. Authorities in southern China issued a red alert, the most severe warning, as the national meteorological center said the densely populated region would face a "severe test caused by wind and rain" and urged officials to prepare for possible disasters. Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific said all of its flights would be canceled between 2:30 a.m. Sunday and 4 a.m. Monday. The city of Shenzhen also canceled all flights between Sunday and early Monday morning. Hainan Airlines canceled 234 flights in the cities of Haikou, Sanya, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Zhuhai scheduled over the weekend. All high-speed and some normal rail services in Guangdong and Hainan provinces were also halted, the China Railway Guangzhou Group Co. said. In the Philippines, rescuers for the Itogon landslide were hampered by rain and mud. The search and rescue operation was suspended at nightfall and was to resume at daybreak Monday, said Palangdan, the mayor. Police and their vehicles could not immediately reach the landslide-hit area because the ground was unstable and soaked from the heavy rains, regional police chief Rolando Nana told the ABS-CBN TV network. Overall, at least 64 people have died in typhoon-related incidents in the northern Philippines, mostly from landslides and collapsed houses, according to the national police. Forty-five other people were missing and 33 were injured in the storm. The hardest-hit area was Benguet province, where 38 people died, mostly in the two landslides in Itogon, and 37 are missing, the police said. Still, the Philippines appeared to have been spared the high number of casualties many had feared. In 2013, Typhoon Haiyan left more than 7,300 people dead or missing, flattened villages and displaced more than 5 million in the central Philippines. A massive evacuation of about 87,000 people from high-risk areas helped lessen potential casualties, officials said. The typhoon struck at the start of the rice and corn harvesting season in the Philippines' northern breadbasket, prompting farmers to scramble to save what they could of their crops, Cagayan Gov. Manuel Mamba said. Gomez reported from Manila, Philippines. Associated Press writers Aaron Favila and Joeal Calupitan in Tuguegarao, Philippines, and Gillian Wong in Beijing contributed to this report. ||||| Typhoon Mangkhut has made landfall in southern China after lashing the northern Philippines. Strong winds and heavy rain have left at least 64 people dead in the Philippines, while dozens more were feared buried in a landslide. More than 2.4 million people had been evacuated in southern China’s Guangdong province by Sunday evening to flee the massive typhoon and nearly 50,000 fishing boats were called back to port, state media reported. The gambling enclave of Macau closed casinos for the first time and the Hong Kong Observatory warned people to stay away from the Victoria Harbour landmark, where storm surges battered the sandbag-reinforced waterfront. Hong Kong’s RTHK broadcaster cited experts as saying Mangkhut was expected to be the strongest typhoon to hit the city in decades. The Hong Kong Observatory issued its strongest storm warning for 10 hours on Sunday, just slightly shorter than the record time of 11 hours set by Typhoon York in 1999, the South China Morning Post reported. The storm made landfall in the Guangdong city of Taishan at 5pm, packing wind speeds of 100 mph. State broadcaster CGTN reported that surging waves flooded a seaside hotel in the city of Shenzhen. Groceries flew off supermarket shelves in the provincial capital of Guangzhou as residents stocked up in anticipation of being confined to their homes by the typhoon, China’s official Xinhua News Agency said. Authorities in southern China issued a red alert, the most severe warning, as the national meteorological centre said the densely populated region would face a “severe test caused by wind and rain” and urged officials to prepare for possible disasters. Hundreds of flights were canceled. All high-speed and some normal rail services in Guangdong and Hainan provinces were also halted, the China Railway Guangzhou Group Co said. The storm broke windows, felled trees, tore bamboo scaffolding off buildings under construction and flooded areas with sometimes waist-high waters, according to the South China Morning Post. The paper said the heavy rains brought storm surges of 3m (10ft) around Hong Kong. Hong Kong Security Minister John Lee Ka-chiu urged residents to prepare for the worst. “Because Mangkhut will bring winds and rains of extraordinary speeds, scope and severity, our preparation and response efforts will be greater than in the past,” Mr Lee said. “Each department must have a sense of crisis, make a comprehensive assessment and plan, and prepare for the worst.” Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific said all of its flights would be canceled between 2.30am on Sunday and 4am on Monday. The city of Shenzhen also cancelled all flights between Sunday and early Monday morning. Hainan Airlines cancelled 234 flights in the cities of Haikou, Sanya, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Zhuhai scheduled over the weekend. In Macau’s inner harbour district, the water level reached 1.5m (5f) on Sunday and was expected to rise further. The district was one of the most affected by floods from Typhoon Hato, which left 10 people dead. | Super Typhoon Mangkhut (Ompong), one of the strongest in the history of the Philippines, kills at least 59 people. The typhoon struck also Hong Kong, injuring more than 200 people while four persons died in China. A woman died in Taiwan after being swept out to sea. |
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Watch the Delta II rocket launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California The American space agency has launched a laser into orbit to measure the condition of Earth's ice cover. The satellite mission, called ICESat-2, should provide more precise information on how these frozen surfaces are being affected by global warming. Antarctica, Greenland and the ice floating on the Arctic Ocean have all lost volume in recent decades. ICESat-2 will track ongoing change in unprecedented detail from its vantage point some 500km above the planet. The satellite was taken up by a Delta II rocket, flying out of Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. As the name suggests, ICESat-2 is a follow-on project. The original spacecraft flew in the 2000s and pioneered the laser measurement of the height of polar glaciers and sea-ice from space. But the mission was plagued by technical problems that limited its observations to just a couple of months in every year. Nasa has since re-modelled the technology, both to make it more reliable and to give it a sharper view. "ICESat-2 is going to observe the cryosphere with a spatial resolution at the level we have never seen before from space," explained Prof Helen Fricker from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. "The beam is split across-track into six - three pairs - so we can map more of the ice surface as well as estimating the surface slope, which can confuse our interpretation of height changes. "The orbit reaches to two degrees of the poles, and the same ground tracks are sampled every three months, giving us seasonal snapshots of ice height. From these data we can unravel the processes responsible for the ice loss in the polar regions," she told BBC News. Image copyright NASA Image caption Artwork: ICESat-2 fires 10,000 shots a second as it moves around the Earth Why is this mission important? Antarctica and Greenland lose billions of tonnes of ice every year - the result largely of warm water being able to melt land glaciers where they meet the ocean. This wastage is slowly but surely pushing up sea-levels worldwide. In the Arctic, the seasonal floes have also been in retreat. Sea-ice in the far north is thought to have lost two-thirds of its volume since the 1980s. And although this has no direct impact on the height of the oceans, the reduced ice-cover is working to amplify temperature rises in the region. Much of the change that is occurring at the poles can present itself in quite subtle ways, says Dr Tom Neumann, Nasa's ICESat-2 deputy project scientist, and a very precise tool is needed to characterise it properly. "An elevation change of just a centimetre over an ice sheet the scale of Antarctica represents a tremendous amount of water either gained to or lost by the ice sheet. 140 gigatonnes worth." Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Tom Neumann: "IceSAT-2's laser is a totally different design" How does ICESat-2 work? Weighing half a tonne, the new laser system is one of the largest Earth-observation instruments ever built by Nasa. It uses a technique called "photon counting". It fires about 10,000 pulses of light every second. Each of those shots goes down to the Earth and bounces back up on a timescale of about 3.3 milliseconds. The exact time equates to the height of the reflecting surface. "We fire about a trillion photons (particles of light) in every shot. We get about one back," says Cathy Richardson, who works on the team at Nasa that developed the instrument. "We can time that one photon when it comes back just as accurately as when it left the instrument. And from that we can calculate a distance to about half a centimetre on the Earth." The laser is making a measurement every 70cm as it moves forward across the ice. Image copyright NASA Image caption The $1bn mission is funded initially to run for three years What new information will be revealed? It is hoped that ICESat-2 can help produce the first robust maps of sea-ice thickness in the Antarctic. At the moment, the technique for assessing ice floes really only works in the Arctic. It involves comparing the height of that part of the floating ice sticking above the water with the height of the ocean surface itself. Because scientists know the density of seawater and ice, they can then calculate how much ice must be submerged, and thus a total overall thickness. In the Antarctic, though, this approach is problematic. In the far south, the ice floes can get covered in substantial dumps of snow. This will sometimes push the sea-ice fully under the water and confound the thickness calculation. The proposed solution is to combine ICESat's laser observations, which reflect off the top of the snow surface, with those of radar satellites, whose microwave beams penetrate more deeply into the snow covering. This will reduce a lot of uncertainty. Scientists need thickness measurements to properly access the status of floes. Sometimes the wind will spread the ice out; other times it will pile the ice up. The difference is only apparent when the ice is viewed in three dimensions. And, no, the laser does not have the power to melt the ice from 500km up! But on a dark night you might just be able to see a green dot when ICESat flies overhead. Jonathan.Amos-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk and follow me on Twitter: @BBCAmos ||||| The Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment Follow-On (GRACE-FO) mission team plans to switch to a backup system in the Microwave Instrument (MWI) on one of the twin spacecraft this month. Following the switch-over, GRACE-FO is expected to quickly resume science data collection. Related Post:MUOS-3 launchedSecond ‘mini-shuttle’ launchedFirst WGS satellite launchedAtlas V launches six experimental military satellitesDelta IV launches third WGS satelliteSecond modernised GPS IIR satellite launchedLast DSP satellite placed in orbitSecond AEHF satellite launchedSovrn ||||| Gov. Jerry Brown says California will move forward with plans to launch a satellite into space in order to monitor climate change. He made the announcement at the Global Climate Action Summit in San Francisco. “With science still under attack and the climate threat growing, we’re launching our own damn satellite,” Brown said at the end of the summit. “This groundbreaking initiative will help governments, businesses, and landowners pinpoint — and stop — destructive emissions with unprecedented precision, on a scale that’s never been done before.” The L.A. Times reports that the state will be developing the satellite alongside Planet Labs based out of San Francisco. The Earth-imaging company was founded in 2010 by a team of former NASA employees. The objective of the satellite is to monitor the buildup of pollutants. Robbie Schingler, one of the company’s founders, says that he is hopeful that this satellite will provide instructive data regarding the usefulness of satellites for monitoring and working to combat climate change. While this satellite is intended to help combat climate change, the state is open to launching others if this project is a success. However, Brown is set to leave office in 2019, so it will be up to his successor to follow through on his plans for a satellite. If the next governor doesn’t support the plan, it could become much harder to get off the ground. Despite present support for the project, the first satellite is still several years away. Currently, the California Air Resources Board is working on developing the technologies and systems needed for the satellite to accurately monitor for pollutants. The data gathered by the satellite would then be made public through a partnership with the Environmental Defense Fund. Interestingly, this is not the first time that Brown has discussed the idea of California launching its own satellite. In the 1970s, he suggested launching one to help handle communications during emergencies. That project never got off the ground, but it followed Brown throughout his political career. He never quite got over the nickname “Governor Moonbeam,” but, then again, he has been re-elected several times, so maybe he no longer needs to fight it. ||||| VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif., Sept. 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Delta II rocket carrying NASA's Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2) spacecraft lifted off from Space Launch Complex-2 on Sept. 15 at 6:02 a.m. PDT. This marks the final mission of the Delta II rocket, which first launched on Feb. 14, 1989, and launched 155 times including ICESat-2. From its origin as the launch vehicle for the first Global Positioning System (GPS) satellites to NASA's Earth observing, science and interplanetary satellites – including Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity – to vital commercial communication and imaging satellites, the Delta II rocket has truly earned its place in space history. "ULA is proud that the Delta II rocket has been a significant piece of history, launching more than 50 missions for NASA," said Gary Wentz, ULA vice president of Government and Commercial Programs. "I sincerely thank the entire ULA team, NASA, U.S. Air Force, and all of our partners and suppliers who have worked diligently to launch the final Delta II rocket, as well as the dedication of the teams throughout the past 29 years of the program." ICESat-2 will provide scientists with height measurements to create a global portrait of Earth's third dimension, gathering data that can precisely track changes of terrain including glaciers, sea ice, forests and more. Northrop Grumman built the spacecraft. In addition to ICESat-2, this mission included four CubeSats which launched from dispensers mounted to the Delta II second stage. This mission launched aboard a Delta II 7420-10 configuration rocket, which included a 10-foot-diameter payload fairing (PLF). The booster for this mission was powered by the RS-27A engine and the second stage was powered by the AJ10-118K engine. This is ULA's seventh launch in 2018 and the 130th successful launch since the company was formed in December 2006. ULA's next launch is the AEHF-4 mission for the U.S. Air Force on an Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. With more than a century of combined heritage, United Launch Alliance is the nation's most experienced and reliable launch service provider. ULA has successfully delivered 130 satellites to orbit that aid meteorologists in tracking severe weather, unlock the mysteries of our solar system, provide critical capabilities for troops in the field and enable personal device-based GPS navigation. For more information on ULA, visit the ULA website at www.ulalaunch.com, or call the ULA Launch Hotline at 1-877-ULA-4321 (852-4321). Join the conversation at www.facebook.com/ulalaunch, twitter.com/ulalaunch and instagram.com/ulalaunch. ||||| NASA on Saturday will launch its most advanced laser device into space to measure changes in the heights of Earth’s polar ice, as well as other topographical features. The Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite-2, or ICESat-2, is scheduled to launch at 8:46 a.m. ET from Vandenberg Air Force Base near Lompoc, California. A United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket will carry ICESat-2 into orbit, where it will travel at speeds of more than 15,000 mph. The satellite will be equipped with an Advanced Topographic Laser Altimeter System (ATLAS), which will send 10,000 laser pulses per second to Earth to measure the height of ice sheets, glaciers, forests and bodies of water. It will do this by calculating how long it takes for individual photons that leave the instrument to ricochet off Earth and return to the satellite. NASA said the mission will add a “third dimension” to its study of Earth. Agency satellites already provide a constant stream of detailed images of the planet’s changing geographical features. ICESat-2 will add height measurements — accurate to a fraction of a centimeter — to the mix. “The precise and complete coverage afforded by ICESat-2 will enable researchers to track changes in land and sea ice with unparalleled detail, which will inform our understanding of what drives these changes,” NASA said in a statement. Scientists already know that global warming is causing polar ice to melt and sea levels to rise. This mission will reveal how quickly it is happening and where most of the melting is occurring. With that data, scientists can forecast its likely impact on the world. Flying above the Arctic with NASA ICESat-2 will “extend and improve” upon NASA’s initial ICESat mission, launched in 2003, the agency said in a statement. Doug McLennan, ICESat-2 project manager, said in a mission briefing on Thursday that he expected the launch to occur as scheduled. “It was a very challenging mission to come up with,” said McLennan. “The instrument, the ATLAS instrument, took longer than we thought. But now, everything is buttoned up and sitting on top of that rocket ready to go and we’re very, very excited.” ||||| Sept. 15 (UPI) -- NASA's newest ice-measuring satellite was launched into orbit around Earth's poles on Saturday morning aboard the last flight of United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket. ICESat-2 was carried into space at 6:02 a.m. PDT from California's Vandenberg Air Force Base, NASA said. The scheduled time was 5:46 a.m. but it had a 40-minute launch window. The spacecraft deployed its four solar panels and is drawing power, meaning it successfully went into orbit. It is orbiting the globe, pole to pole, at 17,069 mph from an average altitude of 290 miles. Ground stations in Svalbard, Norway, acquired signals from the spacecraft. The official name is NASA's Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite-2. ICESat-2's only instrument is a laser system designed to measure the height of Earth's surface -- most importantly, sea ice's height. The sea ice's height will help scientists measure its thickness. "ICESat-2 will let us get at the thickness by measuring the sea ice freeboard -- that's the height of the sea ice above the ocean," Tom Neumann, ICESat-2's deputy project scientist, told UPI. "A larger freeboard directly corresponds to a great sea ice thickness, given that we know the relative density of ocean water and ice." Because the satellite's instrument can shoot six laser pulses -- not just one -- at high speeds, ICESat-2 will be able to observe changes in sea ice coverage and thickness in unprecedented detail. Scientists will be able to combine the new ice-related data with measurements captured by a variety of other satellites and instruments, helping scientists uncover hidden relationships between ice and other ocean and atmospheric phenomena -- wind, current, temperature, precipitation and more. In addition to measuring minute changes in sea and land ice, ICE-Sat-2 will use its height-measuring lasers to track sea levels, ocean waves and forest canopies. "Science often moves forward when scientists figure out new and more precise ways to measure things, and with ICESat-2, and that's exactly what we're going to do," NASA scientist Tom Wagner told UPI. "There's going to be a lot of unexpected science to come out of this mission." The launch was ULA's Delta II rocket's 153rd success -- and its last because ULA is retiring the model. ULA will have to rely even more heavily on its workhorse rocket, the Atlas V. ||||| Going out in style: Delta II completes its final mission with launch of ICESat-2 LOMPOC, Calif. — A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Delta II rocket left the pad at Vandenberg Air Force Base’s Space Launch Complex 2 to send NASA’s Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2) into polar orbit, beginning a new era in Earth observation and ending the career of the venerable Delta II. Liftoff took place at 6:02 a.m. PDT (9:02 a.m. EDT / 13:02 GMT) Sept. 15, 2018. This was about 16 minutes into the 2 hour, 34 minute launch window. During a planned hold in the countdown at T-4 minutes, the hold was extended briefly to address a temperature issue on the second stage. At 5:56 a.m. PDT (8:56 a.m. EDT / 12:56 GMT) NASA Launch Manager Tim Dunn gave final approval to resume the countdown. “With this mission we continue humankind’s exploration of the remote polar regions of our planet and advance our understanding of how ongoing changes of Earth’s ice cover at the poles and elsewhere will affect lives around the world, now and in the future,” said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, in a NASA news release. In the lead up to the final Delta II flight, mission and launch teams successfully concluded the Launch Readiness Review Sept. 13. The 30th Space Wing at Vandenberg indicated that there would be a zero percent chance of a weather rule violation. ICESat-2 carries a single instrument, the Advanced Topographic Laser Altimeter System (ATLAS), which records how lake it takes for laser pulses to return to the spacecraft. In so doing, it can produce a precise “map” of the Earth’s surface. The spacecraft was designed and built by Northrop Grumman and is derived from the LEOStar-3 satellite bus used for NASA’s Landsat 8, the GeoEye-1 Earth imaging satellite and NASA’s Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope. ICESat-2 has a design life of three years but carries enough fuel for up to seven years. “While the launch today was incredibly exciting, for us scientists the most anticipated part of the mission starts when we switch on the laser and get our first data,” said Thorsten Markus, ICESat-2 project scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, in a NASA news release following liftoff. “We are really looking forward to making those data available to the science community as quickly as possible so we can begin to explore what ICESat-2 can tell us about our complex home planet.” The detailed height measurements captured by ICESat-2 should enable researchers to precisely track changes on the surface, including glaciers, ice sheets, sea ice and forests. Because ATLAS is sensitive enough to detect individual photons, and with its rapid-firing rate, the instrument can detect both the forest floor and the tops of canopies in all but the densest forests and jungles. Shortly after the Delta II 7420-10 rocket lifted off the pad, the vehicle made a pitchover maneuver to maintain a proper flight path while lessening dynamic forces on the launch vehicle. The Delta II reached Mach 1 around 30 seconds into its flight and the moment of maximum dynamic pressure on the launch vehicle at the 46 second mark. The rocket’s four graphite epoxy motors were jettisoned 1 minute, 23 seconds into the flight. Four minutes, 24 seconds into the flight, main engine cutoff occurred on the first stage. The rocket then entered a brief coast phase. Separation of the first stage from the rocket’s second stage took place eight seconds later, followed by ignition of the second stage’s AJ10-188K engine 6 seconds after that. The Delta II’s two-piece, 10-foot (3-meter) diameter payload fairing separated and was jettisoned 5 minutes into the flight. The first of four second stage engine cutoffs (SECO-1) occurred 10 minutes, 53 seconds after liftoff. The second stage and satellite then entered a coast phase for about 36 minutes. At 47 minutes, 30 seconds into the flight the second stage engine reignited for a second burn, second stage engine cutoff two occurred 7 seconds later. At 52 minutes, 40 seconds from liftoff, the second stage released the ICESat-2 satellite into orbit. The spacecraft will now undergo a 60-day check-out period where the spacecraft and ATLAS instrument will be tested to make sure everything is functioning properly. About 18 minutes after deployment, the second stage engine ignited for a third burn. The Third SECO occurred nearly 71 minutes into the mission. About 1 hour, 16 minutes after liftoff, the second stage began deploying the mission’s secondary payload of four CubeSats: Cal Poly’s Damping And Vibrations Experiment (DAVE), UCLA’s two Electron Loss and Fields Investigation (ELFIN) CubeSats, and the University of Central Florida’s SurfSat. These small satellites will conduct research on space weather, changing electric potential and resulting discharge events on spacecraft and damping behavior of tungsten powder in a zero-gravity environment. The booster that lofted ICESat-2 was built four years ago and bore the number 381 on its side. For the early flights of the Delta II program, stars were placed on the rocket for every successful flight in a row. The stars were brought back for this flight. Delivering ICESat-2 to orbit was the 155th flight for the Delta II since its first launch on Feb. 14, 1989. “The Delta II was a very reliable and very dedicated rocket for a long time,” Dane Drefke, mechanical operations lead engineer at ULA told SpaceFlight Insider. “People don’t realize how this little rocket has changed their lives.” The Delta II rocket was created by McDonnell Douglas in the late 1980s to launch GPS satellites for the U.S. Air Force. Between 1989 and 2009, the Delta II successfully deployed four dozen navigational spacecraft to form and maintain the operational constellation. It was on the GPS IIR-1 mission that the rocket encountered its most public failure. On Jan. 17, 1997, just 13 seconds after it had left the pad, the rocket’s number 2 solid rocket booster ruptured, resulting in an explosion and the total loss of the mission. “Some of the newer rockets, like Vulcan, are a generation more advanced in technology,” said Drefke, who was worked on Delta II off and on for 22 years. He expressed sadness that its era had passed but believes the rocket’s mission was “absolutely well done.” The Delta II has also been used for more than 50 NASA missions, including eight Mars missions between 1996 and 2007. The Delta II also launched other missions to explore our solar system including NASA’s MESSENGER mission to orbit Mercury and the Dawn spacecraft that explored Vesta and Ceres. The launch vehicle was also selected to loft the Kepler observatory to discover exoplanets and the Spitzer Space Telescope that studies the universe in infrared. “Godspeed, Delta II,” said a member of the launch team at the conclusion of the CubeSat deployments, “and thank you for your almost 30 years of unparalleled excellence.” Following the successful flight, United Launch Alliance issued a statement that the last (unflown) Delta II rocket would be displayed at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, joining a number other retired launch vehicles at the tourist destination and serving to remind viewers of its many accomplishments. “The Delta II rocket has been a venerable workhorse for NASA and civilian scientists, the U.S. military, and commercial clients throughout its almost 30 years of service,” said Tory Bruno, ULA president and CEO. “This program comes to a close with the final launch of NASA’s ICESat-2, but its legacy will continue and the Visitor Complex will help us keep the story of the success of this much-revered rocket in the hearts and minds of the public.” ||||| VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- A NASA satellite designed to precisely measure changes in Earth's ice sheets, glaciers, sea ice and vegetation was launched into polar orbit from California early Saturday. A Delta 2 rocket carrying ICESat-2 lifted off from Vandenberg Air Force Base at 6:02 a.m. and headed over the Pacific Ocean. NASA Earth Science Division director Michael Freilich says that the mission in particular will advance knowledge of how the ice sheets of Greenland and Antarctica contribute to sea level rise. The melt from those ice sheets alone has raised global sea level by more than 1 millimeter (0.04 inch) a year recently, according to NASA. The mission is a successor to the original Ice, Cloud and Land Elevation Satellite that operated from 2003 to 2009. Measurements continued since then with airborne instruments in NASA's Operation IceBridge. Built by Northrop Grumman, ICESat-2 carries a single instrument, a laser altimeter that measures height by determining how long it takes photons to travel from the spacecraft to Earth and back. According to NASA, it will collect more than 250 times as many measurements as the first ICESat. The laser is designed to fire 10,000 times per second, divided into six beams of hundreds of trillions of photons. The round trip is timed to a billionth of a second. In addition to ice, the satellite's other measurements, such as the tops of trees, snow and river heights, may help with research into the amount of carbon stored in forests, flood and drought planning and wildfire behaviour, among other uses. The launch was the last for a Delta 2 rocket, United Launch Alliance said. The first Delta 2 lifted off on Feb. 14, 1989, and since then it has been the launch vehicle for Global Positioning System orbiters, Earth observing and commercial satellites, and interplanetary missions including the twin Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity. ||||| NASA’s Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2) successfully launched from California at 9:02 a.m. EDT Saturday, embarking on its mission to measure the ice of Earth’s frozen reaches with unprecedented accuracy. ICESat-2 lifted off from Space Launch Complex-2 at Vandenberg Air Force Base on United Launch Alliance’s final Delta II rocket. Ground stations in Svalbard, Norway, acquired signals from the spacecraft about 75 minutes after launch. It’s performing as expected and orbiting the globe, from pole to pole, at 17,069 mph from an average altitude of 290 miles. “With this mission we continue humankind’s exploration of the remote polar regions of our planet and advance our understanding of how ongoing changes of Earth’s ice cover at the poles and elsewhere will affect lives around the world, now and in the future,” said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate. ICESat-2 carries a single instrument, the Advanced Topographic Laser Altimeter System (ATLAS). ATLAS will be activated approximately two weeks after the mission operations team completes initial testing of the spacecraft. Then ICESat-2 will begin work on its science objective, gathering enough data to estimate the annual height change of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets to within four millimeters – the width of a pencil. “While the launch today was incredibly exciting, for us scientists the most anticipated part of the mission starts when we switch on the laser and get our first data,” said Thorsten Markus, ICESat-2 project scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. “We are really looking forward to making those data available to the science community as quickly as possible so we can begin to explore what ICESat-2 can tell us about our complex home planet.” The high-resolution data will document changes in the Earth’s polar ice caps, improve forecasts of sea level rise bolstered by ice sheet melt in Greenland and Antarctica, and help scientists understand the mechanisms that are decreasing floating ice and assess how that sea ice loss affects the ocean and atmosphere. ICESat-2 continues the record of ice height measurements started by NASA’s original ICESat mission, which operated from 2003 to 2009, that were continued by the agency’s annual Operation IceBridge airborne flights over the Arctic and Antarctic, which began in 2009. Data from ICESat-2 will be available to the public through the National Snow and Ice Data Center. Goddard built and tested the ATLAS instrument, and manages the ICESat-2 mission for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate. Northrop Grumman designed and built the spacecraft bus, installed the instrument and tested the completed satellite. NASA’s Launch Services Program, based at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, is responsible for launch service acquisition, integration, analysis and launch management. ||||| NASA just launched the most advanced laser device of its kind into space to measure changes to Earth’s polar ice in unprecedented detail. The instrument, called ‘Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite-2’ (ICESat-2), will measure the average annual change of land ice covering Greenland and Antarctica to within the width of a pencil, capturing 60,000 measurements every second. “The new observational technologies of ICESat-2 – a top recommendation of the scientific community in NASA’s first Earth science decadal survey – will advance our knowledge of how the ice sheets of Greenland and Antarctica contribute to sea-level rise,” said Michael Freilich, director of the Earth Science Division in NASA’s Science Mission Directorate. READ MORE: ‘Uncharted territory’: Drastic climate change in 2016 will continue this year – report ICESat-2 launched into orbit aboard the United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket shortly after 9am ET on Saturday from the Vandenberg Air Force Base near Lompoc, California. The satellite will travel at about 15,000mph using its Advanced Topographic Laser Altimeter System (ATLAS) to send 10,000 laser pulses per second to Earth. “The precise and complete coverage afforded by ICESat-2 will enable researchers to track changes in land and sea ice with unparalleled detail, which will inform our understanding of what drives these changes,” said NASA in a statement. ICESat-2 will “extend and improve” upon their efforts to track the effects of global warming. NASA has been monitoring the change in polar ice height for 15 years, since launching the first ICESat mission in 2003. The agency started its airborne research campaign in 2009 with Operation IceBridge, which kept track of the accelerating rate of change. “Because ICESat-2 will provide measurements of unprecedented precision with global coverage, it will yield not only new insight into the polar regions, but also unanticipated findings across the globe,” said Thorsten Markus, an ICESat-2 project scientist at Goddard. According to him, the capacity and opportunity for true exploration is immense. Think your friends would be interested? Share this story! | The United Launch Alliance successfully launches NASA's ICESat-2 satellite from Vandenberg Air Force Base. The satellite will provide more precise information on Earth's polar ice caps. It is the final mission for the Delta II rocket. |
'Nothing to suggest' novichok involved as 'Russian' falls ill in Salisbury 'Nothing to suggest' novichok involved as 'Russian' falls ill in Salisbury There is "nothing to suggest" novichok is the substance that has led to two people falling ill at a restaurant in Salisbury, police have said. A major incident was declared and the Prezzo restaurant was sealed off after a man in his 40s and a woman in her 30s became unwell on Sunday evening. One of the pair is a Russian national, according to Sky sources. Wiltshire Police said the pair have been assessed at Salisbury District Hospital following concerns they had been "exposed to an unknown substance". "We can now confirm that there is nothing to suggest that novichok is the substance," a police spokeswoman said. Advertisement "The major incident status has now been stood down. At this stage it is not yet clear if a crime has been committed and enquiries remain ongoing." The restaurant, on the High Street in Salisbury, is a short walk from Queen Elizabeth Gardens, which was closed off after Dawn Sturgess was fatally poisoned by novichok at the end of June. Image: Police say the incident is not believed to be linked to novichok The same nerve agent was used to target former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia, who were found unresponsive on a bench in Salisbury after eating at a Zizzi restaurant about 0.2 miles from Prezzo. Shortly after police were called to Prezzo on Sunday evening, witnesses reported seeing police "covering someone up" with a blanket, the Salisbury Journal reported. A witness at a nearby Cafe Rouge restaurant said they saw police bagging something up in the street. Image: A man and woman were taken to Salisbury District Hospital Others said they had been locked in a nearby pub as a hazardous area response team and four ambulances were sent to Prezzo. Witness Sam Proudfoot, 16, said he saw a man "in a full white body suit with a mask to his mouth going in and out of the back of the ambulance and the restaurant". He told Sky News that everyone inside the restaurant had their details taken, and were told to stay within the cordoned area. Image: Police were called at 6.45pm. Pic: @samproudy01 Half a dozen police cars, an ambulance, two incident response units and two fire engines were at the scene, he added. Wiltshire Police said it received a call from the ambulance service at about 6.45pm following reports that a man and a woman had fallen ill. "Both were taken to Salisbury District Hospital and were clinically assessed," a force spokeswoman said. "We can now confirm that there is nothing to suggest that novichok is the substance. Both people remain in hospital under observation." A cordon remains in place at the Prezzo restaurant, the spokeswoman added. ||||| A major incident was stood down in Salisbury on Sunday night after police said two people who fell ill in a restaurant had not been exposed to novichok. A cordon had been set up around the Prezzo Italian restaurant, close to where the former Russian spy Sergei Skripal collapsed after being poisoned with the nerve agent. Fears had been high in the city after the poisonings, but police confirmed there was nothing to suggest novichok had caused the man in his 40s and woman in her 30s to fall ill. Wiltshire Police said that, due to recent events in the city and concerns the pair had been exposed to an unknown substance, a “highly precautionary approach” had been taken by emergency services. Police said: “Both were taken to Salisbury district hospital and were clinically assessed. We can now confirm that there is nothing to suggest that Novichok is the substance. Both people remain in hospital under observation.” Streets were closed off and people were told to stay inside as experts in hazmat suits worked in and around the restaurant. Investigators were trying to establish if the pair had been victims of a crime and the restaurant remained cordoned off on Monday morning. Facebook Twitter Pinterest A member of the emergency services at the Prezzo restaurant. Photograph: Matt Cardy/Getty Images A source briefed by the emergency services told the Press Association that medics alerted the police because the symptoms were consistent with novichok poisoning, but stressed the symptoms could have other causes. Tensions have been high in Salisbury since two Wiltshire people, Charlie Rowley and Dawn Sturgess, were poisoned in June apparently after finding a bottle containing novichok discarded following the Skripal attack. Sturgess later died. Police have consistently said they cannot be certain there is no more novichok in Salisbury. This month British police named two men they allege carried out the attempted murder on Skripal and claimed they were officers from Russia’s military intelligence agency, the GRU. The men, Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov, came forward to say they were tourists in the city to visit Salisbury Cathedral. Two people claiming to be witnesses said the two who fell ill in the Prezzo Italian were Russians. This was not confirmed by the authorities. The restaurant is between the bench where the Skripals collapsed in March and the cathedral. It is also close to a park that was sealed off after it emerged that Rowley and Sturgess had been there the day before they were poisoned. The Skripals visited a different Italian restaurant, Zizzi, in Salisbury before they were taken critically ill, although the police are convinced they were poisoned at Sergei Skripal’s house. South Western ambulance service said medics were called at 5.38pm. Four ambulances were sent, including a hazardous area response team, a spokeswoman said. Initially the service said the patients were conscious and being treated at the scene. The ambulance service alerted the police at 6.45pm. A witness, Sam Proudfoot, 16, tweeted a video of emergency services gathered at the scene: Sam Proudfoot (@samproudy01) Trouble in Salisbury again on New Street near the cathedral, no sign of what’s happened but there’s 1 fire engine, 1 ambulance and 4 police cars, a man in a full white body suit with a mouth-mask and police not allowed to tell us what’s happening @BBCNews @SpireFM @SkyNews pic.twitter.com/3XpNVkH9or On Facebook a woman called Amanda Newton said she had been at the restaurant and claimed she had been sitting next to the pair who had fallen ill. She wrote: “We are being taken to a safe place and may need blood tests at Salisbury hospital ... will keep everyone updated ... I’m sure we’ll be fine.” The BBC said it had been told by someone in Prezzo that the scene was “like armageddon”. The diner, who did not want to be named, said one of those taken ill was a blonde woman in her late 20s. The woman appeared to be at the table on her own and “kept going away, getting up and coming back again”, it was claimed. The witness added: “When she came back she was hysterical. She called paramedics and the next thing an ambulance turns up and they come rushing in. “It materialised he [the man who has been taken ill] was up in the toilet. He’d had a fit and they came back in all gowned up with all the white and the masks on.” The witness told the BBC she had called the police. “Suddenly we had sirens and it was like armageddon.” Both the unnamed BBC witness and Newton suggested the pair were Russians but the police have not commented on this. Matthew Dean (@MattDeanStPauls) Understandably people concerned at latest possible incident in #Salisbury but there have been a number of false alarms since the #Skripal poisoning. Rightly the emergency services start with a highly precautionary approach until they know otherwise. Gill Cleary, who lives close to Salisbury, came into the city to find out what was going on. She said: “I saw one person in a hazmat suit coming out of the restaurant about 20 minutes ago. I think they’re just bring cautious but I can’t help being apprehensive because we don’t know what else is out there.” The leader of Salisbury city council, Matthew Dean, previously urged the public not to leap to conclusions, pointing out there have been a number of false alarms since Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, were poisoned. ||||| Image copyright Sam Proudfoot Police have sealed off a restaurant in Salisbury and the surrounding area as a "precautionary measure" after two people were taken ill. The ambulance service called officers to Prezzo in High Street at 18:45 BST following "a medical incident" involving a man and a woman. Wiltshire Police said it was trying to establish what led them to fall ill. The ambulance service said the patients were conscious and being treated at the scene. South Western Ambulance Service said it was first called at 17:38 BST. A witness who was in Prezzo during the incident told the BBC that one of those taken ill was a woman in her late twenties - she appeared to be at a table on her own and "kept going away, getting up and coming back again". The witness added that when that woman came back in, "she was hysterical. She called paramedics and the next thing an ambulance turns up and they come rushing in and then they rush out again." BBC south of England correspondent Duncan Kennedy said that Public Health England is aware of the incident but "there's no suggestion that this is connected to the Novichok incident back in March". BBC reporter Emma Volney, who is outside the police cordon, said there were five ambulances, a dozen police officers, and members of the fire service in attendance. She said that "the high street, usually a vibrant part of the city, is closed off to the public and about a dozen officers are policing the scene." Witness Sam Proudfoot, 16, said: "There's a man in a full white body suit with a mask to his mouth going in and out of the back of the ambulance and the restaurant." ||||| London: Two people fell ill on Sunday when eating in a restaurant in Salisbury, the English city where former Russian agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were poisoned in March, police said. Police were called to the Prezzo restaurant in the evening in response to a "medical incident" involving a man and a woman, Wiltshire Police said in a statement. "As a precautionary measure, the restaurant and surrounding roads have been cordoned off while officers attend the scene and establish the circumstances surrounding what led them to become ill," it said. Britain has said Russian officers used the nerve agent Novichok to attack the Skripals. The Kremlin has denied any involvement. Police have said a nerve toxin had been left on the front door of the Skripals’ home. They were found slumped in Salisbury city centre after visting the Bishop’s Mill pub and Zizzi, another Italian restaurant. ||||| Police have closed streets in Salisbury as a "precautionary measure" after two people were taken ill from a restaurant, amid heightened tensions after the Novichok poisonings. Wiltshire Police said they were called by the ambulance service at about 6.45pm on Sunday after a "medical incident" involving a man and a woman at Prezzo restaurant. South Western Ambulance Service said it was called to the scene more than an hour earlier and dispatched four ambulances including a hazardous area response team. Roads were cordoned off around the Italian restaurant on the corner of High Street and Crane Street as police tried to determine what caused them to fall ill. Firefighters were also at the scene. Witness Sam Proudfoot, 16, said he saw a person in a hazardous material suit go between the restaurant and the ambulance. "I've been told two people were taken ill in there," the student said. "There's a man in a full white body suit with a mask to his mouth going in and out of the back of the ambulance and the restaurant." A witness in the nearby Cafe Rouge restaurant said they could see police bagging something up in the street outside. Wiltshire Police said: "Police were called by the ambulance service to Prezzo, High Street, Salisbury at 6.45pm today following a medical incident involving two people. "As a precautionary measure, the restaurant and surrounding roads have been cordoned off while officers attend the scene and establish the circumstances surrounding what has led them to fall ill." A spokeswoman for the ambulance service said the patients were conscious at the last update and were being treated at the scene. Tensions are heightened in the cathedral city because of recent Novichok poisonings. The Italian restaurant is a short walk from Queen Elizabeth Gardens, which was until recently closed off after 44-year-old Dawn Sturgess was fatally poisoned by the nerve agent. Police said she was killed by the same chemical used in an alleged hit by Russian military intelligence officers on former spy Sergei Skripal. ||||| Police in the United Kingdom have ruled out the possibility that two people who fell ill after eating at a restaurant in Salisbury had been exposed to the nerve agent Novichok. Wiltshire police declared a "major incident" on Sunday evening after it came to light that a man and woman had become unwell at a Prezzo restaurant, six months after a former Russian spy, Sergei Skripal, and his daughter Julia became the victims of Novichok poisoning in the same city. "Due to recent events in the city and concerns that the pair had been exposed to an unknown substance, a highly precautionary approach was taken by all emergency services," police said in a statement. "We can now confirm that there is nothing to suggest that Novichok is the substance," added the statement. The pair were taken to Salisbury District Hospital, police said. Police said it was "not yet clear" if a crime had been committed and that inquiries remained ongoing. Skripal and his daughter were poisoned in March with Novichok, a nerve agent fabricated in Russia, and have since recovered after spending weeks hospitalized. Weeks later in the nearby town of Amesbury, a British woman called Dawn Sturgess died having become ill after handling a bottle of perfume that contained Novichok. Her partner, Charlie Rowley, also became ill but managed to make a recovery. The UK has said Russia is behind the Novichok attack on the Skripals and accused two Russian citizens identified as Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov of poisoning the ex-spy and his daughter. ||||| Emergency services have been called to a restaurant in Salisbury after a man and woman were taken ill this evening. Wiltshire Police said the area surrounding Prezzo restaurant has been closed while they work to establish what caused the "medical incident" involving a man and a woman on Sunday. It is the same area where Sergei Skripal and his daughter were poisoned with nerve agent Novichok in March. According to the Mirror , witnesses reportedly described police "covering someone up with a blanket". People inside the Old Ale House pub have been told they can't leave, it was also reported. Writing on Facebook Amanda Newton said: "How on earth did we get caught up in this!! "A nice meal in Prezzo turns into a major incident as 2 Russians sitting next to us take seriously ill and the whole area is closed.... we are being taken to a safe place and may need blood tests at Salisbury hospital..... "Will keep everyone updated ..... I'm sure we will be fine!!" The ambulance service alerted detectives at about 6.45pm. Firefighters were also in attendance. Witness Sam Proudfoot, 16, said he saw a person in a hazardous material suit go between the restaurant and the ambulance. "I've been told two people were taken ill in there," he said. "There's a man in a full white body suit with a mask to his mouth going in and out of the back of the ambulance and the restaurant." Wiltshire Police said: "Police were called by the ambulance service to Prezzo, High Street, Salisbury at 6.45pm today following a medical incident involving two people. "As a precautionary measure, the restaurant and surrounding roads have been cordoned off while officers attend the scene and establish the circumstances surrounding what has led them to fall ill." South Western Ambulance Service said it dispatched four ambulances including a hazardous area response team after being called at 5.38pm. The patients were conscious at the last update and were being treated at the scene, a spokeswoman added. Tensions are heightened in the cathedral city because of recent Novichok poisonings. The Italian restaurant is a short walk from Queen Elizabeth Gardens which was until recently closed off after 44-year-old Dawn Sturgess was fatally poisoned by the nerve agent. Police said she was killed by the same chemical used in an alleged hit by Russian military intelligence officers on former spy Sergei Skripal. ||||| Fresh Novichok poisoning fears gripped the city of Salisbury last night after two diners fell ill at an Italian restaurant. Police in hazmat suits descended on Prezzo on the High Street after the man and woman, believed to be Russians, were taken ill on Sunday evening. Wiltshire Police said they were called by the ambulance service at about 6.45pm on Sunday after a "medical incident" involving a man and a woman at Prezzo restaurant, while police and medics were seen in protective clothing. South Western Ambulance Service said it was called to the scene more than an hour earlier and dispatched four ambulances including a hazardous area response team. A source briefed by the emergency services told the Press Association that medics alerted the police because the symptoms were consistent with Novichok poisoning. "The ambulance crew at the site took the decision that the symptoms seemed consistent with Novichok poisoning which is why they called their colleagues in the police," the source said. But the source stressed: "The symptoms of Novhichok poisoning and particular types of narcotic abuse are very similar." The site is just 300m from the Zizzi outlet where former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia ate before collapsing from Novichok poisoning in March. Prezzo and the surrounding area has been sealed off while a number of pubs are on lockdown. One diner claimed that the pair who had been taken ill were Russian though their identities have not been confirmed at this stage. She said that she had been told she might need a blood test. Another witness described police 'covering someone up with a blanket'. A diner also in Prezzo at the time of the incident described the scene as "like Armageddon". The diner, who did not want to be named, told the BBC one of those taken ill was a blonde woman in her late twenties. She claimed the woman appeared to be at a table on her own and kept going back and forth from where she was sat. The witness told the BBC: "When she came back she was hysterical. She called paramedics and the next thing an ambulance turns up and they come rushing in." According to this witness, the man who had taken ill was in the bathroom after having a fit. "Suddenly we had sirens and it was like Armageddon," the diner added. Another diner in the restaurant at the time says a woman was taken ill at around 6.05pm. He said she was "looking a bit worse for wear." A worker at nearby restaurant Thai Sarocha said: "We have been told to stay inside. Luckily there were no customers here at the time, but I am here with three members of staff. "Nobody has told us when we can get out. I spoke to a paramedic who can't tell me what's going on, but I can guess. "I am a bit scared, but I'm sure it will all be okay. I just want to go home." Wiltshire Police said in a statement: "Police were called by the ambulance service to Prezzo, High Street, Salisbury, at 6.45pm today (16 September) following a medical incident involving two people - a man and a woman. "As a precautionary measure, the restaurant and surrounding roads have been cordoned off while officers attend the scene and establish the circumstances surrounding what has led them to fall ill." Four police cars, an ambulance and a fire engine are at the scene. @AmandaWorne, who says she was sitting next to the pair who fell ill in Prezzo, tweeted "now under police supervision waiting for medical team to give us the all clear." Amanda Newton wrote on Facebook : "How on earth did we get caught up in this!! A nice meal in Prezzo turns into a major incident as 2 Russians sitting next to us take seriously ill and the whole area is closed.... we are being taken to a safe place and may need blood tests at Salisbury hospital..... Will keep everyone updated ..... I'm sure we will be fine!! (sic)." A worker from nearby restaurant Cosy Club said: "They've cordoned off the whole of New Street. "There's currently six unmarked police cars, two fire engines, two ambulances and three marked police cars. "People aren't exactly panicked. There's not a lot you can do." A worker at nearby pub The New Inn added: "Police have been very vague about the whole thing. We don't know what's going on. "As soon as the emergency services turned up people started evacuating. We've only got a few customers left." Paul Downton, who works at The New Inn, told Mirror Online: "Nobody has been told anything - people are a bit worried and everyone has their suspicions. "The emergency services are outside, and they said they are treating it as if it's what happened before." Sam Proudfoot posted on Twitter : "Trouble in Salisbury again on New Street near the cathedral, no sign of what's happened but there's 1 fire engine, 1 ambulance and 4 police cars, a man in a full white body suit with a mouth-mask and police not allowed to tell us what's happening." A woman who works at The Wig and Quill, in New Street, says the pub is not on lockdown but they are in a semi-cordoned off area. "They won't tell us anything," she added. South Western Ambulance Service said medics were first called at 5.38pm. Four ambulances were sent including a hazardous area response team, a spokeswoman said. The patients were conscious at the last update and were being treated at the scene, she added. Public Health England said they had been made aware of the incident. A shocked member of the public said the front entrance to Salisbury District Hospital was surrounded by fire engines. David Taylor - who was bringing a patient in for treatment - said the accident and emergency department was moved to another floor. He said on arrival they were met by security staff who guided them to the new A&E department. "It was obviously a major incident. All the staff were under pressure but were brilliant," he said. The Skripals had visited a branch of Zizzi in Salisbury on the night they were found slumped on a park bench. The branch is about 300m away from the Prezzo restaurant which has been cordoned off today. Wiltshire Police said anyone with information on the incident in Prezzo this evening should call 101 and quote log number 271 of 16 September. Tonight's incident comes after two Russians accused of using Novichok in an effort to kill Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury gave an interview on Russian state-funded RT news channel this week. Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov claimed they were visiting Salisbury cathedral on the day the Skripals were poisoned but had gone nearly two miles in the wrong direction. Hours after their 30-minute whistlestop tour, they were on a plane back to Moscow, but denied the purpose of their trip was to assassinate Skripal. In the interview, they denied working for the Russian intelligence service and claimed to be victims of a "fantastical coincidence". They said they left the Wiltshire city because of heavy snow after half an hour. But they have not explained why they were pictured walking together in Wilton Road, round the corner from Sergei Skripal's house, in the opposite direction to the cathedral. ||||| Emergency services, including officers wearing full-body hazmat suits, have sealed off a branch of Prezzo on High Street in Salisbury city centre, Wilts. Paramedics were called to the restaurant at around 5:38pm on Sunday to reports of a "medical emergency" involving a man and a women who fell ill. The pair, who have not been identified, are conscious and being treated at the scene by medics, a spokeswoman for South Western Ambulance Service said. An eyewitness has claimed other diners at the restaurant have been taken to hospital, where doctors have told them they may need blood tests. The restaurant is close to where former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia where found slumped on a bench after being exposed to deadly Novichok nerve agent. The Skripals are not thought to have visited the Prezzo, but did eat at a nearby branch of Zizzi before they both became critically ill on March 4. A large-scale clean-up operation costing millions of pounds was carried out across Salisbury in the wake of the attack to eradicate any trace of the deadly nerve agent. Wiltshire Police said the restaurant and surrounding roads have been cordoned off "as a precautionary measure" while police identify the cause of the “medical incident”. Eyewitnesses claim police were “covering someone with a blanket” at the scene where a fire engine, ambulance and four police cars have swooped. One witness claims the pair who fell ill are “Russians” who were showing the “same symptoms” as the Skripals, who fell unconscious and were frothing from the mouth. The police are yet to reveal the identities and nationalities of the people who fell ill. Amanda Worne said on Twitter: "Feeling a little apprehensive as Salisbury leaps to action again when 2 Russians are taken ill in Prezzos showing the same symptoms as before ..... AND WE WERE SITTING NEXT TO THEM!" In a separate post on Facebook, she added: "How on earth did we get caught up in this? A nice meal in Prezzo turns into a major incident as two Russians sitting next to us take seriously ill and the whole area is closed. "We are being taken to a safe place and may need blood tests at Salisbury hospital." Witness Sam Proudfoot, 16, said he saw a person in a hazardous material suit go between the restaurant and the ambulance. "I've been told two people were taken ill in there," he said. "There's a man in a full white body suit with a mask to his mouth going in and out of the back of the ambulance and the restaurant." Four ambulances were sent including a hazardous area response team, a spokeswoman for the service said. The road closures are affecting New Street, Crane Street and the entrance to the Cathedral Close. A spokesperson for Wiltshire Police said: “Police were called by the ambulance service to Prezzo, High Street, Salisbury, at 6.45pm today (16 September) following a medical incident involving two people – a man and a woman. “As a precautionary measure, the restaurant and surrounding roads have been cordoned off while officers attend the scene and establish the circumstances surrounding what has led them to fall ill. “Anyone with information should call 101 and quote log number 271 of 16 September.” Britain has said Russian officers used the nerve agent Novichok to attack the Skripals, but yhe Kremlin has denied any involvement. The former Russian spy and his daughter survived the murder attempt, but an unconnected woman, Dawn Sturgess, died in July and her partner Charlie Rowley fell ill after Rowley found a perfume bottle containing the same nerve agent. Earlier this month British prosecutors identified two Russians they said were operating under aliases - Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov - whom they accused of trying to murder the Skripals with a military-grade nerve agent. Britain charged the two men in absentia with attempted murder, and said the suspects were military intelligence officers almost certainly acting on orders from high up in the Russian state. Two Russians resembling the men said on television on Thursday that they were innocent tourists who had flown to London for fun and visited the city of to see its cathedral. ||||| London: Two people have fallen ill after eating in a restaurant in Salisbury, the English town where former Russian agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter were poisoned in March, police said. "Police were called by the ambulance service to Prezzo, High Street, Salisbury at 6.45 pm today following a medical incident involving two people - a man and a woman," Wiltshire Police said in a statement on Sunday. "As a precautionary measure, the restaurant and surrounding roads have been cordoned off while officers attend the scene and establish the circumstances surrounding what led them to become ill." | A man and a woman are taken ill after a medical incident in Salisbury, United Kingdom. Police seal off a restaurant as a precautionary measure. According to The Guardian, tensions are high due to recent Novichok poisonings. According to the BBC, "there's no suggestion that this is connected". According to Sky News, at least one of the individuals who fell ill is a Russian. |
The woman who helped kidnap Elizabeth Smart in 2002 has been released from prison. A spokesperson for the Utah Department of Corrections tells Us Weekly that Wanda Barzee was freed from Utah State Prison around 7:45 a.m. local time on Wednesday, September 19. The Associated Press notes that reporters waiting outside the facility did not immediately see the 72-year-old leave, but the spokesperson confirms to Us that Barzee “is no longer on the premises.” Smart, 30, took to Instagram just a few minutes after the news broke. “Without doubt the past few weeks have been a rollercoaster of emotion, and I would like to take the opportunity to thank everyone for their kind words, support and concern. It has meant so much to me,” she wrote. “May we all remain vigilant in watching over our families, friends and community from anyone who would seek to hurt or take advantage. I truly believe life is meant to be happy and beautiful, and no matter what happens that will remain my goal for me and for my family.” Barzee’s release came one week after the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole made a surprising announcement that it had miscalculated the amount of time she should serve behind bars. The board initially declined to include Barzee’s eight years in federal custody as time served on state charges, but then reversed the ruling on September 11 “upon further review and advice from legal counsel.” The kidnapper, who was originally scheduled to be released in 2024, will be under federal supervision for five years. Barzee pleaded guilty in 2009 to helping her husband, Brian David Mitchell, kidnap a then-14-year-old Smart from her family’s home in Salt Lake City, Utah. The couple held the girl captive for nine months until she was rescued by authorities in 2003. Mitchell, now 64, was sentenced to life in prison in 2011. For the latest TV news and interviews, subscribe to our new podcast “Watch With Us” below! For access to all our exclusive celebrity videos and interviews – Subscribe on Youtube! ||||| OROVILLE — Steven K. Bordin has been hired as chief probation officer in Butte County, following the retirement last year of John Wardell. Bordin has served as chief probation officer in Colusa County for the past 10 years, and was a probation officer and supervising probation officer in Butte County prior to that. He has resided in Butte County for the past 17 years, and is an active volunteer with the Chico Boys and Girls Club. Bordin earned a degree from Chico State University in 1998. ||||| OROVILLE — A Paradise man was given probation Thursday for threatening his ex-girlfriend. Butte County Superior Court Judge Kristen Lucena sentenced Kyle Allen Vandegrift to three years probation for one felony count of making criminal threats. He had faced up to three years in state prison for the offense. When Vandegrift changed his plea in October, the prosecution told the court Vandegrift had posted several threats to his ex-girlfriend via the social networking website Facebook. Vandegrift had also allegedly threatened to come down and confront people at the woman”s house in Chico. On Thursday, defense attorney Rochelle Forbis asked Lucena to give Vandegrift one chance on probation. She said the defendant deeply regretted his involvement in the situation and that he would benefit from the batterers” treatment program if given probation. Lucena said she was placing a lot of weight in the probation report and was troubled by Vandegrift”s probation interview. While the defendant had appeared forthright in court, the judge said Vandegrift didn”t appear to take full responsibility during the interview. Vandegrift told the judge Thursday he did take full responsibility for what happened and acknowledged it was his fault. Lucena noted the inconsistency may not bode well for Vandegrift”s performance in batterers” treatment, but gave the defendant an opportunity on probation. “You”re going to need to really look deep inside and make the changes that are necessary,” she said. Terms of probation included 120 days in jail, but Vandegrift was given credit for time served. He must also serve 150 hours of community service and participate in batterers” treatment. Vandegrift must also pay restitution to the victim and refrain from contacting her. ||||| OROVILLE — A 20-year-old Paradise man was placed on probation for three years for having sex with two minor girls. Tuesday, Butte County Superior Court Judge Clare Keithley put Jordan Tymothy Aders on probation for one felony and one misdemeanor count of unlawful sexual intercourse with two minors more than three years younger than the defendant. As part of probation, Aders must serve 280 days in Butte County Jail and is credited for already serving five days. He must report to the jail this morning. The defendant was initially arrested Feb. 17. Aders was arrested again May 12 after the Butte County Sheriff”s Office completed its investigation into reports he allegedly had sex with a 13-year-old girl. According to a prosecutor, Aders allegedly told investigators that he had been having sex with a 16-year-old girl because he thought 16 was the consensual age. In July, Aders pleaded no contest to the two counts of unlawful sexual intercourse. A second felony unlawful sexual intercourse count and a felony lewd act upon a child count were dismissed. His sentencing was postponed through the fall until he failed to appear for a hearing Dec. 20. The court issued a warrant for his arrest until Aders appeared out of custody Tuesday. During the sentencing, Keithley noted the Probation Department had recommended prison, but indicated she was favoring probation after she had asked for the department to provide possible terms. Deputy district attorney Jennifer Dupre-Tokos urged the court to follow probation”s recommendation. She said Aders targeted both girls when they were 13 and he hasn”t accepted any responsibility for his actions. He was also on probation from a Utah case at the time of the offense. “This is not someone who should be out mixing with the public at this time,” Dupre-Tokos said. She added that the defendant showed a lack of insight for his actions, and violated a court order prohibiting from contacting young females. Defense attorney Mark Stapleton asserted probation was the right sentence. He said the terms were severe and Aders faces serious repercussions if he violates the court”s orders. Keithley said Aders” offenses were greatly concerning, especially due to the ages of the victims. However, she said the law calls for the court to consider probation if the defendant is eligible. In addition to the victims” ages, the judge said she considered Aders” age and his lack of a serious criminal record. Keithley granted probation, but noted the case was a serious matter and the terms of probation would be strict. In addition to the additional jail time, the defendant must pay restitution to the victims, abstain from drugs and alcohol, and be available for police searches. Aders must also participate in therapy programs and refrain from contacting any minors. The defendant must also register as a sex offender with police for the rest of his life. However, due to the nature of Aders” offense, his registration is apparently not required to be publicly searchable on the state”s Megan”s Law website. Staff writer Ryan Olson can be reached at 896-7763 or rolson@chicoer.com. ||||| OROVILLE — A Sacramento man has been given probation for vandalizing several county vehicles following his release from Butte County Jail. On Tuesday, Butte County Superior Court Judge Steven Howell said three years of probation was appropriate for Ryan Angelo Schomberg, who pleaded no contest to felony counts of second-degree burglary and vandalism. Schomberg also pleaded to misdemeanor resisting an officer in a related case. Schomberg was initially arrested for resisting arrest following numerous contacts with Chico police on Oct. 31. Released from jail the following day, the defendant went to the nearby Butte County corporation yard and smashed windows on 12 vehicles. Oroville police found him hiding in the bed of a county truck behind the Butte County Agricultural Building, which is close to the yard. At the time, Oroville police said Schomberg told officers he was involved with the “Occupy” movement, including participating in activities in Chico. Officers said he reportedly said he vandalized the vehicles as part of his political beliefs. As part of the probation sentence, Howell indicated he may be willing to reduce the charges to misdemeanors and modify probation after 18 months. He said Schomberg would have to meet certain conditions — including paying full restitution and meeting all terms of probation. Supervising deputy district attorney Kelly Maloy didn”t object to probation, noting Schomberg”s activities were apparently due to a psychotic episode and the fact he wasn”t taking his medicine. She asked that the defendant fully repay Butte County Public Works the $13,420 in damages before his probation is modified. Defense attorney Kevin Sears said the probation report was fair. He asked that the conditions of probation allow Schomberg to seek treatment at UC Davis behavioral health. Howell amended the conditions to allow the defendant to receive treatment at UC Davis and Butte County Behavioral Health. Staff writer Ryan Olson can be reached at 896-7763 or rolson@chicoer.com. ||||| DRAPER, Utah — Wanda Barzee, convicted for helping Brian David Mitchell kidnap Elizabeth Smart in Salt Lake City in 2002, has been released from the Utah State Prison. The Utah Department of Corrections confirmed just after 8 a.m. Wednesday that Barzee has been released but did not provide any further details. Earlier in the week officials said it was a possible Barzee would be bused off the property and then released, due to security concerns. While Barzee has served her time and was not released early, she is still getting out several years earlier than many people expected. Earlier this year, the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole said her sentence would end in 2024 with a parole hearing in 2023. However, the board later determined they would be required to give Barzee credit for time served in the federal system. “On September 19, Ms. Barzee will have spent 15 years in custody, which is the maximum amount of time allowed by her state conviction and sentence,” Greg Johnson of the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole wrote. “Ms. Barzee can not legally be held in the Utah State prison beyond the length of her sentence.” Smart released a statement in the days after the announcement was made, and she made lengthier remarks in a press conference last week. “I do believe she is a threat, she is a woman who had six children and yet could co-conspire to kidnap a 14-year-old girl, and not only sit next to her while being raped, but encourage her husband to continue to rape me,” Smart said. “So, do I believe that she is dangerous? Yes, but not just to me. I believe that she is a danger and a threat to any vulnerable person in our community, which is why our community should be worried.” Under the conditions of her release, Barzee will be under federal supervision for a period of five years and is required to abide by the terms of the Sex Offender registry. Mitchell was sentenced to life in prison for kidnapping Smart. ||||| Wanda Barzee spent more than 15 years behind bars ||||| Our view: When a man gets probation for his role in a homicide, the prosecution is taking a big risk on a questionable character. A man facing murder charges in the asphyxiation death of a 50-year-old Paradise man will walk free because he agreed to testify against two other defendants. We sincerely hope the plea-bargain arrangement doesn”t come back to haunt the Butte County District Attorney”s office. Seeing someone sentenced to probation for a homicide is jarring. Butte County Superior Court Judge Steven Howell, the prosecutor and the defense attorney all agreed they couldn”t recall a case where a murder defendant was given probation after pleading guilty. But the defendant, Darrell Leigh Hughes, saw the murder charge dropped in the plea bargain if he agreed to cooperate in the trial of co-defendants William Kurt Breunle and Christopher Philip Levin. Prosecutors said the three were members of a motorcycle gang who went to rob Eric Jones, who was growing medical marijuana, in December 2008. Jones was tied up and gagged, then stopped breathing. In exchange for Hughes” testimony against the other two, the murder charge was dropped and he pleaded guilty to kidnapping, witness intimidation and assault with a deadly weapon. He was given the usual admonition that if he violates probation he could be sent to prison, and if he commits a felony he could be sentenced to a life term in prison. Will that be enough to keep Hughes out of trouble? It”s impossible to say. He”s a middle-aged man who was in a motorcycle gang, taking part in a robbery apparently intended to steal marijuana and a safe. It”s not as if he”s suddenly going to see the light. Instead, he”ll get a spot in the taxpayer-funded witness protection program, which to us sounds like too good a fate for a man who had a role in a murder. All three should be going to prison, not just two. Perhaps Breunle and Levin were ringleaders and Hughes” involvement was minimal. That will come out at the trial when Hughes testifies. But we think there should be something more than probation and a new identity for a person involved in a robbery and homicide. ||||| OROVILLE — A former Chico State University employee was given probation this week after pleading guilty to an August 2010 stalking incident. On Wednesday, Butte County Superior Court Judge Steven Howell placed Troy Damon Berry on formal probation for four years. Berry had pleaded guilty on Dec. 8 to felony stalking and no contest to a misdemeanor count of driving under the influence with a prior. The defendant was also reinstated on probation for a Dec. 4, 2009, DUI. During that incident, Berry was involved in a minor collision at Highway 32 at El Monte Avenue before leading police on a 40-mile pursuit up Highway 32 to Tehama County. Berry had been an adviser at Chico State, but he is no longer employed there. In the current case, Berry repeatedly went to the house of former girlfriend, where he reportedly had permission to tend a vegetable garden. On Aug. 28, 2010, Berry called and left a message saying he was coming to the house. The victim hid in a crawlspace and called 9-1-1. Berry entered the house through a window. He found the woman and grabbed the phone while she was still talking with police. Prior to the judge”s ruling, deputy district attorney Jennifer Dupre-Tokos asked that Berry be required to participate in a residential treatment program instead of an outpatient program. She said Berry claims to not have an alcohol problem at this time, and that he is attending church and other programs. Dupre-Tokos said Berry had been going to church for at least two years, but he still was involved in incidents involving alcohol. The prosecutor also asked the court to impose a suspended prison sentence to indicate the seriousness of the case. “He has not had great success following up on promises to the court in the past,” she said. Defense attorney Kevin Sears disagreed with the prosecutor”s arguments. He said Berry had been drinking to cover up problems and the defendant now realizes it was making problems worse. “I think he has been doing a good job remaining sober,” Sears said. Sears said Berry is currently unemployed and doesn”t have the means for residential treatment. He said Berry could continue with counseling and a 12-step program with a sponsor. Howell ultimately declined the request for a residential treatment program, but he had earlier stressed the importance of the mental health component of probation. Terms of probation included 158 days in jail, which Berry already served. The defendant must refrain from drugs and alcohol and stay away from bars or liquor stores. He must also participate in DUI school, and batterers” treatment and behavioral health programs. The judge also kept a restraining order in place for 10 years. Addresses include the house where the incident took place and the Chico State campus, where other alleged incidents took place. Staff writer Ryan Olson can be reached at 896-7763 or rolson@chicoer.com. ||||| SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California doctors will soon have to tell patients if they are on probation for sexual misconduct or other wrongdoing under a new law. Patients can already find information online about which doctors are on probation if they know where to look. But the new law will force doctors to tell patients their probation status and basic details of the terms of their probation. It will apply to doctors placed on probation after July 1, 2019, for wrongdoing causing patient harm, including sexual misconduct, drug abuse, criminal convictions and inappropriate prescribing. "It's never made sense that doctors have had to tell their insurance companies, hospitals and clinics when they are put on probation, but not the people who are most at risk — their patients," Consumer Attorneys of California President Lee Harris said in a statement. "Californians have a right to know if their doctor is on probation for serious misconduct." Olympians including gymnast Jordyn Wieber campaigned for the bill in the wake of the sentencing of former USA Gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar. Nassar has admitted to sexually abusing women and girls under the guise of medical treatment. The former sports doctor — who worked for Michigan State University and USA Gymnastics, the organization responsible for training Olympians — has been sentenced to decades in prison. Previous versions of the bill failed in the Legislature the past two years. The measure's author, Democratic state Sen. Jerry Hill of San Mateo, credited the #MeToo movement against sexual harassment with helping his bill gain traction this year. Hill and other supporters say the law will help protect women from being abused by doctors. Some doctors groups opposed the bill, arguing it would be unfair and overly burdensome on doctors' time. | After serving fifteen years behind bars for her role in the kidnapping, Wanda Barzee, is released on probation from Utah State Prison. She will be on probation for five years. [1] |
CLOSE Police talk with family members at the staging area after a shooting at Bellingham Retirement Community on East Boot Road in East Goshen Township, Pa., on Sept. 19, 2018. (Photo: AP) A Pennsylvania man apparently upset over his divorce shot at his ex-wife, gunned down his parents and led police on a massive air and ground pursuit before being found dead in his minivan, authorities said Thursday. "The manhunt is over, the suspect is dead," said Tom Hogan, district attorney in the Philadelphia suburb of Chester County. Hogan said Bruce Rogal, 59, was apparently angered he received the order finalizing the divorce and awarding his wife the couple's home. Rogal drove to the home and fired six shots as she ducked for cover behind her car, Hogan said. Rogal then drove to a nearby retirement community where his parents live, fatally shooting both of them, Hogan said. The manhunt was underway. "He led the police on a chase, state police then were joined by SWAT team members," Hogan said. More: Gunman dies after wounding 4 in shooting rampage in Wisconsin More: Shooting at Fayette County, Pa., judge's office leaves 1 dead, 4 hurt Rogal's minivan about was spotted by troopers at about 1 a.m. ET – when he drove past the Embreeville barracks. A search helicopter already in the air nearby was called in, and troopers also pursued Rogal in their cars. Rogal "actually drove back to the house where his ex-wife was, luckily she had cleared out," Hogan said. "He drove back to the neighborhood and crashed his vehicle into the side of the house. When police made contact with him, he was already deceased." State Trooper James Spencer said police fired shots at Rogal after his wreck. It was not clear whether Rogal fired back, but a gun was found in his car, Spencer said. Spencer said Rogal's cause of death had yet to be determined. Hogan said the investigation was continuing. "This morning in Chester County everything can go back to normal," Hogan said. Read or Share this story: https://usat.ly/2DemuKn ||||| At least two people have been killed after a gunman opened fire at a retirement home in the US state of Pennsylvania. The gunman is on the loose following the shooting in West Chester on Wednesday evening. The Bellingham Retirement Community is in lockdown and the surrounding area cordoned off while police hunt the suspect. Mike Galczyk was on his way to pick up his daughter Cayley, who works as a server at Bellingham, when he received a text from her. He told the Daily Local: "She said 'We’re on lockdown.' At first I thought she was kidding." The shooting took place on the 1,600 block of East Boot Road. We'll be bringing you the very latest updates, pictures and video on this breaking news story. For the latest news and breaking news visit Mirror.co.uk/news. Get all the big headlines, pictures, analysis, opinion and video on the stories that matter to you. Follow us on Twitter @DailyMirror - the official Daily Mirror & Mirror Online Twitter account - real news in real time. We're also on Facebook /dailymirror - your must-see news, features, videos and pictures throughout the day from the Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror and Mirror Online. ||||| At this time we have multiple victims and injuries one being a law enforcement official. There is heavy police presence. We are asking the public to stay away from the area at this time. — TroopB (@PSPTroopBPIO) September 19, 2018 One person is dead and four others are injured after a shooting outside of a judge's office in Pennsylvania, according to authorities.The shooting occurred at the office of District Judge Daniel Shimshock in the Fayette County Magistrate Court in Masontown. Four people were transported to a hospital, a spokesperson for the Fayette County Emergency Management told ABC News.It's unclear if the person pronounced dead at the scene is the suspect or a victim.A law enforcement official was among the shooting victims, the Pennsylvania State Police's Troop B, which handles Fayette County, wrote on Twitter.More than a dozen police officers surrounded the building in the aftermath of the shooting, aerial footage shot by ABC Pittsburgh affiliate WTAE showed.David Kaiser, an attorney who was at the judge's office when the shooting happened, said he heard an argument outside the judge's office preceding the shooting.A witness told WTAE that a man opened fire on a woman running across the street. ||||| MURDER: At least two have been killed after a shooting at an old people's home The home is on lockdown as police hunt for the gunman after the shooting in West Chester, in the US state of Pennsylvania. Roads up to a mile away from Bellingham Retirement Community have been blocked off by police. A woman waiting outside the home told US media her daughter worked there and she and her colleagues weren't allowed to leave. Investigators said when they arrived police were told the shooter had fled the scene and might be in a van. ||||| At this time we have multiple victims and injuries one being a law enforcement official. There is heavy police presence. We are asking the public to stay away from the area at this time. — TroopB (@PSPTroopBPIO) September 19, 2018 One person is dead and four others are injured after a shooting outside of a judge's office in Pennsylvania, according to authorities.The shooting occurred at the office of District Judge Daniel Shimshock in the Fayette County Magistrate Court in Masontown. Four people were transported to a hospital, a spokesperson for the Fayette County Emergency Management told ABC News.It's unclear if the person pronounced dead at the scene is the suspect or a victim.A law enforcement official was among the shooting victims, the Pennsylvania State Police's Troop B, which handles Fayette County, wrote on Twitter.More than a dozen police officers surrounded the building in the aftermath of the shooting, aerial footage shot by ABC Pittsburgh affiliate WTAE showed.David Kaiser, an attorney who was at the judge's office when the shooting happened, said he heard an argument outside the judge's office preceding the shooting.A witness told WTAE that a man opened fire on a woman running across the street. ||||| Law enforcement officers across Pennsylvania are searching desperately for a gunman suspected of shooting and killing both his parents Wednesday -- after shooting at his ex-wife. Bruce Rogal, 59, of Glenmore in Chester County, is still at large. Rogal is believed to be driving a 2002 silver Honda Odyssey minivan with the Pennsylvania license plate ENN 3549. Rogal had been served with his final divorce order Wednesday, which awarded his home to his ex-wife, Chester County District Attorney Tom Hogan said at a Wednesday night press conference. After that, he drove to his ex-wife's home in West Bradford Township at 5:45 p.m. and shot at her six times as she changed oil in a car in her driveway, police said. She was not hurt, but other houses nearby were hit. He then went to his parents' senior living center in nearby East Goshen Township at 6:15 p.m. and shot and killed them, police said. William and Nancy Rogal were both in their late 80s, Hogan said. The murders stunned suburban neighborhoods outside of Philadelphia and led to blockades and lockdowns that stretched for miles. At the nursing home, the Bellingham Senior Living Center on East Boot Road, staff were locked down for hours as a swarm of police, ATF and ambulances responded to the facility. Mike Galczyk said his daughter, Cayley, is a server at Bellingham. "She’s texting us saying she’s hiding inside with her team," he said. "She told us to stay safe out here." Cayley wasn't supposed to work Wednesday; she was called in to cover a shift. Her dad was just a few blocks away from picking her up when he was stopped by police roadblocks which were placed up to two miles around Bellingham. Galczyk was later able to reunite with his daughter. Schools within the two-mile-wide roadblocks were locked down as a precaution. Some students were stuck for some time inside West Chester East High School, according to a message from the district's superintendent that was sent to parents. District officials had to coordinate their release with police. The scene was finally secure after 10 p.m., Hogan said. The divorce order "appears to be what set him off today," Hogan said at the press conference. The Pennsylvania case was one of a series of shootings that made headlines on Wednesday across the nation. In western Pennsylvania, a man facing charges stemming from a domestic violence arrest walked into a court building and shot and wounded four people, including a police officer. The gunman was shot by police and died. In Wisconsin, four people were injured, one of them critically, when a heavily armed employee opened fire in the offices of a software company. ||||| At this time we have multiple victims and injuries one being a law enforcement official. There is heavy police presence. We are asking the public to stay away from the area at this time. — TroopB (@PSPTroopBPIO) September 19, 2018 One person is dead and four others are injured after a shooting outside of a judge's office in Pennsylvania, according to authorities.The shooting occurred at the office of District Judge Daniel Shimshock in the Fayette County Magistrate Court in Masontown. Four people were transported to a hospital, a spokesperson for the Fayette County Emergency Management told ABC News.It's unclear if the person pronounced dead at the scene is the suspect or a victim.A law enforcement official was among the shooting victims, the Pennsylvania State Police's Troop B, which handles Fayette County, wrote on Twitter.More than a dozen police officers surrounded the building in the aftermath of the shooting, aerial footage shot by ABC Pittsburgh affiliate WTAE showed.David Kaiser, an attorney who was at the judge's office when the shooting happened, said he heard an argument outside the judge's office preceding the shooting.A witness told WTAE that a man opened fire on a woman running across the street. ||||| A man who was apparently upset with his divorce was found dead after he allegedly murdered his parents and attempted to shoot his ex-wife in Pennsylvania, according to police.Police said 59-year-old Bruce Rogal, of Glenmoore, Pennsylvania, drove to his ex-wife's West Bradford Township home around 5:45 p.m. Wednesday and fired six rounds at her while she was changing her car's oil in her driveway. She was not hurt in the incident, but police said some bullets hit nearby houses.According to police, Rogal received notice that his divorce was finalized Wednesday afternoon, and, in the judgment, the family home was awarded to his ex-wife.He then drove to the Bellingham Retirement Community in East Goshen Township around 6:15 p.m. and shot his parents, William and Nancy, in their apartment. Both victims, in their 80s, died at the scene, and Rogal fled, police said.Police launched a manhunt for Rogal and issued a lockdown in a two-mile radius of the Bellingham facility.Pennsylvania State Police spotted Rogal in his silver Honda Odyssey around 1 a.m. Thursday and he led police on a chase. State police were then joined by SWAT team members.The chase ended in Rogal's ex-wife neighborhood when the suspect crashed his van into the side of a house. When police made contact with him, he was already dead."He is dead. Everyone else is safe, with the exception of his parents, who he killed. Now, this morning in Chester County, everything can go back to normal," Chester County District Attorney Tom Hogan said during a press conference.Hogan will not confirm whether shots were fired by officers or exactly how the suspect died In police radio calls obtained by our sister station WPVI-TV , the audio says there was an exchange of gunfire between police and the suspect. Again, this has not been confirmed by authorities."They exchanged gunfire. They say he's armed with a rifle. There are helicopters above saying that the doors are still closed on the vehicle," the radio call says.Police blocked off the West Bradford Township neighborhood where the manhunt ended as they were still gathering evidence early Thursday morning.---------- ||||| (USA TODAY) – A Pennsylvania man apparently upset over his divorce shot at his ex-wife, gunned down his parents and led police on a massive air and ground pursuit before being found dead in his minivan, authorities said Thursday. “The manhunt is over, the suspect is dead,” said Tom Hogan, district attorney in the Philadelphia suburb of Chester County. Hogan said Bruce Rogal, 59, was apparently angered he received the order finalizing the divorce and awarding his wife the couple’s home. Rogal drove to the home and fired six shots as she ducked for cover behind her car, Hogan said. Rogal then drove to a nearby retirement community where his parents live, fatally shooting both of them, Hogan said. The manhunt was underway. “He led the police on a chase, State Police then were joined by SWAT team members,” Hogan said. Officers spotted Rogal’s minivan about 1 a.m. ET, and the chase was on. “The defendant actually drove back to the house where his ex-wife was, luckily she had cleared out,” Hogan said. “He drove back to the neighborhood and crashed his vehicle into the side of the house. When police made contact with him, he was already deceased.” Police said that at some point an exchange of gunfire took place, but it was not immediately revealed how Rogal died. “This morning in Chester County everything can go back to normal,” Hogan said. ||||| A Pennsylvania man died Thursday morning after crashing his car into a home given to his ex-wife in the couple's just-finalized divorce agreement, marking a violent end to a deadly rampage spurred by the couple's split, officials said. Before dying in the wreck, Bruce Rogal was involved in a shootout with cops, and it wasn't immediately clear if his death was a suicide or due to police gunfire. Rogal, 59, had earlier murdered his parents at the senior center where they lived and tried to kill his ex-wife, officials said. “Bruce Rogal is dead," Chester County District Attorney Tom Hogan posted on Facebook. "There is no ongoing threat in Chester County. All law enforcement personnel involved are unhurt. It is a tragedy that the defendant killed his elderly parents. All of the first responders did a tremendous job under enormous pressure. Details will follow at a later time." Rogal’s rampage began when he received his divorce papers, a development which seemed to have “set him off," Hogan told FOX29 Philadelphia. Rogal’s ex-wife was awarded the West Bradford Township house the couple used to live in. Investigators said Rogal got in his car, drove past the house he had just lost in the divorce and opened fire when he spotted his ex-wife outside at around 5:45 p.m. The woman, who was not identified, was not injured in the attack. Rogal then drove to Bellingham Senior Living Center in East Goshen Township and fatally shot his parents, both of whom were in their late 80s, police said. Police issued a lockdown for the area around the senior living center -- including for West Chester Area School District -- during the brief manhunt for Rogal, FOX29 reported. | Gunman upset from divorce shoots his parents dead in a retirement home after shooting and wounding his ex-wife. The suspect later was found dead in his van after a brief shootout with police. This shooting was also in Pennsylvania. |
Image copyright Court exhibit Image caption Dellen Millard at his father's firm MillardAir A former Canadian millionaire and twice-convicted murderer has been convicted of killing his father, whose death was initially ruled a suicide. Dellen Millard wept when he heard the judge pronounce him guilty of murdering his father Wayne Millard. Millard is already serving two life sentences for the murders of Laura Babcock and Tim Bosma. He inherited the family fortune after his father was found shot in the head. The 2012 death was originally ruled a suicide, but on Monday an Ontario Superior Court judge found him guilty of shooting his father while he slept. Millard had told police his father had been depressed and an alcoholic. "He carried some great sadness with him throughout life that I never knew - he never wanted to share that with me," he said the day after his father died. But employees at MillardAir, the family's aviation company, said there had been tensions between Millard and his father, according to a CBC investigation. Six months later, the disappearance of Tim Bosma set off a chain of investigations that would eventually lead to Millard being charged with three murders. 'It was just a truck' The 32-year-old was trying to sell his vehicle when Millard responded to an ad online. Millard and his friend Mark Smich met Bosma at his family home outside Hamilton, Ontario. Bosma agreed to go with the pair while they took it for a test drive in May 2013. He was never seen again. "It was just a truck, a stupid truck," Bosma's wife said, before Smich and Millard's arrest. Bosma's truck was eventually found by police on a property owned by Millard's mother, and soon he and Smich became prime suspects in his murder. The truck had been stripped, but gunshot residue and traces of his blood were found inside. Police also began digging around into Millard's past, his father's death, and the disappearance of his former partner Laura Babcock the year before. The first killing Three months before his father's death, Babcock had gone missing. Eventually, police would learn that she had been involved in a love triangle between Millard and his current girlfriend, and that Millard had promised to "remove her from our lives". Her body was never found, but soon after her disappearance Millard purchased an incinerator. Police have never been able to identify Babcock's and Bosma's remains, but believe both were shot and their bodies burned. Millard and Smich were found guilty of Bosma's murder in 2016; they were also found guilty of murdering Babcock in 2017. Father and son Police then began to re-examine Wayne Millard's apparent suicide following the convictions, Prosecutors alleged Millard wanted to kill his father to protect his inheritance, which was being used to fund a new aviation business. Millard said he was at Smich's house the night of his father's death, but phone records reveal he travelled back to his father's house in the early hours of the morning. A gun purchased by Millard illegally was also found next to his father with Millard's DNA on it. Smich was not charged in the death of Millard's father. ||||| Dellen Millard has been found guilty of first-degree murder for a third time – in this case, for the death of his father, whose November, 2012, shooting was originally deemed a suicide by police. Open this photo in gallery Dellen Millard, 33, had pleaded not guilty in the death of his 71-year-old father. HO/The Canadian Press Justice Maureen Forestell, who oversaw Mr. Millard’s month-long trial in June, ruled Monday that the 33-year-old Toronto man had committed the “planned and deliberate” killing of his father six years ago – going so far as to set up a fake alibi to fool police. Wayne Millard was found in bed with a bullet through his left eye on Nov. 29, 2012. A Smith and Wesson .32 revolver was found on top of a shopping bag next to the bed. Story continues below advertisement It was Dellen who had supposedly come across the body after staying at a friend’s house the night before. But instead of calling police, he called his mother – despite the fact that his parents had been divorced for more than a decade. It was only after she arrived at her ex-husband’s house that 911 was called. The death was ruled a suicide. But when Dellen Millard was charged with first-degree murder in the death of a total stranger a year later, the case was reopened. Police realized then that his alibi did not check out, and that the gun had been purchased illegally by Mr. Millard from a gun dealer months earlier. His DNA was on the grip. On Monday, as Justice Forestell read out her decision, Mr. Millard hung his head in the prisoner’s box. Applause broke out in the courtroom. This is the 33-year-old’s third first-degree murder conviction after three trials in as many years. In 2016, he – along with his friend Mark Smich – was found guilty of murdering Tim Bosma, a 32-year-old Ancaster dad who went missing on May 6, 2013, after taking the two men on a test drive of the pickup truck he was selling online. And last fall, he and Mr. Smich were found guilty of murdering Laura Babcock, a 23-year-old Toronto woman who disappeared in July, 2012 – months after Mr. Millard’s girlfriend found out they had been sleeping together. Story continues below advertisement Story continues below advertisement Those sentences are being served consecutively, meaning it will be 50 years before the men are eligible for parole. Both have filed appeals. The Crown is seeking a consecutive sentence in this case as well. A sentencing hearing has been scheduled for Nov. 16. During this trial, court heard that Mr. Millard had been unhappy about the way his father was running the family business, Millardair Inc. Wayne had recently had a 55,000-square-foot air hangar built at the Region of Waterloo International airport, where he hoped to convert their airplane-storage company into a maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) business. He saw it as a legacy for his son. But Dellen wanted no part of it – and did not want his father pouring their money into a floundering business. After Wayne died, court heard that Dellen fired the Millardair staff and started to shut down the business. Outside the courthouse Monday, Crown attorney Ken Lockhart thanked the investigators and noted the verdict marked the end of a long saga for multiple families. Story continues below advertisement “We’re very grateful for the many people who put in a lot of time, effort and heartache into these prosecutions,” he told reporters. Laura Babcock’s parents, Clayton and Linda, attended the verdict along with Hank and Mary Bosma, Tim’s parents. Open this photo in gallery An artist's sketch of the court where Dellen Millard, second left, appeared, Sept. 24, 2018, for his trial for the murder of his father, Wayne Millard. Alexandra Newbould/The Canadian Press “It’s been proven that not only the Bosmas and ourselves lost a loved one, the Millard family must live with the fact that this heinous individual murdered his own father. We feel for Wayne’s relatives, save for one,” Clayton Babcock said to reporters outside the courthouse. “For all those out there who believe that the sentence of an additional 25 years to Mr. Millard’s 50 years is too harsh, we say you haven’t dealt with this kind of sorrow. We live with a cloud of sadness and loss over us every day,” he said. “There’ll be not a day in our lives when the loss of Laura, Tim, or Wayne, won’t be felt.” ||||| A former Canadian millionaire and twice-convicted murderer has been convicted of killing his father, whose death was initially ruled a suicide. Dellen Millard wept when he heard the judge pronounce him guilty of first-degree murder in the death of his father Wayne Millard. Millard is already serving two life sentences for the first-degree murders of Laura Babcock and Tim Bosma. He inherited the family fortune after his father was found shot in the head. The 2012 death was originally ruled a suicide, but on Monday an Ontario Superior Court judge found him guilty of shooting his father in the eye while he slept. Millard was the one who told police his father had been depressed and an alcoholic. "He carried some great sadness with him throughout life that I never knew - he never wanted to share that with me," he told police the day after his father died. But employees at MillardAir, the family's aviation company, said there had been tensions between Millard and his father, according to a CBC investigation. Six months later, the disappearance of Tim Bosma set off a chain of police investigations that would eventually lead to Millard being charged with triple murders. Bosma had met Millard and Millard's friend Mark Smich to sell them his truck in May 2013. When he did not come home, his wife filed a police report. Millard and Smich were both found guilty of his murder in 2016; they were also found guilty of murdering Millard's ex Laura Babcock, who had disappeared in July 2012, a few months before the death of Wayne Millard. Babcock's body was never found, and remains found on a property owned by Millard were too charred to be able to be positively identified. Prosecutors believe Millard and Smich shot both of them and incinerated their bodies. Smich was not charged in the death of Millard's father. ||||| TORONTO — A Toronto man accused of killing his father, whose death was originally deemed a suicide, has been found guilty of first-degree murder. Dellen Millard, 33, had pleaded not guilty in the death of 71-year-old Wayne Millard, who was found in his bed with a bullet to the head on Nov. 29, 2012. Justice Maureen Forestell, who heard the case without a jury, said Dellen Millard carried out a planned and deliberate murder of his father. "I am satisfied that Dellen Millard killed his father by shooting him in the left eye as he slept,'' she said, drawing applause from some gathered in a Toronto courtroom on Monday. "I can find no theory consistent with innocence.'' Millard was seen crying softly after Forestell delivered her decision. The Crown alleged Millard killed his father because millions in potential inheritance money was being squandered on a new aviation business for the family company, Millardair. The defence had argued Wayne Millard's death was a suicide. The murder trial was the third for Dellen Millard, who has been convicted of first-degree murder in the deaths of Toronto woman Laura Babcock and Hamilton man Tim Bosma. The month-long trial unfolded in June. The Attorney General granted the defence's request for a judge-alone proceeding after agreeing that Millard's notoriety, given the Bosma and Babcock murders, would make it impossible to find fair jurors. Claimed he had stayed with a friend The trial heard that Dellen Millard told police he found his father dead in bed around 6 p.m. on Nov. 29, 2012. He told investigators he last saw his father alive around noon the day before and had stayed the night at his friend Mark Smich's house. Phone records indicate one of Millard's phones moved from Smich's house around 1 a.m. on Nov. 29, 2012, to his father's home where it stayed until shortly after 6 a.m. "I do not believe the statement of Dellen Millard that he stayed at Mark's,'' Forestell said. "I find it was fabricated to conceal he was involved in the death of his father.'' The trial also heard that Dellen Millard bought a handgun found next to his father's body from a weapons dealer — evidence Forestell accepted. "I find Dellen Millard purchased the revolver that killed Wayne Millard in July of 2012 and he possessed gun in the months preceding Wayne Millard's death,'' the judge said. Millard chose not to testify in the trial. Court did hear, however, his nearly hour-long interview with police the day after his father's death in which he told investigators his father was depressed, an alcoholic and under a tremendous amount of stress because of his efforts to turn around the family's aviation business. "He carried some great sadness with him throughout life that I never knew — he never wanted to share that with me,'' Dellen Millard told police. Wayne Millard had inherited the family aviation business, Millardair, from his father, Carl Millard, in 2006. It had been launched as a cargo carrier in 1963 and later flew passengers before going bankrupt in 1990, court heard. The company then rented out aircraft hangars at Toronto's Pearson airport until 2010, when Wayne Millard moved into the maintenance, repair and overhaul business and built a massive, multi-million dollar hangar at the Region of Waterloo International Airport by 2012. Fired everyone at company days after father's death The trial heard that Dellen Millard blamed his father for the company's financial issues. "The last time I spoke to him, I told him the company's financial troubles were his doing and that he was a failure,'' Millard wrote in a text to his girlfriend that was presented in court. `"Usually he tells me not to worry. But this time he said maybe I was right.'' Days after his father's death, Dellen Millard fired everyone at Millardair and wound the business down, court heard. ||||| Dellen Millard is seen in this file photo. A Toronto judge ruled that Dellen Millard is guilty of first-degree murder in death of his father, A Toronto man who stood to inherit a multimillion-dollar aviation company was found guilty of first-degree murder in his father’s death Monday, a ruling that marked his third such conviction. Applause broke out as a judge declared Dellen Millard had carried out a planned and deliberate killing of his father, whose death was initially ruled a suicide. Wayne Millard, a wealthy 71-year-old businessman, was found dead in his bed with a bullet lodged in his brain on Nov. 29, 2012. His son had pleaded not guilty in the death but the judge hearing the case found otherwise. “I am satisfied that Dellen Millard killed his father by shooting him in the left eye as he slept,” said Justice Maureen Forestell. “I can find no theory consistent with innocence.” Millard, 33, cried softly as the decision was read out to a packed courtroom. Among those who had gathered for the ruling in the judge-alone trial were the parents of Millard’s two other victims, Toronto woman Laura Babcock and Hamilton man Tim Bosma. Babcock’s father said all three families would be forever linked as a result of Millard’s crimes. “It’s been proven that not only has the Bosmas and ourselves have lost a loved one, the Millard family must live with the fact this heinous individual murdered his own father,” Clayton Babcock said outside court. “There’ll be not a day in our lives when the loss of Laura, Tim or Wayne won’t be felt.” Crown attorney Ken Lockhart said he was grateful for the outcome of the case. “I hope that the process has brought (the families) some kind of closure,” he said. Related: Closing arguments expected in trial for twice convicted Canadian killer He had killed Babcock, a 24-year-old woman he had been seeing, months earlier in July 2012. Six months after his father’s death, Millard killed Bosma after taking the 32-year-old man’s truck for a test drive. Millard’s friend, Mark Smich, was also convicted of first-degree murder for the Babcock and Bosma slayings. The pair are serving life in prison with no chance for parole for 50 years for those murders. Police re-opened the case of Wayne Millard’s death after arresting the younger Millard for Bosma’s killing. The latest trial unfolded in June without a jury. The Attorney General granted a defence request for a judge-alone proceeding after agreeing that Millard’s notoriety, given the Bosma and Babcock murders, would make it impossible to find fair jurors. Prosecutors alleged Millard killed his father because millions in potential inheritance money was being squandered on a new aviation business. Forestell rejected significant parts of the Crown’s case, including the motive for money, saying it played no role in her decision. Instead, she found the case turned on a lie Millard told investigators after his father’s death. The trial heard Millard told police he found his father dead in bed around 6 p.m. on Nov. 29, 2012. He said he last saw his father alive around noon the day before and had then stayed the night at Smich’s house. But phone records indicated that one of Millard’s phones moved from Smich’s house around 1 a.m. on Nov. 29, 2012, to his father’s home where it stayed until shortly after 6 a.m. “I do not believe the statement of Dellen Millard that he stayed at Mark’s,” Forestell said. “I find it was fabricated to conceal he was involved in the death of his father.” Forestell also said Millard created a false alibi after leaving his truck, credit card and his other phone at Smich’s house. The trial also heard that Dellen Millard, who did not testify in his own defence, bought a handgun found next to his father’s body from a weapons dealer — evidence Forestell accepted. Dellen Millard’s DNA was on the gun. Dellen Millard told police his father was depressed, an alcoholic and under a tremendous amount of stress because of his efforts to turn around the family’s aviation business, court heard. “He carried some great sadness with him throughout life that I never knew — he never wanted to share that with me,” Dellen Millard told police in an interview played in court. Wayne Millard had inherited the family aviation business, Millardair, from his father, Carl Millard, in 2006. It had been launched as a cargo carrier in 1963 and later flew passengers before going bankrupt in 1990, court heard. The company then rented out aircraft hangars at Toronto’s Pearson airport until 2010, when Wayne Millard moved into the maintenance, repair and overhaul business and built a massive, multi-million dollar hangar at the Region of Waterloo International Airport by 2012. The trial heard that Dellen Millard blamed his father for the company’s financial issues. “The last time I spoke to him, I told him the company’s financial troubles were his doing and that he was a failure,” Millard wrote in a text to his girlfriend that was presented in court. “Usually he tells me not to worry. But this time he said maybe I was right.” Days after his father’s death, Dellen Millard fired everyone at Millardair and wound the business down, court heard. A sentencing hearing for Millard is scheduled for Nov. 16. The Crown said it will seek an additional 25 years of parole ineligibility for Millard in his father’s death. Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. ||||| Already convicted of murdering two other people, a Toronto man was also found guilty on Monday of murdering his father from whom he inherited a multimillion-dollar aviation business. Dellen Millard “killed his father by shooting him in the left eye as he slept,” said Ontario Superior Court Justice Maureen Forestell in handing down her guilty verdict. “I can find no theory consistent with innocence.” Wayne Millard, who was found dead in his bed on November 29, 2012 at the age of 71, ran a company called Millardair that he inherited from his father and which he transformed from a cargo carrier to an aircraft maintenance and servicing business. Following his father’s death, Dellen Millard told police that the elder Millard was a depressed alcoholic stressed over the financial pressures the family business was facing. During the trial Dellen Millard’s lawyer argued that Wayne Millard committed suicide, which police originally ruled was the cause of his death. But police reopened the case after Mr Millard, now 33, and his friend, Mark Smich, were arrested and charged with the 2013 murder of Tim Bosma, a 32-year-old man whose truck Mr Millard and Mr Smich took for a test drive. Mr Bosma was never seen again, and his truck was found on property owned by Mr Millard’s mother. Police believe Mr Bosma was shot and his body was burned. ||||| "I do not believe the statement of Dellen Millard that he stayed at Mark's," Forestell said. "I find it was fabricated to conceal he was involved in the death of his father." The trial also heard that Dellen Millard bought a handgun found next to his father's body from a weapons dealer — evidence Forestell accepted. "I find Dellen Millard purchased the revolver that killed Wayne Millard in July of 2012 and he possessed gun in the months preceding Wayne Millard's death," the judge said. Millard chose not to testify in the trial. Court did hear, however, his nearly hour-long interview with police the day after his father's death in which he told investigators his father was depressed, an alcoholic and under a tremendous amount of stress because of his efforts to turn around the family's aviation business. "He carried some great sadness with him throughout life that I never knew — he never wanted to share that with me," Dellen Millard told police. Wayne Millard had inherited the family aviation business, Millardair, from his father, Carl Millard, in 2006. It had been launched as a cargo carrier in 1963 and later flew passengers before going bankrupt in 1990, court heard. The company then rented out aircraft hangars at Toronto's Pearson airport until 2010, when Wayne Millard moved into the maintenance, repair and overhaul business and built a massive, multi-million dollar hangar at the Region of Waterloo International Airport by 2012. The trial heard that Dellen Millard blamed his father for the company's financial issues. "The last time I spoke to him, I told him the company's financial troubles were his doing and that he was a failure," Millard wrote in a text to his girlfriend that was presented in court. "Usually he tells me not to worry. But this time he said maybe I was right." Days after his father's death, Dellen Millard fired everyone at Millardair and wound the business down, court heard. ||||| An Ontario judge has found convicted killer Dellen Millard guilty of first-degree murder in the 2012 shooting death of his 71-year-old father. Wayne Millard was found dead in his bed on Nov. 29, 2012 with a bullet hole in his head. His death was initially deemed a suicide. The Crown alleged Millard shot his father because millions in potential inheritance money was being squandered on a new aviation business for the family company, Millardair. Millard pleaded not guilty to the fire-degree murder charge. The defence maintained Wayne Millard’s death was a suicide. Millard is already serving two life sentences for the first-degree murder of Hamilton’s Tim Bosma and Toronto’s Laura Babcock. ||||| A decision is expected Monday in the case of a man accused of killing his father, whose death was initially deemed a suicide. Dellen Millard, 33, of Toronto, has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in the death of 71-year-old Wayne Millard. The judge-alone trial heard that Wayne Millard was found dead in his bed with a bullet in his brain on Nov. 29, 2012. The Crown alleges the younger Millard killed his father because millions in potential inheritance money was being squandered on a new aviation business for the family company, Millardair. The defence says Wayne Millard’s death was a suicide. ||||| TORONTO — A decision is expected Monday in the case of a man accused of killing his father, whose death was initially deemed a suicide. Dellen Millard, 33, has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in the death of 71-year-old Wayne Millard. The judge-alone trial heard that Wayne Millard was found dead in his bed with a bullet in his brain on Nov. 29, 2012. The Crown alleges the younger Millard killed his father because millions in potential inheritance money was being squandered on a new aviation business for the family company, Millardair.
• Access to inheritance was Dellen Millard’s motive to kill his father, Crown alleges
• Crown dismisses police expert testimony as biased in the last days of Dellen Millard murder trial The defence says Wayne Millard’s death was a suicide. Justice Maureen Forestell is expected to rule on the case today. The murder trial is the third for Dellen Millard, who has been convicted of first-degree murder in the deaths of Toronto woman Laura Babcock and Hamilton man Tim Bosma. | Dellen Millard is convicted of murdering his father Wayne Millard, who owned an aviation company. The death had initially been ruled a suicide. Dellen Millard has already been convicted of two other murders in Canadian court. |
Latvians were voting Saturday in a general election that could see a pro-Kremlin-populist coalition come to power, as the Baltic state celebrates the centenary of its independence from the Tsarist Russian empire after the World War I. With a quarter of voters remaining undecided on the eve of the election, according to independent polling firm SKDS, the result is still wide open. But the center-left and pro-Moscow Harmony party enjoys strong support among Latvia's ethnic Russian minority, which makes up about a quarter of the country's 1.9 million population. Harmony, which was formerly allied with the United Russia party of Russian President Vladimir Putin, is expected to put in another good showing after winning the majority of votes in the last three elections. It did not enter government solely because it failed to find any other party to form a coalition. This time around, however, it could find the necessary ally in the KPV LV, a populist party led by former stage actor Artuss Kaimins, who has retained popularity with voters despite his being detained over corruption allegations in June. Watch video 02:23 Share Stopping money laundering in Latvia Send Facebook google+ Whatsapp Tumblr linkedin stumble Digg reddit Newsvine Permalink https://p.dw.com/p/30W8I Stopping money laundering in Latvia A willing partner The KPV LV — which translates as "Who owns the state? — has suggested it is willing to work with any other parties, saying it had "no red lines." Polls show that a relatively new rightist party, the New Conservative Party, which opposes Russian being considered a national language in Latvia, is also likely to enter parliament. The Russian language dominated during Latvia's periods under Soviet rule from 1940-41 and 1944-1991. The current national language is Latvian but there have been attempts by Russian speakers to re-establish their tongue at an official level alongside it. Read more: Latvia pushes majority language in schools, leaving parents miffed Latvia, an EU and NATO member, is currently ruled by a center-right coalition of the Unity party, the Union of Greens and Farmers and the National Alliance, but opinion polls have shown it losing ground. Saturday's election in Latvia, which sees 16 parties vying for 100 parliamentary seats, is being monitored by a team from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). Polling stations are to close at 1900 UTC and final results are expected early on Sunday. Latvia's Russian 'non-citizens' Down memory lane The World War II memorial in Riga divides public opinion. Some see it as a symbol for the Soviet victory over fascism, whilst others - mostly Latvians - consider it as a symbol of the subsequent Soviet occupation. Latvia's Russian 'non-citizens' Train to nowhere Latvia's second-largest city Daugavpils is geographically and socially detached from Riga, with a population of over 50 percent ethnic Russians. The Kremlin has been keen to politicize the issue of non-citizens, with many fearing a similar separatism scenario to the one in Ukraine playing out in Latvia. Latvia's Russian 'non-citizens' Left behind Daugavpils has a population of just under 100,000 - a decrease of almost 10 percent since 2009 as people leave in the hope of better lives in western Europe. Daugavpils has also been portrayed as a potential hotbed for separatism. Latvia's Russian 'non-citizens' "I don't recognize Latvia's occupation" Evgeny Drobat, a member of the Communist Party in the years during the transition to independence, told DW that he refuses to recognize Latvia's occupation - a prerequisite for taking the Latvian naturalization exam. He voted against the law which would establish many Russian-speakers as "non-citizens." Latvia's Russian 'non-citizens' Few rights for a "non-citizen" Evgeny shows his "non-citizen" passport, which includes the title "alien" under his picture. This denies him full voting rights, entry to various professions, residency and working rights in the EU - just a few of almost 100 legal restrictions. Latvia's Russian 'non-citizens' Russian dominates the streets Riga - the cosmopolitan capital of Latvia - has seen a 13-percent decrease in its population since joining the EU. Even though official language is Latvian, Russian is spoken predominantly in the streets. Alexandr Aleksandrov, himself an "alien," thinks it’s all part of a bigger problem. "A lot of Russians who came here during the occupation were aggressively pushed out of society," he told DW. Latvia's Russian 'non-citizens' An integrated Russian? "I don’ t feel victimized [by the status], I don't feel that separate, but in general I feel on the sidelines. I was thinking how this affected me, my vision; probably it did a lot." Alexandr maintains a level-headed approach. "The fact that Latvia was annexed legally, albeit using force, doesn’t make it any better." Latvia's Russian 'non-citizens' The economic crisis bites Baltic states were hit hard during the 2008 financial crash. Severe austerity contributed to the rise of social problems and a spike in emigration and subsequent depopulation. "Non-citizens," however, are denied working rights in the EU, among other legal restrictions. Latvia's Russian 'non-citizens' Through the barricades This memorial in Riga is dedicated to those who stood at the barricades in 1991. "Many Russians stood together with Latvians, and now they have to prove their loyalty?" said Aleksei Vasiljev, a teacher in Daugavpils. Aleksei, however, also said that the Russian-speakers in Daugavpils have "two presidents - one of them is Putin." Latvia's Russian 'non-citizens' The Latvian way Yelena Vecena, director of a school in Daugavpils, says that "language is not an obstacle to those who want to learn and to communicate." To become a Latvian citizen, it's necessary to take a naturalization exam, covering the basics of the constitution and language skills. The key question, however, is: "Do you recognize the Soviet occupation of Latvia?" For many, this remains a moral obstacle. Author: Benas Gerdziunas (Latvia) tj/ng (dpa, AFP) Every evening at 1830 UTC, DW editors send out a selection of the day's hard news and quality feature journalism. You can sign up to receive it directly here. ||||| RIGA (Reuters) - Latvia’s ruling coalition lost its majority and two newly formed parties took more than a quarter of the votes amid widespread disillusion with the Baltic country’s politicians, the result in Saturday’s parliamentary elections showed with 80 percent of the votes counted. A man casts his vote during a general election in Riga, Latvia October 6, 2018. REUTERS/Ints Kalnins The country of 2 million, a quarter of whom are ethnic Russians, is a frontline state in Europe’s and NATO’s increasingly tense relationship with Vladimir Putin. The pro-Russia party Harmony remained the biggest with 20 percent, due to its support from Russian-speakers, but will find it difficult to get in government as parties that oppose it because of its Moscow ties won enough votes. Latvia has long been plagued by corruption and money-laundering issues. The country’s central bank governor is currently awaiting trial for accepting a bribe. In part because of those issues, two newcomers, populist party KPV LV and anti-corruption party the New Conservatives, both won around 14 percent of the vote each to became the second- and third-biggest parties. “This political party doesn’t take instructions or orders, whims of its founders, supporters or various other people who stand behind it,” Janis Bordans, party leader for the New Conservatives, told supporters after the election. “Faith in the rule of law will return to the people!” The new parliament will be more fragmented and a broad coalition of ethnic Latvian parties is seen as the most likely outcome by political analysts. However, with seven parties winning seats, coalition talks could go on for weeks or months. “Forming a new government will be very difficult,” current Prime Minister Māris Kucinskis of the Union of Greens and Farmers said after the election. The ruling coalition consisting of his party, the National Alliance and the Unity party appear to have lost almost half of its votes. “The messages that the voters have tried to send is that we’re going to have some new faces in politics,” Janis Ikstens, political scientist at Latvia University, told Reuters. “And perhaps they’re not happy with the neglect of social needs.” Before the election, some Latvians feared a strong result for Harmony and KPV could lead to them forming a government and bringing the Latvia’s foreign policy closer to Putin’s Russia. But given the result, that looks unlikely, according to Ikstens. Harmony recently rebranded itself as a Western-style Social Democratic party, saying it is committed to the European Union and NATO. But it only last year ended its official cooperation agreement with Putin’s United Russia Party, raising concerns its transformation is only skin deep. Latvia, a member of the European Union and NATO, shares a 276-kilometre (167 miles) border with Russia. NATO currently has more than 1,000 troops deployed in the Baltic country of 2 million and even the potential of a minor shift in allegiance in Latvia will worry both Brussels and Washington. ||||| Latvia’s pro-Russia Harmony Party has won the country’s general elections, and will have to negotiate with other parties to form a coalition government. Harmony won the Saturday parliamentary elections with 19.91 percent of the votes, followed by KPV LV and New Conservative Party, with 14.06 percent with 13.6 percent, respectively. Turnout in the elections was 54.59 percent, according to the election website. The pro-European Union (EU), pro-NATO liberal For Development/For! Party came fourth with 12.04 percent. The rightwing National Alliance gained 11.03 percent. The Greens and Farmers Union — which currently holds the posts of both president and prime minister — won 9.96 percent. The New Unity took 6.67 percent as the last party crossing the five-percent threshold needed to enter parliament. The current parliament will keep working until November while parties discuss a new coalition. No Harmony — until now Latvia’s political parties had until now always tried to form coalition governments without Harmony in the blend. The party will now hold 24 seats in the 100-seat parliament. KPV LV and the New Conservatives will jointly hold 31 seats. The top three parties can muster the 55 seats needed to form a coalition government. “No coalition combination is possible without Harmony,” the party’s chairman Nils Ushakovs told local media. Latvia’s pro-Russia Harmony Party has won the country’s general elections, and will have to negotiate with other parties to form a coalition government. Harmony won the Saturday parliamentary elections with 19.91 percent of the votes, followed by KPV LV and New Conservative Party, with 14.06 percent with 13.6 percent, respectively. Turnout in the elections was 54.59 percent, according to the election website. The pro-European Union (EU), pro-NATO liberal For Development/For! Party came fourth with 12.04 percent. The rightwing National Alliance gained 11.03 percent. The Greens and Farmers Union — which currently holds the posts of both president and prime minister — won 9.96 percent. The New Unity took 6.67 percent as the last party crossing the five-percent threshold needed to enter parliament. The current parliament will keep working until November while parties discuss a new coalition. No Harmony — until now Latvia’s political parties had until now always tried to form coalition governments without Harmony in the blend. The party will now hold 24 seats in the 100-seat parliament. KPV LV and the New Conservatives will jointly hold 31 seats. The top three parties can muster the 55 seats needed to form a coalition government. “No coalition combination is possible without Harmony,” the party’s chairman Nils Ushakovs told local media. This article has been adapted from its original source. ||||| The pro-Russia Harmony party has topped polls and the ruling coalition lost its majority in Latvia's national election, according to results from over 80 percent of precincts released. Latvia, a country of roughly two million, shares a 214km border with Russia. Its location, along with its membership in NATO and the European Union, places Latvia on the front line of increasingly tense relations between Moscow and the West. A quarter of Latvia's population is ethnic Russians, bolstering support for the Harmony party, which won 20 percent of the vote. Prime Minister Maris Kucinskis' party Union of Greens and Farmers got 9.7 percent and populist newcomers KPV LV got 11.5 percent. There was worry of anti-EU sentiment dominating the polls, but pro-Europe parties registered gains. Liberal party the Development got 13.4 percent and the conservative National Alliance got 12.6 percent. Both have strongly pro-European stances. Harmony, which is regularly the biggest party but fails to join ruling coalitions, will hold 24 seats in the 100-seat Saeima, the Latvian parliament. A coalition will need a simple majority of 51 seats to govern. The current ruling coalition of Union of Greens and Farmers, the National Alliance and Unity together got 29.2 percent, meaning they would have to find at least one other coalition member to form a majority government. "Forming a new government will be very difficult," Kucinskis said after the election. Latvia has long been plagued by corruption and money-laundering issues. The country's central bank governor is currently awaiting trial for accepting a bribe. "The messages that the voters have tried to send is that we're going to have some new faces in politics," Janis Ikstens, political scientist at Latvia University, told the Reuters news agency. "And perhaps they're not happy with the neglect of social needs." A total of 16 parties received votes during the polls, Latvian public broadcasting service LSM.LV said. Reports from 1,057 of 1,078 precincts show that seven parties crossed the five percent threshold and will hold seats in the 13th Saeima since Latvia gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1990. Six parties were represented in the previous parliament. ||||| A pro-Russia party has won the most votes in Latvia’s parliamentary election. Dissatisfied Latvians rejected the right-of-centre ruling coalition in Saturday’s vote, but suspicion of the left-leaning pro-Russia Harmony party makes it likely the next government will be another formation of right-wing ethnic Latvian parties. European Union and Nato member Latvia is seen as a bulwark against Russia amid an increasingly hostile relationship between the West and its president, Vladimir Putin. Latvians, fed up with corruption and weak democracy in the Baltic country of 2 million, used the election to punish the ruling three-party coalition, which lost almost half of its votes, mostly to two newcomers. Those two parties, the populist KPV LV and anti-corruption New Conservatives, won a combined 27.7 per cent of the vote to become the second- and third-biggest parties. “Our voters want a change from the old post-Soviet politics which has been very powerful up to now,” said Janis Bordans, leader of the New Conservatives. “They want to have a stable Latvia, but one which doesn’t stagnate.” The New Conservatives, whose leadership features several former officers from the country’s anti-corruption agency, want to beef up law enforcement and get rid of a number of current officials who they say are corrupt. Mr Bordans said he would like to be the new prime minister. “If we count out Harmony then it’s logical that we take responsibility. We have to be ready to do it and it is very realistic,” he said. Harmony, which is supported by ethnic Russians, who make up one-quarter of the population, took 19.9 per cent of the vote but will find it almost impossible to be part of any government. The ethnic divide is strong in Latvian politics and other parties have always shut Harmony out of government. It has tried to rebrand itself as a western-style social democratic party, but only severed official ties to Mr Putin’s United Russia party last year. “I don’t think this is a norm-breaking election. It carries on the tradition we have seen in Latvia that a quarter of the seats go to the Russian-speaking party,” said Daunis Auers, professor of comparative politics at the University of Latvia, adding that other parties would have no problem shutting out Harmony. “They have no reason to form a government with Harmony. They can form a coalition among themselves,” he told Reuters. Before the election, some Latvians were concerned that a strong result for Harmony and the populist KPV could lead to the two parties forming a government that brought Latvia closer to Russia. The result will lead to a more fragmented parliament of seven parties, of which six won between 10 and 20 per cent support each. The forming of a government coalition could take months. Latvia has long been plagued by corruption and moneylaundering. The country’s central bank governor is awaiting trial on charges of accepting a bribe, and one of the biggest banks, ABLV, went into liquidation this year after US authorities accused it of laundering vast amounts of money for people from the former Soviet Union. Harmony will get 24 seats and remain the biggest bloc in parliament. – Reuters ||||| HELSINKI (AP) — An opposition party favored by Latvia's large ethnic Russian minority has won the Baltic nation's parliamentary election, but it's expected to face difficulties forming a ruling coalition after a vote that saw new populist parties surge and government parties falter. Voters in Latvia, a member of the European Union and NATO, chose Saturday from more than 1,400 candidates and 16 parties to fill the country's 100-seat parliament. With all the votes counted, results Sunday from Latvia's electoral committee showed the left-wing Harmony party winning with 19.8 percent support. The country's Russian minority is a major political force as it accounts about 25 percent of Latvia's nearly 2 million people, a legacy of nearly 50 years of Soviet occupation that ended in 1991. Harmony is led by Nils Usakovs, the mayor of Riga, the capital, since 2009. But it has been shunned by other Latvian parties and kept out of the Cabinet over suspicions that it's too cozy with Moscow, despite the party's pro-EU stance. Sunday's result would give the party 23 seats at the Saeima legislature, one less it has now. Voters, however, dealt a severe blow to Latvia's current three-party ruling coalition led by Prime Minister Maris Kucinskis. His centrist Union of Greens and Farmers came in sixth place with only 9.9 percent support, while the government's junior partners — the conservative National Alliance and the liberal New Unity — were fifth and seventh with 11 percent and 6.7 percent of the vote. Two new smaller parties running on a strong anti-establishment, anti-corruption agenda moved into the forefront of Latvia's complex political landscape. The populist KPV party — abbreviation for "Who Owns the State? — led by the colorful actor-turned-lawmaker Artuss Kaimins and the anti-corruption New Conservative Party took second and third place, with 14.3 percent and 13.6 percent of the votes respectively. The liberal For Development/For! party also made a good run and got 12 percent support. A total of seven parties exceeded the five percent threshold for getting seats in parliament. Voter turnout was 54.6 percent according to preliminary data, the lowest since Latvia regained independence in 1991, the Baltic News Service reported. The result means difficult weeks ahead trying to form a broad government coalition that has at least 51 seats in parliament. Only KPV has so far indicated it is open for talks with Harmony, the possible kingmaker. But Harmony's pro-Russian stance is still an issue. Relations between Russia and Latvia have been frayed by Russia's 2014 annexation of the Crimea Peninsula from Ukraine and its support for separatists in eastern Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin has taken a strong interest in defending the rights of ethnic Russians in the Baltics, and the Baltic nations of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have been wary of increased Russian military presence in the region. Earlier this year Harmony cut its cooperation deal with Putin's United Russia party - a pact that was a major source of irritation to other Latvian parties. ||||| Saturday’s parliamentary election in Latvia — a Baltic member of the European Union and NATO — should see a political party catering to the country’s ethnic Russian minority win most votes but it remains unclear if it can find coalition partners to put it into power. Latvia, a nation of 2 million that borders Russia, has a sizable ethnic-Russian minority of around 25 percent, more if you count other Russian-speakers such as Belarussians and Ukrainians. That is a legacy of nearly 50 years of Soviet occupation that ended in 1991, when the nation once again became independent. Nearly half of the residents of Riga, the capital, speak Russian even though Latvian is the country’s only official language. More than 1,400 candidates from 16 parties are vying for seats Saturday in the country’s 100-seat Saeima assembly. The left-leaning Harmony party is the country’s largest with 24 seats but has been shunned by Latvian parties over suspicions of having a too-friendly approach to Moscow despite its pro-EU stance. It is unlikely to team up with Prime Minister Maris Kucinskis’ Union of Greens and Farmers, which polls suggest could come in second on Saturday, said Una Bergmane, a teaching fellow in international history at the London School of Economics. To form a governing coalition, however, a three-party coalition is needed, as the two largest parties likely would fall short of a 51-seat majority, she said. Since 2016, Kucinskis has led a three-party governing coalition with the national-conservative National Alliance and the liberal Unity parties. His party is particularly popular in rural areas. Russian President Vladimir Putin has a taken strong interest in defending the rights of ethnic Russians in the Baltics, and Latvia has felt Moscow’s attempts to influence the country’s affairs in media, business and politics. The capitals have tense relations after Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 from Ukraine and its support for separatists in eastern Ukraine. The Baltic countries — Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania — have also noted with alarm a substantial increase in Russian military maneuvers in the region. Harmony’s leader, Nils Usakovs who has been mayor of Riga since 2009, may have the best shot at grabbing power since earlier this year the party broke a cooperation deal with Putin’s United Russia party that had upset other Latvian parties. The populist KPV party of Artuss Kaimins, an actor-turned-lawmaker, recently polled as Latvia’s third most-popular party but critics say its campaign promises are unrealistic. The New Conservative Party is running on a strong anti-corruption platform but has struggled to gain voter support. Social issues such a national health reform and a debate over registering same-sex relationships have dominated the campaign along with economic issues and the fight against corruption. Latvia’ security police say they are probing a possible vote-buying case but claim they have found no direct or systematic attempts by foreign nations to influence Saturday’s election. ||||| HELSINKI (AP) — A political party catering to the ethnic Russian minority is expected to win the most votes in Saturday’s parliamentary election in Latvia — a Baltic member of the European Union and NATO — but it remains unclear if it can forge a coalition to take power. Latvia, a nation of 2 million that borders Russia, has a sizable ethnic-Russian minority of around 25 percent — more if you count other Russian-speakers such as Belarussians and Ukrainians. That is a legacy of nearly 50 years of Soviet occupation that ended in 1991, when the nation regained its independence. Nearly half the residents in Riga, the capital, speak Russian even though Latvian is the country’s only official language. More than 1,400 candidates from 16 parties are vying for seats in the country’s 100-seat Saeima assembly. The election campaign has largely focused on social policies issues such as health and whether to register same-sex relationships as well as economic issues and the fight against corruption. The left-leaning Harmony party is the country’s largest with 24 seats but it has been shunned by Latvian parties over suspicions of being too cozy with Moscow despite its pro-EU stance. Una Bergmane, a teaching fellow in international history at the London School of Economics, said it is unlikely the party will be able to team up with Prime Minister Maris Kucinskis’ Union of Greens and Farmers, which polls suggest could come second. To form a governing coalition, a three-party coalition is likely needed, as the two largest parties are expected to fall short of a 51-seat majority. Since 2016, Kucinskis has led a three-party governing coalition with the national-conservative National Alliance and the liberal Unity parties. His party is particularly popular in rural areas. Russian President Vladimir Putin has taken a strong interest in defending the rights of ethnic Russians in the Baltics, and Latvia has felt Moscow’s attempts to influence the country’s affairs in media, business and politics. Relations have been frayed by Russia’s annexation of the Crimea peninsula in 2014 from Ukraine and its support for separatists in eastern Ukraine. The Baltic countries — Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania — have also noted with alarm a substantial increase in Russian military maneuvers in the region. Harmony’s leader, Nils Usakovs who has been mayor of Riga since 2009, may have the best shot at grabbing power following its decision earlier this year to end a cooperation deal with Putin’s United Russia party that had upset other Latvian parties. Other parties fighting the election include the populist KPV party of Artuss Kaimins, an actor-turned-lawmaker, which opinion polls suggest may come third. And the New Conservative Party is running on a strong anti-corruption platform but has struggled to gain voter support. Latvia’s security police say they are probing a possible vote-buying case but claim they have found no direct or systematic attempts by foreign nations to influence Saturday’s election. The Riga-based Baltic Center for Investigative Journalism said it concurred with the assessment after having found “no persuasive evidence of foreign interference.” The London School of Economics’ Bergmane said Russia may be a little bit distracted at the moment as it’s dealing with several contentious international issues. That, she said, is “good news for Latvia.” “We’re not the most important thing on Russia’s agenda right now,” said Bergmane, a Latvia native. “They have other problems like Ukraine, Syria and relations with the United States and Britain.” ||||| RIGA (Reuters) - Latvia’s pro-European parties looked to have done well in an election on Saturday, but the pro-Russian Harmony party was set to be the biggest single group in parliament, according to an exit poll by state broadcaster LTV. If the result stands, it would allay fears of Harmony being part of any coalition government and possibly shifting the European Union and NATO member’s foreign policy closer to Putin’s Russia. The pollster said that fewer voters than usual responded to its questions, however, and that the result was uncertain. “Previous experience shows that the result of the more radical forces might do better than the exit poll shows,” Arnis Kaktinš, head of polling company SKDS, told Reuters. The current majority government of the Union of Greens and Farmers, the National Alliance and the Unity party only mustered support from 29.2 percent of voters, according to the poll. Populist newcomer KPV LV, which dominated pre-election debates and was seen by some as a possible coalition partner for Harmony, was the fifth-biggest party with 11.5 percent support. Other parties did better than previous polls had suggested. The liberal Development/For party got 13.4 percent support, conservative National Alliance got 12.6 percent and anti-corruption party the New Conservatives got 12.4 percent. All three have strongly pro-European stances. Dissatisfaction with Latvian politicians, widely seen as corrupt and inefficient, has seen the parties in Prime Minister Maris Kucinskis’ coalition lose voters to KPV LV, a party that has promised a fresh and more efficient government. KPV leader, Artuss Kaimins, whose popularity has soared as he railed against corrupt politicians, has sent mixed messages on whether he would rule out a deal with Harmony, set to be the biggest party due to its support base among the Russian-speaking minority. “I will be one of those good people who elect bad politicians,” said Raivis, a man in his late thirties, before casting his vote for Harmony in a Riga suburb earlier on Saturday. “I try not to think about it because it’s been so complicated that it’s hard to understand who’s playing the chess board.” Latvia, a member of the European Union and NATO, shares a 276-kilometre (167 miles) border with Russia which makes it a frontline state in the increasingly hostile relationship between the West and President Vladimir Putin. NATO currently has more than 1,000 troops deployed in the Baltic country of 2 million and even the potential of a minor shift in allegiance in Latvia will worry both Brussels and Washington. Harmony wants to remain in the EU and NATO but have closer economic ties with Russia and only cancelled a cooperation agreement with Putin’s United Russia party last year. With Russian speakers making up a quarter of the population, Harmony looks to remain the biggest party, according to the polls, followed by the Union of Greens and Farmers and KPV LV. Polling stations close at 1700 GMT with a preliminary official result expected around 0100 GMT Sunday morning. ||||| The pro-Kremlin Harmony party won Latvia's general election ahead of populists, final results showed yesterday, but talks on forming a governing coalition looked thorny due to the country's fragmented political scene. Harmony topped Saturday's vote with 19.91 percent of the vote ahead of two populist parties, KPV LV with 14.06 percent and the New Conservative Party with 13.6 percent. "No coalition combination is possible without Harmony that would appear able and stable," Harmony chairman and Riga mayor Nils Ushakovs told the LETA agency. Harmony, popular with Latvia's ethnic Russian minority which makes up about a quarter of the country's 1.9 million population, was formerly allied with Russian President Vladimir Putin's United Russia party and has won the largest number of votes in the last three elections. It never entered government as it failed to attract coalition partners, but the populists suggested before the vote that they may help propel it to power this time. Latvia's public broadcaster said on its website the results would give Harmony 24 seats out of 100 in the parliament, which is called Saeima. But together with an expected 15 seats for KPV LV, the two parties would need at least one other partner to clinch a majority. The pro-EU, pro-NATO liberal For Development/For! party came fourth in the vote with 12.04 percent, beating parties from the current center-right governing coalition including the rightwing National Alliance, which earned 11.03 percent. The center-right Greens and Farmers Union of Prime Minister Maris Kucinskis won 9.96 percent and the New Unity took 6.67 percent as the last party crossing the five-percent threshold to have seats in parliament. Latvia is a member of both the Eurozone and NATO, having joined the military alliance in 2004. The country is one of NATO's most disciplined spenders on defense, meeting the two-percent-of-GDP goal wished by the Alliance. | Voters in Latvia go to the polls to vote for a new parliament. The governing coalition loses its majority with two new parties Who owns the state? and the New Conservative Party becoming the second and third biggest parties behind Social Democratic Party "Harmony". |
At least 10 officers killed in two days of fighting for control of key highways At least 10 policemen died in clashes with Taliban fighters in the central Afghan province of Wardak, officials said on Sunday, amid fighting to wrest control of important highways a day after the insurgents blew up bridges. The Taliban set fire to a government building in Wardak's Sayeed Abad district and killed the district police chief along with nine other officers on Saturday night, a senior police source said. Repeated assaults on strategically important provinces, such as Wardak and nearby Ghazni, have been a show of strength by the Taliban, underscoring how volatile security remains in Afghanistan two weeks before parliamentary elections. Afghan security forces killed at least 25 Taliban insurgents, government officials said. Reinforcements from neighbouring provinces were sent to regain control of the contested highways. Officials said Afghan forces drove out Taliban insurgents from the highway that connects the capital, Kabul, to the major southern city of Kandahar. Abdul Rahman Mangal, a spokesman for Wardak's governor, said the Taliban raided civilian homes after killing the 10 policemen, destroyed newly built checkpoints and cut power to some parts of the city. Afghanistan’s power company said major power lines serving Wardak and Ghazni were cut. The power cuts also affected parts of the nearby provinces of Logar and Paktia. A statement from the Taliban's main spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, said the insurgents took the centre of Sayeed Abad and all surrounding security checkpoints, killing members of the security forces and seizing weapons, ammunition and vehicles. Mohammad Arif Noori, a spokesman for Ghazni's governor, said one soldier was killed by Taliban fighters as they tried to take parts of the province nearly two months after being pushed back from its main city by US-backed Afghan forces. The Taliban attacked Ghazni, a strategically important centre straddling the main highway linking Kabul with Afghanistan's south, in August. It was the largest tactical operation launched by the insurgents since they overran the northern city of Kunduz in 2015. That confrontation killed 150 members of the security forces and 95 civilians, as well as hundreds of Taliban fighters. _______________ Read more: UN mission in Afghanistan voices concern as violence peaks ahead of elections Suicide bomber hits Afghan election rally Afghan roadside bomb attack kills two people _______________ ||||| KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The Taliban have destroyed highway bridges southwest of Kabul during a wide-ranging assault on security forces, cutting off road traffic between the capital and three provinces, officials said Sunday. Interior Ministry spokesman Najib Danish said Afghan security forces repelled the attack but that gunbattles are still underway. He said at least six Afghan police, including a district police chief, were killed in the fighting. A provincial official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief reporters, said at least 10 police were killed. The official said the Taliban attacked a number of remote checkpoints, and that the toll could be much higher. Abdul Rahman Mangel, the provincial governor's spokesman, said the attack began late Saturday and appeared to be aimed at seizing the Sayed Abad district headquarters, in the Maidan Wardak province. The Taliban said they overran the district headquarters, but local officials denied the claim. Danish said reinforcements have been sent to the area and that "most areas in the district" are under control. The destruction of the bridges cut off the main highway from Kabul to the Ghazni, Zabul and Kandahar provinces. The battle also cut off electricity to four provinces: Maidan Wardak, Logar, Ghazni and Paktia. The Taliban have seized a number of districts across the country in recent years and regularly attack security forces. The latest assault comes just two weeks before Afghanistan holds parliamentary elections. ||||| KABUL — An Afghan official says the Taliban have destroyed a highway bridge southwest of Kabul during a wide-ranging assault on security forces, cutting off road traffic between the capital and three provinces. Abdul Rahman Mangel, the provincial governor’s spokesman, says Afghan forces repelled the attack, which began late Saturday and appeared to be aimed at seizing a district headquarters in the Maidan Wardak province. He says gunbattles are still underway and there are casualties on both sides, without elaborating. The Taliban claim to have overrun the Sayed Abad district headquarters, but local officials denied the claim. The bridge destroyed in the assault cuts off the main highway from Kabul to the Ghazni, Zabul and Kandahar provinces. The battle also cut off electricity to four provinces: Maidan Wardak, Logar, Ghazni and Paktia. ||||| KABUL (Reuters) - Heavily armed Taliban fighters destroyed bridges near the central city of Ghazni on Saturday, closing the main highway between the capital Kabul and southern Afghanistan, officials said. Sporadic clashes erupted between Afghan soldiers and Taliban insurgents who were trying to gain control over parts of Ghazni province nearly two months after being pushed back from the city by U.S.-backed Afghan forces, officials added. Mohammad Arif Noori, the governor’s spokesman in Ghazni, said fighting was ongoing and the Afghan army had deployed helicopters to prevent the militants from entering the city centre. “We are fully prepared to attack them. This time the province will not fall into the hands of the Taliban,” Noori said. Five militants were killed as they were planting bombs on three bridges on the Kabul-Kandahar highway, Noori added. Residents of Qarabagh district, 55 km (35 miles) south of Ghazni city, said the militants had set up checkpoints and did not allow vehicles to pass through several residential areas. The attack on Ghazni was a show of strength for the Taliban, underscoring how volatile the security situation remains two weeks before the parliamentary elections. Polling has already been called off in Ghazni province after the Taliban overran it in August and besieged the city for five days. That confrontation killed 150 Afghan security forces and 95 civilians dead, as well as hundreds of Taliban fighters, said officials then. President Ashraf Ghani’s Western-backed government pledged $20 million for relief and reconstruction of Ghazni after security forces defeated the Taliban fighters in that battle. ||||| Afghan forces, Taliban battle for control of highways in Ghazni KABUL: Heavily armed Taliban fighters destroyed bridges near the central city of Ghazni on Saturday, closing the main highway between the capital Kabul and southern Afghanistan, officials said. Sporadic clashes erupted between Afghan soldiers and Taliban insurgents who were trying to gain control over parts of Ghazni province nearly two months after being pushed back from the city by US -backed Afghan forces, officials added. Mohammad Arif Noori, the governor´s spokesman in Ghazni, said fighting was ongoing and the Afghan army had deployed helicopters to prevent the militants from entering the city centre. “We are fully prepared to attack them. This time the province will not fall into the hands of the Taliban,” Noori said. Five militants were killed as they were planting bombs on three bridges on the Kabul-Kandahar highway, Noori added. The attack on Ghazni was a show of strength for the Taliban, underscoring how volatile the security situation remains two weeks before the parliamentary elections. Polling has already been called off in Ghazni province after the Taliban overran it in August and besieged the city for five days. That confrontation killed 150 Afghan security forces and 95 civilians dead, as well as hundreds of Taliban fighters, said officials then. President Ashraf Ghani´s Western-backed government pledged $20 million for relief and reconstruction of Ghazni after security forces defeated the Taliban fighters in that battle. Afghan forces said on Saturday they were also fighting Taliban insurgents to retake a highway linking Ghazni and Paktia provinces. The Taliban took control of the arterial road in August and had imposed a tolls on civilians using the highway. Rohullah Khalil Ughlo, an Afghan army commander, said 22 Taliban insurgents were killed and 17 were wounded in clashes to secure the highway. “The operation will end soon and the highway will be open for traffic. People will not have to pay illegal taxes anymore,” said Ughlo. Meanwhile residents of Qarabagh district, 55 km (35 miles) south of Ghazni city, said the militants had set up checkpoints and were preventing vehicles from passing through several residential areas. ||||| KABUL: At least 10 policemen were killed in clashes with Taliban fighters in the central Afghan province of Wardak, officials said on Sunday, amid fighting to wrest control of arterial highways a day after Taliban fighters blew up bridges. The Taliban set fire to a government building in Wardak’s Sayeed Abad district and killed the district police chief along with nine other policemen on Saturday night, a senior police official said. Repeated assaults by Taliban on strategically important provinces, such as Wardak and nearby Ghazni have underscored how volatile security remains in Afghanistan two weeks before nationwide parliamentary elections. At least 25 Taliban were killed by Afghan securityy forces, government officials said, and reinforcements from neighbouring provinces were deployed to regain control of contested highways. Officials said Afghan forces had driven out Taliban from the highway that connects Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, to the major southern city of Kandahar. Abdul Rahman Mangal, a spokesman for the Wardak governor’s office, said the Taliban raided some civilian houses after killing 10 policemen in that province, destroyed newly built checkpoints and cut power to some parts of the city. Government forces counter-attacked to stop the insurgents from approaching the city, Mangal said. Afghanistan’s power supply company, Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat, said in a statement major power lines serving Wardak and Ghazni had been cut. The power cuts also affected parts of the nearby provinces of Logar and Paktia. It said teams would be sent to repair the lines as soon as security improves. A statement from the Taliban’s main spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, said the Taliban had taken the centre of Sayeed Abad in Wardak and all surrounding security checkpoints, killing numerous members of the security forces and seizing weapons, ammunition and vehicles. Mohammad Arif Noori, a spokesman for Ghazni’s governor, said one soldier was killed by Taliban fighters as they tried to gain control over parts of the province nearly two months after being pushed back from the city by US-backed Afghan forces. The Taliban attacked Ghazni, a strategically important centre straddling the main highway linking Kabul with Afghanistan’s south, in August. It was the largest tactical operation launched by the Taliban since they overran the northern city of Kunduz in 2015. That confrontation killed 150 members of Afghanistan’s security forces and 95 civilians, as well as hundreds of Taliban fighters. ||||| At least 10 policemen have been killed in clashes with Taliban fighters in the central Afghan province of Wardak, officials said. Sunday’s clashes come amid fighting to wrest control of arterial highways a day after Taliban fighters blew up bridges along those roads, blocking traffic between the capital Kabul and Ghazni, Zabul and Kandahar provinces. The fighting also cut off electricity to four provinces: Maidan Wardak, Logar, Ghazni and Paktia. Abdul Rahman Mangel, the provincial governor’s spokesman, told the Associated Press the attack began late on Saturday and appeared to be aimed at seizing the Sayed Abad district headquarters in the Maidan Wardak province. The Taliban set fire to a government building in the district and killed the district police chief along with nine other policemen, according to a senior police official. The Taliban said they overran the district headquarters, but local officials denied the claim. Mangel also said the Taliban raided homes after the attack. Interior Ministry spokesman Najib Danish told the Associated Press that reinforcements have been sent to and “most areas in the district” are under control. Repeated assaults on strategically important provinces, such as Wardak and nearby Ghazni, have been a show of strength for the Taliban, underscoring how volatile security remains in Afghanistan two weeks before parliamentary elections. A statement from the Taliban’s main spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, said fighters had taken the centre of Sayeed Abad and all surrounding security checkpoints. The group has seized a number of districts across the country in recent years and regularly attack security forces. In August, the Taliban attacked Ghazni, the largest tactical operation launched by the Taliban since they overran the northern city of Kunduz in 2015. That confrontation killed 150 members of Afghanistan’s security forces and 95 civilians, as well as hundreds of Taliban fighters. ||||| KABUL—The Taliban destroyed highway bridges southwest of Kabul during a wide-ranging assault on security forces, cutting off road traffic between the capital and three provinces for most of the day on Sunday, officials said. Interior Ministry deputy spokesperson Nasrat Rahimi said 14 police, including a district police chief, were killed as the insurgents tried but failed to capture the Sayed Abad district headquarters in the Maidan Wardak province. He said another seven security forces were wounded. The highway between Kabul and Kandahar has since been reopened, and “the route has returned to normal,” he added. The insurgents burned down part of the district police headquarters and destroyed a number of checkpoints around the district, said Hekmat Durani, the provincial police chief’s spokesman. Durani said that around 20 Taliban fighters were killed and wounded during the battle in Sayed Abad. The Taliban said they overran the district headquarters, but local officials denied the claim. The destruction of the bridges had cut off the main highway from Kabul to the Ghazni, Zabul and Kandahar provinces. The battle also cut off electricity to four provinces: Maidan Wardak, Logar, Ghazni and Paktia. The Taliban have seized a number of districts across the country in recent years and regularly attack security forces. The latest assault comes just two weeks before Afghanistan holds parliamentary elections. On Sunday, the UN mission in Afghanistan said civilian deaths from suicide bombings rose 46 per cent in the first nine months of this year from the same period last year and that deaths from roadside bombs were up 21 per cent. It says more than 1,000 people were killed and more than 2,500 have been wounded this year in both kinds of attacks, including scores of women and children. It said suicide bombings caused more civilian deaths than any other form of violence, including ground battles between troops and insurgents. “Deliberately targeting civilians is a war crime and cannot be tolerated,” said Tadamichi Yamamoto, the UN envoy for Afghanistan. “The unpredictable nature of these types of attacks has caused Afghans unbearable suffering and forced them to live in fear of the next explosion, severely curtailing their ability to carry out normal lives.” The UN also documented a dramatic increase in attacks deliberately targeting civilians. While the Taliban mainly attack security forces and government officials, an Islamic State affiliate has launched a relentless wave of bombings targeting Afghanistan’s Shiite minority. The UN said that in the first nine months of this year it has documented more casualties from attacks on Shiites than in the whole of 2017. ||||| US peace envoy arrives in Kabul as Taliban ramp up attacks KABUL: Senior US envoy Zalmay Khalilzad has arrived in Kabul for talks with Afghan leaders, an official said Sunday, in his first trip to the Afghan capital since being appointed to lead peace efforts with the Taliban. The visit by Khalilzad, a former US ambassador to Kabul, Baghdad and the United Nations, comes as the Afghan government and international community intensify efforts to end the 17-year war. A spokesman for Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said Khalilzad would have dinner with Ghani and other officials on Sunday. He would not provide further details about Khalilzad’s visit. The US embassy in Kabul did not immediately respond to AFP’s request for comment. Khalilzad is also scheduled to visit Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Qatar as part of a 10-day trip to “coordinate and lead US efforts to bring the Taliban to the negotiating table”, the US State Department said last week. His arrival comes as the Taliban and the Islamic State group ramp up attacks across the country ahead of this month’s long-delayed parliamentary elections that are seen as a dry run for next year’s presidential vote. In the latest incident, Taliban fighters killed 14 members of the security forces in a district in eastern Afghanistan that straddles the strategic Kabul-Kandahar highway linking the Afghan capital and the group’s southern strongholds. The Sayedabad district police chief was among those killed in the heavy fighting overnight, Wardak provincial governor spokesman Abdul Rahman Mangal told AFP. Another seven were wounded, deputy interior ministry spokesman Nasrat Rahimi said in a statement. The Taliban also suffered “heavy casualties”, Rahimi added. The group claimed its fighters had killed dozens of security forces. An electricity cable was destroyed in the battle, severing power to Wardak, Ghazni, Logar and Paktia provinces, power utility Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat said in a statement. The attack on Sayedabad district, which is less than two hours’ drive from Kabul, came shortly after militants destroyed several bridges along the same highway in neighbouring Ghazni province, forcing its temporary closure. A major Taliban assault on Ghazni’s provincial capital in August triggered five days of fighting with security forces that left hundreds dead. ||||| KABUL (Reuters) - At least 10 policemen were killed in clashes with Taliban fighters in the central Afghan province of Wardak, officials said on Sunday, amid fighting to wrest control of arterial highways a day after Taliban fighters blew up bridges. The Taliban set fire to a government building in Wardak’s Sayeed Abad district and killed the district police chief along with nine other policemen on Saturday night, a senior police official said. Repeated assaults on strategically important provinces, such as Wardak and nearby Ghazni, have been a show of strength for the Taliban, underscoring how volatile security remains in Afghanistan two weeks before nationwide parliamentary elections. Abdul Rahman Mangal, a spokesman for the Wardak governor’s office, said the Taliban raided some civilian houses after killing 10 policemen, destroyed newly built checkpoints and cut power to some parts of the city. Government forces counter-attacked to stop the insurgents from approaching the city, Mangal said. A statement from the Taliban’s main spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, said the insurgents had taken the centre of Sayeed Abad and all surrounding security checkpoints, killing numerous members of the security forces and seizing weapons, ammunition and vehicles. Mohammad Arif Noori, a spokesman for Ghazni’s governor, said one soldier was killed by Taliban fighters as they tried to gain control over parts of the province nearly two months after being pushed back from the city by U.S.-backed Afghan forces. The Taliban attacked Ghazni, a strategically important centre straddling the main highway linking Kabul with Afghanistan’s south, in August. It was the largest tactical operation launched by the Taliban since they overran the northern city of Kunduz in 2015. That confrontation killed 150 members of Afghanistan’s security forces and 95 civilians, as well as hundreds of Taliban fighters. | Afghan officials say that the Taliban destroyed highway bridges in Maidan Wardak Province, cutting off road traffic between the capital Kabul and the provinces of Ghazni, Zabul and Kandahar. Electricity was cut off in four provinces, and fighting was reported in Ghazni Province. At least ten Afghan police officers were killed. Parliamentary elections are scheduled to be held in two weeks. |
The Russian Orthodox Church has announced it will break off relations with the Patriarchate of Constantinople in a religious schism driven by political friction between Russia and Ukraine. The Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church elected on Monday to cut ties with the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, which is viewed as the leading authority for the world’s 300 million Orthodox worshippers. The split is a show of force by Russia after a Ukrainian church was granted independence. Last week Bartholomew I of Constantinople, the “first among equals” of eastern Orthodox clerics, granted autocephaly (independence) to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which previously answered to Moscow. Archbishop’s defiance threatens Putin’s vision of Russian greatness Read more If Monday’s decision is a lasting one, the loss of the powerful and wealthy Russian church will be a serious blow to the global church. It also marks an important new facet for the rift between Russia and Ukraine, who have become bitter enemies since the annexation of Crimea and the war in Donbass. Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, the Moscow patriarchate’s head of external church relations, announced the Russian church’s decision on Monday and said Russia hoped the Patriarchate of Constantinople would change its mind. “Until that happens, until all these unlawful decisions made by Constantinople are in force, we won’t be able to communicate with the church which today finds itself in the midst of a schism,” he said, according to reports of his remarks. The global Orthodox churches collectively represent 300 million people. But there are fewer than 3,000 of the Orthodox faithful in Istanbul. The Russian Orthodox Church represents a majority of Orthodox Christians and commands huge wealth and power. Its leader, Patriarch Kirill, is closely allied to Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, who he has described as “a miracle of God”. Rivalry between the Russian church and patriarch of Constantinople has been a feature of eastern Orthodoxy. Kirill has objected to Bartholomew’s close relationship with the Roman Catholic church and Pope Francis. Ukraine’s government had lobbied strongly for autocephaly as part of a larger break from Russian influence in the country’s affairs. Feminism could destroy Russia, Russian Orthodox patriarch claims Read more “Autocephaly is part of our pro-European and pro-Ukrainian state strategy,” the Ukrainian president, Petro Poroshenko, said in a statement last week. He also called Moscow’s loss of control over the Ukrainian Orthodox Church “the fall of the ‘third Rome’ as the most ancient conceptual claim of Moscow for the global domination”. Russia’s Orthodox Church already had a tense relationship with the religious authorities in Istanbul. In the summer of 2016 the first global gathering of the 14 self-governing Orthodox churches since the year 787 almost collapsed before it opened because of disagreements over the agenda. Several churches – including the Russians – threatened to boycott the “holy and great council”, which had been 55 years in the planning. The Patriarch of Constantinople has sought to repair relations with the Roman Catholic church, which broke from eastern Orthodoxy almost a millennium ago, in 1054. ||||| In the largest schism in Orthodox Christianity for over a century, the Russian Orthodox Church has cut all ties with the Constantinople Patriarchate over a "historic" decision to recognise the Ukrainian Orthodox Church as independent. Metropolitan Hilarion, a bishop in charge of the Russian Orthodox, told journalists that the decision to break relations with the Constantinople Patriarchate was taken by The Holy Synod, the governing body of the Russian Orthodox Church, in Minsk, Belarus on Monday. In an official declaration, members of the Holy Synod wrote that allowing another church to break away "is tantamount to renouncing its historical roots and commitments" making it "impossible" for the Russian Orthodox Church to continue its union with Constantinople. The Holy Synod has also urged other Orthodox Churches to properly evaluate a decision taken by Constantinople and to "search for ways out of the gravest crisis that is tearing apart the body of church". On 15 October, the Istanbul-based leader of the Eastern Orthodox Church, Ecumenical Patriarch I Bartholomew of Constantinople, took the monumental decision to recognise the full independence of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, after a three-day Synod. Speaking at a press conference last Thursday, Ukraine's President Poroshenko dubbed the decision a "historic event" and a "victory of good over evil". A spokesman for Russian Patriarch Kirill said it "crossed a red line" and is "catastrophic" for the entire Orthodox world. The split is seen to have a deep political significance. Poroshenko said he the decision was an issue about Ukraine's statehood, national security and global geopolitics. "This is the collapse of Moscow's centuries-old claims for global domination as the Third Rome," he said. "The independence of our church is part of our pro-European and pro-Ukrainian policies that we've been consistently pursuing over the last four years." For more than three centuries, Ukraine and Russia have been united in the Russian Orthodox Church. When it gained independence in 1991 following the fall of the Soviet Union, Ukraine strove to establish religious independence and an Orthodox Church of the Kiev Patriarchate was created. The popularity of the Kiev Patriarchate and calls for Ukraine's independence have increased since Moscow annexed Ukrainian peninsula, Crimea in 2014. Volodymyr Yermolenko, a Ukrainian writer and director at Internews Ukraine, said the move could create divisions in and beyond Ukraine. "It's possible some will support Constantinople, while some will turn to Russia. Russia will no longer recognise the Ukrainian Church and only see it as schismatic," he said. "This could increase tensions, even though the whole idea was to end schism in Ukraine, by recognising those who are not willing to be under the Russian Church." READ MORE: A conflict of faith between Russia and Ukraine In today's Ukraine, there are three Orthodox Church branches: the Kiev Patriarchate, headed by Metropolitan Filaret, which does not recognise Moscow's authority, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church - the largest branch - previously loyal to the Moscow Patriarchate, and the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church, founded in 1921, in defiance of the Kremlin and forced underground during Soviet rule. Beginning under then President Boris Yeltsin, and continuing under President Vladimir Putin, the church has seen a massive national revival in its following. It is widely seen as a pillar of the Russian state in its promotion of traditional values. Many analysts, such as Jakub Junda, a director at the Prague-based think-tank, European Values, consider the Russian Orthodox Church a tool for spreading Russia's influence, and "entails the promotion of Russian nationalist and imperialist ambitions". It is the largest branch of the Orthodox faith represents half of the world's 200 million or Orthodox believers, including Ukrainian followers, dwarfing the 17 remaining official Orthodox Churches. ||||| The Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church decided to suspend full communion with the Constantinople Patriarchate, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate said Monday. "At today's meeting of the Holy Synod, the decision was made to completely stop full communion with the Constantinople Patriarchate. It was a forced decision, but our Holy Synod was unable to make a different decision because the entire logic of the Constantinople Patriarchate's recent actions was leading to this," Metropolitan Hilarion told reporters. He said the Moscow Patriarchate hopes the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople will change its decision to start granting autocephaly to the non-canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk went on to note that the Russian Orthodox Church expressed hope that Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko would keep his promise not to persecute believers of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church. "We hope there will be no clashes. We heard assurances from Ukrainian President Poroshenko," he said. The news comes following the announcement of the Constantinople Patriarchate on Thursday that it would proceed to the granting independence to the Orthodox Church in Ukraine, which is currently split into three major churches — the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) of Moscow Patriarchate, the non-canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Kiev Patriarchate (UOC-KP), which was created after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the so-called Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church. In addition, Synod announced earlier that it lifted the anathema from the heads of the two non-canonical churches that had been excommunicated by the Russian Orthodox Church for their schism. The Constantinople Patriarchate also revoked its decision to grant Moscow Patriarchate the right to ordain the Metropolitan of Kiev, which dates back to 1686. In mid-September, two exarchs of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople started working in the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kiev Patriarchate (UOC-KP), which came as part of Constantinople's preparations to grant autocephaly to the UOC-KP. The initiative has been strongly criticized by the Russian Orthodox Church, which moved on to the actual "breaking of diplomatic relations" with the Patriarchate of Constantinople, suspending service with its hierarchs. ||||| Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I (front, center) stands with Orthodox clergy at The Hagia Triada Greek Orthodox church Sept. 2 in Istanbul, during the second day of meetings that led to the patriarch recognizing the identity of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. The move led to the Russian Orthodox Church breaking from the Greek Orthodox Church. (OZAN KOSE/AFP/Getty Images) “The Russian Orthodox Church doesn’t recognize those decisions and won’t fulfill them,” Archbishop Hilarion Alfeyev said in Belarus after a meeting of the synod of the Russian Orthodox Church. KIEV, Ukraine — The Russian Orthodox Patriarchate of Moscow has cut ties with the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholomew I, claiming his recognition of an independent Orthodox Church in Ukraine departed from Orthodox Christian norms. Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeyev, who heads foreign relations for the Russian Orthodox Church, said Russian Orthodox leaders decided to “break the Eucharistic communion” in response to actions it called “lawless and canonically void.” “The Russian Orthodox Church doesn’t recognize those decisions and won’t fulfill them,” Archbishop Hilarion said in Belarus after a meeting of the synod of the Russian Orthodox Church. “The Church that acknowledged the schismatics has excluded itself from the canonical field of Orthodoxy.” “We are hoping common sense will prevail and that the Constantinople Patriarchate will change its relations to existing Church reality,” Metropolitan Hilarion said. Patriarch Bartholomew’s plan to create a single, self-governing Church in the Ukraine, led by its own patriarch, is motivated by a desire to unify the country’s 30 million Orthodox Christians, some observers say. The Russian Church sees the move as an infringement of its jurisdiction and authority. There are about 300 million Orthodox Christians worldwide. The Orthodox Church split from the Latin Church in 1054. The break comes in response to the decision of Bartholomew I, Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople and the “first among equals” leader of the global Orthodox Church, to issue a statement Oct. 11 confirming plans for an independent Ukrainian Orthodox Church and restoring ties with the previously schismatic Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kiev Patriarchate. The announcement also removed the traditional right of the Russian Patriarch to ordain the metropolitan of Kiev, a move that observers predicted would be perceived as a deliberate slight to Moscow. The right dated back to a canonical letter first issued in the year 1686. Archbishop Yevstratiy, chief spokesman for the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kiev Patriarchate and whose rehabilitation by Constantinople contributed to the current break with Moscow, called the Russian synod’s decision a move toward “self-isolation.” Writing in a Facebook post, he said, “Sooner or later this will be fixed and the Russian Orthodox Church will return to communion.” According to the U.S. government-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Press Service, Archbishop Yevstratiy claimed that Orthodox Christians must choose whether to follow the Russian Orthodox “into schism” or “remain in unity with the Ecumenical Patriarch (Bartholomew I of Constantinople) through the Local Ukrainian Church.” Among the backers of Constantinople’s move are Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, who is running for re-election in March 2019. He had previously asked the Patriarch of Constantinople to grant independence to the Orthodox Church in Ukraine, The Associated Press reported. While the recent push for an independent, autocephalous Orthodox Church in Ukraine emerged as a serious movement in the 1990s following the collapse of the Soviet Union, it gained further momentum following the Russian annexation of the Crimean Peninsula in 2014, and Russian backing of separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine in response to the unseating of Ukraine’s pro-Russia former president Viktor Yanukovych. The Russian Orthodox Church, which claims traditional and canonical authority over the Orthodox community in Ukraine, has denied taking political sides in the conflict and said it has worked for peace in eastern Ukraine. The Russian Church has also voiced concern that the Constantinople patriarchate’s actions could deepen religious divides in Ukraine and inspire breakaway branches to take over church buildings, Reuters reports. Kiev, now the capital of Ukraine, is the site of the 988 baptism of Vladimir the Great, the grand prince of Kiev, which resulted in the Christianization of Kyivan Rus’, a state whose heritage Ukraine, Russia and Belarus all claim. Orthodox Christians in Ukraine have recently been divided into three separate groups. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kiev Patriarchate effectively declared itself independent from Moscow in 1992, and is considered by the Russian Orthodox to be a schismatic group. Until now, the other Orthodox Churches have recognized Ukraine as under Moscow’s jurisdiction and honored the excommunication. The Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church, refounded in 1990, is similarly seen as a breakaway group. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate is under the authority of the Russian Church and has been the officially recognized Orthodox Church in the country. ||||| The Russian Orthodox Church has broken all ties with the See of Constantinople, seen as the center of Orthodox faith, though whether it will continue to be seen as such a center is up for debate. Constantinople's decision to recognize two breakaway Ukrainian churches has cost it the support of the Moscow Patriarchate, the biggest Orthodox Church in the world with the greatest number of adherents. Constantinople has "self-destroyed" as the cornerstone for Orthodoxy worldwide, says the Russian Church's public relations chief. It may take months, years or even decades to see who comes out on top in the worst religious break-up of modern times, but it is already clear that the consequences will be momentous – and will spill far beyond church politics. For those not closely following the intricacies of intra-Orthodox relations what exactly happened around the Ukrainian Orthodox Church warrants a short explanation. For those versed in the intricacies of church politics, it's safe to skip to the next section. There are a number of Orthodox Christian organizations active in Ukraine, all of them called Orthodox Churches with various additional qualifiers. The three most important ones, boasting the largest followings, are: The Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kiev Patriarchate and the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church. The latter two used to be non-canonical, or illegitimate, from the point of view of the worldwide Orthodox Church. Last week, the Constantinople Patriarchate, the 'first among equals', granted them autocephaly, recognizing their independent status. In effect that makes them equal to the Russian Orthodox Church (otherwise known as the Moscow Patriarchate). The Moscow Patriarchate, which had earlier anathemized Kiev Patriarch Filaret, is now up in arms against Constantinople's decision. So much so that it has broken off its relationship with the Orthodox center, creating what is already being described as a schism comparable to the Catholic-Orthodox split of the 11th century. Will there be blood? In ages past, when religion was both the cornerstone of secular life and a legitimizer for worldly rulers, splits like this led to rebellions, wars and crusades. In the modern day of secularism and segregation of power, what happens in church is expected to stay in church – but will it? Worldly leaders in both Russia and Ukraine have unequivocally taken sides in the conflict. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko called Constantinople's recognition a "victory over Moscow demons" and the end of Russia's "conceptual bid for world domination." Russian President Vladimir Putin called a security council gathering to address the recognition of the Ukrainian churches. There will, quite literally, be blood, believes Roman Silantyev, a religious studies professor at the Moscow State Linguistic University. "Constantinople's actions legitimize repressions against Ukrainian believers faithful to the Moscow Patriarchate," Silantyev told RT. "They will be thrown out of buildings, they will be forced to take part in the All-Ukraine Ecumenical Council, they will be limited in everyday life… they will, simply speaking, be made second-class citizens." In a more materialistic sense, Russia is now in a position to demand recompense from Constantinople for reversing the 17th-century agreement that put the Ukrainian Church under the Moscow Patriarchate. "They reversed a centuries-old agreement, and that agreement had earned them gifts and money from the Russian authorities, the Russian authorities can now demand that those gifts and money be returned. It's as if Russia now tore up the papers on the sale of Alaska, America would ask for its money back," Silantyev said. Experts RT spoke to have questioned the judgment of Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople. "Some sort of external or internal forces have influenced Patriarch Bartholomew to take a decision that goes against the very basic principles of the Orthodox faith, and he knows it very well – he knows all the canons and all the rules better than we do," says archpriest Aleksandr Ilyashenko, director of the Orthodox Christianity and the World (http://www.pravmir.com/) web portal. Professor Silantyev believes it possible that this could spell the end of Bartholomew's primacy. "I think it's not entirely impossible that Patriarch Bartholomew will be ruled either insane or a heretic, I would bet on the latter. It has happened before. An all-Orthodox council would gather and make that decision." The Moscow Patriarchate certainly commands enough of a worldwide influence to spar with Constantinople. It has a total of 150 million followers, compared to Constantinople's 5.3mn, or even the Kiev Patriarchate's 7+ million. But Father Aleksandr is skeptical that Bartholomew can be brought down so simply. "Firstly, you would have to convene an all-Orthodox council. Secondly, you would need everyone to agree. Thirdly, the council will be obstructed by the forces that started the mess in Ukraine." Christianity is no stranger to splits and schisms of various scales across the centuries. The one we're seeing now is being compared to the greatest of them all: The East-West Schism of 1054, when the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church went their separate ways. Back then, the Pope and the Eastern Patriarch declared each other heretics and laid down mutual anathema – which endured for over 900 years and was only lifted in 1965. This time around the Moscow Patriarchate has stopped short of invoking either of those words, only saying Constantinople's teaching (regarding Ukraine) is "false" and its Patriarch's actions "illegal." The ultimate significance of the difference in semantics remains to be seen. Another major split, this time within the Russian Orthodox Church, came about in the 17th century, 30-odd years before the Kiev Patriarchy became a subordinate of the Moscow church. It had nothing to do with Ukraine, though – instead, it was about a part of Orthodox believers rebelling against then Patriarch Nikon's reforms which aimed to bring Russian rituals closer to the Greek teachings. It led to decades of rebellions and even mass suicides, and to tens of thousands of victims. Modern history has seen an example that, at first glance, appears to be identical to the current crisis. In 1996, Constantinople recognized the Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church, and Moscow broke off its ties with the center. But that split only lasted a few months, and was eventually settled with two parallel Orthodoxies existing in the Baltic state. Whether it is due to incomparably larger followings (the Estonian church only has about 20 thousand) or to the political minefield that is any discussion about Ukraine and Russia, this time is, in fact, quite different. READ MORE: Kremlin promises to defend Russian Orthodox Christians in Ukraine "This is incomparable to Estonia," Father Aleksandr said. Professor Silantyev believes the 1996 split was a mere "business dispute" compared to what could now happen to the Orthodox believers in Ukraine. "This split could last for decades," Silantyev summarized, although admitting it's hard to tell for certain. We might not even see the end of it at all. "The schism with the Catholics has been around for a millennium now," he mused. Think your friends would be interested? Share this story! ||||| Officials from the Russian Orthodox Church have announced that the church is severing relations with the Patriarchate of Constantinople, in what is being seen as one of the biggest schisms in Orthodox Christianity in almost a thousand years. At a synod in Belarus on Monday, Russian Orthodox Church leaders said the church was cutting ties with the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, the seat of the global spiritual leader for 300 million Orthodox worshippers. The rupture is a response by the Russian Church over the Constantinople Patriarchate’s decision last week to recognize the Ukrainian Orthodox Church as an independent church -- no longer under the authority of the Moscow Patriarchate, according to church officials. Bartholomew I of Constantinople, considered the ‘first among equals’ of eastern Orthodoxy’s church leaders, granted what is known as ‘autocephaly’ (self-governance) to the Ukrainian Church, over the fierce objections of Moscow. Metropolitan Ilarion, the Moscow Patriarchate’s head of external relations, on Tuesday said that in doing so the Constantinople Patriarchate had destroyed its authority and that the Orthodox Church no longer had a single center. “We now stand before a new church reality: we no longer have a single coordinating center in the Orthodox Church and we must very clearly recognize that,” Ilarion said in a televised interview on Russia’s main state broadcaster, Channel 1. “The Constantinople Patriarchate liquidated itself as such a center,” he said. The split marks a historic turning point for the global Orthodox community, but it is the result of the collapse in relations between Russia and Ukraine of the past four years that followed Moscow's seizure of Crimea in 2014 and the subsequent separatist war in eastern Ukraine, which is ongoing. Ukraine’s government has lobbied for an independent church on the grounds that the Russian Orthodox Church is an instrument of the Kremlin, accusing it of stoking separatist sentiment in eastern Ukraine and of acting on behalf of Russia's intelligence services. Bartholomew’s decision recognized a Ukrainian church that had sought to break from the Moscow Patriarchate since 1991, when Ukraine gained independence from the Soviet Union. Ukraine’s government hailed the recognition as major step in bringing Ukraine further out of Russian dominion. “This is a matter of our independence," Ukraine’s president Petro Poroshenko said in a speech celebrating the recognition on October 11. "A matter of our national security. A matter of our statehood. A matter of the entire global geopolitics.” “This is the fall of the ‘Third Rome’ as the most ancient conceptual claim of Moscow for global domination,” Poroshenko said, referring to a claim made by Russian nationalists for centuries that the country is the heir to the Roman and Byzantine Christian empires. f The Moscow Patriarchate, however, has denounced the Ukrainian church’s recognition as provoking a split comparable to the so-called ‘Great Schism’ of 1054, when Christianity separated into western and eastern churches. The Russian church is by far the largest of the world’s Orthodox communities and for most of its centuries-long history has been closely tied to the Russian state. President Vladimir Putin has promoted the church as a key part of modern Russian identity and its leader, Patriarch Kirill, is a close ally of the Russian leader. The Russian church's breakaway is therefore a major upheaval for global Orthodoxy. The practical implications were still being worked out by ecclesiastical experts on Tuesday, but Russian church officials suggested the most immediate effect would be that its faithful should no longer attend services at churches under the authority of Constantinople. That would include one of the holiest sites in Orthodoxy, the Greek island monastery, Mount Athos. Archpriest Igor Yakimchuk, the Moscow Patriarchate’s deputy head of external relations, told the Interfax news agency that Russian worshippers visiting those churches, many of which are popular tourist sites in Greece and Turkey, would have to make penance with confession afterwards, but church officials seemed to suggest there is no total ban. Russian Orthodox priests are now forbidden from taking part in services there and would be punished, Yakimchuk said. The Moscow Patriarchate and Constantinople have had strained relations for some time as Moscow has sought to expand its authority within Orthodoxy. In 2016, Patriarch Kirill met Pope Francis in Cuba, the first time a Russian Orthodox patriarch and a Roman Catholic Pope have done so in 1,000 years -- in what was seen by some experts as a power play by the Russian church. ||||| The Russian Orthodox Church said on Monday it had decided to sever all relations with the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople in protest over its endorsement of Ukraine’s request for an “autocephalous”, or independent, church. Speaking in Belarus after a meeting of the Russian Church’s ruling body, Metropolitan Ilarion, a cleric, said the Holy Synod had been left with no choice but to sever ties with the Patriarchate in Istanbul, seat of the global spiritual leader of roughly 300 million Orthodox Christians. Ukraine last week secured approval from Constantinople to establish an independent church in what Kiev said was a vital step against Russian meddling in its affairs, but that the Russian Orthodox Church lamented as the biggest split in Christianity for a thousand years. “A decision was taken to completely sever ties,” Metropolitan Ilarion told reporters in Minsk, the capital of Belarus, announcing Russian retaliation against Constantinople. “No other decision could have been taken by our Holy Synod because the logic of all the actions taken recently by the Constantinople Patriarchate led to this.” The Russian Orthodox Church has compared Ukraine’s moves for independence to the Great Schism of 1054 that split western and eastern Christianity, and warned they could lead to an irreversible rupture in the global Orthodox community. Ilarion said Constantinople’s decision to back the Ukrainian Orthodox Church’s independence drive was illegal and that the Russian Orthodox Church would disregard it. “We are hoping common sense will prevail and that the Constantinople Patriarchate will change its relations to existing church reality,” he said. The tussle over Ukraine’s spiritual future flows from the poisoning of relations between Kiev and Moscow after Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the outbreak of separatist fighting in Ukraine’s east that has killed over 10,000 people. The Moscow Patriarchate, which is aligned with the Russian Orthodox Church, long dominated in Ukraine but since the 1991 Soviet break-up has been challenged by a rival known as the Kiev Patriarchate. Ukraine accuses the Russian Orthodox Church of wielding a pernicious influence on its soil, allowing itself to be used as a tool of the Kremlin to justify Russian expansionism and support of separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine. The Moscow Patriarchate denies its church is a security threat to Ukraine and, far from being a Kremlin stooge, says it has done much to promote peace in the country’s east. ||||| MOSCOW (AP) — The Russian Orthodox Church decided Monday to sever ties with the leader of the worldwide Orthodox community after his decision to grant Ukrainian clerics independence from the Moscow Patriarchate. Metropolitan Hilarion said the Russian church's Holy Synod resolved to "''break the Eucharistic communion" with the Istanbul-based Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. Under the leadership of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, the patriarchate last week removed its condemnation of leaders of schismatic Orthodox churches in Ukraine. The decision marked a step toward establishing an ecclesiastically independent - or autocephalous - church in Ukraine. The Orthodox Church in Ukraine has been under the jurisdiction of the Russian Orthodox Church since the late 1600s. Calls for the Ukrainian church's independence have increased since Moscow's 2014 annexation of the Crimean Peninsula and its support of separatist rebels fighting in eastern Ukraine. Ukraine currently has three Orthodox communities - one answering to the Russian Orthodox Church and two schismatic churches. Metropolitan Hilarion, who heads the Russian Orthodox Church's foreign relations department, said after the Holy Synod's meeting in Minsk, Belarus on Monday that rupturing ties with the Ecumenical Patriarchate was a response to its "lawless and canonically void moves." "The Russian Orthodox Church doesn't recognize those decisions and won't fulfill them," he said. "The church that acknowledged the schismatics has excluded itself from the canonical field of the Orthodoxy." Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, who is running for re-election in a March vote, has pushed Bartholomew to grant independence to the Ukrainian church. Ukrainian Orthodox Church Archbishop Yevstratiy denounced the Holy Synod's decision to sever ties with the Orthodox Church leader regarded as a "first among equals" as a move toward "self-isolation." The Russian church voiced concern that the Istanbul-based patriarchate's action would deepen the religious rift in Ukraine and could spur the schismatic branches to try to take over church buildings. The Russian Orthodox Church expects Poroshenko to make good on his pledge that the Ukrainian government would ensure respect for the choices of those who want to retain unity with the Russian church. Yuras Karmanau in Minsk, Belarus contributed to this report. ||||| The crisis “tears the body of the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church” was the message of the Patriarchate of Moscow to the Ecumenical Patriarchate, following yesterday’s decision of the latter’s Holy Synod to cut off all communion with the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the first-ranking Church in Eastern Orthodoxy. The move was in response to the Ecumenical Patriarchate’s decision to grant autocephaly (independence) to the Orthodox Church in Ukraine, and to return to the canonical order Ukraine bishops who were declared schismatic by Moscow and excommunicated. Indeed, the Moscow Patriarchate in a statement called upon the leaders of all the local Eastern Orthodox Churches to take a stand on what it views as Constantinople’s “uncanonical decisions”. The statement says that the actions of the Patriarchate of Constantinople placed it outside the terrain of the canonical order, and rendered impossible the Eucharistic communion. “The return to the canonical order of schismatic [clergymen] excommunicated by another Local Church, along with all the ‘bishops’ and ‘clergymen’ ordained by them, constitutes encroachment on the canonical territory of another Church, rejecting the obligations and historical decisions, and places the Patriarchate of Constantinople outside the terrain of the canonical order,” the statement said. “Until such time that the Patriarchate of Constantinople annuls the aforementioned decisions, the clergy of the Orthodox Church of Russia will not be allowed to co-celebrate [church services] with clergy of the Church of Constantinople, and the faithful cannot participate in the sacraments conducted in its churches. The Holy Synod called upon the Primates and Holy Synods of Local Churches to evaluate the uncanonical actions of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, in order to jointly seek the exit from this weighty crisis that tears the body of the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church.” A lengthier statement by the Moscow Patriarchate begins as follows: “With profound pain the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church has taken the report of the Patriarchate of Constantinople published on October 11, 2018, about the following decisions of the Holy Synod of the Patriarchate of Constantinople: confirming the intention ‘to grant autocephaly to the Ukrainian Church; opening a ‘stauropegion’ of the Patriarchate of Constantinople in Kiev; ‘restoring in the rank of bishop or priest’ the leaders of the Ukrainian schism and their followers and ‘returning their faithful to church communion’; ‘recalling the 1686 patent of the Patriarchate of Constantinople on the transfer of the Metropolis of Kiev to the Moscow Patriarchate as its part.” “These unlawful decisions of the Synod were adopted by the Church of Constantinople unilaterally, ignoring the appeals of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and the plenitude of the Russian Orthodox Church as well as sister Local Orthodox Churches, their primates and hierarchs to hold a pan-Orthodox discussion of the issue.” The Ecumenical Patriarchate has not as yet issued a response. ||||| The Russian Orthodox Church has formally cut all ties with the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Istanbul: In the biggest rift in modern Orthodox history, the Russian Orthodox Church has cut all ties with the Constantinople Patriarchate, effectively splitting from it after it granted independence to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. The Holy Synod, the governing body of the Russian Orthodox Church, has ruled that any further clerical relations with Constantinople are impossible, Metropolitan Hilarion, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church’s External Relations Department, told journalists, de facto announcing the breaking of relations between the two churches. The move comes days after the Synod of the Constantinople Patriarchate decided to eventually grant ‘autocephaly’ to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, thus making the clerical organization, which earlier enjoyed broad autonomy within the Moscow Patriarchate, fully independent. The move taken by Moscow arguably marks the greatest split in the history of the Orthodox Church since the Great Schism of 1054, which separated Catholics and Orthodox Christians, as it involves a break of communion between the biggest existing Orthodox Church – the Moscow Patriarchate – and the Constantinople Patriarch, who is widely regarded as a spiritual leader of the world’s Orthodox Christians, even though his status is nothing like that of the Pope in the Catholic Church. Writing in the Catholic Herald a couple of weeks ago, Father Mark Drew gave a backgrounder on the historical and ecclesiological issues in play. These are very deep waters. My natural sympathies lie with the Russians here, but I don’t know enough about the details to offer an informed opinion. I welcome your commentary in the comments thread — but please, be civil. | The Russian Orthodox Church announces it will break communion with the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople over Eastern Orthodox Church official plans to recognize the autocephaly of two Ukrainian Orthodox Churches. Moscow says it hopes Constantinople will change its mind to avoid this schism. This marks an important new aspect in the rift between Russia and Ukraine. |
Image copyright AFP Image caption Shocked mourners gathered at a makeshift shrine at the college The deadly gun and bomb attack on a college in Crimea "appears to be a result of globalisation", Russian President Vladimir Putin has said. "On social media, on the internet, we see the creation of entire communities. Everything started with the tragic events in schools in the US," he said. Fifteen students and five teachers were killed in Wednesday's attack on the technical college in Kerch. Officials named the killer as Vladislav Roslyakov, 18, who took his own life. He was a fourth-year student at the college in the city in Crimea - the southern peninsula annexed by Russia from Ukraine in 2014. 'People have lost limbs' On Wednesday, a huge nail-bomb blast ripped through the college's cafeteria, before the killer stormed through the building, shooting people at close range with a pump-action hunting rifle. Russian Health Minister Veronika Skvortsova said the explosion from a home-made device had showered people with shrapnel. "Some victims' internal organs were ruptured, we're finding washers and ballbearings in their livers, intestines, blood vessels," she said. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Emergency crews respond to the attack "Limbs have been amputated - people have lost feet and shins," she said. Some of the critically injured were being transferred to hospitals as far away as Moscow. The authorities in Crimea have declared three days of mourning. A prayer service was held for the victims at a makeshift shrine near the college. Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Prayers were said for the victims near the college in Kerch The rampage is the deadliest attack to have taken place in Crimea since the Russian annexation. That Russian intervention - condemned by many Western powers - marked the start of a conflict pitting Russian-backed rebels in eastern Ukraine against Ukrainian government forces. What happened at the college? The perpetrator is said to have run from room to room as he fired. Minutes earlier he had left a rucksack containing the nail-bomb in the cafeteria on the ground floor and detonated it remotely, Russian Channel One TV reported. Photos later emerged in Russian media purportedly showing his body in the college library. The TV report described a scene of devastation and mass panic after the blast. It said doors and windows were shattered in the entrance hall and on the first floor, above the cafeteria. Some students leapt out of the building from a height of 5m (16ft 5in). Investigators later said they had found a second explosive device among the gunman's possessions and that it had been disarmed. He was also reported to have several packs of bullets and home-made petrol bombs. BBC Russian spoke to witnesses, including Igor Zakharevsky. "I was at the epicentre of the first explosion, at the entrance, near the buffet," he said. "I was in complete shock and one of my classmates started pulling me away. Then I heard several shots at intervals of two or three seconds. After a while there was another explosion." Marina, an 18-year-old student at the college, said there was "a massive explosion, the windows began to rattle and everyone started screaming". "We bolted out of the classroom and ran. There was complete pandemonium in the corridor," she said. "I saw a girl lying near the wall in an unnatural position, others lying on the floor covered in blood. Shots were being fired every five or six seconds. The incident was first described as a "terrorist act", but Russia's investigative committee later reclassified it as "mass murder". Image copyright AFP Image caption Fresh flowers for Kerch at Moscow's World War Two Hero Cities memorial Spate of attacks By Steve Rosenberg, BBC News, Moscow Until now, if you had told people in Crimea there had been a mass school shooting, most would have thought you were talking about the United States. Now all that has changed. The shooting spree in the Kerch Polytechnic has left the peninsula, annexed by Russia from Ukraine in 2014, in shock. But should it come as such a surprise? There have been five attacks in schools in Russia this year where a number of children were injured. In Kerch, questions are already being asked: how did Vladislav Roslyakov manage to obtain a licence for a hunting weapon? And how was he able to launch such a deadly attack on his college? What do we know about the alleged gunman? His precise motives remain unclear. But there are suggestions the fourth-year student had developed a hostile attitude to the college. Russia's RBC TV interviewed a friend who said Roslyakov "hated the technical school very much" and had vowed "revenge" on his teachers. Image copyright PA Image caption Russian soldiers were deployed outside the school It has emerged that he obtained a gun licence when he was 17. His parents are divorced. Classmates said Roslyakov was very reserved and had long ago stopped using social networks. College teacher Olga Mikhailichenko said he was "a hard-working student, very quiet". A neighbour was quoted as saying "he had no friends". The college prepares students for engineering jobs and is reportedly well-equipped. But some students spoke of lax security there. ||||| The toll rose to 19 on Wednesday afternoon, regional medical officials told TASS state news agency. They said 39 remained hospitalised after the attack on the college in the city of Kerch on the peninsula annexed from Ukraine in 2014 Nineteen people were killed and dozens more wounded, most of them teenagers, after a student opened fire in a technical college in Russian-annexed Crimea on Wednesday, the authorities said. The toll rose to 19 on Wednesday afternoon, regional medical officials told TASS state news agency. They said 39 remained hospitalised after the attack on the college in the city of Kerch on the peninsula annexed from Ukraine in 2014. Russia's Investigative Committee said the attack was carried out by 18-year-old student Vladislav Roslyakov. He was captured on security camera footage and later found dead with gunshot wounds. Roslyakov enrolled at the college in 2015, according to its website. RBK newspaper quoted an anonmyous fellow student as saying Roslyakov "really hated the college because of evil teachers and hinted he would take revenge on them." Violent attacks on schools and colleges are extremely rare in Russia but there have been several high-profile cases recently with far fewer victims. The Investigative Committee, which probes major incidents, had initially classified the attack as an act of terror and described it as an explosion. But it later said it was investigating a mass murder after "this young man shot people dead in the college and then committed suicide," adding that all the victims died of gunshot wounds. The attack had first been reported as an explosion and the Russia's National Anti-Terrorism Committee said an "unidentified explosive device" had gone off in the canteen. Committee spokesman Andrei Przhezdomsky said that Roslyakov's body was found next to a pump-action gun. Crimean leader Sergei Aksyonov told Russian television: "It was a mass murder committed by one scumbag." The reported killer was a "student in the fourth year who was studying at the college. His body was found in the college library," Aksyonov wrote on Facebook. A source in the emergency services told RIA Novosti state news agency that Roslyakov had legally acquired a gun licence. The Investigative Committee said most of the victims were teenagers. The college's website says it accepts students in the last three grades of school, from the age of 14. The regional health ministry said six of the injured were in an extremely serious condition and eight in a serious condition. Aksyonov announced three days of mourning from Thursday over the "terrible tragedy". Russian President Vladimir Putin, who was in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, said in televised comments that a "tragic event" had happened, speaking during talks with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. "It's already clear that it's a crime, the motive and possible versions for this tragedy are being carefully examined," Putin said. "I want to express condolences to the relatives of the dead and express the hope that the injured recover as quickly as possible," the president said, calling for a minute's silence to mourn the victims. Kerch is linked to the Russian mainland by a bridge that Putin opened in May. Witnesses said that the attacker fired shots but also spoke of hearing an explosion. A student at the college who asked not to be named told AFP: "I was in a class when I heard shooting on the first floor." "When we all ran out into the corridor, there were others running and shouting that some guy with a machine gun was randomly shooting everyone in turn." "Then a strong explosion went off, but thank God, I was already outside and saw our guys being thrown out of the windows by the explosive wave," he said, adding that part of the building collapsed. Another witness who gave his name as Sergei and who worked nearby said in a video on the Kerch.tv website that he heard "a bang and shots." Sergei, whose shirt was covered in blood, said victims "were taken away in public transport, in minibuses and buses, with two or three people in each ambulance." "They are children and staff," the witness said. "I saw people without legs, without arms." Attacks by disaffected teenagers at their schools and colleges have hit the headlines recently in Russia. In January, a school student attacked a teacher and fellow students with an axe in Siberia and tried to set fire to the school building and to kill himself. In April, a school student stabbed a teacher and a fellow student in the Urals Mountains and then set fire to a classroom. Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever ||||| At least 18 dead, including teenagers, in blast at college in Crimea that Russia suspects is terror attack ABC NEWS – At least 18 people, most of them young, were killed and over 40 injured in a bomb and shooting attack at a college in Crimea that local officials said was carried out by a student. Crimea’s president Sergey Aksyonov, said that the attacker was a 22-year-old student in the college’s fourth-year class, and that the student killed himself. “The potential killer has shot himself; he has killed himself,” Aksyonov told the Russian state television channel, Russia 24. Reports in the immediate aftermath of the attack at the state polytechnic college in the Black Sea city of Kerch on the eastern side of Crimea were chaotic, but the college’s director suggested that a bombing was accompanied by a shooting rampage. “Someone burst in; they were running, throwing plastic bags with explosives. Then they were running with assault rifles — I don’t know with what — around the second floor, opening rooms and killing everyone they could find,” the college director, Olga Grebennikova told KerchNet, a local Crimean television station. An explosion occurred after a homemade bomb packed with metal objects went off there, Russian investigators said. Russian authorities initially said they were treating the incident as a terrorist attack but later reclassified it as murder. The Kremlin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, told reporters that President Vladimir Putin has expressed his condolences to the victims and ordered emergency services to provide assistance. About 200 soldiers and 10 military vehicles have been deployed to assist at the blast site at the school, TASS reported, citing local military officials. Video and photos published by local Crimean media showed people being carried into several ambulances at the scene, and that some of the college’s windows appeared blown out. Russian state television showed video of military armored vehicles driving rapidly towards the college. Crimea has been under Russia’s control since Moscow sent troops to seize the peninsula from Ukraine in 2014. ||||| The Latest on the Crimea school attack (all times local): The local leader of the Crimean Peninsula says that authorities are looking for a possible accomplice in the shooting and bomb attack at a vocational school that killed 20 people and wounded dozens of others. Authorities had previously said that it was a lone-wolf attack carried out by an 18-year-old student. Wednesday's attack in the city of Kerch was by far the worst by a student in Russia, raising questions about school security in the country. Kremlin-appointed Crimean chief Sergei Aksyonov told Russian news agencies on Thursday that it is possible that the shooter had an accomplice. Aksyonov said that the shooter, identified as Vyacheslav Roslyakov, was alone in the school but added that authorities believe that there may have been someone who was helping him plot the attack. Russia's health minister says at least 10 of the wounded in a shooting by a student at a vocational school in Crimea will be airlifted to hospitals in Russia. An 18-year-old student went on a shooting rampage at the school on the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014, killing 19 people and wounding more than 50 others before killing himself. Wednesday's attack in the city of Kerch was by far the worst school shooting by a student in Russia. Health Minister Veronika Skvortsova told Russian news agencies on Thursday that authorities are preparing to airlift at least 10 people with severe injuries to top Russian hospitals for surgery. Dozens more remain hospitalized in Kerch. ||||| SIMFERAPOL: Eighteen people died and dozens more were wounded, mostly teenagers, on Wednesday (Oct 17) when a student opened fire at a college in Russian-annexed Crimea. Speaking to journalists and parents of missing students in the city of Kerch, where the shooting took place, Crimean leader Sergei Aksyonov said the death toll stood at 18 plus the killer. He added that 53 people were injured in the attack. 12 of whom were in an extremely serious condition. Russia's Investigative Committee named the shooter as 18-year-old Vladislav Roslyakov, a student at the college. He was captured on security camera footage and later found dead with gunshot wounds in the college library. Aksyonov said he had seen the body of the killer, whom he described as "not a Crimean, not even a person", adding that Roslyakov had acted alone. Facing a crowd of angry parents, some of whom still did not know where their children were, Aksyonov said authorities were seeking to establish the gunman's motives: "What pushed this non-person to do this, I don't know." He added that the fourth-year student had aroused no suspicion, saying teachers called him "peaceful." But Roslyakov confirmed earlier reports that the teenager had acquired a gun license legally. and promised a transparent investigation with "no secrets". According to the RIA Novosti agency, security forces raided Roslyakov's parents' home following the killings. Russian authorities initially put out conflicting versions of what happened at the technical college in Kerch, on the peninsula annexed from Ukraine in 2014. The attack was first reported as an explosion, with authorities saying an "unidentified explosive device" had gone off and classifying the incident as an act of terror. A few hours later the Investigative Committee said the victims were killed by gunshots. "A shooting took place after the explosion. The gunman had a hunting gun," Crimean official Igor Mikhailichenko said. The attack was then reclassified as a murder. "This is not a terrorist act. It's a mass killing committed by one scumbag," Aksyonov said earlier on state television. The Investigative Committee said most of the victims were teenagers. According to the college's website, it accepts students in the last three grades of school, from the age of 14. Aksyonov announced three days of mourning from Thursday for victims of the "terrible tragedy". Russian President Vladimir Putin, who was in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, described the killings as a "tragic event", speaking during a joint news conference with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. "It's already clear that it's a crime, the motive and possible versions for this tragedy are being carefully examined," Putin said. "I want to express condolences to the relatives of the dead and express the hope that the injured recover as quickly as possible," the president said, calling for a minute's silence to mourn the victims. Witnesses said that the attacker fired shots but also spoke of hearing an explosion. A student at the college who asked not to be named told AFP: "I was in a class when I heard shooting on the first floor." "When we all ran out into the corridor, there were others running and shouting that some guy with a machine gun was randomly shooting everyone in turn." "Then a strong explosion went off, but thank God, I was already outside and saw our guys being thrown out of the windows by the explosive wave," he said, adding that part of the building collapsed. Another witness who gave his name as Sergei and who worked nearby said in a video on the Kerch.tv website that he heard "a bang and shots." Sergei, whose shirt was covered in blood, said victims "were taken away in public transport, in minibuses and buses, with two or three people in each ambulance." "They are children and staff," the witness said. "I saw people without legs, without arms." Attacks by disaffected teenagers at their schools and colleges have hit the headlines recently in Russia. In January, a school student attacked a teacher and fellow students with an axe in Siberia and tried to set fire to the school building and to kill himself. In April, a school student stabbed a teacher and a fellow student in the Urals Mountains and then set fire to a classroom. ||||| 13 people have been killed after an explosive device filled with metal fragments went off in a college in Crimea. The school's director told local media that after the blast a gunman went through the school killing anyone he could find, and that children's bodies were "everywhere". Sergei Akysonov, the top Russian official for Crimea, said the attacker was a fourth-year student at the vocational college who killed himself after the attack. Initial reports had said the blast, in the Black Sea city of Kerch, had been caused by a gas explosion. Russia's investigative committee has said the device went off in the school's canteen, and that 50 people, the majority of them teenagers, are thought to have been injured. "There are already lots of people in the emergency room, and in the operating theatre," an employee of the nearest hospital said. Witnesses report that schools and nurseries are being evacuated across Crimea following the blast, and the school is being inspected for other possible bombs. The head of Crimea, Sergei Aksyonov, and Russian health minister Veronika Skvortsova have travelled to the area in order to support the injured. Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, a move that was deemed illegal the EU and US and that triggered global sanctions. ||||| An 18-year-old student, who later killed himself, was initially believed to be the only one involved Women light candles in memory of victims of shooting in the vocational college in Kerch, Crimea, in a church in St.Petersburg, Russia, Thursday, Oct. 18, 2018. An 18-year-old student strode into his vocational school in Crimea, Wednesday, then pulled out a shotgun and opened fire, killing 19 students and wounding more than 50 others before killing himself. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky) Authorities on the Crimean Peninsula were searching for a possible accomplice of the student who carried out a shooting and bomb attack on a vocational school, killing 20 people and wounding more than 50 others, an official said Thursday. An 18-year-old student, who later killed himself, was initially believed to be the only one to have been involved in the carnage at the Kerch Polytechnic College on Wednesday. Authorities haven’t provided a motive for the shooting, and teachers and classmates described the attacker as a shy man who had few friends. But Kremlin-appointed Crimean chief Sergei Aksyonov told Russian news agencies on Thursday that it is possible that the attacker, identified as Vyacheslav Roslyakov, had an accomplice. “The point is to find out who was coaching him for this crime,” he said. “He was acting on his own here, we know that. But this scoundrel could not have prepared this attack on his own, in my opinion and according to my colleagues.” Residents of the Black Sea city of Kerch brought flowers and toys to a makeshift memorial outside the school on Thursday morning. Many were in tears and struggled to speak. Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine in 2014. Wednesday’s attack was by far the worst by a student in Russia, raising questions about school security in the country. The Kerch Polytechnic College had only a front desk with no security guards. Russia’s National Guard said Thursday that it has deployed officers and riot police to all schools and colleges in Kerch in the aftermath of the attack. The death toll from the shooting climbed by one to 20 on Thursday after one of the wounded died in a hospital, and the first victim will be buried later in the day. Dozens remain hospitalized in Kerch, and at least 10 people with severe injuries will be airlifted to top Russian hospitals for surgery, Health Minister Veronika Skvortsova said. Most of the people killed died from gunshot wounds, and those who ended up hospitalized have injuries from a blast from an improvised explosive device that was packed with shrapnel. “The kids’ muscles have been ‘minced’ with small metal objects,” Skvortsova said. “Those who have their organs ripped apart, we are finding metal balls in kidneys, intestines, in blood vessels. That is how powerful the blast was.” Skvortsova spoke of the severity of injuries some of the victims have sustained. “Some people have feet, lower legs missing,” she said. The school attack in Kerch was the greatest loss of life in school violence in Russia since the Beslan attack by Chechen separatists in 2004, in which 333 people were killed during a three-day siege, many of them children, and hundreds of others were wounded. Since Crimea’s annexation, Russian authorities have repeatedly warned of a terrorism threat coming from unnamed Ukrainian nationalists as well as ethnic Tatars, an indigenous Crimean people. But despite acts of public defiance and rallies, both groups haven’t been engaged in any violent activities in Crimea. Russia has fairly strict gun legislation. Civilians can own only hunting rifles and smoothbore shotguns and must undergo significant background checks. Roslyakov had only recently received a permit to own a shotgun and bought 150 cartridges just a few days ago, according to local officials. Asked about possible plans to further restrict gun ownership in Russia, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov urged caution and said the government would wait for the results of the investigation. Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. ||||| MOSCOW — The Latest on the Crimea school attack (all times local): The local leader of the Crimean Peninsula says that authorities are looking for a possible accomplice in the shooting and bomb attack at a vocational school that killed 20 people and wounded dozens of others. Authorities had previously said that it was a lone-wolf attack carried out by an 18-year-old student. Wednesday's attack in the city of Kerch was by far the worst by a student in Russia, raising questions about school security in the country. Kremlin-appointed Crimean chief Sergei Aksyonov told Russian news agencies on Thursday that it is possible that the shooter had an accomplice. Aksyonov said that the shooter, identified as Vyacheslav Roslyakov, was alone in the school but added that authorities believe that there may have been someone who was helping him plot the attack. ||||| SIMFEROPOL - At least 19 people were killed and dozens more wounded, most of them teenagers, after an attack on a college in Russian-annexed Crimea on Wednesday, with conflicting versions referring to a lone shooter and a bomb. Russia’s Investigative Committee said the attack was carried out by 18-year-old student Vladislav Roslyakov, who was captured on security camera footage carrying a gun in the technical college in Kerch and whose body was later found with gunshot wounds. The Investigative Committee, which probes major incidents, had initially classified the attack as an act of terror, but later said it was investigating a mass murder after “this young man shot dead people in the college and then committed suicide,” adding that all victims died of gunshot wounds. The attack had first been reported as an explosion, with Russia’s National Anti-Terrorism Committee saying an “unidentified explosive device” had gone off. Committee spokesman Andrei Przhezdomsky said bomb squads were working “at the blast site”, adding the body of Roslyakov was found in the college next to a pump-action gun. The Investigative Committee said 18 were killed in the attack which took place at around 12 noon (0900 GMT) on the peninsula, which was annexed by Moscow from Ukraine in 2014. However Crimean leader Sergei Aksyonov told Russian Rossiya-24 television that the death toll had risen to 19, with more than 40 injured. “The supposed killer shot himself, it’s a student in the fourth year who was studying at the college. His body was found in the library on the first floor,” Aksyonov wrote on Facebook. The Investigative Committee said most of the victims were teenagers. The college’s website says it accepts students in the last three grades of school, from the age of 14. Aksyonov announced three days of mourning from Thursday over the “terrible tragedy”. Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is currently in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, said in televised comments that a “tragic event” had happened and that “as a result of an explosion of an explosive device, people died and many are injured”. He was speaking during talks with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and made the statement before the Investigative Committee said the crime was a mass shooting rather than a terrorist attack. “It’s already clear that it’s a crime, the motive and possible versions for this tragedy are being carefully examined,” Putin said. “I want to express condolences to the relatives of the dead and express the hope that the injured recover as quickly as possible,” the president said, calling for a minute’s silence to mourn the victims. Kerch is linked to the Russian mainland by a bridge opened by Putin in May. Witnesses said that the attacker fired shots but also spoke of hearing an explosion. A student at the college who asked not to give his name told AFP that “I was in a class when I heard shooting on the first floor.” “When we all ran out into the corridor, there were others running and shouting that some guy with a machine gun was randomly shooting everyone in turn.” “Then a strong explosion went off, but thank God, I was already outside and saw our guys being thrown out of the windows by the explosive wave,” he said, adding that part of the building collapsed. Another witness who gave his name as Sergei and who worked nearby said in a video on the Kerch.tv website that he heard “a bang and shots.” Sergei, whose shirt was covered in blood, said victims “were taken away in public transport, in minibuses and buses, with two or three people in each ambulance.” “They are children and staff,” the witness said. “I saw people without legs, without arms.” ||||| Russian officials say Wednesday's attack on a school in Crimea in which at least 19 students were killed was not a terrorist attack, but a case of mass murder. They say video footage captured by a closed-caption camera shows a former student armed with a rifle enter the technical college in the Black Sea city of Kerch. Zlatica Hoke reports the suspect in the school shooting also was killed. | A double bombing-mass shooting attack leaves 20 dead and 74 others injured in a college in Kerch, Crimea. An 18-year-old student carried out the gun and bomb attack and then committed suicide. The attacker "hated the technical school very much" and had vowed "revenge" on his teacher. |
Image copyright AFP Image caption Gen Raziq (C) was a powerful opponent of the Taliban A top Afghan security commander, Kandahar police chief Gen Abdul Raziq, has been shot dead by a bodyguard. Taliban militants claimed the attack after a high-level meeting inside the governor's compound, saying they had targeted Gen Raziq and top US commander Gen Scott Miller, who escaped. The local intelligence head was also killed and the governor was critically injured. Three Americans were hurt. The attack in Kandahar city comes ahead of elections on Saturday. In a statement, the Taliban referred to Gen Raziq as a "brutal police chief". It said it had targeted both him and Gen Miller, but the Pentagon denied that the US commander was among the key targets. Initial reports said the attacker was killed in an ensuing shoot-out. The assassination is seen as a hugely significant victory for the Taliban and a major blow to the Afghan and US counter-insurgency campaign. It is the first time since the 2001 US-led military intervention that the top commander of US/Nato forces has been involved in such an incident. US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said the attack would not affect the US military's movements in Afghanistan. What happened? Afghan and international security officials said Gen Raziq was shot in the back as he left the meeting and walked towards an area where the helicopter taking the US group back to Kabul was coming in to land. "Provincial officials including the governor, the police chief and other officials were accompanying the foreign guests when the gunshots happened," said Jan Khakrezwal, head of the Kandahar provincial council. There are reports that the local army commander also died. Local officials suggested that Gen Miller appeared to have been saved by his body armour. The US military only said that he was uninjured. At least two hand grenade explosions were also reported. Gen Miller paid tribute to Gen Raziq, saying he had "lost a great friend". Gen Raziq has long been accused of human rights abuses, including torture. But he was a powerful opponent of the Taliban in their southern heartland and was credited with securing Kandahar. Loss of a powerful Taliban opponent By Dawood Azami, BBC World Service This is one of the most important security incidents of the past 17 years - in which nearly the entire leadership of a province has been eliminated. While Gen Raziq, 40, was the provincial police commander of Kandahar, his influence went beyond his native province. Over the past few years, he had emerged as one of the most powerful military and political figures in Afghanistan. He was considered as one of the strongest opponents of the Taliban and Pakistan and had transformed himself into a symbol of the anti-Taliban struggle in Afghanistan. He had previously survived nearly 20 attempts on his life. In the absence of such experienced and die-hard figures, the Taliban could mount a campaign to increase their territorial control as the loss of an important leader opens a window of opportunity for the militants. Where does this leave the election? Afghan officials had warned that attacks ahead of the parliamentary election were likely. The Taliban has warned voters not to take part in what they say is a ballot imposed by foreigners. Some expressed fears that Gen Raziq's death could keep voters away from polling stations. "Gen Raziq's death will have a huge impact on security and the election in the south because a lot of voters may not feel safe to go to vote," a senior security official told Reuters. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Afghan "war on terror" generation votes The vote is the third parliamentary election to be held since the Taliban were removed from power in 2001. At least 10 candidates have been killed in attacks around the country in the run-up to the vote. There have also been attacks on voter registration centres, including one in April which killed nearly 60 people. The vote is being seen as a test of political reforms undertaken by the Afghan government as well as its ability to organise a free and fair vote. It comes ahead of the all-important presidential elections due in April 2019. What about US forces in Afghanistan? American combat operations against the Taliban officially ended in 2014, but over 8,000 US special forces remained in the country backing and providing training and assistance to Afghan troops. Last year, US President Donald Trump signalled he would keep US boots on the ground indefinitely amid concerns that the Taliban was gaining ground. The US forces are part of the Nato-led Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan, which has more than 16,000 personnel. ||||| Afghan General Abdul Raziq, 45, known for his fierce stance against the Taliban, was killed along with a local intelligence commander Abdul Mohmin when a bodyguard opened fire after a meeting in the governor's compound in Kandahar. Kandahar Governor Zalmay Wesa was also severely wounded on Thursday and contradictory reports whether he survived could not be confirmed early on Friday. General Scott Miller, the top US commander in Afghanistan who attended the meeting with Raziq only moments earlier, was not hurt in the attack. Three Americans were wounded. In a claim of responsibility, the Taliban said they targeted both Miller and Raziq. "It's the loss of a patriot," US defence chief James Mattis said on Friday, referring to Raziq's death. Born in Spin Boldak district of Kandahar, Abdul Raziq Achakzai, an ethnic Pashtun, was from the Adozai subtribe of the Achakzai tribe. His father and uncle were killed by the Taliban in 1994. Soon after, Abdul Raziq and his family fled to Pakistan until the Taliban was ousted in the US-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001. Upon returning he joined an anti-Taliban force in Kandahar under Gul Agha Sherzai and Fayda Mohammad, which overthrew the Taliban government in the city. He started off as a young border policeman working between Kandahar and Pakistan's Baluchistan province in 2001. Over the years, he steadily rose the ranks of the security forces. Because of his strong commitment in fighting the Taliban, Raziq, a favourite of the US-led coalition, received significant aid for training and weapons from the United States over the past few years as he was viewed as one of the country's most effective leaders, crediting him with keeping the Taliban in check in Kandahar. He was known to stay away from politics and instead dealt with the Taliban and other armed groups in a bid to maintain stability. A critic of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, Raziq also led a militia in Kandahar. Rights group widely criticised Raziq for allegedly ordering the torture and mistreatment of detainees he suspected of having Taliban affiliations. New York-based Human Rights Watch called Raziq "Kandahar's torturer-in-chief". It released a report describing credible allegations that Raziq was "widely suspected of complicity, if not of personal implication, in severe human rights abuses, including extrajudicial killings and … secret detention centers". Under Raziq's watch, detainees underwent "suffocation, crushing the testicles, water forcibly pumped in the stomach and electric shocks", it said. All allegations had been denied by Raziq. He had survived several assasination attempts against him over the years. In an interview with TOLOnews, a local Afghan news channel, he said he escaped 29 attempts on his life. Last year, he narrowly escaped an attack in which five diplomats from the United Arab Emirates were killed in Kandahar. In 2012, he was targeted by a suicide bomber and also the same year his convoy was struck by a roadside bomb. Raziq took over as Kandahar's police chief after his predecessor, Khan Mahammad Mojayed, was killed in a suicide attack in 2011. ||||| General Abdul Raziq once boasted he had survived "countless" Taliban attempts to kill him. On Thursday the Afghan militant group finally succeeded when an assassin disguised as a governor's bodyguard shot him dead. The controversial Kandahar police chief, described by Human Rights Watch last year as the southern province's "torturer in chief", had risen through the ranks to become one of the most powerful security heads in Afghanistan. Widely seen as a bulwark against the Taliban insurgency, Raziq's death has left a dangerous security vacuum that one observer said could lead to a "meltdown" in the south, the Taliban movement's birthplace. "He was the one guaranteeing security in Kandahar," said a foreign diplomat in Kabul. Raziq, 39, who controlled the province with an iron hand, was admired by many ordinary Afghans and hated by the Taliban in equal measure. Despite accusations of running secret torture chambers, "crushing the testicles" of detainees, and killing thousands of Taliban prisoners -- which he denied -- Raziq was considered an ally by the United States in the fight against the militants. In a tweet on Thursday, hours after escaping unhurt from the same attack that killed Raziq, General Scott Miller expressed his condolences over the death of his "great friend". "We had served together for many years. Afghanistan lost a patriot, my condolences to the people of Afghanistan," said Miller, the top US Forces and NATO commander in Afghanistan. "The good he did for Afghanistan and the Afghan people cannot be undone." Miller had been meeting with Raziq in a heavily fortified compound in Kandahar city when a member of the provincial governor's security team opened fire on the high-level gathering. The Taliban described the shooter as an "infiltrator". Raziq and two others, including the provincial intelligence chief and a journalist, were killed in the attack. Another 13 were wounded, including two Americans and the governor. Raziq, who was illiterate and had three wives, had been fighting the Taliban since the militants executed his father and uncle in 1994, two years before they succeeded in imposing their oppressive regime over most of the country. When the United States invaded Afghanistan in 2001, Raziq helped defeat the Taliban in the south and was later appointed a district police chief. In an interview with AFP last year, Raziq said the Taliban had targeted him "countless times", adding he could remember 20 of the incidents, including at least eight suicide attacks. Raziq was lucky to survive a 2017 bomb attack that killed six United Arab Emirates' officials, including the UAE ambassador to Afghanistan. He had left the room in the Kandahar governor's compound where the officials had been meeting moments before a bomb hidden in a sofa exploded. "When the Taliban are determined to kill me, my soldiers and my people, I cannot be gentle on them, and I can never forgive them," he said. ||||| Gen. Scott Miller (C), commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan gestures as he speaks during a change of command ceremony at Resolute Support in Kabul on September 2, 2018. WASHINGTON – Three top provincial leaders – including the governor and a fearsome police chief – were killed and two Americans injured Thursday in an inside attack by Afghan bodyguards at a security conference in Kandahar. Army Gen. Scott Miller, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, was also at the meeting, but was unharmed. Agha Lala Dastageri, Kandahar’s deputy provincial governor, said powerful provincial police chief Abdul Raziq was among the dead, along with Kandahar Gov. Zalmay Wesa, who died of his wounds at a nearby hospital. Dastageri said provincial intelligence chief Abdul Mohmin also died inside the governor’s residential compound where the attack occurred. U.S. officials disputed a claim by a Taliban spokesman that Miller, the commander of U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan, was the target of the attack. The two injured Americans included a service member and a civilian, according to Col. David Butler, a spokesperson for U.S. Forces-Afghanistan. A contractor from a NATO coalition partner also was injured. "This was an Afghan-on-Afghan incident," Butler said in a statement, adding that the two wounded Americans had been "medically evacuated and are stable." "Gen. Miller is uninjured," Butler said. "We are being told the area is secure." The spokesman said "the attacker" is dead, although it appears that several bodyguards of Wesa’s elite guard unit were involved in the melee when they turned their guns on the dignitaries at the conference. In a telephone interview with The Associated Press, the spokesman for the Taliban in Afghanistan’s southern region, Qari Yousuf Ahmadi, said the Taliban carried out the attack. He said Miller, who took command of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan last month, was the target. Butler, however, said in his statement that "Afghan officials were the target of the violence." Miller, 57, has been on the leading edge of major combat operations dating to Somalia. He was also among the first U.S. troops to deploy to Afghanistan after the 9/11 terror attacks. Prior to taking command in Afghanistan, Miller led the Joint Special Operations Command, the military’s elite commando units that deploy around the world. In Somalia, Miller led soldiers in the harrowing battle in Mogadishu that became central to the book and movie, “Black Hawk Down.” During that fight, 18 U.S. troops were killed and as many as 1,000 insurgents were killed. He recalled the fierce fighting that day at a reunion of troops in 2015, according to a story on the Army’s website. "What drove me and filled me with peace that day was I never thought we were going to be overrun,” Miller said. “Not with the guys I was with. If something had happened to me and I died, I knew I was going home. Because someone was going to get me home. That's a relationship piece that is really, really hard to explain.” Vanden Brook reported from Washington; Stanglin from McLean, Va. Contributing: The Associated Press ||||| KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (Reuters) - Gen. Abdul Razeq, one of Afghanistan’s most powerful security officials, was killed on Thursday when a bodyguard opened fire following a meeting in the governor’s compound in the southern province of Kandahar, officials said. Gen. Scott Miller, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan who had been at the meeting with Razeq only moments earlier, was not injured in the attack. But the local commander of the NDS intelligence service and the Kandahar provincial governor Zalmay Wesa were also killed. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, saying they had targeted both Miller and Razeq, the police chief of Kandahar who had a fearsome reputation as a ruthless opponent of the insurgents in their southern Afghan heartlands. The attack was a devastating blow to the Afghan government ahead of parliamentary elections on Saturday, which the Taliban have vowed to disrupt. The attack underlined how precarious the situation remains in Afghanistan even after Taliban and U.S. officials had opened preliminary contacts aimed at establishing the basis for future peace talks. Officials said Razeq, Miller and the other officials were walking towards a landing zone as the helicopter taking the U.S. general’s party back to Kabul approached to land when the gunman, who was waiting outside, opened fire on the group. “Provincial officials including the governor, the police chief and other officials were accompanying the foreign guests to the aircraft when the gunshots happened,” said Said Jan Khakrezwal, the head of the provincial council. At least two hand grenade explosions and sporadic gunfire from around the compound were also reported by officials. The three Afghan officials were all severely wounded when the gunman opened fire and two members of Miller’s protection detail were also hit in the crossfire but Miller, who took command of U.S. forces in Afghanistan and the NATO-led Resolute Support mission last month was not injured. Local officials said Miller appeared to have been saved by his body armour but there was no immediate confirmation from NATO headquarters. “The brutal police chief of Kandahar has been killed along several other officials,” a Taliban statement said. Razeq was criticised by human rights groups but highly respected by U.S. officers who saw him as one of Afghanistan’s most effective leaders, largely responsible for keeping Kandahar province under control. The flamboyant commander, whose men wore badges bearing his name, had survived several attempts on his life over many years and narrowly escaped an attack last year in which five diplomats from the United Arab Emirates were killed in Kandahar. A cameramen working for Afghanistan’s RTA state television was also killed on Thursday, the director of the Afghanistan journalists center, Ahmad Quraishi, said. ||||| KABUL (Reuters) - The top U.S. general in Afghanistan said on Friday he did not believe he was the target of an attack that killed a powerful police chief, and Afghan officials said the gunman may have deliberately avoided hitting him. The gunman assassinated the police chief of Kandahar province on Thursday along with a top Afghan intelligence agency officer, but the U.S. commander of Afghanistan’s NATO-led force, General Scott Miller, who was standing nearby when the attack occurred, was not hurt. “My assessment is that I was not the target. It was a very close confined space. But I don’t assess that I was the target,” Miller told Afghanistan’s Tolo News TV in an interview. General Abdul Razeq, police commander of the southern province and one of Afghanistan’s most powerful security officials, was fatally wounded by a bodyguard of the provincial governor as he came from a meeting with officials on Thursday. In addition, the local head of the NDS intelligence service was killed and the provincial governor severely wounded, while the attacker himself was killed. Miller was also at the meeting and was heading to his helicopter to return to Kabul when the gunman opened fire. The Taliban claimed the attack in a statement saying both Razeq and Miller were the targets. Two Americans and a coalition contractor were wounded, however Afghan security officials, who believe Pakistan was involved in the plan, said they believed the attacker deliberately avoided killing Miller. “They didn’t want repercussions from the U.S. and the international community. It was a pure warning for Miller that they can hit him if they want to,” one of the Afghan officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said. Razeq himself was a fierce critic of Pakistan and its intelligence service, which Afghan officials regularly accuse of supporting Taliban operations, a charge Islamabad denies. On Friday, the chief of the Pakistan army staff issued a statement condemning the Kandahar violence and saying it supported initiatives towards peace in the region. A foreign security official said Razeq had stopped visiting the governor’s house in recent months because he feared it had been infiltrated and had only gone because Miller and his delegation were there. The identity of the killer, named by Afghan officials as Gulbuddin, was known immediately, and police have made three arrests, but details of his background or why he carried out the attack remained unclear. One senior foreign security official briefed on the case said the attacker had been recruited this year as part of the governor’s security detail. No one had claimed his body, but his colleagues in the security team said his family members lived in the outskirts of Kandahar. ||||| Three top Kandahar province officials have been killed by their own guards in an attack at a security meeting that also wounded three U.S. troops, Afghan officials say. A Taliban spokesperson who claimed responsibility for the attack tells The Associated Press that U.S. Gen. Scott Miller, commander of U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan, was the target but escaped unharmed. Agha Lala Dastageri, Kandahar's deputy provincial governor, said Gen. Abdul Raziq, a powerful provincial police chief, and intelligence chief Abdul Mohmin died immediately in the attack, and Zalmay Wesa, the province's governor, died in hospital. NATO spokesperson Colonel Knut Peters said Miller, who took command of U.S. and forces and the NATO-led Resolute Support mission in Afghanistan last month, was uninjured. Three Americans were wounded in the crossfire, according to a tweet from Resolute Support. The security meeting inside the sprawling provincial governor's residence was being held ahead of Saturday's parliamentary elections. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, saying they had targeted both Miller and Raziq, who had a fearsome reputation as a ruthless opponent of the insurgents. The attack was a devastating blow to the Afghan government ahead of parliamentary elections on Saturday, which the Taliban have vowed to disrupt. "The brutal police chief of Kandahar has been killed along several other officials," a Taliban statement said. Raziq was criticized by human rights groups but highly respected by U.S. officers who saw him as one of Afghanistan's most effective leaders, largely responsible for keeping Kandahar province under control. A flamboyant commander, he had survived several attempts on his life over many years and narrowly escaped an attack last year in which five diplomats from the United Arab Emirates were killed in Kandahar. Officials said one of the governor's bodyguards opened fire on Raziq as he came out of the meeting with Miller and other officials, severely wounding him and several other senior officials including the governor. "Provincial officials including the governor, the police chief and other officials were accompanying the foreign guests to the plane when the gunshots happened," said Said Jan Khakrezwal, head of the provincial council. ||||| Kathy Gannon And Amir Shah, The Associated Press KABUL -- A high-level meeting to lay out security plans for Afghanistan's upcoming parliamentary elections had just concluded when an elite Afghan guard turned his gun Thursday on the departing delegation in an attack that killed the powerful Kandahar police chief but missed the top U.S. commander in the country, Gen. Scott Miller. The audacious assassination strike, which killed at least one other senior Afghan official and was claimed by the Taliban, underscored the harrowing lack of security in Afghanistan just two days before national elections and more than 17 years after the militant group was driven from power. A Taliban spokesman said Miller was the intended target. However, Army Col. David Butler, who attended the Kandahar meeting with Miller, said the region's powerful police chief, Abdul Raziq, who was killed in the volley of gunfire, was clearly the target, not the U.S. general. "It was pretty clear he was shooting at Raziq," Butler told The Associated Press, adding that Miller was nearby but not in the line of fire. The delegates had just gathered for a group photo when gunfire broke out inside the provincial governor's compound in Kandahar City, according to an AP television cameraman who was present when the shooting began. Everyone scattered, and the U.S. participants scrambled toward their nearby helicopter. But a firefight broke out between the U.S. service members and Afghan police when they tried to stop the U.S. delegation from reaching their helicopter, said the cameraman. Besides Raziq, Kandahar's intelligence chief, Abdul Mohmin was killed in the attack, according to deputy provincial governor Agha Lala Dastageri. He said Kandahar Gov. Zalmay Wesa also died of his wounds after being taken to a local hospital, although security officials in the capital maintained Wesa was wounded but survived. Three Americans -- a U.S. service member, a coalition contractor and an American civilian -- were injured and in stable condition, said NATO spokesman U.S. Col. Knut Peters. Taliban spokesman Qari Yousuf Ahmadi said the militant group carried out the attack, and Gen. Miller was the target. Butler disputed that, saying the assailant shot at Raziq and then appeared to spray the area with gunfire before he was killed. He said Miller and the Afghan leaders had moved outside the palace after several hours of meetings and were standing in small groups in the compound. He said he heard several shots "and we all took cover. It was over in seconds." "We stabilized and treated the wounded and secured the area," said Butler, adding that Miller made sure the scene was secure and the wounded were taken away by medivac before he left the area and returned to Kabul. Razik was a particularly powerful figure in southern Kandahar and a close U.S. ally despite widespread allegations of corruption. He ruled in Kandahar, the former Taliban heartland, with an iron fist and had survived several attempts to kill him, including one last year that resulted in the death of five diplomats from the United Arab Emirates. Raziq's killing "may have major implications on the security situation in southern Afghanistan. As the chief of police in Kandahar, he has kept a lid on the Taliban's insurgency, which has intensified over the past several years," analyst Bill Roggio wrote in the Long War Journal. The Taliban have vowed to disrupt Saturday's parliamentary elections, warning teachers and students not to allow schools to be used for polling and warning Afghans to stay away from the polls. Within hours of the attack, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani addressed the nation to assure Kandahar residents it was safe to go to the polls. In an AP interview, his adviser, Ziaulhaq Amarkhil said the attack was meant to disrupt elections and urged voters to defy Taliban threats, saying casting their ballot "would be a big slap on the face of the enemy." At a news conference in the Afghan capital, Afghanistan's Army Chief Gen. Mohammad Sharif Yaftali said additional troops had been moved from neighbouring Helmand province to Kandahar. Pakistan's new prime minister, Imran Khan, and its military chief condemned the assault. "The people and the security forces of Afghanistan have been paying a heavy price due to continued instability and threats from the enemies of peace," Khan said in a statement. "Pakistan stands by the government and the people of Afghanistan in their quest for lasting peace and stability." Security has been steadily deteriorating in Afghanistan with increasingly brazen attacks being carried out by insurgents and Afghanistan's security forces have been on high alert ahead of Saturday's elections. Late Wednesday, a NATO convoy was attacked near the Afghan capital, killing two civilians and injuring five Czech troops, Afghan officials and the Czech military said Thursday. The attack in the Bagram district of Parwan province, also wounded three Afghan civilians, said Wahida Shakar, spokeswoman for the provincial governor. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack in Bagram, which is the home of a sprawling U.S. military base. In recent months, Afghan troops have come under near-daily attacks. NATO troops, which handed over security to Afghan forces at the end of 2014, mostly train and assist with air power. So far this year, eight U.S. soldiers and three other NATO service members have died in Afghanistan. Associated Press writers Lolita Baldor in Washington and Karel Janicek in Prague contributed to this report. ||||| Afghan and international officials say the powerful police chief of the southern province of Kandahar has been killed in an attack. The attack was claimed by the Taliban. A senior Afghan intelligence official told RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan that the attack occurred after a meeting between senior U.S. and Afghan security officials at the governor's office in Kandahar city on October 18. General Abdul Raziq was shot and died of his wounds after a burst of gunfire at the governor's office, the official said. A NATO spokesman said the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, General Scott Miller, was present at the meeting but was unhurt. Two American citizens were wounded in a shooting, the spokesman said. No further details were immediately available. With reporting by Reuters and AFP ||||| In this September 2, 2018 photo, provided by the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army Gen. Scott Miller, commander of U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan, delivers remarks during the Resolute Support mission change of command ceremony in Kabul, Afghanistan. Afghan officials said Thursday, Oct. 18, 2018 that three top Kandahar province officials have been killed by their own guards in an attack at a security meeting that also wounded two U.S. troops. A Taliban spokesman who claimed responsibility for the attack tells The Associated Press that Miller, was the target. NATO officials say Miller escaped unharmed. (U.S. Air Force/Tech. Sgt. Sharida Jackson, via AP) (AP) | Afghan general and Kandahar police chief Abdul Raziq Achakzai is assassinated by one of his bodyguards during a high-level meeting inside the governor's compound with U.S. general Austin S. Miller. Gen. Miller escaped unharmed according to officials while the governor was critically injured. The Taliban claims responsibility. |
[Read more about the L.G.B.T. community’s reaction to the proposal.] The Department of Health and Human Services has called on the “Big Four” agencies that enforce some part of Title IX — the Departments of Education, Justice, Health and Human Services, and Labor — to adopt its definition in regulations that will establish uniformity in the government and increase the likelihood that courts will accept it. The definition is integral to two proposed rules currently under review at the White House: One from the Education Department deals with complaints of sex discrimination at schools and colleges receiving federal financial assistance; the other, from health and human services, deals with health programs and activities that receive federal funds or subsidies. Both regulations are expected to be released this fall, and would then be open for public comment, typically for 60 days. The agencies would consider the comments before issuing final rules with the force of law — both of which could include the new gender definition. Civil rights groups have been meeting with federal officials in recent weeks to argue against the proposed definition, which has divided career and political appointees across the administration. Some officials hope that health and human services will at least rein in the most extreme parts, such as the call for genetic testing to determine sex. After more than a year of discussions, health and human services is preparing to formally present the new definition to the Justice Department before the end of the year, Trump administration officials say. If the Justice Department decides that the change is legal, the new definition can be approved and enforced in Title IX statutes, and across government agencies. The Justice Department declined to comment on the draft health and human services proposal. The Justice Department has not yet been asked to render a formal legal opinion, according to an official there who was not authorized to speak about the process. But Attorney General Jeff Sessions’s previous decisions on transgender protections have given civil rights advocates little hope that the department will prevent the new definition from being enforced. The proposal appears consistent with the position he took in an October 2017 memo sent to agencies clarifying that the civil rights law that prohibits job discrimination does not cover “gender identity, per se.” ||||| Trans People Say They #WontBeErased As Trump Administration Mulls Defining 'Sex' Enlarge this image toggle caption Tasos Katopodis/Bloomberg via Getty Images Tasos Katopodis/Bloomberg via Getty Images Updated at 5:15 pm ET A memo that has reportedly been circulating at the Department of Health and Human Services aims to narrow the federal government's definition of "sex" under Title IX â a change that could leave transgender people without a number of the legal protections that have become standard in recent years. The memo reported on by The New York Times has not been released publicly. NPR has not seen it, and HHS says it does not comment on "alleged leaked documents." But the potential impact of the policies described in the memo, and the headline under which The Times ran its story â 'Transgender' Could Be Defined Out of Existence Under Trump Administration â inspired grave fears and fervent protest. People gathered in New York City's Washington Square Park on Sunday evening to rally for trans rights, and protesters on Monday rallied in front of the White House holding signs that declared, "We will not be erased." Many trans people began posting photos of themselves to social media, using the hashtag #WontBeErased. "We're here. We're loud. We're not going anywhere. #WontBeErased," tweeted the National Center for Transgender Equality. The Times reports that the document was written in the spring and proposes that different government agencies adopt a unified definition of sex â specifically one that defines it as determined "on a biological basis that is clear, grounded in science, objective and administrable." "The agency's proposed definition would define sex as either male or female, unchangeable, and determined by the genitals that a person is born with," The Times reports, based on the draft seen by its reporters. "Any dispute about one's sex would have to be clarified using genetic testing." Title IX is the federal law passed as part of the Education Amendments of 1972 that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex "under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance." The term "sex" refers to gender, which has since been expanded under the law to include sexual orientation and gender identity. It's not clear who drafted the memo, but The Times reports that it is part of an effort by the HHS to establish a uniform definition accepted by the four agencies that enforce Title IX: the departments of education, justice, HHS and labor. At the White House on Monday, President Trump was asked about his earlier promise to protect transgender Americans and others in the LGBTQ community. "We're looking at it," Trump replied. "We have a lot of different concepts right now. They have a lot of different things happening with respect to transgender right now." "I'm protecting everybody," he added. "I want to protect our country." "I am a #transgender person. I am livid but clear-headed. I am threatened but absolutely resolute. @transequality will always fight," wrote Mara Keisling, executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality. "I know folks are scared and hurt. So am I. We are working to stop this and we will never give up. The courts are scary. The administration is scary. This world is scary. We still have tools. I am here. I see your beautiful humanity. And I love you," tweeted Chase Strangio, an attorney with the ACLU's LGBT and AIDS Project. The Trump administration already has taken steps to try to disqualify most transgender people from serving in the military. Earlier this month, the State Department implemented a policy denying visas to same-sex partners of foreign diplomats and the staff of U.S.-based international organizations if they are not legally married. Many of the affected couples are from countries where same-sex marriage is illegal. NPR health policy correspondent Alison Kodjak contributed to this report. ||||| In a move that stands to substantially roll back transgender rights, the Trump administration may narrow its definition of gender. According to a new report from The New York Times, Trump's Department of Health and Human Services has proposed narrowing government agencies' definition of gender to a fixed biological state determined by the genitalia an individual has at birth. In a draft memo obtained by The Times, the Department of Health and Human Services pushed to add a legal definition of the word sex to Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in education programs and activities receiving federal funding. According to The Times, they proposed that government agencies uniformly define an individual's sex "on a biological basis that is clear, grounded in science, objective and administrable." Under the administration's proposed definition of gender, sex would be defined as unchangeable and either male or female as determined by birth. What's more, disputes over an individual's gender could, under the agency's proposed definition, only be settled via genetic testing. "Sex means a person's status as male or female based on immutable biological traits identifiable by or before birth," The Times reported the memo said. "The sex listed on a person's birth certificate, as originally issued, shall constitute definitive proof of a person's sex unless rebutted by reliable genetic evidence." In defining a person's sex as unchangeable and determined at birth, the Trump administration stands to not only roll back protections for those who identify as transgender but also, as The Times pointed out, "eradicate federal recognition" of an already marginalized population. In 2016, a study from The Williams Institute found that an estimated 1.4 million adults in the United States are transgender. This isn't the first time the Trump administration has moved to roll back Obama-era protections for transgender people. In May, the Justice Department announced it would drop an Obama-era rule designed to protect transgender inmates. Under Obama, the Bureau of Prisons had a policy of recommending housing assignments based on gender identity when appropriate. Under Trump, the bureau adopted a policy of assigning housing and bathrooms based on an inmate's "biological sex" and considering gender identity "only in rare cases." And in March, the Trump administration largely barred transgender people from serving in the military. A White House memorandum announced that Secretary of Defense James Mattis had established a policy stating "transgender persons with a history or diagnosis of gender dysphoria — individuals who the policies state may require substantial medical treatment, including medications and surgery — are disqualified from military service except under certain limited circumstances." But LGBTQ advocacy organizations are expected to push back against the Trump administration's latest proposal. "This administration is willing to disregard the established medical and legal view of our rights and ourselves to solidify an archaic, dogmatic, and frightening view of the world," Mara Keisling, executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality, said in a statement Sunday. "This transparent political attack will not succeed administratively, legally, or morally." Keisling characterized the proposed policy as an attempt to effectively abandon transgender people's right to equal health care, housing, education, and fair treatment under the law. "Transgender people have fought rules like this one in federal and state court and won. We have stood toe-to-toe with administrators, legislatures, and executives who would agree with this rule and yet we won," Keisling said. "We know how to defeat this, and we will do everything we can until every transgender person feels secure in their rights under the law." ||||| The Trump administration may be considering redefining gender as an unchangable condition determined solely by a person's biology, according to a leaked memo draft obtained by The New York Times. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services argued in the drafted memo, which has not been seen by NBC News, that the government needs to adopt a uniformed definition of gender “on a biological basis that is clear, grounded in science, objective and administrable,” the Times reported. The memo has allegedly been circulating since last spring, according to the Times, and would be subject to change. If enacted as written in the memo, the legal definition of sex under Title IX, which prevents gender discrimination, would be determined as male or female based on the genitals a person was born with as listed on the person's birth certificate. Disputes would have to be settled using genetic testing, according to the Times. “Sex means a person’s status as male or female based on immutable biological traits identifiable by or before birth. The sex listed on a person’s birth certificate, as originally issued, shall constitute definitive proof of a person’s sex unless rebutted by reliable genetic evidence,” the Times reported the memo as saying. In response to the Times' story, a Health and Human Services spokesperson said, “We do not comment on alleged leaked documents.” During the Obama administration, the legal concept of gender was less stringent in federal programs and allowed individuals for the most part to choose how they identified, rather than a person's sex being determined by what they were assigned at birth. If the memo were to become a policy, protections and federal recognition for the approximately 1.4 million people in America who recognize themselves as a gender other than what they were assigned at birth would be eliminated, according to the Times. Activists in the LGBTQ community and those who identify as transgender posted on social media about the fears the memo triggered. Many began using the hashtag "#WontBeErased" in condemning the drafted memo. "Make no mistake, trans people are under direct attack from the Trump administration — but we #WontBeErased. We're here. You can't define us out of existence," wrote the National Center for Transgender Equality, which said it planned to rally in front of the White House on Monday. Lambda Legal, a national legal organization advocating for LGBTQ rights, wrote, "Transgender folks: You are valid. You matter. You are loved. We will not stop fighting for your rights and you #WontBeErased by this heartless administration. #TransRightsAreHumanRights." Chase Strangio, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union, wrote on Twitter, "I know folks are scared and hurt. So am I. We are working to stop this and we will never give up. The courts are scary. The administration is scary. This world is scary. We still have tools. I am here. I see your beautiful humanity. And I love you." This not the first time the Trump administration has challenged protections for transgender and non-binary Americans. On March 23, President Donald Trump said he would endorse a plan by Defense Secretary Jim Mattis to restrict the military service of transgender people. The policy replaced an outright ban on transgender service members that Trump announced last year on Twitter, citing concern over military focus and medical costs. A U.S. court later ruled the administration could not enforce the updated policy. A court had already ruled that Trump could not enforce his initial proposal of an outright ban, and that decision was appealed to a higher court. The Trump administration also scrapped a policy instated by the Obama administration that sided with transgender students in their choice of school bathrooms. ||||| Over the course of the Obama administration, several government policies or legal interpretations were put into place that resulted in explicit civil rights protections for transgender individuals. For example, on 13 May 2016 the Department of Education’s Civil Rights office released a “Dear Colleague Letter on Transgender Students” stipulating that Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (which prohibits sex discrimination at institutions of higher education that receive federal financial aid) also applied to discrimination based on gender identity: Along with similar rules articulated by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) with respect to Obamacare, such recognition represented the final stage in the evolution of how the federal government recognized transgender civil rights during the Obama administration. In a broad sense, the Obama-era stance was that Title IX (and also Title VII of the Civil Rights Act) applied to gender identity, not necessarily only biologically-defined sex. But the Trump administration rescinded the Dear Colleague letter in February 2017. In May 2016, prior to Donald Trump’s presidency, Roger Severino — then the “director of the DeVos Center for Religion and Civil Society at The Heritage Foundation” — argued in a Daily Signal piece that the Obama-era changes represented a “radical gender ideology.” Now, as part of Trump’s administration, Severino is head of the Health and Human Services Civil Rights Office overseeing how the Federal government interprets those same policies. In a 21 October 2018 article, the New York Times described HHS as “spearheading an effort to establish a legal definition of sex under Title IX.” According to a memo described (but not published) by the Times, the HSS (in coordination with other departments) effectively planned to reverse Obama-era moves by explicitly defining gender as binary and determined at birth: This memo, the Times reported, came in advance of two proposed rules, one from HHS and one from the Department of Education, that the federal government planned on releasing for public comment in the fall of 2018. The memo’s contents were met with immediate condemnation by many LGBTQ and human rights groups, who feared that the aim of a strict definition of gender was to define transgender individuals out of existence. Widespread protests followed the Times reporting, and the hashtag “#WontBeErased” began trending on Twitter as demonstrations took place around the U.S. Such a rule could limit the ability of transgender individuals to claim discrimination based on gender identity, and could exclude them from civil rights protections they had been afforded under President Obama: This takes a position that what the medical community understands about their patients — what people understand about themselves — is irrelevant because the government disagrees,” said Catherine E. Lhamon, who led the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights in the Obama administration and helped write transgender guidance that is being undone. The move would be the most significant of a series of maneuvers, large and small, to exclude the population from civil rights protections and roll back the Obama administration’s more fluid recognition of gender identity. The Trump administration has sought to bar transgender people from serving in the military and has legally challenged civil rights protections for the group embedded in the nation’s health care law. Recent estimates suggest that between 1 million and 1.4 million people identify as transgender in the United States, and several critics have noted the scientific untenability of the ideas floated in the memo with regard to genetic testing to determine gender. Such testing does not always produce accurate results and cannot account for certain cases of intersex individuals whose chromosomally-determined gender does not match their physical manifestations of gender. A commentary piece in the Journal of the American Medical Association articulated these issues in the context of testing athletes for gender in 2000: In other words, the science that the federal government has floated as a way to enforce binary gender determinations is not actually rooted in a good faith understanding of that science, and it still cannot account for the biological reality that gender is at times ambiguous even when using the scientific tests they advocate for. In terms of its potential effect on the civil rights claims of trans individuals, the HHS memo was similar to a 4 October 2017 Department of Justice memo from Attorney General Jeff Sessions titled “Revised Treatment of Transgender Employment Discrimination Claims Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.” In that latter memo, Sessions made explicit that his Department of Justice did not consider gender identity to be protected as a basis for employment discrimination under the 1964 Civil Rights act: Former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder had released a Justice Department memo in 2014 directing all offices “that the protection of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 extends to claims of discrimination based on an individual’s gender identity, including transgender status.” Title VII of the Civil Rights act prohibits employment discrimination based on “race, color, religion, sex, or national origin,” “age”, and disability status. Sessions’ memo reversed the Obama-era interpretation of “sex”. Human Rights Watch has called on Congress to pass legislation that makes explicit the civil rights of trans people assumed under the Obama administration: The new rules from HHS and the Department of Education, yet to be released officially, will likely be challenged in court if they are implemented. ||||| The Trump administration is poised to revoke the rights and protections guaranteed to some 1.4 million Americans who identify as transgender by redefining the legal definition of gender under Title IX, the federal civil rights law that bans discrimination in education on the basis of gender. This is according to the New York Times, which obtained a memo being circulated by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that reportedly urges key government agencies, including the departments of Education, Justice and Labor, to follow their lead by seeking to define gender “on a biological basis that is clear, grounded in science, objective and administrable.” “Sex means a person’s status as male or female based on immutable biological traits identifiable by or before birth,” the department proposed in the memo. “The sex listed on a person’s birth certificate, as originally issued, shall constitute definitive proof of a person’s sex unless rebutted by reliable genetic evidence.” According to the Times, DHHS plans to present the new definition to the Justice Department before the end of the year. If adopted, the change would effectively roll back policies enacted by the Obama administration which updated the legal concept of sex in federal programs, including Title IX, to reflect an inclusive understanding of gender identity as determined by an individual’s choice, not biological attributes at birth. If enacted, the change wouldn’t impact state laws or services, like, for example, New York City’s recently approved third gender option on birth certificates for trans adults, a change which makes it easier to amend other official documents and forms of ID. “Their little scheme as laid out in that memo seems to indicate that they really have a childlike, 1940s view of sex and gender,” Mara Keisling, the executive director for the National Center for Transgender Equality, tells Rolling Stone. “They really seem to think everybody has very typical genitalia, everybody has a very typical chromosomal markers. And that isn’t the case. There’s a whole range of people who don’t fit into that and they seem to just be disregarding them. They wanted to find a definition that was administrational and this is clearly not. Their whole thing about genetic testing? That stuff just isn’t possible.” While HHS officials declined to explicitly comment on the memo to the Times, they did cite a 2016 federal court ruling on a civil rights statute in the Affordable Care Act as the basis for their position. In that case, Judge Reed O’Connor of the Federal District Court in Fort Worth, Texas, ruled that “Congress did not understand ‘sex’ to include ‘gender identity.’” “The court order remains in full force and effect today and HHS is abiding by it as we continue to review the issue,” Roger Severino, the director of the Office for Civil Rights at the DHHS, said in a statement. However, as a coalition of civil rights groups pointed out in a recent memo presented to the administration, the “overwhelming majority of courts” have validated the Obama administration’s understanding “that anti transgender bias constitutes sex discrimination under federal laws like Title IX.” Regardless of how “sex” is defined, transgender advocates say the federal law still offers them the same protections. “They think they’ve figured out how to define sex without transgender people,” Keisling tells Rolling Stone. “The flaw in that comes because you cannot define transgender people without sex. If I’m fired from my job because I’m transgender, or if an eighth grader is thrown out of school because they are transgender, or somebody is denied health care because they’re transgender, it is because of their sex. It is because you think I’m the wrong kind of woman, or not a woman, or you think I’m a man, or too much of a man — whatever it is you think, it is still about ‘man and woman.’ They’re trying to define sex as just ‘man and woman,’ but we’re still included in the that.” While advocates believe they have science, the medical community and as legal precedent on their side, they say the administration’s message is being heard loud and clear. “We no longer have a federal government that will enforce federal civil rights laws,” Keisling continues. “People are genuinely very scared. They they see what the administration has done to other communities and they know that there are no limits to how low they will go. … What this is, is the administration saying, ‘We not only don’t care about trans people, we don’t like them and we are going to hurt them.’ It’s a way of trying to make [the definition] uniform throughout the federal government in what they hope their base will see as a reasonable, unified way. And it’s not, and we’re going to fight them every step of the way.” ||||| The Trump administration may move to rigidly define gender as a fixed status determined biologically by the genitalia a person is born with, reversing Obama-era policies that granted federal recognition to transgender individuals, according to a Sunday report from The New York Times. The paper said it obtained a memo detailing how the Department of Health and Human Services plans to create a legal definition of gender. The definition would be implemented under the Title IX law, which bans discrimination based on sex in federally funded education programs, the Times reported. The HHS memo said that gender should be defined "on a biological basis that is clear, grounded in science, objective and administrable," the Times said. A person's gender would be strictly male or female and it would be unchanging. "Sex means a person’s status as male or female based on immutable biological traits identifiable by or before birth," the memo said, according to the Times. "The sex listed on a person’s birth certificate, as originally issued, shall constitute definitive proof of a person’s sex unless rebutted by reliable genetic evidence." According to a 2016 study from the Williams Institute, a UCLA Law-based think tank focused on sexual orientation research, about 1.4 million American adults identify as transgender. Former President Barack Obama's administration argued that the 1972 Title IX law bars discrimination based on gender and sexual orientation. When the Department of Education issued a guidance in 2016 requiring schools to allow transgender students to use the restroom or locker room of their chosen gender, it invoked Title IX. That meant schools that did not comply could risk losing federal funds. That guidance infuriated conservatives, who decried the move as a clear case of federal overreach. The directive was rescinded one month after President Donald Trump took office in 2017. Trump's HHS department has argued that the term "sex" was never legally meant to include homosexuality and gender identity, the Times reported. Roger Severino, the current director of the Office for Civil Rights at HHS, wrote several articles critical of Obama's efforts to extend civil rights protections to transgender Americans. In 2016, Severino called the Education Department's guidance on school bathrooms the "culmination of a series of unilateral, and frequently lawless, administration attempts to impose a new definition of what it means to be a man or a woman on the entire nation." Trump has also sought to bar transgender troops from serving in the military. According to the Times, HHS officials plan to present the proposed change to the Department of Justice by the end of the year to assess the legality of the new definition. The Human Rights Campaign, an LGBTQ civil rights organization, condemned the plan as the administration's latest effort "to undermine the rights and welfare of LGBTQ people." "Defining 'sex' in this narrow language tailored to the talking points of anti-equality extremists is part of a deliberate strategy to eliminate federal protections for LGBTQ people," HRC President Chad Griffin said in a statement. "This is a direct attack on the fundamental equality of LGBTQ people and, if this administration refuses to reverse course, Congress must immediately take action by advancing the Equality Act to ensure that LGBTQ people are explicitly protected by our nation’s civil rights laws.” The Trevor Project, a suicide prevention organization aimed at helping LGBTQ youth, called the potential change "reckless and dangerous." "When a young person hears that their existence and gender identity will not be recognized by their government, they hear that they are not worthy to be a part of that nation. Transgender youth seeing this report should know that they are not alone and that their identity is valid – nothing the government does can change that," Amit Paley, CEO and Executive Director of The Trevor Project, said in a statement. "These policy decisions have real-world consequences." ||||| The Department of Health and Human Services's proposed new definition of gender would essentially eradicate federal recognition of the estimated 1.4 million Americans who recognize themselves as a gender other than the one they were assigned at birth. Activists in the LGBT community mobilized a fast and fierce campaign Sunday to say transgender people cannot be expunged from society, in response to an unreleased Trump administration memo that proposes a strict definition of gender based on a person’s genitalia at birth. The existence of the memo, the administration’s latest effort to roll back the recognition and protection of transgender people under federal civil rights law, was reported by The New York Times on Sunday morning. Within hours, the hashtag #WontBeErased circulated on social media. By Sunday evening, a rally for transgender rights took place in New York; another was planned for Monday in Washington. “You saw such a massive response because this attack on the trans community is essentially trying to erase the trans community from the face of this country and we’re not going to stand for that,” said Sarah Kate Ellis, the president and chief executive of GLAAD, an advocacy group for LGBT people. The Department of Health and Human Services is spearheading an effort to establish a legal definition of sex under Title IX, the federal law that bans gender discrimination in education programs that receive government funding, according to the memo obtained by The Times. The new definition would define sex as either male or female, unchangeable and determined by the genitals a person is born with. Any dispute about one’s sex would have to be clarified using genetic testing. Roger Severino, the director of the Office for Civil Rights at the department, had declined to answer detailed questions about the memo. The new definition would essentially eradicate federal recognition of the estimated 1.4 million Americans who recognize themselves as a gender other than the one they were assigned at birth. Mara Keisling, executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality, said, “This is a really intrusive policy that doesn’t make any sense scientifically.” She said she and her staff woke up Sunday to the news of the memo and quickly planned a response. The hashtag #WontBeErased felt appropriate to them. “What this feels like to transgender people is trying to make us invisible, trying to say that we don’t exist, trying to say that we are nothing,” she said. The hashtag took off on social media, as people posted photos of themselves or family members to show the faces of transgender people — who, they noted, would continue to exist regardless of the government’s definition of gender. On Sunday evening, supporters said, a few hundred people gathered at Washington Square Park in New York City to endorse transgender rights. The crowd included high-profile advocates such as Sara Ramirez, known for her role in “Grey’s Anatomy,” and Indya Moore, who is transgender and plays a transgender woman on the FX show “Pose.” Another rally was scheduled to take place outside the White House on Monday. The policy that was proposed in the memo would be among the most significant efforts to reverse the Obama administration’s more fluid recognition of gender identity. The Trump administration has sought to bar transgender people from serving in the military and has legally challenged their civil rights protections embedded in the health care law. Experts said the policy would apply to issues of sex discrimination, such as students who are denied access to the school bathroom that aligns with their gender identity or a transgender woman who is refused a female room assignment at a hospital. Under the proposed policy, such discrimination would not be protected in the view of the federal government, said Omar Gonzalez-Pagan, a senior attorney with Lambda Legal, which works for LGBT rights and helped organize Sunday’s rally. But in practice, he said, transgender people would still have legal protection because the courts have ruled that they are covered under the umbrella of sex discrimination. “It just means the struggle will be that much harder,” he said, adding that the government may decide not to tell institutions how to follow the law and may not enforce the law when discrimination occurs. Ellis, the president of GLAAD, said she saw a swift response from the LGBT community Sunday but hoped to also engage with other communities, including the medical industry and Hollywood. “This brings the civil rights fight to a whole new level when you are trying to completely erase a group of people,” she said. “But we are ready to fight this.” ||||| Activists in the LGBT community mobilized a fast and fierce campaign to say transgender people cannot be expunged from society, in response to an unreleased Trump administration memo that proposes a strict definition of gender based on a person’s genitalia at birth. The existence of the memo, the administration’s latest effort to roll back the recognition and protection of transgender people under federal civil rights law, was reported by the New York Times on Sunday. Within hours, the hashtag #WontBeErased circulated on social media. “You saw such a massive response because this attack on the trans community is essentially trying to erase the trans community from the face of this country and we’re not going to stand for that,” said Sarah Kate Ellis, president and chief executive of GLAAD, an advocacy group for LGBT people. The Department of Health and Human Services is spearheading an effort to establish a legal definition of sex under Title IX, the federal law that bans gender discrimination in education programs that receive government funding, according to the memo obtained by the Times. The new definition would define sex as either male or female, unchangeable and determined by the genitals a person is born with. Any dispute about one’s sex would have to be clarified using genetic testing. Roger Severino, the director of the Office for Civil Rights at the department, had declined to answer questions about the memo. The new definition would essentially eradicate federal recognition of the estimated 1.4 million Americans who recognize themselves as a gender other than the one they were assigned at birth. “This is a really intrusive policy that doesn’t make any sense scientifically,” said Mara Keisling, executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality. “What this feels like to transgender people is trying to make us invisible, trying to say that we don’t exist, trying to say that we are nothing.” The hashtag took off on social media, as people posted photos of themselves or family members to show the faces of transgender people. The policy that was proposed in the memo would be among the most significant efforts to reverse the Obama administration’s more fluid recognition of gender identity. The Trump administration has sought to bar transgender people from serving in the military and has legally challenged their civil rights protections embedded in the health care law. Experts said the policy would apply to issues of sex discrimination, such as students who are denied access to the school bathroom that aligns with their gender identity. Ellis, president of GLAAD, said she saw a swift response from the LGBT community Sunday but hoped to also engage with other communities, including the medical industry and Hollywood. “This brings the civil rights fight to a whole new level when you are trying to completely erase a group of people,” she said. “But we are ready to fight this.” ||||| The Trump administration may be considering redefining gender as an unchangeable condition determined solely by a person's biology, according to a leaked memo draft obtained by The New York Times. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services argued in the drafted memo, which has not been seen by NBC News, that the government needs to adopt a uniformed definition of gender “on a biological basis that is clear, grounded in science, objective and administrable,” the Times reported. If enacted as written in the memo, the legal definition of sex under Title IX, which prevents gender discrimination, would be determined as male or female based on the genitals a person was born with as listed on the person's birth certificate. Disputes would have to be settled using genetic testing, according to the Times. Lambda Legal, a national legal organization advocating for LGBTQ rights, wrote, "Transgender folks: You are valid. You matter. You are loved. We will not stop fighting for your rights and you #WontBeErased by this heartless administration. #TransRightsAreHumanRights." “We do not comment on alleged leaked documents,” a Health and Human Services spokesperson said in response to the Times story, NBC News reported. | The Trump administration through the United States Department of Health and Human Services plans to include a legal definition of gender in the federal civil rights Title IX law. The proposed alteration to the law would define gender as an unchangeable anatomical and genetic condition determined at birth. Members of the LGBT community plan to contest the move, which they state would largely end protections for transgender Americans. |
Transcript for Explosive device found addressed to Clinton days after 1 discovered at Soros home We condemn the attempted violent attacks recently made against President Obama president Clinton's Secretary Clinton. And other public figures these terrorizing acts are despicable. And anyone responsible will be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law. That was just in from the White House Chelsea Clinton tweeted it every day I am grateful to the women and men of the United States Secret Service thank you. Now these devices were found just two days after a similar scare at the Westchester County home of billionaire George Soros about ten miles from the Clinton home in Chappaqua. He has donated money to liberal causes and is the target of right wing conspiracy theories. Eyewitness News reporter Tim Fleischer continues a live team coverage with that part of our story ten. And David here in New Castle in Chappaqua. The New Castle police were also assisting in the Secret Service in the FBI and other local agencies in looking into this suspicious package. With. Oh with other agencies. Here and Chappaqua this morning. That was mailed to the clintons are also was you point out this was the second suspicious package that was. Discovered here in Westchester County in the last couple of days and explosive device was found in a mailbox at the Bedford compound a billionaire philanthropist George Soros. Who has been a target of right wing conspiracy theorist. The bomb squad safely detonated that device which a law enforcement sources tells ABC news was a small pipe bomb loaded with black powder. They are now trying to determine if these are similar or are they related certainly the Clinton package and also whistle rules package. That's the latest here in New Castle Tim Fleischer channel seven Eyewitness News. ||||| Just a couple of days after a bomb was discovered at billionaire philanthropist George Soros’ residence, another explosive device was found on Wednesday at former US President Bill Clinton and wife Hillary Clinton’s house in Chappaqua in New York suburb. Also, another mail bomb was intercepted from Barack Obama’s former residence. Reportedly, the bomb was sent to the Democratic party leaders through the mail and the FBI and the Secret Service is currently investigating the matter. The bomb was found at around 1 am on Wednesday by the local police and the FBI. One of the officials, who was asked to keep the matter confidential, spoke to media on the condition of anonymity. The investigative bodies have linked the bomb with the explosive device which was recently discovered at George Soros’ house in New York. Geroge Soros is a renowned activist and he frequently donates to Democratic candidates. Reportedly, he has donated over $18 billion to his Open Society Foundations in order to promote democracy and human rights around the world. Apparently, his activism has put him in the crosshair of conservative and pro-right-wing groups. George Soros gave huge political donations to John Kerry during his unsuccessful bid to deny George W Bush a second term as the US President. Soros publicly promoted Barack Obama’s candidacy in 2008 and reportedly, donated more than $25 million to Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign in 2016. Hillary Clinton, who contested 2016 elections as the Democratic party’s presidential candidate, has been a vociferous critic of US President Donald Trump and the Republican party. On Tuesday, she took to her official Twitter account saying, “The elections two weeks from today are our chance to put a check on an administration that has undermined the rule of law, brought corruption into the Oval Office, attacked immigrants, and vilified journalists. Do more than vote this year. Volunteer: It should be noted that the midterm elections in the United States will be held on November 6, 2018, where all the 435 seats in the United States House of Representatives and 35 of the 100 seats in the United States Senate will be contested. ||||| Image copyright Reuters Image caption Mr Soros was reportedly not at home at the time of Monday's incident A suspect package found in a post box at the home of billionaire businessman George Soros contained an explosive device, New York police have confirmed. The item was discovered on Monday by an employee of Mr Soros, who took it to a nearby wooded area, where it was later destroyed by bomb squad officers. The incident is being investigated by the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force. Mr Soros has become a frequent target for criticism by right-wing groups due to his support for liberal causes. What happened? Mr Soros was not at his home in the town of Bedford in Westchester County at the time of the incident, according to reports. "An employee of the residence opened the package, revealing what appeared to be an explosive device," a Bedford Police Department official told the New York Times. Officials say that police received a call about a suspicious package at about 15:45 local time (20:45 GMT) on Monday. Arriving at the scene, police discovered a device that was later confirmed by officials to have contained explosive powder and "had the components" of a bomb. It was then "proactively detonated", police said. The FBI tweeted that it was investigating an incident in the area. Police later confirmed that an "extensive investigation" had been opened with the FBI. Who is Soros? The 88-year-old Hungarian-American businessman earned his fortune through shrewd financial speculation. He has spent billions of his own money funding human rights projects and liberal democratic ventures around the world and has been a large donor to the US Democratic Party. He previously backed the presidential campaigns of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, and labelled US President Donald Trump "an imposter". US-based right-wing conspiracy theorists and websites have accused Mr Soros of secretly engineering a range of recent events in US and global politics. They have alleged he was involved in recruiting crowds for the anti-Trump Women's March and even organising violence in Charlottesville to undermine the country's political right wing. Mr Soros has also become a political target worldwide for nationalists and populists, who paint him as a master manipulator of democracy. ||||| Explosive Device Mailed To Liberal Philanthropist George Soros' New York Home Enlarge this image toggle caption Olivier Hoslet/AP Olivier Hoslet/AP An explosive device was found at the Westchester County, New York, home of billionaire philanthropist George Soros on Monday afternoon. In a statement to NPR, the Bedford Police Department said an employee of the house found a suspicious package in the mailbox. They opened it, revealing what "appeared to be an explosive device." The employee placed the package in a nearby wooded area and alerted authorities. State and federal authorities responded to the scene in Katonah, a hamlet in the town of Bedford. A bomb squad was able to safely detonate the device, The New York Times reports. After authorities were contacted, an "extensive investigation" involving the Bedford Police Department, the Westchester County Police Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the FBI, commenced. The case has been handed over to the Joint Terrorism Task Force Division of the FBI, the Bedford Police Department says. Billionaire Soros, an 88-year-old survivor of Nazi Germany-occupied Hungary, made his fortune running a hedge fund. Over the course of decades, Soros has given billions of dollars away in philanthropic efforts — including $18 billion to the Open Society Foundations, which he founded in 1993. The left-leaning OSF works to "build vibrant and tolerant democracies whose governments are accountable to their citizens." (The OSF has been a financial supporter of NPR.) He frequently donates to Democratic candidates and progressive causes. Soros became a well-known political figure when he donated nearly $24 million in 2004 to groups opposed to President George W. Bush's re-election. The billionaire has remained a steady Democratic benefactor. His political donations have made Soros a favorite target of conspiracy theorists and anti-Semitic slurs. Some conservative commentators, such as Glenn Beck, and Hollywood figures, such as Roseanne Barr, have falsely claimed that Soros was a Nazi collaborator. At least two Republicans have recently claimed Soros bankrolled a caravan of migrants currently headed to the U.S., including President Trump. The president also said that two women who confronted Sen. Jeff Flake in an elevator during the hearings of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh's alleged sexual assault were "professionals" paid for by Soros. ||||| George Soros' foundation denounced extremism and political violence after a law enforcement official said the device found outside Soros' Bedford residential compound “had the components” of an actual bomb. "The hateful rhetoric that dominates politics in the United States and so many countries around the world breeds extremism and violence," the Open Society Foundations said in a statement on social media. "In this climate of fear, falsehoods and rising authoritarianism, just voicing your views can draw death threats." The Open Society Foundations called on political officials on both sides of the aisle to tone down the rhetoric. The law enforcement official, who spoke today to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to publicly discuss the continuing investigation, said the device contained explosive powder. An "employee of the residence" found the device in the mailbox at 168 Cantitoe St. in Katonah around 3:45 p.m. Monday, Bedford police said. The employee placed the package in the woods and alerted police. GEORGE SOROS: Who is the Westchester billionaire? NEIGHBORS: Ralph Lauren, Jaime Dimon among the high-profile neighbors of George Soros The source says “the components were there for an explosive device” and it was “not a hoax device.” The official says the investigators are reviewing surveillance video to determine whether the package had been sent through the mail or otherwise delivered. Authorities detonated it as a precaution. Among the unanswered questions is whether the package was addressed to Soros. Bedford police referred questions to the FBI, which could not immediately be reached for comment this morning. The ATF and Westchester County police bomb squad also responded. "Clearly, of absolute highest priority is the safety of our residents. Whether it's a high-profile resident like George Soros or anyone else," Bedford Town Supervisor Chris Burdick said, adding that he was proud of how the town's police handled the situation. "We would provide that kind of protection to anyone and everyone in our community." Burdick said and the town historian are not aware of any similar incidents in Bedford in the past. "Clearly, whatever brought it about is the act of a very sick and disturbed mind," he said. ||||| (Reuters) - An explosive device found in a mail box outside the New York residence of billionaire financier George Soros on Monday, police said, and according to the New York Times it was detonated by bomb squad technicians in a nearby wooded area. Soros is a target of a hostile media campaign by the nationalist government in his native Hungary and a hate figure for right-wing campaigners in eastern Europe and the United States. Authorities responded to the home in Katonah, New York after receiving a call about a suspicious package at about 3:45 p.m., the Town of Bedford Police Department said in a statement. An employee at the residence opened the package, revealing what appeared to be an explosive device. The employee put the package in a wooded area and called authorities, police said. Bomb squad technicians arrived and detonated it, a police official told the New York Times. Online records showed that Soros resides at the address. He was not home at the time, the New York Times reported. ||||| An explosive device was found Monday in a mailbox at the Westchester County home of George Soros, the billionaire philanthropist who is a favorite target of right-wing groups, authorities said. A law enforcement official confirmed that the device was found near Soros’ home. It did not explode on its own, and bomb squad technicians “proactively detonated” it, the official said. Federal and state law enforcement officials responded to the scene in Katonah, New York, a hamlet in the upscale town of Bedford in northern Westchester, after the Bedford Police Department received a call about a suspicious package at about 3:45 p.m. “An employee of the residence opened the package, revealing what appeared to be an explosive device,” police said in a statement. “The employee placed the package in a wooded area and called the Bedford police.” Soros was not home at the time. Police said they had turned the case over to the FBI, which did not immediately respond to requests for comment. In a tweet late Monday night, the bureau’s New York office said it was conducting an investigation “at and around a residence in Bedford” and that there was no threat to public safety. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives did not respond to a request for comment. Soros, who was born in Hungary, made his fortune running a hedge fund and is now a full-time philanthropist and political activist. He donates frequently to Democratic candidates and progressive causes and has given at least $18 billion to his Open Society Foundations to promote democracy and human rights around the world. His activism has made him a villain to conservative groups and the target of anti-Semitic smears. Roseanne Barr called him a Nazi in an infamous tweetstorm, and just this month, Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., falsely speculated that Soros had funded a caravan of migrants moving north toward Mexico. There is no evidence that Soros paid thousands of migrants to storm the border. Nor is there evidence that Democrats support the effort, as Trump has said. Soros became a major political donor in the United States during George W. Bush’s presidency. He spent millions backing John Kerry’s unsuccessful bid to deny Bush a second term, was an early backer of Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign and contributed more than $25 million to Hillary Clinton and other Democratic candidates and causes during the 2016 election cycle. Though Soros’ name has become a trigger for a subset of Republicans and conservatives, he has said that his main goal as a political activist was to see a return to bipartisanship. He has said it was the extremism of the Republican Party that had prompted him to become a major Democratic donor, but also said he is opposed to the extreme left. “I don’t particularly want to be a Democrat,” he said. Bedford is about 50 miles north of Manhattan and has been home to many well-to-do city transplants, including Martha Stewart, Glenn Close and Ralph Lauren. Katonah, where Soros has a home, is known for its cultural offerings, including the Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts and the Katonah Museum of Art. The town is known for its insularity and lack of gossip, which allows for well-known residents to fly under the radar. “They look to Bedford as to being protective of their privacy,” John Stockbridge, Bedford’s historian, said in a phone interview. Stockbridge said that the town has largely avoided drama or violent scares. “I’ve been here for 35 years and I don’t remember any incident like what you’re talking about,” he said. ||||| NEW YORK (Reuters) - A package containing an explosive device was found in a mailbox outside a New York home owned by billionaire financier George Soros, and the FBI was searching for the sender on Tuesday. Soros, one of the world’s biggest donors to liberal groups and causes, has become a hate figure for right-wing campaigners in the United States and eastern Europe, and the target of a hostile media campaign by the nationalist government in his native Hungary. An employee at the home in Katonah, New York, opened the package at around 3:45 p.m. on Monday to find what appeared to be an explosive device, the Bedford Police Department said in a statement. Soros was not there at the time, the New York Times reported. Katonah, a hamlet in the town of Bedford, is one of New York City’s wealthier suburbs located about 40 miles (60 km) north of Manhattan. Bomb squad technicians detonated the package in a nearby wooded area, police said. The Federal Bureau of Investigation was looking into the incident, police said. A Hungarian government spokesman said: “The matter falls under the jurisdiction of U.S. authorities. After all, the incident occurred there.” He declined to comment further. Soros has donated billions of dollars to his Open Society Foundation, a grant-making organization that funds civil society groups around the world. The foundation has clashed with Hungary’s government over the latter’s restrictions on immigration and asylum seekers. ||||| An explosive device was found in the home mailbox of billionaire George Soros, prompting the FBI to launch an investigation into who may want to harm the philanthropist and political activist, officials said. The explosive device was discovered about 3:45 p.m. Monday by an employee at Soros' home in Katonah, New York, a suburb of New York City, according to the Bedford Police Department, who responded to the residence. "An employee of the residence opened the package, revealing what appeared to be an explosive device," Bedford police said in a statement. The employee placed the suspicious package in a wooded area and called the police, officials said. A police bomb squad responded and detonated the device, officials said. The 88-year-old Soros was not home at the time when the device was discovered, and no one was injured in the incident. Bedford police said the investigation was turned over to the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force. "We are conducting an investigation at and around a residence in Bedford, New York. There is no threat to public safety, and we have no further comment at this time," the FBI New York office tweeted Monday afternoon. It was not immediately clear if a note was found with the device, or if it was sent to Soros' home in the mail or planted there by a would-be attacker. Soros has become a favorite target of right-wing groups due to his support of progressive causes and Democratic candidates, but authorities have not commented on whether any specific group is being investigated. Soros, a Hungarian immigrant who lived through the Nazi occupation of World War II, launched his own hedge fund in 1970 and went on to become one of the most successful investors in U.S. history. ||||| The FBI on Tuesday was investigating an explosive device found in the mailbox at the New York home of US billionaire and liberal donor George Soros, a target of right-wing groups, officials confirmed. An employee of the residence in Bedford, north of Manhattan, found the suspicious package in the mailbox on Monday afternoon, opened it and found what appeared to be an explosive device, Bedford police said. "The employee placed the package in a wooded area and called the Bedford police," the local police department said in a statement. Soros was not at home at the time and bomb squad technicians defused the device, said police in Bedford, a wealthy enclave that is home to a string of the rich and famous within easy commute of Manhattan. An "extensive investigation" has been opened and the case has been turned over to the Joint Terrorism Task Force Division of the FBI, police said. "We are conducting an investigation at and around a residence in Bedford," the FBI's New York field office said on Twitter. "There is no threat to public safety, and we have no further comment at this time." Born to a Jewish family in Hungary, the 88-year-old hedge fund tycoon has an estimated net worth of $8.3 billion, making him one of the world's richest men, according to Forbes magazine. In 1992, the Wall Street trader became known as "the man who broke the bank of England" when his aggressive speculation against sterling sent it crashing out of the European exchange mechanism. He has given away billions to his Open Society Foundations, which promote freedom of expression, justice and equality, and which counter discrimination, focusing in part on Central and Eastern Europe. The organization on Tuesday condemned the "hateful rhetoric that dominates politics in the United States and so many countries around the world," noting it "breeds extremism and violence. "In this climate of fear, falsehoods, and rising authoritarianism, just voicing your views can draw death threats," it said, adding that Soros "deplores violence of any kind and urges politicians across the political spectrum to tone down their rhetoric." Earlier this month US President Donald Trump accused Soros of paying demonstrators to protest against the nomination of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who was accused of attempted rape in high school. Soros supported Trump's Democratic rival Hillary Clinton in the 2016 US election and has been accused by nationalists the world over of sponsoring protests and seeking to push a liberal, multicultural agenda. Roseanne Barr, the US actress sacked from the revival of her eponymous sitcom for sending a racist tweet about a former Barack Obama aide, called Soros a Nazi earlier this year before later apologizing. | A mail bomb is discovered at the home of George Soros in Bedford, New York, United States. It is safely detonated by the Bedford Police Department. While Soros was not at the residence when the device was discovered, the businessman and philanthropist is believed to be the intended target. |
A second suspicious package addressed to former Vice President Joe Biden reportedly turned up at a Wilmington, Delaware, postal facility Thursday morning. The package is similar to others containing pipe bombs that were sent to high-profile figures including former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, a source told The Associated Press. Postal supervisor Sherina Dawson told 6abc Action News that an employee called attention of the package because it had Democratic California Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz as the name on the return address. Dawson said the item inside the package was similar in shape to a flashlight. Police shut down the area around the postal facility, reported 6 ABC. Police also shut down a postal facility in New Castle, Delaware, around 6 a.m. Thursday morning after the first suspicious package addressed to Biden was located. The FBI has taken over the investigation of the facility, reported 6 ABC. “This country has to come together. This division, this hatred, this ugliness has to end,” Biden tweeted Wednesday before any suspicious packages addressed to him were located by law enforcement. Law enforcement got a tip about a mysterious package addressed to the former VP and arrived at his Delaware home Wednesday night before the first package was located. Biden is the latest intended recipient of the mystery bombs. Other intended recipients of the explosives include: President Donald Trump addressed the bomb scares at a rally in Wisconsin Wednesday evening. (RELATED: Los Angeles Postal Facility Evacuated After Finding Second ‘Suspicious’ Package Addressed To Maxine Waters) “Any acts or threats of political violence are an attack on our democracy itself,” President Donald Trump said at a rally in Wisconsin Wednesday evening. “No nation can succeed that tolerates violence or the threat of violence as a method of political intimidation, coercion or control. We all know that. Such conduct must be fiercely opposed and firmly prosecuted. We want all sides to come together in peace and harmony. We can do it.” Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org. ||||| US actor Robert De Niro has had a suspicious package sent to his New York restaurant. US actor Robert De Niro has had a suspicious package sent to his New York restaurant. ROBERT De Niro and former US vice president Joe Biden are the latest in a series of targets to be sent suspicious packages thought to contain pipe bombs. The package sent to De Niro was addressed to the Hollywood actor and delivered to his New York restaurant, the Tribeca Grill B in Manhattan. The bombs were each about six inches long with a small battery and packed with powder and broken glass, said a law enforcement official who viewed X-ray images. The official said the devices were made from PVC pipe and covered with black tape. CNN reported the package had similar markings to the pipe bomb sent to the network yesterday. A law enforcement source said a similar package addressed to Mr Biden was intercepted at a Delaware mail facility, reigniting fear yesterday's bomb scare drama was not an isolated event. The former Delaware senator is a Democrat who served as vice president in the Obama administration. De Niro has clashed with Donald Trump several times - once branding him a "national disaster". Mr Trump on Thursday morning blamed the media for provoking anger in Americans - but did not directly reference the bombs. "A very big part of the Anger we see today in our society is caused by the purposely false and inaccurate reporting of the Mainstream Media," he tweeted. Former CIA director John Brennan, to whom the CNN bomb was addressed, hit back at Mr Trump's comments, telling him to "stop blaming others" and that his "inflammatory rhetoric, insults, lies, encouragement of physical violence are disgraceful." It comes after 24 hours of chaos with up to nine suspicious parcels - some containing crudely built pipe bombs - intercepted before reaching targets including former US President Barack Obama, former Secretary of State and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and Mr Obama's attorney-general Eric Holder. All of the targets are frequently criticised by right-wing activists. The US President has been criticised for failing to denounce the mail bombs as domestic terror, with Democrats claiming he has stoked anger against left-wing people and organisations. The hashtag #MAGAbomber has begun trending on Twitter, infuriating Republicans who claimed Democrats were exploiting the news "to try to manipulate the public into thinking patriotic Americans are SOMEHOW responsible." Another pointed out the device sent to CNN was wrapped in an Islamic State flag, although it was identified as a parody version of the distinctive design. The President on Wednesday condemned the person or persons sending the packages, saying: "Acts or threats of political violence have no place in the United States. He took a softer tone than usual at a rally in Wisconsin on Wednesday night. "Let's get along," he said. "By the way, do you see how nice I'm behaving tonight? Have you ever seen this?" The New York City police bomb squad has removed the package sent to De Niro. It is now being taken to a "secure location in the Bronx", police said. An employee of TriBeCa Productions, a television and film production company co-founded by the Hollywood actor, alerted police to the package sent to De Niro around 5am local time, AFP reported. Police said officers would be joined by colleagues from the FBI and ATF at the restaurant, so traffic would be affected for some time while the investigators worked. The first crude bomb discovered was delivered on Monday to the suburban New York compound of George Soros, a liberal billionaire and major contributor to Democratic causes. The FBI said an additional package intended for former attorney general Eric Holder ended up at a Florida office of Democratic Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz, whose return address was on it. Two similar-looking packages addressed to California Congresswoman Maxine Waters - another fierce Trump critic - were also intercepted, the bureau said. De Niro has clashed with Mr Trump several times in the past, both during the presidential campaign and afterwards. Before the 2016 election the actor slammed Mr Trump as "blatantly stupid," "totally nuts" and an "idiot." New York Governor Andrew Cuomo yesterday said a device had been sent to his office in Manhattan, but it was unrelated to the mail bombs. "We would not be at all surprised if more devices show up," said Mr Cuomo, a Democrat, at a media briefing on Wednesday afternoon local time. "There is a pattern." FBI Director Christopher Wray said in a statement yesterday his agency would lead a Joint Terrorism Task Force of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies to "continue to work to identity and arrest whosoever is responsible for sending these packages". ||||| Law enforcement officials are reportedly seeking out a package addressed to former Vice President Joe Biden because of similarities it has to suspicious packages sent to a number of other Democratic officials this week. CNN's Jim Sciutto cited two law enforcement officials with the development Wednesday evening. NBC News contributing correspondent Jonathan Dienst said on MSNBC that law enforcement officials are concerned that a potential package addressed to Biden was sent to the wrong address and therefore shipped to an office of Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz in Florida because that address appeared on the return label. He added that information from that U.S. Postal Service indicated that the package is out somewhere. An array of Trump critics around the country were sent potentially explosive devices this week, including former President Barack Obama, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former Attorney General Eric Holder, California Rep. Maxine Waters, and liberal billionaire philanthropist George Soros. Another package was sent to ex-CIA Director John Brennan at CNN's offices in New York City. The potentially explosive devices included in these packages, sent in manila envelopes with a return address to Wasserman Schultz's office, are being examined by the FBI. Earlier in the day it was reported that the package addressed to Holder was sent to the wrong address and therefore sent to Wasserman Schultz's office. Authorities have yet to say they have a suspect. "This country has to come together. This division, this hatred, this ugliness has to end," Biden tweeted earlier in the day. ||||| The pipe bomb scare widened Thursday, as law enforcement officials seized three more suspicious packages and said they were similar to crude pipe bombs sent to George Soros, former President Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, CNN, Rep. Maxine Waters and former Attorney General Eric Holder.Two packages addressed to former Vice President Joe Biden bearing similarities to the other packages were recovered at two postal facilities in Delaware. Another was addressed to Robert De Niro and sent to a Manhattan address associated with the actor.None of the devices exploded, and no one was injured. But the packages, sent to prominent Democrats critical of President Donald Trump, heightened nationwide tensions and fears two weeks before major congressional midterm elections.The packages sent to Biden were found in New Castle and Wilmington. The FBI and ATF responded to the facilities as part of the ongoing investigation into the devices, with authorities believing these to be ninth and 10th packages tied to the case.The packages addressed to Biden never reached their destination.The first crude bomb to be discovered had been delivered Monday to the Westchester County compound of George Soros , a liberal billionaire and major contributor to Democratic causes. Soros has called Trump's presidency "dangerous."Similar packages were addressed to the Clintons' home in Chappaqua and the Obamas' home in Washington , DC, though the Secret Service said neither package reached their intended recipients. Two more were sent to Waters, a frequent Trump critic, and another to Holder. His package never made it to its destination due to a delivery error and was bounced back to the return address, listed as Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz's office in Sunrise, Florida, which was briefly evacuated.Lastly, a police bomb squad removed a package addressed to for CIA Director John Brennan, an NBC News contributor, at CNN's New York City office at the Time Warner Center in Columbus Circle.The object appeared to be a small pipe bomb with wires extending from it, which was removed from the building at 11:37 a.m. and taken to a remote location to be detonated.Mayor Bill de Blasio called it an act of terrorism."What we saw here today was an effort to terrorize," he said. "This clearly is an act of terror, attempting to undermine our free press and leaders of this country through acts of violence. I want to make very clear that the people of New York City will not be intimidated, that we are going to go about our lives undeterred because the very concept of terrorism to change us, and we will not allow that to happen."The bombs seized Wednesday, each with a small battery, were about six inches long and packed with powder and broken glass, said a law enforcement official who viewed X-ray images and spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation.The official said the devices were made from PVC pipe and covered with black tape. They were sent to an FBI lab in Virginia to be studied. They are being treated as potentially explosive devices, but at this point, it remains unclear if they were designed to actually explode.Officials provided no details on a possible suspect or motive, and the investigation is ongoing. |||||
• Two suspicious packages were sent to former Vice President Joe Biden, adding to a rising number of attempted pipe bomb attacks on top Democrats and other public figures.
• The packages to Biden were intercepted at separate mailing facilities in Delaware.
• None All of the suspicious packages were sent to people who have been verbally attacked by President Donald Trump and been vocally critical of him as well. Two suspicious packages were sent to former Vice President Joe Biden, adding to a rising number of attempted pipe bomb attacks on top Democrats and other public figures. The packages to Biden were intercepted at separate mailing facilities in Delaware. On Wednesday, officials revealed that bombs had been sent or addressed to former President Barack Obama, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former CIA Director John Brennan, former Attorney General Eric Holder, and Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters. The package addressed to Brennan was sent to CNN's offices in New York City, despite the fact the former CIA director is actually an NBC News analyst. The package intended for Holder had an incorrect address and was returned to the sender, who was listed as Democratic Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz. On Thursday, officials said a suspicious package was also sent to actor Robert De Niro in the Manhattan building where his production company is based. All of the suspicious packages were sent to people who have been verbally attacked by President Donald Trump and been vocally critical of him. Wednesday's incidents came two days after a bomb was found in the mailbox of billionaire George Soros, one of the biggest Democratic donors who has become a top target of right-wing conspiracy theories. Trump on Wednesday condemned the attempted attacks, calling for unity and vowing to bring justice to those responsible. But on Thursday the president took to Twitter and accused the "Mainstream Media" of contributing to the "Anger we see today in our society" via what he described as "false and inaccurate reporting."
• The suspicious package sent to CNN's New York office was reportedly addressed to former CIA Director John Brennan
• White House and Donald Trump Jr. condemn explosive devices sent to Obamas, Clintons
• Hillary Clinton addresses attempted attack, says 'as an American I am worried'
• Trump condemns 'political violence' after pipe bombs sent to prominent Democrats, says 'we have to unify'
• Prominent conservative activists and talking heads are promoting a conspiracy that Democrats sent explosive devices to Clinton, Obama, Soros
• 'The inevitable consequence of Trump's incitement': Democrats accuse Trump of helping provoke attempted violence against Clintons, Obama, and Soros
• 'This clearly was an act of terror': NYPD safely removes 'live explosive device' from CNN's New York office after similar devices sent to Clinton, Obama homes Anyone with information on the packages is being asked to call the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI or go to tips.fbi.gov. ||||| At least six explosive devices have been sent to targets including Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and CNN. A SUSPICIOUS package has been found at a New York restaurant belonging to actor Robert De Niro. The package is believed to have been addressed to the Hollywood actor and delivered to the Tribeca Grill B on Greenwich Street. De Niro, 75, is an outspoken critic of US President Donald Trump, and has clashed with him several times - once branding him a “national disaster”. CNN is reporting the package had similar markings than the pipe bombs that were packed with shards of glass sent yesterday. The package has reignited fear in New York that yesterday’s bomb scare drama was not an isolated event. The New York City police bomb squad has removed the package. It is now being taken to a “secure location in the Bronx”, police said. An employee of TriBeCa Productions, a television and film production company co-founded by the Hollywood actoir, alerted police to the package around 5am local time, AFP reported. Officers would be joined by colleagues from the FBI and ATF at the restaurant, meaning traffic would be affected for some time while the investigators worked. It comes after 24 hours of chaos when up to seven suspicious parcels - some containing crudely built pipe bombs - were intercepted before reaching their targets, who included former US President Barack Obama, former Secretary of State and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and Obama’s attorney-general Eric Holder. Former CIA Director John Brennan, prominent Democratic Party donor George Soros and California Congresswoman Maxine Waters, another fierce critic of President Donald Trump, were also targets of packages. All of the targets are frequently criticised by right-wing activists. De Niro has clashed with Mr Trump several times in the past, both during the presidential campaign and afterwards. Before the 2016 election the actor slammed Mr Trump as “blatantly stupid,” “totally nuts” and an “idiot.” Meanwhile Mr Trump has blamed the media for provoking anger in Americans. A law enforcement source told The Associated Press that the device found Thursday appeared to be linked to the others sent to Democratic figures and CNN’s New York City hub. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo yesterday a device had been sent to his office in Manhattan, but it was unrelated to the mail bombs. “We would not be at all surprised if more devices show up,” said Mr Cuomo, a Democrat, at a media briefing on Wednesday afternoon local time. “There is a pattern.” More to come. ||||| Apparent 'Pipe Bombs' Mailed To Clinton, Obama And CNN toggle caption FBI Updated at 9:38 p.m. ET At least seven suspicious packages containing what the FBI called potentially destructive devices have been sent since Monday to several leading Democratic Party figures and to CNN in New York, triggering a massive investigation. Authorities have yet to release any information about a possible suspect or suspects but, in an interview on CNN, New York City Police Commissioner James O'Neill said investigators are reviewing security video footage for clues as to who left the envelope at the network offices, the Associated Press reported. The package received on Wednesday morning at the Time Warner Center was delivered by a courier service, law enforcement sources told CNN. O'Neill said surveillance footage could lead to the identity of a messenger believed to have delivered a package containing an explosive device to the news channel's New York headquarters. He is "pretty sure those images will be caught on video and we'll be able to find out where that person came from before they entered the building and where they went to after." "The packages are similar in appearance," the FBI stated, "and contain potentially destructive devices." A photo released by CNN shows the small, rudimentary explosive wrapped in black electrical tape and a digital timer attached to the center. Packages were addressed to George Soros, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former President Barack Obama, former CIA Director John Brennan (care of CNN) and former Attorney General Eric Holder. All bore the return address of the office of U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the former Democratic National Committee chairwoman. The packages were in manila envelopes with bubble-wrap interior, and the FBI says it is "possible that additional packages were mailed to other locations." Enlarge this image toggle caption Spencer Platt/Getty Images Spencer Platt/Getty Images In a statement issued on Wednesday afternoon Wasserman Schultz expressed dismay over her involuntary association with the menacing threats. "This appalling attack on our democracy must be vigorously prosecuted, and I am deeply disturbed by the way my name was used," she wrote. She confirmed that her offices in Sunrise and Aventura, Fla., were both evacuated "in an abundance of caution." Speaking at an event in Texas, Brennan, whose security clearance was recently revoked by the White House, touched on the bomb scare. "If I and others are being targeted because we're speaking out and we're living up to our responsibilities as citizens I think that's a very unfortunate turn of events," he said. The FBI confirmed on Wednesday night that two packages, similar in appearance, were addressed to California Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters. Earlier in the day, Waters said U.S. Capitol Police intercepted a suspicious package targeting her office. Waters thanked law enforcement investigating the package and said in a statement, "I unequivocally condemn any and all acts of violence and terror." "This investigation is of the highest priority for the FBI. We have committed the full strength of the FBI's resources and, together with our partners on our Joint Terrorism Task Forces, we will continue to work to identify and arrest whoever is responsible for sending these packages," FBI Director Christopher Wray said in the statement. The Secret Service said Wednesday morning it had intercepted two suspicious packages that were addressed to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Westchester County, N.Y., and former President Barack Obama's residence in Washington, D.C. The packages addressed to Clinton and Obama contained explosive devices similar to one found Monday at the Bedford, N.Y., home of billionaire George Soros — a frequent contributor to Democratic and progressive causes. An explosive ordnance disposal team did a controlled detonation and destroyed the package. Enlarge this image toggle caption Alex Wong/Getty Images Alex Wong/Getty Images The package sent to CNN, which was addressed to Brennan, contained what "appeared to be a live explosive device" as well as an "envelope containing white powder," New York City Police Commissioner James O'Neill said at the news conference. The package for Holder "did not reach its intended destination, but was rerouted to the return address in Florida," the FBI stated. Police in Sunrise said Wednesday morning that they were "working on an investigation of a suspicious package near Sawgrass Corporate Parkway," which is near the office used by Wasserman Schultz. President Trump, speaking at the White House, said that the "safety of the American people is my highest and absolute priority." "As we speak, the packages are being inspected by top explosive experts, and a major federal investigation is now underway," Trump said. "The full weight of our government is being deployed to conduct this investigation and bring those responsible for these despicable acts to justice. We will spare no resources or expense in this effort." The packages addressed to Clinton and Obama "were immediately identified during routine mail screening procedures as potential explosive devices and were appropriately handled as such," the Secret Service said in a statement Wednesday. "The protectees did not receive the packages nor were they at risk of receiving them." The package to Clinton was intercepted late Tuesday, and the package to Obama was intercepted early Wednesday morning. Clinton responded to the incident by saying "We are fine" and thanking the men and women of the Secret Service. Speaking at a Florida fundraiser for Donna Shalala, a former HHS secretary who is running for Congress, she said it is a "troubling time" and that "we have to do everything we can to bring our country together." The NYPD's Miller stated that security officials were visiting offices of elected officials and media and television outlets Wednesday to inform them about what to watch for — and, in fact, he says NYPD officials were in the CNN mailroom when the suspicious package was discovered. CNN broadcast images of a yellow mailing envelope addressed to former CIA Director John Brennan and Time Warner Center, also with a return address for Wasserman Schultz in Sunrise, Fla. The explosive device inside was safely removed by the bomb squad using a "bomb truck," according to Miller, and authorities were working to transport it to FBI laboratories for further investigation, along with the other devices. In a statement, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said, "We condemn the attempted violent attacks recently made against President Obama, President Clinton, Secretary Clinton, and other public figures." She added, "These terrorizing acts are despicable, and anyone responsible will be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law." "These attempted attacks that have been made are beyond criminal, they are acts of pure terror," said House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, who was shot and gravely wounded during an attack on a baseball practice of Republican lawmakers in 2017. "Violence and terror have no place in our politics or anywhere else in our society." Like the Clintons, Soros lives in Westchester County, N.Y. The left-leaning philanthropist is the founder of the Open Society Foundations, which works to "build vibrant and tolerant democracies whose governments are accountable to their citizens." (The OSF has been a financial supporter of NPR.) When the Obamas left the White House, they rented a house in D.C.'s Kalorama neighborhood that they purchased months later. The couple have said they want to remain in Washington, D.C., until their youngest daughter, Sasha, finishes high school. Enlarge this image toggle caption Gershon Peaks/Reuters Gershon Peaks/Reuters There also were multiple reports of suspicious packages on Wednesday that turned out to be false alarms. Some media outlets had suggested that the White House had received one, but the Secret Service later clarified that "reports of a third intercepted package addressed to the WH are incorrect." New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo told reporters at Wednesday's news conference that "a device has been sent to my office in Manhattan, which we were just informed about." Cuomo's office later said that "a preliminary investigation on the package at Gov. Cuomo's office shows it is computer files on the hate group The Proud Boys, who recently appeared in New York." The downtown San Diego office of The San Diego Union-Tribune was briefly evacuated because of concerns about a possible suspicious package. That was later determined to be a false alarm and police gave the all-clear. This is a breaking news story. As often happens in situations like these, some information reported early may turn out to be inaccurate. We'll move quickly to correct the record, and we'll only point to the best information we have at the time. ||||| Explosive devices being sent in the mail. Troops being sent to the border ahead of a migrant caravan. Divisive rhetoric being called out. With less than two weeks before the midterm elections, the nation is struggling with big issues. And with issues like these in the news all week, it's no wonder people are on edge. We’re here to try and help you sort it all out. Republicans and Democrats have different issues on their minds, according to a new USA TODAY/Suffolk University Poll. The top issue for Republicans, is immigration and border security. For Democrats and independents, the first issue is health care. But the one thing many Americans have in common is that President Donald Trump is driving the decisions of a majority of voters who say they are determined to send a message of either support or opposition to him. And that dynamic is giving Democrats an edge as the crucial campaign heads into the final stretch, according to the poll. Authorities eye Florida in hunt for source of suspicious packages Three more bomb-like devices were discovered Thursday, one in Lower Manhattan near the offices of actor Robert De Niro and two in Delaware addressed to former Vice President Joe Biden. That brings the total to 10. Investigators increasingly focused on mail streams in and out of Florida in the hunt for whoever sent these devices to high-profile critics and targets of President Trump. Most of the packages have been mailed in manila envelopes with bubble wrap interior, affixed with six Forever stamps and a computer-printed address label showing a return address for "Debbie Wasserman Shultz," a misspelled name for the Florida Democratic Congresswoman, according to the FBI. None of the 10 devices have exploded and no one has been injured.
• Suspicious packages result of Trump’s ‘violent’ rhetoric, critics say
• White House denies Trump’s rhetoric to blame The Pentagon is preparing to deploy at least 800 troops to the U.S.-Mexico border to confront a migrant caravan that President Trump has described as a “national emergency,” administration officials said. The caravan of thousands of Central Americans heading toward the U.S. is more than 1,000 miles from the border, but Trump is increasingly seizing on it as an issue in the midterm elections, hoping images of migrants walking through Mexico will energize GOP voters in battleground states and tip the balance in the fight for control of Congress. Critics say the move is a "desperate political stunt" designed to stoke anti-immigrant fears ahead of the Nov. 6 elections. Important updates to news you've been following
• Investigation moves from Kavanaugh to his accusers A key Senate chairman asked the Justice Department on Thursday to investigate Julie Swetnick and her lawyer, Michael Avenatti, for allegedly false statements made during the confirmation process for Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. Avenatti welcomed it: "Let the investigation into Kavanaugh and his lies begin.” Saudi Arabian authorities changed their account again Thursday of how journalist Jamal Khashoggi was killed, for the first time calling his death a "premeditated" murder. The kingdom initially said he left the Saudi consulate unharmed. Then they said he died after a “brawl” escalated inside the facility. They reached the new conclusion after reviewing evidence given to them by Turkey. NBC told USA TODAY that "Megyn Kelly Today" would air reruns for the rest of the week as rumors swirled her time on the NBC morning show is coming to an end. Her absence came two days after she angered viewers by defending blackface Halloween costumes. Her Wednesday episode largely centered on her on-air apology.
• “It is an exciting time to be a lottery player” Move over Mega Millions, it's time for Powerball. The jackpot has ballooned to an estimated $750 million — the third-largest in U.S. lottery history. The estimated cash option, generally preferred by winners, is $428.6 million. The next drawing is Saturday. The Short List is a compilation of stories from across the USA TODAY Network. It was brought to you by editors Cara Richardson and David Carrig. ||||| Authorities are investigating a suspicious package that may have been sent to Joe Biden but was misaddressed, according to numerous reports. CNN reported that the package is considered suspicious because it is similar to the bombs sent to various addresses across the country on Wednesday. An analyst on MSNBC said that investigators believe the wrong address may have been written on the package and it could have been sent back - perhaps to the office of Debbie Wasserman Schultz. Postal service workers have been made aware of the package possibly being in the mail system, Jonathan Dienst told MSNBC's Chris Hayes on Wednesday. A beefed up security presence was seen outside the former vice president's home in Greenville, Delaware on Wednesday. Investigators conducted a sweep of the premises and did not find anything suspicious, according to the Delaware News Journal. The search was conducted by New Castle County Police. There was no police activity in and around the home on Wednesday, authorities said. The seventh threat was announced as federal authorities investigated a second suspicious package sent to Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters. Officials flagged a piece of mail that was sent through a LA sorting office. It forced the evacuation of a mall outside LA. ||||| WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Federal agents searched a U.S. mail facility near Miami on Thursday night in the race to find who sent 10 pipe bombs to prominent Democrats and critics of U.S. President Donald Trump as leads pointed to Florida as the packages' possible origin. Investigators treated the devices as "live" explosives, not a hoax, said James O'Neill, the police commissioner of New York City, where two of the packages have turned up since Wednesday. A federal law enforcement source told Reuters the devices were thought to have been fashioned from bomb-making designs widely available on the internet. Investigators believe the packages, which were intercepted before reaching their intended recipients, went through the U.S. Postal Service at some point, that source said. None detonated and no one has been hurt. Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, in an interview with Fox News Channel, confirmed that at least some of the packages were mailed in Florida. "Some of the packages went through the mail. They originated, some of them, from Florida," she said. "I am confident that this person or people will be brought to justice." A bomb squad examined a mail distribution center near Miami where authorities believe several of the packages were processed, Miami police said. Miami-Dade County Police said their bomb squad and its canine unit were on the scene in Opa-locka, Florida, as a precautionary measure, working alongside federal authorities. Authorities have branded the parcel bombs, coming less than two weeks before national elections, as an act of terrorism, though they have declined to say how functional the devices were. A number of bomb experts and security analysts said that based on the rudimentary construction of the bombs it appeared they were more likely designed to sow fear than to kill. The first package surfaced on Monday at the Westchester County, New York, home of billionaire financier George Soros, a leading donor to the Democratic Party and various liberal causes. On Wednesday, the FBI identified five more targets - President Barack Obama, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former Attorney General Eric Holder, former CIA director John Brennan, and California Representative Maxine Waters. Two packages were found addressed to her. Brennan's package was sent in care of the Manhattan bureau of CNN, where he has appeared as an on-air analyst. On Thursday, the investigation widened with the discovery of three additional packages - two intended for former Vice President Joe Biden in his home state of Delaware and one for Hollywood actor Robert De Niro in Manhattan. "It does remain possible that further packages have been or could be mailed," William Sweeney, assistant director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, told an afternoon news conference in New York. The FBI has said at least five of the packages bore a return address for the Florida office of U.S. Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who formerly chaired the Democratic National Committee. Holder's package ended up rerouted and delivered to the Wasserman Schultz return address. Sweeney said the manhunt for perpetrators involved hundreds of investigators nationwide. The bombs have heightened what already was a contentious campaign season ahead of the Nov. 6 elections in which Trump's Republican Party will try to maintain majorities in the Senate and House of Representatives. Democrats have seized on the episode as a symptom of the harsh rhetoric Trump wields against his rivals. Trump condemned the bombs but later blamed the media, his frequent foil, for much of the angry tone in the nation's political discourse. No one has claimed responsibility, and the public was asked to report any tips. The parcels each consisted of a manila envelope with a bubble-wrap interior containing "potentially destructive devices," the FBI said. Each bore a computer-printed address label and six "forever" postage stamps, the agency said. Some of the packages sent to New York locations had envelopes of white powder in them, but Sweeney's examination had shown the substance posed no biological threat. Sweeney said all of the devices were being sent to the FBI's crime lab in Quantico, Virginia, for analysis. Most of the intended recipients were high-profile Democrats and all were known to be outspoken critics of Trump, foils for his political rhetoric or both. Trump long questioned Obama's U.S. citizenship and referred to Clinton, whom he defeated in the 2016 presidential race, as "crooked Hillary." He has derided Waters publicly as "low-IQ Maxine." The president revoked Brennan's security clearance after the ex-CIA chief, a veteran intelligence official in Democratic and Republican administrations, lambasted Trump's Russia summit performance as "nothing short of treasonous." Biden once said he would have fought Trump if they were in high school, while De Niro received a loud ovation when he hurled an obscenity at Trump at the Tony Awards in June. At a Wisconsin rally on Wednesday night Trump, who has denounced news media organizations as an "enemy of the people," called attention to "how nice I’m behaving tonight” but on Thursday morning he attacked the media again. "A very big part of the Anger we see today in our society is caused by the purposely false and inaccurate reporting of the Mainstream Media that I refer to as Fake News," Trump wrote. "It has gotten so bad and hateful that it is beyond description. Mainstream Media must clean up its act, FAST!" | The United States Secret Service intercepts two suspicious packages described as "potential explosive devices" addressed to former President Barack Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. One addressed to former CIA director John O. Brennan was received at CNN's New York studios, which were evacuated. Other politicians who received similar packages include U.S. Representatives Debbie Wasserman Schultz (whose name and address was on the return label of a package meant for former Attorney General Eric Holder but had the wrong recipient address) and Maxine Waters. Authorities are also attempting to locate a suspicious package sent to former Vice President Joe Biden that was marked return to sender due to a bad address. |
Image copyright EPA Image caption Julian Assange addressed the court hearing in Quito via teleconference A judge in Ecuador has ruled against WikiLeaks co-founder Julian Assange, who had contested new rules imposed on him in the country's embassy in London. The judge said a requirement to pay for internet use and clean up after his cat did not violate his right to asylum. Mr Assange had argued that the conditions violated his "fundamental rights and freedoms", and were intended to force him to leave. His lawyers have appealed against the ruling. Mr Assange took refuge in the embassy six years ago to avoid extradition to Sweden in a sexual assault case that has since been dropped. If he leaves the building he faces arrest for allegedly breaching bail conditions. Earlier this month, Mr Assange was given a new set of house rules by the London embassy that included paying for internet use and taking better care of his cat. He was also asked to keep the bathroom clean and pay for his own food and laundry. Image copyright Reuters Image caption Mr Assange was given the cat by his children WikiLeaks lawyer Baltasar Garzón launched the legal action in Ecuador earlier this month and Mr Assange addressed the hearing in the capital, Quito, on Monday via teleconference. He said Ecuador was trying to end his asylum in the embassy which would see him extradited to the US. The US Attorney General Jeff Sessions has said that arresting Julian Assange is a "priority". Image copyright Reuters Image caption Julian Assange has been holed up in the embassy in London since 2012 Ecuador's Attorney General Iñigo Salvador said that if Mr Assange wanted to stay "and he follows the rules... he can stay at the embassy as long as he wants". He added that his time at the embassy had so far cost Ecuador $6m (£4.6m). Judge Karina Martínez ruled against Mr Assange, saying that the foreign ministry was in charge of determining his living conditions. Mr Assange's legal team launched an appeal which will be heard by a higher court in the coming days. In March, the embassy in London removed Mr Assange's internet connection, accusing him of "interfering in other countries' affairs". It later said it would be partially restored. WikiLeaks was set up by Mr Assange and a group of like-minded friends in 2006 as a site where whistleblowers could send confidential documents and images to be published online. The site came to prominence with the release of footage in 2010 of a US military helicopter shooting civilians in Iraq. ||||| A judge has ruled against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, rejecting his request to loosen new requirements that he says are meant to push him into leaving his asylum in the Ecuadorian embassy in London. Judge Karina Martinez decided stricter rules recently imposed by the South American nation’s embassy — such as requiring Assange to pay for his internet and clean up after his cat — do not violate his asylum rights because authorities have the right to decide what is allowed inside the building. Ecuadorian officials praised the ruling in the latest row between the Australian hacker and the government that has provided him refuge for six years. Relations between Assange and Ecuador have grown increasingly prickly as the years have dragged on with no solution in sight. Assange’s lawyer Carlos Poveda vowed to appeal against the decision: “The Ecuadorian state has an international responsibility to protect Mr Assange.” Assange argued that the new measures making it more difficult to receive visitors and requiring him to pay for services like laundry and medical bills are meant to coerce him into ending his asylum. The rules also make clear that if Assange does not properly feed and take care of his cat, the animal could be sent to a cats’ home. Julian Assange at the Ecuadorean embassy in London (Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP) Ecuador’s government contended the requirements are aimed at peaceful cohabitation in tight quarters in the small embassy, where Assange takes up more than a third of the space. Officials have complained that his football playing and skateboarding have damaged the building. “It’s clear this protocol was issued with strict respect for international law,” Jose Valencia, Ecuador’s foreign minister, said after the ruling. Ecuador granted Assange asylum in the embassy in 2012 as he tried to avoid extradition to Sweden. Sweden’s top prosecutor later dropped a long-running inquiry into a rape allegation against him, saying there was no way to detain or charge him because of his protected status in the embassy. He remains wanted in Britain for jumping bail, and he also fears a possible US extradition based on his leaking of classified State Department documents. Assange initially enjoyed a cosy relationship with then Ecuadorian president Rafael Correa but relations with his host nation have steadily deteriorated. Current President Lenin Moreno has warned him not to meddle in matters that can jeopardise Ecuador’s foreign relations.- Press Association ||||| WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has lost a legal challenge to new house rules imposed on him by the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, where he's been holed up to avoid extradition to the US. Ecuadorian Judge Karina Martinez dismissed Assange's request for an injunction against new government rules that prohibit him from commenting on affairs in a way that could harm Ecuador's foreign relations, set parameters on his visitation privileges and require him to clean up after his cat, Bloomberg reported Monday. Assange could be expelled from the embassy if he fails to comply with the new rules. Assange has been holed up in a small room in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London for more than six years, initially entering it to avoid extradition for a rape charge in Sweden. The country dropped that charge but he's still facing a UK charge of skipping bail. The UK maintains that Assange's exile is self-imposed, and in February a judge upheld a warrant for his arrest. But Ecuadorian officials have apparently grown weary of Assange's presence in the embassy, saying in January that his situation is "not sustainable." "There's a limit as to how low a country can stoop," Assange said from the embassy via teleconference at a hearing in Quito of the lawsuit. Assange accused Ecuador's government of imposing the new rules in a veiled attempt to pressure him to leave the embassy and end his asylum. Assange is concerned that if he leaves the embassy, the US may also seek to extradite him on espionage charges. Last year, the US Justice Department was reportedly considering filing criminal charges against WikiLeaks and Assange in connection with the 2010 leak of diplomatic cables and military documents. In June, an international group of lawyers appealed to the UN's Human Rights Council regarding concerns that Assange's protracted confinement is having a severe impact on his physical and mental health. Security: Stay up-to-date on the latest in breaches, hacks, fixes and all those cybersecurity issues that keep you up at night. Blockchain Decoded: CNET looks at the tech powering bitcoin -- and soon, too, a myriad services that will change your life. ||||| WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange said on Monday that Ecuador is seeking to end his asylum in its London embassy and hand him over to the United States, citing new rules governing his residence at the Andean nation's diplomatic mission as evidence. Assange spoke from the embassy via teleconference at the first hearing in Quito of his lawsuit challenging the Ecuadorean government requiring him to pay for medical bills, phone calls and clean up after his pet cat. He took refuge in the embassy six years ago to avoid extradition to Sweden in a sexual assault case that was later dropped. He remains there to avoid being jailed by Great Britain for violating the terms of his bail, which he has said would result in his being handed over to Washington. During the hearing, Assange said the new rules were a sign Ecuador was trying to push him out, and said Ecuadorean President Lenin Moreno had already decided to end his asylum but had not yet officially given the order. The South American country's top government attorney, Iigo Salvador, did not directly respond to Assange's allegations. Last week, Salvador told reporters Assange was welcome to stay in the embassy with the new rules. He also said the United Kingdom in August had assured Assange would not be extradited if he left the embassy. Ecuadorean officials have in the past said he is welcome to stay as long as he follows the embassy rules. Staff had complained of Assange riding a skateboard in the halls of the embassy, of playing soccer on the grounds and behaving aggressively with security personnel. Ecuador's government also objected to his making online making commentary about sensitive political issues in other countries, including publishing opinions about the Catalonia separatist movement in Spain. The new set of rules were meant to address these concerns, Salvador said. Ecuador's Foreign Minister Jose Valencia told Reuters last week that the government was "frustrated" by the lawsuit and that it would no longer intervene with British authorities on Assange's behalf. US federal prosecutors in Alexandria, Virginia, have maintained a long-running grand jury investigation into WikiLeaks, which according to one source includes a probe into leaks of Central Intelligence Agency documents to the website. ||||| A judge ruled against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange yesterday, rejecting his request to loosen new requirements that he says are meant to push him into leaving his asylum in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London. Judge Karina Martinez decided stricter rules recently imposed by the South American nation's embassy — such as requiring Assange to pay for his internet and clean up after his cat — do not violate his asylum rights because authorities have the right to decide what is and isn't allowed inside the building. Ecuadorian officials praised the ruling in the latest row between the Australian hacker and the government that has provided him refuge for six years. Relations between Assange and Ecuador have grown increasingly prickly as the years have dragged on with no solution in sight. Assange's lawyer vowed to appeal the decision. "The Ecuadorian state has an international responsibility to protect Mr. Assange," attorney Carlos Poveda said. Assange argued that the new measures making it more difficult to receive visitors and requiring him to pay for services like laundry and medical bills are meant to coerce him into ending his asylum. The rules also make clear that if Assange doesn't properly feed and take care of his cat, the animal could be sent to the pound. Ecuador granted Assange asylum in the embassy in 2012 as he tried to avoid extradition to Sweden. Sweden's top prosecutor later dropped a long-running inquiry into a rape allegation against him, saying there was no way to detain or charge him because of his protected status in the embassy. Nonetheless, Assange remains wanted in Britain for jumping bail, and he also fears a possible U.S. extradition based on his leaking of classified State Department documents. Assange initially enjoyed a cozy relationship with then Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa but relations with his host nation have steadily deteriorated. Current President Lenin Moreno has warned him not to meddle in matters that can jeopardize Ecuador's foreign relations. ||||| A judge in Ecuador has ruled against WikiLeaks co-founder Julian Assange, who had contested new rules imposed on him in the country's embassy in London. The judge said a requirement to pay for internet use and clean up after his cat did not violate his right to asylum. Mr Assange had argued that the conditions violated his "fundamental rights and freedoms", and were intended to force him to leave. His lawyers have appealed against the ruling. Mr Assange took refuge in the embassy six years ago to avoid extradition to Sweden in a sexual assault case that has since been dropped. If he leaves the building he faces arrest for allegedly breaching bail conditions. Earlier this month, Mr Assange was given a new set of house rules by the London embassy that included paying for internet use and taking better care of his cat. He was also asked to keep the bathroom clean and pay for his own food and laundry. Wikileaks lawyer Baltasar Garzon launched the legal action in Ecuador earlier this month and Mr Assange addressed the hearing in the capital, Quito, on Monday via teleconference. He said Ecuador was trying to end his asylum in the embassy which would see him extradited to the US. The US Attorney General Jeff Sessions has said that arresting Julian Assange is a "priority". Ecuador's Attorney General Inigo Salvador said that if Mr Assange wanted to stay "and he follows the rules... he can stay at the embassy as long as he wants". He added that his time at the embassy had so far cost Ecuador $6m (£4.6m). Judge Karina Martinez ruled against Mr Assange, saying that the foreign ministry was in charge of determining his living conditions. Mr Assange's legal team launched an appeal which will be heard by a higher court in the coming days. In March, the embassy in London removed Mr Assange's internet connection, accusing him of "interfering in other countries' affairs". It later said it would be partially restored. ||||| For the founder of WikiLeaks the Ecuadorean president had already decided to end his asylum but had not yet officially given the order Wikileaks founder Julian Assange’s lawsuit was rejected Monday by an Ecuadorean court after the whistleblower sued the government over violation of his fundamental rights as amid his stay in the country’s London embassy as an asylee. Assange, speaking from the Ecuadorean embassy in London via teleconference, pointed out that, Ecuador is seeking to end his asylum in its London embassy and hand him over to the United States, citing a new set of rules governing his residence at the Andean nation’s diplomatic mission as evidence. The lawsuit challenges the new rules, which require him to pay for medical bills, phone calls and clean up after his pet cat. Assange’s lawyer said that his client would be appealing the decision and that another hearing would take place in the near future. During the hearing, Assange said the new rules were a sign Ecuador was trying to push him out and said Ecuadorean President Lenin Moreno had already decided to end his asylum but had not yet officially given the order. Regarding the question of whether it’s in the State’s interest to maintain the asylum, a source at the foreign ministry stated that Mr. Assange may keep his asylum if it is in his interest if he abides by the rules the judge has deemed constitutional. His comments prompted the South American country’s top government attorney, Iñigo Salvador, to interrupt him and warn him not to make political statements during the proceedings. Assange’s possible handover was also hinted by former President Rafael Correa in an interview with RT. Correa, during whose leadership Assange was granted asylum in the embassy, also mentioned that he is an Ecuadorean citizen since 2017 and deserves his fundamental rights to be protected by the country. Court officials told journalists they could not record any of the statements made during the hearing. Salvador did not directly respond to Assange’s allegations, but he had told reporters last week Assange was welcome to stay in the embassy with the new rules. He also said the United Kingdom in August had assured Assange would not be extradited if he left the embassy, where he has lived since 2012. The new rules, against which WikiLeaks lawyer filed a lawsuit, Assange is responsible for getting his own food thereby increasing his risk of arrest by U.K. authorities. His visitation rights have also been restricted. Ecuadorean embassy also said it is not responsible for the “food, medical provisions, laundry or other costs related to Julian Assange from December 1, 2018, and onward.” The diplomats underlined that he will also have to pay for and clean up after his pet cat. Assange took refuge in the embassy after British courts ordered his extradition to Sweden to face questioning in a sexual assault case. That case has been dropped, but supporters have said that Assange fears he could be extradited to the United States if he leaves the embassy. WikiLeaks, which published U.S. diplomatic and military secrets when Assange ran the operation, faces a U.S. grand jury investigation. In a departure from its previous practice of maintaining a dialogue with British authorities over Assange’s situation, Ecuador’s Foreign Minister José Valencia told Reuters last week that the government would no longer intervene on Assange’s behalf, adding that the government was “frustrated” by the lawsuit. ||||| QUITO (REUTERS) - WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange said on Monday (Oct 29) that Ecuador is seeking to end his asylum in its London embassy and hand him over to the United States, but a judge rejected his lawsuit over embassy living conditions. Assange spoke from the embassy via teleconference at a hearing in Quito of a lawsuit challenging the Ecuadorean government requiring him to pay for medical bills, phone calls and clean up after his pet cat. He took refuge in the embassy six years ago to avoid extradition to Sweden in a sexual assault case that was later dropped. He remains there to avoid being jailed by Great Britain for violating the terms of his bail, which he has said would result in his being handed over to Washington. During the hearing, Assange said the new rules were a sign Ecuador was trying to push him out, and said Ecuadorean President Lenin Moreno had already decided to end his asylum but had not yet officially given the order. "If Mr Assange wants to stay and he follows the rules ... he can stay at the embassy as long as he wants," said Attorney General Inigo Salvador, adding that Assange's stay had cost the country US$6 million (S$8 million). Foreign Minister Jose Valencia declined to comment on Assange's assertion that Ecuador sought to hand him over to the United States. Judge Karina Martinez rejected the lawsuit, saying the Foreign Ministry was in charge of determining his living conditions. Assange's legal team said it immediately appealed the ruling. Embassy staff had complained of Assange riding a skateboard in the halls, of playing soccer on the grounds and behaving aggressively with security personnel. Ecuador's government also objected to his making online commentary about sensitive political issues in other countries, including publishing opinions about the Catalonia separatist movement in Spain. The new rules were meant to address these concerns, Salvador said. The United Kingdom in August had assured Assange that he would not be extradited if he left the embassy, Salvador told reporters last week. Valencia told Reuters last week that the government was"frustrated" by the lawsuit and that it would no longer intervene with British authorities on Assange's behalf. US federal prosecutors in Alexandria, Virginia, have maintained a long-running grand jury investigation into WikiLeaks, which according to one source includes a probe into leaks of Central Intelligence Agency documents to the website. ||||| WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange's claim that Ecuador is violating his "fundamental rights" in its London embassy has been thrown out by the country. The 47-year-old Australian claimed Ecuador was limiting his access to the outside world and he was living in an "inhuman situation". Mr Assange's situation should have already been resolved but is being "dragged out longer and longer" by the "involved states", his lawyer said. Mr Assange has claimed new asylum terms forcing him to pay for medical bills, laundry and phone calls and to clean up after his pet cat violate his rights and are meant to coerce him into ending his asylum. In the Ecuadorean capital of Quito, magistrate Karen Martinez ruled on Monday that the suit could not move forward. The hearing was suspended last Friday after Mr Assange complained the Spanish translator only understood English, and was not fluent in Australian. Mr Assange has been in Ecuador's London embassy since 2012 after he sought refuge there following a British judge ruling he should be extradited to Sweden to face sexual assault allegations. Sweden dropped the case in 2017 but Mr Assange remains in the embassy as he fears being extradited to the US to face charges over the WikiLeaks website's release of sensitive US government files. A Met Police arrest warrant is also still in force as he absconded after being released on bail in 2010, so as soon as he steps out of the embassy's grounds he will most likely be arrested. Ecuador's government confirmed in March that it blocked Mr Assange's internet and mobile phone access because they claim he broke "a written commitment" to not interfere in the country's foreign policies. Officials have also complained that Mr Assange has caused damage by playing football and skateboarding in the embassy building, where he takes up more than a third of the space. A protocol governing his stay at the embassy warns that further breaches will lead to "termination of asylum", Ecuadorian internet site Codigo Vidrio said. Quito has never denied it. US attorney general Jeff Sessions said in March 2017 that arresting Mr Assange for leaking sensitive US government files was a "priority". Mr Assange's lawyer in Ecuador, Carlos Poveda, has appealed Monday's ruling, meaning a higher court should review the case in coming days. ||||| Assange fears if he had to leave the embassy he would be extradited to the US, who are investigating him over his Wikileaks activities. But a judge in Quito rejected the lawsuit over Assange's living conditions. The Australian took refuge in the London embassy six years ago to avoid extradition to Sweden in a sexual assault case that was later dropped. He remains there to avoid being jailed by the UK for violating the terms of his bail, which he has said would result in him being handed over to Washington. Ecuador argued the conditions imposed on Assange were aimed at promoting peaceful cohabitation in confined quarters. They include rules on properly feeding and taking care of his cat, threatening to send it to a home if he does not comply. He will also have to pay for his own internet, food and laundry. “If Mr Assange wants to stay and he follows the rules ... he can stay at the embassy as long as he wants,” said Attorney General Inigo Salvador. Assange’s stay at the embassy had so far cost Ecuador $6 million (€5.28 million), added Salvador. Foreign Minister Jose Valencia declined to comment on Assange’s assertion that Ecuador sought to hand him over to the United States. Judge Karina Martinez rejected the lawsuit, saying Ecuador’s foreign ministry was in charge of determining his living conditions. Relations between Assange and Ecuador have deteriorated as the years have passed, seemingly with no end in sight. Assange’s legal team said it immediately appealed the ruling. | A judge in Ecuador rules against WikiLeaks co-founder Julian Assange, who had contested new rules imposed on him in the country's embassy in London. Assange had argued that the conditions violated his "fundamental rights and freedoms", and were intended to force him to leave. His lawyers have appealed against the ruling. Assange took refuge in the embassy six years ago to avoid extradition to Sweden in a sexual assault case that has since been dropped. |
Image copyright NASA-JHU-APL Image caption Artwork: Parker must always keep its heatshield pointed at the Sun America's audacious mission to "touch the Sun" has now got nearer to our star than any previous human-made object. The Parker Solar Probe passed the current record of 42.73 million km (26.55 million miles) from the Sun's surface on Monday. The previous record was set by the German-US Helios 2 satellite back in April 1976. That mission also set the all time speed record of close to 70km/s (43 miles/s). Parker will smash this, too. The expectation is that it will eventually reach peak speeds around 190km/s (690,000km/h; 428,700mph). Parker was launched from Earth in August. It's on a trajectory that will take it inside the Sun's outer atmosphere, or corona. Information from this region promises to crack longstanding mysteries about our star's behaviour. Parker's elliptical orbit will edge closer to the Sun over the coming years. At its closest approach, the probe will get to just 6.12 million km (3.83 million miles) from the star's broiling "surface". Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Parker scientist Dr Nicky Fox: "Never before have we gone up and literally touched our star" Why is this mission important? Parker will help us better understand how the Sun works. The star is constantly bombarding the Earth with charged particles and magnetic fields. This perpetual flow, or "solar wind", is responsible for generating the beautiful auroral lights that appear in polar skies, but there are some interactions that initiate much more troubling effects. The biggest outbursts from the Sun will rattle the Earth's magnetic field. In the process, communications may be disrupted, satellites can be knocked offline, and power grids will be vulnerable to electrical surges. Scientists try to forecast these "storms" and Parker promises new and valuable information to help them do that. Image copyright S R Habbal and M Druckmüller Image caption The diffuse corona is only visible to us on Earth during a total solar eclipse Why go so close to the Sun? Parker wants to get where the action is. The corona is a remarkable place. It's strangely hotter than the Sun's actual surface, or photosphere. While this can be 6,000 degrees, the outer atmosphere may reach temperatures of a few million degrees. The mechanisms that produce this super-heating are not fully understood. Likewise, the corona is the place where the solar wind gets its big kick in speed, sweeping out across the Solar System at more than 500km/s (a million mph). Parker aims to solve these puzzles by directly sampling the corona's particle, magnetic and electric fields. Jonathan.Amos-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk and follow me on Twitter: @BBCAmos ||||| NASA’s historic Parker Solar Probe -- enroute to the Sun to unravel its mysteries -- has become the closest spacecraft to it. The spacecraft passed the current record of 26.55 million miles from the Sun’s surface on October 29, as calculated by the Parker Solar Probe team, NASA said in a statement on Monday. The previous record for closest solar approach was set by the German-American Helios 2 spacecraft in April 1976. As the Parker Solar Probe mission progresses, the spacecraft will repeatedly break its own records, with a final close approach of 3.83 million miles from the Sun’s surface expected in 2024. “It’s been just 78 days since Parker Solar Probe launched, and we’ve now come closer to our star than any other spacecraft in history,” said Project Manager Andy Driesman from the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland. “It’s a proud moment for the team, though we remain focused on our first solar encounter, which begins on October 31,” Driesman added. The Parker Solar Probe team periodically measures the spacecraft’s precise speed and position using NASA’s Deep Space Network or DSN. Parker Solar Probe will begin its first solar encounter on October 31, continuing to fly closer and closer to the Sun’s surface until it reaches its first perihelion -- the point closest to the Sun -- on November 5. “The spacecraft will face brutal heat and radiation conditions while providing humanity with unprecedentedly close-up observations of a star and helping us understand phenomena that have puzzled scientists for decades,” said NASA. Earlier this month, the probe successfully completed its first fly-by of Venus at a distance of about 1,500 miles. Throughout its mission, the probe will make six more Venus gravity assist and 24 total passes by the Sun. ||||| NASA’s Parker Solar Probe reaches closest to the Sun than any spacecraft ever (video) The $1.5 billion mission will take humanity closer to the Sun than ever before NASA’s Parker Solar Probe has clinched the record for closest approach to the Sun by a man-made object, the space agency confirmed Monday. Scientists calculated that the spacecraft surpassed the current record of 26.55 million miles from the Sun’s surface at about 1:04 p.m. EDT Monday. The previous record was set in April 1976 by the Helios 2 spacecraft. “It’s been just 78 days since Parker Solar Probe launched, and we’ve now come closer to our star than any other spacecraft in history,” said Parker Solar Probe Project Manager Andy Driesman, of the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, in a statement. Parker blasted off on its odyssey atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket in the early hours of Aug. 12, 2018. The $1.5 billion mission will take humanity closer to the Sun than ever before. Parker will be the first spacecraft to fly through the Sun’s corona, the outermost part of the star’s atmosphere. It is expected to arrive at the Sun in November. ||||| Here Comes the Sun The Parker Solar Probe, humanity's first-ever mission into the Sun's outer atmosphere, or corona, has become the closest human-made object to ever approach our star. The space agency said in a statement on Monday that Parker passed the current record of 26.55 million miles (42.73 million km) from the Sun's surface. Yet, the spacecraft is gradually shrinking its orbit around the sun, with the final objective being 3.83 million miles (6.16 million km) from the surface. The previous record was set by the German-American Helios 2 probe in April 1976. "It's been just 78 days since Parker Solar Probe launched, and we've now come closer to our star than any other spacecraft in history," said Project Manager Andy Driesman. It also emerged on Monday that the mission set the speed record for spacecraft traveling relative to the Sun, surpassing 153,454 mph (shy of 247,000 km/h) and breaking the record set by Helios 2 back in 1976. The Parker Solar Probe blasted off from Cape Canaveral air force station in Florida on August 13. During its 7-year mission, the probe will complete 24 orbits of the Sun, coming within 3.8 million miles of its surface, and dip into the corona, the plasmic aura that is even hotter than the surface. The craft will seek to unlock some of mysteries about our Sun's behavior by sampling the corona, the birthplace of solar flares and other violent events, and get a better understanding of how solar winds are formed. NASA expects to get the first batch of data in December, but the spacecraft has another mission: it holds a memory card with the names of over 1.1 million people who signed up to "travel" to the Sun. The probe is equipped with a carbon heat shield to prevent it from roasting. ||||| The solar probe just broke two all-time records on its way to 'touch' the sun. NASA’s Parker Solar Probe — the world’s first mission to “touch” the sun — has ventured closer to the sun than any other man-made object before it, NASA announced earlier this week. The spacecraft officially broke the world record for the closest approach to the sun on October 29, at about 1:04 p.m. EDT. At the time, the Parker Solar Probe got closer than 26.55 million miles (42.7 million kilometers) from the sun’s surface. As the Inquisitr previously reported, up until now the record belonged to the German-American Helios 2 mission — which managed to come as close as 26.98 million miles (43.4 million kilometers) to our star on April 17, 1976. “It’s been just 78 days since Parker Solar Probe launched, and we’ve now come closer to our star than any other spacecraft in history,” said Andy Driesman, who manages the project at Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland. “It’s a proud moment for the team, though we remain focused on our first solar encounter.” Throughout its seven-year mission, the Parker Solar Probe has surpassed its own incredible feat time and time again, as the spacecraft prepares to perform a total of 24 orbits of the sun. During the final orbit, scheduled for 2024, the Parker Solar Probe will travel through the sun’s fiery atmosphere — known as the solar corona — coming within 3.8 million miles (6.1 million kilometers) from the surface of the sun. “We’re getting closer to ‘touching’ the Sun!” NASA tweeted on Monday. But wait, there’s more. Nearly 10 hours after smashing this impressive record, NASA’s intrepid spacecraft obliterated yet another one — also previously held by the Helios 2 mission. “At about 10:54 p.m. EDT, Parker Solar Probe surpassed 153,454 miles per hour — as calculated by the mission team — making it the fastest-ever human-made object relative to the sun,” NASA revealed in a subsequent blog post. The formidable spacecraft set two new records on the same day and is on its way to even greater achievements. In 2024, the Parker Solar Probe is expected to reach a top speed of about 430,000 miles per hour — or 0.0006 percent the speed of light, notes Gizmodo. Last month, the Parker Solar Probe set its sights back on Earth and snapped a lovely space portrait of our home planet, the Inquisitr recently reported. Next up for the pioneering spacecraft is the first solar encounter — an exciting phase that begins today and will set the Parker Solar Probe on the path to its first perihelion next week. According to NASA, the probe is scheduled to reach this first closest point to the sun on November 5 about 10:28 p.m. EST. ||||| Parker Solar Probe now holds the record for closest approach to the Sun by a human-made object. The spacecraft passed the current record of 26.55 million miles from the Sun’s surface on Oct. 29, 2018, at about 1:04 p.m. EDT, as calculated by the Parker Solar Probe team. The previous record for closest solar approach was set by the German-American Helios 2 spacecraft in April 1976. As the Parker Solar Probe mission progresses, the spacecraft will repeatedly break its own records, with a final close approach of 3.83 million miles from the Sun’s surface expected in 2024. “It’s been just 78 days since Parker Solar Probe launched, and we’ve now come closer to our star than any other spacecraft in history,” said Project Manager Andy Driesman, from the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland. “It’s a proud moment for the team, though we remain focused on our first solar encounter, which begins on Oct. 31.” Parker Solar Probe is also expected to break the record for fastest spacecraft traveling relative to the Sun on Oct. 29 at about 10:54 p.m. EDT. The current record for heliocentric speed is 153,454 miles per hour, set by Helios 2 in April 1976. The Parker Solar Probe team periodically measures the spacecraft’s precise speed and position using NASA’s Deep Space Network, or DSN. The DSN sends a signal to the spacecraft, which then retransmits it back to the DSN, allowing the team to determine the spacecraft’s speed and position based on the timing and characteristics of the signal. Parker Solar Probe’s speed and position were calculated using DSN measurements made on Oct. 24, and the team used that information along with known orbital forces to calculate the spacecraft’s speed and position from that point on. Parker Solar Probe will begin its first solar encounter on Oct. 31, continuing to fly closer and closer to the Sun’s surface until it reaches its first perihelion — the point closest to the Sun — at about 10:28 p.m. EST on Nov. 5. The spacecraft will face brutal heat and radiation conditions while providing humanity with unprecedentedly close-up observations of a star and helping us understand phenomena that have puzzled scientists for decades. These observations will add key knowledge to NASA’s efforts to understand the Sun, where changing conditions can propagate out into the solar system, affecting Earth and other worlds. ||||| NASA’s much-hyped mission to “touch the Sun” has only been underway for a couple of months, but it’s already achieved something that no other spacecraft before it has. The plucky Parker Solar Probe is now closer to the Sun than any other spacecraft before it, coming within 26.55 million miles of our star on October 29th, and of course it’s still pushing onward. Its current distance from the Sun is still quite large, but that’ll change as the probe continues to creep closer and closer, eventually reaching just a few million miles from the center of the Solar System. Its closest approach should bring it within 3.83 million miles of the star, which is why the spacecraft had to be outfitted with such extraordinary protection technology. “It’s been just 78 days since Parker Solar Probe launched, and we’ve now come closer to our star than any other spacecraft in history,” Andy Driesman, project manager of the mission, said in a statement. “It’s a proud moment for the team, though we remain focused on our first solar encounter, which begins on Oct. 31.” The spacecraft will begin its first distant pass of the Sun on October 31st and reach its closest point (of this particular pass) on November 5th. The probe will continue to make passes of the Sun for several years, and it won’t reach its closest point until sometime in 2024. Along the way, the probe will send back all kinds of data and readings as it studies the Sun’s outer atmosphere and helps scientists better understand what makes it tick. The probe will continue to break records along the way, with each pass breaking new ground for human scientific efforts. So you should do your best to get familiar with the mission, because you’re no doubt going to be hearing a whole lot about it over the next half decade or more. ||||| Just over 11 weeks after its launch atop a Delta IV Heavy rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida, NASA’s Parker Solar Probe has already beaten the record for the closest spacecraft to the Sun — and it’s only going to get closer. According to NASA, the Parker Solar Probe passed the record of 26.55 million miles (42.73 million kilometers), set by the Helios 2 spacecraft in April 1976, at about 1:04 p.m. EDT (17:04 GMT) on Oct. 29, 2018. “It’s been just 78 days since Parker Solar Probe launched, and we’ve now come closer to our star than any other spacecraft in history,” Project Manager Andy Driesman, from the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland, said in a NASA news release. “It’s a proud moment for the team, though we remain focused on our first solar encounter, which begins on Oct. 31.” As the Parker Solar Probe continues to fly in its solar orbit, it will periodically swing by Venus to use the planet’s gravity to gradually get closer to the Sun with a final close approach distance estimated to be about 3.83 million miles (6.24 million kilometers) by 2024, NASA said. For comparison, Mercury — the closest planet to the Sun — orbits at an average distance of about 35.98 million miles (57.90 million kilometers). The spacecraft’s first Venus flyby occurred Oct. 3, 2018. It’s next won’t be until Dec. 26, 2019. In total, the Parker Solar Probe is expected fly by the planet seven times through 2024. In addition to setting new proximity records, the Parker Solar Probe is breaking speed records too. At 10:54 p.m. EDT Oct. 29 (2:54 GMT Oct. 30), the spacecraft beat Helios 2’s April 1976 speed record of 153,454 mph (246,960 kph) relative to the Sun. By the time the mission is at its closest in 2024, it will be flying by the Sun at about 430,000 mph (690,000 kph). The next major milestone for the probe will be its first perihelion, or closest point in its orbit around the Sun. That is expected to occur at about 10:28 p.m. EST Nov. 5 (3:28 GMT Nov. 6), 2018. Launched Aug. 12, 2018, the Parker Solar Probe is designed to be the first spacecraft to fly into the Sun’s corona. According to NASA, the mission has three main science objectives: trace the flow of energy that heats and accelerates the corona and solar wind, determine the structure and dynamics of the plasma and magnetic fields at the sources of the solar wind, and explore mechanisms that accelerate and transport energetic particles. Derek Richardson has a degree in mass media, with an emphasis in contemporary journalism, from Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas. While at Washburn, he was the managing editor of the student run newspaper, the Washburn Review. He also has a blog about the International Space Station, called Orbital Velocity. He met with members of the SpaceFlight Insider team during the flight of a United Launch Alliance Atlas V 551 rocket with the MUOS-4 satellite. Richardson joined our team shortly thereafter. His passion for space ignited when he watched Space Shuttle Discovery launch into space Oct. 29, 1998. Today, this fervor has accelerated toward orbit and shows no signs of slowing down. After dabbling in math and engineering courses in college, he soon realized his true calling was communicating to others about space. Since joining SpaceFlight Insider in 2015, Richardson has worked to increase the quality of our content, eventually becoming our managing editor. @TheSpaceWriter ||||| NASA’s solar probe has officially broken 1972 the record set by the Helios 2 spacecraft, to become the closest space probe to approach the Sun. The technology broke the previous record of 26.55 million miles from the Sun on Tuesday, October 29. US space agency NASA boasted in a statement the Parker Solar Probe will continue to break even more records as it makes numerous approaches to the star. NASA launched the exploration probe to the Sun less than 80 days ago, on August 12, on a first of its kind mission to study the Sun’s corona. During its mission, the probe will dip in and out of orbit around the Sun reaching within 3.83 million miles of its scorching surface. Andy Driesman, Parker project manager, said: “It’s been just 78 days since Parker Solar Probe launched, and we’ve now come closer to our star than any other spacecraft in history. “It’s a proud moment for the team, though we remain focused on our first solar encounter, which begins on October 31.” Not content with just being the closest ever probe to the Sun, NASA expected the spacecraft to break a speed record on Tuesday night as well. The space agency said the probe was well on its way to break the 153,454 mph milestone set by the Helios 2 in April 1976. On October 31, the day of Halloween, NASA will begin its first so-called solar encounter with the burning star. After that, the space probe will gradually creep closer to the Sun’s surface until it reaches its closest possible distance on November 5. NASA said: “The spacecraft will face brutal heat and radiation conditions while providing humanity with unprecedentedly close-up observations of a star and helping us understand phenomena that have puzzled scientists for decades. “These observations will add key knowledge to NASA’s efforts to understand the Sun, where changing conditions can propagate out into the solar system, affecting Earth and other worlds.” The NASA Parker Solar Probe blasted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, US, this summer. NASA and the Applied Physics Laboratory at John Hopkins University in Laurel, Maryland are operating the mission. The spacecraft was designed to study energised particle ejections and solar winds escaping the Sun’s outer corona. ||||| NASA’s Parker Solar Probe has just become the closest ever human-made object to the Sun, passing the current record of 26.55 million miles away from the surface. The spacecraft broke the long-standing record on October 29, 2018 at about 1.04pm EDT. The German-American Helios 2 spacecraft made the previous closest solar approach all the way back in April 1976. The Parker Solar Probe is set to continually make and break the record for the next few years, ending with a final close encounter of just 3.83 million miles from the Sun’s surface in 2024. “It’s been just 78 days since Parker Solar Probe launched, and we’ve now come closer to our star than any other spacecraft in history,” said project manager Andy Driesman from the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland, in a statement. “It’s a proud moment for the team, though we remain focused on our first solar encounter, which begins on October 31st.” The probe has work to do today to reach that first brush with the Sun and is expected to break the record for the fastest craft relative to the star at about 10.54pm EDT. The current record for heliocentric speed was also set by Helios 2 in April 1976 and clocked in at 153,454 miles per hour. Using the Sun’s own gravity to assist, the spacecraft is expected to reach a mind-boggling speed of 430,000 miles per hour. That will not only break the heliocentric speed record but also make it the fastest object ever made by human hands, as my colleague Jesse Hanahan put it. The Parker Solar Probe will endure brutal conditions of heat and radiation during its seven-year mission to answer key questions about our star, including why its corona is so hot. The corona is the halo around the Sun that we typically see here on Earth during a solar eclipse, although its effects can also be seen in the aurorae it causes when interacting with the magnetosphere. The surface of the Sun is roughly 10,000˚F, but the corona is much hotter at several million degrees – and scientists have no idea how since the Sun’s energy is generated at its core. The spacecraft will loop around the Sun through this blisteringly hot corona over 20 times to try to figure that out, along with how solar energy particles and solar winds are accelerated. | NASA's Parker Solar Probe spacecraft becomes the closest ever sent to the sun, by passing 42.7 million km (26.6 million miles) from the sun's surface. The previous record was set in 1976 by the Helios 2 spacecraft. Parker's elliptical orbit will eventually take it to within 6.1 million km (3.8 million miles) of the sun. |
Runaway BHP train deliberately derailed near Port Hedland after travelling 92km with no driver Updated A runaway train laden with iron ore has been deliberately derailed by BHP after it travelled for more than 90 kilometres without a driver in WA's remote Pilbara region. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) said the fully laden train, made up of four locomotives and 268 wagons, was travelling from the mining town of Newman to Port Hedland at 4:40am on Monday, when the driver hopped out to inspect a wagon near Hester siding. But the train took off from the siding before the driver could get back on board. It travelled 92 kilometres in about 50 minutes, until it was derailed at a set of points about 120 kilometres from Port Hedland. That means the train reached average speeds of about 110 kilometres per hour. BHP said the derailment was implemented from its Integrated Remote Operations Centre in Perth. The centre controls the company's Pilbara operations, including rail and port facilities. The ATSB has begun an investigation into the incident, and a spokesman said it was hoping to interview the train driver as soon as possible. BHP said no-one was injured in the derailment and it had suspended all train operations while the investigation was carried out. "We are working with the appropriate authorities to investigate the situation," a company spokesperson said in a statement. Cost 'might register in millions': analyst Business analyst Tim Treadgold said the derailment would not have a major effect on BHP's cashflow or share price. "In the overall scheme of things, this is a very small event," he said. "Even if they lost three days of access to the rail line, which is possible, it's not a major event. "We're talking about a company that deals in the billions of dollars, and this might register in the millions, but almost certainly not in the tens of millions." The incident comes amid a push for driverless train technology, with fellow miner Rio Tinto making its first autonomous iron ore delivery in July. Three locomotives carried around 28,000 tonnes of iron ore over 280 kilometres from Rio Tinto's mining operations in Tom Price to the port of Cape Lambert. The load was monitored remotely from Rio Tinto's Operations Centre in Perth, more than 1,500 kilometres away. Topics: rail-transport, mining-industry, emergency-incidents, port-hedland-6721 First posted ||||| BHP Billiton has suspended all iron ore rail operations in WA after a runaway freight train with no one on board travelled 92km before it was deliberately derailed. The driver of the BHP-operated train, which was loaded with iron ore, got out to inspect an issue with one of its 268 wagons early on Monday and it took off without him, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau says. The train was travelling on BHP's Newman to Port Hedland line in the Pilbara region, a remote area. It was deliberately derailed at a set of points, operated by a control centre, about 119km from Port Hedland. No one was injured. BHP's iron ore operations were suspended while the incident was being investigated, a BHP spokeswoman confirmed to Reuters. The ATSB, which is also investigating the incident, said the damage to the train was substantial. ||||| MELBOURNE (Reuters) - BHP Billiton said it had suspended all its iron ore rail operations in Western Australia on Monday after a train ran away at high speed for nearly 100 kilometers before being forcibly derailed. No one was injured and the train, loaded with iron ore, was traveling in a remote area. However, operations would be suspended while an investigation was underway, a spokeswoman for BHP, the world’s biggest miner, confirmed. The Australian newspaper had earlier reported that BHP had suspended rail operations in the region after the incident. The train, which was running on BHP’s private Mount Newman railway line, took off while the driver, the only person on the train, had temporarily stepped off the locomotive to an inspect an issue with a wagon. The train ran for 92 kilometers at around 100 kilometers an hour, Reuters calculations show. The accident is likely to raise safety concerns about miners’ plans to bring driverless trains to Australia’s iron ore heartland. Rival Rio Tinto made its first iron ore delivery by autonomous train in July. The Mount Newman railway line carries ore from Newman in Australia’s iron ore-rich Pilbara to Port Hedland across a remote 426 kilometers and is one of Australia’s longest private railways. Australia’s transport authority said it was investigating the incident. “A Western Australia iron ore train has been derailed near Turner River on route to Port Hedland this morning,” BHP said in a statement. “No one has been injured. We are working with the appropriate authorities to investigate the situation.” The damage to the train was “substantial”, The Australian Transport Safety Bureau said in a report. BHP said that the train began to move at 0440 am while the driver was out conducting an inspection, before the train was intentionally derailed after about 90 km at about 0530 am. “At approximately 0440 on 5 November 2018, the driver of a loaded ore train consisting of four locomotives and 268 wagons stopped at the 211 km point. The driver alighted from the locomotive to inspect an issue with a wagon,” BHP said in a statement. While the driver was outside of the locomotive, the train took off. “With no one on board, the train traveled for 92 km until ... the train was deliberately derailed at a set of points operated by the control center, about 119 km from Port Hedland,” the transport safety bureau said. The speed and distance suggest the train was traveling at around 180 kilometers an hour. ||||| Mining giant BHP Billiton was forced to deliberately derail a 268-car freight train, loaded with iron ore, after it had traveled an alarming 92km across Western Australia with no one on board. The driver alighted to inspect one of the wagons at approximately 4am on Monday when the train, reportedly consisting of four locomotives and 268 wagons, took off for Port Hedland before he could get back on board, the Western Australian reports. It managed to travel 92km without anyone at the helm before BHP was forced to take drastic action and intentionally derail the train at a crossing located roughly 120km from Port Hedland in Western Australia. The resource giant has suspended all train operations in the Pilbara region while an investigation is underway. “A Western Australia iron ore train has been derailed near Turner on route to Port Hedland this morning. No one has been injured. We are working with the appropriate authorities to investigate the situation,” a BHP spokesperson said, as quoted by the Financial Times. “Based on the 120km distance from Port Hedland, it would appear that the great majority of BHP’s Pilbara production would be impacted. If there is significant track damage it could be that train loadings and speeds could be constrained post repairs and restarting of shipments,” Edward Sterck, an analyst at BMO Capital Markets, told the Financial Times. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau has sent two investigators to determine if any rail safety protocols were breached in the incident. READ MORE: 18 dead, 168 injured in catastrophic train derailment in Taiwan (DISTURBING PHOTOS) Iron ore extraction is a major industry for BHP Billiton, with the company exporting 69 million tons from Port Hedland in the quarter ending in September, via its four processing hubs and five mines connected by a system of 1,000km of railway lines. Iron ore alone is responsible for almost 40 percent of BHP’s earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITA). The company has faced multiple derailments in the region in recent years, in both 2017 and 2015, when an incident was caused by a broken rail. Think your friends would be interested? Share this story! ||||| BHP deliberately derailed a runaway Pilbara iron train carrying 268 wagons early today after it travelled 92km across the Pilbara without a driver. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau said about 4am the driver of a loaded ore train travelling from Newman to Port Hedland alighted to inspect a wagon. The bureau said the train, consisting of four locomotives and 268 wagons, started to run away without the driver and with no one on board, travelling for 92km. BHP then stopped the train by deliberately derailing it at a set of points about 120 km from Port Hedland. A BHP spokeswoman said no one was injured and the Pilbara miner has suspended all train operations. “We are working with the appropriate authorities to investigate the situation,” she said. BHP declined to provide further details, saying the incident was under investigation. The ATSB conducts technical investigations for the Office of the National Rail Safety Regulator. A spokesman for the regulator said it had sent two investigators to the Pilbara to determine if there had been any breaches of the national rail safety laws. The mining giant exported 69 million tonnes of iron ore from Port Hedland in the three months to September. BHP’s Pilbara operations have had other derailments in recent years. In February 2017 about 40 ore cars came off the rails about 130km south of Port Hedland. BHP also had 25 cars derail on the Newman to Port Hedland line in December 2015, blocking both lines that run to the port. The incident was caused a broken rail, probably with a defect that could have been detected but was not, according to bureau report released last month. The line was shut down for three days before traffic resumed. In that case, the ATSB report said BHP accelerated the re-railing of more than 800km of track and improved the detection of cracks in rails in response to the accident. ||||| (Bloomberg) — BHP Billiton Ltd. was forced to derail a runaway train that traveled 92 kilometres without a driver across the Pilbara, a major iron ore producing area in Western Australia. The world’s top mining company halted all train operations in the region, where it produces and ships iron ore, a key steelmaking ingredient. BHP, which runs trains that are almost three kilometres (1.9 miles) long from its giant iron ore mines, said it’s working with local authorities to investigate the incident. The company said the driver was inspecting an issue with the train when the locomotive ran away. The loaded train, which consisted of four locomotives and 268 wagons, then traveled 92 kilometres toward Port Hedland before being deliberately derailed from BHP’s remote operations center in Perth. Iron ore producers in Western Australia run some of the world’s longest trains. BHP transports material from its large mines — which make up almost 40 percent of its profits — to Port Hedland, where it ships to customers in China and Japan. The company has more than 1,000 kilometres of rail infrastructure in the ore-rich Pilbara region. BHP said operations continue at its mines, but didn’t give any details on the potential impact on production. The shares rose 1.3 percent in London amid broader gains among miners. “If there is significant track damage, it could be that train loadings and speeds could be constrained post repairs and restarting of shipments,” BMO Capital Markets said in a note. The bank said BHP’s operations account for about 20 percent of the global iron ore trade. The top miners have been looking to increasingly automate logistics. Rival Rio Tinto Group earlier this year completed its first driverless train in Western Australia when it delivered 28,000 metric tons of iron ore along a 280-kilometer route. BHP earlier this year reported reliability issues with port car dumpers. The producer’s Western Australian operations include five mines and four processing hubs, including joint ventures with Mitsui & Co. and Itochu Corp. While the likely length of the rail stoppage remains unclear, any disruption to shipments from the port could pressure iron ore prices. The raw material used to make steel soared in October, with the benchmark 62 percent grade advancing about 10 percent as Chinese steel mills ramped up production before anti-pollution curbs kick in. Port Hedland is the world’s largest iron ore export port with a total annual throughput of 519 million metric tons in 2017/2018, according to Pilbara Ports Authority. As well as BHP, it’s used by miners including Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. and Roy Hill Holdings Pty. ||||| BHP Billiton said it had suspended all its iron ore rail operations in Western Australia on Monday after a train ran away at high speed for nearly 100km before being forcibly derailed. No-one was injured and the train, loaded with iron ore, was travelling in a remote area. However, operations would be suspended while an investigation was under way, a spokesperson for BHP, the world’s biggest miner, confirmed. The Australian newspaper had earlier reported that BHP had suspended rail operations in the region after the incident. The train, which was running on BHP’s private Mount Newman railway line, took off while the driver, the only person on the train, had temporarily stepped off the locomotive to inspect an issue with a wagon. The train ran for 92km at about 100km/h, Reuters calculations show. The incident is likely to raise safety concerns about miners’ plans to bring driverless trains to Australia’s iron ore heartland. Rival Rio Tinto made its first iron ore delivery by autonomous train in July. The Mount Newman railway line carries ore from Newman in Australia’s iron ore-rich Pilbara to Port Hedland across a remote 426km and is one of Australia’s longest private railways. Australia’s transport authority said it was investigating the incident. “A Western Australia iron ore train has been derailed near Turner River on route to Port Hedland,” BHP said in a statement. “No-one has been injured. We are working with the appropriate authorities to investigate the situation.” The damage to the train was “substantial”, The Australian Transport Safety Bureau said in a report. While the driver was outside of the locomotive, the train took off. “With no-one on board, the train travelled for 92km until ... the train was deliberately derailed at a set of points operated by the control centre, about 119km from Port Hedland,” the transport safety bureau said. ||||| BHP Billiton (NYSE:BHP) has suspended rail operations in Western Australia after it was forced to derail a runaway locomotive fill with iron ore. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau said the driver of a loaded ore train traveling on BHP's Newman to Port Hedland railway got off to inspect a wagon; the train, consisting of four locomotives and 268 wagons, started to run away without the driver and with no one on board, traveling for 92 km before it was deliberately derailed by BHP’s remote control center in Perth. VHP's iron ore operations in the Pilbara region of Western Australia are the company’s most important source of income, responsible for nearly 40% of EBITDA, so a lengthy suspension could put a dent in profits. ||||| Runaway BHP train deliberately derailed near Port Hedland after travelling 92km with no driver A runaway train laden with iron ore has been deliberately derailed by BHP after it travelled for more than 90 kilometres without a driver in WA's remote Pilbara region. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) said the fully laden train, made up of four locomotives and 268 wagons, was travelling from the mining town of Newman to Port Hedland at 4:40am today, when the driver hopped out to inspect a wagon near Hester siding. But the train took off from the siding before the driver could get back on board. It travelled 90 kilometres in about 50 minutes, until it was derailed at a set of points about 120 kilometres from Port Hedland. BHP said the derailment was implemented from its Integrated Remote Operations Centre in Perth. The centre controls the company's Pilbara operations, including rail and port facilities. The ATSB has begun an investigation into the incident, and a spokesman said it was hoping to interview the train driver as soon as possible. BHP said no-one was injured in the derailment and it had suspended all train operations while the investigation is underway. "We are working with the appropriate authorities to investigate the situation," a spokesperson said in a statement. ||||| MELBOURNE (Reuters) - A train loaded with iron ore and operated by BHP Billiton ran away without a driver for 92 kilometers before being forcibly derailed in the early hours of Monday, the company and Australian authorities said. As a result, the world’s biggest miner had suspended all Western Australian iron ore rail operations while an investigation was underway, The Australian Newspaper reported, without citing a source. A BHP spokeswoman did not immediately comment on whether BHP had suspended all of its iron ore rail shipments. Australia’s transport authority said it was investigating the incident. “A Western Australia iron ore train has been derailed near Turner River on route to Port Hedland this morning,” BHP said in a statement. “No one has been injured. We are working with the appropriate authorities to investigate the situation.” The damage to the train was “substantial”, The Australian Transport Safety Bureau said in a report. “At approximately 0440 on 5 November 2018, the driver of a loaded ore train consisting of four locomotives and 268 wagons stopped at the 211 km point. The driver alighted from the locomotive to inspect an issue with a wagon,” it said in the summary of an investigation into a report. While the driver was outside of the locomotive, the train took off. “With no one on board, the train traveled for 92 km until about 0505, when the train was deliberately derailed at a set of points operated by the control center, about 119 km from Port Hedland.” | In Port Hedland, Australia, authorities deliberately derail a runaway train after the driver left the train for an inspection. The assemblage consisted of four locomotives and two hundred sixty-eight wagons, was operated by BHP Billiton on the Pilbara Railways, and traveled ninety-two kilometers. The train was en route from Newman to Port Hedland. |
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Asia Bibi's escape from Pakistan death row Asia Bibi, a Pakistani Christian woman acquitted of blasphemy after spending eight years on death row, has been freed from prison. Last week's Supreme Court ruling sparked violent protests from Islamists and the government agreed to their demand to stop her leaving Pakistan. News of her release led to some confusion, with reports she had been taken to another country. But the foreign office later said she was still in Pakistan. The case is highly sensitive and Information Minister Fawad Hussein said journalists had been "extremely irresponsible" in reporting she had left the country without official confirmation. Those reports were based on comments from her lawyer, Saiful Malook, who has been granted temporary asylum in the Netherlands after facing death threats. Asia Bibi's husband had said they were in danger and pleaded for asylum. A number of Western countries are understood to have held discussions with Asia Bibi's family about granting them asylum. The mother-of-five was released from prison in the city of Multan on Wednesday and the foreign office says she is in "a safe place in Pakistan". Also known as Asia Noreen, she was convicted in 2010 of insulting the Prophet Muhammad during a row with neighbours. The Pakistani government has said it will start legal proceedings to prevent her going abroad after agreeing the measure to end the violent protests. Image copyright EPA Image caption Asia Bibi's acquittal sparked protests by Islamists Many of the protesters were hardliners who support strong blasphemy laws and called for Asia Bibi to be hanged. One Islamist leader said all three Supreme Court judges also "deserved to be killed". A spokesman for the hardline Tehreek-e-Labaik (TLP) party, which blocked roads in major cities for several days, said Asia Bibi's release was in breach of their deal with the government. "The rulers have showed their dishonesty," TLP spokesman Ejaz Ashrafi told Reuters. The deal also saw officials agree not to block a petition for the Supreme Court to evaluate Asia Bibi's acquittal in the light of Islamic Sharia law. What was Asia Bibi accused of? The trial stems from an argument Asia Bibi had with a group of women in June 2009. They were harvesting fruit when a row broke out about a bucket of water. The women said that because she had used a cup, they could no longer touch it, as her faith had made it unclean. Prosecutors alleged that in the row which followed, the women said Asia Bibi should convert to Islam and that she made offensive comments about the Prophet Muhammad in response. She was later beaten up at her home, during which her accusers say she confessed to blasphemy. She was arrested after a police investigation. Acquitting her, the Supreme Court said that the case was based on unreliable evidence and her confession was delivered in front of a crowd "threatening to kill her". Why is this case so divisive? Islam is Pakistan's national religion and underpins its legal system. Public support for the strict blasphemy laws is strong. Hard-line politicians have often backed severe punishments, partly as a way of shoring up their support base. But critics say the laws have often been used to exact revenge after personal disputes, and that convictions are based on thin evidence. The vast majority of those convicted are Muslims or members of the Ahmadi community who identify themselves as Muslims but are regarded as heretical by orthodox Islam. Since the 1990s scores of Christians have also been convicted. They make up just 1.6% of the population. The Christian community has been targeted by numerous attacks in recent years, leaving many feeling vulnerable to a climate of intolerance. Since 1990, at least 65 people have reportedly been killed in Pakistan over claims of blasphemy. ||||| Asia Bibi, Pakistani Woman Acquitted Of Blasphemy, Is Freed From Jail Asia Bibi, a Pakistani Christian woman acquitted days ago of blasphemy, has been freed from jail after spending more than eight years in solitary confinement awaiting execution. The acquittal of Bibi, who is Catholic, was announced just over a week ago by Pakistan's Supreme Court, which said her accusers had not definitively proved her guilt. She was permitted to leave jail immediately after the verdict, but her release was delayed after protests from an extremist religious group, demanding she be killed. Citing officials, the BBC reports that Bibi left her detention facility in Punjab province under heavy security on Wednesday and was flown to a secure location in Islamabad. Bibi was convicted of blasphemy in 2010 and sentenced to death. The conviction stemmed from an argument with her fellow Muslim farm workers. They accused her of being impure by virtue of her faith and claimed she insulted Islam. Her case galvanized the country's religious right and sparked international concern over human rights and religious freedom in Pakistan, which is overwhelmingly Muslim. As her conviction was reversed, "followers of a hard-line Pakistani religious group rushed onto major roads across the country to paralyze traffic in protest of the decision," according to NPR's Islamabad-based correspondent Diaa Hadid. The mobs demanded Bibi, as well as the three Supreme Court judges who acquitted her, be killed. The Italian government said earlier this week it would help Bibi and her family relocate. Several other Western countries have also offered her asylum. In the past, both Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis have advocated for her. ||||| A Pakistani Christian woman has been freed from prison a week after the Supreme Court overturned her conviction and death sentence for blasphemy against Islam, and she is at a secure location in the country, officials said on Thursday. Officials dismissed some media reports that the woman, Asia Bibi, had been flown abroad, which would enrage hardline Islamists who have been protesting against her release and calling for her to be banned from leaving. The release overnight of the mother of five prompted immediate anger from an Islamist party that has threatened to paralyse the country with street protests if her acquittal is not reversed. Bibi, 53, was convicted of blasphemy in 2010 over allegations she made derogatory remarks about Islam after neighbours objected to her drinking water from their glass because she was not Muslim. She always denied having committed blasphemy. The case has outraged Christians worldwide, and Pope Francis met Bibi’s family this year, saying he prayed for her. Italy said on Tuesday it would try to help Bibi, who is Catholic, to leave Pakistan. Pakistan’s foreign ministry denied reports that Bibi had left the country and pointed out that a review of the Supreme Court decision to free her was pending. “Asia Bibi is completely secure at a safe place in Pakistan,” said ministry spokesman Mohammad Faisal. “Her writ is in court, when that is decided, Asia Bibi can go anywhere she wants to, she is a free national … if she wants to go abroad, no harm in it.” In Rome, the Catholic aid agency Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) said Bibi has been able to see her husband in an undisclosed location. Their daughters were “close by” but had not yet seen their mother as of early afternoon, Pakistan time. The agency, which arranged a meeting for Bibi’s husband and daughter with Pope Francis at the Vatican this year, said the family was awaiting visas but declined to disclose from which country for security reasons. Insulting Islam’s Prophet Mohammad carries a mandatory death penalty in Pakistan, which is about 95 percent Muslim and has among the harshest blasphemy laws in the world. No executions for blasphemy have been carried out in Pakistan but enraged mobs sometimes kill people accused of blasphemy. Rights groups say the blasphemy law is exploited by hardliners as well as ordinary Pakistanis to settle personal scores. Christians make up about 2 percent of the population. Security officials told Reuters early on Thursday that Bibi had been released from a prison in Multan, a city in the south of Punjab province. She was flown to Islamabad and was in protective custody because of threats to her life, said three officials, speaking on condition of anonymity. Bibi’s lawyer, who has fled Pakistan and this week sought asylum in the Netherlands, confirmed she was no longer in prison. “All I can tell you is that she has been released,” lawyer Saif-ul-Mulook told Reuters by phone from the Netherlands, where the government said on Thursday it had offered him temporary asylum. A spokesman for the hard-line Tehreek-e-Labaik (TLP) party, which took to the streets after the Supreme Court ruling, said her release violated a deal with the government of Prime Minister Imran Khan to end the protests. “The TLP activists are agitated as the government has breached the agreement with our party. The rulers have showed their dishonesty,” party spokesman Ejaz Ashrafi told Reuters. Under the deal, the government said it would not block a petition to the Supreme Court to review Bibi’s acquittal in light of sharia, Islamic religious law, the TLP said. It also said the government promised to work to ensure Bibi could not leave the country. If the government allows Bibi to leave, it would likely face more paralysing protests from the TLP and other Islamist parties. ||||| Asia Bibi, a Christian woman who was acquitted of blasphemy in Pakistan last week, has been freed from prison, her lawyer says. "I have been told that she is on a plane, but nobody knows where she will land," lawyer Saiful Mulook said on November 7 in a message sent to the AFP news agency. The Associated Press quoted unidentified government officials as saying Bibi left a detention facility in Punjab Province, where she was detained, and was flown to an undisclosed location in the capital, Islamabad. Bibi had spent eight years on death row for allegedly insulting Islam’s Prophet Muhammad before Pakistan's Supreme Court overturned her conviction on October 31, triggering violent protests by hard-line Islamists calling for her execution. In a deal with the hard-line Tehrik-e Labaik (TLP) party that ended the protests, the Pakistani government on November 3 indicated that it will bar Bibi from traveling abroad pending a "review" of the Supreme Court’s decision to acquit her. Bibi's husband, Ashiq Masih, has pleaded for asylum from Western countries, saying his family is in great danger in Pakistan. Mulook, her lawyer, fled to The Netherlands. Bibi, a mother of five, has denied the blasphemy charges against her. Insulting Islam is punishable by death in Pakistan, and the mere rumor of blasphemy can lead to lynchings by mobs. Based on reporting by AFP and AP ||||| The lawyer who helped Asia Bibi, a Christian woman freed from jail after Pakistan’s top court overturned her death sentence in a blasphemy case, was offered a temporary asylum in the Netherlands on Thursday after he fled from Pakistan fearing for the safety of his family. Lawyer Saiful Mulook defended Asia Bibi who spent 8 years on death row until being acquitted on Wednesday. This has come a day after Asia Bibi was released from Multan jail. There were reports that she was taken to Noor Khan Airbase Rawalpindi from where she was supposed to fly to the Netherlands, however, earlier today Pakistani authorities refuted these reports, saying she has not left for the Netherlands and was in Pakistan. WHAT IS THE ENTIRE CASE? Aisa Bibi is the second Pakistani Christian who was sentenced to death under country’s blasphemy laws under section 295-C of the Pakistan Penal Code for defaming Prophet Mohammad. The offence if proven carries the mandatory death penalty under the law. The case dates back to 2009 when as per Asia she entered into a quarrel with Mafia and Asma, both are eyewitnesses in the case and deposed to Asia making blasphemous remarks. The argument started when both the women refused to drink water brought by Asia Bibi because she was Christian. The two, Mafia and Asma along with a local cleric, Qari Mohammad Salaam later filed the case of blasphemy against her. A trial court convicted Asia Bibi for blasphemy in November 2010 and sentenced her to death, but the order was suspended by the Supreme Court in 2015. In 2018, the Supreme Court gave the final verdict acquitting Asia from all charges. The case attracted international coverage and became a high profile one when two officials, former Punjab governor Salman Taseer and former Minorities Minister Shahbaz Bhatti (a Christian) were assassinated for taking Asia’s side publicly. ||||| A Pakistani Christian woman who spent eight years on death row for blasphemy has been freed from jail a week after her acquittal in a landmark case triggered angry Islamist protests, her lawyer said Thursday. Asia Bibi's conviction was overturned by the country's highest court last Wednesday, but she remained in prison as the government negotiated with hardliners who blockaded major cities and demanded her immediate execution. "She has been freed," lawyer Saif-ul-Mulook said in a text message to AFP. "I have been told that she is on a plane but nobody knows where she will land." According to a civil aviation official, the aircraft which collected Bibi from jail is registered in Pakistan and is therefore obliged to land in Islamabad. Following protests at last week's ruling, the government agreed in a deal with Islamists to impose a travel ban on Bibi, and not to challenge an appeal in the Supreme Court. An order for her release arrived Wednesday at the jail in the central city of Multan where she was detained, a prison official told AFP. "Asia Bibi has left the prison and has been transferred to a safe place!" tweeted Antonio Tajani, president of the European Parliament. Another civil aviation official, in Multan, said a small plane arrived in the city with "a few foreigners and some Pakistanis" on board to fetch Bibi. Her case has underscored deep divisions between traditionalists and modernisers in the devoutly Muslim country. The conviction stemmed from a 2009 incident when Bibi was asked to fetch water while out working in the fields. Muslim women labourers objected to her touching the water bowl as a non-Muslim, and a fight reportedly erupted. Bibi has consistently denied the charges, and her prosecution rallied international rights groups, politician, and religious figures. Pope Benedict XVI called for her release in 2010, while his successor, Pope Francis, met the prisoner's daughter in 2015. Bibi's husband Ashiq Masih has appealed for Britain or the United States to grant the family asylum, while her lawyer has fled to the Netherlands. Several governments including Italy and France have offered to help. Italy's Interior Minister Matteo Salvini tweeted: "I will do everything humanly possible to guarantee this young woman's future." Blasphemy is an incendiary charge in Muslim-majority Pakistan, where even unsubstantiated allegations of insulting Islam can result in death at the hands of mobs. Mere calls to reform the law have provoked violence, most notably the assassination of Salmaan Taseer, the governor of Pakistan's Punjab province, by his own bodyguard in broad daylight in Islamabad in 2011. Taseer had called for Bibi's release, and his son Shahbaz tweeted "Pakistan Zindabad" ("Long live Pakistan") following last week's ruling. Thousands of Islamist hardliners poured onto the streets in protest after Supreme Court judges overturned Bibi's conviction last Wednesday. Demonstrations broke out in major cities across Pakistan in the ruling's wake, with club-wielding protesters blocking Islamabad's main highway and barricading roads in Karachi and Lahore. One of the most vocal groups -- the Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan (TLP) -- called for "mutiny" against the army's top brass and the assassination of the top court's justices. Mulook and Pakistani media criticised the government for caving in to the Islamist hardliners after Prime Minister Imran Khan had at first appeared to stand up to them. ||||| Pakistani Christian woman Asia Bibi, who spent eight years on death row for blasphemy, has been freed from jail, her lawyer said Thursday. The country's highest court last week overturned Bibi's conviction and ordered her release, but she had remained incarcerated as the government agreed to allow a review following Islamist protests over the bitterly divisive case. "She has been freed. I have been told that she is on a plane but nobody knows where she will land," lawyer Saif-ul-Malook said in a message sent to AFP. A release order arrived Wednesday at the prison in the central city of Multan, where Bibi was detained, a prison official told AFP. Her husband Ashiq Masih has appealed for Britain or the United States to grant the family asylum, while Malook has fled to the Netherlands. Bibi's case has underscored divisions between traditionalists and modernisers in the devoutly Muslim nation. It stems from an incident in 2009 when she was asked to fetch water while out working in the fields. Muslim women labourers objected, saying that as a non-Muslim, she should not touch the water bowl, and reportedly a fight erupted. A local imam then claimed Bibi insulted the Prophet Mohammed -- a charge she denies. Blasphemy is an incendiary charge in Muslim-majority Pakistan, where even unsubstantiated allegations of insulting Islam can result in death at the hands of mobs. Thousands of Islamists poured onto the streets in protest after Supreme Court judges overturned Bibi's conviction last Wednesday, causing Prime Minister Imran Khan's administration to sign a controversial deal. ||||| A Pakistani Christian woman acquitted of blasphemy after spending eight years on death row has been freed from prison, her lawyer said. Some reports say Asia Bibi has boarded a plane but its destination was not known, BBC reported on Wednesday. The Supreme Court ruling sparked protests from Islamists and the government had said it would bar her from leaving Pakistan. Her husband had said they were in danger and pleaded for asylum. Also Read: Pakistani Christian woman in limbo despite acquittal by top court Asia Bibi, a mother-of-five, was released from prison in the city of Multan, her lawyer Saif Mulook said. Also known as Asia Noreen, she was convicted in 2010 of insulting the Prophet Muhammad during a row with neighbours. Several countries have offered her asylum. The Pakistani government has said it will start legal proceedings to prevent her going abroad after agreeing the measure to end the violent protests. Many of the protesters were hardliners who support strong blasphemy laws and called for Asia Bibi to be hanged. One Islamist leader said all three Supreme Court judges also “deserved to be killed”. Also Read: Fearing for life, Asia Bibi’s lawyer flees Pakistan, requests government to protect family A spokesman for the hardline Tehreek-e-Labaik (TLP) party said Asia Bibi’s release was in breach of their deal with the government. “The rulers have showed their dishonesty,” TLP spokesman Ejaz Ashrafi said. The deal also saw officials agree not to block a petition for the Supreme Court to evaluate Asia Bibi’s acquittal in the light of Islamic Sharia law. The trial stems from an argument Asia Bibi had with a group of women in June 2009. They were harvesting fruit when a row broke out about a bucket of water. The women said that because she had used a cup, they could no longer touch it, as her faith had made it unclean. Prosecutors alleged that in the row which followed, the women said Asia Bibi should convert to Islam and that she made offensive comments about the Prophet Muhammad in response. She was later beaten up at her home, during which her accusers say she confessed to blasphemy. She was arrested after a police investigation. Acquitting her, the Supreme Court said that the case was based on unreliable evidence and her confession was delivered in front of a crowd “threatening to kill her”. ||||| Asia Bibi's release comes a week after her acquittal in a landmark case that triggered angry Islamist protests in Muslim-majority Pakistan ISLAMABAD, Pakistan – A Pakistani Christian woman who spent 8 years on death row for blasphemy has been freed from jail and is believed to have already flown out of the city of Multan where she was being held, heading for an unknown destination, her lawyer said Thursday, November 8. Asia Bibi's release comes a week after her acquittal in a landmark case that triggered angry Islamist protests in Muslim-majority Pakistan and following appeals from her husband for Britain or the United States to grant the family asylum. Her lawyer fled to the Netherlands on Saturday, November 3, under threat to his life. Bibi's conviction was overturned by the country's highest court last Wednesday, November 7, but she remained in prison as the government negotiated with hardliners who blockaded major cities and demanded her immediate execution. "She has been freed," lawyer Saif-ul-Mulook said in a text message to Agence France-Presse (AFP). "I have been told that she is on a plane but nobody knows where she will land." According to a civil aviation official, the aircraft that collected Bibi from jail would be required to land in Islamabad but it was unclear if she may have had a connecting flight. Following protests at last week's ruling, the government agreed in a deal with Islamists to impose a travel ban on Bibi, and not to challenge an appeal in the Supreme Court. An order for her release arrived Wednesday at the jail in the central city of Multan where she was held, a prison official told AFP. "Asia Bibi has left the prison and has been transferred to a safe place!" tweeted Antonio Tajani, president of the European Parliament. Another civil aviation official, in Multan, said a small plane arrived in the city with "a few foreigners and some Pakistanis" on board to fetch Bibi. Her case has underscored deep divisions between traditionalists and modernizers in the devoutly Muslim country. The conviction stemmed from a 2009 incident when Bibi was asked to fetch water while out working in the fields. Muslim women laborers objected to her touching the water bowl as a non-Muslim, and a fight reportedly erupted. Bibi has consistently denied the charges, and her prosecution rallied international rights groups, politician, and religious figures. Pope Benedict XVI called for her release in 2010, while his successor, Pope Francis, met her daughter in 2015. Bibi's husband Ashiq Masih has appealed for Britain or the United States to grant the family asylum and several governments including those if Italy and France have offered to help. Italy's Interior Minister Matteo Salvini tweeted: "I will do everything humanly possible to guarantee this young woman's future." Blasphemy is an incendiary charge in Muslim-majority Pakistan, where even unsubstantiated allegations of insulting Islam can result in death at the hands of mobs. Mere calls to reform the law have provoked violence, most notably the assassination of Salmaan Taseer, the governor of Pakistan's Punjab province, by his own bodyguard in Islamabad in 2011. Taseer had called for Bibi's release, and his son Shahbaz tweeted "Pakistan Zindabad" ("Long live Pakistan") following last week's ruling. Thousands of Islamist hardliners poured onto the streets in protest after Supreme Court judges overturned Bibi's conviction last Wednesday. Demonstrations broke out in major cities across the country in the wake of the ruling, with club-wielding protesters blocking Islamabad's main highway and barricading roads in Karachi and Lahore. One of the most vocal groups in the protests – the Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan (TLP) – called for "mutiny" against the army's top brass and the assassination of the top court's justices. In a statement, the TLP termed Bibi's release "against the government agreement." "The entire atmosphere of Pakistan is in pain and grief after hearing the news about the blasphemer of the holy prophet Asia," it said. One resident in Multan, Rizwan Khan, told AFP that Bibi would not be safe wherever she went, while another, Qari Muneer, said the decision should be reversed and called for her to receive "strict punishment." – Rappler.com ||||| Bibi is no longer allowed to the leave the jail, but her security has reportedly increased, and she is being kept in an undisclosed location. ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — The husband of the Pakistani Catholic woman who was recently acquitted of blasphemy charges is asking several Western nations to provide asylum for his family, whom he says is in danger of death. In a video message, Ashiq Masih requested asylum for his family from the U.S., Canada and the U.K. His wife, Asia Bibi, had her death sentence overturned in a high-profile case last week, but riots following the verdict have endangered the lives of the entire family, Masih said. Bibi was previously found guilty of making disparaging comments against the Islamic prophet Muhammad during an argument with some neighbors. In 2010, she was convicted of blasphemy and sentenced to death by hanging. Defaming Muhammad carries a mandatory death sentence in Pakistan. After the Pakistan Supreme Court overturned the verdict on Oct. 31, noting Bibi was free to leave the prison, violent protests erupted throughout the predominantly Muslim country. In a move to appease the riots, the government made an agreement with the Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan (TLP), the Islamist political party, which coordinated protests against Bibi’s release. The agreement requested an end to the protests in exchange for the government to review the acquittal and add her name to the country’s “exit control list,” which would bar her from leaving the country. Several arrested protesters were also released. Bibi is no longer allowed to the leave the jail, but her security has reportedly increased, and she is being kept in an undisclosed location. Masih told German broadcaster DW that the agreement has sparked fear in his family, noting they have consistently changed locations to hide during this dangerous time. Bibi’s lawyer, Saif Mulook, fled the country on Saturday. “The agreement has sent a shiver down my spine. My family is frightened, my relatives are frightened, and my friends are also frightened. This agreement should never have been struck,” he said. He expressed worry that the review of the verdict could be influenced by outside forces, who are heavily pressuring the court to convict Bibi. “Now during the review petition, the clerics might gather outside the Supreme Court and try to influence the verdict. It is wrong to set a precedent in which you pile pressure onto the judiciary,” he said. “I went to session court, where I could see that the judge was under tremendous pressure to convict Asia.” “My wife, Asia Bibi, has already suffered greatly. She has spent 10 years in jail. The verdict of the Supreme Court had created a ray of hope; we were excited that we would meet her soon,” he added. Bibi was accused of making derogatory comments about Muhammad in 2009, when an argument broke out between her and some other farmworkers when they were harvesting berries. The argument stemmed from Bibi taking a drink of water from a cup that previously had been used by Muslims. An onlooker informed her that she could not do so, as she was “unclean” due to her faith. An argument ensued, and Bibi was then reported to Muslim clerics. According to the BBC, Bibi was later attacked at her home, where she confessed to blasphemy, her accusers said. However, the Supreme Court said this was inadmissible evidence, as her confession was spoken in front of a mob who threatened to kill her. Although the government has never executed a person under the blasphemy law, accusations alone have inspired mob and vigilante violence. Blasphemy laws are reportedly used to settle scores or to persecute religious minorities. Many of those accused of blasphemy are murdered, and advocates of changing the law are also targeted by violence. Masih told DW: “The situation is dangerous for Asia. I feel that her life is not secure.” | Pakistani Christian woman Asia Bibi, sentenced to death by hanging in 2010 and recently acquitted, is released from prison. Bibi has reportedly boarded a plane; however, its destination was not known. Several countries have offered her asylum. |
This is what we know so far about what police have described as a lone wolf terror attack on Bourke Street, which brought Melbourne's CBD to a standstill. A vehicle has exploded on Bourke Street. About 4.20pm, a car mounted the footpath of Bourke Street, near the corner of Swanston Street, and erupted in flames. The man got out of the vehicle and engaged with members of the public. Three men were stabbed and one died at the scene. Police arrived and the man punched one of them through a police car window. ||||| 3 Stabbed, 1 Dead In Australia In Incident Police Say Is Possible Terrorism Enlarge this image toggle caption Robert Cianflone/Getty Images Robert Cianflone/Getty Images Police in Australia shot and killed a knife-wielded assailant who stabbed three people, killing one, in a busy section of Melbourne on Friday. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack and authorities say they are investigating it as an act of terrorism. Witnesses told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that a four-speed utility truck sped down Bourke Street in the southern Australia city's central business district and crashed after missing a tram. A fire then started in the vehicle, according to Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton, who spoke during a news conference. Australian media identified the deceased suspect as a 31-year-old Somali male. Authorities say he exited the burning vehicle and began stabbing passersby. Witnesses called the stabbings "random," the ABC reports. Video of the incident, which some readers might find disturbing, can be seen here. Police quickly arrived on the scene, Ashton said. The suspect approached a police vehicle and assaulted an officer by punching him through its window. Two officers got out of the car and attempted to engage him. In video of the incident, the suspect approached the officers baring a large knife, making several attempts to stab them before an officer shot him in the chest. The suspect collapsed. Ashton said the three victims, all men, and the suspect were transported to the Royal Melbourne Hospital. One of the victims died from his injuries. According to police, the other two victims, aged 26 and 58, sustained non-life threatening injuries. The suspect died from his injuries half an hour after arriving at the hospital. The police found "barbecue style" gas bottles in the vehicle involved in Friday's incident. A bomb squad has since rendered the car safe. "The one who executed the ramming and stabbing operation in Melbourne (..) is one of the fighters of the Islamic State and he executed the operation in response to (a call) to target the citizens of the coalition," the ISIS news website Amaq said on Friday, according to news.com.au. In the past, the Islamic State has claimed responsibility for some "lone wolf" attacks in which the assailant was later found to have no allegiance to the group. The suspect has been "known to police mainly in respect to relatives he has that are certainly persons of interest to us," Ashton said. "For operational matters we now have the counter-terrorism command and the homicide squad dealing with this matter, and there are ongoing investigations being conducted by the counter-terrorism command," he continued. Authorities say they do not perceive any ongoing threat. A driver who rammed into pedestrians at a mall close to Friday's incident killed at least four people in January of last year. In December, a different driver in Melbourne drove into more people, injuring at least 19. In a series of tweets, Daniel Andrews, the premier of Victoria state, called the incident "an act of terror struck the heart of our city, in a place where past wounds have still not healed." "To the victims and their loved ones, we offer our prayers, support and deepest sympathies. We won't be defined by this evil act. Victorians will continue to go about their business, together and with resolve," Andrews wrote. ||||| A man was shot dead by police Friday after he allegedly set a car on fire and stabbed three people -- one fatally -- on a busy street in Melbourne, Australia, in what authorities say was an "act of terrorism." Interested in Australia? Add Australia as an interest to stay up to date on the latest Australia news, video, and analysis from ABC News. Add Interest The incident began Friday afternoon when police officers responded to reports of a vehicle fire in Melbourne's central business district. Officers found the car on fire on the side of a busy street and were confronted by a man "brandishing a knife and threatening them," Victoria Police Superintendent David Clayton said at a press conference. William West/AFP/Getty Images Officers shot the knife-wielding man as he ran toward them, police said, and none of the officers were hurt. The suspect later died in the hospital, according to police, and there is no ongoing threat. Three stabbing victims were found at the scene, and the two survivors were hospitalized, police said. Their conditions were unknown. Xinhua/Bai Xue via Newscom The vehicle that was on fire contained multiple gas canisters, police said. An investigation by the Australian Federal Police's Joint Counter Terrorism Team is underway, and is being led by Victoria Police. ]/> Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison condemned the "evil and cowardly attack," which he said is being treated as a "terrorism incident." "I condemn the act of terrorism in Melbourne today that has tragically taken the life of a fellow Australian who has died as a result of this evil and cowardly attack," Morrison said in a statement Friday. "Australians will never be intimidated by these appalling attacks and we will continue to go about our lives and enjoy the freedoms that the terrorists detest." ABC News' Alexandra Faul and Joseph Simonetti contributed to this report. ||||| SYDNEY (AP) - The Latest on a knife attack in Melbourne (all times local): The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for an attack in Australia that police say was linked to terrorism. Police say the driver of a pickup truck got out of his vehicle, which then caught fire, and attacked three bystanders with a knife before being fatally shot by police on Friday in Melbourne, Australia's second-largest city. Police said the attacker came from Somalia. The militant group said in a statement released through its Aamaq media arm that the man was "one of Islamic State fighters" and carried out the attack in response to IS calls for attacks in countries that are part of the international coalition fighting the militants in Syria and Iraq. IS, which has suffered heavy battlefield setbacks in Syria and Iraq in the past year, often claims attacks in an opportunistic vein. Australian police say a pickup truck that caught fire in the country's second-largest city contained several barbeque gas cylinders and was part of an apparent terrorist attack. Police said the driver got out of the vehicle, which then caught fire, and attacked three bystanders with a knife before being fatally shot by police. The attack during the Friday afternoon rush hour brought central Melbourne to a standstill. Victoria state police Commissioner Graham Ashton says the attacker was from Somalia and known to the authorities, mostly because of family members who were "persons of interest" to police. Victoria state Premier Daniel Andrews says the attack was "an evil and terrifying thing that has happened in our city and state today." Australian police say they believe an attack by a knife-wielding man who stabbed two people, one fatally, in the country's second-largest city is linked to terrorism. The attack during the Friday afternoon rush hour brought central Melbourne to a standstill. Police said the man got out of a vehicle, which then caught fire, and attacked three bystanders with a knife before being shot by police. The suspect died later at a hospital. Victoria state police Commissioner Graham Ashton says the suspect, who was originally from Somalia, was known to police and the incident is being treated as terrorism. Police shot a knife-wielding man Friday after he fatally stabbed one person and injured two others in the center of Australia's second-largest city, police said. The incident, which brought central Melbourne to a standstill in the late afternoon rush, came after police responded to reports of a burning vehicle. Officers were confronted near the burning car by a man "brandishing a knife and threatening them" while passers-by called out that people had been stabbed, Victoria state police Superintendent David Clayton said. One of the stabbed people was dead at the scene and two others were taken to a hospital. ||||| Police confirm three people have been stabbed by a man brandishing a knife in Melbourne's CBD. ||||| THE Islamic State terror group says one of its fighters carried out a knife attack in Melbourne yesterday in which one man died and two were wounded. The group's Amaq news website provided no evidence for the claim. "The one who executed the ramming and stabbing operation in Melbourne (..) is one of the fighters of the Islamic State and he executed the operation in response to (a call) to target the citizens of the coalition," Amaq said overnight. The text was referring to a call in August by Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi to "use bombs, knives or cars to carry out attacks" in countries taking part in the US-led coalition that put an end to the caliphate he declared in 2014 over parts of Iraq and Syria. The attacker in Melbourne was shot by police after he set fire to a ute laden with gas cylinders in the centre of Melbourne and stabbed three people, killing one. The attacker died later in hospital. Police are now treating the stabbing attack in Melbourne's Bourke St as a terrorism incident. The knifeman, a 31-year-old Somali-born from Melbourne's north-western suburbs, died in hospital last night after being shot in the chest by police. The Herald Sun, on its Twitter page, said the terrorist's wife "was missing and is believed to have been radicalised". They say Victoria Police are searching for her. In a press conference yesterday afternoon Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton said the man who is alleged to have stabbed three people, killing one, was known to Victoria Police and federal intelligence authorities. "We are now treating this as a terrorism incident," he said. Commissioner Ashton revealed the man came to Australia from Somalia in the 1990s and had relatives known to police from a "terrorism perspective". "He's got family associations that are well known to us," he said. There were some reports that the man yelled "Allahu Akbar" during the attack but Commissioner Ashton said this had not been confirmed. The attacker had a record of some minor offences including for cannabis use, theft and driving offences. The man caused chaos in the Melbourne CBD on Friday afternoon after allegedly stabbing three men. One man, who is yet to be formally identified, died at the scene. Some witnesses say he was stabbed in the face. A 26-year-old and a 58-year-old were taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries. Police officers also received minor injuries, one of them from being punched, and some cuts and scratches. Police have not yet revealed the identity of the attacker or the other man who died. But The Herald Sun has named the attacker as Mohamed Khalif, who also reportedly goes by the name Hassan Shire. Bourke St is in lockdown from Swanston St to Russell St and is expected to remain closed until as late as 8am this morning as police investigate. The Herald Sun is reporting one of the men injured in the attack was Rodney Patterson and his wife Maree posted on Facebook that he was "doing OK given the circumstances". "Unfortunately we got caught up in the attack in Bourke Street this afternoon and Rodney was hurt - good news is he is in a great hospital and doing OK given the circumstances - can't take calls at the moment but will speak to everyone when I can," she wrote. "Thanks to everyone for their wishes and caring." In light of the attack police are doing security assessments of events happening in Melbourne this weekend and extra police may be present but the Commissioner said there was no ongoing threat they were aware of. Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews condemned the incident and thanked the police and brave bystanders who had risked their lives to stop the knifeman. "This is an evil, terrifying thing that's happened in our city and state today," Mr Andrew said. "We condemn it. We also take this opportunity to thank those very brave and dedicated members of Victoria Police who did all of us proud in their very quick response in very dangerous circumstances. They've done each and every one of us proud. "Equally, those strangers, people who were bystanders who knew nobody involved, who stepped in without a moment's hesitation, to render support and assistances." Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he had been briefed about the incident and state and federal agencies were working together. "I condemn the act of terrorism in Melbourne today that has tragically taken the life of a fellow Australian who has died as a result of this evil and cowardly attack," he said in a statement. "Australians will never be intimated by these appalling attacks and we will continue to go about our lives and enjoy the freedoms that the terrorists detest." The incident began when the man drove a 4WD into the city about 4.10pm and it was set on fire. Commissioner Ashton confirmed there were some barbecue-style gas cylinders in the car that had to be rendered safe by the bomb response unit. It's unclear whether the car was set on fire before or after the man left the vehicle. According to the ABC, witnesses saw the man crash the car, get out and throw an object into the car that set it alight. Commissioner Ashton said after the car was set on fire, the man interacted with some members of the public before police arrived. The man then punched one of the officers through the window of the car. Two other officers got out of the police vehicle and attempted to engage him but the man used a knife to try and attack them. One officer eventually shot him once in the chest. Footage on social media shows a blue ute in flames and a man dressed in a black tunic and white pants menacing police with a knife. Two bystanders try to help officers stop the man, one of them by rolling a shopping trolley in his path. In an earlier press conference, Victoria Police Superintendent David Clayton told reporters that police were called to the scene after reports of a car on fire. When officers got out of the car, they were confronted by a male brandishing a knife and threatening them. "Passers-by were calling out that members of the public had been stabbed," he said. One witness named Markel told ABC Local Radio in Melbourne that bystanders were urging officers to shot the man. "A lot of bystanders (were) actually just screaming at the police officers, because the police officers were trying to take the knife off him and arrest him but bystanders were yelling out 'just shoot him, just shoot him'." Ambulance Victoria said it had assessed three people at the scene, who were then taken to hospital. One had a neck injury and was in a suspected critical condition, a second person had a head injury; and the condition and injuries of the third person was unknown. Police have urged anyone who witnessed the incident or had footage of what happened to contact them. Melbourne resident Meegan May told news.com.au she was on a tram on Bourke St heading into the city when it stopped just before Elizabeth St, about a block before the mall. She heard someone start screaming "he's got a knife". She looked through the back window of the tram and noticed a car on fire. There was a man and two police officers trying to calm him down. "A moment later, I heard a loud bang; to me it sounded like a gunshot," she said. Markel Villasin, 22, was finishing his shift at KFC on Bourke St as the drama unfolded. "Me and the managers ran out and that's when we saw the car on fire and then we saw the guy on the floor and we wanted to help, there were two blokes helping him out already, he was face down pools of blood around his face," he told AAP. "I'm pretty sure he got stabbed in the face. "I really wanted to help but I was in shock, I didn't know what to do. "Because he was on his stomach, they turned him over to see if he's alright, he was still alive." Bystander Drew Hair told AAP he was walking on Swanston Street when he heard an explosion. The next thing he saw was a "big dude punching into the police car". Mr Hair said the assailant was dressed in Islamic clothing and of African appearance and about six foot four inches tall. "The cops were trying to hit him with batons and he wasn't going down," he said. Mr Hair said two civilians became involved as well as two police, trying to stop the man from his attack. An ambulance and about 10 police cars appeared within moments. A man told Sky News that there seemed to be multiple explosions. "There was one explosion and fire, then a second explosion and it was like a massive fireball," he said. Reports on 3AW Radio indicate that witnesses saw the man driving the vehicle "throw something into the back", which then ignited. An eyewitness speaking to 7 News said it appeared the car was on fire before it crashed and "exploded". "I was walking up Bourke St … and we heard this loud explosion. I thought it was a car backfiring but there was flames coming out of the car. It then veered to the left … and exploded in flames," the woman said. "People were running everywhere. I thought it was like what happened last year so I started running. Everyone started running. It was so scary." Anyone with information or who witnessed the incident is asked to go to Melbourne West police station to make a statement. The incident comes as a trial into the 2017 rampage in Bourke Street continues. In 2017, six people died in the terrifying car rampage that also left dozens injured. Four adults, a child and a baby died after James "Dimitrious" Gargasoulas allegedly ploughed his car through the busy pedestrian mall on January 20. Those killed were three-month-old Zachary Matthew-Bryant, Tahlia Hakin, 10, Yosuke Kanno, 25, Jessica Mudie, 23, and 33-year-olds Matthew Si and Bhavita Patel. In September that year a knife-wielding man also went on a rampage outside Flinders St station. He was tasered and arrested in dramatic scenes in Melbourne's CBD. In December, there was another incident when Saeed Noori allegedly drove a car into people crossing the intersection of Flinders and Elizabeth streets. At least 18 people, including a four-year-old boy and international tourists, were hit by the car that afternoon and one of them, 83-year-old grandfather Antonio Crocaris, died about eight days later. If you or anyone you know needs help phone Lifeline 13 11 14 or beyondblue on 1300 22 4636. ||||| SYDNEY, Australia — The Latest on a knife attack in Melbourne (all times local): 9:35 p.m. Australian police say a pickup truck that caught fire in the country’s second-largest city contained several barbeque gas cylinders and was part of an apparent terrorist attack. Police said the driver got out of the vehicle, which then caught fire, and attacked three bystanders with a knife before being fatally shot by police. The attack during the Friday afternoon rush hour brought central Melbourne to a standstill. Victoria state police Commissioner Graham Ashton says the attacker was from Somalia and known to the authorities, mostly because of family members who were “persons of interest” to police. Victoria state Premier Daniel Andrews says the attack was “an evil and terrifying thing that has happened in our city and state today.” —— 8:45 p.m. Australian police say they believe an attack by a knife-wielding man who stabbed two people, one fatally, in the country’s second-largest city is linked to terrorism. The attack during the Friday afternoon rush hour brought central Melbourne to a standstill. Police said the man got out of a vehicle, which then caught fire, and attacked three bystanders with a knife before being shot by police. The suspect died later at a hospital. Victoria state police Commissioner Graham Ashton says the suspect, who was originally from Somalia, was known to police and the incident is being treated as terrorism. —— 7:30 p.m. Police shot a knife-wielding man Friday after he fatally stabbed one person and injured two others in the centre of Australia’s second-largest city, police said. The incident, which brought central Melbourne to a standstill in the late afternoon rush, came after police responded to reports of a burning vehicle. Officers were confronted near the burning car by a man “brandishing a knife and threatening them” while passers-by called out that people had been stabbed, Victoria state police Superintendent David Clayton said. One of the stabbed people was dead at the scene and two others were taken to a hospital. ||||| Police in Australia say the man behind yesterday's terror attack in Melbourne was inspired by the Islamic State group. Officers say Hassan Khalif Shire Ali, originally from Somalia, had his passport cancelled in 2015 following reports he planned to travel to Syria. He stabbed one person to death, before being shot dead by police. Australia's Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, has paid tribute to those who intervened ||||| SYDNEY (AP) — The Latest on a knife attack in Melbourne (all times local): Australian police say they believe an attack by a knife-wielding man who stabbed two people, one fatally, in the country's second-largest city is linked to terrorism. The attack during the Friday afternoon rush hour brought central Melbourne to a standstill. Police said the man got out of a vehicle, which then caught fire, and attacked three bystanders with a knife before being shot by police. The suspect died later at a hospital. Victoria state police Commissioner Graham Ashton says the suspect, who was originally from Somalia, was known to police and the incident is being treated as terrorism. Police shot a knife-wielding man Friday after he fatally stabbed one person and injured two others in the center of Australia's second-largest city, police said. The incident, which brought central Melbourne to a standstill in the late afternoon rush, came after police responded to reports of a burning vehicle. Officers were confronted near the burning car by a man "brandishing a knife and threatening them" while passers-by called out that people had been stabbed, Victoria state police Superintendent David Clayton said. One of the stabbed people was dead at the scene and two others were taken to a hospital. ||||| A knife-wielding man has stabbed three people, one fatally, in Melbourne in an attack police linked to terrorism. The attack during the afternoon rush hour brought the centre of Australia’s second largest city to a standstill. Hundreds of people watched from behind barricades as police tried to apprehend the attacker. Officers said the man got out of a pick-up truck, which then caught fire, and attacked three bystanders with a knife. He also attempted to attack police who arrived on the scene, before being shot in the chest by an officer. He died in hospital. One of the victims also died, while the two others were admitted to hospital. Police said the attacker’s vehicle contained several barbecue gas cylinders in the back. A bomb squad rendered them safe. Victoria Police Commissioner Graham Ashton said the suspect, originally from Somalia, was known to police and the incident was being treated as terrorism. “From what we know of that individual we are treating this as a terrorism incident,” he told reporters, adding that the police counter-terrorism command was working on the case with homicide detectives. “He’s known to police mainly in respect to relatives that he has which certainly are persons of interest to us, and he’s someone that accordingly is know to both Victorian police and the federal intelligence authorities,” he said. The Islamic State group claimed the attack in a statement released through its Aamaq media arm. It said the man was “one of Islamic State fighters” and had responded to IS calls for attacks in countries that are part of the international coalition fighting the militants in Syria and Iraq. The attack occurred on the eve of a busy weekend in Melbourne, with a major horse race scheduled for Saturday and a national league football match the following day. Sunday is also Remembrance Day, when memorial ceremonies for the First World War are held. Mr Ashton said police were “doing security reassessments of these events in light of what’s occurred”, but there was “no ongoing threat we’re currently aware of in relation to people surrounding this individual”. “Australians will never be intimidated by these appalling attacks and we will continue to go about our lives and enjoy the freedoms that the terrorists detest,” he said. One witness said one of the victims, believed to be a man in his 60s who later died, was stabbed in the face, and that desperate efforts were made to save him. “Because he was on his stomach, they turned him over to see if he’s all right, he was still alive,” Markel Villasin told Australian Associated Press. “He was breathing and he was bleeding out.” Video from the scene showed a man swinging a knife at two police officers near a burning car before he was shot. In December 2014, a 17-hour siege in which a gunman took 18 people hostage in a Sydney cafe ended with two hostages dead and the gunman killed by police. Though the erratic gunman demanded that police deliver him an IS flag at the outset of the crisis, there was no evidence he had established contact with the militant group. However, at a later inquest, the coroner of New South Wales said the gunman’s actions fell “within the accepted definition of terrorism”. | One person is killed and two others are injured by a knife-wielding man in Melbourne, Australia. The suspect, a 31-year-old Australian resident originally from Somalia, randomly stabbed pedestrians after exiting his burning, crashed utility truck that held multiple gas canisters. He was shot and killed attempting to stab responding police. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant claims responsibility. |
The Canadian Press SHERWOOD PARK, Alta. -- Police say only one of two explosions that rocked a parkade east of Edmonton earlier this week was deliberate, and they say the suspect who died after the incident shot himself. RCMP had already identified Kane Kosolowsky, 21, as the man who was discovered injured Tuesday evening in a vehicle at a complex in Sherwood Park that houses Strathcona County's civic offices, a library and a restaurant. For complete coverage, visit CTV Edmonton He died later in hospital. Investigators now say the initial explosion was intentional, and that the suspect returned to his vehicle and then suffered a self-inflicted gunshot wound. They say the first explosion damaged a number of nearby vehicles, and that a second blast occurred when a gas tank in one of those vehicles caught fire. Police say they still don't have a motive, and they continue to say they aren't seeking any other suspects. "The RCMP Explosive Disposal Unit and Special Tactical Operations spent three days searching the buildings and surrounding area for additional threats to public safety. No additional threats were located," a police news release issued Saturday stated. The second blast happened after police arrived, but no one else was injured in the explosions. RCMP have said there's no indication Kosolowsky was connected with any group or ideology. The man's family said in a statement Thursday that what happened was out of character for him and they are shocked and devastated. Police said Saturday that the Kosolowsky family has cooperated fully with the investigation, and that their thoughts are with his loved ones as they also search for answers. The release said forensic examiners are working to determine the type of explosive that was used for the first blast, but that investigation is expected to take several weeks. An examination of the suspect's vehicle led to the seizure of multiple firearms, the release said, but no additional explosives were found in his vehicle or any other vehicles. About 600 employees work out of the county building, but the county's mayor, Rod Frank, said most of them had gone for the day when the blasts occurred. The library was open at the time and was safely evacuated. ||||| Four days after a pair of explosions shook a community centre in the heart of Sherwood Park, Alta., RCMP said they can now confirm the initial blast was deliberately planned. “We can now confirm that Kane Kosolowsky purposely caused an explosion underneath a half-tonne truck on the lower level parkade using a substance that is yet to be determined,” Supt. Dave Kalist of the Strathcona County RCMP said at a news conference late Saturday morning. Kosolowsky, 21, was found seriously injured after the initial explosion Tuesday night and was taken to hospital where he later died from a gunshot wound. On Saturday, Kalist confirmed Kosolowsky shot himself. He is believed to have shot himself after he went back to his vehicle following the first detonation. A motive for the first detonation remains unknown, Kalist told reporters. “The Kosolowsky family has cooperated fully with the RCMP investigation and our thoughts are with them as they also search for answers,” police said in a news release issued on Saturday. READ MORE: Man, 21, dead after blast led police to car packed with explosives in Sherwood Park Watch below: Global News has learned a deadly explosion triggered a major police response in Sherwood Park, Alberta on Tuesday night. On Nov. 7, 2018, Mercedes Stephenson filed this report. Police said Saturday that the first explosion caused damage to several vehicles in the parkade. The gas tank of one of those vehicles caught fire, triggering the second blast. “Several items have been seized and a forensic examination to determine what type of explosive was used will be carried out,” police said. “RCMP will not speculate on what was used. This examination is expected to take several weeks. “An examination of the suspect vehicle led to the seizure of multiple firearms. No additional explosives were found in his vehicle or any other vehicles.” After three days of officers searching the surrounding buildings and areas near where the explosions occurred, police said “no additional threats were located.” “At this time, no specific motives have been identified and RCMP continue to investigate reasons as to why this event occurred. This act appears to have been carried out by one suspect and police are not currently seeking any additional suspects.” Police said Saturday that the RCMP Major Crime Unit has now returned control of the parkade to Strathcona County although officers remain on scene to help with security. READ MORE: Opening date for Strathcona County Community Centre still in flux after explosions Tuesday Watch below: It could be close to another week before the Strathcona County Community Complex reopens to the public after Tuesday’s blasts. Friday, county staff had an update. Fletcher Kent reports. On Friday, officials said there is still no firm date in place as to when the Strathcona County Community Centre will reopen to the public Rod Frank, the mayor of Strathcona County, is expected to speak to reporters on Saturday afternoon. Sherwood Park is a large community located just east of Edmonton. ||||| The man suspected of setting off an explosion in a Sherwood Park community centre parkade had multiple firearms in his vehicle, RCMP said at a news conference Saturday morning. A motive for the explosion — and what 21-year-old Kane Kosolowsky intended to do with the firearms — remains unclear and might never be known, RCMP Supt. Dave Kalist said. Two explosions happened in the parkade of the Strathcona Community Centre the evening of Nov. 6. The first explosion was deliberate, RCMP said. It damaged nine other vehicles nearby and ignited the gas tank of one of them, causing a second explosion. After the first explosion, Kosolowsky returned to his vehicle and suffered a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He later died in hospital. Police are not seeking any other suspects.
• Man linked to Sherwood Park blasts died from gunshot wound, police say No one was injured in the explosions. More than five firearms were found in Kosolowsky's vehicle, Kalist confirmed Saturday morning. These included shotguns, hunting rifles and handguns. All were "properly" registered, Kalist said. No additional explosives were found in that vehicle, or any other vehicles. The RCMP's explosives and tactical teams spent three days searching the building and the surrounding areas for any additional threats to public safety, but none were found. New information about the explosions comes four days after the incident, because forensic examination of the blast site did not start until Friday afternoon, Kalist said. "As such, RCMP had very little information to share about the explosions until today," he said. Several items were seized from Kosolowsky's home and a forensic examination will be done to determine what type of explosive was used. This is expected to take several weeks, RCMP say. The suspect's family has "cooperated fully" with the investigation," RCMP said in a media release. Police remain on scene at the parkade to assist with security, but their on scene is complete. The community centre remains closed, but the parkade is back under control of Strathcona County. The county is working to get vehicles inside back to their owners, Mayor Rod Frank said in a statement Saturday. But first, structural and contamination assessments of the parkade have to be done. ||||| SHERWOOD PARK—Police are still working to determine what substance or device was used in an explosion that was deliberately set underneath a half-tonne truck in a parkade at a Sherwood Park community centre on Tuesday. At a Saturday media availability, Strathcona County RCMP Supt. Dave Kalist said the suspect, 21-year-old Kane Kosolowsky, intentionally set the initial explosion under a truck on a lower level parkade sometime before 6:30 p.m. The truck was parked in a row of nine other vehicles, all of which were damaged extensively. The initial blast caused a secondary explosion after a vehicle’s gas tank ignited two stalls away at about 8:15 p.m. “This secondary explosion was not deliberately set, and no emergency personnel or bystanders were injured,” Kalist said. Police seized more than five firearms from Kosolowsky’s vehicle, including hunting rifles, a shotgun and handguns. All of the firearms were properly registered. “No additional explosives were found in Kosolowsky’s vehicle … Emergency personnel found Kosolowsky suffering from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He was evacuated to hospital where he later succumbed to his injuries,” Kalist said. The RCMP’s Explosives Disposal Unit and Special Tactical Operations teams stayed on the scene for three days to ensure there were no additional threats, after blocking off the community centre and county hall. Elk Island Public Schools closed two nearby schools at the request of RCMP. Police say forensic analysis of the debris at the scene could take weeks, and they will not speculate on the exact nature, mechanism or substance used to cause the explosion. Kalist said police are confident Kosolowsky was the only perpetrator and that there’s no further threat to the community. He added that county and forensic investigators have completed an initial examination of the community centre and county hall and said there’s no indication of any structural damage to the building, although they plan to carry out a more detailed examination. Police have not found any motive for the explosion. Investigators have talked to friends, co-workers and family members and have also combed through Kosolowsky’s social media, which provided no answers. “It may be that we will never fully know what his motives were for this incident,” Kalist said. No shots were fired from police in the incident. Kalist addressed community concerns that not enough information about the incident was released by police as the incident initially unfolded. “What I’d really like the public to understand was that until yesterday, when the search of the site was completed, we still had an active incident that we were managing,” he said. “We simply did not want to put out information that we could not confirm. We were dealing with an active incident,” he added. For safety reasons, police kept the area closed off because they didn’t know if there were any other incendiary devices that were a threat to police or the public. Police did not complete forensic examination of the explosion site didn’t start until Friday afternoon because they weren’t sure if the county hall area was safe until that time. RCMP returned control of the community hall parkade to Strathcona County on Friday evening at 10:45 p.m., although police remain on scene to provide help with security. In a statement, Strathcona County Mayor Rod Frank said the county is working to get the damaged vehicles back to their owners. “Before that happens, we must complete an indoor contamination assessment of the parkade and vehicles to properly understand any health risks as a result of the explosion,” the statement said. “We must also complete a more detailed structural assessment.” Most of the vehicles appear to be in good enough shape to still be driveable. The county has more than 100 vehicles to remove from the parkade. Work is underway to repair any damage to the community centre. Councillors walked through the building yesterday and the mayor said he was relieved to see the damage was not more extensive. The county is expecting results from environmental testing of the site on Tuesday. Omar Mosleh is an Edmonton-based reporter covering inner-city issues, affordable housing and reconciliation. Follow him on Twitter: @OmarMosleh ||||| RCMP provided an update Saturday morning surrounding the investigation into the explosions that rocked the Strathcona County Community Centre Tuesday night. Mounties now say that of the two explosions that occurred on the lower level of the Community Centre parkade, only the first one was deliberate. That initial explosion damaged multiple vehicles nearby, and as a result the gas tank of one of the vehicles caught fire and caused a second explosion. Following the first explosion, the suspect, identified as 21-year-old Kane Kosolowsky, returned to his vehicle and suffered a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He later died in hospital. Inside the suspect’s vehicle, multiple firearms were seized. No additional explosives were found at the scene. Police have seized several items and a forensic examination that is expected to take place this month should determine what type of explosives were used. For the past three days, the RCMP Explosive Disposal Unit and Special Tactical Operations searched the buildings and surrounding area for additional threats to public safety. None were identified. At this time, no specific motives have been found and RCMP say the act appears to have been carried out by Kosolowsky alone. The parkade has since been turned over to Strathcona County. Police remain on scene providing assistance with security. The mayor is expected to provide another update to media on Saturday afternoon. ||||| The explosion that rocked a community centre parkade in Sherwood Park earlier this week originated underneath a half ton truck and damaged nine cars parked in the same row, causing a second vehicle’s gas tank to explode two stalls away, police confirmed Saturday. Speaking to media at the Sherwood Park detachment on Saturday morning, RCMP Supt. Dave Kalist confirmed, for the first time, that “more than five” registered firearms — including hunting rifles, shotguns and handguns — were discovered in a vehicle belonging to Kane Kosolowsky, the deceased suspect. They also confirmed Kosolowsky died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Police have not determined the material used to cause the first explosion, which they say Kosolowsky set purposefully, or how it was ignited. Nor have they found a motive, despite interviewing friends, family and coworkers and trawling through electronic devices found at the man’s home. Kalist said forensic analysis of the debris could take weeks. Police have not determined any motives for the crime. “At this time, we do not have any specific motive as to why Kosolowsky caused the explosion, or what his intentions were with the firearms in his possession.” “While we may never know the true motives of Kane Kosolowsky, I would personally like to thank the family for their continued cooperation in what must be a devastating time.” Kalist confirmed they are not seeking any additional suspects. They do not know whether Kosolowsky had a specific target. While Mounties have not identified any motive for the attack, the fact the RCMP major crimes unit is leading the investigation, rather than the force’s integrated national security enforcement team (INSET), offers some indication of law enforcement thinking. RCMP K Division spokesman Fraser Logan said earlier this week the major crimes unit is handling the investigation because “there is no indication that this incident is related to any group or ideology.” Emergency responders believe they were initially dealing with a fire when they were called to the Strathcona County Community Centre after 6 p.m. Tuesday. People were evacuated from other buildings in the city centre as RCMP with long guns scoured the area. The next afternoon, RCMP confirmed they were dealing with what they believed was a deliberately set explosion. They asked members of the public not to speculate about what happened, despite what some saw as unnecessary delays in the official response. In a statement issued through the RCMP Thursday, members of Kosolowsky’s family said they were shocked and devastated by what happened, and that the events were out of character. Kalist defended the RCMP’s communications timeline, saying that even as recently as Friday, they were dealing with an active crime scene and working to confirm there were no additional explosive devices. “We simply did not want to put out information we could not confirm. We were not able to even go into the investigative forensic examination phase until yesterday afternoon,” he said Saturday. ||||| Kane Kosolowsky died of gunshot wounds after being found in the parkade east of Edmonton, police said RCMP released the name of the suspect in a set of explosions in Sherwood Park on Thursday as 21-year-old Kane Kosolowsky. Police first responded to reports of an explosion in a community centre parkade, east of Edmonton, on Tuesday evening. Kosolowsky was discovered suffering from gunshot wounds at about 6:30 p.m. He was taken to hospital where he later died, police said. It’s not clear if the injuries were self-inflicted. A second explosion had happened about two hours earlier, in the same parkade. No one was injured in either blast. In a statement issued through police, Kosolowsky’s family said they are “shocked and devastated by the unfortunate incident,” and are working the RCMP. “We are thankful that there were no other persons harmed in this unexpected incident. The events that occurred are totally out of character for Kane and we trust that the authorities will continue a thorough investigation to provide the answers we are all seeking,” the statement read. The family asked for privacy. Investigators are not looking for any other suspects and the public is in no danger. Schools and core buildings in the area remain closed. @ashwadhwani ashley.wadhwani@bpdigital.caLike us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. ||||| Strathcona County officials are set to outline their plans Friday afternoon to reopen the community centre, which has been closed since two explosions rocked the area Tuesday night. The community centre in Sherwood Park also houses the library and county hall. While police tape has come down and roads surrounding the complex have reopened, the community centre remained closed to the public on Friday. Fire investigators and police remained at the scene. EXCLUSIVE: Man, 21, dead after blast led police to car packed with explosives in Sherwood Park County officials said earlier this week the building’s structural integrity would need to be looked at to determine if and when it was safe to reopen. Emergency crews responded to the Strathcona County Community Centre east of Edmonton at around 6:30 p.m. Tuesday to reports of a fire. On Wednesday, RCMP confirmed there were two explosions, one before police were called to the scene and another at around 8:15 p.m. READ MORE: Tannerite reportedly found at Sherwood Park explosion scene. What is it? The initial explosion led police to a car packed with explosives and a man with severe injuries, Global News learned. The 21-year-old man, who has been identified as Kane Kosolowsky, later died. An autopsy determined Kosolowsky died from a gunshot wound. Watch below: Ongoing Global News coverage of the explosions in Sherwood Park Tuesday night and the ongoing RCMP investigation Two schools in the area that were closed to students on Wednesday and Thursday were open on Friday. READ MORE: Sherwood park schools to reopen, community centre remains closed after explosions Strathcona County Mayor Rod Frank and the director of emergency services Jeff Hutton will speak about the status of the community centre complex and plans to reopen the buildings at 3:45 p.m. MT Friday. Global News will live stream the media availability in this post. ||||| Schools in Sherwood Park that were closed for two days after two explosions rocked the Strathcona County Community Centre Tuesday evening will reopen Friday. In a news release, the mayor said classes at area schools would resume Friday morning. St Theresa School and Salisbury Composite High School were closed Wednesday and Thursday. “We will have counsellors and school psychologists onsite as we welcome the students back.” Due to police-related investigative closures, parents driving their kids to school must use “the appropriate side/west area parent drop-off and avoid the front of the building.” Extra-curricular activities at St Theresa will be cancelled until after the long weekend. Watch: The suspect in Tuesday’s explosions in Sherwood Park has been identified as 21-year-old Kane Kosolowsky. Kendra Slugoski has more on what we know about the suspect so far. Mayor Rod Frank also said Festival Place would be open again on Friday. While the Community Centre – which houses the library, Vicky’s Bistro, and county hall – has been turned back over to the county, the parkade is still secured by police, Frank said. Anyone whose vehicle is in the parkade is asked to leave their name and contact information with county staff by calling 780-417-7100. On Thursday afternoon, RCMP identified the suspect in the blasts as 21-year-old Kane Kosolowsky. He was found by officers in a car in the parkade shortly after the first explosion. He had severe, life-threatening injuries and was taken to hospital where he later died, RCMP said, adding his injuries “were not related to police interaction.” No other injuries were reported and no further suspects are being sought, RCMP said. READ MORE: Man, 21, dead after blast led police to car packed with explosives in Sherwood Park The mayor said a structural survey on the community complex has been done and plans are being made for any structural repairs and cleaning that may be needed. Frank said the County Hall is expected to open late next week. He couldn’t offer a date or timeline for when the Community Centre building might reopen. “Residents are encouraged to attend Remembrance Day services at Millennium Place rather than the County Hall cenotaph this year,” Frank added. READ MORE: Few details released as ‘fluid investigation’ at Sherwood Park community centre continues Updates would be posted on the county’s website, he said. “I am continually inspired by the commitment and cooperative spirit of our employees, and our community. I would like to thank everyone for their hard work and patience as we work through these challenging times,” Frank said. Watch: The mayor of Strathcona County was inside the community centre when the first explosion occurred. He speaks to media Wednesday afternoon. Rylee Johnson, a Salisbury student, said the last few days have been worrying. “It’s hard to know what’s true and what’s not true and what to believe because we haven’t heard any definitive statements,” he said Thursday. “It’s hard to study and keep positive thinking when there are all these rumours and speculation. Caleb Hesse, another Salisbury student, has been spending time at Millennium Place since school has been closed. “It’s a little scary. You don’t see stuff like this happening in Sherwood Park ever. A lot of this stuff — it just doesn’t happen. It’s a little worrying. It’s such a small town so you could know the people who got hurt and we were just worrying what’s going on.” ||||| Life in Sherwood Park is returning to normal after “three harrowing days” following a pair of explosions in the parkade of the community centre and the death of a 21-year-old man, Strathcona County Mayor Rod Frank said Friday. Frank said the RCMP had turned control of the community centre complex and town hall back over to the county but both will remain closed for an indeterminate period of time. The parkade at the centre of the explosions remains an active crime scene and will remain closed indefinitely. About 100 vehicles remain in the facility. Mounties have linked the two explosions Tuesday night to Kane Kosolowsky, a man who died as the result of a gunshot wound. He was found injured in the parkade and transported to hospital where he succumbed to his injuries. Frank said Kosolowksy had never been an employee of Strathcona County. “We’ve come through three harrowing days here. We don’t really expect to see explosions in Strathcona County let alone the country,” Frank said. “We are getting on with life here in Strathcona County. I’m very proud of how we have come together as a community during this challenging and difficult time.” As many as 600 staff have been displaced because of the explosions with the city’s recreation, parks and culture facility accommodating a large influx of those employees. Family and Community Services is offering counselling and other supports out of Millennium Place while library staff continue to run its mobile book service. Fire Chief Jeff Hutton said consultants from Merwin Engineering were brought in Thursday night to provide a visual inspection of the parkade. “The initial conclusion was positive,” he said. “What we know from the initial visual inspection is that there is no significant damage to the structural integrity of the parkade. Once the parkade is released to the county, there will be further structural, mechanical and electrical inspections and testing of the parkade.” Mounties have yet to confirm the type of explosive materials used.
• Cause of two Sherwood Park explosions unknown, 21-year-old man dead | RCMP confirm one of two explosions at the Strathcona County Community Centre in Sherwood Park, Alberta on November 6th was deliberate, and the other was accidentally set off. They also disclose the suspect shot himself and later died from his wounds. No one else was hurt in the incident, and a motive for the incident is still under investigation. |
The Florida secretary of state is ordering recounts in the U.S. Senate, commissioner of agriculture and governor races, an unprecedented review of three major races in the state that took five weeks to decide the 2000 presidential election. Secretary Ken Detzner issued the order on Saturday after the unofficial results of all three races fell within the margin that by law triggers a recount. The unofficial results show that Republican former U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis led Democratic Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum by less than 0.5 percentage points, which will require a machine recount of ballots. In the Senate race, Republican Gov. Rick Scott's lead over Democratic incumbent Bill Nelson is less than 0.25 percentage points, which will require a hand recount of ballots from tabulation machines that couldn't determine which candidate got the vote. The Florida agriculture commission race between Democratic candidate Nikki Fried and Republican candidate Matt Caldwell has flipped and is heading for a recount. The election was initially called for Caldwell, but according to the Florida Election Watch website, Fried moved ahead of Caldwell by 2,920 votes on Thursday. Previous: Florida governor, Senate and agriculture races could be headed for recounts Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. ||||| Ken Detzner, the secretary of state of Florida, a key swing US state, on Saturday ordered machine recounts for three razor-thin races for governor, US senator and the state’s agriculture commissioner. The results of the recounts are due by 3 p.m. (2000 GMT) on Thursday, said Detzner, Xinhua news agency reported. Florida’s Republican Governor Rick Scott has seen his lead narrow over incumbent Democratic US Senator Bill Nelson to about 12,500 votes, or 0.15 per cent, by Saturday afternoon, according to a CNBC report. In the race for governor between former Republican US House Representative Ron DeSantis and Democratic mayor of Tallahassee Andrew Gillum, DeSantis was leading by 0.41 percentage points. Gillum conceded to DeSantis on Tuesday night, but later said every vote should count. A third statewide race to be recounted is the agriculture commissioner race between Democrat Nikki Fried and Republican Matt Caldwell. Fried currently held only a 5,326-vote lead, a margin of 0.07 per cent. Florida law requires a machine recount when the leading candidate’s margin is 0.5 percentage points or less, and a hand recount if it’s 0.25 or less. Florida has been seen as a key swing state for decades and is expected to play a critical role in the 2020 US general elections. ||||| The Florida secretary of state is ordering recounts in the U.S. Senate and governor races, an unprecedented review of two major races in the state that took five weeks to decide the 2000 presidential election. Secretary Ken Detzner issued the order on Saturday after the unofficial results in both races fell within the margin that by law triggers a recount. The unofficial results show that Republican former U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis led Democratic Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum by less than 0.5 percentage points, which will require a machine recount of ballots. In the Senate race, Republican Gov. Rick Scott's lead over Democratic incumbent Bill Nelson is less than 0.25 percentage points, which will require a hand recount of ballots from tabulation machines that couldn't determine which candidate got the vote ||||| Florida secretary of state orders recounts in U.S. Senate, governor races TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida secretary of state orders recounts in U.S. Senate, governor races. ||||| According to the New York Times, Florida officials announced Saturday that with the elections for senator, governor and agriculture commissioner deemed too close to call, that mandatory machine recounts are in order. Gov. Rick Scott, whose sizable lead has evaporated to less than 13,000 votes as ballots continue to be tallied, has cried foul. The target of his ire, Broward County elections supervisor Brenda Snipes, is under fire for not only admitting to tabulating roughly a dozen rejected ballots, but failing to confirm if she has finished counting them all. “Three days after Election Day, the vote tally continues to change and Supervisor Snipes still refuses to explain where and how the new votes came to light,” the campaign said in a statement. “The public deserves a clear and direct answer.” The deadline for the state’s 67 counties to hand in their unofficial results was today at noon. As such, three statewide races are legally required to go to a recount since they remain under a 0.5 percentage point margin:
• The Senate race between Gov. Rick Scott (R) and Bill Nelson (D)
• The governor’s race between Ron DeSantis (R) and Andrew Gillum (D)
• The commissioner of agriculture race between Nikki Fried (D) and Matt Caldwell (R) The order to initiate the recount is expected this afternoon from Secretary of State Ken Detzner, an appointee of Mr. Scott. While tallies are expected to begin soon as well, starting with the larger Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties. Smaller counties are expected to begin tomorrow. Each county has until Thursday to run all of its ballots through counting machines again. While any race that remains within a margin of 0.25 of a percentage point or less will have until the 18th to conduct a manual recount. Of important note, the odds of Gillum emerging triumphant in a recount appear to be low, as he currently trails DeSantis by 33,600 votes—or 0.41 percentage points. ||||| MIAMI — The race for Florida governor appears headed for a recount, as Democrat Andrew Gillum continues to gain on Republican Ron DeSantis during the tallying of the final uncounted ballots cast in the midterm elections. Gillum, the outgoing mayor of Tallahassee, conceded the race Tuesday night before 11 p.m. after results appeared to show him too far behind his opponent to make up the difference. DeSantis, a former congressman, gave his victory speech shortly after. But thousands of votes remained untallied. And over the next 36 hours, the margins gradually shrank. As of 9 a.m., DeSantis’ lead was just 42,948 votes out of 8,189,305 ballots cast — equal to 0.52 percent of the vote. Concession speech or no, Florida law requires an automatic machine recount in any race where the margin of victory is within one-half of 1 percentage point. By 2 p.m., Gillum gained on DeSantis by another 4,441 votes, and now trails by only 0.47 percent. Thousands of ballots still remain uncounted, so it’s too soon to say whether a recount will indeed happen in the race for governor. Florida’s 67 elections supervisors must send their unofficial numbers to the state by 1 p.m. Saturday, and campaign volunteers were scrambled around the state Thursday as supervisors prepared to examine provisional ballots cast by voters with unresolved issues at their polling places. Late Thursday morning, Gillum campaign spokeswoman Johanna Cervone said the campaign was prepared for a recount effort. “It has become clear there are many more uncounted ballots than was originally reported,” she said in a statement. “Our campaign, along with our attorney Barry Richard, is monitoring the situation closely and is ready for any outcome, including a state-mandated recount.” The race for Agriculture Commissioner and U.S. Senate also appear headed for recounts, although those races are closer and could force the state to conduct recounts by hand, which is required when the margins between two candidates are within a quarter of a percent. Voters have until 5 p.m. to address any outstanding problems with their provisional ballots. But all eyes were on Broward County, which according to information published by the Florida Division of Elections has yet to report all its early voting and absentee voting totals. Broward is a Democratic party stronghold. ||||| Florida secretary of state orders recounts in U.S. Senate, governor races TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida secretary of state orders recounts in U.S. Senate, governor races. ||||| Florida secretary of state orders recounts in U.S. Senate, governor races TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida secretary of state orders recounts in U.S. Senate, governor races. ||||| Florida secretary of state orders recounts in U.S. Senate, governor races TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida secretary of state orders recounts in U.S. Senate, governor races. ||||| TALLAHASSEE, Florida — The Florida secretary of state ordered recounts in the U.S. Senate and governor races on Saturday, an unprecedented review of two major races in the state that took five weeks to decide the 2000 presidential election. Secretary Ken Detzner issued the order after the unofficial results in both races fell within the margin that by law triggers a recount. His office was unaware of any other time either a governor race or U.S. Senate race required a recount, let alone both in the same election. The unofficial results show that Republican former U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis led Democratic Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum by 0.41 percentage points. In the Senate race, Republican Gov. Rick Scott’s lead over Democratic incumbent Bill Nelson is 0.14 percentage points. Detzner ordered machine recounts in both races. Once completed, if the difference in the races are at 0.25 percentage points or below, a hand recount will be ordered, said Department of State spokeswoman Sarah Revell. Saturday’s development’s return Florida to the center of a major political drama 18 years after an infamous presidential recount left control of the White House undecided for more than a month. The latest recount underscores the deep divides plaguing one of the most critical states in American politics. Beyond determining the governorship, it will decide whether Nelson returns to Washington for a fourth term or whether Republicans will pad their majority in the Senate. Florida’s 67 counties will decide when to begin the recounts. They could start the moment Detzner issued his order, or elections officials can wait until Sunday or Monday. But they must finish the machine recounts by 3 p.m. Thursday. Gillum conceded to DeSantis on Tuesday night, but when the results began to narrow, he said that every vote should count and he’s not expected to block a recount. DeSantis has said little about the recount and is instead proceeding as if he won the election, appointing a transition team and preparing to take office in January. The battle for Nelson’s Senate seat has been much more heated, with both sides filing lawsuits. Scott has said Nelson is trying to steal the election, while Nelson is accusing Scott of trying to stop elections officials from counting every ballot. President Donald Trump has also weighed in on Florida’s close elections. Trump took Scott’s side on Friday, telling reporters that the federal government could get involved and adding: ‘’all of the sudden they are finding votes out of nowhere.” ‘’What’s going on in Florida is a disgrace,” he said. The scene was reminiscent of the 2000 presidential recount, when it took more than five weeks for Florida to declare George W. Bush the victor over Vice President Al Gore by 537 votes, and thus giving Bush the presidency. Florida was mocked for the way it handled the infamous 2000 recount, especially since there was no uniform process then on how to proceed. That has changed, with the Legislature passing a clear procedure on how a recount should be conducted. Florida is also conducting a recount in a third statewide race. Democrat Nikki Fried had a 0.07 percentage point lead lead over Republican state Rep. Matt Caldwell in the race for agriculture commissioner, one of Florida’s three Cabinet seats. | Florida Secretary of State Ken Detzner orders machine recounts in the U.S. Senate race and the state's governor and agriculture commissioner races as required by law when the lead is less than 0.5 percent. Results are due by 3 p.m. EST Thursday. Should the results still be within 0.25 percentage points, a manual recount will be triggered, with results due on November 18. |
Major Israeli operations occurred in the Gaza Strip in the night hours of Sunday during which Palestinian medical sources say at least 6 people have been killed in what was a daring Israeli elite forces raid that breached about 3 kilometers into Palestinian territory. Palestinian officials confirmed an Israeli special forces raid on a group of Hamas commanders in the city of Khan Younis, which the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) say killed suspected Hamas terrorists, including a senior commander in its military wing. Israeli media sources uploaded a military video of the brazen raid into Gaza: Hamas sources say the group returned fire upon Israeli soldiers, resulting in unconfirmed reports circulating that one IDF soldier was either nabbed or killed. Responding to the early reports, the IDF denied that one of its soldiers had either been killed or captured. Hamas meanwhile acknowledged that a top Qassam Brigades commander, Nour Baraka, was killed by Israeli special forces who entered the area by driving what it described as a “civilian vehicle”. Gaza's Interior Ministry reported at least one other Hamas commander killed in the shootout which began when the Israeli commandos ambushed the Hamas location in a drive-by shooting. The Israeli military confirmed that “an exchange of fire broke out during security activities by the IDF in the Gaza Strip region,” but did not elaborate further. Israeli warplanes and drones began striking the Gaza during the raid. Amazingly, after the shootout the Israeli special forces team managed to escape across the border fence as aircraft laid down cover fire, according to the Times of Israel. During the exchange of gunfire communities in southern Israel reported up to multiple rockets fired out of Gaza - one which hit an open field - and claimed further "interceptions by the Iron Dome," according to an Israeli spokesperson. Meanwhile the IDF spokesman took the unusual step of stating "contrary to reports, none of our soldiers were abducted during the operational activity that took place in Gaza" but refused to comment on further claims of casualties circulating after the raid. Currently, the region is on edge as some citizens in southern Israel told Haaretz the exchange of fire “sounded almost like a war.” Multiple rocket sirens were triggered in southern Israel — likely, sporadic fighting will continue to escalate in the aftermath of Sunday nights clashes. ||||| Israel‘s army is warning of rockets fired from the Gaza Strip after a Hamas commander allegedly was killed in a Gaza raid that also left one Israeli officer dead. READ MORE: Israel allegedly kills Hamas commander, 5 others in planned Gaza raid IDF tweeted Sunday that an IDF officer was killed and an additional IDF officer was “moderately injured” after fire broke out in a special forces’ “operational activity.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has cut his trip to Paris for World War I commemorations short to return to Israel after the violence erupted along Israel’s border with the Gaza Strip, a spokesperson said. At least seven Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces on Sunday in the Gaza Strip, medics and sources within the enclave’s dominant Hamas group said. Four of them were militants, including Hamas commander Nour Baraka, according to Hamas. It was unclear if the other fatalities included gunmen. Hamas said the incident began when assailants in a passing car opened fire on a group of its armed men, killing one of its commanders. Hamas gunmen gave chase as the car sped back towards the border with Israel, Hamas said in a statement. During the pursuit, Israeli aircraft fired more than 40 missiles The Israeli military said in a statement that: “During an IDF (Israel Defense Forces) Special Forces operational activity in the Gaza Strip, an exchange of fire evolved.” The military also said its defenses intercepted two missile launches from the Gaza Strip. There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage on the Israeli side of the frontier. IDF has sent eight identical “Rocket Alerts” on Twitter for the area of Eshkol near the Gaza Strip with a population of 13,600. The alerts say “sirens sounded in the Eshkol Regional Council. Details to follow.” -More to come ||||| JERUSALEM (AP) — The Israeli military says an officer was killed and another was moderately wounded during an operation in southeast Gaza Strip, involving an exchange of gunfire. The early Monday statement followed a rare late-night burst of violence in which seven Palestinians were also killed. The flare-up came as Israel and Gaza's Hamas rulers had appeared to be making progress toward ratcheting down months of border violence. Israel's military later said the operation had ended. Earlier, Hamas' armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, said Israeli undercover forces in a civilian vehicle infiltrated 3 kilometers, about 2 miles, into Gaza on Sunday and fatally shot Nour el-Deen Baraka, its local commander in Khan Younis town. It said militants discovered the car and chased it down, prompting Israeli airstrikes that killed "a number of people." ||||| Israeli forces killed seven Palestinians in the Gaza Strip in a clandestine raid targeting a Hamas commander and air attacks that provided cover for the commandos to escape back into Israel by car. The Israeli incursion and air attacks drew rocket fire from the Hamas-controlled enclave late on Sunday. A senior official of Hamas, the group administering the Gaza Strip, said the Israeli special forces team infiltrated an area near the southern city of Khan Younis in a civilian vehicle. Among those reported killed in the attack was Nour Baraka, a prominent commander of the al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas. A ground operation inside the Gaza Strip is rare and it is likely to up tensions significantly. “We heard that a special Israeli unit went inside Khan Younis and assassinated Nour Baraka and another [commander],” Ghazi Hamad, senior Hamas official, told Al Jazeera. “After [that], the car which carried this special unit or some collaborators, they tried to escape … but they were followed by Hamas and the al-Qassam Brigades and after that Israel tried to cover this car through striking here in Gaza,” he added. “I expect this night in Gaza to not be easy, to not be calm.” Witnesses said during the chase Israeli aircraft fired more than 40 missiles in the area where the incident took place, killing at least four other people. Fawzi Barhoum, a spokesman for Hamas, denounced what he called a “cowardly Israeli attack”. Exchange of fire An Israeli soldier was killed in an exchange of fire during the operation, the army said, as tensions rose with the Hamas-run Palestinian enclave. “During an [Israeli] special forces operational activity in the Gaza Strip, an exchange of fire evolved,” the army said in a statement. “At this incident, an IDF officer was killed and an additional officer was moderately injured,” it added, referring to the Israeli army. The army said its soldiers had returned. After the clash erupted, sirens were reported in southern Israel indicating rocket fire from the Gaza Strip. Ten launches from Gaza towards Israel were identified and two were intercepted by Israeli missile defences, the army said. It was not immediately clear where the others landed. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on an official visit to France, announced he was rushing back to Israel to deal with the crisis. A return by Israel to a policy of targeting individual Hamas commanders – tactics largely abandoned in recent years – could significantly raise tensions along the border. Israel and Palestinian fighters in Gaza have fought three wars since 2008, and recent months of unrest have raised fears of a fourth. Crippling blockade Violence has flared frequently on the frontier since Palestinians began weekly protests on March 30. Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have demonstrated along the fence with Israel demanding their right to return to the homes and land their families were expelled from 70 years ago. They are also demanding an end to Israel’s crippling blockade of the Gaza Strip, which has gutted the coastal enclave’s economy and deprived its two million inhabitants of many basic commodities. Since the Great March of Return demonstrations began on March 30, more than 200 Palestinians have been killed and thousands more wounded by Israeli troops deployed along the other side of the fence. Egypt, Qatar and the United Nations have been trying to broker a long-term ceasefire. Mouin Rabbani, a senior fellow at the Institute for Palestine Studies, told Al Jazeera it is clear Sunday’s covert operation was “a premeditated assassination”. “The question that arises is what Israel’s motivations were? Were they, as so often in the past, trying to give Hamas a bloody nose just to remind them that they’re in charge and that they will decide the terms of which any ceasefire is reached? “Are they perhaps by contrast trying to scuttle this ceasefire initiative and perhaps engage in a larger conflict as happened in 2008, 2009, 2012 and 2014?” Rabbani said. “My sense is that Israel at this stage is probably more interested in giving Hamas a bloody nose and trying to remind people who is boss and it will be Israel that decides the extent to which the illegal blockade of the Gaza Strip is maintained.” Qatari cash On Friday, Palestinian civil servants began receiving payments after months of sporadic salary disbursements in cash-strapped Gaza, with $15m delivered into the enclave through Israel in suitcases by Qatar. Hamas responded by lowering the intensity of Friday’s border protest. Life under siege – Nafez Adayess: ‘People want to go back to their land’ A total of $90m will be distributed in six monthly instalments, Gaza authorities said, primarily to cover salaries of officials working for Hamas. Qatar has also said it would hand out $100 to each of 50,000 poor families, as well as larger sums to Palestinians wounded in clashes along the Gaza-Israel border. The Gulf emirate has also started buying additional fuel for Gaza’s sole power station, allowing outages to be reduced to their lowest level in years. The payments are part of what is expected to be a set of informal understandings between Israel and Hamas. Netanyahu earlier on Sunday defended his decision to allow Qatar to transfer the cash to Gaza despite criticism from within his own government over the move, saying he wanted to avoid a war if it wasn’t necessary. In the occupied West Bank, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas angrily accused Israel and the United States of ganging up behind his back to entrench Hamas’ control over Gaza. He also accused Hamas of undermining his goal of establishing an independent Palestinian state that includes all of the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip. ||||| GAZA (Reuters) - Israeli forces killed seven Palestinians in the Gaza Strip on Sunday in air strikes and an undercover raid that Hamas said targeted one of its commanders and the Israeli military said left one of its officers dead. The Israeli incursion and air attacks drew rocket fire from the Hamas-controlled enclave, with sirens sounding in Israeli communities along the border. The military said its defenses intercepted two of the launches. There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage on the Israeli side of the frontier. The violence prompted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to cut short a visit to Paris, where he had been gathering with world leaders for a World War One commemoration. Hamas said the incident began when assailants in a passing car opened fire on a group of its armed men, killing one of its commanders. Hamas gunmen gave chase as the car sped back towards the border with Israel, Hamas said in a statement. During the pursuit, Israeli aircraft fired more than 40 missiles in the area, according to witnesses. Medics and Hamas officials said at least seven people were killed, four of them militants, including Hamas commander Nour Baraka. It was unclear if the other fatalities included gunmen. The Israeli military said in a statement that: “During an IDF (Israel Defense Forces) Special Forces operational activity in the Gaza Strip, an exchange of fire evolved.” One officer was killed and a second was wounded, it said. A return by Israel to a policy of targeting individual Hamas commanders - tactics largely abandoned in recent years - could significantly raise tensions along the border. Violence has flared frequently on the frontier since Palestinians began weekly protests on March 30. Egypt, Qatar and the United Nations have been trying to broker a long-term ceasefire. ||||| Mourners chant Islamic slogans while carrying the body of Hamas militant commander Nour el-Deen Barakas, who was killed during an Israeli raid late Sunday, during his funeral, at his family house in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Monday, Nov. 12, 2018. Thousands of mourners in the Gaza Strip buried seven Palestinians, including Barakas, killed after an Israeli incursion into the territory, which also killed one Israeli army officer. The cross-border fighting came just days after Israel and Hamas reached indirect deals, backed by Qatar and Egypt, to allow cash and fuel into Gaza. (AP Photo/Adel Hana) (Adel Hana) ||||| Israeli Defense Forces killed at least five civilians and a commander from the Palestinian resistance group Hamas in the illegally blockaded Gaza Strip on Sunday, Palestinian health officials said. Gaza health ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra said six Palestinians were killed. One of the dead was a local commander for Hamas's armed wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, a local hospital reported. Six others were wounded. Palestinian security sources said the clash occurred east of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip. Gaza officials said a group of Hamas members was fired at from a passing car. Local witnesses also said Israeli planes fired over 20 missiles into open areas in the area where the incident took place. The Israeli military said in a brief statement that: "During IDF (Israel Defense Forces) operational activity in the Gaza Strip, an exchange of fire evolved." Sunday's exchange of fire came as Israel and Hamas appeared to be making progress toward an unofficial cease-fire. Israel last week allowed Qatar to deliver $15 million to civil servants working under Hamas, while Hamas scaled back weekly demonstrations along the Israeli border. It was not immediately clear what sparked Sunday's fighting. Shortly after the exchange of fire, air raid sirens sounded in southern Israel, indicating rocket fire from Gaza. ||||| Jerusalem, Nov 12 (IANS) The Israeli authorities on Monday tightened security measures around the Gaza Strip following clashes that killed an Army official and wounded another, according to the Israeli military. The Gaza Health Ministry said an exchange of fire erupted on Sunday night when Israeli forces claimed they were carrying out a military operation near the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, which resulted in the deaths of seven Palestinians aged between 19-37 and left seven others injured, Efe news reported. “During IDF (Israeli Defence Forces) special forces’ operational activity in Gaza, an exchange of fire broke out, during which an IDF officer was killed and an additional IDF officer was moderately injured,” the Israeli Army tweeted. A Hamas military commander was also killed in Israeli forces operation, reports say. Hamas identified the deceased military commander as 37-year-old Nour Baraka of the Qassam Brigades, according to CNN. The IDF said that after the gunfire, 17 missiles were fired from Gaza at the Israeli territory, three of which were intercepted by the Iron Dome. The Israeli authorities, in response, shut down the Israeli railway line from Ashkelon to Sderot as well as schools in the Israeli communities adjacent to Gaza. Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was in Paris along with other world leaders to commemorate the centenary of the end of World War I, cut short his visit to return to Israel to assess the situation. Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman held an assessment meeting with intelligence and military police officials in Tel Aviv’s IDF headquarters early Monday. Sunday’s escalation came just days after Qatar sent $15 million into Gaza in an attempt to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in the coastal enclave and reduce tensions along the Gaza border, which has seen often violent clashes between Israeli security forces and Palestinian protesters. ||||| Mourners chant Islamic slogans while carrying the body of Hamas militant commander Nour el-Deen Barakas, who was killed during an Israeli raid late Sunday, during his funeral, at his family house in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Monday, Nov. 12, 2018. Thousands of mourners in the Gaza Strip buried seven Palestinians, including Barakas, killed after an Israeli incursion into the territory, which also killed one Israeli army officer. The cross-border fighting came just days after Israel and Hamas reached indirect deals, backed by Qatar and Egypt, to allow cash and fuel into Gaza. (AP Photo/Adel Hana) (Adel Hana) ||||| Mourners chant Islamic slogans while carrying the body of Hamas militant commander Nour el-Deen Barakas, who was killed during an Israeli raid late Sunday, during his funeral, at his family house in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Monday, Nov. 12, 2018. Thousands of mourners in the Gaza Strip buried seven Palestinians, including Barakas, killed after an Israeli incursion into the territory, which also killed one Israeli army officer. The cross-border fighting came just days after Israel and Hamas reached indirect deals, backed by Qatar and Egypt, to allow cash and fuel into Gaza. (AP Photo/Adel Hana) (Adel Hana) | Seven Palestinians, including commander Nour Baraka and three other militants, are killed during a raid by the Israel Defense Forces in the southeastern Gaza Strip, that was supported by air attacks. One IDF officer was killed and another was injured. Over a dozen rockets were subsequently fired from Gaza, three of which were shot down. |
JERUSALEM — Israeli medical services say a man has been killed by a rocket that hit an apartment building in southern Israel and a woman was critically wounded. Magen David Adom says the two were trapped in an apartment in Ashkelon that was struck by a rocket from Gaza early on Tuesday. It's the first casualty in Israel from the most intensive wave of attacks since the 2014 Gaza war. Gaza militants pummeled Israel overnight with dozens of rockets and the Israeli military responded with strikes against militant targets in Gaza. The military says there were some 370 launches from Gaza since the current round began on Monday afternoon. About 100 of them were intercepted by Israel's Iron Dome defense system. Israel has struck more than 100 militant targets in Gaza. ||||| JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli medical services say a man has been killed by a rocket that hit an apartment building in southern Israel and a woman was critically wounded. Magen David Adom says the two were trapped in an apartment in Ashkelon that was struck by a rocket from Gaza early on Tuesday. It's the first casualty in Israel from the most intensive wave of attacks since the 2014 Gaza war. Gaza militants pummeled Israel overnight with dozens of rockets and the Israeli military responded with strikes against militant targets in Gaza. The military says there were some 370 launches from Gaza since the current round began on Monday afternoon. About 100 of them were intercepted by Israel's Iron Dome defense system. Israel has struck more than 100 militant targets in Gaza. ||||| JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli medical services say a man has been killed by a rocket that hit an apartment building in southern Israel and a woman was critically wounded. Magen David Adom says the two were trapped in an apartment in Ashkelon that was struck by a rocket from Gaza early on Tuesday. It's the first casualty in Israel from the most intensive wave of attacks since the 2014 Gaza war. Gaza militants pummeled Israel overnight with dozens of rockets and the Israeli military responded with strikes against militant targets in Gaza. The military says there were some 370 launches from Gaza since the current round began on Monday afternoon. About 100 of them were intercepted by Israel's Iron Dome defense system. Israel has struck more than 100 militant targets in Gaza. ||||| JERUSALEM (AP) - Israeli medical services say a man has been killed by a rocket that hit an apartment building in southern Israel and a woman was critically wounded. Magen David Adom says the two were trapped in an apartment in Ashkelon that was struck by a rocket from Gaza early on Tuesday. It's the first casualty in Israel from the most intensive wave of attacks since the 2014 Gaza war. Gaza militants pummeled Israel overnight with dozens of rockets and the Israeli military responded with strikes against militant targets in Gaza. The military says there were some 370 launches from Gaza since the current round began on Monday afternoon. About 100 of them were intercepted by Israel's Iron Dome defense system. Israel has struck more than 100 militant targets in Gaza. An Israeli soldier walks by a house damaged by a missile fired from the Gaza Strip in the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon, Monday, Nov. 12, 2018. Palestinian militants bombarded Israel with dozens of rockets and mortar shells Monday, while Israeli warplanes struck targets throughout the Gaza Strip in what appeared to be the most intense exchange of fire since a 2014 war. (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov) Smoke rises after an Israeli airstrike hit Hamas' Al-Aqsa TV station in the Gaza Strip, Monday, Nov. 12, 2018. The station went off the air after the airstrike. Minutes earlier, it had halted its programming and been broadcasting a still image of its logo after the building was hit by a warning missile. Shortly after, three loud explosions were heard and the screen turned black. (AP Photo/Hatem Moussa) An Israeli soldier stands near a burning bus after it was hit by a mortar shell fired from Gaza near the Israel Gaza border, Monday, Nov. 12, 2018. Israel's military says it is prepared to step up its efforts against Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip if rocket fire at Israel continues. (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov) Flares fired from Israeli forces light up the night sky in Gaza City, Monday, Nov. 12, 2018, as the Israeli military launched fighter jets to strike "terror targets" throughout the Gaza Strip. Palestinian militants on Monday fired dozens of rockets and mortar shells into southern Israel, critically wounding an Israeli teen, in an intense barrage aimed at seeking revenge for a deadly Israeli military incursion late Sunday. (AP Photo/Hatem Moussa) ||||| JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli medical services say a man has been killed by a rocket that hit an apartment building in southern Israel and a woman was critically wounded. Magen David Adom says the two were trapped in an apartment in Ashkelon that was struck by a rocket from Gaza early on Tuesday. It's the first casualty in Israel from the most intensive wave of attacks since the 2014 Gaza war. Gaza militants pummeled Israel overnight with dozens of rockets and the Israeli military responded with strikes against militant targets in Gaza. The military says there were some 370 launches from Gaza since the current round began on Monday afternoon. About 100 of them were intercepted by Israel's Iron Dome defense system. Israel has struck more than 100 militant targets in Gaza. ||||| The Israel Defense Forces have released a video showing an injured woman being pulled from the rubble of a house following a rocket attack by Palestinian militants on Tuesday. The video shows Israeli first responders arriving at the house to find the bleeding woman lying in the rubble near what appears to be the body of a man. “Check if there’s a baby,” rescuers are heard saying frantically. It’s not clear whether there was a baby in the house, located in the coastal city of Ashkelon some 13 kilometres north of the Gaza border. READ MORE: Ceasefire between Hamas, Israel ends 2 days of intense fighting “Last night, Palestinian terrorists in Gaza fired a barrage of rockets into Israel. One of the rockets struck this house in Ashkelon,” the IDF said in a tweet accompanying the video. “This was the scene when Israeli first-responders entered. It is graphic, but it’s important we show it. Hamas sees all of Israel as a target.” Several missiles were launched from Gaza into Ashkelon on Tuesday. Seth Frantzman, a journalist with the Jerusalem Post, took this video showing rockets lighting up the sky above Ashkelon as some residents scrambled to find safety: WATCH: Israeli man records moment rocket attack begins in the city of Ashkelon Shortly after the video was released, Hamas and other militant groups said they had signed on to an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire to end two days of intense fighting with Israel. The region had been paralyzed by hundreds of Palestinian rocket attacks in southern Israel and scores of Israeli airstrikes on targets in the Gaza Strip. Israeli man records moment rocket attack begins in the city of Ashkelon Israeli man records moment rocket attack begins in the city of Ashkelon Aftermath of Israeli airstrike on Hamas state TV station in Gaza City Since Monday, Israeli air strikes had killed seven Palestinians, at least five of them gunmen, and destroyed several buildings used by Gaza‘s ruling Hamas Islamists. Rocket attacks from Gaza sent residents of southern Israel to shelters, wounding dozens and killing a Palestinian laborer from the occupied West Bank. The flare-up in violence was prompted by a botched Israeli undercover operation in Gaza, which led to fighting that killed a Hamas commander, six other Palestinian militants and an Israeli colonel. — With files from Reuters and the Associated Press ||||| JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli medical services say a man has been killed by a rocket that hit an apartment building in southern Israel and a woman was critically wounded. Magen David Adom says the two were trapped in an apartment in Ashkelon that was struck by a rocket from Gaza early on Tuesday. It’s the first casualty in Israel from the most intensive wave of attacks since the 2014 Gaza war. Gaza militants pummeled Israel overnight with dozens of rockets and the Israeli military responded with strikes against militant targets in Gaza. The military says there were some 370 launches from Gaza since the current round began on Monday afternoon. About 100 of them were intercepted by Israel’s Iron Dome defense system. Israel has struck more than 100 militant targets in Gaza. ||||| JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli medical services say a man has been killed by a rocket that hit an apartment building in southern Israel and a woman was critically wounded. Magen David Adom says the two were trapped in an apartment in Ashkelon that was struck by a rocket from Gaza early on Tuesday. It's the first casualty in Israel from the most intensive wave of attacks since the 2014 Gaza war. Gaza militants pummeled Israel overnight with dozens of rockets and the Israeli military responded with strikes against militant targets in Gaza. The military says there were some 370 launches from Gaza since the current round began on Monday afternoon. About 100 of them were intercepted by Israel's Iron Dome defense system. Israel has struck more than 100 militant targets in Gaza. ||||| JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli medical services say a man has been killed by a rocket that hit an apartment building in southern Israel and a woman was critically wounded. Magen David Adom says the two were trapped in an apartment in Ashkelon that was struck by a rocket from Gaza early on Tuesday. It's the first casualty in Israel from the most intensive wave of attacks since the 2014 Gaza war. Gaza militants pummeled Israel overnight with dozens of rockets and the Israeli military responded with strikes against militant targets in Gaza. The military says there were some 370 launches from Gaza since the current round began on Monday afternoon. About 100 of them were intercepted by Israel's Iron Dome defense system. Israel has struck more than 100 militant targets in Gaza. ||||| JERUSALEM — Israeli medical services say a man has been killed by a rocket that hit an apartment building in southern Israel and a woman was critically wounded. Magen David Adom says the two were trapped in an apartment in Ashkelon that was struck by a rocket from Gaza early on Tuesday. It’s the first casualty in Israel from the most intensive wave of attacks since the 2014 Gaza war. Gaza militants pummeled Israel overnight with dozens of rockets and the Israeli military responded with strikes against militant targets in Gaza. The military says there were some 370 launches from Gaza since the current round began on Monday afternoon. About 100 of them were intercepted by Israel’s Iron Dome defence system. Israel has struck more than 100 militant targets in Gaza. | A rocket fired from Gaza strikes an apartment building in Ashkelon, killing a man and injuring two others. The victim was a middle aged Palestinian illegal immigrant from Hebron. This is the first person killed on Israeli soil due to Palestinian rocket fire since 2014. |
(CNN) An Ohio family carefully studied the habits of members of another family -- their routines, the layouts of their homes and where they slept -- as they planned a deadly massacre that stunned a rural town, a prosecutor said Tuesday. The eight victims -- who ranged in age from 16 to 44 -- were found shot to death at four crime scenes in and around the small town of Piketon on April 22, 2016. At one scene, police found a 4-day-old baby next to his slain mother. That child, along with a 6-month-old and a 3-year-old, survived. The suspects "spent months planning the crime," Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine said. But they made mistakes, DeWine said. More than two years later, authorities arrested four members of the Wagner family Tuesday in connection with killing the members of the Rhoden family. Two grandmothers of the Wagner family were also charged in an alleged cover-up of the crime, DeWine said. He declined to identify a motive but said custody of a child "plays a role in this case." Read More ||||| PIKE COUNTY, Ohio -- Four family members have been arrested in the 2016 murders of eight people in a rural community of southern Ohio, according to WJW. George "Billy" Wagner III, 47; Angela Wagner, 48; George Wagner IV, 27; and Edward "Jake" Wagner, 26, were arrested Tuesday and "are charged with planning and carrying out" the killings of eight members of the Rhoden family, Ohio State Attorney General Mike DeWine's office said in a news release. The Wagners are from South Webster, about a 30-mile drive southeast of Piketon, the community in and around where the killings happened. Although the Wagners had since moved to Alaska, authorities said they arrested three in Ohio and one, "Billy" Wagner, in Lexington, Kentucky. Seven adults and a teenage boy from the Rhoden family were found shot to death on April 22, 2016. Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine spoke about the arrests during a news conference Tuesday evening. He gave few details about the motive, saying only that it was believed to be linked to the custody of a child, according to the Associated Press. He called the case bizarre, adding that it centered around "obsession with the custody and control of children." Edward "Jake" Wagner and one of the victims, his former girlfriend Hannah Rhoden, 19, shared custody of their daughter, authorities said. The eight victims -- who ranged in age from 16 to 44 -- were found shot to death at four crime scenes. DeWine said they now believe the suspects spent months studying their victims' schedules and the physical layouts of the Rhoden family homes. Authorities in the past suspected multiple attackers who were familiar with the victims' homes and the surrounding area about 70 miles south of Columbus. DeWine's office has said one of the victims, Christopher Rhoden Sr., had "a large-scale marijuana growing operation," leading some to speculate the killings were drug-related or even connected to Mexican drug cartels. Marijuana grow operations are not uncommon in that part of the state, however, authorities said. Those who died included Kenneth Rhoden, 44; his brother Christopher Rhoden Sr., 40; and Christopher's ex-wife Dana Rhoden, 37. Also killed were three of the Rhodens' children, Clarence "Frankie" Rhoden, 20, Christopher Rhoden Jr., 16, and Hanna May Rhoden, 19. Other victims were Hannah Gilley, 20, who was engaged to Clarence "Frankie" Rhoden, and Gary Rhoden, 38, a cousin. Authorities said the arrests were the culmination of more than 130 interviews and 550 tips in a case that at least 20 law enforcement agencies worked on. Piketon is a town of about 2,000 residents, 90 miles east of Cincinnati. ||||| Years after eight family members were slaughtered in their southern Ohio homes, multiple arrests have been made in connection to the gruesome killings. On Tuesday, Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine, Pike County Sheriff Charles Reader and Pike County Prosecutor Rob Junk announced that four people — a husband, wife, and their two adult sons — were taken into custody for their alleged roles with the murders. “We promised the victims’ families that the day would come when this case would be solved, and today is that day,” DeWine said in a statement. “The indictments allege that these suspects developed a calculated plan to execute the victims in the middle of the night and then carefully cover their tracks. Their alleged plan was sophisticated, but not sophisticated enough for our team of investigators and prosecutors.” On April 22, 2016, seven adults and one teenage boy — all members of the Rhoden family — were fatally shot in four separate properties in rural Piketon, Ohio. Three of those properties contained marijuana-growing operations, and at the time, DeWine described the killings as a “preplanned execution” and a “sophisticated operation.”
• Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Click here to get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter. The victims were shot execution-style and all but one had been shot multiple times and showed signs of bruising, the Hamilton County Coroner said in a report previously obtained by PEOPLE. The murders became the largest and most complex homicide investigation in the state’s history, remaining unsolved until Tuesday when George “Billy” Wagner III, 47, Angela Wagner, 48, George Wagner IV, 27, and Edward “Jake” Wagner, 26, of South Webster were all taken into custody. RELATED: Little Boy Who Survived 2016 Massacre That Killed 8 Relatives Still Has Nightmares: ‘Fear Has Him’ The Wagners have each been charged with eight counts of aggravated murder — one count for each victim who was murdered — with death penalty specifications, according to the news release. They also face a total of nine other charges including conspiracy, engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, unlawful possession of a dangerous ordinance, and aggravated burglary. In addition, Edward “Jake” Wagner was charged with unlawful sexual conduct with a minor. According to the news release, Jake allegedly had sex with Hanna May Rhoden when she was 15 and he was 20. The two conceived a child together, a daughter, who was staying with the Wagners on the night of the murders. Angela Wagner’s mother, Rita Newcomb, and Billy Wagner’s mother, Fredericka Wagner, were also arrested on Tuesday. Both face felony charges for obstructing justice and perjury for allegedly misleading investigators over the course of the investigation. Officials explained that the Wagners were indicted this week by a Pike County grand jury, less than a week after Ohio authorities found a homemade firearm suppressor that the suspects allegedly built and used in the murders. “This, along with a great deal of other investigative findings, led us to these indictments and arrests today,” DeWine explained. “The Wagners were friends with the Rhodens and had been for years. They knew the layouts of the Rhodens’ homes, and they knew the victims’ routines. It is our belief that the suspects used this knowledge to meticulously plan these horrendous, cold-blooded murders.” RELATED VIDEO: The Story Behind the Story: Eight Members of the Same Family Murdered in Ohio Despite the long road it took to get here, both Sheriff Reader and Prosecutor Junk echoed DeWine’s earlier comments and said they were determined to stick to their word, solve the case and serve justice for the victims and their loved ones. “I made a promise to the victims’ families and to the people of Pike County that we would solve this, no matter how long it took,” Reader said. “It’s been tough to be patient at times, but we kept our eye on the goal – justice for the victims.” Junk added, “We have never stopped working to find the people responsible for these savage crimes, and our sympathies continue to be with the victims’ families. There is still a lot of hard work ahead of us, but we will continue to fight to hold these alleged killers accountable.” ||||| Four members of a family have been arrested in connection with the brutal, execution-style murders of seven adults and one teen at a home in Ohio in 2016, the state’s attorney general announced Tuesday. Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine said the suspects, a husband, wife, and their two adult sons, were arrested in connection with the Rhoden family murders. “Following an extensive investigation by my office’s #OhioBCI and the #PikeCounty Sheriff’s Office, we have arrested four people accused of the murders of eight people in Pike County on April 22, 2016,” DeWine said on Twitter. The Ohio A.G. release identified the suspects as George “Billy” Wagner III, Angela Wagner, and sons George Wagner IV and Edward “Jake” Wagner. This is a developing story. Check back for updates. ||||| An Ohio family carefully studied the habits of members of another family -- learning their routines, the layouts of their homes, and where they slept -- before planning a deadly massacre that stunned a rural town, a prosecutor said Tuesday. The eight victims -- who ranged in age from 16 to 44 -- were found shot to death at four crime scenes in and around the small town of Piketon on April 22, 2016. At one crime scene, police found a 4-day-old baby lying next to his slain mother. That child, along with a 6-month-old and a 3-year-old, survived the killings. The suspects "spent months planning the crime," Ohio State Attorney General Mike DeWine said. But they made mistakes, DeWine said. More than two years later, authorities arrested four members of the Wagner family on Tuesday in connection with killing the members of the Rhoden family. Two grandmothers of the Wagner family were also charged in the alleged cover-up of the crime, DeWine said. He declined to identify a motive, but said custody of a child "plays a role in this case." "We believe that the Wagners conspired together to develop an elaborate plan to kill the eight victims under the cover of darkness and then carefully cover up their tracks," DeWine said. "The killers knew the territory and meticulously planned these murders." George "Billy" Wagner III, 47; his wife Angela Wagner, 48; and their sons, George Wagner IV, 27; and Edward "Jake" Wagner, 26, were indicted on Monday by a Pike County grand jury on several offenses, including eight counts each of aggravated murder with death penalty specifications. Authorities: One suspect had fathered a child with victims Edward "Jake" Wagner was also charged with unlawful sexual conduct with a minor for having sexual contact with one victim, Hanna May Rhoden when she was 15 years old and he was 20 years old, prosecutors said. He is the father of Hanna May Rhoden's older daughter, who was staying with the Wagners on the night of the killings, prosecutors said. The Wagners are also accused of forging custody documents, prosecutors said. "There certainly was obsession with custody, obsession with control of children," DeWine said. The Wagners are from South Webster, about a 30-mile drive southeast of Piketon, the community in and around where the killings happened. Angela Wagner's mother, Rita Newcomb, 65, of South Webster, Ohio, and Wagner's mother-in-law, Fredericka Wagner, 76, of Lucasville, also face felony charges of obstructing justice and perjury for allegedly misleading investigators, prosecutors said. The six are in custody in Ohio and Kentucky, authorities said. In addition to Hanna May Rhoden, 19, those who died included Kenneth Rhoden, 44; his brother Christopher Rhoden Sr., 40; and Christopher's ex-wife Dana Rhoden, 37. Also killed were three of the Rhodens' children, Clarence "Frankie" Rhoden, 20, and Christopher Rhoden Jr., 16. Other victims were Hannah Gilley, 20, who was engaged to Clarence "Frankie" Rhoden, and Gary Rhoden, 38, a cousin. Piketon is a town of about 2,000 residents, about 80 miles east of Cincinnati. There were no witnesses to the shooting but the suspects left traces, authorities said. "They left a trail: The parts to build a silencer, the forged documents, the cameras, cell phones -- all that they tampered with, and the lies," Pike County Sheriff Charles S. Reader told reporters. At request of prosecutors, a judge formed an investigative grand jury in July to meet regularly to examine evidence collected and gather additional evidence, according to DeWine. Investigators discovered a key piece of evidence on October 30, the attorney general said. Since 2016, investigators conducted more than 500 interviews and followed more than 1,100 leads during the investigation, which took them to 10 states, including Alaska. The Wagners lived in Alaska before recently moving back to Pike County, the attorney general said. The Wagners had been "the prime suspects for some time," DeWine said, though he declined to say when the family was identified as suspects. "We promised that the day would come when arrests would be made in the Pike County massacres," said DeWine, who won the governor's race last week. "Today is that day." ||||| Six family members are under arrest in connection to the murder of another family. Eight members of the Rhoden family were killed in their home in 2016. Four members of the Wagner family are charged with aggravated murder, and two others are accused of helping cover it up. Investigators say the family conspired to kill the Rhoden family over the custody of a young child. ||||| Investigators in Ohio revealed Tuesday that the brutal murders of eight family members in Pike County two years ago might be linked to a custody dispute between the now-deceased family and another family, four of whom were indicted by a grand jury on Monday. Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine said at a news conference that while a motive in the Rhoden family murders isn’t fully clear, an indictment suggests that an "obsession with custody" of a young child played a role in the slayings. DeWine — he said the case is "the most bizarre story I have ever seen in being involved in law enforcement" — announced earlier Tuesday that George "Billy" Wagner III, Angela Wagner and sons George Wagner IV and Edward "Jake" Wagner were arrested in the “Pike County massacres.” Edward was once the boyfriend of one of the victims, 19-year-old Hanna Rhoden. The two shared custody of their daughter at the time of the killings. The four suspects are believed to have thoroughly planned out the murders. DeWine alleged that the Wagners “conspired together to kill eight victims under the cover of darkness, and then covered their tracks.” The victims were identified as 40-year-old Christopher Rhoden; his ex-wife, 37-year-old Dana Rhoden; their three children, 20-year-old Clarence "Frankie" Rhoden, 16-year-old Christopher Jr., and 19-year-old Hanna; Frankie Rhoden's fiancée, 20-year-old Hannah Gilley; Christopher Rhoden Sr.'s brother, 44-year-old Kenneth Rhoden; and a cousin, 38-year-old Gary Rhoden. Hanna Rhoden's days-old baby girl, another baby and a young child were unharmed. The Wagners allegedly spent months planning the murders, studying the Rhoden family’s habits and the layouts of their homes, DeWine said. He said the four suspects then tampered with evidence such as the victims’ cellphones and surveillance cameras on their properties to cover-up the slayings. They knew the territory in Piketon, roughly 70 miles south of Columbus, and “meticulously planned these horrendous murders,” the attorney general told reporters Tuesday afternoon. It appeared some of them were killed as they slept, including Hanna Rhoden, who was in bed with her newborn nearby, authorities said. The child, Hannah Gilley's 6-month-old baby and another small child weren't hurt. A coroner said all but one of the victims were shot more than once, including two people shot five times and one shot nine times. Some also had bruising, consistent with the first 911 caller's description of two victims appearing to have been beaten. The coroner's report didn't specify which victims had which wounds. Two other people – Billy Wagner’s mother, Fredericka, and Angela Wagner’s mother, Rita Newcomb – were also arrested in connection with the case on allegations they aided in the cover-up and misled investigating authorities. DeWine said there is "absolutely no evidence" that anyone else was involved. The four murder suspects were each charged with eight counts of aggravated murder – one count for each person killed – each with death penalty specifications. The Wagner family was also charged with conspiracy, engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, tampering with evidence, aggravated burglary, and forgery for allegedly forging child custody documents, among others. FLASHBACK: TIPS SOUGHT ON 4 PEOPLE, INCLUDING VICTIM'S EX, IN RHODEN FAMILY KILLINGS Their lawyer, John Clark, said the Wagner family — who lived in Peebles in southern Ohio at the time of the killings but later moved to Alaska — look forward to their day in court so they can clear their names and await the day "when the true culprits will be discovered and brought to justice for this terrible tragedy." Since April 2016, investigators from more than 20 law enforcement agencies scrambled to determine who targeted the Rhoden family and why. They conducted over 130 interviews and processed over 100 pieces of evidence and 550 tips. Authorities said marijuana growing operations were found at three of the four crime scenes. That's not uncommon in this corner of Appalachia but stoked rumors that the slayings were related to drugs, one of many theories on possible motives that percolated in public locally. Fox News’ Travis Fedschun and Ryan Gaydos and The Associated Press contributed to this report. ||||| Attorney general says suspects could face death penalty if convicted in 2016 slayings of 8 family members in rural Ohio WAVERLY, Ohio (AP) — Attorney general says suspects could face death penalty if convicted in 2016 slayings of 8 family members in rural Ohio. ||||| LANCASTER – Lancaster Police are searching for two suspects involved in an October 13th burglary in the 100 block of E. King Street who were caught on surveillance cameras. The suspects made entry through a rear window to an apartment on an upper floor. The suspects took household items and electronics. They exited through the front door and out onto E. King Street. Pictures of the suspects can be seen below. Anyone with information on the case or who knows the identity of the suspects is asked to contact Lancaster Police Detective Hickey at 717-735-3344 or Lancaster Crime Stoppers toll free at 1-800-322-1913. Callers may remain anonymous and do not have to give their names. ||||| Kogi State Police Command said it had arrested two robbery suspects in Ganaja area of Lokoja, the state capital. The command’s spokesman, DSP William Aya,who confirmed the arrest, said in Lokoja on Wednesday that the suspects were arrested during a robbery operation. Aya said that the police received a tip off from people who sighted the suspects while robbing their victims at gun point. “Acting on this information, operatives attached to Federal Anti-Robbery Squad (FSARS) in Kogi State led by its Commander, DSP Babagana Bukar, promptly swung into action and arrested the duo while other members escaped,” Aya said in a statement. The police spokesman said that the suspects had confessed to the crime. He said that one locally made pistol, one live cartridge and one red unregistered Motobi Motorcycle were among the items recovered from them. The police spokesman said that efforts are ongoing to arrest other fleeing members of gang. | Four suspects have been arrested for the murders of eight members of a family in 2016. Police believe custody of a child plays a role in this case. One of the suspects has a child with one of the victims. |
"People from nearby villages come to this this market town every Friday morning for shopping and to sell their products," he said. "There was a huge gathering of local people when the suicide bomber riding a motorcycle entered and blew himself up." No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. The blast occurred at around the same time that armed separatists stormed the Chinese Consulate in Pakistan's southern port city of Karachi. Kalaya has a large population of Shiite Muslims, a minority in Pakistan that has been increasingly targeted by Sunni extremist groups such as the Islamic State and the Pakistani Taliban. Sunnis and non-Muslim Sikhs were also among the victims, according to Khan. Government officials said that death toll could rise as some of the injured were listed in critical condition. The district of Orakzai, where Kalaya is located, was for decades a refuge for Islamist militants fighting across the border in Afghanistan. More recently it has been a home for many who are battling against Pakistan's government. Pakistani security forces increased operations along the border in 2009 and have cleared some areas of fighters. ||||| Dera Ismial Khan, Pakistan (Reuters) - A blast at a crowded market in a town in Pakistan’s northwest killed at least 8 people on Friday and wounded 20 others, a local government official said. No group has claimed responsibility for the blast in the northwestern Orakzai district. “Eight people have been killed and over 20 are injured. We are checking on further details,” local government official Mutahir Zeb told Reuters. The blast occurred around the same time as three attackers attempted to storm the Chinese Consulate in the southern port city of Karachi in an unrelated incident in which two police officials were killed. The Karachi attack was claimed by the ethnic insurgent Baloch Liberation Army. ||||| Islamabad, Pakistan (CNN) Armed attackers attempted to storm the Chinese consulate in the Pakistani city of Karachi on Friday morning, killing four people, authorities said. Three attackers also were killed in the assault on the consulate in the city's high-security red zone, according to a Pakistani foreign ministry spokesman. The Baloch Liberation Army, a separatist group, claimed responsibility in a tweet that included a photo of three unidentified men and the message: "Karachi: Fidayeen of BLA attacked the Chinese embassy in Karachi." "Fidayeen" is an Arabic term that loosely translates as "one who sacrifices himself." In a statement released after the attack, the group said its objectives were "clear -- we will not tolerate any Chinese military expansionist endeavors on Baloch soil." Read More ||||| The attack was claimed by the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), an ethnic insurgent group who opposes China's exploitation of natural resources in southwest Pakistan. It is the most prominent attack against neighbor and ally China, which is pouring billions of dollars into the country as part of its vast Belt and Road initiative. China "strongly condemned" the attack and asked Pakistan to take measures to ensure the safety of Chinese citizens and institutions in the country, as well as the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) mega-project. In another incident on Friday, at least 25 people were killed in a bomb attack in north-west Pakistan. The blast outside the consulate occurred in a mostly Shia neighbourhood in Orakzai district. Police say three gunmen tried to enter the building in the southern port city, but were intercepted by guards at a checkpoint, Karachi police chief Ameer Sheikh told AFP news agency. "They were holding Kalashnikovs. First, they hurled a small (grenade) and then started firing," said Allah Bakhsh, a guard at a nearby house who witnessed the attack. Police officials said two of their personnel were killed, along with a father and son from Quetta, the capital of Balochistan, who were seeking Chinese visas and were caught in the crossfire. At least one of the attackers was wearing a suicide vest which did not detonate, another senior police official said. Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi told reporters in Islamabad that "all the terrorists have been eliminated", and that all 21 staff at the consulate during the attack had been taken to a safe location. "Situation under control," the military's media wing added in a statement. The attack was claimed by a separatist militant group from Pakistan's southwestern province of Balochistan, which is at the centre of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, the major Chinese project in the country. "We have been seeing the Chinese as an oppressor, along with Pakistani forces," the spokesman for the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), Geand Baloch, told AFP by telephone from an undisclosed location, adding they were "destroying the future of Balochistan". The BLA later emailed a statement to media in which it said the attack was "aimed at making it clear that China's military expansionism on Baloch soil will not be tolerated". It warned the Chinese to leave or "be prepared for continued attacks". The group is just one of the militant outfits operating in Balochistan, Pakistan's largest and poorest province, which is rife with ethnic, sectarian and separatist insurgencies. Residents of the resource-rich province, which borders Iran and Afghanistan, have long complained that it does not receive a fair share of the profits made from its mineral wealth. Prime Minister Imran Khan said Friday's attack would not undermine the Pakistan-China relationship, which he described in a statement as "mightier than Himalayas and deeper than Arabian Sea". China, one of Pakistan's closest allies, has poured billions into the South Asian country in recent years as part of CPEC, a massive infrastructure project that seeks to connect its western province Xinjiang with the Arabian Sea port of Gwadar in Balochistan. The project is one of the largest in Beijing's "One Belt One Road" initiative, comprising a network of roads and sea routes involving 65 countries. Pakistan sees the project as a "gamechanger", but it presents an enormous challenge in a country plagued by weak institutions, endemic corruption and a range of insurgencies in areas slated to host the corridor. The subject of economic dividends from CPEC is extremely sensitive in some of those areas -- particularly in Balochistan. Since the beginning of the project militants have repeatedly attacked construction sites, blowing up numerous gas pipelines and trains, and targeted Chinese workers. In August this year three Chinese nationals were among six wounded in a suicide attack on a bus transporting Chinese engineers working in Balochistan, in an attack that was also claimed by the BLA. The Pakistani military has been targeting insurgencies in the province since 2004, and has been repeatedly accused by international rights groups of abuses there. Islamabad regularly accuses its eastern neighbour India of funding and arming Baloch separatists, and of targeting development projects in the province, particularly CPEC. India's foreign ministry swiftly condemned Friday's attack in a statement, saying: "There can be no justification whatsoever for any act of terrorism". ||||| KARACHI, Pakistan: At least two Pakistani policemen were killed and a security guard wounded during an attack on the Chinese consulate in Karachi on Friday (Nov 23), a doctor told Reuters. "We have two cops brought dead and security guard injured due to blast impact," said Seemin Jamali, a doctor at the Jinnah Hospital in Karachi. Shortly after the attack, a separatist militant group from the Pakistani province of Balochistan claimed responsibility for it. "We have carried out this attack and our action is continuing," the spokesman for the Balochistan Liberation Army, Geand Baloch, told AFP by telephone from an undisclosed location. "There were three suicide attackers," he said. "They stormed the Chinese embassy in Karachi. China is exploiting our resources." Geo TV reported one gunman was killed in the attack and a "suicide vest" had been recovered. The Karachi police chief later confirmed that three suicide bombers were also killed in the attack, and the attackers were unable to get into the building. "There were three attackers and all three have been killed ... They could not even get in the compound. They tried to get into the visa section," the police chief, Amir Shaikh, told reporters. He added that the suicide bombers used an explosive-filled vehicle during the attack. Up to four gunmen tried to enter the consulate but were intercepted by security guards at a checkpoint, senior local police official Javaid Alam Odho told AFP. He added that the attackers "ran away" but did not confirm if the attack was over, saying the area had been cordoned off and security forces were conducting a clearing operation. "Police and Rangers have reached the site," added senior police official Pir Muhammad Shah. The Pakistani foreign ministry confirmed that all 21 Chinese staff inside the the attacked consulate are safe. Pictures posted to social media purportedly of the attack showed smoke rising from the area. Karachi, Pakistan's largest city and a financial hub, was for years rife with political, sectarian and ethnic militancy. A crackdown in the city by security forces in recent years has brought a lull in violence, but scattered attacks still take place. China, one of Pakistan's closest allies, has poured billions into the South Asian country in recent years as part of a massive infrastructure project that seeks to connect its western province Xinjiang with the Arabian Sea. The project, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, is one of the largest projects in Beijing's "One Belt One Road" initiative, comprising a network of roads and sea routes involving 65 countries. But for Pakistan, participating in the project presents an enormous challenge in a country plagued by weak institutions, endemic corruption and a range of insurgencies in areas slated to host the corridor. The subject of economic dividends from CPEC is extremely sensitive in some of the areas the corridor will run through - particularly in resource-rich Balochistan. Since the beginning of the project militants have repeatedly attacked construction sites and targeted Chinese workers. Karachi, Pakistan's largest city and a financial hub, was for years rife with political, sectarian and ethnic militancy. A crackdown in the city by security forces in recent years has brought a lull in violence, but scattered attacks still take place. ||||| The so-called “Balochistan Liberation Army’s” suicide attack on the Chinese consulate in Karachi is a serious escalation of the Hybrid War on CPEC designed to put unprecedented pressure on China ahead of President Xi’s planned meeting with his American counterpart at the G20 Summit next week. The Chinese consulate in Pakistan’s largest city of Karachi was targeted by a suicide attack Friday morning that was claimed by the so-called “Balochistan Liberation Army” (BLA), an Indian-backed terrorist group that’s been a problem for decades. The state had recently scored plenty of successes against it though in both the military and ideological domains, the former of which is attributable to Pakistan’s nationwide anti-terrorist operations over the past few years while the latter is due to prominent separatist Dr. Jumma Baloch’s defection from his former “fellows” in February and his subsequent creation of the Overseas Pakistani Baloch Unity (OPBU) for peacefully reintegrating foreign-based fighters into their homeland’s social fabric. Altogether, the military and ideological gains that Pakistan achieved are sustained by the fresh wind of optimism that the Baloch minority now has about their future in the Silk Road Century, seeing as how their region forms the terminal point of the Belt & Road Initiative’s (BRI) flagship project of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and is correspondingly mainland-maritime pivot in Afro-Eurasia. In fact, it can be argued that any “separatist insurgency” that might have previously existed in Balochistan had been strategically neutralized in its entirety, ergo why the foreign-backed remnants of the BLA resorted to the desperate means of carrying out a terrorist attack against the Chinese consulate in Karachi in order to instantaneously draw international media attention to their “cause”. Unaware observers shouldn’t be fooled into falling for the BLA’s narrative that it supposedly represents an “oppressed people yearning for freedom”, since Dr. Jumma proved that not only have the Baloch’s previous misgivings been addressed by the promises that the Pakistan state made to them through CPEC, but this famous separatist also outright spilled the beans and declared that India hijacked the original struggle that he previously dedicated his life to supporting. He even traveled throughout Europe earlier this year to raise awareness about how some countries are hosting dangerous terrorists from his homeland in an important series of visits that exposed the continent’s double standards towards this scourge. Regrettably, his warnings weren’t heeded and now some European states have blood on their hands for pretending that the BLA and other terrorist organizations from Balochistan are nothing more than “political opposition groups”, but the country that deserves the most blame for the latest attack is India. Kalbushan Jadhav, a Hybrid War operative working with India’s Research & Analysis Wing (RAW, an analogue of the CIA and Mossad), admitted after his capture last year that he was fomenting terrorist attacks in this strategic region, thereby proving that the Indo-American Hybrid War on CPEC isn’t just a “conspiracy theory” but can nowadays be regarded as a conspiracy fact. Speaking of which, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan officially stated that the latest attack was indeed a conspiracy aimed at sabotaging his country’s cooperation with China, which isn’t surprising considering that the Chief Of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa warned over the weekend that Pakistan is “now confronting hybrid conflict where focus is shifting to subversion on religious, sectarian, ethnic and social issues”. Accordingly, the latest stage of the Hybrid War on CPEC perfectly fits into this model because it’s aimed at exacerbating identity fault lines within this diverse country, albeit in an artificial way that wouldn’t naturally occur without the crucial catalyst of terrorism. To explain, the foreign backers behind the Karachi suicide attack are hoping that it will provoke a disproportionate military response in Balochistan that could cause collateral damage among civilians and thus set into motion a “self-sustaining” Hybrid War reaction from the locals that could roll back the recent gains that were achieved. This is highly unlikely to happen, however, because of the world-class professionalism of the Pakistani Armed Forces, which is why the only outcome will probably be that the two countries behind this destabilization operation will invest in decontextualizing, misportraying, and then over-amplifying events in order to produce the false narrative of a purportedly ongoing “identity/separatist/freedom conflict” there that could then be spread across the Mainstream Media as part of their infowar against BRI. The weaponized management of global perceptions is intended to propagate the notion that Pakistan is allegedly a “very dangerous and unstable” country that no foreign company should risk doing business in, even if it’s to take advantage of the time-saving geostrategic shortcut of trading with China via CPEC. The whole point of this campaign is to sow seeds of doubt about Pakistan, China, CPEC, and ultimately BRI itself which could eventually lead to economic hardships for all of them if the Silk Road’s flagship project is perceived (key word) to be “functionally unviable” by the “international community” as a result of this coordinated propaganda attack against it. In fact, any fake news that might be spun in the coming future about any alleged “atrocities” carried out by the Pakistani military against the Baloch (either in the past or the present day) could be used to set the narrative basis for the US to sanction Pakistan, just as it might be planning to do with China as regards the issue of Uighur terrorism in Xinjiang, with it being implied by the US that entities doing business with the South Asian state (especially its Balochistan region) and/or the western Chinese province could be eligible for “secondary sanctions”. This would in effect amount to the indirect sanctioning of CPEC, a disturbing scenario that Pakistan and its all-weather Chinese ally should possibly prepare for. BRI is currently undergoing an unofficial period of “restructuring” after countries from Malaysia to the Maldives and even Ethiopia are renegotiating their previous commitments to this worldwide series of connectivity projects, so putting pressure on CPEC at this specific moment (be it of the Hybrid War and/or sanctions variant) is intended to destabilize the foundation of China’s grand strategy. It also can’t be forgotten that all of this is occurring in the run-up to President Xi’s planned meeting with his American counterpart at the G20 next week right on the heels of Vice President Pence’s dramatic declaration about an impending “all-out cold war” between the two Great Powers during last weekend’s APEC Summit. Some media reports have speculated that the US wants China to agree to a so-called “truce” in their “trade war”, which might turn out to be nothing more than a euphemism for demanding its rival’s strategic capitulation. Considering this very plausible scenario in light of the new American administration’s tendency to unabashedly bully its counterparts on the international arena, it wouldn’t be surprising if Washington tasked its new allies in New Delhi with ordering their BLA proxies to carry out the terrorist attack against the Chinese consulate in Karachi in order to exert maximum pressure on Beijing prior to next week’s summit between Presidents Xi and Trump. Regardless of the analytical conjecture about who might have really been behind this high-profile suicide attack and why, it should be expected that this brazen act of terror will be exploited by third parties for their own benefit, be it by India to distract from its abuses in occupied Kashmir or by the US to push China into complying with its terms for a “truce”. Concerted efforts will be made in the near future by both of those countries to portray this event as “proof” that Pakistan is “unstable”, but what it really proves is that the Hybrid War on CPEC is just getting started and that the “Zipper of Eurasia” has a game-changing global geostrategic significance that neither of them will ever openly admit. Note to readers: please click the share buttons above. Forward this article to your email lists. Crosspost on your blog site, internet forums. etc. This article was originally published on Eurasia Future. Andrew Korybko is an American Moscow-based political analyst specializing in the relationship between the US strategy in Afro-Eurasia, China’s One Belt One Road global vision of New Silk Road connectivity, and Hybrid Warfare. He is a frequent contributor to Global Research. ||||| Updated at 9:57 a.m. ET Separatist militants armed with guns and a suicide vest tried to storm the Chinese consulate in the southern Pakistani port city of Karachi on Friday, in one of the most serious attacks in years against Chinese nationals in the Islamic state. No Chinese nationals or consulate staff were harmed. At least seven people were killed as police clashed with the militants: three militants, two policemen and a father and son, Pakistani nationals, who were apparently at the consulate to pick up visas, The Associated Press said. But none of the 21 Chinese nationals inside the large compound in Karachi were hurt, according to the Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi. He told local reporters that Chinese diplomats and staff members were taken to a secure location following the attack. The attack on the consulate comes at a delicate time for relations between Pakistan and China. Islamabad is hoping to secure billions of dollars in loans from Beijing to shore up its precarious economy. In an apparently unrelated attack that occurred hours after the assault on the consulate, a bomb blast targeted a Shiite community in Pakistan's remote northwest province, killing at least 31 people. The two incidents underscore Pakistan's ongoing instability, even as much of the country is now considered safe after years of militant attacks primarily targeting its cities. At a daily news briefing in Beijing, China's foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang strongly condemned the attack on the consulate but said the militants did not enter the compound. Video from the scene showed smoke billowing from the area as the sound of explosions echoed through the upscale neighborhood. One video posted on social media appeared to have been made by a Pakistani man who was inside the consulate for a visa application at the time of the attack. In it, he narrates the events unfolding in real time. "You might also hear the shots," he says in Urdu to the sound of a sharp blast. "We don't know what's happening outside." The attack ended shortly after it began on Friday morning, and later video showed paramilitary forces and police rushing to cordon off the area. Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan suggested the attack was "part of conspiracy against Pak and China economic and strategic cooperation," according to a statement issued by Khan's office. "The prime minister has ordered a complete inquiry into the incident and has desired that elements behind this incident must be unearthed," the statement said. The incident represents a troubling strike against the Chinese community in Pakistan, which numbers tens of thousands of nationals. Many of them are linked to the sprawling China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, known as CPEC. It is a multi-billion dollar series of Chinese investments in Pakistan's infrastructure and energy projects. Following the attack, the Chinese embassy in Islamabad said in a statement that it believed Pakistan was still able to secure China's interests in the country. "The Pakistani side is able to ensure the safety of Chinese institutions and personnel in Pakistan," it said. "Any attempt to undermine the China-Pakistan relationship is doomed to fail." A group calling itself the Balochistan Liberation Army, which has carried out several attacks in the past decade, claimed responsibility. The group said it was protesting "Chinese occupation" according to the AP. There has long been resentment in Balochistan against Chinese investments in the province, particularly those that pertain to the development of the port of Gwadar. Resident there allege that the Chinese-led expansion of the port has stripped Baloch fishermen of their livelihoods, pushed them out of the homes and siphoned off their water supply. They also allege that Pakistani forces more harshly targeted their separatists, even peaceful activists, under the pretext of protecting Chinese assets in the area. It was the most serious incident since August, when a suicide bomber rammed into a bus transporting Chinese workers to a mining project in Balochistan. Three people were wounded. The Balochistan Liberation Army claimed responsibility for that attack. And in February, a Chinese national who worked for a shipping firm in Karachi was shot dead in an attack. It was unclear if the assailants in that incident were linked to militant groups. Friday's attack came weeks after Khan, the prime minister, visited China in a bid to secure more loans to help save Pakistan's economy from unraveling. The country is currently facing a foreign currency shortage and has also sought assistance from Saudi Arabia as well as a bailout from the International Monetary Fund. "The attack was intended to scare Chinese investors and undermine CPEC," Khan tweeted. "These terrorists will not succeed." In Pakistan's northwest meanwhile, there was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast that struck a crowded vegetable market in the largely Shiite town of Hangu. But targeting Shiites suggested that it was carried out by Sunni militants who have been known to frequently target the country's minority Shiite community. The explosion killed at least 31 people and wounded dozens more, according to Khalid Iqbal, the district deputy commissioner. ||||| At least two policemen were killed when unidentified gunmen stormed the Chinese consulate in the Pakistani port city of Karachi on Friday, officials said. A separatist militant group from the Pakistani province of Balochistan has claimed responsibility for the attack on the Chinese consulate, its spokesman told AFP on Friday. “We have carried out this attack and our action is continuing,” the spokesman for the Balochistan Liberation Army, Geand Baloch, told AFP by telephone from an undisclosed location. The group is at the centre of a major Chinese investment project in the country. The BLA is just one of the militant groups operating in Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest and poorest province, which is rife with ethnic, sectarian and separatist insurgencies. Up to four gunmen tried to enter the consulate but were intercepted by security guards at a checkpoint, senior local police official Javaid Alam Odho told AFP. An exchange of fire resulted “killing two of our constables and critically wounding another”, he said. He added that the attackers “ran away” but did not confirm if the attack was over, saying the area had been cordoned off and security forces were conducting a clearing operation. “Police and Rangers have reached the site,” added senior police official Pir Muhammad Shah. Pictures posted on social media purportedly of the attack showed smoke rising from the area. Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city and a financial hub, was for years rife with political, sectarian and ethnic militancy. A crackdown in the city by security forces in recent years has brought a lull in violence, but scattered attacks still take place. China, one of Pakistan’s closest allies, has poured billions into the South Asian country in recent years as part of a massive infrastructure project that seeks to connect its western province Xinjiang with the Arabian Sea. The project, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, is one of the largest projects in Beijing’s “One Belt One Road” initiative, comprising a network of roads and sea routes involving 65 countries. But for Pakistan, participating in the project presents an enormous challenge in a country plagued by weak institutions, endemic corruption and a range of insurgencies in areas slated to host the corridor. The subject of economic dividends from CPEC is extremely sensitive in some of the areas the corridor will run through -- particularly in resource-rich Balochistan. Since the beginning of the project militants have repeatedly attacked construction sites and targeted Chinese workers. Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city and a financial hub, was for years rife with political, sectarian and ethnic militancy. A crackdown in the city by security forces in recent years has brought a lull in violence, but scattered attacks still take place. ||||| Karachi: Pakistani officials say three gunmen who stormed the Chinese consulate in Pakistan's southern port city of Karachi are dead, after an intense shootout. Two police officers are also dead. Senior police official Ameer Ahmad Sheikh said all the Chinese diplomats and staff at the consulate were safe and were not harmed during the assault or the shootout on Friday. The Baluch Liberation Army, a separatist group based in the south-western province of Baluchistan, claimed responsibility for the attack and released photos of the three attackers. ||||| At least four militants have carried out a terror attack on the Chinese consulate in Karachi According to witnesses, the weapons were fired near the consulate in Clifton Block 4 around 9.30am local time (4.30am GMT). At least two policemen were shot dead in the attack and a security guard was wounded. Local media reported that the injured had reached Jinnah hospital. EXPLOSION and GUNFIRE at Karachi Chinese consulate as 'te... It is not yet clear whether Chinese officials were harmed but Karachi police chief Amir Shaikh confirmed the attackers were not able to get inside the consulate. Mr Sheikh said: “They tried to enter the visa section but did not succeed.” Pakistan's insurgent separatist militant group Balochistan has claimed responsibility for the attack and asserted that their action “is continuing”. The spokesman for the Balochistan Liberation Army, Geand Baloch, told Reuters: “There were three suicide attackers. | Four people are killed in an armed assault on the Chinese consulate in Karachi, Pakistan. Three attackers are also dead. The attack is claimed by the Balochistan Liberation Army. |
CLOSE Migrants in a caravan of Central Americans have arrived by the hundreds in Tijuana, just south of San Diego. Many say they will seek asylum in the US. (Nov. 15) AP Members of the 'migrant caravan' worship during a street worship service outside a temporary shelter set up for members of the caravan on November 23, 2018 in Tijuana, Mexico. Around 5,000 migrants from Central America have arrived in the city with the mayor of Tijuana declaring the situation a 'humanitarian crisis.'.. (Photo: Mario Tama, Getty Images) WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump announced over Twitter Saturday evening that asylum seekers at the Southern border will wait in Mexico while their claims are processed in U.S. courts. "Migrants at the Southern Border will not be allowed into the United States until their claims are individually approved in court. We only will allow those who come into our Country legally," the president wrote on Twitter Saturday evening. "All will stay in Mexico." In his tweets, the president also threatened to close the Southern border "for any reason it becomes necessary." "There is no way that the United States will, after decades of abuse, put up with this costly and dangerous situation anymore!" Trump wrote. The president's tweets followed a Washington Post report Saturday that described a new agreement between the U.S. and Mexico that would allow asylum seekers to stay in Mexico. Migrants at the Southern Border will not be allowed into the United States until their claims are individually approved in court. We only will allow those who come into our Country legally. Other than that our very strong policy is Catch and Detain. No “Releasing” into the U.S... — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 24, 2018 ....All will stay in Mexico. If for any reason it becomes necessary, we will CLOSE our Southern Border. There is no way that the United States will, after decades of abuse, put up with this costly and dangerous situation anymore! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 24, 2018 The Post, which quoted Mexican officials and senior members of President-elect Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s transition team, reported the agreement would break with long-standing asylum rules and place a "formidable new barrier" for migrants from Central America attempting to reach the United States. The Post said the plan was dubbed "Remain in Mexico." More: Homeland Security focuses on border security — not processing asylum applications from migrant caravan More: Homeland Security focuses on border security — not processing asylum applications from migrant caravan More: It's not just 'Obama judges'. Here are Republican appointees who have ruled against Trump Thousands of migrants, fleeing violence and poverty, have gathered at the Mexican border city of Tijuana. They are among several hundred other asylum-seekers heading north in groups toward the United States. The Post reported that no formal agreement on the issue has been signed, and many details remain unresolved. López Obrador takes office Dec. 1. Before the U.S. midterm elections, Trump called the northward movement of migrants in caravans an "invasion" and ordered several thousand U.S. troops to the border to bolster border security. The Post, quoting U.S. and Mexican officials, said the deal took shape last week in Houston during a meeting between Marcelo Ebrard, Mexico’s incoming foreign minister, and top U.S. officials, including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen. In a statement, James McCament, acting undersecretary for policy for the Department of Homeland Security, said the administration has been working since July with the current Mexican government and incoming administration on "shared issues of concern." He said these include legitimate trade and travel, an interest in ensuring that those traveling to the U.S. borders do so safely and orderly, as well as "concern for the safety and security of vulnerable migrant populations, and respect for each nation's sovereignty." The White House had no immediate comment on the Post report. The agreement leaving asylum seekers in Mexico until their claims are heard in court could end the system derided by Trump as “catch and release,” which has generally allowed those seeking refuge to wait on safer U.S. soil. CLOSE Several busloads of mostly Central American migrants traveling in a caravan arrived to Tijuana, Mexico. USA TODAY “For now, we have agreed to this policy of Remain in Mexico,” Olga Sánchez Cordero, the top domestic policy official under López Obrador, told The Post. She called it a “short-term solution.” “The medium- and long-term solution is that people don’t migrate,” said Sánchez Cordero, the incoming interior minister. “Mexico has open arms and everything, but imagine, one caravan after another after another, that would also be a problem for us.” A federal judge issued a temporary restraining order this week blocking a Trump order that would deny protection to people who enter the country illegally seeking asylum. "Whatever the scope of the president’s authority, he may not rewrite the immigration laws to impose a condition that Congress has expressly forbidden,” Judge Jon Tigar wrote in his order. Trump responded by blasting "Obama judges" who challenge his orders, saying such judges make the border unsafe. Contributing: Christal Hayes Read or Share this story: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2018/11/24/u-s-mexican-government-reach-deal-handling-asylum-seekers-report/2101037002/ ||||| Image copyright Reuters Image caption Thousands of migrants are now waiting at the border in Mexico Mexico's incoming foreign minister has said discussions on how to deal with migrants travelling to the United States are continuing despite reports a deal has been reached. Marcelo Ebrard denied reaching an agreement which would see asylum seekers waiting in Mexico while their claims were processed in US courts. Mr Ebrard's words seem to contradict US President Donald Trump's latest tweet. He said migrants would not be allowed entry until their claims were approved. "Migrants at the Southern Border will not be allowed into the United States until their claims are individually approved in court," Mr Trump wrote, adding: "No 'releasing' into the US. All will stay in Mexico." The conflicting statements emerged after the Washington Post reported Mexican officials had agreed to let migrants trying to enter the US stay in Mexico while their asylum claims were heard. According to the newspaper, the plan was called "Remain in Mexico". But Mr Ebrard, who will become foreign minister in December after Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's administration takes power, said the US had yet to even send "a specific proposal" on how to deal with the issue. He said conversations were still taking place with Washington. Image copyright Reuters Image caption There are fears migrants could be stuck in temporary shelters for months Incoming Interior Minister Olga Sanchez Cordero also told news agency Reuters no agreement had been reached - although the Washington Post article initially quoted her as saying it was a "short term solution" to deal with the migrant caravan. Thousands of migrants - including women and children - are currently at the US-Mexico border after travelling more than 4,000km (2,500 miles) from Central America. They say they are fleeing persecution, poverty and violence in their home countries of Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador. Many are now waiting in temporary shelters in the border city of Tijuana, leading the mayor declare a humanitarian crisis. There are fears as many as 9,000 may be stuck in the city for months. Meanwhile, Mr Trump has deployed about 5,800 troops to the border and has previously described the migrants as an "invasion". ||||| MEXICO CITY -- Mexico's incoming government denied a report Saturday that it plans to allow asylum-seekers to wait in the country while their claims move through U.S. immigration courts, one of several options the Trump administration has been pursuing in negotiations for months. The deal was seen as a way to dissuade thousands of Central American migrants from seeking asylum in the U.S., a process that can take years. In effect, Mexican border towns are already acting as waiting rooms for migrants hoping to start new lives in the U.S. due to bottlenecks at the border. "There is no agreement of any sort between the incoming Mexican government and the U.S. government," future Interior Minister Olga Sanchez said in a statement. Hours earlier, The Washington Post quoted her as saying that the incoming administration of Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador had agreed to allow migrants to stay in Mexico as a "short-term solution" while the U.S. considered their applications for asylum. Lopez Obrador will take office on Dec. 1. The statement shared with The Associated Press said the future government's principal concern related to the migrants is their well-being while in Mexico. The Washington Post reported Saturday that the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has won support from the Mexican president-elect's team for a plan dubbed "Remain in Mexico." The newspaper also quoted Sanchez as saying: "For now, we have agreed to this policy of Remain in Mexico." Sanchez did not explain in the statement why The Washington Post had quoted her as saying there had been agreement. White House spokesman Hogan Gidley said, "President Trump has developed a strong relationship with the incoming (Lopez) Obrador Administration, and we look forward to working with them on a wide range of issues." Stephanie Leutert, director of the Mexico Security Initiative at the University of Texas at Austin, described the Remain in Mexico plan as a strategy to take away the ability of migrants to live and work in the U.S. while cases are processed. "The hope is that asylum seekers will not want to live in (Mexico) for months/years and won't come," Leutert said via Twitter. U.S. officials have said for months that they were working with Mexico to find solutions for what they have called a border crisis. One variation, called "Safe Third," would have denied asylum claims on the grounds that asylum seekers had found haven in Mexico. President Enrique Pena Nieto offered thousands of Central Americans asylum on Oct. 26 if they agreed to remain in southern Mexico. Close to 3,000 migrants took Mexico up on the offer. Sanchez said Saturday that the next government does not plan for Mexico to become a "Safe Third" country. Approximately 5,000 Central American migrants have arrived in recent days to Tijuana, just south of California, after making their way through Mexico via caravan. But agents at the San Diego port of entry process fewer than 100 claims per day. Tijuana Mayor Juan Manuel Gastelum on Friday declared a humanitarian crisis in his border city of 1.6 million, which he says is struggling to accommodate the influx. Most of the migrants are camped inside a sports complex, where they face long wait times for food and bathrooms. Hundreds of Tijuana residents have protested their arrival, complaining that recent caravans forced their way into Mexico from Guatemala. Trump threatened Thursday to shut down the border crossing entirely if his administration determines that Mexico has lost "control" of the situation in Tijuana. Julieta Vences, a congresswoman with Lopez Obrador's Morena party who is also president of Mexico's congressional migrant affairs commission, told the AP that incoming Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard has been discussing with U.S. officials how to handle a deluge of asylum claims at the border. "They're going to have to open the borders (for the migrants) to put in the request," Vences said. "They will also give us dates, on what terms they will receive the (asylum) requests and in the case that they are not beneficiaries of this status, they will have to return here," Vences said. She said Mexico needs to examine how to accommodate the migrants without angering locals. "When they come back, we need to see how ... we can integrate them into an economic activity so that they can develop and not generate conflict with our own communities." Local churches and charities have been feeding the migrants, with assistance from state and federal agencies. They have also distributed thousands of blankets, thin mattresses and personal hygiene kits. Meanwhile, the government of the state of Baja California has identified 7,000 jobs for which migrants could possibly earn income while they await hearings in the U.S. Trump took to Twitter again Saturday to reiterate that he plans to do away with the U.S. catch-and-release system, which allows asylum seekers to work and study sometimes for years while their cases are pending. "Migrants at the Southern Border will not be allowed into the United States until their claims are individually approved in court," Trump wrote. "We only will allow those who come into our Country legally. Other than that our very strong policy is Catch and Detain. No 'Releasing' into the U.S..." ||||| US President Donald Trump says asylum seekers have to wait in Mexico until claims approved, but Mexico denies making any deal US President Donald Trump has said migrants at the US-Mexico border will stay in Mexico until their asylum claims are individually approved in US courts, but Mexico's incoming government has denied striking any deal. Their comments came on the back of a report in The Washington Post, which claimed Mexico and the US had agreed on a deal named Remain in Mexico. The plan, according to the newspaper, foresees thousands of migrants staying in Mexico while their asylum claims in the United States are being processed. This could potentially end a system Mr Trump has decried as "catch and release" that has, until now, often allowed those seeking refuge to wait on safer US soil. But Mexico's incoming interior minister Olga Sanchez Cordero said there was "no agreement of any type between the future government of Mexico and the United States". Ms Sanchez Cordero ruled out that Mexico would be declared a "safe third country" for asylum claimants. If Mexico were to assume "safe third country" status, asylum seekers would be required to claim refugee status in Mexico rather than the United States, and activists have long argued Mexico does not have the security conditions to offer safe haven for Central American migrants fleeing poverty and violence. Ms Sanchez Cordero, the top domestic policy official for president-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador — who takes office on December 1 — said the incoming government was in talks with the United States. But she said they could not make any agreement on the issue, since they are not yet in government. Mr Trump is seeking to block thousands of Central Americans travelling in caravans from entering the United States, and has ordered that immigrants who enter the country illegally from Mexico are ineligible for asylum. That order has been temporary suspended by a US judge. During his Thanksgiving break, Mr Trump also threatened to close entry into the country from the southern border. Managing attorney for the Los Angeles office of legal rights organisation Human Rights First, Jenna Gilbert, said Mr Trump's new plan is "outright illegal, and I'm sure the administration will once more see itself in court". The Washington Post article cited Mexican officials and senior members of Mr Lopez Obrador's transition team. It said the deal would break with long-standing asylum rules and mount a new obstacle for Central American migrants attempting to seek refuge in the United States. Mexico's incoming deputy interior minister, Zoe Robledo, said details of the Remain in Mexico scheme were still being worked out. "What we're aiming for is that people leaving their countries due to security issues or violence can find a place to stay in Mexico, if that is their decision," Ms Robledo said. Ms Robledo said the incoming government wanted to find jobs for Central American migrants in sectors that are short-staffed, such as maquila assembly plants. Mr Lopez Obrador has vowed to try to eliminate the causes of migration by creating more jobs and improving living conditions in Mexico and Central America. In exchange, he hopes Mr Trump and the Canadian government will agree to help spur economic development in the region. Outgoing President Enrique Pena Nieto has also sought to stem the flow of migrants north by offering jobs to them, and has received backing from the private sector in his efforts. ||||| The Mexican government has reached a deal with the Trump administration that would require asylum seekers at the Southern border to wait in Mexico while their claims are processed in U.S. courts, the Washington Post reported Saturday. The Post, which quoted Mexican officials and senior members of President-elect Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s transition team, reported the agreement would break with long-standing asylum rules and place a "formidable new barrier" for migrants from Central America attempting to reach the United States. The Post said the plan was dubbed "Remain in Mexico." Thousands of migrants, fleeing violence and poverty, have gathered at the Mexican border city of Tijuana. They are among several hundred other asylum-seekers heading north in groups toward the United States. More: More than 100 migrants camp at Paso del Norte international bridge, wait to enter U.S. The Post reported that no formal agreement on the issue has been signed, and many details remain unresolved. López Obrador takes office Dec. 1. Before the U.S. midterm elections, President Donald Trump called the northward movement of migrants in caravans an "invasion" and ordered several thousand troops to the border to bolster border security. The Post, quoting U.S.and Mexican officials, said the deal took shape last week in Houston during a meeting between Marcelo Ebrard, Mexico’s incoming foreign minister, and top U.S. officials such as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen. The White House had no immediate comment on the Post report. The Post reported that asylum applicants at the border would have to remain in Mexico while their cases were processed through U.S. courts. That could end the system derided by Trump as “catch and release,” which has generally allowed those seeking refuge to wait on safer U.S. soil. “For now, we have agreed to this policy of Remain in Mexico,” Olga Sánchez Cordero, the top domestic policy official under López Obrador, told The Post. She called it a “short-term solution.” “The medium- and long-term solution is that people don’t migrate,” said Sánchez Cordero, the incoming interior minister. “Mexico has open arms and everything, but imagine, one caravan after another after another, that would also be a problem for us.” A federal judge issued a temporary restraining order this week blocking a Trump order that would deny protection to people who enter the country illegally seeking asylum. "Whatever the scope of the president’s authority, he may not rewrite the immigration laws to impose a condition that Congress has expressly forbidden,” Judge Jon Tigar wrote in his order. Trump responded by blasting "Obama judges" who challenge his orders, saying such judges make the border unsafe. ||||| MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico’s incoming interior minister said on Saturday there was “no agreement of any type between the future government of Mexico and the United States” that will require asylum seekers to wait in Mexico while their claims move through U.S. courts. Olga Sanchez Cordero, also the top domestic policy official for president-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador who takes office on Dec. 1, ruled out that Mexico would be declared a “safe third country” for asylum claimants, following a Washington Post report of a deal with the Trump administration known as “Remain in Mexico,” which quoted her calling it a “short-term solution.” The plan, according to the newspaper, foresees migrants staying in Mexico while their asylum claims in the United States are being processed, potentially ending a system President Donald Trump decries as “catch and release” that has until now often allowed those seeking refuge to wait on safer U.S. soil. “Migrants at the Southern Border will not be allowed into the United States until their claims are individually approved in court. We only will allow those who come into our Country legally. Other than that our very strong policy is Catch and Detain. No “Releasing” into the U.S.,” Trump said in a tweet late Saturday that also threatened to close the U.S. southern border if necessary. Sanchez, who said the situation of migrant caravans was “very delicate,” did not explicitly rule out that Mexico could keep caravan migrants on its soil while their U.S. asylum claims are processed. But she told Reuters that plans to assume “safe third country” status were “ruled out.” If Mexico were to assume “safe third country” status, asylum seekers would be required to claim refugee status in Mexico rather than the United States. Migration activists have long argued that Mexico does not have the security conditions to offer safe haven for migrants feeling violence in Central America. The article cited Mexican officials and senior members of Lopez Obrador’s transition team and said the deal would break with long-standing asylum rules and mount a new obstacle to Central American migrants attempting to seek refuge in the United States from poverty and violence. Alison Leal Parker, U.S. managing director for Human Rights Watch, a New York-based rights organization, said the plan was “a pathetic attempt by the United States to shirk responsibility. Central Americans have faced serious harm in Mexico.” The effect, Parker said, would likely “push people fleeing for (their) lives into riskier attempts to find safety, including using criminal human smugglers who will gain power under this new policy.” Reached for comment by Reuters, incoming deputy interior minister Zoe Robledo said details of the “Remain in Mexico” scheme were still being worked out. “What we’re aiming for is that people leaving their countries due to security issues or violence can find a place to stay in Mexico if that is their decision,” Robledo said. Robledo said the incoming government wanted to find jobs for Central American migrants in sectors that are short-staffed, such as maquila assembly plants. Lopez Obrador has vowed to try to eliminate the causes of migration by creating more jobs and improving living conditions in Mexico and Central America. In exchange, he hopes Trump and the Canadian government will agree to help spur economic development in the region. Outgoing President Enrique Pena Nieto has also sought to stem the flow of migrants north by offering jobs to them, and has received backing from the private sector in his efforts. There was no immediate comment from the White House on the deal that the Washington Post said took shape last week in Houston during a meeting between Marcelo Ebrard, Mexico’s incoming foreign minister, and top U.S. officials including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen. Without confirming the deal, James McCament, Homeland Security’s Acting Under Secretary for Policy, said the U.S. government has been working since the Mexican elections with its current and incoming Mexican counterparts on trade, border policy and other issues. “We appreciate the leadership and partnership the Mexican government has shown,” McCament said. Trump has been seeking to block thousands of Central Americans traveling in caravans from entering the United States, and has ordered that immigrants who enter the country illegally from Mexico are ineligible for asylum. That order has been temporary suspended by a U.S. judge. ||||| MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump tweeted on Saturday that migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border would stay in Mexico until their asylum claims were individually approved in U.S. courts, but Mexico’s incoming government denied they had struck any deal. Mexico’s incoming interior minister said there was “no agreement of any type between the future government of Mexico and the United States.” Olga Sanchez Cordero, also the top domestic policy official for president-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador who takes office on Dec. 1, told Reuters that the incoming government was in talks with the United States but emphasized that they could not make any agreement since they were not yet in government. Sanchez ruled out that Mexico would be declared a “safe third country” for asylum claimants, following a Washington Post report of a deal with the Trump administration known as “Remain in Mexico,” which quoted her calling it a “short-term solution.” The plan, according to the newspaper, foresees migrants staying in Mexico while their asylum claims in the United States are being processed, potentially ending a system Trump decries as “catch and release” that has until now often allowed those seeking refuge to wait on safer U.S. soil. “Migrants at the Southern Border will not be allowed into the United States until their claims are individually approved in court. We only will allow those who come into our Country legally. Other than that our very strong policy is Catch and Detain. No “Releasing” into the U.S.,” Trump said in a tweet late Saturday. “All will stay in Mexico,” Trump added in second tweet, that also threatened to close the U.S. southern border if necessary. Jenna Gilbert, managing attorney for the Los Angeles office of Human Rights First, a legal rights organization, said Trump’s plan is “outright illegal, and I’m sure the administration will once more see itself in court.” Trump has been seeking to block thousands of Central Americans traveling in caravans from entering the United States, and has ordered that immigrants who enter the country illegally from Mexico are ineligible for asylum. That order has been temporary suspended by a U.S. judge. Sanchez, who said the situation of migrant caravans was “very delicate,” did not explicitly rule out that Mexico could keep caravan migrants on its soil while their U.S. asylum claims are processed. But she told Reuters that plans to assume “safe third country” status were “ruled out.” If Mexico were to assume “safe third country” status, asylum seekers would be required to claim refugee status in Mexico rather than the United States. Migration activists have long argued that Mexico does not have the security conditions to offer safe haven for migrants feeling violence in Central America. The Washington Post article cited Mexican officials and senior members of Lopez Obrador’s transition team and said the deal would break with long-standing asylum rules and mount a new obstacle to Central American migrants attempting to seek refuge in the United States from poverty and violence. Alison Leal Parker, U.S. managing director for Human Rights Watch, a New York-based rights organization, said the plan was “a pathetic attempt by the United States to shirk responsibility. Central Americans have faced serious harm in Mexico.” The effect, Parker said, would likely “push people fleeing for (their) lives into riskier attempts to find safety, including using criminal human smugglers who will gain power under this new policy.” Mexico’s incoming deputy interior minister Zoe Robledo said details of the “Remain in Mexico” scheme were still being worked out. “What we’re aiming for is that people leaving their countries due to security issues or violence can find a place to stay in Mexico if that is their decision,” Robledo told Reuters. Robledo said the incoming government wanted to find jobs for Central American migrants in sectors that are short-staffed, such as maquila assembly plants. Lopez Obrador has vowed to try to eliminate the causes of migration by creating more jobs and improving living conditions in Mexico and Central America. In exchange, he hopes Trump and the Canadian government will agree to help spur economic development in the region. Outgoing President Enrique Pena Nieto has also sought to stem the flow of migrants north by offering jobs to them, and has received backing from the private sector in his efforts. ||||| The Trump administration has won the support of Mexico's incoming government for a plan to remake U.S. border policy by requiring asylum seekers to wait in Mexico while their claims move through U.S. courts, according to Mexican officials and senior members of president-elect Andrés Manuel López Obrador's transition team. The agreement would break with long-standing asylum rules and place a formidable new barrier in the path of Central American migrants attempting to reach the United States and escape poverty and violence. By reaching the accord, the Trump administration has also overcome Mexico's historic reticence to deepen cooperation with the United States on an issue widely seen here as America's problem. The White House had no immediate comment. According to outlines of the plan, known as Remain in Mexico, asylum applicants at the border will have to stay in Mexico while their cases are processed, potentially ending the system Trump decries as "catch and release" that has until now generally allowed those seeking refuge to wait on safer U.S. soil. "For now, we have agreed to this policy of Remain in Mexico," said Olga Sánchez Cordero, Mexico's incoming interior minister, the top domestic policy official for López Obrador, who takes office Dec. 1. In an interview with The Washington Post, she called it a "short-term solution." "The medium- and long-term solution is that people don't migrate," Sánchez Cordero said. "Mexico has open arms and everything, but imagine, one caravan after another after another, that would also be a problem for us." While no formal agreement has been signed, and U.S. officials caution that many details must still be discussed, the incoming Mexican government is amenable to the concept of turning their country in to a waiting room for America's asylum system. While they remain anxious the deal could fall apart, U.S. officials view this as a potential breakthrough that could deter migration and the formation of additional caravans that originate in Central America and cross through Mexico to reach the United States. They have quietly engaged in sensitive talks with senior Mexican officials, attempting to offer a diplomatic counterbalance to President Donald Trump's threats and ultimatums. Alarmed by Trump's deployment of U.S. military forces to California, Arizona and Texas, and his threats to close busy border crossings, Mexican officials were further determined to take action after migrants traveling as part of a caravan forced their way onto Mexican soil last month, pushing past police blockades at the border with Guatemala. The prospect of keeping thousands of Central American asylum seekers for months or years in drug cartel-dominated Mexican border states - some of the most violent in the country - has troubled human-rights activists and others who worry that such a plan could put migrants at risk and undermine their lawful right to apply for asylum. "We have not seen a specific proposal, but any policy that would leave individuals stranded in Mexico would inevitably put people in danger," said Lee Gelernt, an ACLU attorney whose team has won several legal victories against the Trump administration's immigration initiatives in recent months. "The Administration ought to concentrate on providing a fair and lawful asylum process in the U.S. rather than inventing more and more ways to try to short-circuit it," Gelernt said. The new measures could also trigger legal challenges, though Gelernt said it was too early to comment on potential litigation. The deal took shape last week in Houston during a meeting between Marcelo Ebrard, Mexico's incoming foreign minister, and top U.S. officials such as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, according to U.S. and Mexican officials. Nielsen has been fighting to keep her job since the midterms, and while Trump has told aides he plans to replace her, the president praised her this week for "trying." Dozens of U.S. asylum officers have been sent to San Diego where they will begin implementing the new procedures in coming days or weeks, according to Department of Homeland Security officials. Under the new procedures, asylum seekers arriving at the border will be given an initial screening interview to determine whether they face imminent danger by staying in Mexico. U.S. officials describing the new system on the condition of anonymity said that they will be able to process at least twice as many asylum claims as they do now because they would not be limited by detention space constraints at U.S. ports of entry. The San Ysidro port of entry in the San Diego area currently accepts about 60 to 100 asylum claims per day. Just over the border, nearly 5,000 Central Americans have arrived in Tijuana this month as part of caravan groups, and several thousand others are en route to the city, where a baseball field has been turned into a swelling tent camp. The city's mayor declared a "humanitarian crisis" Friday and said the city's taxpayers would not foot the bill for the migrants' care. A group of business leaders in the city said they have thousands of job openings at the city's assembly plants, or maquiladoras, inviting Central American migrants to work in the factories. Though wages there are a small fraction of U.S. pay, Mexican officials said the work offer was one reason they believe the Remain in Mexico plan will succeed. Across the country, there are 100,000 jobs available to Central American asylum seekers, officials said. "We want them to be included in society, that they integrate into society, that they accept the offer of employment that we are giving them," Sánchez Cordero said. "That they feel taken care of by Mexico in this very vulnerable situation." Two senior members of López Obrador's transition team said the new accord would formalize what is already occurring. By admitting so few people into the asylum process, the United States is already using Mexico as an antechamber. U.S. immigration statistics show roughly 80 percent of Central Americans pass a perfunctory "credible fear" interview after reaching the United States, but fewer than 10 percent are ultimately granted asylum by a judge. The backlog of cases in U.S. immigration courts has ballooned past 750,000, giving many asylum seekers who do not qualify a chance to remain in the country for several years while waiting to see a judge. ||||| By Joshua Partlow and Nick Miroff | The Washington Post MEXICO CITY — The Trump administration has won the support of Mexico’s incoming government for a plan to remake U.S. border policy by requiring asylum seekers to wait in Mexico while their claims move through U.S. courts, according to Mexican officials and senior members of president-elect Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s transition team. The agreement would break with long-standing asylum rules and place a formidable new barrier in the path of Central American migrants attempting to reach the United States and escape poverty and violence. By reaching the accord, the Trump administration has also overcome Mexico’s historic reticence to deepen cooperation with the United States on an issue widely seen here as America’s problem. The White House had no immediate comment. According to outlines of the plan, known as Remain in Mexico, asylum applicants at the border will have to stay in Mexico while their cases are processed, potentially ending the system Trump decries as “catch and release” that has until now generally allowed those seeking refuge to wait on safer U.S. soil. “For now, we have agreed to this policy of Remain in Mexico,” said Olga Sánchez Cordero, Mexico’s incoming interior minister, the top domestic policy official for López Obrador, who takes office Dec. 1. In an interview with The Washington Post, she called it a “short-term solution.” “The medium- and long-term solution is that people don’t migrate,” Sánchez Cordero said. “Mexico has open arms and everything, but imagine, one caravan after another after another, that would also be a problem for us.” While no formal agreement has been signed, and U.S. officials caution that many details must still be discussed, the incoming Mexican government is amenable to the concept of turning their country in to a waiting room for America’s asylum system. While they remain anxious the deal could fall apart, U.S. officials view this as a potential breakthrough that could deter migration and the formation of additional caravans that originate in Central America and cross through Mexico to reach the United States. They have quietly engaged in sensitive talks with senior Mexican officials, attempting to offer a diplomatic counterbalance to President Donald Trump’s threats and ultimatums. Alarmed by Trump’s deployment of U.S. military forces to California, Arizona and Texas, and his threats to close busy border crossings, Mexican officials were further determined to take action after migrants traveling as part of a caravan forced their way onto Mexican soil last month, pushing past police blockades at the border with Guatemala. The prospect of keeping thousands of Central American asylum seekers for months or years in drug cartel-dominated Mexican border states — some of the most violent in the country — has troubled human-rights activists and others who worry that such a plan could put migrants at risk and undermine their lawful right to apply for asylum. “We have not seen a specific proposal, but any policy that would leave individuals stranded in Mexico would inevitably put people in danger,” said Lee Gelernt, an ACLU attorney whose team has won several legal victories against the Trump administration’s immigration initiatives in recent months. “The administration ought to concentrate on providing a fair and lawful asylum process in the U.S. rather than inventing more and more ways to try to short-circuit it,” Gelernt said. The new measures could also trigger legal challenges, though Gelernt said it was too early to comment on potential litigation. The deal took shape last week in Houston during a meeting between Marcelo Ebrard, Mexico’s incoming foreign minister, and top U.S. officials such as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, according to U.S. and Mexican officials. Nielsen has been fighting to keep her job since the midterms, and while Trump has told aides he plans to replace her, the president praised her this week for “trying.” Dozens of U.S. asylum officers have been sent to San Diego where they will begin implementing the new procedures in coming days or weeks, according to Department of Homeland Security officials. Under the new procedures, asylum seekers arriving at the border will be given an initial screening interview to determine whether they face imminent danger by staying in Mexico. U.S. officials describing the new system on the condition of anonymity said that they will be able to process at least twice as many asylum claims as they do now because they would not be limited by detention space constraints at U.S. ports of entry. The San Ysidro port of entry in the San Diego area currently accepts about 60 to 100 asylum claims per day. Just over the border, nearly 5,000 Central Americans have arrived in Tijuana this month as part of caravan groups, and several thousand others are en route to the city, where a baseball field has been turned into a swelling tent camp. The city’s mayor declared a “humanitarian crisis” Friday and said the city’s taxpayers would not foot the bill for the migrants’ care. A group of business leaders in the city said they have thousands of job openings at the city’s assembly plants, or maquiladoras, inviting Central American migrants to work in the factories. Though wages there are a small fraction of U.S. pay, Mexican officials said the work offer was one reason they believe the Remain in Mexico plan will succeed. Across the country, there are 100,000 jobs available to Central American asylum seekers, officials said. “We want them to be included in society, that they integrate into society, that they accept the offer of employment that we are giving them,” Sánchez Cordero said, “that they feel taken care of by Mexico in this very vulnerable situation.” Two senior members of López Obrador’s transition team said the new accord would formalize what is already occurring. By admitting so few people into the asylum process, the United States is already using Mexico as an antechamber. U.S. immigration statistics show roughly 80 percent of Central Americans pass a perfunctory “credible fear” interview after reaching the United States, but fewer than 10 percent are ultimately granted asylum by a judge. The backlog of cases in U.S. immigration courts has ballooned past 750,000, giving many asylum seekers who do not qualify a chance to remain in the country for several years while waiting to see a judge. This gap, Department of Homeland Security officials say, amounts to a “loophole” that has invited a flood of spurious asylum claims, giving applicants a way to live and work in the United States for years. The new deal, however, could inadvertently increase illegal border-crossing attempts by discouraging asylum seekers from approaching official ports of entry. On Monday, a federal judge in California blocked the Trump administration’s attempt to render ineligible for asylum those who cross illegally, saying U.S. laws protect everyone who reaches U.S. soil. Last month, the number of people taken into U.S. custody along the Mexico border or who attempted to enter without authorization topped 60,000, the highest of Trump’s presidency. For months U.S. officials sought an accord with Mexico that would obligate asylum seekers to wait south of the border or render those who pass through the country ineligible for humanitarian protections in the United States. They have viewed such an accord as the key step to stopping the sharp increase in asylum claims, which have quadrupled since 2014. One version of the plan, known as a “Safe Third” agreement, was discussed extensively with the current government of president Enrique Peña Nieto. It would have barred Central Americans from applying for asylum in the United States, on the grounds that they would no longer face persecution after arriving in Mexico. But López Obrador’s landslide July 1 victory sunk those plans, and senior members of his transition team say a “Safe Third” is a nonstarter. Mexican officials consider the Remain in Mexico plan more palatable. It would not lock them into a formal, long-term agreement. And several Mexican officials privately acknowledge that the country’s border states are not, in fact, safe. U.S. State Department travel warnings also urge American visitors to avoid several Mexican border states. U.S. officials involved in the talks said Mexico has not asked for financial assistance to implement the new procedures, which could result in significant costs if asylum seekers are made to wait for months or years. They described the deal as a collaboration, and senior officials from both governments insisted it was not imposed upon Mexico. Both American and Mexican officials said they hoped the accord would pave the way to a broader regional cooperation aimed at stimulating job creation in Central America. “Our engagement with Mexico is, first and foremost, based on mutual respect and on a commitment to work together to find creative solutions to our shared challenges,” said Kim Breier, a senior State Department official with purview of Mexico and Latin America who participated in the talks. “As neighbors and friends, the United States and Mexico are committed to strengthening cooperation to advance the security and economic well-being of the citizens of both nations based on shared interests and respect for each country’s sovereignty and the rule of law,” Breier said in a statement. A fixture on Mexico’s left for decades, López Obrador won on populist promises to fight corruption and help the poor. Many U.S. officials assumed he would bring a more confrontational approach toward Trump and the United States. During the campaign, he was generally restrained in his criticism of Trump, repeatedly expressing a desire for a positive relationship. At times he offered harsh assessments, though: he referred to Trump as a “neo-fascist” last year as he was gearing up for his campaign, and later said that the Mexican government had been doing Washington’s “dirty work” by catching Central Americans. Since his victory in July, López Obrador and Trump have traded compliments. Sánchez Cordero said the transition team’s interactions with the Trump administration have been “surprisingly cordial.” “Trump has been very friendly, very courteous, very cordial with President López Obrador,” said Sánchez Cordero. “It’s been a very smooth relationship.” U.S. asylum officers and other immigration officials who began receiving guidance this week on the implementation of Remain in Mexico were told the new procedures could take effect imminently, but senior officials from both governments say key details remain unresolved. U.S. officials want to roll out the program at the San Diego border crossing to deal with the caravans that have become a source of frustration for Trump, but they envision it could be expanded to another five to seven crossings along the U.S.-Mexico border. Senior U.S. officials said they want more assurances on how Mexico intends to keep asylum seekers safe and to ensure they don’t get deported back to Central America before the asylum claim gets resolved. After an initial fear screening at the port of entry, the asylum seeker would wait until their scheduled court appearance before an immigration judge. Then they would be escorted to a federal courthouse by U.S. officers but would potentially have to return to Mexico again if the judge did not reach an immediate determination on their asylum claim. Under the new rules, an applicant whose asylum claim is denied would not be allowed to return to Mexico. Instead, that the person would remain in U.S. custody and face immediate deportation to their home country. ||||| MEXICO CITY — Mexico's incoming government denied a report Saturday that it plans to allow asylum-seekers to wait in the country while their claims move through U.S. immigration courts, one of several options the Trump administration has been pursuing in negotiations for months. "There is no agreement of any sort between the incoming Mexican government and the U.S. government," future Interior Minister Olga Sanchez said in a statement. Hours earlier, The Washington Post quoted her as saying that the incoming administration of Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador had agreed to allow migrants to stay in Mexico as a "short-term solution" while the U.S. considered their applications for asylum.Lopez Obrador will take office on Dec. 1. The statement shared with The Associated Press said the future government's principal concern related to the migrants is their well-being while in Mexico. Sanchez said the government does not plan for Mexico to become a "third safe country." The Washington Post reported Saturday that the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has won support from the Mexican president-elect's team for a plan dubbed "Remain in Mexico." The newspaper also quoted Sanchez as saying: "For now, we have agreed to this policy of Remain in Mexico." Sanchez did not explain in the statement why The Washington Post had quoted her as saying there had been agreement. The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment. U.S. officials have said for months that they were working with Mexico to find solutions for what they have called a border crisis. Approximately 5,000 Central American migrants have arrived in recent days to Tijuana, just south of California, after making their way through Mexico via caravan. Tijuana Mayor Juan Manuel Gastelum on Friday declared a humanitarian crisis in his border city, which is struggling to accommodate the influx. Most of the migrants are camped inside a sports complex, where they face long wait times for food and bathrooms. Julieta Vences, a congresswoman with Lopez Obrador's Morena party who is also president of Mexico's congressional migrant affairs commission, told the AP that incoming Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard has been discussing with U.S. officials how to handle a deluge of asylum claims at the border. "They're going to have to open the borders (for the migrants) to put in the request," Vences said. "They will also give us dates, on what terms they will receive the (asylum) requests and in the case that they are not beneficiaries of this status, they will have to return here," Vences said. She spoke to the AP after a visit to the crowded sports complex in Tijuana. | U.S. President Donald Trump announces that migrants seeking asylum at the southern border will wait in Mexico while their claims are processed in U.S. courts. Mexico's incoming foreign minister Marcelo Ebrard denies an agreement has been reached, and says "(no) specific proposal" has been received from the United States. Andrés Manuel López Obrador's administration will take power next Saturday, December 1. |
Image copyright Reuters Image caption Same-sex marriage supporters reacted as it became clear that they lost the vote Voters in Taiwan have rejected legalising same-sex marriages in a series of referendums on Saturday. They backed the definition of marriage as the union of a man and woman. Last year a high court had ruled in favour of same-sex unions, ordering legislation. The government has said it will still press on with new laws but they may now be weaker. Meanwhile, President Tsai Ing-wen quit as leader of Taiwan's governing party after defeats in local elections. Her pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lost more than half of the 13 cities and counties it won in 2014. Taiwan's relations with China have deteriorated since Ms Tsai came to power in 2016. Beijing has refused to deal with her because she does not recognise an agreement reached between the two sides in 1992 that both sides are part of one China. What were voters asked about same-sex marriage? The marriage issue was actually the subject of three separate referendums on Saturday, which were put forward by rival camps. Conservative groups asked whether the current legislation - defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman in Taiwan's Civil Code - should remain unchanged, while LGBT activists asked for the marriage law to be amended to include same-sex couples. Results showed voters backed the conservative "pro-family" groups. The government had earlier said that Saturday's referendums would not affect it bringing in the changes required by the court ruling. The authorities are now expected to pass a special law, without amending the Civil Code. But campaigners fear the eventual legislation will be weaker. One possible outcome could be that gay couples are given legal protection - but not allowed to get married, correspondents say. What about President Tsai's move? At a news conference, she admitted that the DPP had suffered a series of defeats in key local elections. Image copyright Reuters Image caption President Tsai Ing-wen (centre): "We let down all our supporters" "Our efforts weren't enough and we let down all our supporters," the president said. Meanwhile the China-friendly former ruling party KMT made a dramatic comeback, winning 15 of the 22 cities and counties in Taiwan. Nearly 21,000 candidates were vying for 11,000 elected positions, from mayors to city councillors and township chiefs. A simple question of good relations Analysis by Cindy Sui in Taipei During campaigning, President Tsai and her administration accused China of meddling in the elections without providing hard evidence, often using the term fake news and promoting her party as protecting Taiwan's democracy. As in previous elections it also tried to fuel fears about China. In the end voters expressed dissatisfaction with her and her party, not only for the sluggish economy, continuing low wages and a wealth gap, but also the worsening of relations with China since she came into power in 2016. The DPP's core supporters are the 30% of Taiwanese who are adamant about independence and want it immediately. But the majority of voters want to maintain the status quo - neither independence nor unification. They simply want good relations with China and peace and prosperity for Taiwan. If President Tsai and her party refuse to change course on China, they risk losing the presidency and their majority rule in parliament in the 2020 election. ||||| Voters in Taiwan have rejected marriage equality in a series of referendums, creating uncertainty around how the government will respond to a court ruling demanding legal recognition of same-sex unions in the country. In May last year, Taiwan’s top court ruled that the country’s marriage laws violated same-sex couples’ constitutional right to equality and set a two-year deadline for the parliament to amend the existing laws or pass new ones. But the government failed to act and after petitions from both anti- and pro-LGBTIQ groups, a series of competing public votes were held on Saturday, six months ahead of the May 2019 deadline. One called for the current definition of marriage in Taiwan’s Civil Code – recognised as between a man and a woman – to stay unchanged won more than seven million votes, passing the threshold for success, BBC News reported. And another calling for legal protections for same-sex unions under a separate law gained over six million, also passing the threshold. But a referendum by LGBTIQ advocates proposing the Civil Code be amended to define marriage to be between two people only received three million votes in favour, falling short of the number of votes needed. The Marriage Equality Coalition Taiwan said they were “deeply saddened and disappointed” by the results of the referendum. “However, we would like to express our gratitude toward those who have been supporting the cause throughout the process,” the group said. Opposing group, the Coalition for the Happiness of our Next Generation, said the win was a victory for all people “who treasure family values”. The results of the referendum are a major setback for LGBTIQ advocates in the country and while the votes won’t affect the 2017 court ruling or the May 2019 deadline for change, it’s now unclear how the government will respond. LGBTIQ campaigners are concerned that establishing a separate marriage or civil partnership scheme would fail to deliver same-sex couples full equality. Human rights group Amnesty International said the results don’t change the need to provide legal recognition to same-sex unions but they “cast a shadow” on how that will be implemented. “This result is a bitter blow and a step backwards for human rights in Taiwan,” Amnesty International Taiwan’s Acting Director Annie Huang said. “However, despite this setback, we remain confident that love and equality will ultimately prevail.” Huang warned the result “must not be used as an excuse to further undermine the rights of LGBTI people.” “The Taiwanese government needs to step up and take all necessary measures to deliver equality and dignity for all, regardless of who people love,” she said. ||||| TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Voters in Taiwan passed a referendum asking that marriage be restricted to one man and one woman, a setback to LGBT couples hoping their island will be the first place in Asia to let same-sex couples share child custody and insurance benefits. The vote on Saturday, organized by Christian groups that make up about 5 percent of Taiwan’s population and advocates of the traditional Chinese family structure, goes against a May 2017 Constitutional Court ruling. Justices told legislators then to make same-sex marriage legal within two years, a first for Asia, where religion and conservative governments normally keep the bans in place. Although the ballot initiative is advisory only, it is expected to frustrate lawmakers mindful of public opinion as they face the court deadline next year. Many legislators will stand for re-election in 2020. “The legislature has lots of choices on how to make this court order take effect,” said referendum proponent Chen Ke, a Catholic pastor in Taiwan and an opponent of same-sex marriage. People take part in a rally in support of same-sex marriage near the Presidential Office in Taipei on November 18, 2018, ahead of a landmark vote on LGBT rights on November 24. Ruling party lawmakers backed by President Tsai Ing-wen had proposed legalizing same-sex marriage in late 2016, but put their ideas aside to await the court hearing. Courts will still consider local marriage licensing offices in violation of the law by May 2019 if they refuse same-sex couples, a Ministry of Justice spokesperson said last week. “The referendum is a general survey — it doesn’t have very strong legal implications,” said Shiau Hong-chi, professor of gender studies and communications management at Shih-Hsin University in Taiwan. “One way or another it has to go back to the court.” Voters approved a separate measure Saturday calling for a “different process” to protect same-sex unions. It’s viewed as an alternative to using the civil code. A third initiative, also approved, asked that schools avoid teaching LGBT “education.” “This result is a bitter blow and a step backwards for human rights in Taiwan,” Amnesty’s Taiwan-based Acting Director Annie Huang said. “However, despite this setback, we remain confident that love and equality will ultimately prevail.” Taiwanese also elected candidates from the China-friendly opposition Nationalist Party to a majority of mayoral and county magistrate posts, reversing the party’s losses in 2014. ||||| TAIPEI (Reuters) - Taiwan voters were set to back a referendum that defines marriage as between a man and a woman, dealing a blow to the self-ruled island’s reputation for liberalism in Asia amid a heated debate over marriage equality. In Asia’s first such ruling, Taiwan’s constitutional court declared in May 2017 that same-sex couples had the right to legally marry, and set a two-year deadline for legalization. But the island’s election authority earlier this year approved contradicting referendum petitions from both conservative and rights groups. While the election authority had not yet announced the final results of Saturday’s referendum, more than six million voters approved a series of initiatives opposing marriage equality, passing a threshold needed for a public vote. The vote presents a major defeat for rights activists who had campaigned for equal marriage. “This is a victory for all the people who support family value and the education for the next generation,” the Coalition for the Happiness of Our Next Generation, a group opposed to same-sex marriage, said in a statement. “The referendum is illegal and against the constitution, and has sharply divided and harmed the society,” the Marriage Equality Coalition Taiwan said in a statement. “The result showed that most people were misled by false information from anti-gay groups,” it said. The government has said the ruling of May 2017 will not be challenged by referendum results. But the authorities are expected to enact a special law for same-sex unions after Saturday’s vote. The vote presents a challenge to President Tsai Ing-wen, who activists say has backed away from a promise of marriage equality which she made in the run-up to elections in 2016. The issue has divided Taiwan, at family dining room tables, online and on the streets, with large campaigns and rallies on both sides of the debate. Taiwan hosts the region’s largest annual gay pride parade showcasing its lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. ||||| Taipei held its annual gay pride parade on Saturday, October 27, as the government faced ongoing pressure to pass same-sex marriage legislation. This video shows activists holding a huge rainbow flag at the parade on Ketagalan Boulevard. The event, which was in its 16th year, was hailed as the largest gay pride event in Asia, Focus Taiwan reported. There were an estimated 130,000 participants. LGBTQI activists were this year calling for people to vote to support same-sex marriage legislation in a referendum on November 24, after Taiwan’s constitutional court ruled in May, 2017, that banning same-sex unions was unlawful. Credit: Chan Ya Hui via Storyful Voters in Taiwan passed a referendum asking that marriage be restricted to one man and one woman, a setback to LGBT couples hoping their island will be the first place in Asia to let same-sex couples share child custody and insurance benefits. The vote on Saturday, organised by Christian groups that make up about 5 per cent of Taiwan’s population and advocates of the traditional Chinese family structure, goes against a May 2017 Constitutional Court ruling. Justices told legislators then to make same-sex marriage legal within two years, a first for Asia, where religion and conservative governments normally keep the bans in place. Although the ballot initiative is advisory only, it is expected to frustrate politicians mindful of public opinion as they face the court deadline next year. Many legislators will stand for re-election in 2020. “The legislature has lots of choices on how to make this court order take effect,” said referendum proponent Chen Ke, a Catholic pastor in Taiwan and an opponent of same-sex marriage. Ruling party politicians backed by President Tsai Ing-wen had proposed legalising same-sex marriage in late 2016, but put their ideas aside to await the court hearing. Opposition to same-sex marriage crested after the court ruling. Courts will still consider local marriage licensing offices in violation of the law by May 2019 if they refuse same-sex couples, a Ministry of Justice spokesperson said last week. “The referendum is a general survey — it doesn’t have very strong legal implications,” said Shiau Hong-chi, professor of gender studies and communications management at Shih-Hsin University in Taiwan. “One way or another it has to go back to the court.” Voters approved a separate measure on Saturday calling for a “different process” to protect same-sex unions. It’s viewed as an alternative to using the civil code. A third initiative, also approved, asked that schools avoid teaching LGBT “education.” Amnesty International told the government it needs to “deliver equality and dignity.” “This result is a bitter blow and a step backwards for human rights in Taiwan,” Amnesty’s Taiwan-based Acting Director Annie Huang said. “However, despite this setback, we remain confident that love and equality will ultimately prevail.” Taiwanese also elected candidates from the China-friendly opposition Nationalist Party to a majority of mayoral and county magistrate posts, reversing the party’s losses in 2014. ||||| Same-sex marriage campaigners in Taiwan were dealt a blow when the country in a referendum voted to restrict marriage to being between a man and a woman. Taiwanese voters cast ballots in 10 national referendums on Saturday, including on same-sex marriage and changing the country’s name at international sporting events. Seven million voted in favour of the civil code recognising marriage as between a man and woman, while six million called for same-sex unions to be regulated under a separate law, The Guardian reported. Only three million voted in favour of giving same-sex couples equal marriage rights under the civil code. In May 2017, Taiwan became the first country in Asia to legalise same-sex marriage but the government has been unable to implement its top court ruling in the face of conservative opposition. The court had given the government two years to implement its order. The government had said the referendum results would not impact the court’s ruling on same-sex marriage, but the results are expected to make it more difficult for lawmakers to pass legislation. Many lawmakers are up for re-election in 2020. Taiwan also opposed changing the country’s name in international sporting competitions, Focus Taiwan reported. The country currently competes as “Chinese Taipei” at such events. Meanwhile, the country’s President Tsai Ing-wen quit as head of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party after losing two vital cities in the mayoral elections. Ahead of the elections, Tsai’s government had accused China of attempting to sway voters through fake news, which Beijing denied. The mayoral posts in Taichung and Kaohsiung cities were won by the Kuomintang party, which is more friendly towards China, according to Global News. After Tsai’s decision, China lauded Taiwan voters for her party’s defeat, claiming it showed that people wanted peace with Beijing. “The results reflected the strong will of the Taiwan public in hoping to continue to share the benefits of the peaceful development of relations across the Taiwan Strait, and their strong wish in hoping to improve the island’s economy and people’s wellbeing,” a statement said according to Reuters. ||||| A little less than a year and a half ago, Taiwan seemed to be on the verge of allowing same-sex marriage. In May 2017, the country’s constitutional court ruled that the island’s civil code, which stated that only a man and a woman could marry, violated constitutional guarantees and gave the legislature two years to amend it or pass new legislation. The move seemed certain to cement Taiwan’s status as a haven in Asia for LGBT activism — indeed, it could not have happened without decades of activism. Taiwan looked set to become the first country in the whole of Asia to legalize same-sex unions. However, things have not worked out quite so simply. This Saturday, the country will vote in a referendum on whether to amend the civil code to allow same-sex marriage. And despite accusations of misinformation and propaganda, conservatives have mounted a powerful campaign against Taiwan’s LGBT movement, raising the real prospect that same-sex marriage could fail to become fully legal in the country. Although Taiwan is considered one of the most open to LGBT rights of all Asian countries, one recent survey from the Taiwanese Public Opinion Foundation found that 77 per cent of the country was opposed to amending the civil code. To many activists, a large part of the problem lies with the government of President Tsai Ing-wen and her Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). With her party’s popularity falling because of a stagnant economy and political pressure from China, the president has been hesitant to push the potentially divisive issue of same-sex marriage. Tsai once spoke in favor of marriage equality, but she has taken a neutral stance ahead of the vote, apparently hoping to appease the young voters who largely support gay marriage and the older voters who largely oppose it. “Same-sex marriage is also a reflection of the generational gap,” she said in an interview this summer. “We will bridge the differences society holds on this issue in order to propose a comprehensive bill.” Saturday’s referendum will take place on the same day as a midterm election that could be a key test of Tsai’s political leadership. And there will be a total of 10 referendums held on the day, including a geopolitically contentious vote on using the name “Taiwan” rather than “Chinese Taipei” in international sporting events — a move that could provoke anger from China. Notably, civic organizations spearheaded the same-sex marriage referendums, rather than the government. In fact, there are four separate same-sex marriage ballot issues organized by opposing organizations — two proposed by conservatives and one proposed by pro-LGBT-rights groups — as well as two separate questions about the teaching of LGBT issues to children in Taiwanese schools. There has been an avalanche of advertisements in Taiwanese media. Conservative groups have been accused of spreading misinformation about LGBT rights, running homophobic advertisements ahead of videos aimed at children on YouTube and using chat apps such as Line to spread false rumors stating that same-sex marriage will prompt a wave of HIV-positive gay men to move to Taiwan to take advantage of the country’s health care system. Taiwan has had referendums before, though none has passed. But changes to the law have meant that the threshold for approval has dropped from 50 per cent of eligible voters to 25 per cent. There’s certainly a possibility, however remote, that pro- and anti-gay marriage referendums could pass, providing a contradictory result for LGBT activists. While the referendum result can’t negate the constitutional court’s 2017 decision or the May 2019 deadline for implementing it, it could well influence what the government does next — in particular, whether it amends the civil code or proposes a new law. For many LGBT activists, the fear is that they will end up with legal same-sex unions but without full marriage equality — and that what once seemed like a great leap forward will not mark a real step in the right direction after all. ||||| TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) - Voters in Taiwan passed a referendum asking that marriage be restricted to one man and one woman, a setback to LGBT couples hoping their island will be the first place in Asia to let same-sex couples share child custody and insurance benefits. The vote on Saturday, organized by Christian groups that make up about 5 percent of Taiwan's population and advocates of the traditional Chinese family structure, goes against a May 2017 Constitutional Court ruling. Justices told legislators then to make same-sex marriage legal within two years, a first for Asia where religion and conservative governments normally keep the bans in place. Although the ballot initiative is advisory only, it is expected to frustrate lawmakers mindful of public opinion as they face the court deadline next year. Many legislators will stand for re-election in 2020. "The legislature has lots of choices on how to make this court order take effect," said referendum proponent Chen Ke, a Catholic pastor in Taiwan and an opponent of same-sex marriage. Ruling party lawmakers backed by President Tsai Ing-wen had proposed legalizing same-sex marriage in late 2016, but put their ideas aside to await the court hearing. Opposition to same-sex marriage crested after the court ruling. Opponents have held rallies and mobilized votes online. FILE - In this Dec. 10, 2016, file photo, supporters of LGBT and human rights wave rainbow flags during a rally supporting a proposal to allow same-sex marriage in Taipei, Taiwan, on the World Human Rights Day. Voters in Taiwan passed on Saturday, Nov. 24, 2018 a referendum asking that marriage be restricted to one man and one woman, a setback to LGBT couples hoping their island will be the first place in Asia to let same-sex couples share child custody and insurance benefits. (AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying, File) Courts will still consider local marriage licensing offices in violation of the law by May 2019, if they refuse same-sex couples, a Ministry of Justice spokesperson said last week. "The referendum is a general survey, it doesn't have very strong legal implications," said Shiau Hong-chi, professor of gender studies and communications management at Shih-Hsin University in Taiwan. "One way or another it has to go back to the court." Voters approved a separate measure Saturday calling for a "different process" to protect same-sex unions. It's viewed as an alternative to using the civil code. A third initiative, also approved, asked that schools avoid teaching LGBT "education." Amnesty International told the government it needs to "deliver equality and dignity." "This result is a bitter blow and a step backwards for human rights in Taiwan," Amnesty's Taiwan-based Acting Director Annie Huang said. "However, despite this setback, we remain confident that love and equality will ultimately prevail." Taiwanese also elected candidates from the China-friendly opposition Nationalist Party to a majority of mayoral and county magistrate posts, reversing the party's losses in 2014. FILE - In this Dec. 10, 2016, file photo, a couple kiss and hold their marriage certificate during a rally supporting a proposal to allow same-sex marriage in Taipei,, Taiwan, on the World Human Rights Day. Voters in Taiwan passed on Saturday, Nov. 24, 2018 a referendum asking that marriage be restricted to one man and one woman, a setback to LGBT couples hoping their island will be the first place in Asia to let same-sex couples share child custody and insurance benefits. (AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying, File) ||||| Voters in Taiwan have voted to restrict marriage to being between a man and a woman in an advisory referendum. Voters in Taiwan have voted to restrict marriage to being between a man and a woman in an advisory referendum. The referendum result has been seen as a setback to LGBT couples who were hoping their island would be the first place in Asia to let same-sex couples share child custody and insurance benefits. The vote on Saturday, organised by Christian groups that make up about 5% of Taiwan’s population and advocates of the traditional Chinese family structure, goes against a May 2017 Constitutional Court ruling. Justices told legislators then to make same-sex marriage legal within two years, a first for Asia where religion and conservative governments normally keep the bans in place. Although the ballot initiative is advisory only, it is expected to frustrate politicians who are mindful of public opinion as they face the court deadline next year. Many legislators will stand for re-election in 2020. “The legislature has lots of choices on how to make this court order take effect,” said referendum proponent Chen Ke, a Catholic pastor in Taiwan and an opponent of same-sex marriage. Ruling party politicians backed by President Tsai Ing-wen had proposed legalizing same-sex marriage in late 2016, but put their ideas aside to await the court hearing. Opposition to same-sex marriage rose after the court ruling, as opponents held rallies and mobilised votes online. Courts will still consider local marriage licensing offices in violation of the law by May 2019, if they refuse same-sex couples, a Ministry of Justice spokesperson said last week. “The referendum is a general survey, it doesn’t have very strong legal implications,” said Shiau Hong-chi, professor of gender studies and communications management at Shih-Hsin University in Taiwan. “One way or another it has to go back to the court.” Voters approved a separate measure on Saturday calling for a “different process” to protect same-sex unions. Amnesty International told the government it needs to “deliver equality and dignity”. “This result is a bitter blow and a step backwards for human rights in Taiwan,” Amnesty’s Taiwan-based Acting Director Annie Huang said. “However, despite this setback, we remain confident that love and equality will ultimately prevail.” ||||| Taipei [Taiwan], Nov 25 (ANI): A public vote held in Taiwan rejected the legalisation of same-sex marriage in the island-nation, despite a 2017 high court ruling in favour of such unions. Quoting state media, CNN reported that a question which asked "Do you agree that Civil Code regulations should restrict marriage to being between a man and a woman?" received the largest vote-share - more than seven million votes - amongst five referendum questions related to LGBT rights and education. Out of these, three questions were framed by members from conservative parties while two had been drafted by pro-LGBT activists. On the other hand, the question on same-sex marriage put forth by gay rights activists only garnered three million votes, sending a wave of disappointment amongst supporters. "The results of the referendums on Saturday indicate that the three anti-LGBTI rights motions were accepted, with up to 35 per cent of all eligible voters supporting. The two pro-LGBTI rights motions received less than 18 per cent in favour," human rights group Amnesty International mentioned. The referendum took place regardless of the high court's ruling, as the government failed to implement laws legitimising same-sex marriages in the face of resistance from conservative groups that led to the public vote. The court had given a two-year deadline to the government. "The regression of gender equality deals the most severe blow to Taiwan's democratic values," Jennifer Lu, Marriage Equality Coalition Taiwan's spokesperson told Al Jazeera. Nevertheless, human rights groups including Amnesty International are rallying for marriage equality in the island nation. Amnesty tweeted, "Taiwan's referendum results rejecting marriage equality are a bitter blow but despite this setback, we remain confident that love and equality will ultimately prevail!" This is a major setback to same-sex rights in the nation, in the face of the latest local elections in Taiwan. Current President Tsai Ing-wen turned in her resignation as the chief of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) after the results, where DPP was handed a crushing defeat. She will, however, serve the remainder of her term as Taiwan's President until 2020. The Kuomintang (KMT) party, which is believed to be close to the People's Republic of China, obtained a higher vote share in the elections which are being seen as a precursor to the 2020 Presidential elections. (ANI) | Referendum voters in Taiwan reject a proposal to allow same-sex marriage. A March 2017 Constitutional Court ruling found the ban on these unions unconstitutional and ordered parliament to change the law within two years. Earlier, the government said the results of this vote would not affect its complying with the court's decision. |
The United Nations Security Council will hold an emergency meeting on Monday after Russia seized three Ukrainian navy ships off the coast of Crimea, the US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley wrote on Twitter. Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB), which oversees the country's border guard service, said it was forced to open fire on the ships on Sunday after they illegally entered Russian territorial waters. "There is irrefutable evidence that Kiev prepared and orchestrated provocations," it said. "These materials will soon be made public." Three Ukrainian sailors wounded in the clashes were in a stable condition and receiving medical care, it added. Earlier in the day, Russia blocked access to the Sea of Azov from the Black Sea, accusing the same three Ukrainian vessels of entering its territorial waters without permission. The two Ukrainian navy artillery boats and a tugboat were transiting from Odessa on the Black Sea to Mariupol in the Sea of Azov via the Kerch Strait, a narrow passage between Crimea and the Russian mainland. The Ukrainian navy said a Russian coast guard vessel responded to their presence by ramming the tugboat, resulting in damage to the ship's engines and hull. Ukraine's interior minister, Arsen Avakov, shared a video on Twitter purporting to show the moment the Russian ship rammed the tugboat. Read more: Five years after Euromaidan, Ukraine's new reformers battle corruption Ukraine said Russia's actions broke international law and vowed a "diplomatic legal response." The FSB, it insisted, had received advance notice about the ships' movements. President Petro Poroshenko said on Monday that he would propose parliament declare martial law. This would restrict civil liberties and give state institutions greater power. The European Union and NATO separately called for restraint on both sides and for Russia to restore freedom of passage via the Kerch strait. Although a 2003 treaty designates the tow areas as shared territorial waters, Russia has been asserting greater control over the passage since 2015. The latest dispute has raised concerns about a possible escalation of a wider conflict between the two neighbors. Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula in 2014 to widespread international condemnation. Since then, Ukraine has fought a civil war against pro-Russian separatists in the country's eastern regions. Each evening at 1830 UTC, DW's editors send out a selection of the day's hard news and quality feature journalism. You can sign up to receive it directly here. ||||| MOSCOW (AP) — Russia’s coast guard opened fire on and seized three of Ukraine’s vessels Sunday, wounding two crew members, after a tense standoff in the Black Sea near the Crimean Peninsula, the Ukrainian navy said. Russia blamed Ukraine for provoking the incident, which sharply escalated tensions that have been growing between the two countries since Moscow annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, and it has worked steadily to bolster its zone of control around the peninsula. Earlier in the day, Russia and Ukraine traded accusations over a separate incident involving the same vessels, prompting Moscow to block passage through the narrow Kerch Strait, which separates the peninsula from the Russian mainland. The Ukrainian navy said two of its gunboats were struck and Russian crews boarded and seized them and an accompanying tugboat. Russia’s Federal Security Service, known as the FSB and which oversees the coast guard, said there was “irrefutable evidence that Kiev prepared and orchestrated provocations … in the Black Sea. These materials will soon be made public.” The FSB confirmed early Monday that it fired on the vessels to force them to stop, and then seized them. The European Union and NATO called for restraint from both sides and for Moscow to restore access to the strait, which Ukraine uses to move ships to and from ports on either side of the peninsula. Ukrainian authorities said they had given advance notice to the Russians that the vessels would be moving through the strait, which connects the Black Sea to the Sea of Azov. Russia said the three Ukrainian vessels made an unauthorized passage through Russian territorial waters, while Ukraine alleged that one of its boats was rammed by a Russian coast guard vessel. The tugboat, which was rammed, was traveling with the two Ukrainian gunboats from Odessa on the Black Sea to Mariupol, an eastern Ukraine port, via the Kerch Strait. “Russian coast guard vessels … carried out openly aggressive actions against Ukrainian navy ships,” the Ukrainian statement said, with the tugboat suffering damage to its engine, hull, side railing and a lifeboat. The Kerch Strait is the only passage into the Sea of Azov. The strait is spanned by the recently completed Kerch Bridge, connecting Crimea to Russia. Transit under the bridge has been blocked by a tanker ship, and dozens of cargo ships awaiting passage are stuck. Russia has not given any indication of how long it will block the strait, but a long-term closure to would amount to an economic blockade of Ukrainian cities on the Azov coast. Russia’s Black Sea Fleet greatly outmatches the Ukrainian navy. Ukrainian ports on the Sea of Azov include strategically vital centers such as Mariupol, the closest government-controlled city to Donetsk and Luhansk, the breakaway regions of eastern Ukraine controlled by Russia-backed separatists. Thousands of people in those regions have been killed in fighting between Ukrainian troops and the separatists since 2014. The FSB told Russian news agencies after the first incident that the Ukrainian ships held their course and violated Russian territorial waters. “Their goal is clear — to create a conflict situation in the region,” the FSB statement said. It did not mention that a Ukrainian tugboat was rammed. Although a 2003 treaty designates the Kerch Strait and Sea of Azov as shared territorial waters, Russia has been asserting greater control over the passage since 2015. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said earlier that Russia’s actions violated the U.N. Charter and international law, and pledged to “promptly inform our partners about Russia’s aggressive actions.” “Such actions pose a threat to the security of all states in the Black Sea region,” the statement said, “and therefore require a clear response from the international community.” Ukraine’s National Security Council said in a statement that it was meeting over the incident. About 50-100 people gathered outside the Russian Embassy in Kiev to protest Moscow’s actions. Dmitry Kiselyov, a commentator on Russian state-controlled TV, told viewers of his Sunday evening news program that Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko, encouraged by the U.S., is looking to pick a fight with Russia in the Black Sea. The talk show host also alleged the U.S. talked Poroshenko into staging a provocation against Russia as a means to disrupt an upcoming meeting between Presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump at this week’s Group of 20 summit in Argentina. “What is happening now at the (Kerch) bridge threatens to turn into a very unpleasant story,” Kiselyov said. ||||| Ukrainian policemen guard the Russian embassy building with smoke behind during Ukrainian activists rally in Kiev, Ukraine, 25 November 2018. Russia has seized three Ukrainian vessels amid their leaving the Kerch Strait; Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko is gathering the Military Cabinet over the incident. MOSCOW – Ukrainian lawmakers were set to consider a presidential request for the introduction of martial law in the country on Monday following an incident in which Russian coast guard ships fired on Ukrainian navy vessels. An emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council was also called for Monday. The European Union and NATO called for restraint from both sides. The Ukrainian navy said six of its seamen were wounded when Russian coast guards opened fire on three Ukrainian ships near the Kerch Strait and then seized them late Sunday. The two nations traded blame over the incident that further escalated tensions that have soared since Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula in 2014 and backed a separatist insurgency in eastern Ukraine. Ukraine said its vessels were heading to the Sea of Azov in line with international maritime rules, while Russia charged that they had failed to obtain a permission to pass through the Kerch Strait separating Crimea from the Russian mainland. More: Russia fires on Ukrainian vessels in Black Sea; 2 wounded The narrow strait is the only passage between the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. It’s spanned by a 19-kilometer (11.8-mile) bridge that Russia completed this year. Ukraine’s president, Petro Poroshenko, chaired an emergency meeting of his Cabinet early Monday and asked parliament to introduce martial law in response to what he described as Russian aggression. “We consider it as an act of aggression against our state and a very serious threat,” the president said. “Unfortunately, there are no ‘red lines’ for the Russian Federation.” The Ukrainian military said that six of the 23 crew on board its three vessels were wounded. Russia’s Federal Security Service that is in charge of the coast guard said that three Ukrainian sailors were lightly injured and given medical assistance. It said the Ukrainian boats were towed to the nearby port of Kerch. Russia closed the Kerch Strait for sea traffic Sunday by positioning a tanker under the bridge spanning it. It reopened the route early Monday. The seizure of the Ukrainian ships followed a tense situation in which the three Ukrainian vessels were maneuvering near the Kerch Strait for hours shadowed by Russian coast guard boats. The incident came after months of tensions and incidents in the Sea of Azov that involved inspections and seizures of ships. While a 2003 treaty designates the Kerch Strait and Sea of Azov as shared territorial waters, Russia has sought to assert greater control over the passage since the annexation of Crimea. Yuras Karmanau in Minsk, Belarus, contributed to this report. ||||| Russia has accused Ukraine of planning and staging a deliberate "provocation" for political purposes following a naval incident in the Kerch Strait that marked the first public acknowledgement by Moscow of its forces firing on Ukrainian troops since the onset of fighting in eastern Ukraine nearly five years ago. Kyiv insists Russia is waging a "hybrid war" on Ukraine, and that the ramming, firing-on, and seizure of its vessels with their crews outside the Sea of Azov is just the latest attack in a long-running, separatism-fueled conflict with Moscow and its proxies. The UN Security Council called a special session for later on November 26 to discuss the situation. "We're dealing with a very dangerous provocation, and this of course demands special attention and a special investigation," Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin, said on November 26. He said the Kremlin would refrain from further comment until the Russian Foreign Ministry made a detailed statement about the incident. Kyiv regards the incident as evidence of continuing Russian aggression in a region where Moscow used to call the shots, and alleges that Russia continues to wage a hybrid war against its smaller neighbor. Moscow counters that Ukraine's government is provoking conflict under orders from Washington. "Literally the whole basis of the politics of Poroshenko and his regime is a provocation," Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova wrote on Facebook, without citing any evidence. Chalking the incident up to efforts by the Poroshenko administration to raise his approval rating and distract from domestic issues, Zakharova's statements echoed those of other Russian officials, including Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin. Karasin claimed that the Sea of Azov had been specifically chosen for its strategic location -- where "provocative activities by Ukraine can bring rapid and required results for an international scandal." "Unfortunately our worst fears have been confirmed," Karashin told RIA Novosti. Russian state media have given generous coverage to the incident, devoting several live TV debates to the issue. "Maritime Aggression" was the title of a report on the prime-time Sunday evening show News of the Week, in which Russian state media boss and presenter Dmitry Kiselyov claimed the clash near the Kerch Strait was a Western-led provocation aimed at undermining a meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Putin at the Group of 20 (G20) summit in Argentina on November 30. "Ships of the Ukrainian Navy are still in our territorial waters, but they're adrift. They're waiting for something," Kiselyov said on the evening of November 25, as news of the event was still unfolding. "It's unwise to sink the trespassers, since that's clearly exactly what they want. All we can do is pray that the rusty old barges of the Ukrainian Navy don't sink themselves, as they'll pin that on Russia in any case." Russia has bolstered naval forces into the area over the past year -- with an overmatched Ukraine trying to do the same -- and routinely detained Ukrainian vessels in waters that Kyiv still regards as its own or at least shared, according to a bilateral agreement from 2003. In an interview with news channel Rossia 24, the Moscow-installed leader in Crimea, Sergey Aksyonov, said the conflict is being provoked by "psychologically abnormal people" in Ukraine who have no concern for the fate of their citizens. "Crimea has returned to Russia forever," he said. "So there's nothing in the cards for them." The United Nations gave overwhelming support to a 2014 resolution underscoring Ukraine's territorial integrity following Russia's seizure of Crimea and with Russia-backed separatists fighting for control of swaths of eastern Ukraine in 2014. Russian officials have also publicly targeted international support for Ukraine's version of the November 25 events, calling out their counterparts in the European Union for risking further escalations with their statements of support for Kyiv. After European Council President Donald Tusk tweeted that he condemned Russia's use of force in the Sea of Azov, Andrei Klimov, a member of Russia's Federation Council, issued a bitter rebuke and accused the EU of encouraging Ukraine's president to engage in "military adventurism." "The EU does not understand the consequences of such decisions, that it encourages such actions by Poroshenko," Klimov told RIA Novosti. "This is the same as placing a machine gun and flame thrower in the hands of a psychopath and watching how he acts in a recreation park where people are taking walks." Yet while the Russian narrative has zeroed in on the notion that Poroshenko is angling for approval ratings ahead of a planned vote in Ukraine in March, some commentators in Russia painted the incident as a ploy by Russia's president to improve his own political standing. "Putin's approval rating this month is 66%, slowly going down to its lowest pre-Crimean level," Andrei Kolesnikov, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Moscow Center, wrote on Twitter, referring to a period before Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014 boosted outward displays of patriotism and raised Putin's domestic ratings. "Why not to mobilize domestic audience, demonstrating military force in the sea?" But if this was the Kremlin's tactic, at least some Russians appear convinced that it might have unintended consequences. Vladimir Milov, a prominent member of the Russian opposition, argued that the Ukrainian Navy might have been trying to test Russia's resolve in preventing it from entering the Kerch Strait. "If the goal was to scare the Ukrainians so that they 'stop trespassing,' then the way this was done they'll definitely 'trespass' again," Milov wrote on Facebook. "There'll be consequences for Putin, 100%, talk of a new round of sanctions will now get a fresh impulse." ||||| MOSCOW — A dispute between Russia and Ukraine in the waters off the Crimean Peninsula has raised the prospect of a larger military confrontation between the two neighbors. It follows 4½ years of bloodshed between Ukrainian forces and Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine. A look at the conflict, its roots and possible outcomes: When the Soviet Union broke apart in 1991, parts of Ukraine were eager to escape the Russian leash and join with Western Europe and possibly NATO. But Russia’s ties with the industrial heartland of eastern Ukraine run deep, with many Russian speakers living there. In addition, most people who live in Crimea are Russian-speakers, and Moscow has a naval base there where its Black Sea fleet is headquartered. In 2013, the Ukrainian government was due to sign a deal supposed to open European Union markets for Ukrainian goods and put the country on a pathway to possible EU membership. Russia, Ukraine’s closest neighbor and major trading partner, vehemently opposed the deal, fearing an uncontrolled flow of goods through what was then virtually an open border. Then-Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych pledged to sign the deal — but walked out on it at the last moment. Mass protests followed in Kiev, decrying Yanukovych for what was seen as an attempt to deny Ukrainians a European future. A crackdown by riot police saw 130 people killed in sniper fire. Yanukovych fled to Russia. Russia annexed the Crimea in 2014 after troops without insignia occupied crucial infrastructure, including Ukrainian military bases, while Ukrainian troops put up little resistance and retreated. It was only years later that Russian President Vladimir Putin publicly admitted that these were in fact Russian troops. Activists in eastern Ukraine, backed by Russian operatives, took over towns and tore down Ukrainian flags. Separatist leaders in the cities of Donetsk and Luhansk held elections supporting a motion to break away from Ukraine. Sporadic violence grew into a full-blown conflict in May 2014, when Ukraine launched an airstrike on the Donetsk airport that was overrun by Russian Chechen fighters. More than 10,000 people have been killed and over 1 million displaced, with large parts of the east still under separatist control. The Kremlin never admitted its role, portraying it as a civil conflict, but overwhelming evidence suggests Russia has been sending a sizeable number of troops and advisers as well as weapons to the rebels. Ukraine signed peace accords with the separatists in 2015, calling for a cease-fire and political settlement in the east. While it helped to decrease the intensity of fighting, the accords did nothing to resolve the region’s political stalemate. The latest area of rising tension occurred Sunday in the Kerch Strait, which links the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea off the eastern edge of the Crimean Peninsula. Russia has built a long bridge spanning the strait and connecting the peninsula with its mainland. In March, Ukraine detained a fishing vessel sailing from Crimea, and Russia increased its military presence in the area, inspecting all vessels sailing to or from Ukrainian ports, disrupting trade. Ukraine has protested, calling them an “economic blockade” affecting its ports in the industrial east. Ukraine says two of its naval gunboats and a tugboat were fired on and seized by the Russian coast guard in the narrow strait. Russia says the Ukrainian vessels violated its territorial waters. Both sides blamed the other in the incident. In another sign of Ukraine’s resolve to break with Russia, Kiev has stepped up efforts to seek independence for its Orthodox church. The church in Ukraine has been tied to the Moscow Patriarchate for hundreds of years, but calls for independence have increased since the conflict began. The Istanbul-based patriarchate, whose head Bartholomew I is considered the “first among equals” of Orthodox church leaders, made the first step toward recognizing the independence of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in October. The move was decried by the Russian Orthodox Church as well as the Kremlin. The ship seizure has prompted global concern and raised questions about eventual international intervention. NATO and the U.N. Security Council discussed what to do. Russia’s actions are drawing renewed Western anger — and demonstrating Putin’s resolve just days before he meets U.S. President Donald Trump at the Group of 20 summit in Argentina. The European Union is calling on both sides to stay calm, but is distracted by negotiations on Britain’s pending departure and divided over migration, and may have little energy to deal with a new crisis involving Russia and Ukraine. While Sunday’s incident raises the specter of a full-blown conflict between Ukraine and Russia, it is not likely that either wants an all-out-confrontation, and the leaders of both countries might be getting an outcome that they want. Putin, whose approval ratings have tumbled recently, reinforced the message that Crimea is Russian for good and that he won’t allow anyone to question it. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko is likely to benefit if parliament enacts his proposal of martial law. Poroshenko’s approval ratings have been plunging, and delaying the March presidential elections and playing up the Russian threat could help him get re-elected if the vote is put off for later. Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. ||||| The Kerch bridge is seen blocked for ships entrance, near Kerch, Crimea, Sunday, Nov. 25, 2018. A Russian coast guard vessel rammed a Ukrainian navy tugboat near Crimea, damaging the ship's engines and hull, the Ukrainian navy said Sunday. (AP Photo) The Kerch bridge is seen blocked for ships entrance, near Kerch, Crimea, Sunday, Nov. 25, 2018. A Russian coast guard vessel rammed a Ukrainian navy tugboat near Crimea, damaging the ship's engines and hull, the Ukrainian navy said Sunday. (AP Photo) MOSCOW (AP) — Russia’s coast guard opened fire on and seized three of Ukraine’s vessels Sunday, wounding two crew members, after a tense standoff in the Black Sea near the Crimean Peninsula, the Ukrainian navy said. Russia blamed Ukraine for provoking the incident, which sharply escalated tensions that have been growing between the two countries since Moscow annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, and it has worked steadily to bolster its zone of control around the peninsula. Earlier in the day, Russia and Ukraine traded accusations over a separate incident involving the same vessels, prompting Moscow to block passage through the narrow Kerch Strait, which separates the peninsula from the Russian mainland. The Ukrainian navy said two of its gunboats were struck and Russian crews boarded and seized them and an accompanying tugboat. Russia’s Federal Security Service, known as the FSB and which oversees the coast guard, said there was “irrefutable evidence that Kiev prepared and orchestrated provocations ... in the Black Sea. These materials will soon be made public.” The FSB confirmed early Monday that it fired on the vessels to force them to stop, and then seized them. An emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council was called for Monday morning over the escalating situation, according to U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley. The European Union and NATO called for restraint from both sides and for Moscow to restore access to the strait, which Ukraine uses to move ships to and from ports on either side of the peninsula. Ukrainian authorities said they had given advance notice to the Russians that the vessels would be moving through the strait, which connects the Black Sea to the Sea of Azov. Russia said the three Ukrainian vessels made an unauthorized passage through Russian territorial waters, while Ukraine alleged that one of its boats was rammed by a Russian coast guard vessel. The tugboat, which was rammed, was traveling with the two Ukrainian gunboats from Odessa on the Black Sea to Mariupol, an eastern Ukraine port, via the Kerch Strait. “Russian coast guard vessels ... carried out openly aggressive actions against Ukrainian navy ships,” the Ukrainian statement said, with the tugboat suffering damage to its engine, hull, side railing and a lifeboat. The Kerch Strait is the only passage into the Sea of Azov. The strait is spanned by the recently completed Kerch Bridge, connecting Crimea to Russia. Transit under the bridge has been blocked by a tanker ship, and dozens of cargo ships awaiting passage are stuck. Russia has not given any indication of how long it will block the strait, but a long-term closure to would amount to an economic blockade of Ukrainian cities on the Azov coast. Russia’s Black Sea Fleet greatly outmatches the Ukrainian navy. Ukrainian ports on the Sea of Azov include strategically vital centers such as Mariupol, the closest government-controlled city to Donetsk and Luhansk, the breakaway regions of eastern Ukraine controlled by Russia-backed separatists. Thousands of people in those regions have been killed in fighting between Ukrainian troops and the separatists since 2014. The FSB told Russian news agencies after the first incident that the Ukrainian ships held their course and violated Russian territorial waters. “Their goal is clear — to create a conflict situation in the region,” the FSB statement said. It did not mention that a Ukrainian tugboat was rammed. Although a 2003 treaty designates the Kerch Strait and Sea of Azov as shared territorial waters, Russia has been asserting greater control over the passage since 2015. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said earlier that Russia’s actions violated the U.N. Charter and international law, and pledged to “promptly inform our partners about Russia’s aggressive actions.” “Such actions pose a threat to the security of all states in the Black Sea region,” the statement said, “and therefore require a clear response from the international community.” Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, after a meeting with his National Security Council, said in a statement he would ask parliament Monday to take up the issue of whether to implement martial law over the incident. About 50-100 people gathered outside the Russian Embassy in Kiev to protest Moscow’s actions. Dmitry Kiselyov, a commentator on Russian state-controlled TV, told viewers of his Sunday evening news program that Poroshenko, encouraged by the U.S., is looking to pick a fight with Russia in the Black Sea. The talk show host also alleged the U.S. talked Poroshenko into staging a provocation against Russia as a means to disrupt an upcoming meeting between Presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump at this week’s Group of 20 summit in Argentina. “What is happening now at the (Kerch) bridge threatens to turn into a very unpleasant story,” Kiselyov said. ||||| MOSCOW, Nov 26 (Reuters) - Russia reopened the Kerch Strait near Crimea to shipping in the early hours of Monday morning after firing on and seizing three Ukrainian naval ships a day earlier, a move that triggered a dangerous new crisis between the two countries. Russia's FSB security service said early on Monday its border patrol boats had seized two small Ukrainian armoured artillery vessels and a tug boat after opening fire on them and wounding several sailors, the most serious clash between Moscow and Kiev in years. It had previously blocked the Kerch Strait near Russia-annexed Crimea to stop the ships from passing from the Black Sea into the Sea of Azov, saying the small flotilla had not notified it of its plans in advance and ignored warnings to stop while manoeuvring dangerously. With relations still raw after Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea and its backing for a pro-Moscow insurgency in eastern Ukraine, the incident risks pushing the two countries towards a wider conflict and is likely to renew Western calls for more sanctions on Moscow. The Russian rouble opened 0.4 percent weaker against the dollar in Moscow, its lowest since mid-November. Kiev, which denied its ships had done anything wrong, accused Russia of military aggression and asked for the international community to mobilise to punish Russia. The U.N. Security Council will meet on the latest developments at the request of Russia and Ukraine later on Monday, diplomats said. The European Union said in a statement it expected Russia to restore freedom of passage via the Kerch Strait and urged both sides to act with the utmost restraint to de-escalate the situation. A NATO spokeswoman issued a similar appeal to both sides. A Reuters witness said the three Ukrainian naval vessels seized by Russia were being held at the Crimean port of Kerch. People in naval-style uniforms could be seen around the vessels, which bore no sign of damage, the witness said. The FSB has said Russia has opened a criminal case in connection with what it said was the ships' illegal entry into Russia's territorial waters. The FSB said three Ukrainian sailors were wounded in the incident and were getting medical care. Their lives were not in danger, it said. The Ukrainian parliament is due to consider a proposal to impose martial law for 60 days later on Monday after Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko met his top military and security chiefs on Sunday night. The move may be unpopular in some quarters in Ukraine since it would restrict civil liberties and give state institutions greater power ahead of a presidential election next year which polls indicate Poroshenko would lose. (Additional reporting by Tom Balmforth Editing by Christian Lowe) ||||| MOSCOW/KIEV (Reuters) - Russia seized three Ukrainian naval ships off the coast of Russia-annexed Crimea on Sunday after opening fire on them and wounding several sailors, a move that risks igniting a dangerous new crisis between the two countries. Russia’s FSB security service said early on Monday its border patrol boats had seized the Ukrainian naval vessels in the Black Sea and used weapons to force them to stop, Russian news agencies reported. The FSB said it had been forced to act because the ships - two small Ukrainian armored artillery vessels and a tug boat - had illegally entered its territorial waters, attempted illegal actions, and ignored warnings to stop while maneuvering dangerously. “Weapons were used with the aim of forcibly stopping the Ukrainian warships,” the FSB said in a statement circulated to Russian state media. “As a result, all three Ukrainian naval vessels were seized in the Russian Federation’s territorial waters in the Black Sea.” The FSB said three Ukrainian sailors were wounded in the incident and were getting medical care. Their lives were not in danger, it said. With relations still raw after Russia’s annexation of Crimea and its backing for a pro-Moscow insurgency in eastern Ukraine, the incident risks pushing the two countries toward a wider conflict. Ukraine denied its ships had done anything wrong, accused Russia of military aggression, and asked for the international community to mobilize to punish Russia. The U.N. Security Council will meet on the latest developments at the request of Russia and Ukraine, diplomats said. POROSHENKO PROPOSES MARTIAL LAW Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko met his top military and security chiefs. Poroshenko said he would propose that parliament impose martial law. Russia annexed Crimea in 2014 and then built a giant road bridge linking it to southern Russia that straddles the Kerch Strait - a narrow stretch of water that links the Black Sea to the Sea of Azov, which is home to two of Ukraine’s most important ports. Russia’s control of Crimea, where its Black Sea Fleet is based, and of the bridge mean it is able to control shipping flows. The crisis began on Sunday after Russia stopped the three Ukrainian ships from entering the Sea of Azov by placing a cargo ship beneath the bridge. Seized Ukrainian ships, small armoured artillery ships and a tug boat, are seen anchored in a port of Kerch, Crimea November 26, 2018. REUTERS/Pavel Rebrov A Reuters witness said Russia backed its blockade with at least two Sukhoi Su-25 warplanes that screeched overhead. Russian state TV said Russian combat helicopters had been deployed in the area. The Ukrainian navy said on social media six Ukrainian sailors were wounded in the subsequent seizure of its ships, which appear to have been rammed and boarded, and that the Russian attack on them had occurred after they had retreated and headed back toward Odessa, the Black Sea port from where they had begun their journey. “After leaving the 12-mile zone, the Russian Federation’s FSB (security service) opened fire at the flotilla belonging to ... the armed forces of Ukraine,” it said in a statement. The European Union said in a statement it expected Russia to restore freedom of passage via the Kerch Strait and urged both sides to act with utmost restraint to de-escalate the situation. A NATO spokeswoman issued a similar appeal to both sides. RISK OF WIDER CONFLICT A bilateral treaty gives both Russia and Ukraine the right to use the Sea of Azov, which lies between them and is linked by the narrow Kerch Strait to the Black Sea. Tension has risen since Russia annexed Crimea, with both countries complaining about shipping delays and harassment. Russia’s border guard service accused Ukraine earlier on Sunday of not informing it in advance of the three ships’ journey, something Kiev denied. Russia said the Ukrainian ships had been maneuvering dangerously and ignoring its instructions with the aim of stirring up tensions. Slideshow (19 Images) Russian politicians denounced Kiev, saying the incident looked like a calculated bid by Poroshenko to increase his popularity ahead of an election next year. In another sign of rising tensions, Russia’s state-controlled RIA news agency reported on Sunday night that Ukrainian forces had started heavy shelling of residential areas in eastern Ukraine, which is controlled by pro-Moscow separatists. Reuters could not independently confirm that and the Interfax news agency cited separatists as denying there had been any unusual escalation. ||||| MOSCOW – President Petro Poroshenko said Monday that he is introducing martial law across Ukraine for 30 days, starting Wednesday, triggering a sharp escalation with neighboring Russia. Parliament still needs to ratify the proposal, though the bill is widely seen as sailing through. The move comes one day after Russian ships fired at and seized Ukrainian vessels in the Black Sea. Several Ukrainian sailors were injured, and 24 were detained by Moscow for provoking the incident by the Kerch Strait, a narrow strip of water separating the Black and Azov Seas. Poroshenko took to state television to say there was a “serious threat” of a land invasion by Russia. He cited Ukrainian intelligence reports as saying that Russian forces were forming just miles from the border with Ukraine. Russia warned Ukraine of “serious consequences” if it continues what Moscow describes as stoking conflict. Moscow has closed off the Kerch Strait. Under Ukrainian legislation, martial law allows for a slew of restrictions, from the media to individual movement. The latest standoff comes after months of rising tensions between the two countries, who have been at loggerheads since a pro-Moscow government in Ukraine was toppled more than four years ago, touching off Russia’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula and the ongoing war in eastern Ukraine involving pro-Russian separatists. The international community has condemned Russia’s maritime moves, with the European Union and NATO calling for restraint.
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• Trump says he has turned in answers to Mueller questions “Once again, we see Russian contempt for international norms and Ukrainian sovereignty,” British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said on Twitter, calling for the release of the Ukrainian soldiers and a restoration of movement through the Kerch Strait. An emergency session of the U.N. Security Council will be held Monday to discuss the crisis. ||||| MOSCOW -- Ukraine's president demanded Monday that Russia immediately release Ukrainian sailors and ships seized in a standoff around Crimea that sharply escalated tensions between the two countries and drew international concern. The two neighbours have been locked in a tense tug-of-war since Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea, but the incident late Sunday in which Russian coast guard ships fired on Ukrainian navy vessels near the Kerch Strait directly pitted the two militaries, placing them on the verge of an open conflict. The Ukrainian navy said six of its seamen were wounded when Russian coast guards opened fire on three Ukrainian ships near the Kerch Strait and then seized them. Russia said that three Ukrainian sailors were lightly injured and given medical assistance. Ukraine's president, Petro Poroshenko, chaired an emergency meeting of his Cabinet early Monday and asked parliament to introduce martial law in response to what he described as Russian aggression. "We consider it as an act of aggression against our state and a very serious threat," the president said. "Unfortunately, there are no 'red lines' for the Russian Federation." Martial law could entail a variety of measures including closing the borders, imposing restrictions on foreigners entering the country, a ban on gun sales, a ban of any political gatherings and rallies and even closing down media outlets if they are deemed a threat to national security. An emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council was also called for Monday. The European Union and NATO called for restraint from both sides. Poroshenko had a phone call Monday with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg to discuss the situation. NATO later said that at Poroshenko's request its ambassadors and Ukraine's envoy will hold emergency talks in Brussels later Monday. NATO said Stoltenberg expressed the U.S.-led military alliance's "full support for Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty, including its full navigational rights in its territorial waters under international law." Poroshenko said at a meeting of Ukraine's national security council Monday that "we demand that (the ships and crews) are urgently turned over to the Ukrainian side" and called for a "de-escalation" of the crisis around Crimea. Russia and Ukraine have traded blame over the incident that further escalated tensions that have soared since Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in 2014 and backed a separatist insurgency in eastern Ukraine. Ukraine said its vessels were heading to the Sea of Azov in line with international maritime rules, while Russia charged that they had failed to obtain permission to pass through the Kerch Strait separating Crimea from the Russian mainland. The narrow strait is the only passage between the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. It's spanned by a 19-kilometre (11.8-mile) bridge that Russia completed this year. While a 2003 treaty designates the Kerch Strait and Sea of Azov as shared territorial waters, Russia has sought to assert greater control over the passage since the annexation of Crimea. "There is no doubt that it was done by blessing or, perhaps, even a direct order from the top," said Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. "While planning that provocation, Ukraine had undoubtedly hoped to get additional benefits from the situation, expecting the U.S. and Europe to blindly take the provocateurs' side." He urged the West to "calm down those in Ukraine who are trying to unleash a military hysteria to get political gains in connection with the planned elections" -- a reference to Ukraine's presidential vote in March. A motion to introduce martial law requires a simple majority of votes in the 450-seat parliament, which Poroshenko's party controls. If martial law is introduced as proposed for 60 days, it will derail the presidential election campaign, which was expected to start on Dec. 30 with the vote in March. Some lawmakers lashed out at Poroshenko's move as an attempt to influence the vote. Polls show Poroshenko trailing far behind arch-rival Yulia Tymoshenko. "Martial law in Ukraine would present a wonderful chance to manipulate the presidential elections," said Oksana Syroid, a deputy speaker of parliament who is a member of the Samopomich faction. She noted that martial law was not introduced in 2014 or 2015 despite large-scale fighting between Ukrainian forces and Russia-backed separatists in the east. President Vladimir Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said that Poroshenko's initiative to introduce martial law "clearly smacks of electoral intrigues." "We believe that it's wrong and dangerous to solve electoral tasks by waving a flag of war," he said. Meanwhile, hundreds of protesters from far-right party National Corps waved flares at a protest in the snowy streets outside the Ukrainian parliament Monday. They brandished yellow-and-blue flags with the Ukrainian national symbol, the trident, and a huge white banner reading 'Don't back down!" Yuras Karmanau in Minsk, Belarus, and Nataliya Vasilyeva in Moscow contributed to this report | Russia stops three Ukrainian Navy vessels from passing under the Kerch Strait Bridge by blocking it with a cargo ship. Russia claims they violated her territorial waters and ignored warnings. The navy vessels and their crews are seized after shots were fired. Russia says three Ukrainians were wounded. According to Ukraine, six of their sailors are wounded. Ukraine denies their ships did anything wrong. |
U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration has described victory in the 17-year-old war Afghanistan as reinstalling the same Taliban jihadist group American forces overthrew in late 2001. The Trump administration has made “reconciliation” between Kabul and the Taliban the primary tenet of its strategy to end the conflict, raging since October 2001 at an estimated cost of nearly $1 trillion as well as a human toll of 2,272 U.S. military fatalities and 20,412 injuries, mostly at the hands of the terrorist group. This week, amid increased U.S. efforts to pressure the terrorist group to engage in peace negotiations with Kabul, the Taliban claimed responsibility for killing three American service members and wounding three others in the eastern Afghan city of Ghazni. Trump officials have come out in support of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s unconditional offer to the Taliban of a cease-fire and legitimacy as a political group. “We do look toward a victory in Afghanistan,” U.S. Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis declared in March, adding, “Not a military victory — the victory will be a political reconciliation” with the Taliban. Taliban narco-jihadis, who already control more territory than during any other time since the American military removed it from power in 2001, have been locked in a stalemate with U.S. troops for years now. The magnitude of the Afghan Taliban’s manpower and influence has reached historic proportions despite the record number of airstrikes against jihadis in Afghanistan under President Trump, which stood at a record 5,213 bombs so far this year. Ghani’s offer of political recognition and a truce to Taliban is the “best opportunity to end” the war in Afghanistan, U.S. Gen. John Nicholson, then the top commander of American and NATO troops, added in April. On Wednesday, Afghan President Ghani reportedly announced that his administration has formed a 12-member team to hold peace talks with the Taliban. The Trump administration is reportedly exploring the idea of pushing back the looming Afghan presidential elections, scheduled for April. “Under this scenario, an interim government could include a Taliban representative, and this possibly could open the way for the Taliban to enter into full-fledged peace negotiations, as it has long maintained that the existing Afghan government and constitution are illegitimate,” NBC News reported this week, referring to the Trump administration possibly pushing Kabul to suspend the elections. An assessment of the U.S. mission in Afghanistan published by the Pentagon’s office of the inspector general (OIG) on November 19 acknowledged that the end state of Trump’s Afghanistan strategy is to pressure the Taliban to reach a “political settlement” with Kabul. The report, which covers the quarter from July 1 to September 30, noted: In July, the U.S. Department of State (DoS) appointed Amb. Zalmay Khalilzad, an Afghan national, to serve as Special Representative for Afghan Reconciliation as the Trump administration ramped up its peace-seeking efforts. Khalilzad is “testing all channels” and talking to as many top Taliban terrorists as possible “as he tries to launch peace negotiations to end the war before Trump can simply pull the plug and order U.S. troops home,” NBC News reported. “Former officials said the current peace effort showed more promise than a previous U.S. attempt under President Barack Obama, which was plagued by turf battles inside the administration and ambivalence among military commanders, who favored hammering the Taliban on the battlefield before entering into any serious talks,” the news outlet conceded. Amid the Trump administration’s intensified peace-seeking efforts, a spike in violence at the hands of the Taliban has occurred, a testament to gains in strength made by the terrorist group on the battlefield. According to the U.S. Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), terrorist groups, primarily the Taliban, control or contest 45 percent of the war-ravaged country. Independent and government assessments show that the Taliban’s strength and influence have reached unprecedented levels. Citing U.S. Forces – Afghanistan (USFOR-A) in its quarterly report, the Pentagon’s IG approximated the strength of the Taliban and its Haqqani Network allies to stand at between 28,000 and 40,000 fighters. Bill Roggio from the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) think-tank dismissed the estimate, noting “Once again, the U.S. military has grossly underestimated the size and scope of the Taliban, despite battling the group head-on for the last 17 years.” Americans have grown tired of the war in Afghanistan, urging elected officials to bring the U.S. troops back. A Pew Research Center poll in October revealed that about half of Americans (49 percent) believe the United States has mostly failed in achieving its goals in Afghanistan. Only about a third (35 percent) say the United States has mostly succeeded there. Still, 45 percent say the U.S. made the right decision in invading Afghanistan, while 39 percent believe it was the wrong move. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has noted that everything, including the presence of U.S.-NATO-led troops, is up for discussion in Afghanistan. Marking a significant shift in U.S. policy long sought by the terrorist group, the Trump administration is engaging directly with the Taliban to end the Afghanistan war. “Both the Defense Department and State Department are acting as if withdrawal is on the table, sooner or later,” Thomas Joscelyn from the FDD think-tank told NBC News. ||||| KABUL, Afghanistan – At least 30 civilians were killed along with 16 Taliban fighters as Afghan government forces battled insurgents in southern Helmand province overnight, provincial officials said Wednesday. In the eastern part of the capital Kabul, Taliban insurgents staged a coordinated attack against security forces when a suicide bomber detonated his explosives and fighters then engaged them in a gun battle, an Afghan official said. Attahullah Afghan, who heads the provincial council, said most of the casualties in Helmand – which included men, women and children – incurred in an airstrike that hit a house on Tuesday night during military operations in the province, a Taliban heartland. A child that was wounded in the attack was brought to a hospital in the provincial capital of Lashkar Gah, he said. A statement from governor’s office in Helmand confirmed that 16 Taliban insurgents were killed and said that an investigation was underway to determine the number of civilian casualties. It said the militants had stockpiled ammunition in the area of the operation, which could have caused civilian casualties. There was also a car packed with explosives that ignited during the strike, the statement added. Abdul Wadod Popul, a lawmaker from Helmand, also confirmed the civilian casualties. “The area is under Taliban’s control and is very difficult to get a precise number of casualties,” he said in Kabul. Qari Yusouf Ahmadi, a Taliban spokesman, claimed in a statement sent to the media that all the victims were civilians. Telephone lines with Helmand were cut on Wednesday and it was not immediately possible to reach local officials and civilians there. Also, it was not clear if the operation was being conducted exclusively by Afghan forces or whether NATO forces were there to support the Afghans. The Taliban carry out near-daily attacks on Afghan forces. The U.S. and NATO troops formally concluded their combat mission in Afghanistan in 2014, but still provide close support to Afghan forces and carry out counterterrorism operations. Some 15,000 American forces are currently serving in Afghanistan. The Helmand fighting came as Afghan President Ashraf Ghani was in Geneva, attending a two-day U.N.-backed conference that ends Wednesday and that is expected focusing on development, peace and security in the war-battered country. Najib Danish, spokesman for Afghanistan’s Interior Ministry, said the attack in Kabul took place when a suicide bomber detonated his explosives and then other insurgents started a gun battle with forces in the area. At least 11 wounded were transferred to hospitals from the attack site, said Wahid Majroh, spokesman for the Public Health Ministry. Kabul police spokesman Basir Mujahid said the target of the attack may have been a security company called G4S. He had no details on the company but contact information on the website of a multinational security company called G4S is in London. Zabihullah Mujahid, spokesman for the Taliban, claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement posted on Twitter. Also on Wednesday in Kabul, the home of former intelligence chief Amarullah Saleh was attacked by three insurgents but was quickly repelled by Saleh’s security guards, said Rahmatullah Nabil, also a former intelligence chief in a tweet. Associated Press writer Amir Shah in Kabul, Afghanistan, contributed to his report. ||||| A British security contractor, G4S, says five of its employees, including a Briton, were killed and 32 others injured in an overnight gun-and-bomb attack against one of its compounds in the Afghan capital Kabul. The company said Thursday five employees have been “seriously” injured. Afghan officials confirm the attack on the well-guarded facility in Kabul killed a total of 10 people and injured many more. "We are committed to our security role in support of the people of Afghanistan, and we are determined that incidents such as this will not prevent the vital work that the international community conducts from continuing,” said Charlie Burbridge, the company’s managing director. The Taliban has claimed responsibly for the suicide raid, saying it inflicted heavy casualties on both Afghan and “foreign occupying” forces inside the compound. G4S is a leading global security company providing security for the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office in Afghanistan. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the attack began Wednesday with a suicide bomber exploding a vehicle-born bomb, making way for four other heavily armed “martyrdom seekers” to storm the compound. He claimed the targeted compound was being used to plan attacks in Afghan provinces of Kandahar, Helmand and Nangarhar. Mujahid said the attack was a “response to recent enemy atrocities against civilians" in these provinces. Afghan officials and residents have confirmed dozens of civilians, including women and children, have been killed in recent airstrikes in Kandahar, Helmand and Nangarhar. The spike in insurgent attacks comes as the United States has renewed efforts for a negotiated settlement to the conflict with the Taliban. U.S. special envoy for Afghanistan peace and reconciliation, Zalmay Khalilzad, is leading the peace efforts. He has held two rounds of talks with Taliban representatives in Qatar in recent weeks. “Yes, we are in a hurry to end the Afghan tragedy, the Afghan people deserve peace. They have been at war for 40 years," he told PBS TV on Wednesday when asked whether he was attempting to strike a peace deal before the Afghan presidential election in April. “Everyone, starting with the President (Donald Trump), would like to see the war in Afghanistan end, that there would be reconciliation and peace among the warring factions,” he noted. ||||| KABUL, Afghanistan – At least 30 civilians were killed along with 16 Taliban fighters as Afghan government forces battled insurgents in southern Helmand province overnight, provincial officials said Wednesday. In the eastern part of the capital Kabul, Taliban insurgents staged a coordinated attack against security forces when a suicide bomber detonated his explosives and fighters then engaged them in a gun battle, an Afghan official said. Attahullah Afghan, who heads the provincial council, said most of the casualties in Helmand – which included men, women and children – incurred in an airstrike that hit a house on Tuesday night during military operations in the province, a Taliban heartland. A child that was wounded in the attack was brought to a hospital in the provincial capital of Lashkar Gah, he said. A statement from governor’s office in Helmand confirmed that 16 Taliban insurgents were killed and said that an investigation was underway to determine the number of civilian casualties. It said the militants had stockpiled ammunition in the area of the operation, which could have caused civilian casualties. There was also a car packed with explosives that ignited during the strike, the statement added. Abdul Wadod Popul, a lawmaker from Helmand, also confirmed the civilian casualties. “The area is under Taliban’s control and is very difficult to get a precise number of casualties,” he said in Kabul. Qari Yusouf Ahmadi, a Taliban spokesman, claimed in a statement sent to the media that all the victims were civilians. Telephone lines with Helmand were cut on Wednesday and it was not immediately possible to reach local officials and civilians there. Also, it was not clear if the operation was being conducted exclusively by Afghan forces or whether NATO forces were there to support the Afghans. The Taliban carry out near-daily attacks on Afghan forces. The U.S. and NATO troops formally concluded their combat mission in Afghanistan in 2014, but still provide close support to Afghan forces and carry out counterterrorism operations. Some 15,000 American forces are currently serving in Afghanistan. The Helmand fighting came as Afghan President Ashraf Ghani was in Geneva, attending a two-day U.N.-backed conference that ends Wednesday and that is expected focusing on development, peace and security in the war-battered country. Najib Danish, spokesman for Afghanistan’s Interior Ministry, said the attack in Kabul took place when a suicide bomber detonated his explosives and then other insurgents started a gun battle with forces in the area. At least 11 wounded were transferred to hospitals from the attack site, said Wahid Majroh, spokesman for the Public Health Ministry. Kabul police spokesman Basir Mujahid said the target of the attack may have been a security company called G4S. He had no details on the company but contact information on the website of a multinational security company called G4S is in London. Zabihullah Mujahid, spokesman for the Taliban, claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement posted on Twitter. Also on Wednesday in Kabul, the home of former intelligence chief Amarullah Saleh was attacked by three insurgents but was quickly repelled by Saleh’s security guards, said Rahmatullah Nabil, also a former intelligence chief in a tweet. Associated Press writer Amir Shah in Kabul, Afghanistan, contributed to his report. ||||| KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The Taliban have denied involvement in a suicide bombing in the Afghan capital that killed at least 55 people. Tuesday’s attack, which targeted a gathering of hundreds of clerics at a wedding hall in Kabul, bore the hallmarks of a local Islamic State affiliate, which has carried out mass bombings targeting minority Shiites as well as perceived supporters of the U.S.-backed government. Public Health Ministry spokesman Wahid Majroh said Wednesday that 55 people were killed and 94 others were wounded in the attack, updating a previous toll. Both the Taliban and the IS affiliate want to overthrow the Afghan government and impose a harsh form of Islamic rule. But they are bitterly divided over leadership, ideology and tactics. The Taliban mainly target security forces and government officials, while IS specializes in sectarian attacks on civilians. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said late Tuesday his group condemns any attack on civilians or religious clerics. The suicide bomber was able to sneak into a wedding hall where hundreds of Muslim religious scholars and clerics had gathered to mark the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad. The Islamic State group claimed a suicide bombing in June that killed at least seven people and wounded 20 at a meeting of top clerics in the capital. The body of religious leaders, known as the Afghan Ulema Council, had issued a decree against suicide attacks and called for peace talks. IS said it had targeted “tyrant clerics” who were siding with the U.S.-backed government. The Taliban denied involvement in the June attack but they also denounced the gathering. Afghan security forces have struggled to combat the twin insurgencies since the U.S. and NATO formally ended their combat mission in 2014, shifting to a support and counterterrorism role. President Donald Trump’s decision last year to send in additional U.S. forces has had little if any impact on the ground. Copyright © 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed. ||||| KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — At least 30 civilians were killed along with 16 Taliban fighters as Afghan government forces battled insurgents in southern Helmand province overnight, provincial officials said Wednesday. In the eastern part of the capital Kabul, insurgents staged a coordinated attack against security forces when a suicide bomber detonated his explosives and fighters engaged them in a gun battle, an Afghan official said. Attahullah Afghan, who heads the provincial council, said most of the casualties in Helmand — which included men, women and children — incurred in an airstrike that hit a house on Tuesday night during military operations in the province, a Taliban heartland. A child that was wounded in the attack was brought to a hospital in the provincial capital of Lashkar Gah, he said. A statement from governor's office in Helmand confirmed that 16 Taliban insurgents were killed and said that an investigation was underway to determine the number of civilian casualties. It said the militants had stockpiled ammunition in the area of the operation, which could have caused civilian casualties. There was also a car packed with explosives that ignited during the strike, the statement added. Abdul Wadod Popul, a lawmaker from Helmand, also confirmed the civilian casualties. "The area is under Taliban's control and is very difficult to get a precise number of casualties," he said in Kabul. Qari Yusouf Ahmadi, a Taliban spokesman, claimed in a statement sent to the media that all the victims were civilians. Telephone lines with Helmand were cut on Wednesday and it was not immediately possible to reach local officials and civilians there. Also, it was not clear if the operation was being conducted exclusively by Afghan forces or whether NATO forces were there to support the Afghans. The Taliban carry out near-daily attacks on Afghan forces. The U.S. and NATO troops formally concluded their combat mission in Afghanistan in 2014, but still provide close support to Afghan forces and carry out counterterrorism operations. Some 15,000 American forces are currently serving in Afghanistan. The Helmand fighting came as Afghan President Ashraf Ghani was in Geneva, attending a two-day U.N.-backed conference that ends Wednesday and that is expected focusing on development, peace and security in the war-battered country. Najib Danish, spokesman for Afghanistan's Interior Ministry, said the attack in Kabul took place when a suicide bomber detonated his explosives and then other insurgents started a gun battle with forces in the area. Danish said there were casualties but the number of dead and wounded was not immediately known. Associated Press writer Amir Shah in Kabul, Afghanistan, contributed to his report. ||||| LASHKAR GAH, Afghanistan (Reuters) - At least 30 Afghan civilians were killed in U.S. air strikes in the Afghan province of Helmand, officials and residents of the area said on Wednesday, the latest casualties from a surge in air operations aimed at driving the Taliban into talks. An Afghan boy receives treatment at a hospital after an airstrike in Helmand province, Afghanistan November 28, 2018. REUTERS/Stringer Afghanistan’s NATO-led force said Afghan government forces and U.S. advisers came under fire from Taliban fighters in a compound in Garmsir district and called in an air strike, but the ground forces were not aware of any civilians in or near the compound. Helmand provincial governor Mohammad Yasin Khan said troops had called in air strikes against Taliban fighters in Garmsir, causing both civilian and Taliban casualties. A resident of the area called Mohammadullah said the clash began late on Tuesday. “Foreign forces bombed the area and the bombs hit my brother’s house,” he said. He said women and 16 children were among the dead. Another resident, Feda Mohammad, said some victims were still buried in the rubble of the compound. “The area is under the control of Taliban but all of the victims of last night’s bombing are civilians,” he said. The NATO-led Resolute Support forces said Afghan forces and U.S. advisers came under fire from Taliban equipped with machines guns and rocket-propelled grenades. “At the time of the strike, the ground force was unaware of any civilians in or around the compound; they only knew that the Taliban was using the building as a fighting position,” a force spokeswoman said in a statement. “We investigate every credible allegation of error and review every mission to learn, adapt and improve,” she said. The deaths are the latest in a growing civilian casualty toll caused by air strikes and underline the severity of the Afghan war even as moves to begin peace talks have picked up with contacts between U.S. peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad and Taliban representatives. The United Nations said last month the number of civilian casualties from air strikes in the first nine months of the year was already higher than in any entire year since at least 2009. The increase has come together with a sharp jump in the number of air operations under a U.S. strategy aimed at stepping up pressure on the Taliban to force them to accept a negotiated end to the 17-year war. According to figures from the U.S. military, U.S. aircraft had released 5,213 weapons by the end of September, up from 4,361 for the entire 2017 and the highest number since 2011 when there were more than 100,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan. ||||| KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Taliban insurgents staged a coordinated attack targeting a security firm in the Afghan capital on Wednesday, killing at least 10 people and wounding 19 others, as the U.S. said an airstrike hours earlier in Helmand province that reportedly killed civilians was conducted by American aircraft. Wednesday's attack in eastern Kabul took place when a suicide bomber detonated his explosives and other insurgents started a gun battle with security forces in the area, Interior Ministry spokesman Najib Danish said. The assault came hours after provincial officials said at least 30 civilians were killed along with 16 Taliban fighters during the overnight battle between Afghan government forces and insurgents in southern Helmand province. A local official, Attahullah Afghan, said most of the civilian casualties — which included men, women and children — came when an airstrike struck a house in the central Helmand River valley, a Taliban heartland. U.S. officials said it happened in Helmand's Garmsir district. A U.S. military spokesman in Kabul said the airstrike was carried out by American aircraft called in to back Afghan "special security forces" after they came under heavy Taliban fire. Maj. Bariki Mallya, the spokesman, said in an email exchange that the airstrike was conducted in self-defense after Taliban fighters armed with rocket-propelled grenades and heavy machine guns retreated into a compound and continued firing on Afghan government forces and their American advisers. "In self-defense, the ground force called an airstrike," Mallya said. "After the strike, there were secondary explosions, we assess from explosives inside the compound. At the time of the strike, the ground force was unaware of any civilians in or around the compound; they only knew that the Taliban were using the building as a fighting position." Mallya declined to say what the U.S. knew about civilian casualties or whether the incident was under U.S. investigation. In a prepared statement, he said the U.S. investigates every "credible allegation of error and reviews every mission to learn, adapt and improve." A statement from the governor's office in Helmand confirmed that 16 Taliban insurgents were killed and said that an investigation was underway to determine the number of civilian casualties. It said the militants had stockpiled ammunition in the area of the operation, which could have caused civilian casualties. There was also a car packed with explosives that ignited during the strike, the statement added. Abdul Wadod Popul, a lawmaker from Helmand, also confirmed the civilian casualties. "The area is under Taliban's control and is very difficult to get a precise number of casualties," he said in Kabul. The resurgent Taliban, who in recent years have taken over nearly half of Afghanistan, claimed the attack Wednesday in Kabul. Kabul police spokesman Basir Mujahid said the target of the attack was a security company called G4S. He had no details on the company, but the website of a multinational security company named G4S has London contact information. The attacks were the latest in a series of brutal and near-daily Taliban assaults on military and police forces and government and other installations throughout the country. The Taliban view the U.S.-backed government in Kabul as a dysfunctional Western puppet and have refused repeated offers to negotiate with it. They carry out near-daily attacks on Afghan security forces. U.S. and NATO troops formally concluded their combat mission in Afghanistan in 2014, but still provide close support to Afghan forces and carry out counterterrorism operations. Some 15,000 American forces are currently serving in Afghanistan. The fighting came as Afghan President Ashraf Ghani was in Geneva, attending a two-day U.N.-backed conference that ends Wednesday and that is focused on development, security and peace efforts in the war-battered country. Burns reported from Washington. Associated Press writer Amir Shah in Kabul contributed to this report. ||||| (KABUL, Afghanistan) — At least 30 civilians were killed along with 16 Taliban fighters as Afghan government forces battled insurgents in southern Helmand province overnight, provincial officials said Wednesday. In the eastern part of the capital Kabul, Taliban insurgents staged a coordinated attack against security forces when a suicide bomber detonated his explosives and fighters then engaged them in a gun battle, an Afghan official said. Attahullah Afghan, who heads the provincial council, said most of the casualties in Helmand — which included men, women and children — incurred in an airstrike that hit a house on Tuesday night during military operations in the province, a Taliban heartland. A child that was wounded in the attack was brought to a hospital in the provincial capital of Lashkar Gah, he said. A statement from governor’s office in Helmand confirmed that 16 Taliban insurgents were killed and said that an investigation was underway to determine the number of civilian casualties. It said the militants had stockpiled ammunition in the area of the operation, which could have caused civilian casualties. There was also a car packed with explosives that ignited during the strike, the statement added. Abdul Wadod Popul, a lawmaker from Helmand, also confirmed the civilian casualties. “The area is under Taliban’s control and is very difficult to get a precise number of casualties,” he said in Kabul. Qari Yusouf Ahmadi, a Taliban spokesman, claimed in a statement sent to the media that all the victims were civilians. Telephone lines with Helmand were cut on Wednesday and it was not immediately possible to reach local officials and civilians there. Also, it was not clear if the operation was being conducted exclusively by Afghan forces or whether NATO forces were there to support the Afghans. The Taliban carry out near-daily attacks on Afghan forces. The U.S. and NATO troops formally concluded their combat mission in Afghanistan in 2014, but still provide close support to Afghan forces and carry out counterterrorism operations. Some 15,000 American forces are currently serving in Afghanistan. The Helmand fighting came as Afghan President Ashraf Ghani was in Geneva, attending a two-day U.N.-backed conference that ends Wednesday and that is expected focusing on development, peace and security in the war-battered country. Najib Danish, spokesman for Afghanistan’s Interior Ministry, said the attack in Kabul took place when a suicide bomber detonated his explosives and then other insurgents started a gun battle with forces in the area. At least 11 wounded were transferred to hospitals from the attack site, said Wahid Majroh, spokesman for the Public Health Ministry. Kabul police spokesman Basir Mujahid said the target of the attack may have been a security company called G4S. He had no details on the company but contact information on the website of a multinational security company called G4S is in London. Zabihullah Mujahid, spokesman for the Taliban, claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement posted on Twitter. Also on Wednesday in Kabul, the home of former intelligence chief Amarullah Saleh was attacked by three insurgents but was quickly repelled by Saleh’s security guards, said Rahmatullah Nabil, also a former intelligence chief in a tweet. ||||| Rahim Faiez and Robert Burns, The Associated Press KABUL -- Taliban insurgents staged a co-ordinated attack targeting a security firm in the Afghan capital on Wednesday, killing at least 10 people and wounding 19 others, as the U.S. said an airstrike hours earlier in Helmand province that reportedly killed civilians was conducted by American aircraft. Wednesday's attack in eastern Kabul took place when a suicide bomber detonated his explosives and other insurgents started a gun battle with security forces in the area, Interior Ministry spokesman Najib Danish said. The assault came hours after provincial officials said at least 30 civilians were killed along with 16 Taliban fighters during the overnight battle between Afghan government forces and insurgents in southern Helmand province. A local official, Attahullah Afghan, said most of the civilian casualties -- which included men, women and children -- came when an airstrike struck a house in the central Helmand River valley, a Taliban heartland. U.S. officials said it happened in Helmand's Garmsir district. A U.S. military spokesman in Kabul said the airstrike was carried out by American aircraft called in to back Afghan "special security forces" after they came under heavy Taliban fire. Maj. Bariki Mallya, the spokesman, said in an email exchange that the airstrike was conducted in self-defence after Taliban fighters armed with rocket-propelled grenades and heavy machine-guns retreated into a compound and continued firing on Afghan government forces and their American advisers. "In self-defence, the ground force called an airstrike," Mallya said. "After the strike, there were secondary explosions, we assess from explosives inside the compound. At the time of the strike, the ground force was unaware of any civilians in or around the compound; they only knew that the Taliban were using the building as a fighting position." Mallya declined to say what the U.S. knew about civilian casualties or whether the incident was under U.S. investigation. In a prepared statement, he said the U.S. investigates every "credible allegation of error and reviews every mission to learn, adapt and improve." A statement from the governor's office in Helmand confirmed that 16 Taliban insurgents were killed and said that an investigation was underway to determine the number of civilian casualties. It said the militants had stockpiled ammunition in the area of the operation, which could have caused civilian casualties. There was also a car packed with explosives that ignited during the strike, the statement added. Abdul Wadod Popul, a lawmaker from Helmand, also confirmed the civilian casualties. "The area is under Taliban's control and is very difficult to get a precise number of casualties," he said in Kabul. The resurgent Taliban, who in recent years have taken over nearly half of Afghanistan, claimed the attack Wednesday in Kabul. Kabul police spokesman Basir Mujahid said the target of the attack was a security company called G4S. He had no details on the company, but the website of a multinational security company named G4S has London contact information. The attacks were the latest in a series of brutal and near-daily Taliban assaults on military and police forces and government and other installations throughout the country. The Taliban view the U.S.-backed government in Kabul as a dysfunctional Western puppet and have refused repeated offers to negotiate with it. They carry out near-daily attacks on Afghan security forces. U.S. and NATO troops formally concluded their combat mission in Afghanistan in 2014, but still provide close support to Afghan forces and carry out counterterrorism operations. Some 15,000 American forces are currently serving in Afghanistan. The fighting came as Afghan President Ashraf Ghani was in Geneva, attending a two-day U.N.-backed conference that ends Wednesday and that is focused on development, security and peace efforts in the war-battered country. Burns reported from Washington. Associated Press writer Amir Shah in Kabul contributed to this report. | A series of U.S. airstrikes kills at least 30 Afghan civilians, including 16 children, in Garmsir District, Helmand Province. Additional civilians were left wounded or buried in the rubble. The target of the strikes was a suspected Taliban compound. The United States' strategy aims to push the Taliban into talks. |
On Thursday morning, German police raided the Frankfurt headquarters of Deutsche Bank, President Donald Trump’s biggest lender, in connection with a money laundering investigation. The raid focused on an alleged money laundering operation that may have involved as much as $350 million and was exposed with the 2015 release of the Panama Papers—a trove of documents detailing the creation and use of offshore bank accounts. The investigation is the latest in a string of scandals and financial setbacks for the bank, which holds the mortgages on several of Trump’s most prized properties, including his Doral golf resort and his Washington, DC, luxury hotel. Speculation for months has swirled around the possibility that another company could take over the ailing bank—including rumors that the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, a Chinese state-owned bank, might be interested. This is significant because any entity that controls a large chunk of Trump’s debt holds a certain amount of leverage over him—an unprecedented situation in the history of the US presidency. Trump has a long relationship with Deutsche Bank dating back to the early 2000s. At the time, most US banks refused to loan money to Trump following his string of bankruptcies and Atlantic City failures. But Deutsche Bank continued to let him borrow hundreds of millions of dollars—as of his inauguration, Trump owed the German bank as much as $364 million. Once a powerful player in international banking, Deutsche Bank has paid out billions in settlements to both US and European regulators for its role in the 2008 financial crisis and other scandals. When Trump took office, he refused to divest from his company, meaning he continues to owe the bank money—several of the loans are personally guaranteed by the president—even as the Department of Justice has opened new investigations into the bank’s activities. In 2017, the bank paid regulators $670 million in fines for its involvement with “mirror trades” in Russia—a complicated scheme to allegedly help wealthy sanctioned Russians move currency out of the country. Deutsche Bank is also embroiled in a scandal involving Danske Bank, a Danish company, which allegedly was involved in laundering billions of dollars from Russia. Danske is under heavy scrutiny from the Justice Department and European regulators, and Deutsche Bank has reportedly been contacted by US investigators for its role in handling some of Danske’s suspect transactions. Thursday’s raid is not related to either of those scandals. In a statement, the bank confirmed it had been raided in connection with offshore transactions revealed in the Panama Papers, and said it is cooperating with the investigation. The fines and ongoing controversies have sent Deutsche Bank into a financial tailspin and tanked its stock price, which in turn has raised the possibility of a takeover. In July, Deutsche Bank’s stock briefly rallied after it was reported by the German business press that JPMorgan and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China were both interested in taking big stakes in the troubled bank. A scenario in which the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, which is the country’s largest bank, took control of Trump’s mortgages would potentially pose an enormous conflict of interest for Trump, if not a national security threat. That said, the bank is already the single largest tenant in Trump Tower, and its lease is due to expire in October 2019, setting up another major conflict. Even as it stands, Deutsche Bank’s ownership is rife with conflict of interest landmines for the president. Currently, Chinese financial giant HNA Group, which has sparred with American regulators, owns 8 percent of the German bank—though it is under pressure to sell that piece. American hedge fund Cerberus Capital—co-founded by Stephen Feinberg, a major Trump donor whom the president appointed to head his intelligence advisory board— owns another 3 percent. The White House did not return a request for comment on whether the administration has any plans for how to handle conflict of interest concerns if Deutsche Bank is taken over. ||||| German police raided Deutsche Bank's offices in Frankfurt on Thursday in a probe of money laundering against the country's flagship lender. Two Deutsche Bank staff members are suspected of helping clients set up off-shore businesses to launder money gained from criminal deeds. Some 170 police officers, prosecutors and tax inspectors searched six of Deutsche Bank's offices Thursday morning, Frankfurt's public prosecutor's office said in a statement. Numerous written and electronic business documents were seized, it added. A police officer passes a gate outside the headquarters of Deutsche Bank AG in Frankfurt, Germany, on Thursday, Nov. 29, 2018. Andreas Arnold | Bloomberg | Getty Images "We confirm that police are currently investigating our bank at various locations in Germany. The investigation concerns the Panama Papers," Deutsche Bank said in a statement, according to a CNBC translation. "We will share more details as soon as we have them and we will cooperate with authorities," the bank added. Shares of the bank slipped toward the bottom of the European benchmark on the news, down 3.4 percent at 4.45 p.m. London time (11.45 a.m. ET). Panama Papers The public prosecutor's office in Frankfurt said an evaluation of data from the Panama Papers had triggered suspicion that the bank may have helped customers create offshore companies in tax havens around the world. In 2016 alone, more than 900 customers with a business volume of 311 million euros ($353.6 million) were thought to have been cared for by a Deutsche Bank subsidiary based in the British Virgin Islands, the prosecutor said. "We thought that we had provided to the authorities all the relevant information regarding Panama Papers and of course we will now cooperate closely with the prosecutors here in Frankfurt. … As it is also in our interest to clarify the facts as soon as possible," Joerg Eigendorf, global head of communications at Deutsche Bank, told CNBC's Annette Weisbach on Thursday. ||||| Berlin (AP) — Some 170 police officers, investigators and prosecutors raided the German offices of Deutsche Bank on Thursday on the suspicion bank employees helped clients set up offshore companies in tax havens to launder hundreds of millions of euros. The investigation emerged from an analysis of documents leaked from tax havens in recent years, including the 2016 “Panama Papers,” said Frankfurt prosecutors’ spokeswoman Nadja Niesen. It is focused on two Deutsche Bank employees, aged 50 and 46, and possibly other not-yet identified suspects, she said. Starting at 10 a.m. locally, officers swooped on six buildings in Frankfurt, where Deutsche Bank has its headquarters, as well as premises — including at least one suspect’s home — in nearby Eschborn and Gross-Umstadt. Niesen said the analysis of the Panama Papers and other documents “gave rise to suspicion that Deutsche Bank was helping clients set up so-called offshore companies in tax havens and the proceeds of crimes were transferred there from Deutsche Bank accounts” without the bank reporting it. In 2016 alone, more than 900 customers are alleged to have transferred some 311 million euros to one such company set up in the British Virgin Islands, she said. The suspects, both German citizens, are accused of failing to report the suspicious transactions even though there was “sufficient evidence” to have been aware of it. Deutsche Bank confirmed the search and said “the investigation has to do with the Panama Papers case.” “More details will be communicated as soon as these become known. We are cooperating fully with the authorities,” the bank said. Money laundering has become a growing problem in Europe, where a series of scandals has exposed lax regulation. And it’s not the first time Deutsche Bank has run into trouble over the flow of dirty money. It was fined more than $600 million by U.S. and U.K. authorities in January 2017 for allowing customers to transfer $10 billion out of Russia in what regulators said was “highly suggestive of financial crime.” The Panama Papers are a trove of documents from a law firm that handled shell companies for thousands of the rich and powerful around the world. While owning a shell company is not illegal, it is used to hide the beneficial owner of a company or transfer, making it important for the handling and laundering of dirty money. Several other institutions besides Deutsche Bank have been fined by authorities in the U.S. and Europe for not properly checking up on the beneficial owners of shell companies that send money through their accounts. Analysts say that because these transactions can be lucrative, banks have few incentives to do more than the minimum required by law to check on the identity of a bank. Most recently, Denmark’s biggest bank, Danske Bank, admitted that some 200 billion euros in suspicious money had flown through its Estonian branch from 2007 to 2015. Whistleblower and former employee Howard Wilkinson has indicated that Danske Bank’s management was aware of what was going on at the branch, which was among the bank’s most profitable units. He has also alleged that family members of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russia’s spy agency were using the bank for money laundering. The bank’s CEO has since stepped down over the scandal. Another Baltic state, Latvia, has also emerged as a major hub of money laundering, with a 2014 leak showing that tens of billions of dollars were funneled from Russia in 2010-14. Some of the money reportedly went through Deutsche Bank and ended up in major capitals like London, according to The Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project. There was no indication that Thursday’s raid was linked to that scandal, though Deutsche Bank says that it has since stopped providing dollar transactions in some countries, including Latvia. ||||| Around 170 police officers, prosecutors and tax inspectors searched six Deutsche Bank offices in and around Frankfurt on Thursday over money laundering allegations, the Frankfurt public prosecutor's office said in a statement. Around 170 police officers, prosecutors and tax inspectors searched six Deutsche Bank offices in and around Frankfurt on Thursday over money laundering allegations, the Frankfurt public prosecutor's office said in a statement. Investigators are looking into the activities of two Deutsche Bank staff members who are alleged to have helped clients set up off-shore firms to launder money, the prosecutor's office said. Written and electronic business documents were seized from Deutsche Bank and further investigations are ongoing, the prosecutor's office also said. Deutsche Bank confirmed the search of its offices and said it was fully cooperating with the authorities. The bank's shares were down 2.7pc by 0953 GMT. The investigation was triggered after investigators reviewed so-called "Offshore-Leaks" and "Panama Papers", the prosecutor said. The Panama Papers, which consist of millions of documents from Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca, were leaked to the media in April 2016. Several Banks, including Swedish lenders Nordea and Handelsbanken have already been fined by financial regulators for violating money laundering rules as a result of the papers. The prosecutors said they are looking at whether Deutsche Bank may have assisted clients to set up "Offshore-Companies" in tax havens so that funds transferred to accounts at Deutsche Bank could skirt anti-money laundering safeguards. In 2016 alone, over 900 customers were served by a Deutsche Bank subsidiary registered on the British Virgin Islands, generating a volume of €311m, the prosecutors said. They also said Deutsche Bank employees are alleged to have breached their duties by neglecting to report money laundering suspicions about clients and offshore companies involved in tax evasion schemes. The investigation is separate from another money laundering scandal surrounding Danish lender Danske Bank, where Deutsche Bank is involved. Denmark's state prosecutor on Wednesday filed preliminary charges against Danske for alleged violations of the country's anti-money laundering act in relation to its Estonian branch. Danske is under investigation for suspicious payments totalling €200bn from 2007 onwards and a source with direct knowledge of the case has told Reuters Deutsche Bank helped to process the bulk of the payments. A Deutsche Bank executive director has said the lender played only a secondary role as a so-called correspondent bank to Danske Bank, limiting what it needed to know about the people behind the transactions. ||||| The headquarters of Germany's Deutsche Bank was raided on Thursday amid allegations of money laundering linked to the Panama Papers leak. Prosecutors have accused two of the bank's staff of helping to launder money obtained through criminal activity. In total around 170 police officers raided six properties belonging to the bank and seized electronic and paper documents. The Panama Papers were a leak of millions of financial documents obtained from Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca which were leaked to the press in 2016. They contained evidence of widespread abuse of the global financial system including tax avoidance and evasion by celebrities, politicians and corporations. Prosecutors said that, as a result of the leak, they are looking at whether Deutsche Bank assisted clients to set up offshore companies in tax havens so that funds transferred to their bank accounts could skirt anti-money laundering safeguards. In 2016 alone, over 900 customers were served by a Deutsche Bank subsidiary registered on the British Virgin Islands, generating a volume of 311million euros, the prosecutors said. Lawyers added that Deutsche Bank employees are alleged to have breached their duties by neglecting to report money laundering suspicions about clients and offshore companies involved in tax evasion schemes. This investigation is separate to another Panama Papers probe which also involves Deutsche Bank. In that case, prosecutors are investigating whether Danish lender Danske Bank violated anti-laundering laws by funneling more than £200billion in payments through its Estonian branch. Sources have told Reuters that Deutsche Bank helped process the majority of those payments. A Deutsche Bank executive director has said the lender played only a secondary role as a so-called correspondent bank to Danske Bank. Speaking about the latest investigation, a Deutsche Bank spokesman said: 'Of course, we will cooperate closely with the public prosecutor's office in Frankfurt, as it is in our interest as well to clarify the facts.' The news comes as Deutsche Bank tries to repair its tattered reputation after three years of losses and a drumbeat of financial and regulatory scandals. Christian Sewing was appointed as chief executive in April to help the bank to rebuild. He trimmed U.S. operations and reshuffled the management board but revenue has continued to slip. Deutsche Bank shares were down more than 3 per cent by midday on Thursday and have lost almost half their value this year. Deutsche and Danske banks are not the first to be stung following revelations contained within the Panama Papers. Scandinavian lenders Nordea and Handelsbanken have already been fined by regulators for violating money laundering rules. Weaknesses in Deutsche Bank's controls that aim to prevent money laundering have caught the attention of regulators on both sides of the Atlantic. The bank has publicly said that it agreed it needed to improve its processes to properly identify clients. In September, Germany's financial watchdog - BaFin - ordered Deutsche Bank to do more to prevent money laundering and 'terrorist financing,' and appointed KPMG as third party to assess progress. In August, Reuters reported that Deutsche Bank had uncovered further shortcomings in its ability to fully identify clients and the source of their wealth. Last year, Deutsche Bank was fined nearly $700million for allowing money laundering through artificial trades between Moscow, London and New York. An investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice is still ongoing. Deutsche Bank has been under pressure after annual losses, and it agreed to pay a $7.2 billion settlement with U.S. authorities last year over its sale of toxic mortgage securities in the run-up to the 2008 financial crisis. ||||| FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Roughly 170 criminal police officers, prosecutors and tax inspectors on Thursday searched six Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE) offices in and around Frankfurt on money laundering allegations, the Frankfurt public prosecutor’s office said in a statement. Investigators are probing the activities of two Deutsche Bank staff members who are alleged to have helped clients set up off-shore firms to launder money, the prosecutor’s office said. Written and electronic business documents were seized from Deutsche Bank and further investigations are ongoing, it added. Deutsche Bank confirmed the search, adding that it is fully cooperating with the authorities. A deeper probe of the bank was triggered after investigators reviewed so-called “Offshore-Leaks” and “Panama Papers”, the prosecutor said. The so-called Panama Papers, which consist of millions of documents from Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca, were leaked to the media in April 2016. Several Banks including Swedish lenders Nordea and Handelsbanken have already been fined by financial regulators for violating money laundering rules as a result of the papers. Prosecutors are probing whether Deutsche Bank may have assisted clients to set up “Offshore-Companies” in tax havens so that funds transferred to accounts at Deutsche Bank could skirt anti money laundering safeguards. In 2016 alone, over 900 customers were served by a Deutsche Bank subsidiary registered on the British Virgin Islands, generating a volume of 311 million euros. The Deutsche Bank employees are accused of having breached their duties by neglecting to report money laundering suspicions about clients and offshore companies involved in tax evasion schemes, the prosecutors said. ||||| German authorities have searched the headquarters of Deutsche Bank in Frankfurt and other offices on the suspicion that bank employees helped clients set up offshore companies in tax havens to launder hundreds of millions of euros. Frankfurt prosecutors’ spokeswoman Nadja Niesen said the investigation was focused on two Deutsche Bank employees, aged 50 and 46, and possibly other not-yet-identified suspects. Some 170 prosecutors, state police, national police and tax investigators were involved in the morning searches of six buildings in Frankfurt, and in nearby Eschborn and Gross-Umstadt, Ms Niesen said. The investigation was launched after evaluation of the explosive Panama Papers tax haven revelations and the previous Offshore Leaks report of offshore bank accounts, she said. Police officers at Deutsche Bank headquarters during a raid in Frankfurt (Michael Probst/AP) The analysis “gave rise to suspicions that Deutsche Bank was helping clients set up so-called offshore companies in tax havens and the proceeds of crimes were transferred there from Deutsche Bank accounts” without the bank reporting it. In 2016 alone, more than 900 customers are alleged to have transferred some â¬311m to one such company set up in the British Virgin Islands, she said. The suspects are accused of failing to report the suspicious transactions even though there was “sufficient evidence” to have been aware of it. Deutsche Bank confirmed that authorities were “conducting an investigation at a number of our offices in Germany”. “The investigation has to do with the Panama Papers case,” the bank said. “More details will be communicated as soon as these become known. We are co-operating fully with the authorities.” ||||| FRANFURT AM MAIN: German prosecutors raided several Deutsche Bank offices in the Frankfurt area on Thursday over suspicions of money laundering based on revelations from the 2016 “Panama Papers” data leak. Prosecutors said they were investigating allegations that Germany’s biggest lender helped clients set up offshore companies in tax havens to “transfer money from criminal activities” to Deutsche Bank accounts. The latest raid was a new blow to the financial institution that has been hammered by a string of scandals linked to its pre-2008 crisis attempts to compete with Wall Street investment banking giants. Some 170 police officers and investigators from the Frankfurt prosecutor’s office were searching six of the bank’s premises in and around the city, the prosecutors said in a statement. Deutsche Bank said it was “fully cooperating” with the authorities on the case which it said was “related to the Panama Papers”. The Panama Papers scandal that erupted in 2016 with a massive data leak from Panamaian legal firm Mossack Fonseca exposed large-scale tax evasion, laying bare how the world’s wealthy and powerful stashed their assets in offshore businesses. Deutsche Bank was among hundreds of financial institutions whose names cropped up in the media reports. The Frankfurt prosecutors said their probe was focusing on two Deutsche Bank employees aged 50 and 46, as well as several unnamed senior staff members. Based on information from the Panama Papers, they are accused of “failing to report suspicions of money laundering” linked to offshore firms involved in tax evasion “even though there was sufficient evidence” to suggest illegal activity, prosecutors said. Prosecutor Nadja Niesen said one of Deutsche Bank’s offshore branches one the British Virgin Islands handled transaction volumes worth 311 million euros ($354 million) for more than 900 clients. “There is currently suspicion that most of the money stems from foreign tax offences.” Shares in Deutsche Bank were down 3.4 per cent at 8.30 euros in the early afternoon, making them the worst performing stock on the DAX blue-chip index. The raids are the latest embarrassment for embattled Deutsche Bank, which has repeatedly been rapped by regulators for lax money laundering controls. Markus Meinzer, director of the Financial Secrecy Tax Justice Network, said the “raid is long overdue because the Panama Papers have amply illustrated how offshore law firms cooperated with banks in setting up structures with one single aim: to help clients hide their true identities.” “As banks in Germany manage roughly three trillion euros of interest yielding assets, the potential for abuse is enormous… Germany owes to the world to clamp down on this dark side of its economy.” In September, Germany’s financial supervisor BaFin took the unusual step of embedding auditors from KPMG at Deutsche to monitor the bank’s progress in battling illegal transactions such as money laundering, terrorist financing and dealings with organised crime. — AFP ||||| Police raided six Deutsche Bank offices in and around Frankfurt on Thursday over money laundering allegations linked to the “Panama Papers,” the public prosecutor’s office in Germany’s financial capital said. Investigators are looking into the activities of two unnamed Deutsche Bank employees alleged to have helped clients set up offshore firms to launder money, the prosecutor’s office said. Around 170 police officers, prosecutors and tax inspectors searched the offices, where written and electronic business documents were seized. “Of course, we will cooperate closely with the public prosecutor’s office in Frankfurt, as it is in our interest as well to clarify the facts,” Deutsche Bank said, adding it believed it had already provided all the relevant information related to the “Panama Papers.” The news comes as Deutsche Bank tries to repair its tattered reputation after three years of losses and a drumbeat of financial and regulatory scandals. Christian Sewing was appointed chief executive in April to help the bank rebuild. He trimmed US operations and reshuffled the management board, but revenue has continued to slip. Deutsche Bank shares were down more than 3 percent by 7:20 a.m. ET and have lost almost half their value this year. The investigation was triggered after investigators reviewed so-called “Offshore-Leaks” and “Panama Papers,” the prosecutor said. The “Panama Papers,” which consist of millions of documents from Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca, were leaked to the media in April 2016. The prosecutors said they are looking at whether Deutsche Bank may have assisted clients to set up offshore companies in tax havens so that funds transferred to accounts at Deutsche Bank could skirt anti-money laundering safeguards. In 2016 alone, over 900 customers were served by a Deutsche Bank subsidiary registered in the British Virgin Islands, generating a volume of 311 million euros ($354 million), the prosecutors said. They also said Deutsche Bank employees are alleged to have breached their duties by neglecting to report money laundering suspicions about clients and offshore companies involved in tax evasion schemes. The investigation is separate from another money laundering scandal surrounding Danish lender Danske Bank, where Deutsche Bank is involved. ||||| FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Police raided six Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE) offices in and around Frankfurt on Thursday over money laundering allegations linked to the “Panama Papers”, the public prosecutor’s office in Germany’s financial capital said. Investigators are looking into the activities of two unnamed Deutsche Bank employees alleged to have helped clients set up offshore firms to launder money, the prosecutor’s office said. Around 170 police officers, prosecutors and tax inspectors searched the offices where written and electronic business documents were seized. “Of course, we will cooperate closely with the public prosecutor’s office in Frankfurt, as it is in our interest as well to clarify the facts,” Deutsche Bank said, adding it believed it had already provided all the relevant information related to the “Panama Papers”. The news comes as Deutsche Bank tries to repair its tattered reputation after three years of losses and a drumbeat of financial and regulatory scandals. Christian Sewing was appointed as chief executive in April to help the bank to rebuild. He trimmed U.S. operations and reshuffled the management board but revenue has continued to slip. Deutsche Bank shares were down more than 3 percent by 1220 GMT and have lost almost half their value this year. The investigation was triggered after investigators reviewed so-called “Offshore-Leaks” and “Panama Papers”, the prosecutor said. The “Panama Papers”, which consist of millions of documents from Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca, were leaked to the media in April 2016. Several banks, including Scandinavian lenders Nordea and Handelsbanken have already been fined by regulators for violating money laundering rules as a result of the papers. The prosecutors said they are looking at whether Deutsche Bank may have assisted clients to set up offshore companies in tax havens so that funds transferred to accounts at Deutsche Bank could skirt anti-money laundering safeguards. In 2016 alone, over 900 customers were served by a Deutsche Bank subsidiary registered on the British Virgin Islands, generating a volume of 311 million euros, the prosecutors said. They also said Deutsche Bank employees are alleged to have breached their duties by neglecting to report money laundering suspicions about clients and offshore companies involved in tax evasion schemes. The investigation is separate from another money laundering scandal surrounding Danish lender Danske Bank (DANSKE.CO), where Deutsche Bank is involved. Danske is under investigation for suspicious payments totaling 200 billion euros from 2007 onwards and a source with direct knowledge of the case has told Reuters Deutsche Bank helped to process the bulk of the payments. A Deutsche Bank executive director has said the lender played only a secondary role as a so-called correspondent bank to Danske Bank, limiting what it needed to know about the people behind the transactions. Weaknesses in Deutsche Bank’s controls that aim to prevent money laundering have caught the attention of regulators on both sides of the Atlantic. The bank has publicly said that it agreed it needed to improve its processes to properly identify clients. In September, Germany’s financial watchdog - BaFin - ordered Deutsche Bank to do more to prevent money laundering and “terrorist financing,” and appointed KPMG as third party to assess progress. In August, Reuters reported that Deutsche Bank had uncovered further shortcomings in its ability to fully identify clients and the source of their wealth. Last year, Deutsche Bank was fined nearly $700 million for allowing money laundering through artificial trades between Moscow, London and New York. An investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice is still ongoing. Deutsche Bank has been under pressure after annual losses, and it agreed to pay a $7.2 billion settlement with U.S. authorities last year over its sale of toxic mortgage securities in the run-up to the 2008 financial crisis. | German police raid Deutsche Bank's offices in Frankfurt in connection with money laundering allegations that two staff members helped clients set up off-shore businesses as tax havens. Police officers, prosecutors and tax inspectors search six of the bank's offices and seize numerous written and electronic business documents. Deutsche Bank says the investigation stems from the 2016 Panama Papers leak. |
Hide Transcript Show Transcript WEBVTT HAVE FOR US? BRETT: WE HAVE BEEN OUT HERE ALL EVENING AND WE WILL SHOW YOU THE FIRST LOOK AT SOME OF THE DAMAGE WE BELIEVE WAS CAUSED BY A TORNADO. WE ARE JUST OFF HIGHWAY 100. YOU CAN SEE THE TREES DOWN. THIS USED TO BE A MOBILE HOME BACK HERE. IT IS DESTROYED. WE DON’T KNOW IF PEOPLE ARE LIVING INSIDE THAT HOME OR THE EXTENT OF ANY INJURIES. SEE HOW THE TREES HAVE SNAPPED OFF AT THE TOP. WE WERE TELLING YOU EARLIER -- THAT BUSINESS IS NO MORE. TREES DOWN, HARD TO BELIEVE THAT WAS A HOME RIGHT THERE. JUST THE DAMAGE THAT WAS CAUSED RIGHT THERE. WE WILL BRING YOU A LIVE INTERVIEW WITH THE SEQUOYAH COUNTY SHERIFF WHO IS UNSEEN. NUMEROUS HOMES HAVE BEEN DAMAGED THROUGH THIS AREA. NO WORD ON INJURIES. WE KNOW THAT PEOPLE HAVE HAD TO BE RESCUED. WE WILL WALK IN AND SHOW YOU GUYS SOME OF THIS. WALTER, COME OVER HERE. THIS IS THE SEQUOYAH COUNTY SHERIFF LARRY LANE. HE IS HERE ON SCENE. WHAT CAN YOU TELL US? >> WE ARE RIGHT IN FRONT OF ONE OF THE LOCAL BUSINESSES, IT IT LOOKS LIKE MOST OF THE BUSINESS AND THE HOUSE IS WIPED OUT. A LOT OF TREES AND POWER LINES DOWN. BRETT: HAVE YOU HEARD OF ANY INJURIES? >> THE FAMILY IS OUT OF THE SELLER, THE FIRE DEPARTMENT GOT THEM OUT. THERE ARE STILL SOME MORE HOUSES DAMAGED OF THE ROAD. BRETT: AND IT IS DIFFICULT BECAUSE IT IS THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT AND NO POWER. >> RIGHT. AND WITH ALL THE DEBRIS WE CAN’T GET AROUND AND GET TO EVERYTHING. BRETT: C1 >> WE HAVE BEEN HERE FOR YEARS, WE KNOW HOW IT’S USED TO LOOK. SEEING THIS, WHAT COMES TO MIND? >> IT DOES NOT EVEN LOOK LIKE THE SAME PLACE. I KNOW THE FAMILY REAL WELL WHO LIVES HERE AT THE END OF THE ROAD. HE IS THE PRINCIPLE OF THE HIGH SCHOOL HERE. I KNOW HIM REAL WELL. LIKE I SAID, THEY ARE SAFE AND NOT INJURED. >> NO WORD ON ANY INJURIES, BUT YOU ARE STILL CHECKING, RIGHT? >> WE ARE STILL TRYING TO RUN DOWN REPORTS OF HOUSE DAMAGE. >> BOATS ARE BLOCKING THE ROAD. >> THEY SAID THERE ARE SEVERAL BOATS IN THE ROAD. >> DO YOU NEED ANY HELP? YOU NEED SOME DAYLIGHT. >> DAYLIGHT AND THE RAIN TO STOP. >> THANKS FOR TALKING WITH US. YOU HEARD FROM THE SEQUOYAH COUNTY SHERIFF. THEY’RE STILL TRYING TO GET AN OVERALL SENSE OF THE STRUCTURE AND THE STORM HAS CAUSED. Advertisement SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING ACROSS THE AREA Share Shares Copy Link Copy 12:30 a.m. The strongest storms have exited the 40/29 viewing area. The Tornado Watch for much of western Arkansas has been cancelled. 12:10 a.m. Tornado Warning for Johnson, Logan, and Pope Counties has been allowed to expire. New Severe Thunderstorm Warning for eastern Johnson County and NE Logan County until 1:00 a.m. A line of severe thunderstorms is moving NE at about 65 mph. 60 mph wind gusts with quarter-sized hail are possible. 11:57A Tornado Warning has been issued for southern Johnson County - including Clarksville until 12:15 a.m.At 11:57 p.m., A severe thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado was located over Hoyt - near Clarksville - moving east at 65 mph. 11:52 p.m. A Severe Thunderstorm Warning has been issued for NE Benton Co., northern Madison Co, Carroll Co., and NE Washington County until 12:45 a.m. 60 mph wind gusts are possible. 11:30 p.m. The Tornado Warning over Crawford and Sequoyah counties has been allowed to expire. A new Severe Thunderstorm Warning has been issued for most of Benton County and the northern part of Washington County until 12:30 a.m. A Severe Thunderstorm Warning has also been issued for Polk County until 12:15 a.m. 11:20 p.m. A Tornado Warning has been issued for parts of Crawford and Sequoyah counties. At 11:09 p.m., a severe thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado was located over Short moving northeast at 55 mph. 10:40 p.m.A Severe Thunderstorm Warning has been issued for parts of Crawford and Washington counties until 11:15 p.m. At 10:37 p.m., a severe thunderstorm was located over Cedarville, moving north at 50 mph. 60 mph wind gusts and quarter sized hail are possible. 10:30 p.m. The Tornado Warning has been extended into parts of Benton, Adair, and Cherokee counties until 11:00 p.m. 10:25 p.m.A Tornado Warning remains in effect for Adair/Cherokee counties until 10:45 p.m. Shortly before 10:20 p.m., a confirmed, large tornado was located near Procter, moving northeast at 45 mph. As of 10:25 p.m. the tornado continues to track across NW Adair County. 10 p.m.Storm spotter reports power lines down along Highway 64 east of Highway 10 and damage to cars and at least one home in the Tenkiller area. 9:40 p.m.A storm spotter reported a tornado on the ground near Gore, Oklahoma.A "large and dangerous" tornado was reported in that area.Damage was reported near the Gore exit of I-40.---------------------------------------9:20pm, Friday Update: A Severe Thunderstorm Warning has been issued for Adair, Sequoyah, and Cherokee counties until 10pm. The storm is moving toward the northeast at 45 mph. The main concern 60 mph winds. This storm was Tornado warned toward the south of Sequoyah county. 8:oopm, Friday UPDATE: The Storm Prediction Center has moved the Enhanced Risk for severe weather a little farther north, now including much of NW Arkansas. The hatched area, indicating the area at greatest risk for a strong tornado, was also pushed a little farther north and west.All this means is that the SPC is now a little more confident that the severe weather could end up being a little more north than originally expected.And I'm going to tell you the same thing we've been telling you... the severe threat extends over our entire area, and it's not that much higher in one area or the other. Certainly the threat, in theory, is slightly higher in the River Valley, but, it's certainly no guarantee that the worst storms will inevitably occur there. We're all in the area of concern tonight. We'll keep watching it carefully. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------A Tornado Watch Has Been Issued For The Following Counties: Sebastian, Crawford, Washington, Benton, Franklin, Carroll, and Madison Effective Until 2:00 amA Tornado Watch Has Been Issued For The Following Counties: Polk, Scott, Johnson, and Logan Effective Until 2:00 am Get severe weather alerts and the latest forecast on your phone with the free 40/29 News app, available on Apple and Android devices------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5:30pm, Friday UPDATE:The first Tornado Watch has been issued for Eastern Oklahoma. It includes Sequoyah, Delaware, Adair, and Le Flore counties until Midnight. We do expect additional tornado watches in Arkansas. Those should come out in the next hour or two.Again, a few tornadoes, large hail and damaging winds possible across our entire area tonight, thru about 2am. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------12:05pm, Friday UPDATE:The Storm Prediction Center continues to highlight much of NW Arkansas, and especially the River Valley and the SW corner of Arkansas, for the threat of severe weather this evening and overnight. The yellow indicates the Slight risk, the orange is the Enhanced risk, where severe weather is most likely with this system.Bottom line... our entire viewing area has a chance to see a few storms capable of producing large hail and damaging winds, and even a few tornadoes. The area I've highlighted in the black circle is where the SPC thinks a strong tornado (EF2 or stronger) is a little more likely. As always, we'll be watching it carefully at 40/29 and we'll have updates throughout the night, as needed.Chief Meteorologist Darby Bybee-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------The Storm Prediction Center has updated the projections for severe weather in our area. The line of division is basically I-40. If you live NORTH of I-40, you have a SLIGHT chance of severe weather tonight. If you live along and SOUTH of I-40, you have an ENHANCED chance of severe weather. The timing of the storms has basically stayed the same. While we could see a few spotty showers during the day, the chance for stormier weather doesn't begin going up (first in the River Valley) until later this afternoon ( after 5pm). The chances of storms intensifying increases throughout the evening. However, all showers and storms should be out of here by 2:00 Saturday morning. The peak threat looks to be between 9pm and midnight...Keep in mind that all modes of severe weather are possible tonight. Winds greater than 60 mph, large hail, and even isolated tornadoes could all be in the mix. And while the greatest threat for severe weather looks to be in the River Valley and southward, we will also be watching NW Arkansas for the development of any strong to severe storms throughout the night. Remember, the threat for severe weather tonight is very real. We'll be watching it very closely in the 40/29 Weather Center, and will have updates on 40/29 News and on line leading up to tonight's storms.Chief Meteorologist Darby Bybee ||||| Lightning strikes in Haltom City in this image uploaded to our web site by a user in that city. OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A strong storm system is expected to bring hail, heavy rain and possibly tornadoes to parts of Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas. The National Weather Service says the storms are expected to develop Friday afternoon and could impact northern Texas, eastern Oklahoma and most of Arkansas. Golf ball sized hail, damaging wind gusts and heavy rains creating a risk of flash flooding are the primary risks, but the weather service says isolated tornadoes are also possible throughout the region. The weather service says the severe weather is expected to end on Saturday. ||||| A strong storm system is expected to bring hail, heavy rain and possibly tornadoes to parts of Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas. The National Weather Service says the storms are expected to develop Friday afternoon and could impact northern Texas, eastern Oklahoma and most of Arkansas. Golf ball sized hail, damaging wind gusts and heavy rains creating a risk of flash flooding are the primary risks, but the weather service says isolated tornadoes are also possible throughout the region. The weather service says the severe weather is expected to end on Saturday. ||||| A major storm developing in the central U.S. is bringing ongoing severe weather across the south, a flash flood threat to parts of the Gulf Coast and a major winter storm in the Northern Plains and upper Midwest. There was one reported tornado in eastern Oklahoma overnight as several tornado warnings were issued in the eastern parts of the state. Additionally, there were nearly 60 reports of strong winds from northern Texas to southern Missouri. Numerous tornado warnings were issued during the overnight hours in southern Missouri, where winds reached 83 mph. The U.S. averages 24 tornadoes in December with most developing in the southern U.S. A clear circulation was evident on radar and satellite imagery across Kansas on Saturday morning. This developing major storm will slowly move east during the day. A tornado watch is in effect for parts of Missouri and Arkansas through the early Saturday morning hours as a line of strong storms moves through the region. A couple of tornadoes will be possible through the early morning hours in the watch area. The risk will diminish by mid-Saturday morning in this region. Heavy rain has spread from eastern Kansas to Florida and snow is beginning to develop across parts of Nebraska. Travel conditions will become hazardous on Saturday morning with heavy snow developing in parts of Nebraska and South Dakota. Snowfall rates of 1 to 2 inches per hour are likely with winds gusting to 35 mph in parts of the Northern Plains. This will cause near whiteout conditions. Winter storm warnings and winter weather advisories are in effect for much of the northern U.S. from Montana to northern Iowa. The severe weather threat will nudge eastward later in the day Saturday with two main areas of concern under a slight risk for severe weather: the Gulf states from Louisiana to Florida, including much of Alabama, and parts of eastern Missouri and much of Illinois. In these slight-risk areas, strong winds, brief tornadoes and hail will all be possible. Additionally, an onslaught of heavy rain is expected for parts of the Florida Panhandle, extreme southern Georgia and Alabama. A flash flood watch has been issued for parts of this region, as locally 3 to 5 inches of rain is possible this weekend, with the bulk of it coming Saturday. This flood threat includes Panama City, Florida, and Dothan, Alabama. Heavy snow will fall on Saturday through parts of the Midwest and Northern Plains with a significant impacts to roadways and possible flight delays at region airports. As some of this precipitation moves into the Northeast late Saturday night, it will encounter some colder air. As a result, some precipitation may fall as a mix of snow, freezing rain and sleet in parts of the interior Northeast. However, up to 1 inch of snow and a one-tenth of an inch of ice is expected from parts of New York to Maine. This could cause dangerous travel overnight Saturday into early Sunday morning. As warmer air moves in from the south on Sunday morning, temperatures will change the precipitation to rain. Borderline icy events can be extremely impactful on the roads. On Sunday, the severe threat will slide toward the Southeast coast with a slight risk of severe weather from parts of Georgia to extreme southeast North Carolina. In the slight risk area there is a possibility of strong winds, brief tornadoes and hail. The greatest snow totals will be across parts of Nebraska, where locally over 1 foot of snow will fall. The combination of strong winds and heavy snow could cause some power outages in the region. Widespread snowfall totals of 6 to 12 inches are possible from Kansas to Wisconsin. ||||| Kyler Murray threw for 379 yards and three touchdowns, but it was Oklahoma’s defense that helped the No. 5 Sooners keep their College Football Playoff hopes alive with a 39-27 win over No. 14 Texas in the Big 12 Championship Game on Saturday at AT&T Stadium. Oklahoma has won four consecutive Big 12 Championships, a first for the conference. The teams now await their bowl fates Sunday, with Oklahoma hoping for a third playoff appearance in four seasons. The Sooners will need to move up one spot after avenging their only loss of the year. After an Oklahoma turnover with just more than nine minutes remaining gave the Longhorns the ball at their own 7, Sooners cornerback Tre Brown got to Texas quarterback Sam Ehlinger in the end zone and bowled him over for the safety to put the Sooners ahead 32-27. The Sooners (12-1) then ran the clock down with a drive that took more than six minutes off the clock, capped by Grant Calcaterra’s second touchdown catch of the game. Oklahoma had allowed 40 or more points in four consecutive games coming in, but the Sooners’ defense came up with several crucial stops, including early when Oklahoma’s offense struggled to find much of a rhythm. Texas led 14-6 early in the second quarter after Ehlinger’s second rushing touchdown. Oklahoma failed to score a first-quarter touchdown for the first time in 25 games and took awhile to get going in the second, punting after Ehlinger’s score. But the Sooners’ defense held Texas, with the help of Amani Bledsoe’s third-down sack that forced a punt. Then Oklahoma’s offense came alive, with Murray hitting CeeDee Lamb for a 42-yard pass on the first play of the ensuing drive and finding Lamb again five plays later for a 28-yard touchdown. Ehlinger threw for 327 yards and two touchdowns for the Longhorns, who finished with 437 yards of total offense — more than 60 yards less than they had in Texas’ 48-45 win Oct. 6. Texas receiver Collin Johnson set a Big 12 championship game record with 177 yards receiving on eight catches. Lamb had six catches for 167 yards and a touchdown for Oklahoma. ||||| It's gameday! Texas and Oklahoma will square off at 11 a.m. on KVUE for the Big 12 Championship. If this game turns out to be anything like the first matchup, fans at AT&T Stadium are in for a real treat. In October, Texas defeated Oklahoma 48-45 in the final seconds due to a game-winning field goal by freshman kicker Cameron Dicker. The Red River Rivalry loss was Oklahoma's sole blemish on the season. This matchup also marked the first time the two programs have met in a conference title game. The KVUE team was up bright and early to bring you the latest from behind the scenes of the Big 12 Championship festivities. PHOTOS: Texas Longhorns fans gear up for Big 12 Championship game against Oklahoma Sooners RELATED | UT PICK 'EM: KVUE staff chooses its Big 12 Champion. What is your score prediction? If Texas beats OU, they go to the Sugar Bowl, but could also go if they lose big. Here's why. University of Texas students are ready to be Big 12 Champs ESPN gives Texas a 27.1 percent chance to defeat the Oklahoma Sooners, according to its football power index. When UT and Oklahoma played each other in October, Texas only had a 26.6 percent chance of winning, according to the ESPN power index. The Longhorns won that game, 48-45. HIGHLIGHTS: No. 17 Texas Longhorns fall to No. 13 West Virginia Mountaineers, 42-41 RECAP: No.19 Texas wins 48-45 over No. 7 Oklahoma after taking lead with nine seconds left RECAP: No. 18 Texas Longhorns survive after allowing 14 unanswered second half points, win 19-14 RECAP: Texas holds on to win 28-21 in home opener versus Tulsa Golden Hurricane ||||| OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma City fire crews searched a storm drain on Thursday after receiving reports that someone may be inside it in in northwest Oklahoma City. On Thursday afternoon, firefighters were called to the 14500 block of N. Pennsylvania Ave. after witnesses reported seeing an open manhole cover and a bicycle next to it. For nearly an hour, crews searched the area and the storm drain to make sure no one was in danger. In the end, no one was found. ||||| OKLAHOMA CITY – The country’s rate of uninsured children grew for the first time in about a decade, and Oklahoma was no exception. The Georgetown University Health Policy Institute Center for Children and Families released a report in November detailing the drop. About 82,000 Oklahoma children, or 7.7 percent of the state’s minor population, went without coverage in 2017. That grew from 79,000 the year before and left Oklahoma with the fourth-highest uninsured rate. Texas, Alaska and Wyoming fared worse. Oklahoma was also listed as one of 12 states with a child uninsured rate significantly higher than the national average, which is 5 percent. “Uninsured children are more likely to have unmet health needs and lack a usual source of care,” the report states. Usual sources of care and health insurance are requisites for preventive care, said Dr. Jean Hausheer, president of the Oklahoma State Medical Association and a physician serving low-income residents in Comanche County. That can mean anything from overall wellness checks to obesity assessments, nutrition and vaccines. The latter is an issue the medical association has raised serious concerns over, she said. Only about two-thirds of Oklahoma’s infants aged 19-35 months have gotten all of their recommended vaccines. In 2017, about 2 percent of Oklahoma’s public school children got an exemption from required vaccinations, she said. That totals more than 13,000 people, based on the Oklahoma State Department of Education’s education totals for 2017. Oklahoma is one of 18 states that allow philosophical and religious exemptions to exams. “Measles outbreaks are coming,” Hausheer said. “Our vulnerable population is our insured group.” Hausheer also noted that Oklahoma is one of 14 states that didn’t approve Medicaid expansion, which creates more access to federal- and state-sponsored health coverage for working families. The Georgetown report states three out of every four children who lost coverage between 2016 and 2017 live in states that have no expanded Medicaid coverage to parents and other low-income adults. Rick Snyder is the vice president of finance and information services at the Oklahoma Hospital Association. He said the increase in the child uninsured rate is to be expected. “I don’t think there’s any surprise in that,” he said. “Oklahoma’s low in insurance rates overall. It’s still a symptom of the problem.” The state ranks second highest in the nation for its uninsured rate, according to census data released in September. About 14.2 percent of Oklahoma’s nearly 4 million residents had no medical coverage in 2017, up from 13.8 percent in 2016. Insured adults are more likely to have insured children, Snyder said, so the association is continuing its work to promote insurance access for all. That includes its push for Oklahoma officials to accept all available forms of medical funding. Patients who come to hospitals needing care don’t get turned away, he said. Pediatric care is administered, and then hospitals have to find some way to handle the loss when there is one. Although it is difficult for all, Snyder said, the challenge isn’t as hard for pediatric specialty hospitals as it is for others. “They’re a little better able to cushion the uninsured kids by having larger volumes and so forth,” he said. “The rural hospitals, where they’re already in a negative margin, will have uninsured kids too.” Like what you’re reading? Check out more exclusive news and analysis by subscribing today: ||||| In a battle of the Big 12's heavyweight programs, No. 14 Texas and No. 5 Oklahoma fought until the end to determine which team would take home the conference championship — and it was the Sooners that came out on top with a 39-27 victory. Oklahoma hasn't lost to the same opponent twice in the same season since it was swept by the Longhorns in 1901, and that didn't change Saturday as it was a Red River rematch. The Longhorns beat the Sooners 48-45 on Oct. 6, but this time it was a different story. The Sooners had a shaky first quarter as they were figuring out their offense against Texas, but they turned it around late in the second quarter to take a 20-14 lead at the half. Texas led until the last 18 seconds of the first half when Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray passed 6 yards to Grant Calcaterra for a touchdown. Oklahoma took advantage of the momentum it built late in the first half as it came out in the third quarter and scored a touchdown on their first drive to go up 27-14. From there, the Sooners held on and relied on a strong defense to stop Texas as they became the Big 12 champions for the fourth year in a row. This win had major College Football playoff implications as Oklahoma remains in contention for one of the final spots. Here are three takeaways from Oklahoma's victory over Texas. Oklahoma struggled in the first quarter to get anything going offensively and it wasn't until late in the second quarter that the Sooners figured out what they needed to do to get past the Longhorns' defense. Saturday's Big 12 Championship game marked the end of Oklahoma's streak of 24 consecutive games with a touchdown in the first quarter. To put in perspective how long that streak is, Alabama previously held it with 12 games, according to ESPN Stats & Info. The biggest difference was that the Sooners relied on Kyler Murray to pass the ball more. Their run game wasn't working as they were held to just 53 rushing yards in the first half and coach Lincoln Riley knew it. They went into halftime with 203 passing yards and finished the game with 379. Sooners quarterback Kyler Murray keeps proving why he's at the center of Heisman Trophy conversations. Murray proved his versatility against Texas and showed how well he moves in the pocket. He sets up plays with the idea of throwing, but also has the capability to rush when he needs to run the ball based on how he reads the defense. Murray had three touchdowns Saturday, giving him 51 touchdowns this season, which is two more than 2017 Heisman winner Baker Mayfield had in 14 games last season. Heading into the conference championship game, Murray had thrown for 3,674 yards with a 70.6 completion percentage while averaging 12.01 yards per attempt. Murray entered the game with 37 passing touchdowns and 11 rushing touchdowns on the season. Texas made its loss against Oklahoma much harder than it needed to be as the Longhorns faced huge penalties throughout the game. To end the first half, the Longhorns had eight penalties for 78 yards compared to the Sooners' two for 15 yards. It only got worse from there as Texas racked up five in the second half and finished with a total of 13 for a loss of 128 yards Saturday. Many of the penalties came at critical times, including two on a scoring drive when the Sooners were first and goal late in the third quarter. It was clear the Longhorns' concentration was off as they made several mistakes that could have resulted in a different outcome of the game. ||||| ARLINGTON, Texas - Kyler Murray threw for 379 yards and three touchdowns as No. 5 Oklahoma defeated No. 9 Texas 39-27 in the Big 12 championship game Saturday (Dec. 1). With the victory, the Sooners avenged their only loss of the regular season and made their case to return to the College Football Playoff. Murray, the Heisman Trophy-contending, dual-threat quarterback, threw two of his TDs to Grant Calcaterra. That included an impressive 18-yard score on a third-and-10 play with two minutes left as the Sooners (12-1) won their seventh consecutive game despite being held to fewer than 40 points for the first time in nine games. Longhorns quarterback Sam Ehlinger was 23-of-36 passing for 349 yards with two touchdowns and also ran for two scores. But his last pass was picked off by Tre Norwood at the 1 in the final minute. Sugar Bowl pairing of Texas and Georgia appears likely, but ‘anything can happen’ Oklahoma is the first Power Five team to win four consecutive outright conference titles since Florida in the SEC in the mid-1990s. The Sooners went ahead to stay on Austin Seibert’s third field goal, a 31-yarder that made tyeh score 30-27 with 12:37 left. It was good after ricocheting off the top of the left upright. Two plays after Oklahoma's only turnover, when receiver CeeDee Lamb fumbled inside the 10 after a 54-yard catch-and-run with nine minutes left, the Sooners got points anyway. Cornerback Tre Brown sacked Ehlinger in the end zone for a safety. The 114th meeting between the Red River rivals was their first in a championship game, and the first time since 1903 they had played twice in the same season. Every game since 1929 had been played about 20 miles away at the State Fair of Texas, where the Longhorns beat Oklahoma 48-45 eight weeks ago. Oklahoma never trailed after Murray threw TDs on its last two drives of the first half for a 20-14 lead, on Calcaterra’s 6-yard TD pass in the final minute when the Sooners were out of timeouts but went 80 yards in five plays. The Sooners were up 27-21 until Ehlinger threw a 5-yard TD to Lil’Jordan Humphrey with 2:44 left in the third quarter. But the extra point that would have put Texas ahead was deflected and clanged off the crossbar no good.
• Texas: Collin Johnson set a Big 12 championship game record with 177 yards receiving on eight catches. He had a 27-yard TD catch in the third quarter on a drive when he also had catches of 25 and 21 runs.
• Oklahoma: The Sooners won their 12th overall Big 12 title. They are the only Big 12 team that has made it into the College Football Playoff, going in 2015 and again last season with Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Baker Mayfield. They haven’t made it to a CFP title game.
• Texas will go to its first Sugar Bowl since 1995 if Oklahoma gets into the College Football Playoff. If not, the Longhorns are likely headed to the Alamo Bowl.
• Oklahoma waits to find out if it gets into the College Football Playoff, which could mean playing four weeks from now in the same stadium for the Cotton Bowl. If not, the Sooners go to the Sugar Bowl to play an SEC team. | A severe storm system brings tornado watches and warnings throughout the U.S. states of Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, and Missouri. A "large and dangerous" tornado is confirmed near Gore, Oklahoma. Several other tornadoes are seen by storm chasers. |
Ukraine has banned Russian men aged between 16 and 60 from entering the country, amid fears Moscow is planning an invasion. The Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko said the restrictions have been imposed to prevent Russians from forming "private armies" in his country. Moscow has been supporting Russian separatists in the east of the country with troops and weapons. Mr Poroshenko also told Sky News he has evidence that Russian tanks are massing along his country's border. Ukraine imposed martial law earlier this week following an escalation in the long-simmering conflict between the two nations over Crimea, which Moscow seized n 2014. In a violent confrontation, Russian border guards fired on and captured three Ukrainian ships in the Black Sea. The Ukrainian vessels had been trying to pass through the Kerch Strait on their way to the Sea of Azov. The latest crisis led US President Donald Trump to cancel a meeting with Russia's Vladimir Putin at a summit of world leaders in Argentina. Mr Trump said it would not be appropriate as Moscow had still not released the 24 crew members of the seized vessels. A Crimea court has ruled that the sailors will be detained for two months pending the outcome of an investigation. Meanwhile, Ukrainian intelligence officers have been searching the home of the the head of Kiev's largest and oldest monastery. which is part of the Russian Orthodox Church. Spy chief Ihor Guskov said the Russian cleric Father Pavlo, who leads the Pechersk Monastery, is suspected of "inciting hatred". The Ukrainian authorities have sought to portray Russian Orthodox clerics in the country as supporting separatists. ||||| Russian men between the ages of 16 and 60 have been barred entering Ukraine after long-simmering tensions between the countries escalated into a clash on the Black Sea. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko tweeted Friday that restrictions on Russian nationals were taken in order to prevent the formation of "private armies which in reality are representatives of Russian armed forces." Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told reporters Friday that Moscow would not reciprocate and impose similar restrictions on Ukrainian men. Russian ships opened fire on and seized three Ukrainian vessels and 24 crew members in the Sea of Azov off the coast of Crimea on Sunday. Ukraine says the attack occurred in international waters. Amid fears of a Russian invasion, Poroshenko introduced martial law on Tuesday for up 30 days in parts of the country deemed most vulnerable to a potential attack. Martial law allows the president to impose restrictions, including limits on the movement of foreigners. It also means Poroshenko can ban peaceful public protests and regulate the media. No elections can be held when it martial law is in place, but Poroshenko insists Ukrainians will be be able to vote as planned in March. The seizure of Ukrainian ships on Sunday was the latest rift between the neighbors. Tensions were already high after the 2014 annexation of Crimea and the ongoing armed conflict between government forces and Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine. When Russia and Ukraine were relatively friendly, they shared the Sea of Azov and the Kerch Strait as part of a 2003 agreement. But Moscow's annexation of Crimea gave it control of not just one but both sides of the strait. Most countries in the world, including the U.S. and almost all of Europe, say Russia's annexation of Crimea is an illegal occupation. Although the 2003 agreement still stands in theory, Russia now demands that all vessels, including those from Ukraine, to request permission before they pass through. In May, it opened the $3.69 billion Crimea Bridge, cementing its grip on this crucial bottleneck. Independent observers have pointed out that the bridge's span is lower than international standards, putting a permanent cap on the size of ship able to enter the Azov. The move has caused huge delays in recent months, leading to claims Russia is trying to blockade Ukraine's ports and transform the Azov into a de facto Russian lake. Some Western critics say this is all part of the Kremlin's tactic of "creeping annexation," a ploy to subtly recoup Soviet-era territory. Ukraine is demanding that Russia release crew members of the seized ships. On Friday, the Tass news agency reported that the commanders of the three Ukrainian vessels were being transferred to Moscow for interrogation. The other 21 remained in custody in Crimea. ||||| Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko speak to soldiers during a visit to a military base in Chernihiv region, Ukraine, Wednesday, Nov, 28, 2018. Russia and Ukraine traded blame after Russian border guards on Sunday opened fire on three Ukrainian navy vessels and eventually seized them and their crews. The incident put the two countries on war footing and raised international concern. (Mykola Lazarenko, Presidential Press Service via AP) (Mykola Lazarenko) ||||| Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko on Friday barred Russian men of military age from entering the country, saying the order was needed to prevent an infiltration in what appeared to be an allusion to Moscow's 2014 takeover of Crimea from Ukraine. Poroshenko's decree comes days after he assumed martial law powers in Ukraine following a maritime skirmish in the Kerch Strait that joins the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov through Crimea. That encounter saw Russian warships fire on and seize three Ukrainian navy vessels, wounding several of their crew. "Today, the entry of foreigners is limited — primarily citizens of the Russian Federation — non-admission of citizens of the Russian Federation aged from 16 to 60, male," Petro Tsygyka, the Ukrainian head of the border service, said in a televised meeting Friday. Poroshenko tweeted on Friday that the restriction was enacted to prevent the infiltration of "private armies." In 2014, Russian soldiers in unmarked uniforms infiltrated Crimea, taking control of Ukrainian ships and military bases on the peninsula as Moscow insisted its forces were not involved. The Kremlin has also backed an ongoing separatist insurgency in eastern Ukraine. On Monday, Poroshenko declared martial law in response to the latest naval incident, citing fears that Russia was planning further military action. It is set to continue until Dec. 26 in 10 regions bordering Russia. At the time, The Associated Press noted, "Martial law will include a partial mobilization and strengthening of the country's air defense. The measures before parliament also included vaguely worded steps such as 'strengthening' anti-terrorism measures and 'information security." A 2003 treaty between the two countries says the Kerch Strait and Sea of Azov are shared territorial waters. Russia has attempted to exert greater control over the area since annexing Crimea — including opening a bridge linking Russia to the Ukrainian peninsula earlier this year. "Ukraine's navy estimates it lost at least 80 percent of its assets and capabilities after the annexation of Crimea, as its most important bases were located on the peninsula," Kim reports. "Russia's seizure of the two gunboats on the weekend is a further blow." U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley called Russia's seizure of the vessels an "outrageous violation of sovereign Ukrainian territory." On Thursday, President Trump cancelled a scheduled meeting with President Vladimir Putin at G-20, citing the intensifying Russian aggression toward Ukraine. ||||| Ukraine has barred Russian male nationals between 16 and 60 from traveling to the country, President Petro Poroshenko announced on November 30. The move comes amid escalation tensions between the two countries after Russian border guards opened fire and captured three Ukrainian naval vessels and their 24-member crew off on November 25 off Crimea, which Russia forcibly annexed from Ukraine in 2014. Poroshenko tweeted on November 30 that the restrictions on Russian travelers have been taken to prevent the Russians from forming "private armies" fighting on Ukrainian soil. Russia has backed separatists in eastern Ukraine in a conflict that has killed more than 10,300 people since April 2014. Meanwhile, a Russian government-appointed ombudswoman in Crimea said the captured Ukrainian naval personnel were being transferred to Moscow. Russia says the Ukrainians had violated its border while Ukraine says its ships were acting in line with international maritime rules. A Crimean court earlier this week ruled to keep the Ukrainian seamen behind bars for two months pending the investigation. Based on reporting by AP, Reuters, Interfax, and TASS ||||| Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, left, leads the National Security and Defence Council meeting in Kiev, Ukraine, Friday, Nov. 30, 2018. Ukraine's president says that the country has barred Russian men between 16 and 60 from traveling to the country. The move comes as the long-simmering conflict between the two nations escalated in the Black Sea on Sunday. President Petro Poroshenko has tweeted that the restrictions on Russian travelers have been taken in order to prevent the Russians from forming "private armies" fighting on Ukrainian soil. (Mykhailo Markiv, Presidential Press Service via AP, Pool) (Mykhailo Markiv) ||||| An Orthodox priest blessed Russian missiles as part of a deployment ceremony for the country's anti-aircraft launchers yesterday, which were seen amassing close to the Ukrainian border yesterday. Triumf surface-to-air missile systems - part of an anti-aircraft military unit of the Russian Air Force and the Russian Southern Military District - entered combat duty near the Crimean town of Dzhankoy, just 12 miles away from Ukraine on Thursday night. It is common for Orthodox priests in Russia to bless military equipment before use; in January 2017 a bishop sanctified the S-400 Triumf medium and long-range surface-to-air missile system at the base of the Russian Southern Military District and in 2016 a similar event occured when the Sukhoi Su-30SM fighter aircraft joined the Russian Navy Baltic Fleet for the first time. Last month, the Soyuz rocket at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan was consecrated by a churchman in preparation for its space launch. Petro Poroshenko, Ukraine's president, has this week warned that Russian tanks are lining up along the border and taken the step of banning all Russian men of military age from entering the country. Poroshenko said he has evidence that Russian tanks are lining up just 11 miles (18km) from the border, close to where Russia stores its ammunition and multi-rocket launch systems, Sky News reports. Poroshenko made the claim just hours after accusing President Vladimir Putin of wanting to annex his whole country. 'This is the tank base just 18km from our border, this was happening in September, October, and now,' Poroshenko told Sky. 'This is 18km from my border, this is the same warehouse where they have their ammunition, the same where they have multi-rocket launch systems, we should be prepared to protect my country.' He added: 'If the whole world has no reason to trust Putin, Ukraine definitely doesn't have a reason to go with him.' President Poroshenko also said the country has barred Russian men between 16 and 60 from travelling to the country. The move comes as the long-simmering conflict between the two nations escalated in the Black Sea on Sunday when Russian border guards opened fire on and captured three Ukrainian vessels and their 24-member crew. Poroshenko tweeted today that the restrictions on Russian travellers have been taken in order to prevent the Russians from forming 'private armies' fighting on Ukrainian soil. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Poroshenko's request is 'clearly aimed at provoking further tensions' and driven by the Ukrainian leader's 'electoral and domestic policy motives.' Russia seized three Ukrainian navy ships and their crews on Sunday near the Crimean Peninsula, which Moscow annexed in 2014, over what it said was their illegal entry into Russian waters - a charge Ukraine strongly refutes. The Russian coast guard fired on and seized the three Ukrainian vessels that sought to pass from the Black Sea into the Sea of Azov through the Kerch Strait. Ukraine insisted that its vessels were operating in line with international maritime rules, while Russia said they had failed to get permission to pass. The G7 foreign ministers' today released a statement on the recent events near Kerch Strait. 'We, the G7 foreign ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, and the High Representative of the European Union, express our utmost concern about Russia's actions against Ukraine in the Kerch Strait and surrounding waters, which have dangerously raised tensions,' the statement said. 'There is no justification for Russia's use of military force against Ukrainian ships and naval personnel. 'We urge restraint, due respect for international law, and the prevention of any further escalation. We call on Russia to release the detained crew and vessels and refrain from impeding lawful passage through the Kerch Strait. 'We, the G7, once again reiterate that we do not, and will never, recognize Russia's illegal annexation of the Crimean peninsula, and we reaffirm our unwavering support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity.' In interviews with Germany's Bild newspaper and the Funke newspaper group on Thursday, Poroshenko rejected Russia's charge that the vessels' entry into the Sea of Azov - a body of water shared by Ukraine and Russia on which the Ukrainian ports of Mariupol and Berdyansk sit - was a provocation. 'Don't believe Putin's lies,' he told Bild, Germany's biggest-selling paper, comparing Russia's protestations of innocence in the affair to Moscow's 2014 denial that it had soldiers in Crimea even as they moved to annex it. 'Putin wants the old Russian empire back,' he said. 'Crimea, Donbass, the whole country. As Russian Tsar, as he sees himself, his empire can't function without Ukraine. He sees us as his colony.' He added that there needs to be increased pressure on Moscow, including stopping the construction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which is being built under the Baltic Sea and would bypass Ukraine to deliver gas directly to Germany. Poroshenko said the government will impose unspecified restrictions on Russian citizens in response to the seizure of the three Ukrainian vessels and their crews. He that the one-month period of martial law introduced this week in Ukraine wouldn't restrict travel, cash withdrawals or currency purchases by Ukrainians but Russians will face some constraints. The Ukrainian leader tweeted Thursday that 'there will be restrictions regarding Russian citizens, which I believe are quite justified.' He did not elaborate. The seizure of the navy vessels drove tensions to their highest since 2015, when Moscow-backed rebels rose against the Kiev government in the eastern Donbass region, sparking a war that has killed tens of thousands. A Russian government-appointed ombudswoman said on Friday the three commanders of the Ukrainian vessels captured near the Russia-annexed Crimean Peninsula last weekend are being transferred to Moscow. The Tass news agency on Friday quoted Russian government-appointed ombudswoman Lyudmila Lubina as saying that the vessels' commanders are being transferred to Moscow for interrogation. The other 21 remain in custody in Crimea. A Crimea court earlier this week ruled to keep the Ukrainian seamen behind bars for two months pending the investigation. Poroshenko called on Germany, the largest and wealthiest buyer of Moscow's gas exports, to halt the building of an undersea gas pipeline that would allow Russia to supply Germany directly, cutting out Ukraine. 'We need a strong, resolute and clear reaction to Russia's aggressive behaviour,' he told Funke. 'That also means stopping the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project.' Germany regards the pipeline, which is being built by Russian state-owned energy company Gazprom, as a private investment. But Merkel recently acknowledged its 'political dimensions' and said Ukraine must continue to be a conduit for Russian gas sold to western Europe. German officials said on Wednesday that their position on the pipeline remained unchanged and that talk of tighter sanctions against Moscow, demanded by the United States and many European politicians, was 'premature'. Poroshenko also called for the stationing of NATO vessels in the Sea of Azov. ||||| KHARKIV, Ukraine -- Vladyslav Sobolevskyy isn't someone you'd expect to be hearing it from, but there it was. "It’s a political manipulation," said the burly, battle-hardened veteran of a war that's been gnawing at Ukraine for more than four years, in a reference to this week's imposition of martial law across nearly half the country. A former commander of one of Ukraine's most controversial volunteer battalions since fighting broke out in 2014, who keeps an ax adorned with a skull on his desk, Sobolevskyy spent three years fighting in a village that sits on the shore of the Sea of Azov. Access to that strategic sea, long shared by Russia and Ukraine, was at the center of the naval clash on November 25 that prompted the call for martial law and rekindled fears of a broader conflict. But three days later, Sobolevskyy was suggesting the current mobilization was an attempt by President Petro Poroshenko to boost his public standing four months ahead of a planned presidential election -- a charge similarly raised by Poroshenko’s critics in Kyiv and by Russian President Vladimir Putin. Sobolevskyy was helping to oversee the start of weapons training for around 50 civilians who were filing into the Azov National Militia's training center in Kharkiv on November 28 in response to a call for volunteers after the naval incident. The group of mostly young men practiced assembling Kalashnikov rifles. "They want to be ready," Sobolevskyy said. Ukraine’s second-largest city and home to an important tank factory, Kharkiv sits 420 kilometers north of the Sea of Azov. But it abuts Russia's border to the north and was the scene of an armed effort by Russia-backed separatists in 2014 to seize control of the city before they were repelled by government forces. If Russia unleashes a large-scale assault on Ukraine, "we will not have much time" to react, Sobolevskyy said. "We will be the first people who will go to the new war." Outside the Azov training center on November 28, there were few obvious signs of martial law. In Kharkiv itself, banks were open, cafes were buzzing, and the subway was running on schedule. Many residents shrugged off talk of martial law or downplayed any immediate effect on their daily lives. Or, in some cases, they simply hadn't heard the news. Dmytro Yuriev, a 79-year-old retired university worker and volunteer handing out pamphlets on the country's war effort from a tent on Kharkiv’s snow-covered Freedom Square, said he knew nothing of the new directive when RFE/RL informed him. "How can that be?" he asked. "What does it mean?" Local officials were unsure exactly what it might mean for the city, and they held meetings through most of the day on November 28 to discuss it. Through a spokesperson, Kharkiv Mayor Hennadiy Kernes declined an interview because he was said to be unsure which aspects of martial law would go into effect. Regional military leaders, too, declined to meet with reporters because they said they were still parsing the language of the law. Dmytro Bulakh, a Kharkiv regional council member and co-chairman of the board at Kharkiv Reform Coalition, speculated that it might not "affect the lives of ordinary people," who were already used to war on their doorstep. Several hours into the new regime, he said, "I don’t think it will need to be imposed here." But Kharkiv regional authorities had taken some precautionary measures, including checks of bomb shelters, schools, and gymnasiums, where people might gather in the event of an attack. Not all aspects of martial law were formally invoked in the 10 regions directly affected, but in some, local officials with their own interpretations of the law were invoking it in seemingly creative ways. In neighboring Sumy, the city council said it was mulling an initiative to restrict traffic in the city with checkpoints and to limit the sale of alcohol between 10 p.m. and 10 a.m. In south-central Zaporizhzhya, the regional head urged political parties to "decrease their activity in the form of the holding of mass events." In Kherson, which directly borders annexed Crimea to the north and has access to the Black and Azov seas, authorities stepped up security at the administrative border with the peninsula and began restricting the passage of Russians. That security was tightened further on November 29 when the State Border Guard Service announced that only Ukrainian citizens would be allowed to enter Crimea from Ukrainian territory under government control. It did not clarify how long the measure would be in place. At the Hoptivka border crossing 35 kilometers north of Kharkiv one day earlier, there was little traffic bound for Russia and even fewer vehicles entering Ukraine. Oksana Ivanets, a State Border Guard Service spokeswoman for the Kharkiv region, told RFE/RL that the service had received orders to be on "full military readiness." But faced with the threat of an incursion near Hoptivka for more than four years, border guards there have long been on heightened alert, and even erected a border fence and dug antitank trenches as a precaution. Otherwise, not much had changed and officials were still awaiting further orders from Kyiv. "This is a first for all of us," Ivanets said. "We’re still learning what it will mean for everyone." In Hoptivka, nobody had been barred entrance to Ukraine and border guards had not witnessed any "provocations," she added. Poroshenko argued that martial law was necessary in the face of the threat of "full-scale war" with Russia, which he claimed was massing tens of thousands of troops and military equipment along its border with Ukraine. That claim has not been independently verified. And while there was much confusion about what exactly martial law meant for most Ukrainians, one thing was clear: Ukraine’s military had been put on "full combat alert." "I will now be using the opportunities, which are given to me as the commander in chief by the law on martial law, to strengthen our armed forces," Poroshenko told a November 28 meeting of top officials in the Chernihiv region, one of those under martial law, according to his press department. "I will do everything I can to implement all the necessary decisions so that our army would be ready." The same day, 900 kilometers to the south, Reuters reported seeing a Russian Navy ship, the Vice Admiral Zakharin minesweeper, moving toward the Sea of Azov from the Black Sea. On November 29, Russian Black Sea Fleet spokesman Aleksei Rulev told the Interfax news agency that a fourth S-400 air-defense missile battalion had been put on combat duty in the Crimean city of Dzhankoi, near the border of mainland Ukraine. Meanwhile, Poroshenko announced new measures banning Russian citizens from exchanging foreign currency or conducting bank withdrawals. He also said he supported further measures restricting Russians' travel to Ukraine. "And I think it’s totally justified,” he added. ||||| Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko on Friday barred Russian men of military age from entering the country, saying the order was needed to prevent an infiltration in what appeared to be an allusion to Moscow’s 2014 takeover of Crimea from Ukraine. Poroshenko’s decree comes days after he assumed martial law powers in Ukraine following a maritime skirmish in the Kerch Strait that joins the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov through Crimea. That encounter saw Russian warships fire on and seize three Ukrainian navy vessels, wounding several of their crew. “Today, the entry of foreigners is limited — primarily citizens of the Russian Federation — non-admission of citizens of the Russian Federation aged from 16 to 60, male,” Petro Tsygyka, the Ukrainian head of the border service, said in a televised meeting Friday. Poroshenko tweeted on Friday that the restriction was enacted to prevent the infiltration of “private armies.” In 2014, Russian soldiers in unmarked uniforms infiltrated Crimea, taking control of Ukrainian ships and military bases on the peninsula as Moscow insisted its forces were not involved. The Kremlin has also backed an ongoing separatist insurgency in eastern Ukraine. On Monday, Poroshenko declared martial law in response to the latest naval incident, citing fears that Russia was planning further military action. It is set to continue until Dec. 26 in 10 regions bordering Russia. At the time, The Associated Press noted, “Martial law will include a partial mobilization and strengthening of the country’s air defense. The measures before parliament also included vaguely worded steps such as ‘strengthening’ anti-terrorism measures and ‘information security.” “Domestic opponents of the unpopular president accused him of planning to use martial law as a way to suspend an election scheduled for March 31. Poroshenko only got Ukraine’s boisterous parliament to approve the measure once he had watered down his proposal by reducing martial law — which entered into force Wednesday — to 30 days from 60, limiting it to border regions and promising not to postpone the election.” A 2003 treaty between the two countries says the Kerch Strait and Sea of Azov are shared territorial waters. Russia has attempted to exert greater control over the area since annexing Crimea — including opening a bridge linking Russia to the Ukrainian peninsula earlier this year. “Ukraine’s navy estimates it lost at least 80 percent of its assets and capabilities after the annexation of Crimea, as its most important bases were located on the peninsula,” Kim reports. “Russia’s seizure of the two gunboats on the weekend is a further blow.” U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley called Russia’s seizure of the vessels an “outrageous violation of sovereign Ukrainian territory.” On Thursday, President Trump cancelled a scheduled meeting with President Vladimir Putin at G-20, citing the intensifying Russian aggression toward Ukraine. ||||| MOSCOW (AP) — The Latest on Russia-Ukraine tensions (all times local): A Russian activist says she has visited Ukrainian seamen who have been transferred to a Moscow jail. Russian border guards in the Black Sea near Crimea fired at three Ukrainian vessels on Sunday, seizing the ships and their crews. Russia says they have violated its border while Ukraine says the vessels were in compliance with international maritime law. Two dozen Ukrainian seamen have been ordered to stay in custody for the next two months. Russian TV station Dozhd on Friday quoted Kogershyn Sagiyeva, a member of the Moscow oversight council which is allowed to inspect prisons, as saying that 21 seamen have been transferred to the Moscow Lefortovo jail while three other seamen are in a hospital in another jail. She said she met with some of the seamen and they appeared to be in good shape. European Council President Donald Tusk says the EU is expected to extend sanctions on Russia over its "totally unacceptable" seizure of Ukrainian ships and their crews near Crimea. Tusk said Friday that "Europe is united in its support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity," calling the standoff "a cause of great concern." Speaking on the sidelines of a G-20 summit in Buenos Aires, he urged the leaders meeting there to discuss points of tension including "Russian aggression in Ukraine." He didn't elaborate on the sanctions or other measures the EU might take. Russian President Vladimir Putin is among the leaders involved at the G-20. Russia and Ukraine have traded blame over the ship incident. Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban says his country is supporting Ukraine in the latest escalation of tensions with Russia. Speaking through a translator in Prague after meeting his Czech counterpart Andrej Babis on Friday, Orban says: "The Hungarian position is clear. We are a pro-Ukrainian government." But he added that "The peculiarity of the situation is that there is a Ukraine-friendly government in Hungary, while in Ukraine there is an anti-Hungarian government." Orban's statement comes amid a dispute between Ukraine and his country over the rights of the Hungarian minority in Ukraine. But Orban said his support for Ukraine is not going to change. Orban is considered to have one of the best relationships with Russian President Vladimir Putin's among European Union politicians. Russia's foreign ministry says that Moscow is not going to mirror the travel ban that Ukraine has imposed on Russian men. Ukrainian officials announced earlier on Friday that all Russian men aged between 16 and 60 will be barred from entering Ukraine for the 30-day duration of martial law. The statement is the latest step in the escalation of the long-simmering conflict between Russia and Ukraine which began in 2014 with Russia's annexation of Crimea. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told reporters that Russia is not planning to impose similar measures on Ukrainians. Zakharova blamed the Ukrainian government for implementing a policy that hurts ordinary people. The Ukrainian intelligence agency is searching the home of the father superior of Kiev's biggest and oldest monastery which is part of the Russian Orthodox Church. Ihor Guskov, chief of staff of the SBU intelligence agency, told reporters on Friday that its officers are searching the home of Father Pavlo, who leads the Pechersk Monastery in Kiev. He said the cleric is suspected of "inciting hatred." The Ukrainian church, which has been part of the Russian Orthodox Church for centuries, moved close to forming an independent church — fueled by the conflict with Russia Ukraine's Orthodox communities earlier this year. There are currently three Orthodox communities in Ukraine including two breakaway churches. Ukrainian authorities sought to portray the Russian Orthodox clerics in Ukraine as supporting separatists. Tensions between Ukraine and Russia have escalated since last weekend, when Russian border guards opened fire on three Ukrainian naval vessels near Crimea and captured their crews. Ukraine's president says that the country has barred Russian men between 16 and 60 from traveling to the country. The move comes as the long-simmering conflict between the two nations escalated in the Black Sea on Sunday. Russian border guards opened fire on and captured three Ukrainian vessels and their 24-member crew. President Petro Poroshenko tweeted Friday that the restrictions on Russian travelers have been taken in order to prevent the Russians from forming "private armies" fighting on Ukrainian soil. A Russian government-appointed ombudswoman says the three commanders of the Ukrainian vessels captured near the Russia-annexed Crimean Peninsula last weekend are being transferred to Moscow. The long-simmering conflict between Russia and Ukraine bubbled over Sunday when Russian border guards opened fired on three Ukrainian vessels in the Black Sea. The Russians then captured the 24-member crew. Russia says the Ukrainians had violated its border while Ukraine says its ships were acting in line with international maritime rules. The Tass news agency on Friday quoted Russian government-appointed ombudswoman Lyudmila Lubina as saying that the vessels' commanders are being transferred to Moscow for interrogation. The other 21 have also been transferred away from Crimea, but it wasn't immediately clear to where. A Crimea court earlier this week ruled to keep the Ukrainian seamen behind bars for two months pending the investigation. | Ukraine bans Russian men aged between 16 and 60 from entering the country following the imposition of martial law. President Petro Poroshenko says the ban is to prevent the formation of "private armies" in Ukraine. Russia says it does not plan to retaliate. |
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump’s national security adviser, John Bolton, said in an interview with National Public Radio that he knew in advance about the arrest of a top executive of the Chinese technology giant Huawei Technologies Co Ltd [HWT.UL], according to an NPR reporter on Thursday. Bolton said he did not know if the president was aware in advance of the arrest of Meng Wanzhou in Canada on Saturday, the day Trump struck a 90-day truce on trade in a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Argentina, NPR reporter Steve Inskeep said in a tweet. “I knew in advance. That is something we get from the Justice Department,” the tweet quoted Bolton as saying. ||||| VANCOUVER — China’s embassy in Ottawa is demanding the immediate release of Huawei Technologies’ chief financial officer, who was arrested in Vancouver over the weekend and faces possible extradition to the United States. In a statement posted online Wednesday, the embassy says Wanzhou Meng hasn’t violated any U.S. or Canadian laws, and called the arrest a serious violation of human rights. It says China will closely follow the developments on the case and “take all measures to resolutely protect the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese citizens.” Meanwhile, a clerk at the B.C. Supreme Court says Meng appeared in court Wednesday and a bail hearing is scheduled for Friday. Justice Department spokesman Ian McLeod says in an email that Meng was arrested Saturday, but further details cannot be provided because a publication ban is in effect at her request. McLeod says the U.S. is seeking Meng’s extradition. It is not known what law is alleged to have been breached in Canada. In a statement, Huawei says Meng is being sought for extradition to face unspecified charges in the Eastern District of New York. She was arrested when transferring flights in Canada, Huawei said. “The company has been provided very little information regarding the charges and is not aware of any wrongdoing by Ms. Meng,” the statement said. “The company believes the Canadian and U.S. legal systems will ultimately reach a just conclusion.” In April, China appealed to Washington to avoid damaging business confidence following a Wall Street Journal report that U.S. authorities were allegedly investigating whether Huawei violated sanctions on Iran amid spiralling technology tensions. A foreign ministry spokeswoman, Hua Chunying, said then that China hoped the U.S. would refrain from taking actions that could further undermine investor confidence in the U.S. business environment and harm its domestic economy. That same month, Washington barred Huawei rival ZTE Corp. from exporting U.S. technology in a separate case over exports to Iran and North Korea. In its statement on Wednesday, Huawei said the company complies with all laws and regulations in the countries where it operates, including applicable export control, sanction laws and regulations of the United Nations, the United States and the European Union. U.S. President Trump has threatened to raise tariffs on Chinese goods in response to complaints that Beijing improperly pressures foreign companies to hand over technology. That is widely seen as part of a broader effort by Washington to respond to intensifying competition with Chinese technology industries that Trump says benefit from improper subsidies and market barriers. The escalating trade war is threatening world economic growth and has set global investors on edge. David Mulroney, a former Canadian ambassador to China, said U.S. and Canadian business executives could face reprisals in China. “That’s something we should be watching out for. It’s a possibility. China’s plays rough,” Mulroney told The Associated Press. “It’s a prominent member of their society and it’s a company that really embodies China’s quest for global recognition as a technology power.” Mulroney said Canada should be prepared for “sustained fury” from the Chinese and said it will be portrayed in China as Canada kowtowing to Trump. He also said the Iran allegations are very damaging to Huawei and said China will push back hard. U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse, a Republican member of the Senate armed services and banking committees, applauded Canada for the arrest. “Americans are grateful that our Canadian partners have arrested the chief financial officer of a giant Chinese telecom company for (allegedly) breaking U.S. sanctions against Iran,” he said. Meng is a prominent member of Chinese society as deputy chairman of the Huawei board and the daughter of company founder Ren Zhengfei. — With files from The Associated Press ||||| OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Thursday said his government had no involvement in the arrest of a top executive from Chinese technology giant Huawei, who was detained at Vancouver airport. Trudeau said Ottawa had been given a few days’ advance notice about the plan to arrest Meng Wanzhou, who faces extradition to the United States. He declined to give further details, given that Meng faces a bail hearing on Friday. The news pummeled stock markets already nervous about increased tension between the United States and China and prompted experts to predict that Beijing would retaliate against Canada. “The appropriate authorities took the decisions in this case without any political involvement or interference ... we were advised by them with a few days’ notice that this was in the works,” Trudeau told reporters in Montreal in televised remarks. Asked whether he had spoken to the Chinese premier or the ambassador, Trudeau said he had had no conversations with international counterparts about the case. China’s embassy said late on Wednesday that it firmly opposed what it called an unjustified arrest. The move comes at a challenging time for Trudeau, whose attempts to boost trade ties with China are sputtering. Brock University professor Charles Burton, a former Canadian diplomat who had served two postings in China, said Beijing was convinced the U.S. administration had pressured Canada to go ahead with the arrest. “We can expect China to retaliate against Canada very vigorously,” he said by email. In June 2014, Chinese businessman Su Bin was picked up on a U.S. warrant in Canada, where he had been attempting to establish residency. Shortly afterwards a Canadian citizen in China was arrested and charged with spying. Kevin Garratt spent two years in detention before being deported. Su pleaded guilty to conspiring to hack defense contractors and was sentenced to nearly four years in prison in 2016. Asked about the potential for ties with Beijing to sour, a Canadian government official said the two countries had a sophisticated relationship. “We will continue to discuss issues across a range of fora designed to do just that,” said the official, who requested anonymity given the sensitivity of the situation. Richard Kurland, a Vancouver-based immigration lawyer, said there was little chance Meng would be released from detention. Most people held on U.S. warrants are extradited quickly, he said in an interview. “If you have deep pockets, you have options,” he said. Huawei has a small Canadian operation, employing just shy of 1,000 people. But the company said early this year it had become the 25th largest research and development funder in Canada, thanks to partnerships with local universities. ||||| Ms Meng at a capital investment forum in Moscow in 2014. Huawei's chief financial officer was arrested in Canada on Dec 1 and faces extradition to the US. She is the daughter of the company's founder. A TOP executive and daughter of the founder of Chinese telecom giant Huawei has been arrested in Canada and faces extradition to the United States, officials said on Thursday, angering Beijing days into a trade war truce with the US. The detention of Meng Wanzhou, Huawei's chief financial officer, comes after American authorities reportedly launched an investigation into suspected violations of Iran sanctions by Huawei, which was already under scrutiny by US intelligence officials who deemed the company a national security threat. The arrest stirred tensions just as the United States and China agreed to a ceasefire in their trade spat while negotiators seek a deal within three months. News of her detention rippled through stock markets in Asia, particularly Shanghai and Hong Kong, with tech firms among the worst hit. By lunch, Shanghai was 1.3 per cent lower while Hong Kong was 2.6 per cent off. "China is working creatively to undermine our national security interests, and the United States and our allies can't sit on the sidelines," US Senator Ben Sasse in a statement linking the arrest to US sanctions against Iran. "Sometimes Chinese aggression is explicitly state-sponsored and sometimes it's laundered through many of Beijing's so-called 'private' sector entities that are in bed with (President) Xi (Jinping)'s communist party," he added. Ms Meng was arrested in the western city of Vancouver on Dec 1, Canada's ministry of justice said in a statement. The ministry said the US is seeking her extradition and she faces a bail hearing on Friday, adding it could not provide further details due to a publication ban sought by Ms Meng, whose father, Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei, is a former Chinese People's Liberation Army engineer. The arrest occurred on the same day that US President Donald Trump and Mr Xi struck the trade war truce at a summit in Argentina. "The Chinese side firmly opposes and strongly protests over such kind of actions which seriously harmed the human rights of the victim," the embassy said in a statement. "The Chinese side has lodged stern representations with the US and Canadian side, and urged them to immediately correct the wrongdoing and restore the personal freedom of Ms Meng Wanzhou." Huawei said it was unaware of any wrongdoing by Ms Meng and was provided "very little information" about the charges. "Huawei complies with all applicable laws and regulations where it operates, including applicable export control and sanction laws and regulations of the UN, US and EU," the company said in a statement. The Wall Street Journal reported in April that US Department of Justice had opened an investigation into suspected violations of Iran sanctions by Huawei. The New York Times said the company had been subpoenaed by the Commerce and Treasury Departments over alleged violations of Iran and North Korea sanctions. Huawei is not the first Chinese telecoms equipment firm to face the ire of US authorities. Earlier this year, the US imposed a seven-year ban on the sale of crucial US components to Chinese smartphone maker ZTE after finding it had failed to take action against staff who were responsible for violating trade sanctions against Iran and North Korea. The ban nearly killed the Chinese tech company, which said it was forced to cease major operations in May. A month later, Washington and Beijing reached a deal that would strike ZTE from the sanctions list - just days after China reportedly offered to ramp up purchases of American goods to help cut the yawning trade imbalance with the US. American officials denied any connection between the two. In exchange, ZTE agreed to pay a hefty US$1 billion fine and put an additional US$400 million in escrow in case of future violations. It was also ordered to replace its board of directors and retain outside monitors. The case showed that China is highly dependent on imports of US-made semiconductors or computer chips and reinforced Beijing's need to become self-reliant on this key technology. Huawei is one of the world's largest telecommunications equipment and services providers. But despite global success, its US business has been tightly constrained by worries it could undermine American competitors and that its cellphones and networking equipment, used widely in other countries, could provide Beijing with avenues for espionage. In May, the Pentagon said that devices from Huawei and ZTE posed an "unacceptable" security risk. Personnel on US military bases are banned from buying equipment manufactured by the Chinese tech firms. Over the summer, Australia barred Huawei from providing 5G technology for wireless networks in the country over espionage fears. New Zealand followed suit in November, but said the issue was a technological one. Britain's largest mobile provider too has joined the global ban on Huawei. On Wednesday, BT announced it was removing Huawei's telecommunications equipment from its 4G cellular network, following a warning from the head of MI6 foreign intelligence service that singled out the Chinese company as a potential security risk. Despite being essentially barred from the critical US market, Huawei surpassed Apple to become the world's number two smartphone maker in the second quarter of this year. AFP ||||| Canadian authorities have arrested the chief financial officer of China’s Huawei Technologies for possible extradition to the United States. Meng Wanzhou was arrested in Vancouver, British Columbia, on Saturday, Justice Department spokesman Ian McLeod said. Mr McLeod said a publication ban had been imposed in the case and he could not provide further details. The ban was sought by Meng, who has a bail hearing on Friday, he said. The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this year that US authorities are investigating whether Chinese tech giant Huawei violated sanctions on Iran. Meng is also deputy chairman of the board and the daughter of company founder Ren Zhengfei. ||||| VANCOUVER -- Chinese officials are demanding that Canada release Huawei Technologies' chief financial officer, who was arrested in Vancouver over the weekend and faces possible extradition to the United States. Foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told reporters Thursday that the Chinese government also wants Canadian officials to reveal the reasoning behind Meng Wanzhou's arrest Saturday. He also said Meng's legal rights must be ensured, adding that neither Canadian nor American officials had so far responded to China's concerns. The comments come after China's embassy in Ottawa issued a statement Wednesday calling Meng's arrest a serious violation of human rights. "(Canada) arrested a Chinese citizen (who did not violate) any Canadian or American law," the statement said. "We will closely follow the development of the issue and take all measures to resolutely protect the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese citizens." Meanwhile, a clerk at the B.C. Supreme Court said Meng appeared in court Wednesday and a bail hearing is scheduled for Friday. Canadian Justice Department spokesman Ian McLeod said the U.S. is seeking Meng's extradition, but couldn't provide further details about the case because a publication ban is in effect at Meng's request. Meng was changing flights in Canada when she was detained "on behalf of the United States of America" to face "unspecified charges" in New York, Huawei said in a statement. "The company has been provided very little information regarding the charges and is not aware of any wrongdoing by Ms. Meng," the statement said. "The company believes the Canadian and U.S. legal systems will ultimately reach a just conclusion." In April, China appealed to Washington to avoid damaging business confidence following a Wall Street Journal report that U.S. authorities were allegedly investigating whether Huawei violated sanctions on Iran amid spiralling technology tensions. That same month, Washington barred Huawei rival ZTE Corp. from exporting U.S. technology in a separate case over exports to Iran and North Korea. In its statement Wednesday, Huawei said the company complies with all laws and regulations in the countries where it operates, including applicable export control, sanction laws and regulations of the United Nations, the United States and the European Union. Huawei, the biggest global supplier of network gear used by phone and internet companies, has been the target of deepening U.S. security concerns. Under U.S. President Donald Trump and his predecessor, Barack Obama, Washington has pressured European countries and other allies to limit the use of its technology. The U.S. sees Huawei and smaller Chinese tech suppliers as possible fronts for Chinese spying and as commercial competitors. The Trump administration says they benefit from improper subsidies and market barriers. David Mulroney, a former Canadian ambassador to China, said U.S. and Canadian business executives could face reprisals in China. "That's something we should be watching out for. It's a possibility. China plays rough," Mulroney told The Associated Press. "It's a prominent member of their society and it's a company that really embodies China's quest for global recognition as a technology power." Mulroney said Canada should be prepared for "sustained fury" from the Chinese and said it will be portrayed in China as Canada kowtowing to Trump. He also said the Iran allegations are very damaging to Huawei and said China will push back hard. U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse, a Republican member of the Senate armed services and banking committees, applauded Canada for the arrest. "Americans are grateful that our Canadian partners have arrested the chief financial officer of a giant Chinese telecom company for (allegedly) breaking U.S. sanctions against Iran," he said. Meng is a prominent member of Chinese society as deputy chairwoman of the Huawei board and the daughter of company founder Ren Zhengfei. -- With files from The Associated Press ||||| FILE - In this March 13, 2018, file photo, a Huawei employee looks up as he walks toward the company's headquarters in Shenzhen in southern China's Guangdong Province. Canadian authorities said Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2018, that they have arrested the chief financial officer of China's Huawei Technologies for possible extradition to the United States. (AP Photo/Dake Kang, File) (AP) ||||| U.S.-based technology companies with business in China automatically lost value on news of the arrest of Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou, who has reportedly been accused of violating U.S. sanctions, CNBC's Jim Cramer said Thursday. The arrest, which occurred in Canada on Saturday and was announced Wednesday, "means any tech company that does a huge amount of business in China, including Apple or Micron or Intel or Skyworks or Qualcomm or Broadcom, is worth a little less today than it was yesterday," Cramer, host of "Mad Money," told investors. Tech colossus Huawei, the world's second largest phone seller and one of China's most important companies, has been a cornerstone both of Chinese technological pride and of spying concerns from U.S. government officials. A rival of Samsung and Apple in the smartphone arena, Huawei counts Qualcomm and Intel among its suppliers. The arrest of its global CFO could mark a setback in U.S.-China trade relations, a notion that Wall Street took to heart. To Cramer, calling the event an "escalation" in tensions was "one of the biggest understatements of the year." "To say that it could wreck any further negotiations seems reasonable," he said. "Until we know more, we have to figure there could be more downgrades ahead [and] more pain to come in these tech stocks, unless the CFO is allowed to return to China, or at least released on her own recognizance." "Even then, we're in seriously uncharted waters here," he said. "Caution is warranted, at least on the Chinese-related tech stocks, until we know more." Moreover, it gives the White House "hardliners" on China — namely Trade and Industrial Policy Director Peter Navarro, Vice President Mike Pence and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer — more "ammunition" in their push to slow China's rise to power, Cramer said. "These guys want to maintain America's place as the world's sole superpower. They believe some pain needs to be taken, even if it hurts corporate profits, to prevent China from challenging the U.S. hegemony," the "Mad Money" host explained. "This kind of thing gives the hardliners a lot of ammunition because it illustrates that trade with China is about a lot more than making money." Stocks fell dramatically in the first half of Thursday's trading session, at one point bringing the Dow Jones Industrial Average's two-day losses to over 1,500 points. The major averages mounted a recovery into the close, though the Dow and the S&P 500 index still ended the day lower. ||||| Canada has arrested Huawei's global chief financial officer in Vancouver, where she is facing extradition to the United States on suspicion she violated US sanctions against Iran, the Globe and Mail newspaper reports. Meng Wanzhou, who is one of the vice chairs on the Chinese technology company's board and the daughter of company founder Ren Zhengfei, was arrested on December 1 and a court hearing has been set for Friday, a Canadian Justice Department spokesman said, according to the Globe and Mail. Representatives of Huawei, one of the world's largest makers of telecommunications network equipment, could not immediately be reached for comment by Reuters. Officials for the Canadian and US Justice Departments did not immediately respond to a request for comment. US authorities have been probing Huawei since at least 2016 for allegedly shipping US-origin products to Iran and other countries in violation of US export and sanctions laws, sources told Reuters in April. ||||| BEIJING (AP) — The Latest on the arrest of an executive of Chinese telecoms equipment maker Huawei Technologies. (All times local): China's foreign ministry has demanded Canada release a top executive at Chinese telecoms giant Huawei Technologies who has been detained while in transit, and reveal the reasoning behind her arrest. Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told reporters Thursday that China was in contact over the case of Meng Wanzhou with both Canada and the U.S., which requested her detention on suspicion of trying to evade U.S. curbs on trade with Iran. Geng also said Meng's legal rights must be ensured. He said neither Canada or the U.S. had so far responded to China's concerns. Meng, Huawei's chief financial officer, faces possible extradition to the United States, according to Canadian authorities. Meng was detained in Vancouver on Saturday, the day President Donald Trump met with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Argentina. China has demanded Canada release a Huawei Technologies executive who was arrested in a case that adds to technology tensions with Washington and threatens to complicate trade talks. Huawei's chief financial officer, Meng Wanzhou, faces possible extradition to the United States, according to Canadian authorities. The Globe and Mail newspaper, citing law enforcement sources, said she is accused of trying to evade U.S. curbs on trade with Iran. The arrest follows a U.S.-Chinese cease-fire in a tariff war over Beijing's technology policy. Asian stock markets tumbled on the news, fearing renewed U.S.-Chinese tensions that threaten global economic growth. The Chinese Embassy in Ottawa said Meng broke no U.S. or Canadian laws and demanded Canada "immediately correct the mistake" and release her. | The chief financial officer of Huawei, Meng Wanzhou, was arrested on 1 December in Vancouver, Canada. She faces extradition to the United States. Huawei says she faces unspecified charges. |
A suicide bomber has set off an explosion outside a police station in the Iranian southern port city of Chabahar, killing at least three people and wounding 48, state TV has reported. "This morning a bomb inside a car exploded near a police station in Chabahar. Three people were killed and some others were injured," Rahmdel Bameri, acting governor of Chabahar told state television, which reported the figure of 48 hurt. "Police stopped the explosive-laden car and started firing at the driver... who then set off the explosion near the police headquarters in Chabahar," said Bameri. Mohammad Hadi Marashi, deputy governor for security affairs, told state TV that two police officers were killed in the attack. An official said that "the terrorist who carried out the attack was killed". He did not elaborate, the Reuters news agency reported. The Tasnim news agency said there were reports that women and children were among the injured. Four people were reportedly killed and 4 injured in a terrorist attack on Police headquarters in #Iran's southeastern city of #Chabahar: Acting Governor of #Sistan and #Baluchestan Province pic.twitter.com/sDY3ZUb31f — Tasnim News Agency (@Tasnimnews_EN) December 6, 2018 Images posted on Twitter purported to show thick smoke rising from the area. Middle East Eye could not verify the authenticity of the videos. Chabahar is located in the southeastern province of Sistan and Baluchestan, which is home to a Sunni minority in the largely Shia country, and has long been plagued by violence from both drug smugglers and separatists. The SITE Intelligence Group reported that Sunni militant group Ansar al-Furqan had claimed responsibility for the attack. In June, Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they had killed the group's suspected leader, Molavi Jalil Qanbar-Zehi, in a mountainous area of Sistan and Baluchestan. A year ago the group claimed responsibilty for a blast at an oil pipeline in Iran’s southern Khuzestan province. 'Such crimes won’t go unpunished' Suicide bombings are rare in Iran, but Sunni armed groups have carried out several attacks on Iranian security forces in the Sistan and Baluchestan province in recent years. In October, the separatist Jaish al-Adl (Army of Justice) group kidnapped 12 Iranian border guards in the remote province, five of whom have since been released. The Sunni armed group has carried out several attacks on Iranian security forces in Sistan and Baluchestan in the past, including an attack in 2017 that killed 10 border guards In 2010, two suicide bombers killed at least 28 people, including some of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards, at a mosque in southeast Iran; an attack Iranian leaders said was backed by the United States. The scene at the car bomb site in Chabahar, Iran (STR / Tasnim News / AFP) That attack was claimed by the Sunni separatist group Jundullah (or Soldiers of God), which has claimed responsibility for bombings in the past. Tehran accuses its key regional rival Saudi Arabia and the US of funding most of these groups, a charge Riyadh and Washington deny. Iran says armed groups have safe havens in Pakistan and has warned it will hit their bases there if Islamabad does not confront them. "Foreign-backed terrorists kill & wound innocents in Chabahar. As we've made clear in the past, such crimes won’t go unpunished," Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif tweeted. "In 2010, our security services intercepted & captured extremists en route from UAE. Mark my words: Iran WILL bring terrorists & their masters to justice." Chabahar is a free trade zone and the site of an Indian-backed port complex which is being developed as part of a new transportation corridor for land-locked Afghanistan. The Indian foreign ministry strongly condemned the "despicable terrorist attack". "The perpetrators behind this dastardly attack should be brought to justice expeditiously. There can be no justification for any act of terror,” the ministry said. India has said it is ready to invest up to $500m in the development of the port that is key to its ambitions to chart a route to landlocked Central Asian countries and Afghanistan, bypassing Pakistan. Washington has granted exceptions to some US sanctions on Iran for the project. ||||| A suicide car bomber attacked police headquarters in the south-eastern Iranian port city of Chabahar on Thursday, killing at least two people and wounding 15, state TV reported. A suicide car bomber attacked police headquarters in the south-eastern Iranian port city of Chabahar on Thursday, killing at least two people and wounding 15, state TV reported. At least two dead in Iran suicide car bomb attack No-one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, though a semi-official news agency blamed a Sunni jihadi group for the assault. State television broke into its regular broadcast to report the attack as such assaults are rare in the Islamic Republic. Rahmdel Bameri, a provincial official, said a suicide attacker driving a vehicle loaded with explosives drove up to the police headquarters. He said police officers blocked the vehicle and started firing at the driver, who then detonated his explosives. State TV also aired footage of smoke rising over the city. They said two police officers were killed, lowering an initially reported death toll of three without explanation. The semi-official Tasnim news agency, believed to be close to Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, blamed the attack on Ansar al-Furqan, a Sunni jihadi group. Ansar al-Furqan is known to operate in Iran’s south-eastern Sistan and Baluchistan Province, which sees occasional attacks by Baluch separatists and drug traffickers. A year ago, the group claimed to have blown up an oil pipeline in Iran’s southern Khuzestan province. Chabahar, near Iran’s border with Pakistan on the Sea of Oman, is home to a new port recently built and is an economic free zone for the country. The attack comes as Iran’s economy reels in the wake of the US re-imposing sanctions lifted by Tehran’s nuclear deal with world powers. While Iran still complies with the accord, President Donald Trump withdrew the US over the deal in part due to Tehran’s ballistic missile programme, its “malign behaviour” in the Middle East and its support of militant groups like Hezbollah. While rare, Iran has been targeted in recent years by militant attacks. In September, gunmen disguised as soldiers opened fire on a military parade in Ahvaz, killing at least 24 people and wounding more than 60. Arab separatists and the Islamic State group both claimed responsibility for the attack. Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, blamed Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates for the attack, allegations denied by both countries. A co-ordinated June 2017 Islamic State group attacon parliament and the shrine of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution, killed at least 18 people and wounded more than 50. ||||| TEHRAN: Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif accused “foreign-backed terrorists” for attacks Thursday in the port city of Chabahar that killed two people and wounded around 40 others. “Foreign-backed terrorists kill & wound innocents in Chabahar. As we’ve made it clear in the past, such crimes won’t go unpunished,” Zarif tweeted. “In 2010, our security services intercepted & captures extremists en route from UAE. Mark my words: Iran WILL bring terrorists & their masters to justice” Zarif added in the tweet. He was referring to the capture, trial and subsequent execution in June 2010 of Abdolmalek Rigi, the leader of the militant group Jundallah who had waged a deadly insurgency in Sistan-Baluchistan. He was captured while on a flight from Dubai to Kyrgystan after Iranian fighter jets intercepted the airliner and forced it to land in Iran and removed Rigi and a number of his companions.—AFP ||||| Dear Reader, As you can imagine, more people are reading The Jerusalem Post than ever before. Nevertheless, traditional business models are no longer sustainable and high-quality publications, like ours, are being forced to look for new ways to keep going. Unlike many other news organizations, we have not put up a paywall. We want to keep our journalism open and accessible and be able to keep providing you with news and analyses from the frontlines of Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish World. At least three people died and 24 others were injured in a suicide car bomb attack on the police headquarters in Iran's southeast on Thursday, state media reported, adding that the perpetrator was killed. Television also reported shooting in the area, located in the region of Sistan-Baluchestan, which is home to a Sunni Muslim minority in the largely Shi'ite country and has long been plagued by violence from both drug smugglers and separatists. "Three people were killed and some others were injured," Chabahar's acting governor Rahmdel Bameri told state television.An official told TV that "the terrorist who carried out the attack was killed." He did not elaborate.Mohammad Hadi Marashi, deputy governor for security affairs, told state television two police officers had been killed.The state news agency IRNA said some 24 people had been wounded. There was no immediate claim of responsibility.Videos posted on Twitter, purportedly from Chabahar, showed thick smoke rising from the area. Reuters could not verify their authenticity."Police stopped the explosive-laden car and started firing at the driver ... who then set off the explosion near the police headquarters in Chabahar," said Bameri.Suicide bombings are rare in Iran, but Sunni militant groups have carried out several attacks on Iranian security forces in the Sistan-Baluchestan province in recent years.Iran has stepped up security in border areas after gunmen in September opened fire on a military parade in Iran's southwestern city of Ahvaz, killing 25 people, almost half of them members of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards corps.An Iranian ethnic Arab separatist Sunni militant group and Islamic State both claimed responsibility for that attack.Last year, in the first deadly assault claimed by Islamic State in Tehran, 18 people were killed at the parliament and mausoleum of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, founder of the Islamic Republic.Jaish al-Adl (Army of Justice), a Sunni militant group that has carried out several attacks on Iranian security forces, mainly in Sistan-Baluchestan, claimed responsibility for an attack that killed 10 border guards near Pakistan in 2017.In 2010, two suicide bombers killed at least 28 people, including some of the elite Revolutionary Guards, at a Shi'ite mosque in southeast Iran, an attack Iranian leaders said was backed by the United States.The attack was claimed by a Sunni separatist group called Jundullah (Soldiers of God).Tehran accuses its Sunni-led regional rival Saudi Arabia and the United States of funding most of these groups, a charge that Riyadh and Washington deny.Iran also says that militant groups are sheltering across the border in Pakistan and has threatened to attack their bases if Islamabad does not confront them.Chabahar is a free trade zone and the site of an Indian-backed port complex being developed as part of a new transportation corridor for landlocked Afghanistan. Join Jerusalem Post Premium Plus now for just $5 and upgrade your experience with an ads-free website and exclusive content. Click here>> ||||| TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — A suicide car bomber struck a police headquarters in the Iranian port city of Chabahar on Thursday, killing at least two policemen and wounding 42 people, state TV reported. A little-known Sunni jihadist group claimed responsibility for the attack, which Iran's foreign minister accused of being "foreign-backed." The bomber drove his vehicle, loaded with explosives, up to the police headquarters, provincial official Rahmdel Bameri told state TV. He said police officers blocked the vehicle and started firing at the driver, who then detonated the explosives. State TV also aired footage of smoke rising over the city. The television report said two police officers were killed, lowering an earlier death toll of three without explanation. Mohammad Mehran Aminifar, head of Medical Sciences University in Zahedan, the capital of southeastern Sistan and Baluchistan province, told state TV that 42 people were wounded, including four kids and a pregnant woman. Ten of the wounded were members of the police force, he said. In a communique, the Sunni jihadist group Ansar al-Furqan claimed responsibility for the attack, according to the Washington-based SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors extremist activity online. Iran Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif condemned the attack and warned "terrorists" that they will be punished. "Iran will bring terrorists and their masters to justice," he said on his Twitter account. Ansar al-Furqan is known to operate in Sistan and Baluchistan province, which sees occasional attacks by Baluch separatists and drug traffickers. A year ago, the group claimed to have blown up an oil pipeline in Iran's southern Khuzestan province. Chabahar, near Iran's border with Pakistan on the Sea of Oman, is home to a newly built port and is an economic free zone. The attack comes as Iran's economy is reeling in the wake of the U.S. re-imposing sanctions lifted under Tehran's nuclear deal with world powers. While Iran still complies with the accord, President Donald Trump withdrew America over the deal in May, in part due to Tehran's ballistic missile program, its involvement in regional conflicts and its support of militant groups like the Lebanese Hezbollah. While rare, Iran has been targeted in recent years by militant attacks. In September, gunmen disguised as soldiers opened fire on a military parade in Ahvaz, killing at least 24 people and wounding over 60. Arab separatists and the Islamic State group both claimed the assault. Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, blamed Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates for the attack, allegations denied by both countries. A coordinated June 2017 Islamic State assault on parliament and the shrine of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution, killed at least 18 people and wounded more than 50. ||||| A suicide car bomber attacked a police headquarters in the southeastern Iranian port city of Chabahar on Thursday, killing at least three people and wounding several others, state TV reported. State television broke into its regular broadcast to report the attack, as such assaults are rare in the Islamic Republic of Iran. Rahmdel Bameri, a provincial official, told state TV that a suicide attacker driving a vehicle loaded with explosives drove up to the police headquarters. He said police officers blocked the vehicle and started firing at the driver, who then detonated his explosives. State authorities did not identify who was behind the attack. No militant group immediately took responsibility for the attack. State TV also aired footage of smoke rising over the city. Chabahar, near Iran's border with Pakistan on the Sea of Oman, is home to a new port recently built and is an economic free zone for the country. The attack comes as Iran's economy reels in the wake of the United States re-imposing sanctions lifted by Tehran's nuclear deal with world powers. While Iran still complies with the accord, US President Donald Trump withdrew America over the deal in part due to Tehran's ballistic missile programme, its “malign behavior” in the Mideast and its support of militant groups like Hezbollah. While rare, Iran has been targeted in recent years by militant attacks. In September, gunmen disguised as soldiers opened fire on a military parade in Ahvaz, killing and wounding dozens. Arab separatists and the militant Islamic State (IS) group both claimed the assault. Another coordinated June 7, 2017 IS group assault on parliament and the shrine of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution, killed at least 18 people and wounded more than 50. Later in the day, Pakistan condemned the terrorist attack in Chahbahar and said that concerted efforts were required to uproot terrorism from “spreading anywhere and everywhere”. ||||| related media assets (image or videos) available. Click to see the gallery. 3 related media assets (image or videos) available. Click to see the gallery. At least three people died and 48 others were injured in a suicide car bomb attack on a police headquarters in Iran's southeast on Thursday, state media reported. DUBAI: At least three people died and 48 others were injured in a suicide car bomb attack on a police headquarters in Iran's southeast on Thursday, state media reported. Television also reported shooting in the area, located in the region of Sistan-Baluchestan, which is home to a Sunni Muslim minority in the largely Shi'ite country and has long been plagued by violence from both drug smugglers and separatists. "Three people were killed and some others were injured," Rahmdel Bameri, acting governor of the coastal city of Chabahar told state television, which reported the figure of 48 hurt. Mohammad Hadi Marashi, deputy governor for security affairs, told state TV two police officers were among the dead. Videos posted on Twitter, purportedly from Chabahar, showed thick smoke rising from the area. "Police stopped the explosive-laden car and started firing at the driver ... who then set off the explosion near the police headquarters in Chabahar," said Bameri. The SITE Intelligence Group reported that Sunni jihadist group Ansar al-Furqan had claimed responsibility for the attack. In June, Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they had killed the group's suspected leader, Molavi Jalil Qanbar-Zehi, in a mountainous area of Sistan Baluchestan. A year ago the group claimed responsibility for a blast at an oil pipeline in Iran’s southern Khuzestan province. Suicide bombings are rare in Iran, but Sunni militant groups have carried out several attacks on Iranian security forces in the Sistan-Baluchestan province in recent years. Iran has stepped up security in border areas after gunmen in September opened fire on a military parade in Iran's southwestern city of Ahvaz, killing 25 people, almost half of them members of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards corps. Last year, in the first deadly assault claimed by Islamic State in Tehran, 18 people were killed at the parliament and mausoleum of revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. Tehran accuses its Sunni-led regional rival Saudi Arabia and the United States of funding Sunni militants, a charge Riyadh and Washington deny. "Foreign-backed terrorists kill & wound innocents in Chabahar. As we've made clear in the past, such crimes won’t go unpunished," Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif tweeted. "Mark my words: Iran WILL bring terrorists & their masters to justice." Iran also says that militant groups are sheltering across the border in Pakistan and has threatened to attack their bases if Islamabad does not confront them. Chabahar is a free trade zone and the site of an Indian-backed port complex being developed as part of a new transportation corridor for landlocked Afghanistan. "The perpetrators behind this dastardly attack should be brought to justice expeditiously. There can be no justification for any act of terror,” the ministry said. India has said it is ready to invest up to US$500 million in the development of the port that is key to its ambitions to chart a route to landlocked Central Asian countries and Afghanistan, bypassing Pakistan. Washington has granted exceptions to some U.S. sanctions on Iran for the project. ||||| A car #bomb has exploded near police headquarters in #Iran’s southeastern port city of #Chabahar, killing four and leaving many injured. A suicide bomber was reportedly behind the atrocity. READ MORE: https://on.rt.com/9jwt ||||| DUBAI (REUTERS) - At least three people were killed in a bomb attack in southeastern Iran on Thursday (Dec 6), state TV reported, adding that many others were injured. "This morning a bomb inside a car exploded near a police station in Chabahar and four people were injured," the official said. ||||| A general view of the scene of a car bombing in front of a police station in the city of Chabahar, on Thursday, in southern Iran (AFP photo) DUBA — At least two policemen died and 48 people were injured in a rare suicide car bomb attack by an extremist group on a police headquarters in the port city of Chabahar in southeast Iran on Thursday, state media reported. While suicide bombings are rare in Iran, Sunni militant groups have carried out several attacks on security forces in recent years in Sistan-Baluchestan province, where Chabahar is located. The province is home to a Sunni minority in the largely Shiite country, and it has also long been plagued by violence from both drug smugglers and separatists. State television also reported shooting in the area on Thursday. “Two policemen were killed in the terrorist attack in Chabahar this morning,” Hadi Marashi, deputy governor for security affairs, told state TV, which reported the figure of 48 hurt. Video clips posted on Twitter, purportedly from Chabahar, showed thick smoke rising. TV reported that four children, a pregnant woman and 10 policemen were among the wounded. “Police stopped the explosive-laden car and started firing at the driver... who then set off the explosion near the police headquarters in Chabahar,” Chabahar’s acting governor Rahmdel Bameri told TV. The Washington-based SITE Intelligence Group and state media reported that Sunni extremist group Ansar Al Furqan had claimed responsibility for the attack. “Such terrorist acts, which are designed and adopted by enemies to divide the Iranian nation, are doomed to failure and will make us more decisive in our fight against terrorism,” said First Vice President Eshagh Jahangiri, according to TV. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards promised to give a “crushing” response to the attack, state TV reported. In June, the Revolutionary Guards Corps said it had killed Ansar Al Furqan’s suspected leader, Molavi Jalil Qanbar-Zehi, in a mountainous area of Sistan-Baluchestan. A year ago the group claimed responsibility for a blast at an oil pipeline in southern Khuzestan province. Iran has stepped up security in border areas after gunmen in September opened fire on a military parade in the southwestern city of Ahvaz, killing 25 people, almost half of them members of the Revolutionary Guards. Last year, in the first deadly assault claimed by Daesh in Tehran, 18 people were killed at the parliament and mausoleum of revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. Tehran accuses its Sunni-led regional rival Saudi Arabia and the United States of funding Sunni militants, a charge Riyadh and Washington deny. “Foreign-backed terrorists kill & wound innocents in Chabahar. As we’ve made clear in the past, such crimes won’t go unpunished,” Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif Tweeted. “Mark my words: Iran WILL bring terrorists & their masters to justice.” Iran says militant groups are sheltering across the border in Pakistan, and it has threatened to attack their bases if Islamabad does not confront them. Chabahar is a free trade zone and the site of an Indian-backed port complex being developed as part of a new transportation corridor for landlocked Afghanistan. “The perpetrators behind this dastardly attack should be brought to justice expeditiously. There can be no justification for any act of terror,” the ministry said. India has said it is ready to invest up to $500 million to develop the port as it seeks to create a route to landlocked Central Asian countries and Afghanistan that bypasses Pakistan. Washington has granted exceptions to some US sanctions on Iran for the project despite pulling out of a 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and major world powers and reimposing other sanctions that were lifted under the pact. | A car bomb explodes near a police post in Chabahar, Iran. Two police officers are pronounced dead and around 40 people were wounded in the attack. Islamic militant group Ansar Al-Furqan claims responsibility. Iran accuses the perpetrators of being "foreign-backed terrorists". |
WASHINGTON — William Barr, who served as attorney general under President George H.W. Bush, has emerged as a leading contender for that job in President Donald Trump’s Cabinet. That’s according to a person involved in the discussions who spoke on condition of anonymity because no selection to lead the Justice Department has been announced. Trump has been known to change his mind on personnel decisions. The appointment is especially sensitive now as special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation, which the department oversees, is showing signs of entering its final stages. Barr was attorney general between 1991 and 1993. Trump forced out Attorney General Jeff Sessions in November and elevated Sessions’ chief of staff, Matthew Whitaker, to acting attorney general. The Washington Post first reported that Barr was a leading candidate. ||||| WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In another senior staff shake-up inside his often turbulent administration, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday he has picked the two people he wants to be the next U.S. attorney general and the next U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. He said he will nominate William Barr, who was attorney general under former President George H.W. Bush in the 1990s, to fill that top job again at the U.S. Justice Department. Barr would replace Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker, who has been in that position since Trump forced out Jeff Sessions as attorney general a month ago. Trump also said he will put forward State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert as ambassador to the United Nations. Nauert, a former host at Fox News Channel, would replace Nikki Haley, who announced in October that she would resign at the end of this year. Both appointments would require U.S. Senate confirmation. Trump, speaking to reporters outside the White House, also said he would make a personnel announcement concerning the Pentagon on Saturday. “It will have to do with the joint chiefs of staff, the succession,” he told reporters outside the White House, suggesting he may name a new top U.S. military officer. Separately, CNN reported on Friday that John Kelly is expected to resign in coming days as White House chief of staff, citing unnamed sources. Reuters has not independently confirmed the report. The proposed changes come as the Republican president faces another difficult stretch. Democrats are promising aggressive oversight of Trump’s administration and business activities when they take control of the U.S. House of Representatives in January following their gains in last month’s elections. Special Counsel Robert Muller is continuing to investigate Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, any collusion between Moscow and Trump’s campaign and possible obstruction of justice. More details of the inquiry were set to emerge in court filings on Friday. Barr, who was attorney general under Bush from 1991 to 1993 and has worked in the private sector since then, would oversee Mueller’s probe if the Senate confirms him in the job again. Barr is likely to face pressure at his confirmation hearings to show he would protect Mueller from political interference. Critics of Trump have long been concerned that the president wants to end the Mueller probe. Trump, who has repeatedly denounced the investigation as a “witch hunt,” denies any collusion with Russia or any obstruction of justice. Russia denies U.S. intelligence agencies’ findings that it meddled in the 2016 election campaign to try to tilt the vote in Trump’s favor. Barr also may face scrutiny about past comments questioning the political affiliations of Mueller’s team and supporting Trump’s decision last year to fire FBI Director James Comey. “I hope he will use the opportunity to unambiguously commit, should he be confirmed, to upholding the rule of law,” Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy said on Twitter. Trump called Barr “a terrific man, a terrific person, a brilliant man,” in remarks to reporters as he left for an out-of-town event. “He was my first choice from Day One. Respected by Republicans and respected by Democrats. He will be nominated for United States Attorney General and hopefully that process will go very quickly,” Trump said. Whitaker, a former U.S. attorney who is currently acting head of the Justice Department, has drawn criticism for past business ventures and critical comments about the Mueller investigation before he joined the department. Trump mocked and belittled Sessions for more than a year, angry at Sessions’ decision to recuse himself from overseeing the Russia probe because he had worked for Trump’s election campaign. If she is confirmed to the U.N. ambassador post, Nauert would bring little diplomatic experience to a highly visible international role. House Speaker Paul Ryan, a Republican, praised Nauert as “one of the United States’ strongest voices on the global stage.” Democrats were less enthusiastic. “She’s clearly not qualified for this job, but these days it seems that the most important qualification is that you show up on Donald Trump’s TV screen,” Democratic Senator Chris Murphy said on CNN. Other nations with veto power on the U.N. Security Council are all represented by ambassadors with decades of foreign policy experience. Nauert would succeed Haley, a former South Carolina governor who also had little experience in world affairs before she took the job. Haley insisted that she be made a member of Trump’s Cabinet and his National Security Council to bolster her power within the administration. Bringing Nauert aboard in a sub-cabinet role could diminish the position, said Stephen Pomper, a former Obama administration official. ||||| WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Friday he will nominate William Barr, the late President George H.W. Bush's attorney general, to serve in the same role. Trump made the announcement while departing the White House for a trip to Missouri. He called Barr "a terrific man" and "one of the most respected jurists in the country." "I think he will serve with great distinction," Trump said. If confirmed by the Senate, Barr would succeed Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who was forced out by Trump in November following an acrimonious tenure. Sessions' chief of staff, Matthew Whitaker, is currently serving as acting attorney general. Trump's fury at Sessions for recusing himself from the Russia investigation — which helped set in motion the appointment of special counsel Robert Mueller — created deep tensions between Trump and his Justice Department. He sometimes puts the word "Justice" in quotes when referring to the department in tweets and has railed against its leaders for failing to investigate his 2016 campaign rival, Hillary Clinton, as extensively as he would like. Democrats will presumably seek reassurances during confirmation proceedings that Barr, who as attorney general would be in a position to oversee Mueller's investigation, would not do anything to interfere with the probe. The investigation appears to be showing signs of entering its final stages, prompting a flurry of tweets from the president Thursday and Friday. But an attorney general opposed to the investigation could theoretically move to cut funding or block certain investigative steps. Barr was attorney general between 1991 and 1993, serving in the Justice Department at the same Mueller oversaw the department's criminal division. Barr later worked as a corporate general counsel and is currently of counsel at a prominent international law firm, Kirkland & Ellis LLP. Still, while in private practice, Barr has occasionally weighed in on hot-button investigative matters in ways that could prompt concerns among Democrats. He told The New York Times in November 2017, in a story about Sessions directing his prosecutors to look into actions related Clinton, that "there is nothing inherently wrong about a president calling for an investigation" — though Barr also said one should not be launched just because a president wants it. He also said there was more reason to investigate a uranium deal approved while Clinton was secretary of state in the Obama administration than potential collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign. "To the extent it is not pursuing these matters, the department is abdicating its responsibility," Barr told the newspaper. He also wrote an op-ed for The Washington Post in May 2017 defending Trump's decision to fire former FBI Director James Comey, one of the actions Mueller has been examining for possible obstruction of justice. He was quoted two months later in a Post story expressing concern that members of Mueller's team had given contributions to Democratic candidates. "In my view, prosecutors who make political contributions are identifying fairly strongly with a political party," Barr said. "I would have liked to see him have more balance on this group." Barr had been on a White House short list of contenders for several weeks, said a person with knowledge of internal discussions who was not authorized to speak publicly. But some inside the White House were concerned that Barr was too aligned with establishment GOP forces. Trump said Friday Barr had been his "first choice from Day One." ||||| WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In another senior staff shake-up inside his often turbulent administration, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday he has picked the two people he wants to be the next U.S. attorney general and the next U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. FILE PHOTO: Spokesperson Heather Nauert (L) speaks as U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo holds a dialogue with reporters in his plane while flying from Panama to Mexico, October 18, 2018. Brendan Smialowski/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo He said he will nominate William Barr, who was attorney general under former President George H.W. Bush in the 1990s, to fill that top job again at the U.S. Justice Department. Barr would replace Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker, who has been in that position since Trump forced out Jeff Sessions as attorney general a month ago. Trump said he will put forward State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert as ambassador to the United Nations. Nauert, a former Fox News Channel host, would replace Nikki Haley, who said in October she would resign at the end of this year. Both are likely to face tough questions at their Senate confirmation hearings. Democrats called Nauert unqualified and said they were concerned about Barr’s independence. Republicans said they were pleased with both nominees. Trump also said he would make a personnel announcement concerning the Pentagon on Saturday, telling reporters outside the White House, “It will have to do with the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the succession.” Trump was expected to name the Army’s top general, Mark Milley, as the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the country’s top military position, U.S. officials told Reuters. Separately, two sources told Reuters that John Kelly is expected to resign in coming days as White House chief of staff after months of speculation. The proposed changes come as the Republican president faces another difficult stretch. Democrats are promising aggressive oversight of Trump’s administration and business activities when they take control of the U.S. House of Representatives in January following their gains in last month’s elections. Special Counsel Robert Mueller is continuing to investigate Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, any collusion between Moscow and Trump’s campaign and possible obstruction of justice. More details of the inquiry were set to emerge in court filings on Friday. Barr, who was attorney general under Bush from 1991 to 1993 and has worked in the private sector since then, would oversee Mueller’s probe if the Senate confirms him in the job again. He is likely to face pressure at his confirmation hearings to show he would protect Mueller from political interference. Critics of Trump have long been concerned that the president wants to end the Mueller probe. Republicans, who control the Senate, said Barr was well qualified. Senator Chuck Grassley called him a “talented, well-respected lawyer.” “There is no one more capable or qualified for this role,” Trump said at a law-enforcement conference in Kansas City. Trump, who has repeatedly denounced the Mueller investigation as a “witch hunt,” denies any collusion with Russia or any obstruction of justice. Russia denies U.S. intelligence agencies’ findings that it meddled in the 2016 election campaign to try to tilt the vote in Trump’s favor. ‘STEEP HILL TO CLIMB’ Barr also may face scrutiny about past comments questioning the political affiliations of Mueller’s team and supporting Trump’s decision last year to fire FBI Director James Comey. “Given President Trump’s demonstrated lack of regard for the rule of law and the independence of the American justice system, his nominee for attorney general will have a steep hill to climb in order to be confirmed by the Senate,” Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement. Whitaker, a former U.S. attorney who is currently acting head of the Justice Department, has drawn criticism for past business ventures and critical comments about the Mueller investigation before he joined the department. Trump mocked and belittled Sessions for more than a year, angry at Sessions’ decision to recuse himself from overseeing the Russia probe because he had worked for Trump’s election campaign. If she is confirmed to the U.N. ambassador post, Nauert would bring little diplomatic experience to a highly visible international role. House Speaker Paul Ryan, a Republican, praised Nauert as “one of the United States’ strongest voices on the global stage.” Democrats were less enthusiastic. “She’s clearly not qualified for this job, but these days it seems that the most important qualification is that you show up on Donald Trump’s TV screen,” Democratic Senator Chris Murphy said on CNN. Other nations with veto power on the U.N. Security Council are all represented by ambassadors with decades of foreign policy experience. Nauert would succeed Haley, a former South Carolina governor who also had little experience in world affairs before she took the job. Haley insisted that she be made a member of Trump’s Cabinet and his National Security Council to bolster her power within the administration. In other staff changes, White House political director Bill Stepien and public liaison director Justin Clark are leaving their jobs to help Trump’s 2020 re-election campaign, the campaign said. Trump’s White House has had the highest turnover of senior-level staff of the past five presidents, according to figures compiled by the Brookings Institution think tank. ||||| WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump said on Friday he had chosen former U.S. Attorney General William Barr to once again lead the Justice Department, a role that would put him in charge of the federal probe into Russian election interference. If confirmed by the Senate, Barr would take over from Matthew Whitaker, who has been serving in an acting capacity since Trump forced out Jeffrey Sessions a month ago. Whitaker had been Sessions' chief of staff. Barr was "my first choice from day one," and "a terrific man, a terrific person, a brilliant man," Trump said, speaking to reporters outside the White House. Barr, a lawyer who was previously attorney general from 1991 to 1993 under the late President George H.W. Bush, has defended Trump's controversial decision to fire then-FBI Director James Comey in May 2017 when Comey was leading the Russia probe. After Comey's firing, Special Counsel Robert Mueller took over that investigation, which includes any possible collusion between Moscow and Trump's 2016 election campaign, and any potential obstruction of justice. The Russia probe has long infuriated Trump, who calls it a witch hunt and who has denied any collusion or any obstruction of justice. Barr has said there is more reason to investigate potential wrongdoing by Trump's campaign opponent, Democrat Hillary Clinton, than there is to probe any potential collusion. Barr has said political donations show Mueller's team of professional prosecutors tilt uncomfortably to the left. On Twitter, Trump calls them "17 Angry Dems." "I would have liked to see him have more balance on this group," Barr told the Washington Post in July 2017. As attorney general, Barr would have ultimate responsibility for the Russia probe, unless he recuses himself. Sessions recused himself from overseeing the investigation. U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded Moscow worked to influence the election and tip it in Trump's favor. Russia has denied any interference. Barr's comments on Mueller and Clinton could stir opposition from Senate Democrats, but the nomination will almost certainly not come up for a vote until next year. Republicans will control the chamber with a 53-47 majority in the new Congress convening in January. "I do think he's worthy of consideration. I am concerned he has said some negative things about the Special Counsel's office and some of the prosecutors he had in place," Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar told MSNBC on Thursday after Barr's name surfaced. Klobuchar is a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which has jurisdiction over the nomination. In an opinion piece in the Washington Post last year, Barr argued that Comey usurped the authority of top Justice Department officials when he announced the outcome of an FBI probe into Clinton's use of a private email server when she was secretary of state, and that Trump was right in firing him. At the time of Comey's announcement, both Clinton and Trump were candidates for president. When Trump fired Comey, the initial reason given by the White House was his poor handling of the FBI investigation into Clinton's emails. Barr, however, did not attack the Russia probe itself, which he said was being conducted with a thoroughness that appeared lacking in the Clinton email investigation. "Comey's removal simply has no relevance to the integrity of the Russian investigation as it moves ahead," Barr wrote. Comey said in 2016, after a year-long FBI investigation into the email issue, that while Clinton had been careless in her handling of her emails the agency was not recommending charges. Clinton expressed regret for her decision to use a private server but said she violated no rules. Barr has expressed sympathy for Trump's calls to take a second look at whether Clinton may have broken the law, telling the Washington Post in November 2017: "I do think that there are things that should be investigated that haven't been investigated." That same month, he told the New York Times he thought there was more reason to investigate Clinton for any role she may have played in approving a uranium deal when she was secretary of state than any potential collusion between the Trump campaign and Moscow. "To the extent it is not pursuing these matters, the department is abdicating its responsibility," he said. This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. ||||| Trump nominates William Barr to be new attorney general Washington, Dec 7 (EFE).- US President Donald Trump said Friday he will nominate William Barr to be the new attorney general, a post the jurist previously held between 1991 and 1993. If confirmed by the Senate, the 68-year-old Barr will succeed Jeff Sessions, who was forced out by Trump on Nov. 7. “He was my first choice from day one, respected by Republicans and respected by Democrats,” Trump told reporters at the White House before leaving for Kansas City, Missouri, where he is scheduled to give a speech Friday at the Project Safe Neighborhoods National Conference. “He will be nominated for the United States attorney general and hopefully that process will go very quickly,” the president added. Sessions stepped down amid non-stop criticism from Trump and was replaced on an interim basis by his chief of staff, Matthew Whitaker. The relationship between Trump and Sessions soured due to the latter’s decision in early March 2017 to recuse himself from any involvement in Justice Department investigations regarding alleged Russian interference in the presidential election or potential collusion by the Trump campaign with Moscow. Sessions did so after questions arose about the then-senator’s contacts with the Russian ambassador in 2016 while he had a role in Trump’s campaign. “The Russia Witch Hunt Hoax continues, all because Jeff Sessions didn’t tell me he was going to recuse himself…I would have quickly picked someone else. So much time and money wasted, so many lives ruined…and Sessions knew better than most that there was No Collusion!” Trump tweeted on June 5, 2018. Less than three months after Sessions’ decision, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein named a former FBI director, Robert Mueller, as special counsel in the Russia investigation. That appointment came on May 17, just eight days after Trump fired then-FBI Director James Comey, who had been leading that agency’s Russia probe. Barr, who served as attorney general under President George H.W. Bush, could oversee Mueller’s investigation if confirmed. US intelligence agencies accuse Russia of interfering with the 2016 campaign to favor Trump over his rival, Hillary Clinton. Trump denies any collusion and Moscow denies meddling in the 2016 election. ||||| WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In another senior staff shake-up inside his often turbulent administration, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday he has picked the two people he wants to be the next U.S. attorney general and the next U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. He said he will nominate William Barr, who was attorney general under former President George H.W. Bush in the 1990s, to fill that top job again at the U.S. Justice Department. Barr would replace Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker, who has been in that position since Trump forced out Jeff Sessions as attorney general a month ago. Trump also said he will put forward State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert as ambassador to the United Nations. Nauert, a former host at Fox News Channel, would replace Nikki Haley, who announced in October that she would resign at the end of this year. Both appointments would require U.S. Senate confirmation. Trump, speaking to reporters outside the White House, also said he would make a personnel announcement concerning the Pentagon on Saturday. “It will have to do with the joint chiefs of staff, the succession,” he told reporters outside the White House, suggesting he may name a new top U.S. military officer. Separately, CNN reported on Friday that John Kelly is expected to resign in coming days as White House chief of staff, citing unnamed sources. Reuters has not independently confirmed the report. The proposed changes come as the Republican president faces another difficult stretch. Democrats are promising aggressive oversight of Trump’s administration and business activities when they take control of the U.S. House of Representatives in January following their gains in last month’s elections. Special Counsel Robert Muller is continuing to investigate Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, any collusion between Moscow and Trump’s campaign and possible obstruction of justice. More details of the inquiry were set to emerge in court filings on Friday. Barr, who was attorney general under Bush from 1991 to 1993 and has worked in the private sector since then, would oversee Mueller’s probe if the Senate confirms him in the job again. Barr is likely to face pressure at his confirmation hearings to show he would protect Mueller from political interference. Critics of Trump have long been concerned that the president wants to end the Mueller probe. Trump, who has repeatedly denounced the investigation as a “witch hunt,” denies any collusion with Russia or any obstruction of justice. Russia denies U.S. intelligence agencies’ findings that it meddled in the 2016 election campaign to try to tilt the vote in Trump’s favor. Barr also may face scrutiny about past comments questioning the political affiliations of Mueller’s team and supporting Trump’s decision last year to fire FBI Director James Comey. “I hope he will use the opportunity to unambiguously commit, should he be confirmed, to upholding the rule of law,” Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy said on Twitter. Trump called Barr “a terrific man, a terrific person, a brilliant man,” in remarks to reporters as he left for an out-of-town event. “He was my first choice from Day One. Respected by Republicans and respected by Democrats. He will be nominated for United States Attorney General and hopefully that process will go very quickly,” Trump said. Whitaker, a former U.S. attorney who is currently acting head of the Justice Department, has drawn criticism for past business ventures and critical comments about the Mueller investigation before he joined the department. Trump mocked and belittled Sessions for more than a year, angry at Sessions’ decision to recuse himself from overseeing the Russia probe because he had worked for Trump’s election campaign. If she is confirmed to the U.N. ambassador post, Nauert would bring little diplomatic experience to a highly visible international role. House Speaker Paul Ryan, a Republican, praised Nauert as “one of the United States’ strongest voices on the global stage.” Democrats were less enthusiastic. “She’s clearly not qualified for this job, but these days it seems that the most important qualification is that you show up on Donald Trump’s TV screen,” Democratic Senator Chris Murphy said on CNN. Other nations with veto power on the U.N. Security Council are all represented by ambassadors with decades of foreign policy experience. Nauert would succeed Haley, a former South Carolina governor who also had little experience in world affairs before she took the job. Haley insisted that she be made a member of Trump’s Cabinet and his National Security Council to bolster her power within the administration. Bringing Nauert aboard in a sub-cabinet role could diminish the position, said Stephen Pomper, a former Obama administration official. ||||| WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Friday he will nominate William Barr, the late President George H.W. Bush’s attorney general, to serve in the same role. Trump made the announcement while departing the White House for a trip to Missouri. He called Barr “a terrific man” and “one of the most respected jurists in the country.” “I think he will serve with great distinction,” Trump said. If confirmed by the Senate, Barr would succeed Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who was forced out by Trump in November following an acrimonious tenure. Sessions’ chief of staff, Matthew Whitaker, is currently serving as acting attorney general. Trump’s fury at Sessions for recusing himself from the Russia investigation — which helped set in motion the appointment of special counsel Robert Mueller — created deep tensions between Trump and his Justice Department. He sometimes puts the word “Justice” in quotes when referring to the department in tweets and has railed against its leaders for failing to investigate his 2016 campaign rival, Hillary Clinton, as extensively as he would like. Democrats will presumably seek reassurances during confirmation proceedings that Barr, who as attorney general would be in a position to oversee Mueller’s investigation, would not do anything to interfere with the probe. The investigation appears to be showing signs of entering its final stages, prompting a flurry of tweets from the president Thursday and Friday. But an attorney general opposed to the investigation could theoretically move to cut funding or block certain investigative steps. Barr was attorney general between 1991 and 1993, serving in the Justice Department at the same Mueller oversaw the department’s criminal division. Barr later worked as a corporate general counsel and is currently of counsel at a prominent international law firm, Kirkland & Ellis LLP. Still, while in private practice, Barr has occasionally weighed in on hot-button investigative matters in ways that could prompt concerns among Democrats.
• Lawyers want porn star Stormy Daniels to pay Trump $340K in legal fees
• Trump says next meeting with Kim Jong Un likely in January or February He told The New York Times in November 2017, in a story about Sessions directing his prosecutors to look into actions related Clinton, that “there is nothing inherently wrong about a president calling for an investigation” — though Barr also said one should not be launched just because a president wants it. He also said there was more reason to investigate a uranium deal approved while Clinton was secretary of state in the Obama administration than potential collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign. “To the extent it is not pursuing these matters, the department is abdicating its responsibility,” Barr told the newspaper. He also wrote an op-ed for The Washington Post in May 2017 defending Trump’s decision to fire former FBI Director James Comey, one of the actions Mueller has been examining for possible obstruction of justice. He was quoted two months later in a Post story expressing concern that members of Mueller’s team had given contributions to Democratic candidates. “In my view, prosecutors who make political contributions are identifying fairly strongly with a political party,” Barr said. “I would have liked to see him have more balance on this group.” Barr had been on a White House short list of contenders for several weeks, said a person with knowledge of internal discussions who was not authorized to speak publicly. But some inside the White House were concerned that Barr was too aligned with establishment GOP forces. Trump said Friday Barr had been his “first choice from Day One.” ||||| People familiar with Trump's deliberations told The Washington Post that Barr is the favorite to take over the job of US Attorney General. Sessions resigned at Trump's request last month, and his Chief of Staff Matthew Whitaker has been the Acting US Attorney General. Barr, 68, served as US Attorney General in 1991-1993. On November 7, US Attorney General Jeff Sessions resigned at the request President Donald Trump. The president said in a statement that Whitaker would fill the role of acting US Attorney General until a permanent replacement is found. Three Democratic Senators have filed a lawsuit to challenge Trump’s appointment of Whitaker alleging that the president violated the Constitution’s appointments clause. Democratic lawmakers have expressed concerns about Whitaker’s impact on the investigation of the Special Counsel, who is probing allegations of Russian meddling in the 2016 election, as well as possible coordination between Moscow and the Trump campaign. READ MORE: Papadopoulos Says Just Days Before Jail He Never Flipped on Trump in Russiagate Sessions has long faced criticism from Trump for recusing himself from Special Counsel Robert Mueller's probe of Russia’s alleged meddling in the 2016 presidential election. In 2016, former US Attorney General William Barr supported Donald Trump’s nominee, Jeff Sessions, for the post Barr once held. ||||| William Barr, who served as attorney general under President George H.W. Bush, has emerged as a leading contender for that job in President Donald Trump's Cabinet.That's according to a person involved in the discussions who spoke on condition of anonymity because no selection to lead the Justice Department has been announced.Trump has been known to change his mind on personnel decisions.The appointment is especially sensitive now as special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation, which the department oversees, is showing signs of entering its final stages.Barr was attorney general between 1991 and 1993. Trump forced out Attorney General Jeff Sessions in November and elevated Sessions' chief of staff, Matthew Whitaker, to acting attorney general.He's also a New York City native, growing up on the Upper West Side. His parents were faculty members at Columbia University, where he received bachelor's and master's degrees in government.Barr received his law degree from George Washington University in Washington, D.C.Since leaving government, Barr has worked in senior corporate positions and as a lawyer with a Washington firm.------------ | U.S. President Donald Trump nominates William Barr to be the new United States Attorney General, a position he held under George H. W. Bush from 1991 to 1993. Heather Nauert, a former journalist and the incumbent Spokesperson for the United States Department of State, is proposed as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. |
France's interior minister says the protest violence in Paris is "under control" despite scattered tensions, but is calling it "totally unacceptable." Interior Minister Christophe Castaner says 135 people were injured in the protests Saturday, including 17 police officers. He says "exceptional" security measures led to police putting nearly 1,000 people in custody. Casataner estimated there were 10,000 yellow vest protesters in Paris on Saturday, among some 125,000 protesters around the country. Protesters smashed store windows and set fires around Paris and clashed with police, who fired tear gas throughout the day in the French capital. Police were searching people throughout zones of central Paris and confiscating goggles and gas masks from journalists who use them to protect against tear gas while covering demonstrations. Police barred some provincial "yellow vest" protesters from boarding trains to Paris in an effort to prevent a repeat of last week's rioting. Eiffel Tower closed amid more Paris protests: The Eiffel Tower and the Louvre museum will be among the dozens of popular tourist attractions shuttered in Paris as French authorities tighten security to prevent another outbreak of violence following three weeks of anti-government protests. 1:47 A group of four protesters who came to Paris from Normandy on Saturday said they saw people wearing yellow vests turned away at train stations all along their route. They said fellow protesters trying to reach Paris from Toulouse in southern France reported the same problems. A national police spokesperson said officers stationed at train stations around the country are under orders to verify all passengers and turn away any carrying equipment that could be used to "cause damage to people or property." Three Associated Press journalists had gas masks and protective goggles confiscated by police despite carrying government-issued press cards. The equipment allows journalists to cover violence between police and protesters when tear gas is fired. Protesters face off with police on the Champs-Elysées on Saturday. (Christian Hartmann/Reuters) Last weekend, more than 130 people were injured and over 400 were arrested in the worst street violence seen in Paris in decades. Since the unrest began on Nov. 17 in reaction to a sharp increase in diesel taxes, four people have been killed in violence related to the protests. The ongoing protests have led Global Affairs to issue a travel advisory to Canadians travelling to France. It's telling them to avoid areas where the demonstrations are taking place because "acts of vandalism and violence are very likely." Saturday's 'yellow vest' protests: ||||| Police fired tear gas canisters and pepper spray at 'yellow vest' protesters in central Paris and other parts of France on Saturday during demonstrations against the high cost of living. Interior Minister Christophe Castaner added that 125,000 "yellow vest" protesters had turned out to demonstrate around France on Saturday. Police detained 1,385 of them after they found weapons such as hammers, baseball bats and metal petanque balls on them. About 89,000 police officers were on duty on Saturday. French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe called on Saturday evening for fresh dialogue with representatives of the "yellow vest" movement staging protests across France, promising the government would address concerns over rising living costs. "The dialogue has begun and it must continue," Philippe said in a televised statement. "The president will speak, and will propose measures that will feed this dialogue." Philippe on Friday evening met a delegation of self-described "moderate" yellow vest protesters who have urged people not to join the protests. Some 8,000 police officers have been deployed in the capital city to avoid a repeat of last Saturday's mayhem, when rioters torched cars and looted shops off the Champs Elysees boulevard, and defaced the Arc de Triomphe monument with graffiti directed at President Emmanuel Macron. 181204074149922 The Eiffel Tower and other tourist landmarks in Paris were shut on Saturday, shops were boarded up to avoid looting and street furniture removed to prevent metal bars from being used as projectiles. Macron's government has warned that the protests will be hijacked by "radicalised and rebellious" crowds and become the most dangerous yet, after three weeks of demonstrations. The president had announced earlier this week that the planned hikes in petrol and diesel taxes, which sparked the protests, would be cancelled outright. But prominent protesters have said they will descend on Paris anyway, with a broader set of economic demands, including lower taxes, higher salaries, cheaper energy costs, better retirement provisions and even Macron's resignation. Protesters, using social media, have billed the weekend as "Act IV" in a dramatic challenge to Macron and his government's policies. Castaner said that he expected radical elements to be present in Paris and that "the past three weeks have given birth to a monster that has escaped its creators". But protesters believe they are fighting for a fair cause. "There is a rising of the people's rage and it's caused by a single reason - the government's policies that only look to take from the poor to keep for the rich," Taha Bouhafs, an activist in Paris, told Al Jazeera. This grassroots movement made President Macron suspend a fuel tax increase. Here's what you need to know about France's "yellow vest" protests. pic.twitter.com/ut4u3dQLxz — AJ+ (@ajplus) December 7, 2018 Violence and anarchy Authorities say the protests have been hijacked by far-right and anarchist elements bent on violence and stirring up social unrest, in a direct affront to Macron and the security forces. An Elysee official has said intelligence suggested that some protesters would come to the capital "to vandalise and to kill". The United States' embassy has issued an advisory to Americans in Paris to "keep a low profile and avoid crowds", while Belgium, Portugal and the Czech Republic advised citizens planning to visit the capital over the weekend to postpone their visit. 181204060535226 Eric Drouet, one of the initiators of the protests, called on people to protest on the roads and motorways surrounding Paris, "where there is nothing to break and nothing to destroy" but where they can "shout out" their anger. Macron, who has not spoken in public since he condemned last Saturday's disturbances while at the G20 summit in Argentina, will address the nation early next week, his office said. On Friday evening, he visited a group of police officers in their barracks outside Paris. Navigating his biggest crisis since being elected 18 months ago, Macron has left it largely to Philippe to deal in public with the turmoil and offer concessions. But he is under pressure to speak more as his administration tries to regain the initiative following three weeks of unrest that are the worst since the 1968 student riots. The French retail federation on Friday put the cost of the protests to its members at close to $1bn, according to the Financial Times. ||||| PARIS (AP) - France's interior minister says the protest violence in Paris is "under control" despite scattered tensions but is calling it "totally unacceptable." Interior Minister Christophe Castaner says 135 people were injured in the protests Saturday, including 17 police officers. He says "exceptional" security measures allowed nearly police to put nearly 1,000 people in custody. Casataner estimated there were 10,000 yellow vest protesters in Paris on Saturday, among some 125,000 protesters around the country. Protesters smashed store windows and set fires around Paris and clashed with police, who fired tear gas throughout the day in the French capital. ||||| The Latest on anti-government protests in France and neighboring countries (all times local): France's interior minister says the protest violence in Paris is "under control" despite scattered tensions but is calling it "totally unacceptable." Interior Minister Christophe Castaner says 135 people were injured in the protests Saturday, including 17 police officers. He says "exceptional" security measures allowed nearly police to put nearly 1,000 people in custody. Casataner estimated there were 10,000 yellow vest protesters in Paris on Saturday, among some 125,000 protesters around the country. Protesters smashed store windows and set fires around Paris and clashed with police, who fired tear gas throughout the day in the French capital. Dozens of French riot police backed by an armored vehicle are charging protesters on the Champs-Elysees in Paris, firing tear gas beneath the sparkling lights of one of the world's most elegant avenues. Demonstrators in yellow vests carried a huge banner calling for President Emmanuel Macron to resign and for France to hold an emergency election. Protesters appeared to throw flares as police responded with tear gas. The confrontation came after a day of tension across Paris on Saturday and unprecedented police efforts to prevent new violence. The yellow vest movement started as a protest over a fuel tax rise but has expanded into an amorphous protest movement that French authorities are struggling to contain. The police chief of Imperia, a northwestern Italian coastal town on the highway toward France, says yellow-vested French protesters have blocked the border with Italy near the town of Ventimiglia. The Italian news agency ANSA quoted Police Chief Cesare Capocasa as saying the protest was causing a 6-kilometer (nearly 4-mile) backup of traffic in both directions on Saturday afternoon. He was quoted as saying that "we're on the scene to try to manage the situation in a balanced way." Yellow vest protesters are angry at France's high taxes and at French President Emmanuel Macron. A march for the environment is unfolding peacefully in Paris and other cities in France, parallel to the violent "yellow vest" protests that have put much of the city in lockdown. The "March for Climate" was a more diverse crowd, with far more women and older people and a handful of children. The "yellow vest" protests are overwhelmingly male, with just a few women for the hundreds of men pouring through the streets. A handful of people in yellow vests had joined the quiet march by mid-afternoon. One sign read "No climate justice without fiscal and social justice." Clashes have broken out between "yellow vest" protesters and police in the port neighborhood of Marseille, in the south of France. An Associated Press journalist saw the fighting break out at midday at the port, one of the city's main tourist sites. It was not immediately clear whether anyone was injured. The "yellow vest" protests started as a revolt against a gas tax increase but have since grown to envelop an array of grievances against living standards and President Emmanuel Macron. Belgian police are firing tear gas and water cannons at stone-throwing yellow-vested protesters near the country's government offices and parliament. Protesters smashed street signs and traffic lights near a police barricade blocking access to the office of Prime Minister Charles Michel, as they chanted slogans calling on him to resign. They threw paving stones, fireworks, flares and other objects at police. Brussels police spokeswoman Ilse Van de Keere says around 400 protesters are gathered in the area. About 100 have been detained, many for possessing dangerous objects like fireworks or wearing clothing that could be used as protection in clashes with police. In the Netherlands, about 100 protesters gathered in a peaceful demonstration outside the Dutch parliament in The Hague. At least two protesters were detained by police in central Amsterdam. Paris police are firing water cannons on yellow-vested protesters throwing flares and setting fires in one of the French capital's main shopping districts. Scattered clashes are continuing around the city as the protesters seek to reach the presidential palace and demand President Emmanuel Macron's resignation. While the situation is tense, police appear to have it more under control than a week ago, when rioting and looting overwhelmed Paris security forces. The latest flashpoint is not far from the flagship buildings of France's most famed department stores, Galeries Lafayette and Printemps, and near the Palais Garnier opera house. Protesters uprooted trees on one of the neighborhood's "grands boulevards" and set them on fire, while others hurled flares and other projectiles at rows of riot police. Like several neighborhoods of Paris, the area is largely locked down, with many stores shuttered for fear of violence. Overall police estimate there are about 8,000 yellow vest protesters in Paris on Saturday, down from last week. Meanwhile the government deployed 8,000 police in the city, as part of exceptional security measures aimed at preventing a repeat of last week's rioting, which injured 130 people and struck a new blow to France's global image. Belgian police are scuffling with yellow-vested protesters calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Charles Michel as hundreds of marchers try to enter the European quarter of Brussels. Police used pepper spray on a small group of men who threw street signs, bottles and other objects as they tried to break through a barricade near the European Parliament. Walking behind a banner marked "social winter is coming," the protesters have been chanting "(French President Emmanuel) Macron, Michel resign." The rallies, which started at different locations around the city and converged on the European quarter, have disrupted road and rail traffic. Dozens of people were searched at stations. Police have warned people to stay away from the area. Police are seizing protective equipment from journalists and barring some provincial "yellow vest" protesters from boarding trains to Paris, as part of exceptionally stringent security measures to prevent a repeat of last week's rioting. A group of four protesters who came to Paris from Normandy on Saturday told The Associated Press that they saw people wearing yellow vests turned away at train stations all along their route. They said fellow protesters trying to reach Paris from Toulouse in southern France reported the same problems. A national police spokesman said officers stationed at train stations around the country are under orders to verify all passengers and turn away any carrying equipment that could be used to "cause damage to people or property." Three Associated Press journalists had gas masks and protective goggles confiscated by police despite carrying government-issued press cards. The equipment allows journalists to cover violence between police and protesters when tear gas is fired. Paris police have fired tear gas on a group of yellow-vested protesters trying to march on the French presidential palace and are pushing them back with shields. Crowds of protesters first tried to march down the Champs-Elysees avenue toward the Elysee palace but were prevented by rows of police. So a group of a few hundred took side streets and tried to get past a police barricade, and police fired back with tear gas. Most of the protesters remain peaceful, and there are no signs so far of the rioting and looting that marked a similar protest last Saturday and prompted fears of greater violence this week. Crowds were also gathering across town around the Bastille plaza. Authorities have detained 343 people already Saturday amid exceptional security and filtration measures. Police are searching people throughout zones of central Paris and confiscating goggles and gas masks from journalists who use them to protect against tear gas while covering demonstrations. A crowd of "yellow vest" protesters is marching down the Champs-Elysees avenue in central Paris surrounded by exceptional police security amid fears of new violence. Hundreds of people gathered early Saturday around the Arc de Triomphe, which was damaged in rioting a week ago. They then started walking peacefully down the avenue, lined with high-end shops normally bustling before the Christmas holidays but boarded up this Saturday amid worries of more looting or other damage. A Paris police spokesman said more than 170 people have already been detained Saturday on suspicion they were planning violence, though most were later released. President Emmanuel Macron's government is deploying 89,000 security forces around the country for Saturday's protests against his reforms. The French yellow vest protest movement is crossing borders, with demonstrations planned in neighboring Belgium and in the Netherlands. Neither country has proposed a hike in fuel tax — the catalyst for the massive and destructive demonstrations in France in recent weeks. Hundreds of police officers are being mobilized in Brussels Saturday, where yellow vest protesters last week clashed with police and torched two police vehicles. More than 70 people were detained. Some rallies are taking place outside the main European Union institutions, which are closed Saturdays. Some could be held in the city center on what is a major Christmas shopping weekend. Jan Dijkgraaf, editor of a Dutch "resistance newspaper" is calling for peaceful protests in the Dutch cities of Amsterdam and Rotterdam. Paris monuments and shopping meccas are locked down and tens of thousands of police are taking position around the country, fearing worsening violence in a new round of anti-government protests. President Emmanuel Macron's government has warned that Saturday's "yellow vest" protests in Paris will be hijacked by "radicalized and rebellious" crowds and become the most dangerous yet after three weeks of demonstrations. Authorities are deploying barricade-busting armored vehicles and 8,000 police in the capital alone, part of 89,000 security forces fanned out around France. The Eiffel Tower and Louvre are shut along with hundreds of stores and businesses, fearing damage after rioting last Saturday that saw 130 people injured and the worst urban unrest in Paris in decades. The protesters are angry at Macron and high taxes, among other problems. ||||| French minister: 135 people have been injured in protests Saturday; nearly 1,000 protesters are in custody PARIS (AP) — French minister: 135 people have been injured in protests Saturday; nearly 1,000 protesters are in custody. ||||| Clashes, tear gas, barricades and broken windows have been the sights in the French capital as the Yellow Vest protests rage throughout the country for the fourth week in a row. Hundreds were detained and dozens injured.A total of 125,000 people demonstrated across France , including 10,000 in Paris. Authorities saidthroughout the country.Saturday's clashes appeared to be even more heated and violent than last week's ones, RT's Charlotte Dubenskij, who has been reporting from the middle of Paris mayhem, said."In previous protests, the police have generally tried to hold back from deploying tear gas and even when they had objects pelted at them by the protesters, they've held back until they feel that's too much," she said.Several hours into the protests, trucks armed with water cannon arrived in the heart of the capital.Violence unfolded as severalBeefing up its presence, law enforcement also deployed armored vehicles belonging to the French Gendarmerie - the military police. The hardware was stationed right next to the Arc de Triomphe,which last week saw one of the fiercest battles between police and rioters.This is the fourth consecutive Saturday of Yellow Vest protests, withScores of people were also injured during the heavy-handed police response. Officers also suffered injuries while trying to handle the situation., which triggered the rallies. The unrest, however, is still far from losing steam. The demonstrators are billing their action on Saturday as "Act IV. Stay on the course" and are ||||| A total of 118 people and 17 police officers were injured during Saturday’s Yellow Vest protests across France, the French Interior Minister said late Saturday. Around 125,000 people participated in the nationwide protests, said Interior Minister Christophe Castaner in a press meeting. Castaner said that 974 people were arrested during the protests. Security measures were tight in France ahead of the demonstrations. Dozens of armored vehicles and 89,000 troops -- including 8,000 in Paris – were on duty. On Saturday, protesters wearing bright yellow vests -- dubbed the Yellow Vests -- gathered along the famous Champs-Elysees in the capital Paris, where stores, restaurants, and banks were shut down due to violence. French police used pepper spray against Yellow Vest protesters along the Champs-Elysees. During Saturday's protests, the tension between demonstrators and the police flared up from time to time. Thousands of yellow vest protesters have been gathering in major French cities including Paris since Nov. 17 to protest President Emmanuel Macron's controversial fuel tax hikes and the deteriorating economic situation. The demonstrators, who generally live in rural areas due to high rents in the cities, have called on Macron to cut fuel taxes and ease their economic difficulties. According to a recent survey, 84 percent of the French people -- mostly from the middle-income group -- support the protests. Fuel prices in France have risen more than 20 percent this year. This article has been adapted from its original source. ||||| PARIS (AP) — French minister: 135 people have been injured in protests Saturday; nearly 1,000 protesters are in custody. ||||| Act IV (Act 4), the name given to the fourth weekend of protests in France, is just around the corner and the French government and police authorities are busy preparing in an attempt to keep the violence and destruction down to a minimum. from an "extreme core of several thousand" coming to the French capital. The French presidency revealed on Wednesday that it fears there will be "major violence" The interior ministry has spoken of the likely presence of the "extreme-right who dream of a revolution and the extreme-left who advocate insurrection". And they are concerned their numbers will be boosted by youths from the poor Paris suburbs, some of whom took advantage of the mayhem to loot stores last weekend, according to police. And then there's the fringes of the yellow vest movement which appears to have become more radicalized in recent weeks. As a result the French PM said "exceptional means" will be devoted to keeping order across the country on Saturday. A total of 89,000 police officers - up from the initial figure of 656,000 - and law enforcement staff will be deployed across France on Saturday, 8,000 of whom will be in the French capital. The PM confirmed that 12 armored vehicles from the gendarmes military police will also be deployed to the capital, but the decision whether or not to send them onto the streets will be taken on the day. "Given what has happened it is absolutely necessary to take all the possible measures to stop the rioters taking hold of this movement," said Jérôme Bonner, a police spokesperson. In all, some 79 police units, including CRS riot police officers, are set to be mobilised in the capital on Saturday December 8th compared to the 50 who were on the streets last weekend. And there is a new strategy -- this time police officers have been instructed not just to be mobile but also to directly engage with protesters, meaning that the situation could be even more violent than the riots seen last weekend. "We are going to try to intervene as quickly as possible at the flash points to arrest the main thugs to try to suffocate the violence," said Denis Jacob from the police union Alternative Police. The city's police chiefs have promised that officers from all units will be present, including the French Anti-Crime Squad known as the BAC, the territorial brigades and all Paris police station staff will be on duty on Saturday. Even units not accustomed to carrying out everyday police work, such as the SDLII, which fights illegal immigration, will have 500 officers on the ground. A crisis unit for police officers confronted with "particularly violent incidents" has been created, according to reports in the French press in order to offer officers legal assistance if necessary. All emergency services will also be mobilized on Saturday. Security will also be tight on the French capital's public transport network, with transport police officers stationed at railway stations and Metro stations. Meanwhile, the capital's transport operator RATP is already planning to divert or suspend dozens of bus lines around the Champs-Élysées, as well as at Porte Maillot near Neuilly-sur-Seine in the western suburbs of the capital, Trocadéro, near Opera, Hotel de Ville and Gare du North and Gare de l'Est. French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday urged politicians and union officials to launch a "call for calm", with French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe echoing that call in parliament and urged politicians to be responsible. "What is at stake is the safety of the French people and our institutions. I call here for responsibility," said Philippe. "All the actors in this public debate, politicians, union leaders, editorialists and citizens, will be accountable for their statements in the coming days," he added. In a move they hoped would help appease protesters the government announced it was completely scrapping the planned fuel tax hikes for 2019, yet it appears demonstrators are unsatisfied and are ready to push for more concessions that will help boost their spending power. The anxiety of the French authorities is evident in view of the prospect of another day of violence in the heart of the capital which is still under the shock of last weekend's riots. There have been dozens of calls to demonstrate in Paris on social media on Saturday, with many naming the Champs-Elysees -- the scene of riots on December 1st -- as the meeting point. For more information on what the protester's have in store for Paris this weekend CLICK HERE ||||| The rumble of armored police trucks and the hiss of tear gas filled central Paris on Saturday, as French riot police fought to contain thousands of yellow-vested protesters venting their anger against the government in a movement that has grown more violent by the week. A ring of steel surrounded the president’s Elysee Palace — a key destination for the protesters — as police stationed trucks and reinforced metal barriers throughout the neighborhood. Stores along the elegant Champs-Elysees Avenue and the posh Avenue Montaigne boarded up their windows as if bracing for a hurricane but the storm struck anyway Saturday, this time at the height of the holiday shopping season. Protesters ripped off the plywood protecting the windows and threw flares and other projectiles. French riot police repeatedly repelled them with tear gas and water cannon. Saturday’s yellow vest crowd was overwhelmingly male, a mix of those bringing their financial grievances to Paris — the center of France’s government, economy and culture — along with groups of experienced vandals who tore steadily through some of the city’s wealthiest neighborhoods, smashing and burning. Police and protesters also clashed in other French cities, notably Marseille, Toulouse and Bordeaux, and in neighboring Belgium. Some protesters took aim at the French border with Italy, creating a huge traffic backup near the town of Ventimiglia. The French government’s plan was to prevent a repeat of the Dec. 2 rioting that damaged the Arc de Triomphe, devastated central Paris and tarnished the country’s global image. It did not succeed, even though it was better prepared. Although Saturday’s protest in the French capital started out quietly, tear gas choked the Champs-Elysees Avenue by early evening. Interior Minister Christophe Castaner said that 135 people had been injured and 974 taken into custody amid protests around the nation. Paris police headquarters counted 71 injuries in the capital, seven of them police officers. An estimated 125,000 people demonstrated around France while 10,000 took their anger to the streets of Paris, double the number in the capital last week, the interior minister said. Toughening security tactics, French authorities deployed 8,000 security officers in the capital alone, among the 89,000 who fanned out around the country. A Starbucks near the Champs-Elysees was smashed wide open and people were seen stepping over broken glass and serving themselves to beverages. The window of a nearby bank was smashed in with a wrought-iron decoration used to encircle city tree trunks. All of the city’s top tourist attractions — including the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre museum — shut down for the day, fearing the kind of damage that hit the Arc de Triomphe a week ago. Christmas markets and soccer matches were cancelled. Subway stations in the city center closed and the U.S. embassy warned citizens to avoid all protest areas. Yet in a sign of the financial disconnect that infuriates many of the protesters, a few blocks from the famed boulevard, people were sitting in Paris cafes, drinking cocktails and chatting. Amid the melee, President Emmanuel Macron remained invisible and silent, as he has for the four weeks of a movement that started as a protest against a gas tax hike and metamorphosed into a rebellion against high taxes and eroding living standards. The mayor of the city of Saint-Etienne, a town in southeast France hit by violence Saturday, castigated Macron for failing to speak out, saying it “feeds the resentment.” “This silence becomes contempt for the nation,” the mayor, Gael Perdriau, of the opposition conservative party, said on BFMTV. “He has a direct responsibility in what is happening. He can’t remain closed up in the Elysee.” France’s yellow vest protesters have political stances ranging from the far right to the far left but the leaderless group is united in its sense that Macron and his government are out of touch. “We are here to tell (Macron) our discontent. Me, I’m not here to break things because I have four children,” said protester Myriam Diaz. “But I still want to be here to say ‘Stop, that’s enough.'” Some protesters sang the French national anthem — “The Marseillaise” — as they confronted phalanxes of police in heavy riot gear. One protester in Paris showed an Associated Press reporter a fresh wound on his jaw, saying a rubber bullet fired by charging police had glanced his face. “I was running with my hands up. They charged,” said Ludovic, a 38-year-old cabinetmaker from the eastern city of Colmar. He only gave his first name, saying he feared being tracked by security authorities. He said he was fleeing the Champs-Elysees, choked with tear gas, when police moved in. Even as blue armored trucks rumbled over cobblestone streets in Paris, a larger environmental march took place peacefully Saturday toward the city’s Republique Plaza. A scattering of yellow vests, as well as women, children and retirees, were among the 17,000 people marching to demand action against climate change. One sign read “No climate justice without fiscal and social justice.” Cyril, a 25-year-old garbage truck driver, came from Normandy with three others. He said he earns only 1,430 euros ($1,625) a month despite working 45 hours a week and has decided not to have children because doesn’t feel he can earn enough to raise them. This was his third weekend of protesting in Paris. “I’ve come to defend myself,” he said, adding that he thought Macron’s mistake was trying to reform the French economy too quickly. “He’s done more in 18 months than the others in 30 years.” Macron on Wednesday agreed to abandon the fuel tax hike, which aimed to wean France off fossil fuels and uphold the Paris climate agreement. Many economists and scientists say higher fuel taxes are essential to save the planet from worsening climate change, but that stance hasn’t defused the anger among France’s working class. Late Saturday, after announcing that the violence in Paris had been “contained,” Castaner, the interior minister, took a victory stroll down the Champs-Elysees. Tear gas had dissipated and a standoff was over. It had pitted a line of security forces, backed by two armored vehicles, against protesters, some lobbing objects and cherry bombs to taunt police. Protesters also blocked roads, traffic roundabouts and highway tollbooths elsewhere in France and offshoot movements emerged in Belgium and the Netherlands. Belgian police fired tear gas and water cannon Saturday at yellow-vested protesters calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Charles Michel. The protesters in Brussels threw paving stones, road signs, fireworks, flares and other objects at police and about 100 were detained. Across the ocean, U.S. President Donald Trump seized the moment to once again criticize the 2015 Paris climate accord that he is abandoning. “People do not want to pay large sums of money … in order to maybe protect the environment,” he tweeted. | 125,000 people demonstrate across France, according to the Minister of the Interior, with about 89,000 police officers on duty. 1,385 people are detained. Tear gas and pepper spray are used against the protesters and 135 people are injured. |
related media assets (image or videos) available. Click to see the gallery. 3 related media assets (image or videos) available. Click to see the gallery. Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel said his government would continue as a minority administration after the biggest party in his coalition quit on Saturday in a row over signing the U.N. migration compact. BRUSSELS: Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel said his government would continue as a minority administration after the biggest party in his coalition quit on Saturday in a row over signing the U.N. migration compact. Michel, a French-speaking liberal, said he "took note" of the departure of the Flemish N-VA from the four-party coalition formed in 2014 and would reshuffle posts - a particularly complex task in bilingual Belgium, as French- and Dutch-speakers must by law have an equal number of ministerial posts. Advertisement Advertisement With a federal election due anyway in May, many observers expect no immediate change to that electoral calendar. In a move critics have described as an opening shot in that election campaign, the right-wing N-VA, which is the biggest party in parliament, said it was pulling its ministers from the coalition after Michel refused its demand that he rescind a plan to sign the U.N. migration compact in Marrakesh on Monday. Michel had secured a large parliamentary majority last week in favour of maintaining Belgium's support of the United Nations text, which since it was agreed by all U.N. states bar the United States in July has run into criticism from European politicians who say it could increase immigration to Europe. The N-VA faces electoral losses in its Dutch-speaking region to the harder-right, anti-immigration Vlaams Belang. Its leader Bart De Wever, the mayor of Belgium's second city Antwerp, had issued Michel an ultimatum that it would quit the government if he signed the non-binding U.N. declaration. Advertisement Advertisement A crisis cabinet meeting on Saturday night was cut short when two N-VA ministers, Interior Minister Jan Jambon and Migration Minister Theo Francken, walked out. Michel said he would replace N-VA ministers with lower-ranked state secretaries and maintain a minority coalition involving his French-speaking liberal MR and two Flemish parties, the centre-right CD&V and Open VLD. At least six EU states - mostly in formerly Communist eastern Europe - have already shunned the accord to regulate the treatment of migrants worldwide, a sign of how the bloc has turned increasingly restrictive on accepting refugees and migrants alike since a 2015 spike in arrivals. (Reporting by Alastair Macdonald; Editing by Daniel Wallis) ||||| "If the government decides to bind itself [to the document] in Marrakesh, we will not accept it. Tomorrow, Charles Michel will leave as a prime minister of 'Swedish coalition' and will land as a prime minister of 'Marrakesh' coalition," N-VA leader Bart De Wever said as quoted by the party's press service. The Belgian ruling coalition is called Swedish because the official colors of its member parties resemble a Swedish flag. The N-VA members hold among others posts of defense minister, interior minister and state secretary for asylum policy and migration in the country's parliament. READ MORE: EU Expands Frontex Mandate to Work in Third Countries The UN Global Compact for Migration represents the international community's attempt to establish a common global approach to all aspects of international migration. The pact comprises 23 objectives for better managing migration at local, national, regional, and global levels. 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Bijkomende informatie over de instellingen kan u vinden door op "Instellingen" te klikken. ||||| Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel rushed to reshuffle his government and stave off its collapse Sunday morning as his tenuous pact with Flemish nationalists finally reached a breaking point over an international migration pact. Michel met with King Philippe of Belgium Sunday morning to seek a royal decree to reorganize his government without the New Flemish Alliance (N-VA). The party's objection to the U.N. Global Compact on Migration forced the ruling coalition to break apart Saturday night. Michel on Sunday replaced ministers from the New Flemish Alliance (N-VA), including Interior Minister Jan Jambon and Secretary of State for Asylum and Migration Theo Francken, local media reported. Health Minister Maggie De Block, a liberal, will take over the migration portfolio, and Pieter De Crem, from the CD&V party, will take over as interior minister, L'Echo reported Sunday. Michel will remain in place as prime minister for now. But his "orange-blue" coalition doesn't have a parliamentary majority without the Flemish nationalists, raising the possibility he may not be able to finish his mandate. Belgium faces regional, federal and European elections in May. The N-VA on Saturday formally broke ranks over the U.N. migration compact, an international agreement the Belgian parliament, minus the N-VA and far-right Vlaams Belang, has committed to signing but that has attracted strong criticism from right and far-right parties across Europe. Michel called a crunch-time ministerial meeting late on Saturday as a last attempt to break the deadlock, after days of crisis talks. But N-VA members of government walked out of the meeting after half an hour. "We formally stated that we don't agree to this [U.N.] pact," party chief Bart De Wever told reporters at a press conference shortly after. Dueling late-night press conferences late Saturday night created confusion over whether key ministries were still held by the N-VA or rendered vacant. Speaking to the press, Michel said he "took note of the N-VA's decision to leave the government" and would represent a minority government without the Flemish nationalists when heading to Marrakesh. "I think that, formally speaking, we are stepping down. We said that if the coalition goes to Marrakech, it will be without us," Jambon told VRT on Sunday. The government will pursue "firm but humane" migration policies, Vice Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said Sunday. "No one in this government wants to pursue an open border policy," he added, disputing the N-VA's claim parties had formed a "Marrakech coalition." The N-VA "suddenly" took a different view on the country's position in the world, De Croo said. "To me, it's a question of our principles." This story has been updated. Read this next: Steve Bannon in Brussels: UN migration pact already ‘dead’ ||||| Brussels — Belgium’s Prime Minister Charles Michel is now at the helm of a minority government after the Flemish nationalist party on Sunday quit the ruling coalition over his support of a UN migration pact widely opposed by anti-immigrant populists. The New Flemish Alliance (N-VA), the largest of the coalition’s four parties, had earlier threatened to leave if Michel backed the accord, which has become a cause celebre for right-wing parties across Europe. Belgium’s King Philippe accepted the resignations of the N-VA’s ministers on Sunday after meeting with Michel at the royal palace, according to a statement. Michel also presented the king with the list of replacements for the departing N-VA ministers in the interior, finance, defence and migration portfolios. With the departure of the Flemish party, Michel lacks a parliamentary majority with five months to go before legislative elections scheduled for late May. “I regret that it has come to this,” Michel told the RTL-TVI television channel. He said that a “responsible coalition” had been set up and called for “dialogue with parliament”, warning of a looming risk of early elections, which he said could “stymie the country for a year”. Addressing a news conference later in the day, Michel said the weakened government’s three priorities would be purchasing power, security and climate policy. Interior minister and N-VA member Jan Jambon had confirmed earlier Sunday that he and the party’s other ministers would step down. “It’s clear,” he told national broadcaster RTBF, following hours of uncertainty. ||||| Belgium's far-right New Flemish Alliance (N-VA) party quit Prime Minister Charles Michel's coalition government over his decision to sign a U.N. accord on migration, Interior Minister and N-VA member Jan Jambon said Sunday. The decision will leave Michel as head of a minority government. Belgian media reported that Michel was reshuffling his cabinet to replace three ministers from the N-VA who have resigned. Minister for Health and Social Affairs Maggie de Block will inherit the asylum and migration portfolio, a post she had previously held, according to the VRT broadcaster. Vice premier Alexander De Croo is to take over as finance minister from Johan Van Overtveldt. Secretary of State Peter de Crem will be promoted to interior minister, taking over from Jan Jambon, while Denis Ducarme, whose portfolio includes agriculture, is to become defence minister, according to VRT. Michel was meeting on Sunday with King Philippe, who has accepted the resignation of the three ministers. ||||| Belgium Interior Minister Jan Jambon of the New Flemish Alliance (N-VA) confirmed on Sunday (9/12/2018) that he, along with the party’s other ministers would resign over disagreement with Prime minister Charles Michel over signature of Global Comapact on migration in Marrakesh, Morocco, at UN-led conference scheduled for Monday, December 10. “It’s clear,” he told to RTBF, following hours of uncertainty. The decision means Charles Michel will lead a minority government for the five months before parliamentary elections scheduled for late May. He will now have to appoint ministers to replace those held by the N-VA — which had been the largest of the coalition’s four parties — including the interior, finance, defence and migration portfolios. In power for four years, the coalition has often been riven over the N-VA’s anti-migration positions. Party leader Bart De Wever issued an ultimatum to Michel on Saturday night, suggesting the N-VA would leave the coalition if the Prime minister flew to a UN conference in Marrakesh on Sunday to endorse the pact. Michel stood firm, saying he would represent Belgium in Marrakesh as the “head of state of a responsible coalition”. A ‘last attempt’ cabinet meeting was held late Saturday, but failed to overcome the differences between the parties. The non-binding UN accord, which would promote a common global approach to migrant flows, has become notorious for European anti-immigration parties. It was initially supported by all four parties in Belgium‘s coalition, but the N-VA changed its position in late October. The crisis had been going on for several weeks before bursting into the open when Prime minister Michel, a Liberal, turned to parliament after failing to unite his government behind the pact. The N-VA and the far-right Vlaams Belang party voted against the accord. The draft UN pact lays down 23 objectives, claiming to open up legal migration and better management of a global flow of 250 million people in need. The United States refused the talks on the pact last year, joined by a number of European countries like Hungary, Austria, Poland, Bulgaria, Slovakia and Australia, and Croatia. ||||| Belgium's Prime Minister Charles Michel was left leading a minority administration on Sunday after the Flemish nationalist party quit the ruling coalition over his support of a UN migration pact. The New Flemish Alliance (N-VA), the largest of the coalition's four parties, had earlier threatened to leave if Michel backed the accord, which has become a cause celebre for European anti-immigration parties. Belgium's King Philippe accepted the resignations of the N-VA's ministers on Sunday after meeting with Michel at the royal palace, according to a statement. Michel also presented the king with the names of those who would replace the N-VA ministers in the interior, finance, defence and migration portfolios. The departure of the Flemish party means Michel will lack a parliamentary majority for five months ahead of legislative elections scheduled for late May. Interior minister and N-VA member Jan Jambon had confirmed earlier Sunday that he and the party's other ministers would step down. "It's clear," he told national broadcaster RTBF, following hours of uncertainty. In power for four years, the coalition has often been riven over the N-VA's anti-migration positions. Party leader Bart De Wever issued Michel an ultimatum on Saturday night, suggesting that the N-VA would quit the coalition if the prime minister flew to a UN conference in Marrakesh on Sunday to endorse the migration pact. "If we no longer have a voice in this government... there is no point in continuing," he said. Michel stood firm, saying he would represent Belgium in Marrakesh as the "head of state of a responsible coalition". A last-gasp cabinet meeting was held late Saturday, but failed to overcome the differences between the parties. The non-binding UN accord, which would promote a common global approach to migrant flows, was initially supported by all four parties in Belgium's coalition. But the N-VA changed its mind in late October. The crisis had been rumbling for several weeks before bursting into the open on Tuesday when Michel turned to parliament after failing to unite his government behind the pact. The liberal prime minister has steadfastly defended the pact, saying the international "credibility" of Belgium was at stake. On Thursday, a majority of parliament supported the accord, but the N-VA and the far-right Vlaams Belang party voted against. French far-right leader Marine Le Pen and Steve Bannon, a former advisor to US President Donald Trump, denounced the UN pact at an event hosted by Vlaams Belang in Brussels on Saturday. "The country that signs the pact obviously signs a pact with the devil," Le Pen said. The draft UN pact lays down 23 objectives to open up legal migration and better manage a global flow of 250 million people, three percent of the world population. The United States dropped out of talks on the pact last year and countries such as Hungary, Austria, Poland, Bulgaria, Slovakia and Australia have rejected it. The pact is expected to be ratified at the UN headquarters in New York on December 19. ||||| Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel relaunched his government on Sunday as a minority administration after the biggest party in his coalition quit in a dispute over signing the U.N. migration compact. BRUSSELS: Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel relaunched his government on Sunday as a minority administration after the biggest party in his coalition quit in a dispute over signing the U.N. migration compact. Michel met King Philippe to remould his government as a three-party coalition of his French-speaking liberal MR and two Flemish parties, the centre-right CD&V and Open VLD, after the departure of the Flemish N-VA following four years together. With a federal election due anyway in late May, many observers see no immediate need for an early vote. Michel told a news conference with his remaining ministers that the government would focus in the remaining months on the economy, defending Belgium's interests ahead of Brexit, security and climate change. He also said he would speak with members of parliament to see how his minority government, with just 52 of 150 seats, could proceed, without saying which other parties he saw as potential allies. The N-VA's exit left Michel with three ministerial posts to fill, along with portfolios, such as immigration, held by N-VA's two state secretaries. Alexander De Croo, one of the deputy prime ministers, will become finance minister, Pieter De Crem, a former defence minister, becomes interior minister, while foreign minister Didier Reynders will add defence to his portfolio The right-wing N-VA, which is the biggest party in parliament, pulled its ministers from the coalition after Michel refused its demand that he not sign the U.N. migration compact in Marrakesh on Monday, in a move critics see as an opening shot in the election campaign. Michel had secured a large parliamentary majority last week in favour of maintaining Belgium's support of the United Nations text, with support from the opposition socialists and greens. Since it was agreed by all U.N. states bar the United States in July, the text has run into criticism from European politicians who say it could increase immigration to Europe. The N-VA risks electoral losses in its Dutch-speaking region to the harder-right, anti-immigration Vlaams Belang. Its leader Bart De Wever issued Michel an ultimatum that it would quit the government if he signed the non-binding U.N. declaration. At least six EU states - mostly in formerly Communist eastern Europe - have already shunned the accord to regulate the treatment of migrants worldwide, a sign of how the bloc has turned increasingly restrictive on accepting refugees and migrants alike since a 2015 spike in arrivals. ||||| Belgium's Flemish nationalist party said on Sunday it will quit the ruling coalition, leaving Prime Minister Charles Michel as the head of a minority government after a row over a UN migration pact. Interior Minister Jan Jambon of the New Flemish Alliance (N-VA) confirmed on Sunday that he and the party's other ministers would step down. "It's clear," he told national broadcaster RTBF, following hours of uncertainty. The decision means Michel will lead a minority government for the five months before parliamentary elections scheduled for late May. He will now have to appoint ministers to replace those held by the N-VA -- which had been the largest of the coalition's four parties -- including the interior, finance, defence and migration portfolios. In power for four years, the coalition has often been riven over the N-VA's anti-migration positions. Party leader Bart De Wever issued an ultimatum to Michel on Saturday night, suggesting the N-VA would leave the coalition if the prime minister flew to a UN conference in Marrakesh on Sunday to endorse the pact. Michel stood firm, saying he would represent Belgium in Marrakesh as the "head of state of a responsible coalition". A last-gasp cabinet meeting was held late Saturday, but failed to overcome the differences between the parties. The non-binding UN accord, which would promote a common global approach to migrant flows, has become a cause celebre for European anti-immigration parties. It was initially supported by all four parties in Belgium's coalition, but the N-VA changed its mind in late October. The crisis had been rumbling for several weeks before bursting into the open on Tuesday when Michel, a liberal, turned to parliament after failing to unite his government behind the pact. The N-VA and the far-right Vlaams Belang party voted against the accord. The draft UN pact lays down 23 objectives to open up legal migration and better manage a global flow of 250 million people, three percent of the world population. The United States dropped out of talks on the pact last year and countries such as Hungary, Austria, Poland, Bulgaria, Slovakia and Australia have rejected it. | Prime Minister Charles Michel says that the New Flemish Alliance (N-VA) party quits the coalition. N-VA cites its disagreement over the signing of the United Nations Global Compact for Migration. Michel plans to continue with a minority cabinet until the next scheduled election. |
It was not known if the can was the one whose spray set off the stampede at about 1 a.m. Saturday in the Lanterna Azzurra (Blue Lantern) disco in Corinaldo. A paramilitary police commander declined to confirm reports that a 16-year-old boy had been identified as the sprayer. ||||| Transcript for 2 criminal investigations after 6 killed during concert in Italy And news tonight about the deadly stampede in Italy. Police launching two criminal investigations into the chaos. Two people died. Authorities believe the club was overcrowded. The crush of people likely ignited by somebody using pepper spray. Here's Julia Macfarlane. Reporter: This was the moment the horror unfolded. Investigators are reviewing this bystander's footage of the accident at that Italian nightclub late Friday. New details tonight. Italian police tell ABC news two parallel criminal investigations are now under way. One, the suspected use of an irritant spray, such as mace or pepper spray, that is believed to have started the stampede. The other, violations of the nightclub's occupancy restrictions. The venue was only supposed to hold around 800 people. That night, almost 1,400 tickets had been sold for the event. However, it's not clear how many people were in attendance. Ticket sales are disorganized in Italy. Events are often oversold. It's one theory that investigators are looking into, as footage circulates of the disco's walkway, crumbling under the weight of so many people rushing out all at once. Police haven't confirmed reports in Italian media that a minor is suspected of spraying that irritant substance, sparking the panic, but they have told ABC news that a statement will be released tomorrow. Tom? ||||| A pepper spray intended for use on violent prisoners in England and Wales has been approved despite being used in non-violent incidents more than a third of the time in a recent trial, contravening official guidance, the Guardian has learned. The Pava incapacitant spray, which is notably stronger than CS gas, causes acute pain if sprayed directly into the eyes. One officer described its effects as “unbearable, like your skin peeling off” after being affected when it was deployed. Last December a six-month pilot project was launched in four prisons – Hull, Preston, Risley and Wealstun – where, it was stated, Pava would be used as a “personal protection aid for officers to use reactively to defend themselves or others against serious attack”. A report on the trial said the spray was used 50 times in the pilot jails, including 18 times to stop prisoner-on-staff assaults and 14 times to stop prisoner-on-prisoner assaults. The remaining 18 incidents comprised eight cases of passive non-compliance, seven of aggressive non-compliance, two of active self-harm and one unspecified “incident at height” – all of which were non-violent and outside the stated guidelines. The report found that levels of violence continued to rise in the four jails where Pava was tested. Despite those findings, the spray will now be issued to all officers in state-run jails. Staff in private sector prisons will not be allowed to use it. Discussions are taking place between the prison service and the Prison Officers Association about equipping staff in female and juvenile prisons. The incapacitant spray, dispensed from a hand-held canister containing a solution of pelargonic acid vanillylamide, has an effective range of up to four metres. It has been approved by the Home Office for use by police forces since 2004. In October the prison service announced that the trials had been successful and the use of Pava would be rolled out across all prisons in England and Wales. The evaluation report on the trials has not been been published, but Rob Allen, the co-director of Justice and Prisons, obtained a copy via a freedom of information request. The report says: “Some staff were developing an over-reliance on Pava as a way of resolving conflict and used the spray to enforce rules and gain compliance when it was not clearly the last resort, or when more time could have been spent talking [to the prisoner].” Those using Pava were positive about the spray, even though staff were affected by its use on 13 occasions. The report said staff played down their descriptions of the impact of the spray on prisoners, describing it as a “minor use of force”. Rates of violence in prisons in England and Wales are at an all-time high and rising. The report said: “Overall violence levels continued to rise across all the pilot jails during the period of the trials.” John Podmore, a former prison governor who ran jails in the high-security estate, argued that the use of Pava would only escalate conflict. He asked why the report had not been made public, saying: “Justice minister Rory Stewart promised that the prison service would be more transparent. So why was this report kept under wraps?” A Prison Service spokesperson said Pava incapacitant spray helped prevent serious harm to staff and prisoners, as well as being an additional tool when dealing with violent offenders. “Prison officers must complete specialist training before being allowed to carry the spray, ensuring it is only used professionally, safely and lawfully,” the spokesperson said. ||||| ROME — Italian police investigating a deadly nightclub stampede said Sunday they found a pepper spray can and were questioning dozens of witnesses after accounts by concertgoers that a teenage boy had sprayed an irritating substance, causing the mad rush by the crowd to flee. It wasn’t known whether the can found was the one that apparently set off the stampede about 1 a.m. Saturday in a crowd awaiting a rapper’s performance in the Lanterna Azzurra (Blue Lantern) disco in the small town of Corinaldo, said the Carabiniere paramilitary police commander of Ancona province, Col. Cristian Carrozza. He also declined to confirm Italian media reports that a 16-year-old boy had been identified as the sprayer and would be questioned by juvenile court officials. Five teenagers, all juveniles, and a woman who had accompanied her 11-year-old daughter to the concert, died in the crush of fleeing concertgoers who toppled over a railing atop a cement ramp outside an exit. The railing gave way, sending young people tumbling over it and landing on top of each other in the area below the ramp, about 1.5 feet below. On Saturday, prosecutors and Italy’s premier and interior minister told reporters that nearly 1,400 tickets had been sold, while the disco could safely hold only 870 people, with the capacity of the room of the concert itself set at about 460. On Sunday, Carrozza said a count of ticket stubs indicated that about 600 tickets were used for entry. It was unclear if others might have gotten in without having tickets checked by club personnel. One of the DJs, Marco Cecchini, said he was sure that more than just one room of the disco was open, in addition to the one with the 460-person capacity. “I’ve done 40-50 evenings in that place, and, sincerely, there weren’t so many people. I’d estimate maybe 800-900 people, but all the rooms were open,” the Italian news agency ANSA quoted Cecchini, who is the son of one of the disco’s managers, as saying. Several parents whose children had gone to the concert Saturday brought cell phones to police to show videos of the disco’s premises in case the visuals could help in the investigation, ANSA said. Seven of the more than 50 people injured in the stampede remained in critical condition Sunday, while the remaining patients were either already discharged or about to be discharged after their condition improved, doctors said. After Interior Minister Matteo Salvini insisted that safety codes for public places be rigorously respected, police overnight shut down two discos in the south, near the port city of Salerno, for apparent overcrowding. Frances D’Emilio is an Associated Press writer. ||||| According to the La Repubblica, the teenager who could have used the pepper spray has been found thanks to witness accounts. The prosecutors working on the case have not talked to the suspect yet. READ MORE: Panic, Stampede in Italian Club Leave at Least 6 Dead, Dozens Injured (PHOTOS) The reports come after a stampede occurred at a rap concert that took place in the nightclub early on Saturday. Six people, including five minors, were killed and around 60 others were hospitalized. The panic was reportedly caused by a pepper spray used by one of the guests. ||||| omersukrugoksu/iStock(ROME) — Six people are dead and at least 120 people are injured after being trampled by a panicked crowd running out of an Italian disco. The stampede occurred at the Lanterna Azzurra in Madonna del Piano di Corinaldo, near Ancona — a city on the Adriatic coast, east of Florence — during a concert for Italian rapper Sfera Ebbasta. Witnesses said that panic ensued when an acrid smell started permeating the disco between midnight and 1 a.m. local time, according to Italian news agencies. Some compared it to mace or pepper spray, though police officials said they were not ready to confirm those details. The six people who died included five minors and an adult. The adult, identified only as Eleonora, had gone to the concert with her daughter, who survived, according to Italian news agency Agenzia Nazionale Stampa Associata (ANSA), the nation’s largest wire service. All six who died were crushed by others who had fallen five feet off a walkway outside of one of the disco’s emergency exits, Ancona Police Chief Oreste Capocasa told ABC News. Capocasa said that the railings on the walkway collapsed, causing concertgoers to fall. Capocasa said that firefighters and magistrates were investigating whether there was overcrowding. The disco could only fit 870 people but 1,400 tickets to the concert were sold, he said. He said that authorities are still trying to piece together the sequence of events, and whether the spraying of some sort of substance sparked the panic. “We could not because after such a tragic event, witnesses weren’t in a fit state to remember well what happened,” he said. “They have not confirmed that this happened but many have confirmed that something like that happened.” Those who were injured were taken to one of three hospitals in the area. Of the 120 injured, 12 remain in serious condition and seven are fighting for their lives, ANSA reported. Italian Minister of the Interior Matteo Salvini called the incident a “mix of irresponsibility and avidity.” Two investigations have now been opened: one to determine who sprayed the pepper-like substance and another for overcapacity at the disco. ||||| Due stupide bravate hanno creato il panico oggi in altrettante scuole di Pavia e del Cremonese. Due episodi che non hanno prodotto conseguenze gravi, ma che lasciano pensare ad un assurdo spirito di emulazione dopo la tragedia avvenuta nella notte tra venerdì 7 e sabato 8 dicembre in una discoteca di Corinaldo (Ancona), che ha provocato la morte di cinque giovani e una mamma. Sulla stessa linea il ministro dell'Istruzione, Marco Bussetti, per il quale si potrebbe anche vietarne l'uso a scuola, ma «non è questione di portarlo o no, è l'uso che se ne fa. Basta tenerlo all'interno. Tante donne hanno dovuto utilizzarlo per difesa personale, ad esempio». L'Associazione nazionale funzionari polizia chiede il divieto di vendita ai minori di 18 anni, numero identificativo su ogni bomboletta che consenta un abbinamento con l'acquirente, possibilità di vendita solo in armerie o in apposti esercizi espressamente autorizzati che avranno l'onere di identificare con documento l'acquirente. Anche Cosimo Maria Ferri (Pd) sollecita la regolamentazione della vendita e dell'uso dello spray, «disciplinandone l'accesso in luoghi pubblici e manifestazioni». Per il segretario nazionale di Sinistra italiana Nicola Fratoianni «è giunto il momento di dire che la diffusione delle armi e degli strumenti di offesa come gli spray non garantisce la sicurezza, al contrario provoca disastri. È giunto il momento di vietarne la vendita libera». Ultimo aggiornamento: 11 Dicembre, 08:22 © RIPRODUZIONE RISERVATA ||||| A 15-year-old boy has been arrested on suspicion of causing the stampede at a nightclub in the town of Corinaldo, near Ancona in central Italy, this weekend in which six people were killed. Media reports said the suspected use of a pepper spray-like substance sparked panic during the concert. "The cause may have been the dispersal of a stinging substance, the young people fled and trampled over each other. Sadly, six people died and dozens are injured," the fire service said in a statement on Twitter. As the crowd panicked, people ran for the three emergency exits, one of which led to a small bridge and the car park, according to a preliminary investigation. The force of the fleeing crowd made a railing collapse and dozens of people fell, crushing those below to death. The 15-year-old is suspected of involuntary manslaughter and causing bodily harm, youth crime court prosecutor Giovanna Leboroni said at a press conference in Ancona. Ancona Chief Prosecutor Monica Garulli said seven others are also under investigation: four owners of the venue and three businesspeople who ran it. Investigators are also looking into whether the club sold more tickets to the event than the venue could hold. Three witnesses said that the suspect, who has not been named by police, had released pepper spray. Another witness reportedly claimed that the spray was used to disable a person and steal their gold chain. Police have not ruled out that the fumes came from another source, noting that a large number of clubbers suffered ill effects. However, a can of pepper spray was found in the club. Gangs have used pepper spray to steal from people at public events in Italy about 20 times in the past two years. In June last year one person was killed and 1,526 injured when a gang using pepper spray caused panic among crowds watching a football match on a large screen in Turin. And yesterday, teenagers hospitalised classmates by using pepper spray in schools in two separate, apparently 'copycat' incidents. 33 students from a school in Pavia were taken to hospital yesterday, local media reports, after pepper spray or a similar substance was used, and another five were hospitalised in Cremona when a 14-year-old girl sprayed classmates in the gym’s changing room. READ ALSO: Two dead, several injured in petrol station explosion near Rome ||||| ROME — Italian police investigating a deadly disco stampede said Sunday they found a pepper spray can and were questioning dozens of witnesses Sunday following accounts by concertgoers that a teenage boy had sprayed an irritating substance, triggering the mad rush by the crowd to flee. It wasn’t known if the can found was the one whose spray apparently set off the stampede about 1 a.m. Saturday in a crowd awaiting a rapper’s performance in the Lanterna Azzurra disco in Corinaldo, a small town in east-central Italy, police said. A police official also declined to confirm Italian media reports that a 16-year-old boy had been identified as the sprayer and would be questioned by juvenile court officials. Five teens and a woman who had accompanied her 11-year-old daughter to the concert died in the crush of fleeing concertgoers who toppled over a railing atop a cement ramp outside an exit. Seven of the more than 50 people injured in the stampede remained in critical condition Sunday, doctors said. On Saturday, prosecutors and Italy’s premier and interior minister told reporters that nearly 1,400 tickets had been sold, while the disco could safely hold only 870 people. ||||| Italian police investigating a deadly disco stampede said they found a pepper spray can and were questioning dozens of witnesses yesterday following accounts by concertgoers that a teenage boy had sprayed an irritating substance, triggering the mad rush by the crowd to flee. Italian police investigating a deadly disco stampede said they found a pepper spray can and were questioning dozens of witnesses yesterday following accounts by concertgoers that a teenage boy had sprayed an irritating substance, triggering the mad rush by the crowd to flee. It wasn't known if the can found was the one whose spray apparently set off the stampede at about 1am Saturday in a crowd awaiting a rapper's performance in the Lanterna Azzurra (Blue Lantern) disco in Corinaldo, a small town in the Marche region of east-central Italy, the Carabiniere paramilitary police commander of Ancona province, Colonel Cristian Carrozza, told reporters. He also declined to confirm Italian media reports that a 16-year-old boy had been identified as the sprayer and would be questioned by juvenile court officials. Five teens, all juveniles, and a woman who had accompanied her 11-year-old daughter to the concert, died in the crush of fleeing concertgoers who toppled over a railing atop a cement ramp outside an exit. The railing gave way, sending young people tumbling over it and landing atop of each other in the area below the ramp, about 1.5 meters below. On Saturday, prosecutors and Italy's Interior Minister Matteo Salvini told reporters that nearly 1,400 tickets had been sold, while the disco could safely hold only 870 people, with the capacity of the room of the concert itself set at about 460. Yesterday, Col Carrozza said a count of ticket stubs indicated about 600 tickets were used for entry. It was unclear if others might have gotten in without having tickets checked by disco personnel. One of the DJs, Marco Cecchini, told reporters he was sure that more than just one room of the disco was open, in addition to the one with the 460-person capacity. "I've done 40-50 evenings in that place, and, sincerely, there weren't so many people. I'd estimate maybe 800-900 people, but all the rooms were open," the Italian news agency ANSA quoted Mr Cecchini, who is the son of one of the disco's managers, as saying. Seven of the more than 50 people injured in the stampede remained in critical condition yesterday while the remaining patients were either already discharged or about to be discharged after their condition improved. | Thirty-three people are hospitalized in Pavia, Lombardy, Italy, after pepper spray was fired inside the gym of a school. This is the second pepper spray-related incident in the country in three days. On 8 December, six people died when someone fired the spray inside a nightclub, causing a stampede. |
A convicted paedophile has been found guilty of the “babes in the wood” murders at the end of a retrial that drew on scientific advances in forensics 32 years after two schoolgirls were killed. Russell Bishop had been accused of sexually assaulting and strangling Karen Hadaway and Nicola Fellows in October 1986 in woods about half a mile from Moulsecoomb, the area of Brighton where both girls lived. The guilty verdicts were described as marking the end of a 32-year fight for justice for the girls’ families, who hugged each other and wept in court on Monday as the jury delivered its verdict. “Time stood still for us in 1986. To us them beautiful girls will always be nine years old. They will never grow up,” said Michelle Hadaway, Karen’s mother, who described Bishop as an “evil monster”. “What people like Bishop inflict on the families of their victims is a living death,” she added. Lee Hadaway, Karen’s father, died in 1998. In a joint statement, the Fellows family said: “The guilty verdict doesn’t bring Nicola and Karen back, but we know that other children are now safe from the hands of Russell Bishop.” Facebook Twitter Pinterest Russell Bishop. Photograph: Sussex police/PA After demonstrating that there was new and compelling evidence against Bishop in the form of scientific material, the prosecution had shown the jury how he attempted to conceal his crimes through lies, said the Crown Prosecution Service. This included DNA evidence which provided what the CPS described as a “one-in-a-billion” DNA match linking Bishop to a sweatshirt which was at the scene of the murders. The case had never been closed and had become the largest and longest-running inquiry in the history of Sussex police. A retrial was made possible after Bishop’s 1987 acquittal on the same charges was quashed at the court of appealin light of new evidence. Bishop, who was not present to hear he was being convicted on the 31st anniversary of his original acquittal, will be required to appear when he is sentenced on Tuesday after the eight-week trial. It also emerged on Monday that Bishop’s former partner could face a perjury investigation over her conduct at his murder trial at Lewes crown court in 1987. Jennifer Johnson had initially identified the sweatshirt which was found discarded along Bishop’s route home in Brighton as belonging to him, but then denied it in court. She was not called by the prosecution in the second trial but another of Bishop’s former partners said he had been violent towards Johnson. Nigel Pilkington, a CPS lawyer, suggested the result of the 1987 trial could have been “wholly different” if Johnson had not changed her story. “Obviously if somebody has not told the truth in a case which has been a miscarriage of justice for 32 years, that’s a serious matter, if it turns out to be so. But we will wait to see if police make a decision to investigate,” he added. Both Karen and Nicola had been afraid of the dark and the latter’s father had banned her from playing in an area known as Wild Park, even saying the “bogeyman” lived there, the court was told. However, Bishop spotted the two nine-year-olds playing in the park near their home at around dusk on 9 October 1986 and seized his opportunity, the prosecution said. During the attack, he punched Nicola in the face, to “subdue” or “punish” her for being disrespectful to his teenage girlfriend earlier that day, suggested Brian Altman QC. The court heard that as well as the DNA evidence, fibre transfers linked the sweatshirt to the girls, the murder scene and Bishop’s home. Dried red paint on the sleeve was matched to a flake on Nicola’s neck and Karen’s T-shirt, providing “very strong support” they had recent contact with the garment. There were also hundreds of ivy hairs on the sweatshirt like those at the scene of the murders. As well as the evidence from the sweatshirt, a DNA match to Bishop was found on Karen’s left forearm, jurors heard. Bishop had returned to live in the Brighton area after his acquittal, but less than three years later, in February 1990, committed offences involving the attempted murder, kidnapping and indecent assault of a seven-year-old girl in the Whitehawk area of the city. She survived and identified Bishop as her attacker, the jury was told. This, together with other evidence, led to his conviction for that crime in December 1990. During the trial this year, Bishop tailored his defence to the new evidence and claimed he had touched the girls to feel for a pulse on the day after the killings, when he had joined the search for them and was nearby when they were found. However, two teenagers who had spotted the bodies insisted that he could not have come close. Acting on instructions, Bishop’s defence team had also cast suspicion on Nicola’s father, Barrie Fellows, suggesting that police spent decades investigating the wrong man. The 69-year-old was reduced to tears during the trial by the claims against him. The defence team also cast doubt on the new evidence, suggesting it could have been contaminated. Det Supt Jeff Riley described Bishop as a “wicked” paedophile. He said: “I still feel it’s a shadow over Brighton to this day. I’m very proud of the investigation we have put together. We have been meticulous. We have never given up on this investigation.” ||||| A man cleared of killing two schoolgirls more than 30 years ago has been found guilty of their murders following a second trial. Russell Bishop was acquitted of the murders of Karen Hadaway and Nicola Fellows in 1987 - 31 years to the day today - in a case referred to as 'the Babes in the Wood'. Cleared of their murders, Bishop went on to attack a seven-year-old girl within three years, leaving her for dead in 1990, but she survived. A second trial regarding the two schoolgirls was ordered in light of new forensic evidence which linked Bishop, 52, to the deaths in 1986. Bishop denied murdering the pair, who were both afraid of the dark, but was today found guilty at the Old Bailey following a trial which began on October 15. Jurors deliberated for just two and a half hours. In his closing speech, prosecutor Brian Altman QC Altman told jurors: "This defendant walked those two girls to their deaths. "We ask you to put right a 32-year-old injustice by returning verdicts of guilty." Nicola and Karen were sexually assaulted and strangled in a woodland den in Wild Park, Brighton, in October 1986. The Babes in the Wood moniker, inspired by the popular fairytale and pantomime, was coined by the Press to describe how nine-year-olds Nicola and Karen were found huddled together in a woodland den. It emerged in the retrial that the 18-year-olds who found the girls never actually saw the bodies and made up the description, partly to provide comfort to their families. Within three years of their deaths, Bishop was jailed for life for the kidnap, sexual assault and attempted murder of a seven-year-old girl at Devils Dyke on the South Downs. Mr Altman highlighted similarities between the two cases, while defence barrister Joel Bennathan QC asserted there were also differences. On the 1990 attack, Mr Bennathan said: "They are awful offences, and anyone coming to this who did not have the benefit of Your Lordship's directions would probably think you don't come back from that. "You don't do what happened to that little girl in 1990 and pop up in a trial and expect a fair trial. "Once you know what happened in 1990 that will do, that's enough, don't worry about the rest. "Ladies and gentlemen, we say no." Lorna Heffron, the families’ spokeswoman, said: “Nicola and Karen. Our beautiful girls. We will never forget their smiles that would light up a room. Their laughter. Their cheekiness. “During the past eight weeks, we have endured re-living the horrific details of their murders and we have learned an awful lot about the true meaning of heartbreak all over again. “We stand here as two families united in our grief. United in our fight for justice. And now united in our elation at today’s guilty verdict. We are extremely relieved and grateful that our 32 years hard fought battle has been a success, finally getting the rightful long-awaited justice for both of our girls. “We want to thank our police teams and counsel, who have been fantastic during the past couple of decades. If it wasn’t for their efforts and dedication working with us, we wouldn’t be stood here today. "Together we have changed history with this ‘double jeopardy’ ruling and we finally have the correct outcome – Russell Bishop remains behind bars where he belongs. “The guilty verdict doesn’t bring Nicola and Karen back, but we know that other children are now safe from the hands of Russell Bishop. He is a monster. A predatory paedophile. Russell Bishop truly is evil personified.” Mr Bennathan suggested Bishop had cut short his evidence in the trial because he was "wound up" by the prosecutor. He said: "The 1990 offences are an entirely proper area of questioning but it is also blindingly obvious from the word go it was winding Mr Bishop up." Likewise, asking Bishop about "deeply personal" love letters to a 13-year-old girl while he was in jail awaiting trial in 1987 was also winding him up, the barrister asserted. Bishop chose not to attend court to hear the closing speeches in the trial. Nigel Pilkington, Senior District Crown Prosecutor in CPS South East, said: “Today’s guilty verdicts mark the end of a 32-year fight for justice for the families of Karen and Nicola. “In order to bring Russell Bishop to justice, the CPS demonstrated to the Court of Appeal there was new and compelling evidence against him in the form of forensic material. “The prosecution then showed the jury how Bishop attempted to conceal his crimes through his lies and, crucially, modern forensic science. "This included DNA evidence which provided a one-in-a-billion DNA match to a sweatshirt Bishop was wearing and which was at the scene of the murders. “Our thoughts today are with Karen and Nicola’s families, who have shown remarkable resilience throughout this ordeal over the last 32 years.” In 2003, Parliament changed the law to allow acquitted defendants to face trial again if there was "new and compelling evidence". ||||| The “babes in the wood” killer, Russell Bishop, has been jailed for life and ordered to serve a minimum of 36 years for the murder or two schoolgirls more than three decades ago. Bishop, now 52, sexually assaulted and strangled Karen Hadaway and Nicola Fellows in October 1986, when they were nine, in woods about half a mile from Moulsecoomb, the area of Brighton where the girls lived. Sentencing him at the Old Bailey, in London, on Tuesday, Mr Justice Sweeney said: “I have no doubt that you were a predatory paedophile. The terror that each girl must have suffered in their final moments is unimaginable.” The breakthrough in the longest running case in the history of Sussex police came when scientific advances led to DNA evidence providing what the Crown Prosecution Service described as a “one-in-a-billion” match linking Bishop, a convicted paedophile, to a sweatshirt found at the scene of the murders. Bishop had been found not guilty in 1987 but after the new evidence emerged the acquittal was quashed, paving the way for a retrial. On Monday, after an eight-week trial, Bishop was convicted, ending the families’ 32-year fight for justice. Bishop returned to live in the Brighton area after his acquittal, but less than three years later, in February 1990, he committed offences involving the attempted murder, kidnapping and indecent assault of a seven-year-old girl in the Whitehawk area of the city. After she identified Bishop as her attacker, he was convicted in December 1990. The court heard that fibre transfers linked Bishop’s sweatshirt to Karen and Nicola, the murder scene and his home. The court heard that he punched Nicola in the face to “subdue” or “punish” her for being disrespectful to his teenage girlfriend earlier that day. Bishop tried to explain the forensic evidence by claiming he had touched the girls to feel for a pulse on the day after the killings, when he had joined the search for them and was nearby when they were found. However, two teenagers who had spotted the bodies insisted he could not have been that close to them. Bishop’s defence team, under his instructions, also cast suspicion on Nicola’s father, Barrie, reducing the 69-year-old to tears. In a victim impact statement, Karen’s mother, Michelle, described Bishop as an “evil monster” and said having to go through a second trial was “traumatic and heartbreaking”. Sue Eismann, Nicola’s mother, said the death of her daughter had turned her world upside down and spoke of her “sheer hate” for Bishop. ||||| Bishop denied murder, claiming the evidence could have been contaminated. Tests on a sample from Karen’s left forearm also revealed a “one in a billion” DNA match to Bishop. A sweatshirt discarded on Bishop’s route home was linked to the defendant by DNA, while fibre, paint and traces of ivy placed it at the murder scene in Wild Park. While serving life for attempted murder, Bishop, now 52, was ordered to face a fresh trial under the double jeopardy law in light of a DNA breakthrough. His fresh conviction will see him serve a minimum of 36 years for the two murders. Bishop was 20 years old when he sexually assaulted and strangled the girls in a woodland den in Brighton. He was cleared of their murders in 1987 but within three years went on to kidnap, molest and strangle a seven-year-old girl. PA Ready News UK Nine-year-olds Nicola Fellows and Karen Hadaway were found dead in a woodland den in Brighton in 1986 But the jury rejected his defence and convicted him at the Old Bailey after just two and a half hours, on the anniversary of Bishop’s original acquittal. Bishop refused to attend court for his sentencing at the Old Bailey. Sentencing, Mr Justice Sweeney said: “I have no doubt that you were a predatory paedophile. “The terror that each girl must have suffered in their final moments is unimaginable.” Members of the girls’ families wept and hugged each other after the verdict. Karen’s mother Michelle Hadaway said Bishop was an “evil monster”. In a victim impact statement, she said: “Finally justice has been done and Bishop has been seen as the evil monster he really is. “On October 15 this year he was tried for the second time. That trial has lasted for a couple of months and has finally led to conviction. This is the result we should have had 31 years ago. Having to go through a second trial has been traumatic and heartbreaking for me and my family.” Sue Eismann, Nicola’s mother, told how her world “turned upside down” after the death of her daughter. On her feelings about Bishop, she said: “I have lived with the pain, the loss and sheer hate towards him for what he had done for the last 32 years. “Russell Bishop is a horrible, wicked man. No child is safe if he is allowed to be free.” Barrie Fellows said the loss of Nicola destroyed his relationship with his wife, saying it “tore us apart”. On the false accusations he has faced over the murders, he said: “Thirty-two years is a long time to be suspected of murdering your daughter. When they arrested and charged Russell Bishop I thought that would be the end and we would get some closure. It did not pan out like that. “Since the trial began I have been through every feeling imaginable from hope to sheer dread. “Words cannot describe how I feel about Russell Bishop and the effect it has had on people’s lives.” Members of the girls’ families were embraced by jurors who had all turned up to see Bishop sentenced in his absence. Afterwards, Detective Superintendent Jeff Riley, of Sussex Police, said: “Russell Bishop is a truly wicked man and the life sentence with a minimum term of 36 years reflects the true magnitude of the terrible crimes against these two young girls. “Bishop will hopefully spend the remainder of his life behind bars where he truly belongs and never darken the streets of Brighton again. “This significant term of imprisonment will of course never make up for the loss of Karen and Nicola but I hope their families will take some comfort from it.” - 1984: Russell Bishop is arrested for the Grand Hotel bombing but later found not to be connected. - October 9 1986: Nicola Fellows and Karen Hadaway go missing while out playing in Wild Park, Brighton, after school. Bishop is seen in the area shortly before. - October 10 1986: Bishop and his dog Misty join the search which ends when two 18-year-olds find their bodies in a woodland den. - October 31 1986: Bishop, who had already been spoken to by police, is formally arrested and interviewed under caution. - December 3 1986: He is remanded in custody after being charged with the murders. - December 7 1987: Bishop’s 16-year-old girlfriend Marion Stevenson first is plied with champagne and interviewed by the News of the World (NotW) at a hotel. - December 10 1987: Bishop is acquitted of the murders. - December 13 1987: NotW publishes a story in which Stevenson claims she saw a video of Nicola in bed with a man and that Bishop’s home had been bugged. - 1988: Stevenson first alleges to police that Nicola’s father Barrie Fellows watched a video of his daughter being abused by the lodger Dougie Judd. - February 4 1990: Bishop abducts a seven-year-old girl and sexually assaults and throttles her, leaving her for dead at Devil’s Dyke. - December 13 1990: Bishop is convicted of her attempted murder and sentenced to life. - December 20 1993: The Pinto sweatshirt is taken to Aldermaston to be examined by forensic scientists. DNA testing at this stage is unsuccessful. - February 1994: Bishop serves an unsuccessful writ against Sussex Police and gives evidence at the High Court. - 1998: Karen’s father Lee Hadaway dies without seeing his daughter’s killer brought to justice. - July 23 2002: The Pinto is submitted to the Forensic Science Service to examine a bloodstained cuff, prompted by a Parole Board hearing. - 2003: The law on double jeopardy is passed, paving the way for Bishop’s acquittal to be quashed if new evidence can be found. - August 2003: Results of DNA testing on the Pinto indicate more than two contributors, but are considered unsuitable for comparison against the National DNA Database. - December 2005: More forensic work is carried out and fibres provide “very strong support” for the suggestion the Pinto was linked to Bishop’s home. Hairs from the Pinto are also linked to Bishop. But the CPS concluded the evidence is not yet strong enough for a retrial. - 2007: Stevenson is interviewed again by police and gives conflicting accounts about the Nicola video. Barrie Fellows and Dougie Judd are interviewed but never charged with any offence. - 2011: A further forensic review is led by LGC Limited in Abingdon, Oxfordshire. - August 2012: Cold case specialist Roy Green, from LGC, receives boxes of retained material from the Forensic Archive, including tapings from the post-mortem examinations of the girls. - November 2013: Detective Superintendent Jeff Riley is appointed senior investigating officer in the cold case. Green informs police he has an almost complete DNA profile matching Bishop on the right cuff of the Pinto. - Mid-2015: Senior scientific adviser Rosalyn Hammond concludes the DNA on the cuff cannot be relied on, due to the possibilities of inadvertent transfer. - June 2015: Green finds fibres and DNA linking Bishop and the victims to the Pinto sweatshirt. Bishop’s DNA was found on a swab from Karen’s left forearm. Dr Louisa Marsh connects the girls to the Pinto by paint flecks, also connected with Bishop’s paintwork. - May 10 2016: Bishop is taken from Frankland prison and re-arrested for the murders. - December 12 2017: Bishop is ordered to stand trial for the murders a second time under double jeopardy rules in light of “new and compelling evidence”. - February 2018: Bishop makes his first appearance at the Old Bailey and denies the murders. - October-December 2018: Bishop goes on trial for the murders. - December 10 2018: Bishop is convicted at the Old Bailey of the crimes, on the 31st anniversary of his acquittal in 1987. ||||| Babes in the Woods killer Russell Bishop has been described as an “evil monster” by the families of his two young victims as their 32-year fight for justice came to an end. Bishop was 20 years old when he sexually assaulted and strangled nine-year-olds Nicola Fellows and Karen Hadaway in a woodland den in Brighton. He was cleared of their murders on December 10 1987 but within three years went on to kidnap, molest and throttle a seven-year-old girl, leaving her for dead at Devils Dyke on the edge of the Sussex seaside city. While serving life for attempted murder, Bishop, now 52, was ordered to face a fresh trial under the double jeopardy law in light of a DNA breakthrough. A sweatshirt discarded on Bishop’s route home was linked to the defendant by DNA while fibre, paint and ivy hairs placed it at the murder scene in Wild Park. Tests on a sample from Karen’s left forearm also revealed a “one in a billion” DNA match to Bishop. Bishop denied murder, claiming the evidence could have been contaminated. But the jury rejected his defence and convicted him at the Old Bailey after just two and a half hours, on the anniversary of Bishop’s original acquittal. Members of the girls’ families wept and hugged each other as the the verdict was delivered. Afterwards, Karen’s mother Michelle Hadaway said Bishop was an “evil monster”. She said: “After 32 years of fighting, we finally have justice for Karen and Nicola. “Time stood still for us in 1986. To us them beautiful girls will always be nine years old. They will never grow up. “What people like Bishop inflict on the families of their victims is a living death.” The Fellows family said: “The guilty verdict doesn’t bring Nicola and Karen back, but we know that other children are now safe from the hands of Russell Bishop. “He is a monster. A predatory paedophile. Russell Bishop truly is evil personified.” The case, dubbed Babes in the Woods murders, shocked the nation in 1986 and blighted the tight-knit community of Moulsecoomb, on the edges of the South Downs in Brighton. It is believed to be the oldest double jeopardy case and Sussex Police’s longest-running murder inquiry. Nicola was a friendly, outgoing girl who would speak her mind, while Karen was sensible, but could also be cheeky, according to their parents. Both were afraid of the dark and Nicola’s father had banned her from playing in Wild Park, even saying the “bogeyman” lived there, the court heard. At around dusk on October 9 1986, Bishop spotted the girls playing in the park near their home and seized his opportunity, the prosecution said. During the attack, he punched Nicola in the face, to “subdue” or “punish” her for being disrespectful to his teenage girlfriend earlier that day, Brian Altman QC suggested. The prosecutor pointed out Bishop’s violent nature, saying he slapped his partner Jennie Johnson when she was pregnant with their second child. The day after the killings, Bishop joined the desperate search for the children, claiming his dog Misty was a trained tracker. He was nearby when two 18-year-olds spotted the bodies and rushed ahead of a police officer. Afterwards, he gave conflicting accounts to police and produced a series of fake alibis. But he described details of the murder scene which only the killer could have known, including foam around the mouth of one of the girls. In the original trial, the prosecution said the girls must have been killed before 6.30pm, by which time Bishop had been seen heading home on foot and the girls were spotted outside a fish and chip shop. But in the retrial, jurors heard the time of death could have been later and Bishop simply doubled back to intercept the children, both of whom he knew. Bishop tailored his defence to the new forensic evidence, claiming he touched the girls to feel for a pulse, even though the 18-year-olds insisted he never got near. Acting on instructions, his defence team cast suspicion on Nicola’s father Barrie, suggesting police spent 32 years investigating the wrong man. During the two-month trial Nicola’s father Mr Fellows, 69, had been reduced to tears over the claims against him. Bishop’s defence also cast doubt on the forensic evidence, suggesting it could have been contaminated. In his 1987 trial, Ms Johnson denied the blue sweatshirt belonged to her partner in the witness box, having previous identified it. In light of the guilty verdict, Sussex Police has refused to rule out investigating her for perjury 31 years later. While Bishop refused to attend court for the verdict, mothers Mrs Hadaway, 61, and Susan Eismann, 69, sat through harrowing evidence for a second time. Karen’s heartbroken father Lee Hadaway died without seeing his daughter’s killer brought to justice. Adjourning sentencing until Tuesday, Mr Justice Sweeney paid tribute to the families’ “extraordinary diginity” throughout the trial. Nigel Pilkington, of Crown Prosecution Service South East, said Bishop was an “extremely dangerous man” who had been convicted on “overwhelming and incontrovertible” evidence. He said: “He is a violent predatory paedophile and he gets cross when you call him that. He also considers himself to be a victim in the sense of the 1990 conviction.” He said Bishop had tried to blame Nicola’s father to create “the most havoc” possible, adding: “There is not a shred of evidence against Barrie Fellows, not realistically at all.” He said: “I still feel it’s a shadow over Brighton to this day. I’m very proud of the investigation we have put together. We have been meticulous. “We have never given up on this investigation.” ||||| Paedophile Russell Bishop has been handed a life sentence after being convicted of the 1986 Babes in the Woods murder in Brighton. Bishop, 52, was sentenced to life in prison at the Old Bailey today (December 11) and must serve a minimum of 36 years. Yesterday (December 10), a jury found him guilty of murdering nine-year-olds Karen Hadaway and Nicola Fellows in Wild Park, Moulsecoomb 32 years ago. Related stories: Russell Bishop found guilty of murdering two schoolgirls in Brighton – 30 years after being acquitted Families of murdered Brighton schoolgirls ‘united in grief’ after Russell Bishop is convicted He was convicted of killing the girls this week having previously been acquitted of their murders more than 30 years ago. A change in the law on double jeopardy and new forensic evidence meant the case could go before a jury for the second time. Bishop had been serving a life sentence after being convicted of kidnapping, indecent assault and attempted murder for a separate case involving a girl in Brighton in 1990. Lorna Heffron, the spokeswoman for Karen and Nicola’s families, said: ““We stand here as two families united in our grief. United in our fight for justice. And now united in our elation at today’s guilty verdict. We are extremely relieved and grateful that our 32 years hard fought battle has been a success, finally getting the rightful long-awaited justice for both of our girls. “We want to thank our police teams and counsel, who have been fantastic during the past couple of decades. If it wasn’t for their efforts and dedication working with us, we wouldn’t be stood here today. Together we have changed history with this ‘double jeopardy’ ruling and we finally have the correct outcome – Russell Bishop remains behind bars where he belongs. “The guilty verdict doesn’t bring Nicola and Karen back, but we know that other children are now safe from the hands of Russell Bishop. He is a monster. A predatory paedophile. Russell Bishop truly is evil personified.” ||||| Babes in the Woods "monster" Russell Bishop has been jailed for at least 36 years for the murders of two schoolgirls 32 years ago. The 52-year-old convicted paedophile was found guilty of killing nine-year-olds Nicola Fellows and Karen Hadaway, bringing to an end two families' long fight for justice. Bishop was 20 years old when he sexually assaulted and strangled the girls in a woodland den in Brighton in October 1986. He was cleared of their murders on December 10 1987 but within three years went on to kidnap, molest and throttle a seven-year-old girl, leaving her for dead at Devils Dyke. While serving life for attempted murder, Bishop, now 52, was ordered to face a fresh trial under the double jeopardy law, in light of a DNA breakthrough. A Pinto sweatshirt discarded on Bishop's route home was linked to the defendant by DNA, while fibre, paint and ivy transfers placed it at the scene. Tests on a sample from Karen's left forearm also revealed a "one in a billion" DNA match to Bishop. Bishop responded by trying to cast suspicion on Nicola's devastated father Barrie. He tailored his evidence to counter the new forensic evidence, claiming to have touched the bodies to feel for a pulse after they were found by two 18-year-olds. But jurors took just two-and-a-half hours to see through the web of lies and convict Bishop on the "overwhelming" evidence on the 31st anniversary of his acquittal. Bishop refused to attend court for his sentencing at the Old Bailey. Handing him a life sentence on Tuesday with a minimum term of 36 years, Mr Justice Sweeney said: "I have no doubt that you were a predatory paedophile. "The terror that each girl must have suffered in their final moments is unimaginable." Members of the girls' families wept and hugged each other after the verdict. Karen's mother Michelle Hadaway said Bishop was an "evil monster". In a victim impact statement, she said: "Finally Justice has been done and Bishop has been seen as the evil monster he really is. "On October 15 this year he was tried for the second time. That trial has lasted for a couple of months and has finally led to conviction. This is the result we should have had 31 years ago. Having to go through a second trial has been traumatic and heartbreaking for me and my family." Sue Eismann, Nicola's mother, told how her world "turned upside down" after the death of her daughter. On her feelings about Bishop, she said: "I have lived with the pain, the loss and sheer hate towards him for what he had done for the last 32 years. "Russell Bishop is a horrible, wicked man. No child is safe if he is allowed to be free." Barrie Fellows said the loss of Nicola destroyed his relationship with his wife, saying it "tore us apart". On the false accusations he has faced over the murders, he said: "Thirty-two years is a long time to be suspected of murdering your daughter. When they arrested and charged Russell Bishop I thought that would be the end and we would get some closure. It did not pan out like that. "Since the trial began I have been through every feeling imaginable from hope to sheer dread. "Words cannot describe how I feel about Russell Bishop and the effect it has had on people's lives." ||||| Paedophile Russell Bishop has been handed a life sentence after being convicted of the 1986 Babes in the Woods murder in Brighton. Bishop, 52, was sentenced to life in prison at the Old Bailey today (December 11) and must serve a minimum of 36 years. Yesterday (December 10), a jury found him guilty of murdering nine-year-olds Karen Hadaway and Nicola Fellows in Wild Park, Moulsecoomb 32 years ago. Related stories: Russell Bishop found guilty of murdering two schoolgirls in Brighton – 30 years after being acquitted Families of murdered Brighton schoolgirls ‘united in grief’ after Russell Bishop is convicted He was convicted of killing the girls this week having previously been acquitted of their murders more than 30 years ago. A change in the law on double jeopardy and new forensic evidence meant the case could go before a jury for the second time. Bishop had been serving a life sentence after being convicted of kidnapping, indecent assault and attempted murder for a separate case involving a girl in Brighton in 1990. Lorna Heffron, the spokeswoman for Karen and Nicola’s families, said: ““We stand here as two families united in our grief. United in our fight for justice. And now united in our elation at today’s guilty verdict. We are extremely relieved and grateful that our 32 years hard fought battle has been a success, finally getting the rightful long-awaited justice for both of our girls. “We want to thank our police teams and counsel, who have been fantastic during the past couple of decades. If it wasn’t for their efforts and dedication working with us, we wouldn’t be stood here today. Together we have changed history with this ‘double jeopardy’ ruling and we finally have the correct outcome – Russell Bishop remains behind bars where he belongs. “The guilty verdict doesn’t bring Nicola and Karen back, but we know that other children are now safe from the hands of Russell Bishop. He is a monster. A predatory paedophile. Russell Bishop truly is evil personified.” After sentencing, Detective Superintendent Jeff Riley said: “Russell Bishop is a truly wicked man and the life sentence with a minimum term of 36 years reflects the true magnitude of the terrible crimes against these two young girls. “Bishop will hopefully spend the remainder of his life behind bars where he truly belongs and never darken the streets of Brighton again. “This significant term of imprisonment will of course never make up for the loss of Karen and Nicola but I hope their families will take some comfort from it.” ||||| After 32 years, paedophile Russell Bishop has finally been convicted of the "babes in the wood" murders after advanced forensic techniques revealed his DNA linked him to his young victims through a discarded sweatshirt. The jury heard new evidence showed he had left skin flakes containing his DNA - a billion-to-one match - on the arm of the girls he sexually assaulted, strangled and dumped in a woodland den. Nigel Pilkington, senior lawyer for the Crown Prosecution Service, said: "The pathologist took a taping from Karen's left forearm that has been kept in the archive as a matter of historical fact. "It's just been there. It's like a piece of Sellotape, you can't see anything. "There is no blood there, but after 32 years it revealed its secret which is that it contained Bishop's DNA." In police interviews in 1986 and on his rearrest in 2016, Bishop changed his story several times about whether he touched the girls' bodies after joining the two young men who found them. Confronted with the new evidence of his DNA on Karen's arm, he eventually claimed he had taken her pulse to see if she was still alive. In a bid to ensure Bishop did not get away with the girls' murder again, Sussex Police brought in the same cold case forensics team which had helped convict the racist killers of black teenager Stephen Lawrence. In retesting the sweatshirt, investigators found another billion-to-one match to Bishop's DNA. They also found its fibres on the clothes of victims Nicola Fellows and Karen Hadaway and fibres from their clothes on the sweatshirt. The sweatshirt had on it Bishop's hairs and fibres from clothes taken from his home. It also contained fragments of maroon paint from a car he had resprayed. Similar paint fragments were also found on the girls' clothes. The sweatshirt was spotted by searchers on grass not far from the murder scene in Wild Park and on Bishop's route home from there. He claimed the sweatshirt was not his. There was other forensic evidence from an expert from the Royal Botanical Gardens in Kew, who examined ivy hairs found on the sweatshirt and the girls' clothes. She concluded they matched ivy that grew prolifically in the den where the bodies were found. Prosecutor Brian Altman said: "The science alone is quite simply so overwhelming as to prove not only that this defendant wore the sweatshirt, but also that it was worn by him when he killed those two girls." Also crucial in the prosecution case was the evidence that three years after his original acquittal for the murders, Bishop kidnapped, sexually assaulted and tried to kill another young girl. Unusually, jurors were given details of the conviction, for which Bishop is still in jail. None of this would have counted for anything until the scrapping of the double jeopardy law in 2005. The abolition meant that suspects could in future be tried twice for the same offence, so long as there was "new, compelling, reliable and substantial evidence". ||||| A convicted paedophile who was found guilty of murdering two nine-year-old girls in 1986 has been jailed for life. Russell Bishop, 52, was tried for the second time over the deaths of Nicola Fellows and Karen Hadaway when new evidence linked him to the crime after he was cleared of their murders in 1987. The girls were sexually assaulted and strangled in a den in Wild Park, Brighton, more than three decades ago. He was jailed for life with a minimum term of 36 years. Bishop declined to attend the Old Bailey to hear his sentencing. He was initially acquitted of the murders but tests revealed a "one-in-a-billion" DNA match from a sample taken from Karen's left forearm. A Pinto sweatshirt which had been discarded on Bishop's route home was linked to him by DNA, while fibre, paint and ivy transfers placed it at the scene of the crime. Their mothers described Bishop, who was aged 20 at the time, as an "evil monster" after 32 years of fighting for justice. Speaking after the Old Bailey verdict, 31 years to the day Bishop was first acquitted, Karen's mother Michelle Hadaway said she was "relieved". Although Bishop, a former roofer, was originally cleared of the "babes in the wood" murders, within three years he was sentenced to life for the kidnap, sexual assault and attempted murder of a seven-year-old girl at Devil's Dyke on the South Downs. Giving evidence earlier in the trial, Bishop said he feared he would be blamed when he joined the search to find the girls on 10 October 1986. He told jurors he had been wrongly arrested in connection to a bombing at the Grand Hotel in Brighton, and said he had been "sickened" when he first saw the victims' bodies in the woods after the girls had been found. He had also tried to cast suspicion on Nicola's father Barrie. A jury at the Old Bailey took just two-and-a-half-hours to convict Bishop. Mr Justice Sweeney said: "I have no doubt that you were a predatory paedophile. "The terror that each girl must have suffered in their final moments is unimaginable." Sue Eissman, Nicola's mother, said: "I have lived with the pain, the loss and sheer hate towards him for what he had done for the last 32 years. "Russell Bishop is a horrible, wicked man. No child is safe if he is allowed to be free." Mr Fellows, Nicola's father, who had been accused of the murders, said: "Thirty-two years is a long time to be suspected of murdering your daughter. When they arrested and charged Russell Bishop I thought that would be the end and we would get some closure. It did not pan out like that. "Since the trial began I have been through every feeling imaginable from hope to sheer dread. "Words cannot describe how I feel about Russell Bishop and the effect it has had on people's lives." | Russell Bishop is convicted of the murder of Karen Hadaway and Nicola Fellows. He had been tried and found not guilty of the crimes in 1987, but the acquittal was quashed as new evidence in the form of DNA was now available. Bishop had been convicted in December 1990 of the abduction, indecent assault and attempted murder of a seven-year-old girl in February of that year. |
STRASBOURG, France — A massive manhunt involving hundreds of police and soldiers was underway Wednesday for a suspected extremist who yelled “God is great!” in Arabic during a shooting spree around one of Europe’s most famous Christmas markets. The assault in the eastern French city of Strasbourg killed two, left one person brain dead and injured 12 others, authorities said. Police union officials identified the suspected assailant as Frenchman Cherif Chekatt, a 29-year-old with a thick police record for crimes including armed robbery and monitored as a suspected religious radical by the French intelligence services. The two officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to publicly discuss details of the large and ongoing investigation into the attack that set France on edge anew. The suspect’s parents and two brothers, also known for radicalism, have been detained, according to a judicial official. Reflecting Strasbourg’s international nature, the dead included a Thai tourist, and an Italian was reportedly among the wounded. The U.S. government, among others, warned citizens in the area to be vigilant. The city is home to the European Parliament and considers itself a capital of Europe — and promotes itself as the “capital of Christmas.” Some 720 members of the security forces were hunting for the suspected gunman Wednesday. Prosecutor Remy Heitz said the suspect was shot in the arm during an exchange of fire with French soldiers during his rampage in the city center on Tuesday. He then took a taxi to another part of the city, boasting of the attack to the driver. There, he exchanged more gunfire with police and disappeared. Heitz said the man attacked his victims with a handgun and a knife. Previously, French authorities had said the assailant killed three people, but Heitz said two people were confirmed dead while the third was brain dead. A further 12 people were injured, six of them gravely. Witnesses described shots and screams after the gunman opened fire around the Christmas market Tuesday evening. They also reported that the assailant yelled “God is great!” in Arabic during the attack, the prosecutor added. For several hours swaths of the city were under lockdown. Senior Interior Ministry official Laurent Nunez said the suspect had been radicalized in prison and had been monitored by French intelligence services since his release in late 2015, because of his suspected religious extremism. Nunez said on France-Inter radio that police sought to arrest the man on Tuesday morning, hours before the shooting, in relation to an attempted murder. He was not at home but five other people were detained, authorities said. Heitz said police seized a grenade, a rifle and knives during the operation. The government raised the security alert level and sent police reinforcements to Strasbourg, where hundreds of police and soldiers were involved in the search. A terrorism investigation was opened, but the motive of the attack is unclear. At Chekatt’s apartment, in an outer neighborhood of Strasbourg, the lock of the door was broken at his apartment. Police were guarding the building. A neighbor, who asked not to be named because the gunman was still at large, said he was rarely home. She said she last saw him Monday from her window, which looks out on a common hallway, and he was with another man. Young men from the apartment block said they knew him as someone who seemed destabilized by his time in prison. “You can just tell,” said one, lightly touching the side of his head. They, too, feared being publicly named because the gunman is still being hunted by police. The suspected attacker’s more than two dozen convictions also included crimes in Germany and Switzerland, according to court documents seen by The Associated Press. The German government says it has stepped up controls on the country’s border with France following the attack, but sees no change to the threat level in Germany. Strasbourg’s Christmas market attracts visitors from around the world. A Thai national, 45-year-old Anupong Suebsamarn, was one of the two killed, according to a Thai Foreign Ministry spokeswoman. The English-language website of the newspaper Khao Sod said Anupong was the owner of a noodle factory in Chachoengsao province, east of Bangkok, and also sold clothes in the Thai capital’s garment district. It quoted his uncle as saying he and his wife had originally planned to visit Paris, but the “yellow vest” protests there prompted them to change plans and go to Strasbourg instead. Italian media say Antonio Megalizzi, 28, was among the wounded, and is in critical condition. Italian daily La Repubblica reports that he was in Strasbourg to follow the European Parliamentary session. The attack is a new blow to France, which saw a wave of Islamic extremist killings in 2015 and 2016. It came amid a month of protests against President Emmanuel Macron that have blocked roads around the country, led to rioting in the capital and put heavy strain on police. While authorities urged people in the area to stay inside after Tuesday’s attack, Strasbourg Mayor Roland Ries told BFM television Wednesday that “life must go on” so that the city doesn’t cede to a “terrorist who is trying to disrupt our way of life.” Many of Europe’s deadliest terror attacks in recent years have taken place in France. In response to Tuesday’s shooting, the government decided to take the country’s attack risk up a level on the official threat index. Leicester and Corbet reported from Paris. Angela Charlton in Paris, Geir Moulson in Berlin, Kaweewit Kaewjinda in Bangkok and Colleen Barry in Milan also contributed to this report. ||||| Hundreds of security forces have combed eastern France for a 29-year-old man suspected of opening fire near Strasbourg’s famous Christmas market. Tuesday night’s attack at the Christmas market in Strasbourg killed two people, left a third brain-dead and injured 12, and was a stark reminder to a nation wounded by previous assaults that terrorism remains a threat, even as anti-government protests roil the country. National police distributed a photo of the wounded fugitive, identified as Cherif Chekatt, with the warning: “Individual dangerous, above all do not intervene.” France raised its three-stage threat index to the highest level and bolstered troops around France. Interior Minister Christophe Castaner told politicians that the French native, born in Strasbourg, had run-ins with police starting at age 10 and his first conviction at age 13. Chekatt had been convicted 27 times, mostly in France but also in Switzerland and Germany, for crimes including armed robbery. He had been flagged for extremism and was on a watch list, but the interior minister said “the signs were weak”. “It’s a large zone and the search is difficult,” senior Interior Ministry official Laurent Nunez said on France-Inter radio. Strasbourg is on the border with Germany, where the suspect was convicted in 2016 of breaking into a dental practice and a pharmacy in two towns. Prosecutor Remy Heitz said the man attacked with a handgun and a knife about 8pm local time on Tuesday, and was shot in the arm during an exchange of fire with soldiers during his rampage. He then took a taxi to another part of the city, boasting of the attack to the driver, and later exchanged more gunfire with police and disappeared, Mr Heitz said. Witnesses described shots and screams after the gunman opened fire and yelled “God is great!” in Arabic, the prosecutor added. Swaths of the city were under lockdown for hours. The dead included a Thai tourist, 45-year-old Anupong Suebsamarn, according to Thai Foreign Ministry and the website of the Khao Sod newspaper. It quoted his uncle as saying he and his wife had originally planned to visit Paris, but the protests there prompted them to change plans and go to Strasbourg instead. One Italian was reported to be among the wounded. Italian media said Antonio Megalizzi, 28, was in critical condition. Italian daily La Repubblica reported he was in Strasbourg to follow the session of the European Parliament. After initially reporting that three people had died, authorities revised that and said one was brain-dead, while 12 people were wounded, six of them gravely. About 720 police, soldiers and Swat team officers in Strasbourg were being reinforced with 500 more soldiers and another 1,300 in the coming days to guard public places, especially other Christmas markets, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said after a crisis meeting. The attack in the heart of old Strasbourg, near its famous cathedral and within the Christmas market that draws many tourists, unsettled the border city that also is home to the European Parliament. The German government said it had stepped up controls on the border with France but did not change its threat level. “All terrorist attacks touch all of France, and it’s plain to see each of the attacks have hit a highly symbolic point or moment,” Mr Philippe told parliament. He listed violence since 2015 that killed more than 200: at the Charlie Hebdo satiric newspaper, a Kosher store, restaurants, bars and a concert hall in Paris; along the famed seaside promenade in Nice; and even inside a church in a quiet suburb of the northern city of Rouen, among others. Strasbourg’s Christmas market “is a family and brotherly celebration that speaks about hope and what unites us. It’s this celebration that was hit yesterday by a terrorist act,” he said. The city was in mourning, with candles lit at the site of the attack, and the Christmas market was closed at least through Thursday, according to regional prefect Jean-Luc Marx. The attack came as President Emmanuel Macron sought to take back control of the nation after a month of anti-government protests that have spread violence across the country. It came only 24 hours after he broke a long public silence and appealed for calm amid the mushrooming “yellow vest” protest movement that seeks a better standard of living for ordinary citizens. He offered a package of measures, but it was not clear if that would halt the weekend protests. “The terrorist threat is still at the core of our nation’s life,” government spokesman Benjamin Griveaux quoted Mr Macron as saying at the weekly Cabinet meeting. Interior Ministry official Mr Nunez said Chekatt had been radicalised in prison and had been monitored by French intelligence services since his release in late 2015, because of his suspected religious extremism. Mr Nunez told France-Inter that police went to his apartment in an outer neighbourhood of Strasbourg on Tuesday morning. Authorities said he was not there, although five other people were detained. Police seized a grenade, a rifle and knives in the operation, Mr Heitz said. ||||| BERLIN (AFP) - The suspect in the deadly shooting attack at a Christmas market in eastern France was jailed for burglary in Germany but was not deemed a potentially dangerous Islamist, German authorities said on Wednesday (Dec 12). "For us, he was a blank slate," said a spokeswoman of the Federal Criminal Police Office, which handles cases related to terrorism. An interior ministry spokeswoman also said that there has been no indications suggesting an Islamist link to the suspect. The 29-year-old suspect was sentenced to two years and three months for burglaries in the southwestern city of Mainz and in Baden-Wuerttemberg state farther south, and jailed in 2016. "He served a year in Germany before being expelled to France," a spokesman from Baden-Wuerttemberg's interior ministry told AFP. According to the Tagesspiegel newspaper, the man broke into a dentist practice in Mainz, Rhineland Palatinate state, in 2012, making away with cash, stamps and gold used for teeth fillings. Four years later, he hit a pharmacy in the Lake Constance town of Engen, Baden-Wuerttemberg, pocketing cash. German authorities were on the lookout for the fugitive "along the Rhine" river region, the ministry spokesman said. "But at the moment we do not believe that he has crossed into the country," he added. The gunman opened fire Tuesday evening at the famed Strasbourg Christmas market, which draws thousands of visitors every year. The shooting left two people dead and 13 wounded. French authorities said the attacker had been on their list of extremists and "is actively being hunted by security forces". Meanwhile, German police said they have released three people earlier detained following tipoffs from the public following the Strasbourg attack. The three were in a taxi with French licence plates which was halted on the A1 motorway close to the city Bremen, a police spokesman in Delmenhorst told national news agency DPA. Police said they have been freed after investigations ruled out any connection to the attack in Strasbourg. Police also denied an earlier report that one of the three was masked. ||||| Two people have been murdered and another 12 injured after a terrorist opened fire at a famous Christmas market in Strasbourg. The gunman had been flagged as a possible extremist previously and a massive manhunt is now underway as France raised its terror alert. It was unclear if the market – a popular gathering place and the nucleus of an al-Qaida-linked plot in 2000 – was the intended target. The assailant got inside a security zone around the venue and opened fire from there, Mayor Roland Ries said on BFM television. Initial reports said that four people had been killed and that figure was dropped to three and then again to two. It is not known why there was confusion among the authorities over the number of dead. The market, France’s largest, is set up around the city’s cathedral during the Christmas season. Authorities did not give a motive for the shooting, though prosecutors said they had opened a terrorism investigation. Strasbourg, located in eastern France, is home to the European Parliament, one of several places put on an emergency lockdown after the shooting. The prefect of the Strasbourg region said the man identified as the alleged gunman was on a watch list of potentially radicalised people. Authorities did not name him publicly or provide details such as his age and nationality. Interior Minister Christophe Castaner, who travelled to Strasbourg, said the suspect had convictions in France and Germany for crimes unrelated to terrorism and served time in prison. He did not elaborate. Hours before the shooting, French gendarmes went to the suspect’s home to arrest him, but he wasn’t there, Stephane Morisse of police union FGP said. They found explosive materials during a search, he said. Many of Europe’s deadliest terror attacks in recent years took place in France. In response to Tuesday’s shooting, the government decided to take the country’s attack risk up a level on the official threat index and to send security reinforcements to Strasbourg, Castaner said early Wednesday. Strasbourg, a city about 310 miles east of Paris on France’s border with Germany, promotes itself as the ‘Capital of Christmas’ and the market set up around the local cathedral is a holiday tradition. Two years ago, a Tunisian man drove a hijacked truck into a busy Berlin Christmas market, killing 12 people in the German capital. Some 350 officers and two helicopters were searching for the assailant, who had been radicalised for ‘several years’ and confronted law enforcement officers twice, exchanging fire, while he ‘sowed terror,’ Castaner said. More than seven hours after the bloodshed, the regional prefect said 11 other people were injured, five of them seriously, downgrading Castaner’s earlier count of 12 injured. The shooter was also shot and wounded by soldiers guarding the Christmas market, according to the FGP union’s Morisse. French military spokesman Col. Patrik Steiger said the shooter didn’t seem to be aiming at soldiers patrolling in and around the market, but appeared to target civilians instead. Witnesses described hearing gunshots, screams and shouts of police officers ordering people to stay indoors before the area fell silent and the officers fanned out. ‘I heard two or three shots at around 7.55 p.m., then I heard screams. I got close to the window. I saw people running. After that I closed the shutters. Then I heard more shots, closer this time,’ Yoann Bazard, 27, who lives in central Strasbourg. ‘I thought maybe it’s firecrackers,’ he said, speaking by phone. ‘And then, as it got close, it was really shocking. There were a lot of screams. … There were police or soldiers shouting `Get inside!’ and `Put your hands on your head.” Freelance journalist Camille Belsoeur was at a friend’s apartment when they heard the gunfire, which she at first mistook for firecrackers. ‘We opened the window. I saw a soldier firing shots, about 12 to 15 shots,’ Belsoeur said. Other soldiers yelled for people to stay indoors and shouted `Go home! Go home!” to those outside, he said. Another witness, Peter Fritz, told the BBC one of the people killed was a Thai tourist who was shot in the head and didn’t respond to lengthy attempts to revive him. ‘We tried our best to resuscitate him. We applied CPR. We dragged him into a restaurant close by,’ Fritz said. He said it took more than 45 minutes for an ambulance to arrive, during which time an emergency doctor advised by telephone ‘that any further efforts would be futile.’ The victim ‘is still here in this restaurant but we have abandoned all hope for him,’ Fritz said. France has been hit in recent years with high-profile extremist attacks, including the coordinated attacks at multiple Paris locations that killed 130 people and wounded hundreds in November 2015. A 2016 truck attack in Nice killed dozens. Tuesday’s attack followed four weeks of protests against President Emmanuel Macron that have stretched the police forces deployed to clear blocked roads and to quell rioting, looting and other protest-related mayhem. Macron adjourned a meeting at the presidential palace Tuesday night to monitor the emergency, his office said. The president tweeted ‘Solidarity of the whole nation for Strasbourg, our victims, their families’ and at midnight presided over a meeting at the Interior Ministry’s crisis centre. The office of the Paris prosecutor, who is in charge of France’s terror investigations, said the Strasbourg probe was being conducted on suspicion of murder and attempted murder in relation with a terrorist enterprise. The latter charge suggests officials do not exclude links between the shooter and an extremist cell. Authorities urged the public to remain indoors at the height of the drama. People dining out at restaurants were held in place for hours. So were thousands of basketball fans who attended a game at a sports stadium and European Union lawmakers in the locked down Parliament. They eventually were allowed to leave the buildings. People with nowhere to go were offered shelter in a gymnasium, the prefect tweeted. The Christmas market is set to stay closed Wednesday, when flags in Strasbourg will be flown at half-staff in mourning for the people killed, Mayor Ries said. The attack revived memories of a new millennium terror plot targeting Strasbourg’s Christmas market. Ten suspected Islamic militants were convicted and sentenced to prison in December 2004 for their role in a plot to blow up the market on the New Year’s Eve ushering in 2000.. The Algerian and French-Algerian suspects – including an alleged associate of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden – went on trial in October on charges they were involved in the foiled plot for the attack. They were sentenced to prison terms ranging from one to nine years. ||||| A shooting at France’s largest Christmas market left three dead and 12 wounded Tuesday in what is now being investigated as a terror attack. The gunman, who has not been apprehended, opened fire around 7 p.m. in Place Kleber square in Strasbourg, French news network BFMTV reported. Video posted by the UK Mirror shows screaming shoppers fleeing as shots ring out in the distance. Officials have not revealed the shooter’s name, but have said he has a criminal record and is on France’s “S” watchlist of suspected extremists. He was due to be arrested earlier in the day for a separate attempted murder, sources told the AP. BFM reported the gunman is 29 and a native of Strasbourg. Meanwhile, France’s counter-terror prosecutor was en route to Strasbourg and is exploring charges for murder and attempted murder in relation with a terrorist enterprise. Christmas markets are a popular target for Islamist terror attacks, such as the 2016, ISIS-inspired truck crash in a Berlin holiday market that left 12 dead and 50 injured. Want news about Europe delivered to your inbox? Subscribe to MarketWatch's free Europe Daily newsletter. Sign up here. ||||| Hundreds of officers are searching for a 29-year-old man suspected of shooting three people dead at a Christmas market in Strasbourg. Several others were wounded after a gunman opened fire near Place Kleber, one of the main squares in the city in eastern France. Here’s what we know about the suspect: – The suspect was subject of a ‘fiche S’, literally an S card, which is used by police to flag someone who is considered a threat to national security. Although not grounds for arrest, a fiche S (which stands for state security) allows surveillance. Others who have been flagged under the system include Amedy Coulibaly who killed four hostages at a siege in a Kosher supermarket in 2015, days after the Charlie Hebdo shooting. – Interior minister Christophe Castaner said the suspect was known to police services and had served time in prison in France and Germany for common law offences. – BFMTV said the suspect was known to be part of radicalised networks in Strasbourg and was a “repeat offender” and a “delinquent”. – His home was subject of a search on Tuesday morning as part of investigations into a robbery. He was not in but grenades were found. ||||| A man who had been flagged as a possible extremist sprayed gunfire near the famous Christmas market in the French city of Strasbourg on Tuesday, killing three people, wounding up to a dozen and sparking a massive manhunt when he got away. France immediately raised its terror alert level. It was unclear if the market — a popular gathering place and the nucleus of an al-Qaida-linked plot in 2000 — was the intended target. The assailant got inside a security zone around the venue and opened fire from there, Mayor Roland Ries said on BFM television. The market, France's largest, is set up around the city's cathedral during the Christmas season. Authorities did not give a motive for the shooting, though prosecutors said they had opened a terrorism investigation. Strasbourg, located in eastern France, is home to the European Parliament, one of several places put on an emergency lockdown after the shooting. The prefect of the Strasbourg region said the man identified as the alleged gunman was on a watch list of potentially radicalized people. Authorities did not name him publicly or provide details such as his age and nationality. Interior Minister Christophe Castaner, who traveled to Strasbourg, said the suspect had convictions in France and Germany for crimes unrelated to terrorism and served time in prison. He did not elaborate. Hours before the shooting, French gendarmes went to the suspect's home to arrest him, but he wasn't there, Stephane Morisse of police union FGP said. They found explosive materials during a search, he said. Many of Europe's deadliest terror attacks in recent years took place in France. In response to Tuesday's shooting, the government decided to take the country's attack risk up a level on the official threat index and to send security reinforcements to Strasbourg, Castaner said early Wednesday. Strasbourg, a city about 500 kilometers (310 miles) east of Paris on France's border with Germany, promotes itself as the "Capital of Christmas" and the market set up around the local cathedral is a holiday tradition. Two years ago, a Tunisian man drove a hijacked truck into a busy Berlin Christmas market, killing 12 people in the German capital. Some 350 officers and two helicopters were searching for the assailant, who had been radicalized for "several years" and confronted law enforcement officers twice, exchanging fire, while he "sowed terror," Castaner said. The death toll stood at three early Wednesday, the minister said. Two police union officials said earlier there were four victims. Officials did not explain the conflicting numbers. More than seven hours after the bloodshed, the regional prefect said 11 other people were injured, five of them seriously, downgrading Castaner's earlier count of 12 injured. The shooter was also shot and wounded by soldiers guarding the Christmas market, according to the FGP union's Morisse. French military spokesman Col. Patrik Steiger said the shooter didn't seem to be aiming at soldiers patrolling in and around the market, but appeared to target civilians instead. Witnesses described hearing gunshots, screams and shouts of police officers ordering people to stay indoors before the area fell silent and the officers fanned out. "I heard two or three shots at around 7:55 p.m., then I heard screams. I got close to the window. I saw people running. After that I closed the shutters. Then I heard more shots, closer this time," Yoann Bazard, 27, who lives in central Strasbourg. "I thought maybe it's firecrackers," he said, speaking by phone. "And then, as it got close, it was really shocking. There were a lot of screams. ... There were police or soldiers shouting 'Get inside!' and 'Put your hands on your head.'" Freelance journalist Camille Belsoeur was at a friend's apartment when they heard the gunfire, which she at first mistook for firecrackers. "We opened the window. I saw a soldier firing shots, about 12 to 15 shots," Belsoeur said, Other soldiers yelled for people to stay indoors and shouted 'Go home! Go home!'" to those outside, he said. Another witness, Peter Fritz, told the BBC one of the four people killed was a Thai tourist who was shot in the head and didn't respond to lengthy attempts to revive him. "We tried our best to resuscitate him. We applied CPR. We dragged him into a restaurant close by," Fritz said. He said it took more than 45 minutes for an ambulance to arrive, during which time an emergency doctor advised by telephone "that any further efforts would be futile." The victim "is still here in this restaurant but we have abandoned all hope for him," Fritz said. France has been hit in recent years with high-profile extremist attacks, including the coordinated attacks at multiple Paris locations that killed 130 people and wounded hundreds in November 2015. A 2016 truck attack in Nice killed dozens. Tuesday's attack followed four weeks of protests against President Emmanuel Macron that have stretched the police forces deployed to clear blocked roads and to quell rioting, looting and other protest-related mayhem. Macron adjourned a meeting at the presidential palace Tuesday night to monitor the emergency, his office said. The president tweeted "Solidarity of the whole nation for Strasbourg, our victims, their families" and at midnight presided over a meeting at the Interior Ministry's crisis center. The office of the Paris prosecutor, who is in charge of France's terror investigations, said the Strasbourg probe was being conducted on suspicion of murder and attempted murder in relation with a terrorist enterprise. The latter charge suggests officials do not exclude links between the shooter and an extremist cell. Authorities urged the public to remain indoors at the height of the drama. People dining out at restaurants were held in place for hours. So were thousands of basketball fans who attended a game at a sports stadium and European Union lawmakers in the locked down Parliament. They eventually were allowed to leave the buildings. People with nowhere to go were offered shelter in a gymnasium, the prefect tweeted. The Christmas market is set to stay closed Wednesday, when flags in Strasbourg will be flown at half-staff in mourning for the people killed, Mayor Ries said. The attack revived memories of a new millennium terror plot targeting Strasbourg's Christmas market. Ten suspected Islamic militants were convicted and sentenced to prison in December 2004 for their role in a plot to blow up the market on the New Year's Eve ushering in 2000.. The Algerian and French-Algerian suspects — including an alleged associate of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden — went on trial in October on charges they were involved in the foiled plot for the attack. They were sentenced to prison terms ranging from one to nine years. ||||| The Strasbourg gunman yelled “Allahu Akbar” (“God is greatest” in Arabic) as he opened fire on people enjoying an evening out at a Christmas market, the Paris public prosecutor told reporters. Rémy Heitz said two people had been killed and one left brain-dead after the attack in the eastern French city on Tuesday. Twelve were wounded, six seriously. The man, named by local media as Chérif Chekatt, was known to authorities as having been radicalised in prison. The 29-year-old was armed with a gun and a knife and escaped the area in a taxi, Mr Heitz said. The attacker boasted to the driver – who has spoken to police – that he had killed 10 people, and said he had been injured in a firefight with soldiers. Four people connected to the suspect had been detained overnight in Strasbourg, Mr Heitz added. Sources close to the investigation quoted by Reuters news agency said they were the suspect’s mother, father and two brothers.
• Strasbourg shooting: What we know so far
• Face to face with the gunman Hundreds of officers are currently involved in the search for the gunman. France’s Deputy Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez earlier acknowledged he may no longer be in France. Interior Minister Christophe Castaner said the country had moved to a high level of alert, expanding police powers and increasing vigilance. He added that border controls had been strengthened and security at all Christmas markets would be stepped up. The mayor of Strasbourg, Roland Ries, has said the Christmas market will be closed on Wednesday and flags lowered to half-mast at the local town hall. The attack unfolded at around 20:00 local time (19:00 GMT) on Tuesday close to Strasbourg’s famed Christmas market near one of the central squares, Place Kléber, which attracts thousands of visitors at this time of year. A woman called Audrey told France’s BFM TV how she came face to face with the killer after watching him shoot a man in the head. The gunman then opened fire for a second time, and another man fell to ground. Her friends began to run to safety, but Audrey was frozen to the spot. The gunman turned, and faced her – but then he too ran. “Why didn’t he shoot at me?” she told the TV channel. “I don’t know. I think I was extremely lucky. As everyone was screaming he fled.” According to Mr Heitz, as he fled he came into contact with four soldiers. He began firing at them and they fired back, apparently injuring him. How did he escape? He managed to reach a taxi which drove him away from the scene and dropped him in the vicinity of the police station in Neudorf, the area where he lives which sits on the border between Germany and France. When he got out the vehicle, he fired at police officers. What do we know about the gunman? According to police – who refer to him as Chérif C – the gunman was born in Strasbourg and was already known to the security services as a possible terrorist threat. He was the subject of a “fiche S”, a watchlist of people who represent a potential threat to national security. He also had 27 convictions spanning across France, Germany and Switzerland, and has spent considerable time in prison as a result. Police were seeking him on Tuesday morning in connection with another case, but did not find him at home. However Mr Nuñez said his crimes had never been terrorism-related. But, he added, it was during one period in prison that he was indentified as having become radicalised. “The fact he was a ‘fiche S’ did not pre-judge his level of dangerousness,” Mr Nuñez told France Inter. A search of his home revealed a grenade, a rifle, four knives, two of which were hunting knives, and ammunition. What about the victims? Thai media have named Anupong Suebsamarn, 45, as one of the dead. He is believed to have been on holiday with his wife. Not much else is known yet, apart from the fact no children were hurt and one soldier was slightly injured by a ricocheting bullet. Strasbourg has been the target of jihadist plots in the past. Not only does it have one of France’s oldest Christmas markets, but it is the official seat of the European Parliament. That parliament was in session at the time of Tuesday evening’s attack. In 2000, the Christmas market was at the centre of a failed al-Qaeda plot. Ten Islamist militants were jailed four years later for their part in the planned New Year’s Eve attack. Security has been tight there ever since the 2015 Paris attacks. However, MEPs were determined to carry on the morning after the attack, with German MEP Jo Leinen posting a picture of singing and Christmas lights in the European Parliament. BBC ||||| STRASBOURG, France — A man who had been flagged as a possible extremist sprayed gunfire near the city of Strasbourg’s famous Christmas market Tuesday, killing three people, wounding 12 and sparking a massive manhunt. France immediately raised its terror alert level. It was unclear if the market – a popular gathering place that was the nucleus of an al-Qaida-linked plot in 2000 – was the intended target. The assailant got inside a security zone around the venue and opened fire from there, Mayor Roland Ries said on BFM television. Authorities did not give a motive for the shooting, though prosecutors said they had opened a terrorism investigation. Strasbourg is home to the European Parliament, one of several places that was locked down after the shooting. Authorities said they had identified a suspect, and he had a criminal record. The prefect of the Strasbourg region said the man also was on a watch list of people who had potentially radicalized. No other details about him were disclosed. Hours before the shooting, French gendarmes went to the suspect’s home to arrest him, but he wasn’t there, Stephane Morisse of police union FGP said. They found explosive materials during a search, he said. France, where most of Europe’s worst terror attacks of recent years took place, was raising its terror alert level and sending security reinforcements to Strasbourg, Interior Minister Christophe Castaner said early Wednesday. The attack in Strasbourg came two years after a Tunisian man drove a hijacked truck into a busy Berlin Christmas market, killing 12 people. Strasbourg, which promotes itself as the “Capital of Christmas,” is located on France’s border with Germany, about 500 kilometers (310 miles) east of Paris. The market is set up around the city’s cathedral during the Christmas season. Some 350 security forces and two helicopters were searching for the alleged assailant, who had been radicalized for “several years” and confronted law enforcement officers twice while he “sowed terror” in Strasbourg, Castaner said. The death toll stood at three early Wednesday, he said. Two police union officials said earlier there were four victims. Officials did not explain the conflicting numbers. A dozen more people were wounded, half of them in “absolute emergency” critical condition, Castaner said. The shooter was also shot and wounded by soldiers guarding the Christmas market, according to Stephane Morisse of police union FGP. French military spokesman Col. Patrik Steiger said the shooter didn’t seem to be aiming for the soldiers patrolling in and around the market, but appeared to target civilians instead. Witnesses described hearing gunshots, screams and shouts of police officers ordering people to stay indoors before the area fell silent and the officers fanned out. “I heard two or three shots at around 7:55 p.m. (1855 GMT), then I heard screams. I got close to the window. I saw people running. After that I closed the shutters. Then I heard more shots, closer this time,” Yoann Bazard, 27, who lives in central Strasbourg. “I thought maybe it’s firecrackers,” he said, speaking by phone. “And then, as it got close, it was really shocking. There were a lot of screams. … There were police or soldiers shouting ‘Get inside!’ and ‘Put your hands on your head.'” Freelance journalist Camille Belsoeur was at a friend’s apartment when they heard the gunfire, which she at first mistook for firecrackers. “We opened the window. I saw a soldier firing shots, about 12 to 15 shots,” Belsoeur said, Other soldiers yelled for people to stay indoors and shouted ‘Go home! Go home!'” to those outside, he said. Another witness, Peter Fritz, told the BBC one of the four people killed was a Thai tourist who was shot in the head and didn’t respond to lengthy attempts to revive him. “We tried our best to resuscitate him. We applied CPR. We dragged him into a restaurant close by,” Fritz said. He said it took more than 45 minutes for an ambulance to arrive, during which time an emergency doctor advised by telephone “that any further efforts would be futile.” The victim “is still here in this restaurant but we have abandoned all hope for him,” Fritz said. France previously endured several high-profile extremist attacks, including the coordinated attacks at multiple Paris locations that killed 130 people and wounded hundreds in November 2015. A 2016 truck attack in Nice killed dozens. President Emmanuel Macron adjourned a meeting at the presidential palace Tuesday night to monitor the emergency, his office said, indicating the gravity of the attack. Castaner and the Paris prosecutor, who is in charge of anti-terror probes in France, headed to Strasbourg. The prosecutor’s office said the investigation was being conducted on suspicion of murder and attempted murder in relation with a terrorist enterprise charges, suggesting officials think the alleged shooter may have links to extremists. In multiple neighborhoods of Strasbourg, the French Interior Ministry urged the public to remain indoors. Local authorities tweeted for the public to “avoid the area of the police station,” which is close to the city’s Christmas market. European Parliament spokesman Jaume Duch said that “the European Parliament has been closed and no one can leave until further notice.” It wasn’t immediately clear how many people were inside. The attack revived memories of a new millennium terror plot targeting Strasbourg’s Christmas market. Ten suspected Islamic militants were convicted and sentenced to prison in December 2004 for their role in a plot to blow up the market on the New Year’s Eve ushering in 2000.. The Algerian and French-Algerian suspects – including an alleged associate of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden – went on trial in October on charges they were involved in the foiled plot for the attack. They were sentenced to prison terms ranging from one to nine years. ||||| This article is more than 8 months old This article is more than 8 months old France has upgraded its security threat level as hundreds of police hunted a gunman who shot three people dead and injured 12 others in a terror attack on Strasbourg’s celebrated Christmas market on Tuesday evening. Six hours after the gunman disappeared after firing at passers-by in the busy city centre, the interior minister, Christophe Castaner, said the government had raised the risk level to the highest category. The move would strengthen border controls and bolster protection of Christmas markets and other events. In a statement, Castaner said the gunman had opened fire in three different places in the city before engaging in firefights with patrolling soldiers. “He fought twice with our security forces,” Castaner said. French media reported the man, who was injured in one of the exchanges, then jumped in a taxi and disappeared. Police immediately cut off major roads in and out of the city and launched a massive operation involving 350 police gendarmes and soldiers, as well as helicopters, to find him. French security services said they had identified the gunman as a 29-year-old born in Strasbourg, known to police and also on the “Fiche S” list of potential security threats. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Picture taken with a mobile phone shows rescuers treating an injured person on the streets of Strasbourg. Photograph: Francois D’astier/AFP/Getty Images French media reported that gendarmes had attempted to arrest the man for a separate crime at his home in the Neudorf district of south-east Strasbourg earlier on Tuesday. The suspect was not home, but officers reportedly found grenades in his apartment. Shortly before 8pm local time, the man, armed with an automatic rifle, walked over one of the city’s many bridges around the Grand Île toward the Christmas market, which attracts millions of visitors every year. Witnesses said the man fired a first volley of rounds and then walked down the street before opening fire again. Local resident Yoann Bazard said he heard “two or three shots” and screams; and when he went to his window he saw people running. “After that I closed the shutters. Then I heard more shots, closer this time. There were two or three episodes like that ... As it got close, it was really shocking. There were a lot of screams.” Freelance journalist Camille Belsoeur said he was at a friend’s apartment in the city centre and at first mistook the gunfire for firecrackers. “We opened the window. I saw a soldier firing shots, about 12 to 15 shots,” he said. He said other soldiers yelled for people to stay indoors and shouted “Go home! Go home!” to those outside. One of the dead was said to be a Thai tourist who was shot in the head outside a restaurant. Staff and diners tried to save him but were unsuccessful. Six of the injured were reported to be in a critical condition. The anti-terrorist section of the Paris prosecutor’s office declared the incident to be an act of terrorism and announced an inquiry had been opened into “murder and attempted murder in relation to a criminal enterprise”. The French president, Emmanuel Macron, immediately held a crisis meeting at the interior ministry in Paris. The gunman reportedly shot at soldiers patrolling as part of the nationwide Operation Sentinelle, the French military operation introduced in the aftermath of terrorist attacks in and around Paris in January 2015, and was injured when they fired back. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Rescuers at the scene of gun attack near Strasbourg Christmas Market. Photograph: Murielle Kasprzak/AFP/Getty Images Police asked residents in the centre of Strasbourg to stay at home bars and restaurants were ordered to close and not let customers leave. Hours after the shootings, thousands of people remained unable to leave city centre restaurants, bars, libraries, and other public buildings following police orders for everyone to stay off the streets. About 5,000 people were stuck inside the local sports stadium. The BBC reported the order was lifted in the early hours of Wednesday. The European parliament, which is sitting in Strasbourg, was put on lockdown, and the parliament’s safety awareness division sent a message to MEPs advising those dining in the city centre to “please stay inside and don’t go out”. “[A] decision has been taken, as a precautionary measure, to close the European parliament building in Strasbourg. We ask you to stay calm and safe within [European parliament] premises,” it read. Later, Antonio Tajani, the president of the parliament, said it would not be ‘“intimidated” by terrorism. Antonio Tajani (@EP_President) I express all my sorrow for the victims of the Strasbourg attacks. This Parliament will not be intimidated by terrorist or criminal attacks. Let us move on. We will continue to work and react strengthened by freedom and democracy against terrorist violence. Several MEPs in city centre restaurants reported hearing gunfire. The Yorkshire and Humber MEP Richard Corbett tweeted that he was dining in the city “where shots (were) fired”. The restaurant was “not letting anyone in or out”, he added. Theresa May said she was “shocked and saddened” by the “terrible” attack in Strasbourg. “My thoughts are with all of those affected and with the French people,” the British prime minister tweeted. The local prefecture tweeted that people should avoid the area near the city’s police headquarters and that all access to the A35 motorway bisecting the city was blocked. Police in Germany said they were strengthening controls at the Franco-German border near Strasbourg. The police force of Baden-Württemberg, a state in south-west Germany bordering Strasbourg, tweeted they were taking the extra measures at the border because of the shooting. The transnational tramway between France and Germany was suspended. In the early hours of Wednesday, local prefect Roland Ries announced the Christmas market would be closed on Wednesday and all local cultural events cancelled. France remains on high alert after suffering a wave of attacks commissioned or inspired by Islamic State militants in 2015 and 2016, which killed more than 200 people. Strasbourg’s Christmas market, which started in 1570, is one of France’s most popular seasonal events. The “Grande Ile” where the market is held is surrounded by water, on one side the main channel of the River Ill and the other by the Canal du Faux-Rempart, is accessible only by bridges. Since the Paris terrorist attacks in 2015, the event has been held under high security. Access to the area is controlled and visitors bags are searched. Vehicles are banned from the area. In 2016, a truck was deliberately driven into the Christmas market in Berlin, killing 12 people and injuring 56 others. The perpetrator, Anis Amri, a Tunisian who had failed to gain asylum in Germany, was killed four days later in a shootout with police near Milan in Italy. The attack comes during a period of intense tension across France after four weeks of civil unrest by anti-government protesters from the gilets jaunes movement. | A gunman kills two people and injures 14 others in a mass shooting in Strasbourg, France, during the annual Christmas market. The shooter flees the scene but is identified by police as a known extremist. The incident is being treated as an act of terrorism. |
Image copyright AFP Image caption Cardinal Pell faces trial in Australia on sex abuse charges Two cardinals facing allegations linked to sexual abuse have been removed from Pope Francis's inner circle, the Vatican said. Australia's George Pell and Chile's Francisco Javier Errazuriz will no longer sit on the Council of Cardinals, set up by the pope as an international advice body. The pair were absent from the last meeting of the group in September. A spokesperson said the Pope wrote to them both in October to thank them. Cardinal Pell, who remains the Vatican treasurer, faces trial on sexual abuse charges in Australia - accusations the cardinal strenuously denies. His Chilean colleague, Francisco Javier Errazuriz, faces accusations that he covered up alleged child abuse while serving as Archbishop of Santiago, claims he also denies. Cardinal Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya has also left the group, spokesman Greg Burke said. The 79-year-old recently retired from his role as archbishop of Kinshasa, and has not been implicated in any scandals. The group, known as C9, has no plan to immediately fill its three empty seats, Mr Burke reportedly said. ||||| Pope Francis has removed two prominent clerics from the Council of Cardinal advisers he established five years ago. The Australian and Chilean cardinals, who were among nine princes of the Catholic Church-appointed special counselors to the pope, were implicated in the sexual abuse scandals in the Church. Just two months before a scheduled meeting to discuss how to move forward in the clerical sexual abuse scandals, the removal of the two prominent cardinals is seen as a further embarrassment to the Catholic Church. The Vatican on Wednesday said Pope Francis had written in October to Australian Cardinal George Pell and Cardinal Francisco Javier Errazuriz of Chile thanking them for their work on the council. Pell, a 77-year-old who used to be the Vatican's finance minister, left his job with an indefinite leave of absence to stand trial in his country on sexual abuse charges. The 85-year-old Errazuriz, who used to be archbishop of Santiago, has been accused of covering up abuse. Both men deny the allegations. The Vatican provided no explanation for the removal of the cardinals and no mention was made of the sexual abuse allegations. The recently retired 79-year-old archbishop of Kinshasa, Cardinal Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya, also departed from the Council, although he had not been implicated in any scandal. "After a five-year term, these three have now passed out. For the moment, the pope has not named new cardinals in their place," said Vatican spokesman Greg Burke. Pope Francis established the Council of Cardinals in 2013 to help with reforms he wanted implemented in the various Vatican departments. That work of the council is close to completion. Additionally, Church authorities are working on a new document that outlines the work and mission of the various congregations within the government of the Church. The document is expected to be ready soon. ||||| Vatican City: Pope Francis has removed two cardinals from his informal cabinet amid the Catholic Church's sex abuse and cover-up scandal, shedding embarrassing advisers ahead of a high-stakes Vatican summit on abuse early next year. The Vatican said on Wednesday that Francis in October had written to Cardinal George Pell and Chilean Cardinal Javier Errazuriz thanking them for their five years of service on the so-called Group of Nine, or C-9. Francis also bid farewell to Congolese Cardinal Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya, who hasn't been implicated in the scandal but at age 79 recently retired as archbishop of Kinshasa. Pell, 77, took leave from his job as the Vatican's economy minister to stand trial in Australia on historic charges of sex abuse, which he denies. ||||| VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis has removed two cardinals from his informal Cabinet after they were implicated in the Catholic Church’s sex abuse and cover-up scandal, shedding embarrassing advisers ahead of a high-stakes Vatican summit on abuse early next year. The Vatican said Wednesday that Francis in October had written to Chilean Cardinal Javier Errazuriz and Australian Cardinal George Pell thanking them for their five years of service on the so-called Group of Nine, or C-9. Francis also bid farewell to Congolese Cardinal Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya, who hasn’t been implicated in the scandal but at age 79 recently retired as archbishop of Kinshasa. Errazuriz, 85, has been accused by Chilean abuse survivors of having covered up for predator priests while he was archbishop of Santiago, a charge he has denied. Pell, 77, took leave from his job as the Vatican’s economy minister to stand trial in his native Australia on historic charges of sex abuse, which he denies. Their continued presence on the C-9 had been a source of scandal for Francis, given the explosion of the abuse and cover-up crisis this year. Francis himself was implicated in the scandal after he strongly defended a Chilean bishop accused of covering for the country’s most notorious predator priest – a position he took apparently on Errazuriz’s advice. ||||| Australian Cardinal George Pell has been removed from the Vatican’s informal cabinet by Pope Francis. The Vatican said Wednesday that Francis in October had written to Chilean Cardinal Javier Errazuriz, Congolese Cardinal Laurent Mongengwo and Australian Cardinal George Pell thanking them for their five years of service on the so-called Group of Nine, or C-9. Cardinal Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya, who at age 79 recently retired as archbishop of Kinshasa. Cardinal Pell is facing prosecution for historical sexual offences in the County Court of Victoria. He denies the charges. Francis appointed the C-9 in 2013 to help him reform the Vatican and reorganise its bureaucracy. That work is wrapping up, with the finalising of a new document outlining the work and mission of the various congregations that make up the universal government of the 1.2 billion-strong church. A statement from the Vatican press office noted that the cabinet members asked Francis in September to reflect on the future composition, structure and work of the C-9, taking into consideration especially the advanced ages of some of its members. Though he has been away from Rome since announcing his leave of absence in June 2017, Pell technically remains prefect of the Vatican’s economy secretariat. The Pope was shedding advisers ahead of a high-stakes Vatican summit on abuse early next year. Errazuriz, 85, has been accused by Chilean abuse survivors of having covered up for predator priests while he was archbishop of Santiago, a charge he has denied. Pell, 77, took leave from his job as the Vatican’s economy minister to stand trial in Australia on historic charges of sex abuse, which he denies. Francis himself was criticised after he strongly defended a Chilean bishop accused of covering for the country’s most notorious predator priest - a position he took apparently on the advice of Errazuriz. After Francis realised his errors and apologised, he summoned the presidents of all the world’s bishops conferences to Rome for a three-day meeting in February to discuss protecting young people from paedophiles. That summit has taken on enormous weight given the eruption of the scandal in the US. The Vatican said the three cardinals wouldn’t be replaced on the council. ||||| Australian Cardinal George Pell has been removed from Pope Francis’ inner circle of advisers. The Vatican has confirmed Cardinal Pell, 77, is one of three cardinals who was not reappointed to the Council of Cardinals, known as the C9, which provides high-level international advice to the Pope. A former Archbishop of Melbourne and Sydney, Cardinal Pell retains his role as Treasurer to the Vatican, its third-highest position, although he has been on a leave of absence for 18 months. Chilean Cardinal Francisco Javier Errazuriz and Congolese Cardinal Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya were also not reappointed. Cardinal Errazuriz, 85, has been accused of covering up sexual abuse in his homeland of Chile while he was the Archbishop of Santiago. Cardinal Monsengwo, 79, has recently retired from his role as Archbishop of Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and was not subject to any allegations or controversies. The Vatican said the Pope had decided in late October not to reappoint the three cardinals at the end of their five-year tenures. The Pope’s decision came after a meeting of the C9 in September, which none of the three men attended. However, the Vatican only announced the Pontiff’s decision on Wednesday. Cardinal Pell has been in Australia since July last year. He has health problems which prevent him undertaking long-haul flying and he has not been attending C9 meetings. The Pope is not considering replacing the men at this time, reducing the C9 to C6, according to a bulletin released on Wednesday during another meeting of the Council of Cardinals at Vatican City in Rome. “Following the request expressed from the Cardinals, at the end of the 26th meeting of the Council of Cardinals, following a reflection on the work, the structure and the composition of the same council, keeping also in consideration the advanced age of some members, the Pope, at the end of October, has written to his Eminence Cardinal George Pell, to his Eminence the Cardinal Francisco Javier Errazuriz and to his Eminence the Cardinal Laurent Monsignor Pasinya thanking them for their work in the past five years,’’ the Vatican said. “Considering the timing of the work of the council it is not planned to nominate new members at the moment.’’ Also yesterday, the Director of the Vatican Press Office, Greg Burke, made the following statement, when asked for a comment on Cardinal Pell and the ongoing prosecution for historical child sexual offences in the County Court of Victoria. Cardinal Pell denies the charges. “The Holy See has the utmost respect for Australian judicial authorities.” ||||| Pope Francis has demoted two cardinals over sexual abuse allegations, the BBC reports. The Vatican was said to have identified the Cardinals as: Australia’s George Pell and Chile’s Francisco Javier Errazuriz, were removed from the Pope’s inner circle and will no longer sit on the Council of Cardinals, set up by the pope as an international advisory body. Both demoted cardinals were absent from the last meeting of the group in September. A spokesperson said the Pope wrote to them both in October to thank them. Cardinal George Pell, who remains the Vatican treasurer, faces trial on sexual abuse charges in Australia. He strenuously denies the accusations. Cardinal Francisco Javier Errazuriz, from Chile, has also been accused of covering up alleged child abuse while serving as Archbishop of Santiago. He, however, denied the accusations. ||||| ROME—Pope Francis has removed the three oldest members of his advisory Council of Cardinals, two of them prelates tainted by scandals related to the Catholic Church’s crisis over clerical sex abuse. The Vatican announced Wednesday that the pope had written in October to Australian Cardinal George Pell, 77; Chilean Cardinal Francisco Javier Errázuriz, 85; and Congolese Cardinal Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya, 79, “thanking them for their work over the last five years” and relieving them from their roles on the council. ||||| VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis has removed two cardinals who have been hit by scandals from his group of close advisers, the Vatican said on Wednesday. The two are Cardinal George Pell of Australia and Francisco Javier Errázuriz of Chile. Both have been the subject of allegations related to sexual abuse — accusations they have denied. A third cardinal who had been a member of the so-called C-9, Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya of the Democratic Republic of Congo, was also leaving the group, Vatican spokesman Greg Burke told a briefing on the C-9’s latest meeting, which ended on Wednesday. He said that the pope had written to the trio in October, thanking them for their work. None of the three attended the latest meeting. Pell has taken an indefinite leave of absence from his job as the Vatican’s economy minister to defend himself from prosecution for historical child sexual offences in Australia. Victims of sexual abuse in Chile have accused Errázuriz of covering up abuse by others. ||||| Pope Francis has removed from his group of close advisers two cardinals hit by sexual abuse scandals, including his economy minister, Australian George Pell, the Vatican said on Wednesday. Pell has taken an indefinite leave of absence from his job as head of the Secretariat for the Economy, one of the most powerful posts in the Vatican, to defend himself from prosecution for historical child sexual offences in Australia. Vatican spokesman Greg Burke said: “The Holy See has the utmost respect for Australian judiciary. We are aware that a suppression order is in place (on media reporting on judicial procedures) and we intend to respect it.” Asked if Pell, 77, was still economy minister, Burke suggested he was, saying there had been no announcement to the contrary. The other member removed from the so called C-9 – a group of nine cardinals that meets periodically with the pope in Rome – is Francisco Javier Errázuriz of Chile. Errázuriz, 85, the former archbishop of Santiago, has been accused by abuse survivors in Chile of discrediting victims and not investigating their cases, which he denies. Chile’s sexual abuse scandal prompted all of the country’s 34 bishops to offer their resignation to the pope who has so far accepted seven. A third C-9 cardinal, Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya, 79, of the Democratic Republic of Congo, was also leaving the group, Burke told a briefing on the C-9’s latest meeting, which ended on Wednesday. None of the three attended. Burke said the six remaining members – from Italy, Honduras, the United States, and India, would continue to advise the pope. There were no immediate plans to appoint new members, he said. The pope told Reuters last June in an interview that he planned to use the five-year anniversary of the C-9 to “to renew it a bit”. | Pope Francis removes Australian prelate George Pell and Chilean prelate Francisco Javier Errázuriz Ossa from the Council of Cardinal Advisers. Both are accused of covering up child sexual abuse scandals. Former Archbishop of Kinshasa Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya also leaves the Council for unrelated reasons. |
Three men held in Marrakech as suspicions grow that Islamists were behind killing of two Scandinavian women Danish intelligence services are investigating a video circulating on social media they believe could show the murder of two Scandinavian women killed in Morocco as fears mount that the tourists were killed by extremists linked to Islamic State. The Danish intelligence service, the PET, at first said it had authenticated the video but later rowed back, saying it was still being “examined”. The latest statement came as Moroccan authorities arrested three more suspects over the killings in the Atlas mountains, which have sent shockwaves through a popular tourist destination that has been relatively untouched by Islamist attacks. The Moroccan government spokesman, Mustapha El Khalfi, described the killings as a “criminal and terrorist act”. Investigators have released pictures of the three fugitives, who were identified as Rachid Afatti, Ouaziad Younes and Ejjoud Abdessamad. The three men were arrested in Marrakech as they tried to board a bus to the popular tourist resort of Agadir, according to a national security spokesman, Boubker Sabik, who said police were investigating whether they had terrorist affiliations. Investigators were in the process of “verifying the terrorist motive, which is supported by the evidence and the findings of inquiries”, the central judicial investigations office said. The men were seized with three long machete-like knives, a shorter blade, a slingshot and several mobile phones. Another suspect arrested in Marrakech on Tuesday had affiliations to an extremist group, Moroccan authorities said, and had apparently identified the others involved. Pictures of the three men arrested on the bus also appear to show at least one man bearing a striking similarity to one of four individuals who had recently posted on social media declaring his allegiance to Isis while posing under the group’s flag. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Composite image of the three arrested men, Rachid Afatti, left, Ouaziad Younes, centre, and Ejjoud Abdessamad. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images The discovery of machetes with handles wrapped with electrical tape under the seats of the bus will raise questions of whether they planned a second assault, perhaps in Agadir. The bodies of Louisa Vesterager Jespersen, 24, from Denmark, and Maren Ueland, 28, from Norway, were found on Monday in an isolated area near Imlil, which is on the route to Toubkal, north Africa’s highest peak and a popular hiking destination. According to some local media reports the killers had camped near their victims, about four miles’ hike from the nearest town, and fled the scene after the attack. The bodies were found on Monday by two French women who were hiking near the remote spot where Jespersen and Ueland had pitched their tent. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Louisa Vesterager Jespersen, left, and Maren Ueland. Photograph: vg “We took a picture to show the police where we found them and went down again,” one of the witnesses told the Norwegian tabloid VG. “We warned everyone we saw [in the nearby town of] Imlil from going there. I did not want more to see what we had seen.” In an earlier statement PET said Moroccan authorities had indicated that the killings may be related to Isis. That speculation was fuelled by claims on Morocco’s 2M television network that investigators had linked the first of the four people arrested over the murder to the terror group. Moroccan television broadcast an interview with the brother of one of the three men arrested on the bus who suggested his sibling had been “brainwashed” by militants. “He had no education and was brainwashed,” said the brother adding that his sibling had disappeared a week ago. “He was a normal guy, but was radicalised. What happened has nothing to do with Islam.” The latest claims over the motive came as fresh details emerged of the two women’s last days. They had stayed in a hostel where they encountered a local mountain guide, Rachid Imerhade, who said he had cautioned them about camping alone on their planned ascent of the Toubkal mountain. Moroccan media outlets reported that investigators also had video surveillance footage showing the suspects putting up a tent near the victims’ tent and leaving the area after the killings. The murders can be considered “politically motivated and thus an act of terror”, the Danish prime minister, Lars Løkke Rasmussen, said on Thursday. He said “there are still dark forces that want to fight our values” and “we must not give in”. In Norway, the prime minister, Erna Solberg, said terrorism “is not the only lead that is being investigated in Morocco” but said the case still “emphasises the importance of combating violent extremism”. Jespersen had posted on Facebook about her upcoming trip before leaving. “Dear friends, I’m going to Morocco in December. Any of you guys who’s around by then or any mountain friends who knows something about Mount Toubkal?” In the videos that have been circulating, a voice can reportedly be heard speaking of the “enemies of Allah” several times and referring to “revenge for our brothers in Hajin”, referring to the last stronghold of Isis in Syria, which fell a few days ago. The two victims were friends from the University of South-Eastern Norway, where they were studying together. “What we know is that they were on a month-long, private holiday in Morocco. Our thoughts go to the families,” the university said. The killings have prompted concerns about the impact on Morocco’s tourist sector, which accounts for 10% of national income, as the kingdom’s relative security has been a major selling point. ||||| The bodies of two Scandinavian women with cuts to their necks were found in a village in Morocco's High Atlas mountains on Monday, the interior ministry said. The tourists, a Danish woman and another from Norway, were found with "signs of violence" on their necks caused by a cutting device, the ministry said in a statement. It said an investigation had been launched into the "criminal act", without providing more details. The women's bodies were found in an isolated mountainous area 10 kilometres (six miles) from the tourist village of Imlil in the High Atlas range. Imlil is as a starting point for trekking and climbing tours of Mount Toukbal, the highest summit in North Africa. Tourism is a cornerstone of Morocco's economy and the kingdom's second-largest employer, after agriculture. ||||| (AFP) — Moroccan authorities on Tuesday arrested a suspect following the murder of two Scandinavian tourists in the High Atlas mountains, the interior ministry said. Other suspects are being sought over the deaths of the two women — a Dane and a Norwegian — whose bodies were found on Monday with cuts to their necks, the ministry said. The bodies were discovered in an isolated mountainous area 10 kilometres (six miles) from the tourist village of Imlil in the High Atlas range. Imlil is a starting point for trekking and climbing tours of Mount Toukbal, the highest summit in North Africa. The suspect was arrested in the city of Marrakesh about 60 kilometres north of Imlil, the ministry said. The Danish victim, Louisa Vesterager Jespersen, 24, “had her throat cut,” her mother Helle Petersen was quoted by the Danish newspaper B.T. as saying. Her family had warned her against going to Morocco “because of the chaotic situation,” she added. According to Jespersen’s Facebook page, she had studied in Norway to be a guide. The other victim was 28 years old, according to Moroccan media. Security was stepped up in the region and hiking suspended following the discovery of the bodies, media said. ||||| The bodies of two Scandinavian women have been found with cuts to their necks in a village in Morocco’s High Atlas mountains, a popular hiking destination. The tourists, from Denmark and Norway, were found with signs of violence on their necks caused by a cutting device, the interior ministry said in a statement. It said an investigation had been launched into what it called a criminal act, but provided no further details. The women’s bodies were found in an isolated mountainous area six miles (10km) from the tourist village of Imlil, which is a starting point for trekking and climbing tours to Mount Toubkal, the highest summit in north Africa. Tourism is a cornerstone of Morocco’s economy and the country’s second-largest employer after agriculture. ||||| RABAT, Morocco — Authorities in Morocco say the bodies of two Scandinavian women have been found in the Atlas Mountains, a popular hiking destination. According to a statement from the Interior Ministry, the women from Denmark and Norway were discovered on Monday with “evidence of violence on their necks” inflicted by a “cold weapon.” Their bodies were found in a “remote mountainous region” about 10 kilometres (6.2 miles) from the centre of Imlil; the village typically is the starting point for treks to Mount Toubkal, the highest peak in North Africa. The Interior Ministry says an investigation was opened to “clarify the circumstances of this crime.” ||||| vmargineanu/iStock(LONDON) — Two female tourists from Scandinavia have been found dead in Morocco, local police announced today. The bodies of the women, from Norway and Denmark were found near the town of Imlil in the High Atlas mountains with knife wounds to their necks. A man has been arrested on suspicion of murder, the Moroccan Central Bureau of Judicial Investigation said on Facebook. A man has been arrested in the major city of Marrakesh on suspicion of murder, but police are looking for possible accomplices, they added. The suspect is now in police custody. The bodies were found on Monday. Both the Norwegian and Danish foreign ministries confirmed to ABC News that the women had been found dead and they were in touch with local authorities. “The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs have been informed that a Norwegian and a Danish citizen have been found dead in the Atlas Mountains south of Marrakech,” Guri Solnerh, Communications Adviser at the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs told ABC News, using the French spelling of the city. “The deaths and victims’ identity has now been confirmed by local authorities.” “We are in contact with relatives and are providing consular assistance in accordance with established practices and framework for assistance in connection with deaths of Norwegian citizens abroad. Our embassy is in contact with local authorities and representatives from the embassy are present in Marrakech,” they added. A spokesperson for the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs also confirmed that the pair had been killed while “trekking in the Atlas Mountains.” “The Danish Police has notified the relatives to the Danish woman,” the spokesperson told ABC News, who also used the French spelling of one of Morocco’s largest cities. “The relatives have been offered consular assistance by the Consular Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as well as the Danish Embassy in Morocco. The Danish ambassador is currently in Marrakech to ensure the closest possible contact to the local Moroccan authorities.” Officials are yet to confirm the identities of either women. However, the University of Sørøst-Norge posted that two of their students had died in Morocco on Monday. The university set its flags to half mast in order to mourn the pair, they announced on twitter. ||||| The bodies of two Scandinavian women have been found with their necks slashed in Morocco. The tourists, a Danish woman and another from Norway, were discovered with cuts to their necks in a village in Morocco's High Atlas mountains on Monday. Danish woman Louisa Vesterager Jespersen, 24, has been named by local media as one of the victims who was travelling in the country with her friend. The Norwegian woman, who she was backpacking in Morocco with is said to be 28, but has not yet been named. They were found with 'signs of violence' on their necks caused by a cutting device, the interior ministry said. The pair had been both studying ‘outdoor activities and cultural guidance’ at a Norwegian college in the village if Bo, in Telemark, Danish newspaper BT reports. Ms Jespersen was said to have been from Denmark but living in Norway, according to her social media. The women's bodies were found in an isolated mountainous area six miles (10 kilometres) from the tourist village of Imlil in the High Atlas range. Moroccan officials said an investigation had been launched into the 'criminal act', without providing more details. Ms Jespersen's mother, Helle Jespersen, told BT the family was 'completely broken', after being told the news of her daughter's death just before Christmas. She was also described as 'adventurous' and 'always happy and positive' by her family, who had reportedly tried to get her to come home for the festive period. On November 21 Ms Jespersen wrote of her trip on Facebook: 'Dear friends, im going to Morocco in december. Any of you guys whos around by then or any mountain friends who knows something about Mount Toubkal?' She had also posted pictures from previous trips in which he is hiking in mountains as well as skiing and kayaking. Imlil is as a starting point for trekking and climbing tours of Mount Toukbal, the highest summit in North Africa. Tourism is a cornerstone of Morocco's economy and the kingdom's second-largest employer, after agriculture. ||||| A suspect has been arrested following the murder of two Scandinavian women in the High Atlas mountains, the interior ministry said today. The tourists, a Danish woman and another from Norway, were discovered with cuts to their necks in the tourist village of Imlil in Morocco's High Atlas mountains on Monday. Danish woman Louisa Vesterager Jespersen, 24, has been named by local media as one of the victims who was travelling in the country with her friend. Norwegian Maren Ueland, 28, has also been named by local media as the second woman found dead. Other suspects are being sought over the deaths of the two women, Moroccan officials said today. They were found with 'signs of violence' on their necks caused by a cutting device, the interior ministry said. Both women's bodies were found in an isolated mountainous area six miles (ten kilometres) from the tourist village of Imlil in the High Atlas range. The man was arrested on suspicion of murder in the city of Marrakesh about 60 kilometres north of Imlil, the ministry said. He was being held in custody 'to determine the motive of the crime while investigations continue to arrest other individuals who have been identified and suspected of taking part in criminal acts', the central bureau of judicial investigation in Morocco said in a statement. They had both been studying 'outdoor activities and cultural guidance' at a college in the village of Bo, in Telemark, Norway, Danish newspaper BT reports. Ms Jespersen 'had her throat cut,' her mother Helle Petersen was quoted by the BT as saying. Her family had warned her against going to Morocco 'because of the chaotic situation', she added. According to Jespersen's Facebook page, she had studied in Norway to be a guide. Security was stepped up in the region and hiking suspended following the discovery of the bodies, local media said. Ms Jespersen was originally from Denmark but had been living in Norway for some time, according to her social media. Ms Ueland's mother, Irene, told Norwegian broadcaster NRK: 'The girls had taken all precautionary measures before embarking on this trip.' She said they had been studying together at the University of South-Eastern Norway and had gone backpacking for their Christmas holiday on December 9. Irene Ueland shared a picture on social media of her daughter and a huge dog with the caption, 'Our Maren' and two heart emojis. Moroccan officials said an investigation had been launched into the 'criminal act', without providing more details. Ms Jespersen's mother, Helle Jespersen, told BT the family was 'completely broken', after being told the news of her daughter's death just before Christmas. Ms Jespersen has been described as 'adventurous' and 'always happy and positive' by her family, who had reportedly tried to get her to come home for the festive period. On November 21, Ms Jespersen wrote of her trip on Facebook: 'Dear friends, im going to Morocco in december. Any of you guys whos around by then or any mountain friends who knows something about Mount Toubkal? [sic]' She had also posted pictures from previous trips in which he is hiking in mountains as well as skiing and kayaking. Imlil is as a starting point for trekking and climbing tours of Mount Toukbal, the highest summit in North Africa. Tourism is a cornerstone of Morocco's economy and the kingdom's second-largest employer, after agriculture. ||||| The bodies of two Scandinavian women were found near a village in Morocco’s High Atlas Mountains on Monday, Agence France-Presse reports. The women, from Denmark and Norway, had both suffered neck wounds caused by a cutting device, according to a statement from Morocco’s interior ministry. The women were found in a remote area about 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) from Imli, a settlement that is the starting point for treks up to Mount Toubkal, the highest peak in northern Africa. Neither of the women appear to have been publicly identified. According to the interior ministry, an investigation has been launched into the “criminal act.” ||||| A suspect has been arrested in Morocco after two young Scandinavian women were found murdered with their throats cut in the Atlas Mountains, the interior ministry said. Louisa Vesterager Jespersen, a 24-year-old from Denmark, and an unidentified 28-year-old woman from Norway were found dead in a remote mountain area on Monday. Morocco’s interior ministry said it had arrested on person in Marrakesh on Tuesday, around 37 miles from where the women’s bodies were found. Both women were found “with evidence of violence to their necks,” the ministry said. Other suspects are still being sought, according to officials. The bodies were found around six miles from the village of Imlil, which is often the starting point for treks to Mount Toubkal, the highest peak in North Africa. | Two Scandinavian women on a backpacking holiday were found dead in Morocco with cuts to their necks. The bodies were found in an isolated area in the Atlas mountains, near the tourist village of Imlil, Marrakesh-Safi. 13 men are arrested with links to a Jihadist group. |
Flights were suspended at Gatwick Airport following reports of drones flying close to the airfield. Here we look at the law surrounding drones. What are the restrictions around flying drones near airports? Earlier this year, new laws came into force which ban all drones from flying above 400ft and within 1km of airport boundaries. Drone users who flout the height and airport boundary restrictions could face an unlimited fine, up to five years in prison, or both. Research funded by the Department for Transport (DfT) found that a drone weighing 400g could smash a helicopter windscreen, and one weighing 2kg could critically damage an airliner’s windscreen. Are there any other laws to bear in mind? Laws introduced to the Commons in May mean people flying drones which weigh 250g or more will have to register with the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). Drone pilots will be required to take an online safety test under the new legislation, with the requirements set to come into force in November next year. In July, the DfT said it was considering introducing an age restriction, banning children from owning drones weighing at least 250g. It also said it was considering giving police the power to issue on-the-spot fines of up to £300 for misuse and the ability to seize drones being used irresponsibly. ||||| LONDON — Drones spotted over the runway forced the shutdown of London's Gatwick Airport on Thursday during one of the busiest times of the year, stranding or delaying tens of thousands of Christmas-season travellers and setting off a hunt for the operator of the intruding aircraft. The prospect of a deadly collision between what police called "industrial"-grade drones and an airliner led authorities to stop all flights in and out. Police said that they had no doubt the intrusion was a deliberate attempt to disrupt operations at the airport during a peak period but that there were "absolutely no indications to suggest this is terror-related." About 20 police units from two forces tried in vain to find the drone operator as soon as the first unmanned aircraft was spotted above Gatwick on Wednesday evening. Police told airport officials it was too risky to try to shoot down the drones — stray bullets might kill someone. "Each time we believe we get close to the operator, the drone disappears. When we look to reopen the airfield, the drone reappears," said Sussex Police Superintendent Justin Burtenshaw. He said the newer-generation drones are bigger and have more range, making it harder for police to zero in on the person controlling the device. Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson said the military would be deployed to help police. He said the armed forces would bring "unique capabilities" but gave no details. Drones could get sucked into a jet engine or crash through a windshield, incapacitating the pilot. The crisis at Gatwick had a ripple effect on air travel in Britain, continental Europe and beyond as incoming flights were sent to other locations and outgoing ones were stopped. Travellers described freezing conditions overnight at Gatwick as hundreds slept on benches and floors, and passengers and their families complained they weren't being kept informed about re-routed flights. "We understand it's an emergency situation, but the lack of information is really surprising," said Vanessa Avila, an American based in Britain who works for the U.S. military. Her mother was on a flight from Florida to Gatwick that ended up landing in the northern English city of Manchester. ||||| Flights at the United Kingdom's Gatwick Airport, the second busiest in the country, have been grounded for more than 20 hours at least due to small drones flying in the vicinity. The incident, which comes right as hundreds of thousands of travelers are beginning to set out for the holidays, underscores the dangers that easy to obtain hobbyist type unmanned aerial vehicles, such as quad- and hex-copter designs, present at home and on the battlefield. It's a growing, but glaringly foreseeable threat that we at The War Zone have been raising the alarm about for years. Authorities at Gatwick halted all incoming and outgoing flights first at 9:00 PM local time on Dec. 19, 2018, after sightings of multiple drones. Officials tentatively expected that order to be lifted at 3:00 AM on Dec. 20, 2019, but have now extended the closure to at least 4:00 PM, as they continue to coordinate with Sussex Police and the U.K. military to ensure that it is safe to resume airport operations. Flights already in the air headed for Gatwick got diverted to other airports as far away as Paris, France. Approximately 110,000 people across 760 flights were set to use Gatwick on the 20th. "We are carrying out a joint search w/ @Gatwick_Airport for the operators of #drones sighted at #Gatwick," the Sussex Police wrote in a Tweet on their official account on Dec. 20, 2018. "Public safety is paramount and we will take all available actions to disrupt this deliberate act. There are no indications to suggest this is terror related." Under new regulations that the United Kingdom enacted on July 30, 2018, it is illegal for private citizens to fly small drones above 400 feet and within just over a half a mile of an airport perimeter. U.K. Prime Minister Teresa May has said any suspects involved in the incident face prison time when they are caught. The most immediate danger from the small drones to air traffic at and around the airport is that they might collide with an airliner. If the remote-controlled aerial vehicles ended up ingested into a jet engine, banging into in a propeller, or crashing through the windscreen of an aircraft the results could be particularly devastating. It is unclear what tools authorities have employed or considered employing so far to neutralize or mitigate the hazard. Airports typically have various protective measures in place to chase away birds, which present some of the same potential problems. However, these tools, such devices that create loud noises to scare flocks away, would have no impact on a drone. Pictures have emerged showing members of the Sussex Police carrying shotguns, which they could use to try to shoot down the drones. Some companies have developed specialized shotgun shells to reduce the chance of missed shots posing a threat to nearby innocent bystanders or private property. Police helicopters have also been involved in the search for the operators of the remotely piloted aircraft. "Sussex Police have requested some support from the armed forces and we will be deploying the armed forces to give them the help that they need to help deal with the situation at Gatwick Airport," U.K. Secretary of State for Defence Gavin Williamson told reporters later that same day. "Sadly, at this moment, it [what we are deploying] is not something we can actually reveal, but the armed forces have a range of unique capabilities and this isn't something we would usually deploy, but we are there to assist and do everything we can so that they are in a position to open the airport at the earliest opportunity." These military capabilities most likely include additional tools to defeat the drones themselves and locate the individuals controlling them. Military short-range air defense or counter-battery radars, able to spot low-flying and even smaller targets, such as artillery shells and mortar bombs, could be useful in monitoring the drones and potentially tracing them back to an originating point. Electronic warfare systems, either on the ground or in the air, that can detect and geolocate transmitters, such as the drone's control unit, would also help immensely. The U.K. military could also have more effective means of knocking the drones out of the sky, as well. Faced with the growing use of small drones, sometimes carrying grenade-like munitions, by both nation-state militaries and non-state actors, such as terrorists, militaries around the world have been investing heavily in active countermeasures. The most common examples are man-portable and vehicle-mounted radio frequency jammers, though more advanced systems, including solid-state lasers and high-power microwave directed energy weapons are also in development. The jamming systems typically work by breaking the command link between the controller and the drone, either causing it to fall out of the sky or follow a pre-programmed route back to its operator. In the latter case, this could also help in finding the individuals responsible. Jammers do have a significant number of limitations, though, including their relatively indiscriminate focus, which can interrupt signals from other nearby emitters operating on the same or adjacent frequencies. Jamming systems that work on a more narrow range of frequencies, or have more limited power, may mitigate those issues, but also have more limited effectiveness. But however British officials ultimately tackle the situation at Gatwick, it will provide yet another call to action to further investigate how to regulate civilian use of small drones and how to defend against them when they become threatening. These are concerns we at The War Zone have raised on numerous occasions and you can read about them in greater detail here and here. The hazard of small drones flying near airports is hardly new. In 2017, there were reportedly 100 potentially dangerous interactions between manned aircraft and drones in the United Kingdom alone, according to the BBC. Remember, the drones at Gatwick have done nothing but fly near the airport, as well. On July 2, 2017, another drone intruder shut down Gatwick for a total of just 14 minutes, causing headaches for hours afterward. It will take days, if not longer, for the cascading impacts of these cancellations and delays, which have already stranded thousands of individuals or forced them to seek alternative travel options, will take days, due to this new incident to finally disappear. Gatwick had expected to see nearly 3 million travel through its facilities during this holiday season and 143,000 are presently booked to fly in and out of the airport just on Dec. 30, 2018. This means that individuals responsible have been able to cause millions of dollars worth of economic damage with drones you can buy online right now for less than $5,000. Between diversions and people scrambling to find other ways of getting where they need to go, these impacts can easily spill over to other airports, as well. Perhaps the best example of an extreme worst-case situation is when nation-wide civilian air traffic in the United States ground to a halt in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the impact of which is described in the video below. It took the airline industry years to fully recover from the billions of dollars worth of losses. ||||| The airport was shut down at 9:03 p.m. on Wednesday due to reports of two drones flying over the airfield, the airport said in a statement. "We advise everyone flying from Gatwick, or collecting someone from the airport, Thursday 20th December, to check the status of their flight," the airport wrote. Sussex Police called the flying of the drones over the airfield "a deliberate act," but said there was no indication the drones were terror-related. The airport said "a number" of flights were diverted to other airports and airlines were "working to provide affected passengers with hotel accommodation or transport passengers landing at other airports to Gatwick by other means." There were no flights landing or taking off for about six hours -- from 9:03 p.m. to 3:01 a.m. -- and Gatwick announced it was "working, with the airport community, to catch up on the flight schedule." That optimism was short-lived, as just 44 minutes later the airport announced another drone had been sighted and the airfield was again closed. "We apologise to any affected passengers for this inconvenience but the safety of our passengers and all staff is our number one priority," the airport said in a statement. About 10,000 people were affected by the issue, Chris Woodroofe, Gatwick's chief operating officer, told The Associated Press. A joint search was being carried out by Sussex Police and the airport for the operators of the drones, authorities said. An Aeromexico flight may have been struck by a drone just a week ago. The flight landed in Tijuana without issue, but authorities were investigating what caused a large gash in the plane's nose. Gatwick Airport, located about 30 miles south of London, is the second-busiest airport in the U.K., after London's Heathrow Airport. It is the eighth-busiest airport in Europe, according to aviation site anna.aero. Thursday is expected to be one of the busiest travel days of the year, as people head home for the Christmas holidays. U.S. airlines expected to carry 45.7 million passengers from Thursday through Jan. 6, according to Airlines for America. ||||| LONDON — Drones spotted over the runway forced the shutdown of London's Gatwick Airport on Thursday during one of the busiest times of the year, stranding or delaying tens of thousands of Christmas-season travellers and setting off a hunt for the operator of the intruding aircraft. The prospect of a deadly collision between what police called "industrial"-grade drones and an airliner led authorities to stop all flights in and out. Police said that they had no doubt the intrusion was a deliberate attempt to disrupt operations at the airport during a peak period but that there were "absolutely no indications to suggest this is terror-related." About 20 police units from two forces tried in vain to find the drone operator as soon as the first unmanned aircraft was spotted above Gatwick on Wednesday evening. Police told airport officials it was too risky to try to shoot down the drones — stray bullets might kill someone. "Each time we believe we get close to the operator, the drone disappears. When we look to reopen the airfield, the drone reappears," said Sussex Police Superintendent Justin Burtenshaw. He said the newer-generation drones are bigger and have more range, making it harder for police to zero in on the person controlling the device. Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson said the military would be deployed to help police. He said the armed forces would bring "unique capabilities" but gave no details. Drones could get sucked into a jet engine or crash through a windshield, incapacitating the pilot. The crisis at Gatwick had a ripple effect on air travel in Britain, continental Europe and beyond as incoming flights were sent to other locations and outgoing ones were stopped. Travellers described freezing conditions overnight at Gatwick as hundreds slept on benches and floors, and passengers and their families complained they weren't being kept informed about re-routed flights. "We understand it's an emergency situation, but the lack of information is really surprising," said Vanessa Avila, an American based in Britain who works for the U.S. military. Her mother was on a flight from Florida to Gatwick that ended up landing in the northern English city of Manchester. ||||| One of the UK's busiest airports had to suspend or divert all flights after drones were seen over its airfield. The disruption at Gatwick Airport, which is 30 miles south of London and Britain's second busiest, started around 9 p.m. local time Wednesday after a pair of drones were spotted, according to the BBC. The runway remained closed until 3 a.m., but was shut down again 45 minutes later after "a further sighting of drones." It was still closed as of Thusday morning and police are hunting for the drones' operator, Chris Woodroofe, Gatwick's chief operating officer, told the BBC. "There are no indications to suggest this is terror related," Sussex Police tweeted on Thursday, before seeking the public's help to identify the operator. It's illegal to fly a drone within 1 kilometer (0.6 miles) of an airport or airfield boundary, and you can't fly it above 120 meters (400 feet) because it increases the likelihood of an aircraft hitting it. Around 110,000 passengers on 760 flights were due to use the airport on Thursday, Gatwick told BBC, and some of the overnight flights were diverted to Paris and Amsterdam. "We are working hard with our airlines to get information to passengers but would advise anyone booked onto flights from Gatwick, or meeting arriving passengers, not to travel to the airport without checking the status of the flight with their airline," the airport said in a Thursday release. Gatwick didn't immediately respond to a request for further comment. In August, Gatwick was forced to post flight information on white boards after its digital screens failed due to an IT glitch. Follow the Money: This is how digital cash is changing the way we save, shop and work. CNET Magazine: Check out a sample of the stories in CNET's newsstand edition. ||||| In a scary preview of the disruptions that could soon become commonplace in our technology-infused future, London's Gatwick airport has been shut down for more than 13 hours due to mysterious drones flying "over the perimeter fence and into where the runway operates from". Hundreds of flights have been cancelled, leaving tens of thousands of travelers stranded in the airport's "freezing" terminals during the holiday rush, according to reports in the BBC and the Guardian. According to the Guardian, which is providing live coverage of the ongoing disruption, Chris Woodroofe, the airport's chief operating officer, apologized to passengers and explained during a Sky News interview that the drones would not be shot down because of the risks posed by stray bullets. Police are asking the public's help in finding the drone operators. Police have been searching the perimeter of the airport to find the operators of the drones - who could face up to five years in prison if apprehended. The incident has kickstarted a conversation in the UK about imposing tighter regulations on drone operators (and stiffer penalties for anybody operating drones without the proper authorization). While two drones had terrorized the runway for most of Wednesday evening. The BBC reported that 110,000 passengers had been expected to use the airport on Thursday, traveling on 760 flights. Gatwick had been expecting a record number of passengers during the holiday travel season. The runway was briefly reopened at about 3 am London Time (10 pm ET), but was swiftly closed when the drones returned. the airport said, but forced to close again about 45 minutes later amid "a further sighting of drones". The closure - now in its 13th hour - has been extended until at least noon London time (7 am ET). The government has criticized the drone operators as acting '"incredibly irresponsibly": Gatwick, which is London's second-busiest airport after Heathrow, is advising passengers not to travel to the airport without checking with their airline first. Though the motives of the drone operators remain shrouded in mystery, Sussex Police have said "There is absolutely nothing to suggest that this is terrorism-related." It is illegal to fly a drone within one kilometer of an airport. Incoming planes are being diverted to other UK airports, including Heathrow, and some have been rerouted as far away as Amsterdam and Paris. One passenger who spoke with the BBC and the Guardian described a chaotic scene in the terminal, where pregnant women were seen sleeping on the floor. The cancellations have sown widespread confusion among passengers, who are struggling to figure out whether their flights have been rescheduled or moved to different airports. Arthur Serbejs, 22, and Domante Balciuniate, 21, factory workers from Hastings, sat on the floor by a prayer room, approaching their 16th hour of waiting for a flight to Barcelona. "We came about 6pm yesterday, and we’re going to be here until like 7pm," Serbejs said. "At 9pm yesterday we were on the plane for four hours - they turned the lights off and everything like it was going to take off." "But we were still sitting there," Balciunate added. Serbejs said he had fallen asleep while the plane sat on the apron, hoping to wake up in Spain, "and I woke up and we hadn’t moved." Eventually they were taken off the flight, and offered a hotel in Brighton, which they declined as they live close by. They were told they would get an email with a ticked for another flat, but none came. "We stood in line for three hours for a 30 second conversation saying 'your flight has already been transferred hours ago,' but we didn’t know about it," Serbejs said. Several techniques have been devised for safely disabling rogue drones, including this surprisingly low-tech solution, devised by Dutch police: ||||| The flying of drones at Gatwick, which has caused the runway to be closed, is "a deliberate act to disrupt the airport", police said. Tens of thousands of passengers are suffering travel chaos after all flights at the West Sussex airport were suspended. The runway was closed at 9pm on Wednesday after two of the devices were seen near the airfield. It was reopened at 3am on Thursday, but was shut again 45 minutes later after a further sighting of drones. At 9.15am, the airport said there was "ongoing drone activity" and the runway remained closed. At 11.15am Gatwick said all flights remained suspended following reports of drones flying over the airfield. "There is significant disruption at Gatwick today as a result of what appears to be a deliberate attempt to disrupt flights," the airport said. "We are extremely disappointed that passengers are being affected by this, especially at such an important time of year. "We are prioritising the welfare of those at the airport by deploying staff into our terminals to look after people as best we can. "We are working hard with our airlines to get information to passengers but would advise anyone booked onto flights from Gatwick, or meeting arriving passengers, not to travel to the airport without checking the status of the flight with their airline or on our website first." Superintendent Justin Burtenshaw, of Sussex Police, said: "We believe this to be a deliberate act to disrupt the airport. However, there are absolutely no indications to suggest this is terror-related." More than 20 police units from two forces are searching for the perpetrator. Mr Burtenshaw added: "Each time we believe we get close to the operator, the drone disappears; when we look to reopen the airfield, the drone reappears." Asked if he thought the operator would be caught, he said: "I'm convinced we will. It's a painstaking thing with the new drones - the bigger the drone, the bigger the reach of the operator, so it's a difficult and challenging thing to locate them, but I've got teams now and I've got investigators looking at how we do that, and I'm confident we will." Some 10,000 passengers were affected on Wednesday night, and a further 110,000 were due to either take off or land at the airport on 760 flights on Thursday. Gatwick's MP, Tory Henry Smith, wrote on Twitter: "The closure of Gatwick Airport for 12 hours now due to drone flying appears to be a deliberate criminal act with geofencing breached." The airport's chief operating officer, Chris Woodroofe, blasted the "irresponsible" drone use. He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that two of the gadgets had been seen flying "over the perimeter fence and into where the runway operates from". Mr Woodroofe added that the drones had sparked "very significant disruption for passengers" but police did not want to shoot them down because of the risk from stray bullets. Aviation minister Baroness Sugg said: "These drones have been flown illegally and the operators, who have acted incredibly irresponsibly, could face up to five years in jail." Passengers faced severe disruption as flights were unable to leave the tarmac while others were diverted to alternative airports. Some people reported being left stuck on planes for several hours while they waited to find out what was going on. Aviation website airlive.net said inbound flights were diverted to a range of UK airports as well as Amsterdam and Paris. Lyndsey Clarke, from Southend, said she was stuck on a plane for more than four hours after it was re-routed to Stansted. The 27-year-old said passengers were having to get taxis back to Gatwick after they were finally allowed off the aircraft. Luke McComiskie's plane ended up in Manchester, and he described chaotic scenes as people tried to find their way home after more than three hours stuck on board. The 20-year-old, from Aldershot, told the Press Association: "We got told there would be some arrangements with coaches for us when we get out the terminal ... It was just chaos and they had only two coaches and taxis charging people £600 to get to Gatwick." In the latest statement on the incident, a Gatwick spokeswoman said: "Flights to and from Gatwick Airport remain suspended following reports of drones flying over Gatwick's airfield last night and in the early hours of this morning. "We are advising passengers scheduled to fly from Gatwick not to travel to the airport without checking the status of their flight with their airline this morning. We apologise for the inconvenience, but the safety of all passengers and staff is our first priority." Dr Rob Hunter, head of flight safety at the British Airline Pilots' Association (BALPA), said: "The public needs to understand that drones are not just toys and could have catastrophic consequences if they collide with an aircraft. "We know a lot of drones will be under people's Christmas trees and we implore them to ensure they're aware of the rules and fly their drones in a safe and sensible manner." "These drone sightings at Gatwick are further evidence that tougher laws and enforcement are required to keep drones clear of manned flights. "That's why we need the registration and education process in force sooner rather than later, so people flouting the law can be caught and prosecuted. "At the same time, BALPA is also calling for the Government to consider toughening the law to create a larger no-fly zone around airports. "We need to ensure people flying drones take responsibility for their actions and do so responsibly with the knowledge that if they endanger an aircraft they could face jail." EasyJet is advising passengers not to travel to airports if their flight has been cancelled. A spokeswoman for the airline said: "Like other airlines, easyJet diverted a number of flights due to land at London Gatwick to other airports across the UK. "As a result of this, aircraft and crew remain out of position at airports away from London Gatwick, which has resulted in a number of cancellations this morning. "We advise all customers flying to and from London Gatwick today to not travel to the airport if they are on flights which have been cancelled. "EasyJet has offered affected passengers who were diverted last night ground transportation to reach London Gatwick and hotel accommodation was provided for those who required it. "Passengers who arranged their own transportation will be reimbursed by easyJet. Customers on cancelled flights will be entitled to a free of charge transfer to an alternative flight." Dozens of people were perched on seats with jackets and coats used as makeshift blankets after being stranded in the airport overnight. Mamosta Abdulla said he was on an Iraq-bound flight on Wednesday evening before getting stuck on the tarmac for four hours and will now miss his father's memorial service. He said: "We got here at 6pm and should have flown at 9.10pm, but we were stuck four hours on the plane with a crying baby, the child was disabled and everyone was sweating because it was so hot in there. "They gave us hope by showing us the safety procedure and then five minutes later they say nobody is flying. "We got given a £12 refreshment voucher each after a couple hours of waiting and that's it. "We've had to sleep in a freezing place, on uncomfortable chairs. "We are in Iraq with bombs going off nearby and the plane still lands! But here some drones have shut down the airport." A Gatwick spokesman said 110,000 passengers were due to either take off or land at the airport on 760 flights on Thursday. He was unable to state how many of these passengers had already been affected but the first wave of flights is normally the busiest time of the day. Around 10,000 passengers were affected on Wednesday night after the runway was closed at 9.03pm. Passengers are advised not to travel to the airport if their flight is cancelled. Joseph Ouechen, a photographer from Morocco, was due to fly into Gatwick on Wednesday night but had his flight diverted to Paris. After arriving at Charles de Gaulle Airport at midnight, passengers with visas for the Schengen area were taken to a hotel but those without - "about 20%" - were left in the airport to fend for themselves, he said. "There were families with babies who couldn't get to their suitcases for their milk and stuff," he said. "We were asking just for a favour if (airport staff) could help but they said they couldn't do anything." Firefighters eventually crossed the border through passport control with blankets and water at 3.30am, he said. "To be honest, I'm so tired and when the guys from the fire (service) came with the bottles and blankets I was feeling like a war, like (I was) a refugee, but I'm just flying to the UK. "It's surreal. I was flying to the UK and now there are firemen bringing me water and blankets." Andri Kyprianou, from Cyprus, who had been visiting London, said she saw a pregnant woman sleeping on the floor and passengers with infants spending the night in the "freezing" South Terminal. She said she got to the airport at 12.30am for a 3am flight to Cyprus via Kiev, only to find it had been cancelled, and that the next connection in Kiev is on Sunday. She said: "I haven't slept since yesterday morning, we are very tired. It's freezing, we are cold, having to wear all of these coats for extra blankets. "There were pregnant women, one of them was sleeping on the floor. There were people with small babies in here overnight, we saw disabled people on chairs. "There were young children sleeping on the floor." She said she will have to spend a night in Kiev, but she had been told by Ukrainian Airlines that there may be a chance of an alternative connection through Tel Aviv. "Hopefully they will arrange a hotel for us so we don't have another night in an airport," she added. Aviation Minister Baroness Sugg said the Government was considering extending police powers to prevent drones causing airport disruption in the future. She told BBC News: "I think it's important to be clear this is a crime, this drone is being flown illegally. "Earlier this year we changed the law to make it illegal to fly within a kilometre of an airport and I know that police are out and trying to bring the drone down as quickly as possible. "This is an illegal act. We are also looking to extend police powers and early in the new year we'll be looking at our next steps on that. "The other thing we're looking at is counter-drone technology. Technology in this area is obviously moving incredibly quickly, but we need to make sure we're able to stop such activity in future." Baroness Sugg said authorities were hoping to get Gatwick open as quickly as possible as people travel for the Christmas break. She added: "Our priority is to get that airport open as safely as possible so that people can fly off on their Christmas breaks, or people who are coming in to visit friends and family. "The police are working to bring the drone down, and I am confident that they will do so. " A mother said she has suffered an "emotional disaster" after spending the night on a cold floor with her eight-year-old-daughter and three-year-old son. Yulia Hristova, who was meant to fly to Istanbul via Kiev at 3am and has been at the airport since midnight, said: "With two kids I'm in a difficult position, I'm so tired, I'm so upset, we've had no information. "We were standing for hours, nobody's been on the desk. It was so cold. We were sleeping on the floor, me and my children. I lost my son during the night, and a policeman brought him back. "I was meant to be reunited with my family, my kids were so excited they didn't sleep until 6am, they were waiting to get on the plane. "It's been an emotional disaster. "I'm so exhausted, I don't want to stress out but it's very worrying. What's going to happen to us in Ukraine? What if we run out of money? Are the airline going to put us in a hotel? "I want to give up right now, it's making me so anxious." Commons Leader Andrea Leadsom has said the use of drones that have shut down Gatwick Airport is "absolutely unacceptable". She said: "Our hearts go out to all those who are desperately trying to go on holiday or arrive in the UK via Gatwick. "It's absolutely unacceptable. I know the police are doing all they can to catch the operators of these drones." Speaking during business questions in the Commons, Mrs Leadsom added interfering with flights using a drone was a criminal offence carrying a sentence of up to five years imprisonment and an unlimited fine. Gatwick's chief operating officer, Chris Woodroofe, confirmed a recent drone sighting and said disruption would continue for several days. He told BBC News: "There are 110,000 passengers due to fly today, and the vast majority of those will see cancellations and disruption. "We have had within the last hour another drone sighting so at this stage we are not open and I cannot tell you what time we will open. "It was on the airport, seen by the police and corroborated. So having seen that drone that close to the runway it was unsafe to reopen. "Realistically if we do reopen today, what the airlines will seek to do is deal with the passengers who are on site and to prepare for an operation tomorrow morning where we repatriate passengers who are in the wrong place. "It's realistically going to take several days to recover." Oxford University lecturer Imma Oliveras got up at 4am to catch her flight back to the United States to see her family. She said: "When I arrived at the airport at 6am there were already lines throughout the terminal, which was very full. “People were trying to keep calm, but we were not getting very much information. They told us the runway would reopen at 8am, but then they told us on the loudspeaker that this was not the case. “It is frustrating, and if people are flying drones it is very irresponsible in this area. But how is it possible for them to be allowed to fly a drone in this area? If it is deliberate, I hope they get them.” Meanwhile Ben Daniels has been trying to return to his home in Crawley with his wife after a trip to Hamburg in Germany. He said: "We saw the disruption at the airport and that planes were being diverted, so we decided to avoid it and make our own way back. “We have had to shell out £500 in total to get back, we can’t afford to be stranded out here waiting for a plane to turn up. "It is extremely dangerous. I don’t think people realise that from the smallest to the biggest aircraft carrying hundreds of people, if a drone strikes the plane it could be catastrophic. "I don’t understand the thinking behind the individual or individuals responsible.” Have you been affected by the delays? Contact the newsroom on 01273 021383 or email news@theargus.co.uk. ||||| London's Gatwick Airport Closed Because Of 'Criminal' Behavior With Drones Giant drones have continued to appear at London's Gatwick Airport, forcing the airport to close. Officials encouraged travelers to stay away until they get confirmation that flights have resumed. Stewart Wingate, the airport's CEO, called it "criminal behaviour," targeted activity meant to shut down the airport and "bring maximum disruption in the run up to Christmas." The Sussex Police, which oversees the area, has been bombarded by calls about drone sightings in the vicinity, controller Mark Laurent told NPR. "There are still sightings which we are investigating, as and when they come up," he said. "It's still very much an ongoing matter at the moment." The military was also called in, he said. "Military assistance was requested for specialist equipment to secure the airfield." It is a criminal offense to fly the drones where they have been sighted, Laurent said, but there was "no reason to suspect" it was a terrorist act. The flight disruptions and cancelations triggered chaos for passengers as the effects rippled outward from the busy airport. In an update at 5 p.m. local time Thursday, the airport said its sole runway "remains out of operation with no flights arriving or departing." Two drones were seen flying over the airfield south of London around 9 p.m. local time Wednesday, the airport said in a tweet. Gatwick was able to briefly open around 3 a.m., but more drone reports followed. "I have a drone on my airfield," Gatwick's Chief Operating Officer Chris Woodroofe told the BBC. Transport Minister Chris Grayling said this was "not the classic, plastic garden drone" but "a commercial-sized drone that is clearly being operated deliberately in a way that every time Gatwick tries to reopen the runway, the drones reappear." Sussex Police said on Twitter that the drones were believed to be "of an industrial specification." They ruined travel plans for some 10,000 people Wednesday night alone, according to Woodroofe. Breaking down that number, he said 6,000 passengers were forced to divert to other airports, 2,000 were never able to take off for Gatwick and another 2,000 couldn't fly out of the airport. Because of the diversions, passengers who had been expecting to land near London were instead flown to a range of cities, from Liverpool and Manchester in Britain to Paris, Bordeaux and Amsterdam in Europe, according to data from the air traffic tracking site Flightradar24. U.K. law bans drones from flying within 1 kilometer (0.62 miles) of any airport. The British government says that if a drone operator is found to break the rules, it "could result in an unlimited fine, up to five years in prison, or both." "The big fear, of course, has been that a drone hits an aircraft and brings it down," said Alan McKenna, a professor at the University of Kent. In an interview with NPR's Windsor Johnston, he added that the threat posed by the drones at Gatwick has already incurred a "very serious economic cost." Gatwick is the U.K.'s second-largest airport and serves some 46 million passengers a year. The airport recently said it expects 2.9 million passengers during the upcoming holiday season. But images Thursday showed an idled airport, with jetliners sitting on the tarmac beneath a clear, sunny sky. With flights suspended just days before the holiday season kicks off, the airport advised people with tickets for flights Thursday, "Please do not travel to Gatwick without checking the status of your flight with your airline." The police department issued an appeal to the public asking for information about the drones' operators. It was also trying to track the small devices by helicopter. Such activity could result in a five-year jail sentence. Airlines were trying to help passengers find alternate ways to their destinations, or simply locate a hotel room where they could rest and wait for the suspension to lift. The local rail operator was offering to reroute or cancel tickets at no cost. CEO Stewart Wingate said, "It cannot be right that drones can close a vital part of our national infrastructure in this way." ||||| How were drones able to close Gatwick Airport? Drones have forced Britain's second-busiest airport to shut its runway, sparking chaos and delaying thousands of Christmas travellers. Planes were unable to depart after the drones were spotted, while a number of flights scheduled to land were diverted to other airports, Gatwick Airport said in a statement. But how are these small aircraft able to cause so much trouble? Here's what we know about what's going on. Is this really such a big deal? If you're a passenger trying to get away for the holiday, it's a huge deal. But it's not just limited to those trying to catch a flight. Gatwick Airport's chief operating officer said this was a "very significant national issue". After 24 hours, the drones are still disrupting services. Gatwick Airport has cancelled flights for the rest of today and is not expected to open for another several hours. Even when it does re-open, the backlog and disruptions are expected to last for days. This isn't a case of authorities being overzealous either. Jai Galliott is an expert in defence and military technology at the University of New South Wales and said even the smaller drones available to the public can cause an explosion if they're sucked into a plane engine. And the drone in this case isn't small. "So it's pretty clear that this is a fairly large drone, not the classic plastic garden drone that you will see, this is a commercial-sized drone that is clearly being operated deliberately in a way that every time Gatwick tries to reopen the runway the drones reappear," the UK's Transport Secretary said. "So this is quite clearly a deliberate act." Why has it been so hard to locate the drones? Sussex Police Superintendent Justin Burtenshaw said it appears the drones being used are "newer-generation", which are bigger and have more range. Superintendent Burtenshaw said each time police believed they were getting close to the drone operator, "the drone disappears". Basically, it's made it harder for police to locate the person controlling the device, because they're likely a lot further away from the airport than you think. Dr Galliott said he could walk into a large electronics retailer in Australia today and buy a drone with a range of up to 5 kilometres for less than $2,000. "And if you're a tech-savvy person, you can figure out how to extend the range of that kind of equipment," he said. It's possible to set up a surveillance perimeter of high-quality cameras to track the drone, according to Dr Galliott, but drones can fly higher than cameras can see. So why don't they have drone-blocking technology? It exists, but it's a long way from perfect. "There are things called drone guns, which are ultrasonic-type devices that utilise certain segments of the electromagnetic spectrum to target the kind of frequencies on which these drones operate," he said. "It's a more targeted device that you would aim at a particular drone." Remember though, police are having trouble finding the drone, so this tech isn't super helpful until they do. Dr Galliott said there are devices that disrupt a broad range of frequencies, but they have their issues too. "The problem is a lot of the drones these days are becoming more automated and as such they don't necessarily rely on communication with an operator," he said. "Certain functions have been programmed in and they carry it out autonomously." It's also relatively new technology. "It's not that they cause a huge issue, but that they haven't been tested in those kind of environments," Dr Galliott said. Think of how long it took for it to be OK to use your mobile phone on a plane. Dr Galliott said there are still big hurdles to clear before the broad jamming technology is given the all-clear for use. Why can't they just shoot down the drones? About 20 police units from two forces tried to zero in on the drone operator after the first sighting over Gatwick on Wednesday evening. Police initially told airport officials it was too risky to try to shoot down the two drones, since stray bullets might kill someone. But given the scale of the disruption, they're now reconsidering, according to the BBC. "The assessment earlier on today was that we wouldn't be using firearms," Detective Chief Superintendent Jason Tingley said. "This is continually reviewed so you will know and have seen that we have firearm officers deployed." So there just isn't a foolproof solution? "The problem is there is no bulletproof way to guard against drone attacks of this nature. "Airports have been aware of this risk for quite some time. Airports pay significant sums of money to security consultants who are also aware of these risks. | Gatwick Airport in West Sussex, England, is shut down intermittently since Wednesday night, after drones are seen flying over the airfield. Police believe it is "a deliberate act to disrupt the airport". Hundreds of thousands of passengers are affected. |
A man is air-rescued from destroyed pier, gets cheers as he leaves scene with rescuers.. (Aaron Hinks photos) A man stranded by today’s collapse of the White Rock pier has been rescued. A Cormorant search-and-rescue helicopter arrived at scene just before 3:30 p.m. and transferred the man to the pierhead – to cheers from bystanders – where he was attended to by paramedics before being transferred to hospital. The pier split in half shortly after 2 p.m. today, leaving one person stranded on the far end. The storm – with gusts of up to 100 km/h and described by BC Hydro as “one of the most severe storms BC Hydro has experienced in years” – has dealt the 100-year-old structure a vicious beating. This footage of the #whiterock rescue is crazy! So happy the man is ok but so sad for our poor pier. #bcstorm #whiterockpier pic.twitter.com/d2Bc9H4ZgR — South Rock Buzz (@SouthRockBuzz) December 21, 2018 “It’s almost split in half,” Peace Arch News reporter Aaron Hinks said from the scene just after 2 p.m. Thursday – moments before the structure collapsed. “There’s at least one guy stranded on the far end of the pier. He can’t cross.” In video taken this afternoon by PAN and shared on our Facebook page, the sailboats that broke loose from their moorings can seen be smashing against the pier. READ MORE: Windstorm wallops Surrey, White Rock They took out the handrailing, quickly followed by a chunk of the pier deck that continued to expand in size as the minutes passed. Emergency crews remain on the scene. “Every organization we can think of” was contacted for assistance with the rescue, White Rock RCMP Const. Chantal Sears told PAN. “I believe we reached out to the U.S. as well. “Hopefully, the rest of (the pier) is structurally sound until (help arrives.)” “This is a first-time event, ever,” Dean Donnelly of RCM-SAR5 said of the storm’s impact. Donnelly said some pieces of the pier drifted as far as the city’s namesake, as did as least one of the sailboats. It’s estimated only eight of around 30 vesels that were moored at the pier survived. @WhiteRockRCMP @IAFF2407 dealing with emergent situation at the pier. Marine drive will be shut down until further notice. pic.twitter.com/4ycs6WKG30 — White Rock RCMP (@WhiteRockRCMP) December 20, 2018 @MMadryga #Whiterock pier is broken. Guy is trapped on other side. Boats slammed into it pic.twitter.com/nzf9wANd1k — LLA (@leslie0866) December 20, 2018 The pier continues to take a beating, as the gap increases pic.twitter.com/LXcK96DjHP — Peace Arch News (@PeaceArchNews) December 20, 2018 Lower Mainland Yacht Club skipper Jason Johnson said the club maintains six sailboats at the end of the pier, “all of which it appears at this point have been destroyed.” “It’s fortunate that no one was seriously injured out here.” Johnson said he has “never seen anything like this.” It’s “a little bit surreal,” he said. “Reminds me a little bit about the power of the ocean.” The pier was officially opened on Nov. 14, 1914. The battering effect of storms in the decades that followed led to the addition of the breakwater in 1953. The City of White Rock repaired and replaced damaged piles and cross-braces in April 2013; work that was deemed necessary during a 2010 inspection. White Rock Mayor Darryl Walker said efforts are underway to secure the structure until it is safe to assess the damage. “Holy cow, what a mess, what a devastating afternoon,” Walker told PAN just after 4:30 p.m. Walker said Marine Drive is closed, as is Buena Vista Avenue between Oxford and Foster streets. The city issued a news release at 3:15 p.m. Thursday advising of the pier’s closure, along with closures of Centennial Park trails and more “due to extreme weather event.” Away from the water, a White Rock firefighter said a hydro pole near the the corner of Johnston Street and Royal Avenue was at risk of coming down. Police and firefighters were seen diverting traffic heading south. White Rock firefighters have just told me that leaning power pole, at the corner of Royal and Johnston, could come down at any moment. Entire block of Johnston is cordoned off. @PeaceArchNews @BlackPressMedia #bcstorm pic.twitter.com/izrJpAyl6A — Kat Slepian (@katslepian) December 21, 2018 Closer to the water, a rotten egg smell near the corner of Fir Street and Victoria Avenue had residents worried about a gas leak. Power remained on along much of Marine Drive and restaurants near the pier were packed during happy hour. Walker said updates will continue to be posted to the city’s website (ow.ly/cKMf30n47Ns) throughout the evening and overnight. Noting he’s been advised of storm damage to some local homes, Walker said the city’s emergency social service centre is up and running at Centennial Arena for anyone in need of the services. He implored those curious about the impact to the pier, waterfront and other areas to stay away. “This was a very, very strong (storm) and continues to be a very strong storm. People are kind of putting themselves in danger” by attempting the visit the sites. The pier in particular, “we don’t want anybody getting close,” he said. “Stay away, that’s the message.” Despite these crazy waves, and winds, I just heard some teens run by yelling “let’s get out on the f***king pier” in White Rock. Needless to say: bad idea. @BlackPressMedia @PeaceArchNews #BCstorm pic.twitter.com/4MT3kKkTzi — Kat Slepian (@katslepian) December 21, 2018 But despite waves continuing to crash into the visibly-wobbling pier, at least half a dozen people climbed under the barricade and walked out onto the 100-year-old structure. Some appeared to be nearly at the break in the pier, as it continued to be pummelled by strong winds. Even after a White Rock RCMP officer headed down to escort people off the pier, a group of teens ran towards it, yelling about how “sick the storm” was. Despite the damage, Walker was also adamant that the damage does not mean an end for the pier. “Make no mistake it will be here for another 100 years,” he said. “We will not lose that pier. Come hell or high water, we’ll make sure we have that pier.” tholmes@peacearchnews.com Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter ||||| VANCOUVER ISLAND, B.C. – Strong winds have been knocking trees over and blocking Vancouver Island highways. According to reports, trees are down and blocking travellers along Highway 1 around Horne Lake. Highway 1 along Koksilah River is also reportedly out. Up north, downed trees and wet snow are making it difficult for travellers to drive from Port Alice to Port Hardy. Water is pooling in some areas of the road, giving slippery conditions. There have also been various reports of downed trees knocking out power lines. Currently, approximately 260 customers are without power on Quadra Island. Flooding has also been reported in Campbell River, with some stretches of streets barricaded and traffic rerouted. ||||| Curious spectators flocked to White Rock’s waterfront to see the debris that washed up on the beach in the aftermath of Thursday’s wind storm — including three boats and chunks of the city’s landmark pier. “I’ve lived here 50 years. I’ve never seen a storm like this, I’ve never seen the devastation like this,” said White Rock Mayor Darryl Walker said during a press briefing on Friday. About 30 metres of the almost 500-metre-long pier washed away after it was pummelled by waves and at least three boats that had become unmoored, and one person had to be rescued by helicopter after he was trapped on the end of the broken pier. No one was hurt. Walker said city staff haven’t yet had a chance to do a full assessment, but the pier is “extremely damaged” and will take months and likely millions of dollars to fix. He said the city has already spoken with the federal and provincial governments to hopefully get some financial assistance. Walker called the pier “one of the jewels in our crown — it might be the primary jewel in our crown.” “It’s essential to our community that we get the pier up and available for people to spend time on as soon as we possibly can,” he said. As of Friday, the pier was closed, along with the nearby promenade to the east, thought there were many people walking in the area. Logs and picnic tables had been thrown on to the beach and walkway. Three boats belonging to the Lower Mainland Yacht Co-op were on the beach, along with parts of the dock to which they were attached and pieces of the pier. Smaller flotsam — plastic bottles, buoys, life jackets and pieces of Styrofoam — also littered the waterfront. B.C. Hydro said about 155,000 customers were still without power by midday Friday and some could be in the dark for days as crews work to repair outages on Vancouver Island, Metro Vancouver, the Sunshine Coast and Fraser Valley. “Yesterday’s windstorm was one of the most severe storms B.C. Hydro has experienced in years,” a post on the utility’s website said. At its height, about 400,000 customers lost electricity and many remained without power overnight. Environment Canada says gusts topped 100 km/h just south of Vancouver and in parts of the Fraser Valley, making the storm more powerful than the 2006 gales that levelled a large section of forest in Stanley Park. The City of Nanaimo issued a statement Friday saying the storm caused its water treatment plant to break down. While the water is safe to drink, the city urged its residents and businesses to restrict their use until the full system is restored, in order to preserve enough for firefighting emergencies. The city’s emergency operations centre has been activated and staff are preparing contingency plans in the event that the water treatment plant does not return to full operating capacity soon. City pools and arenas are closed until further notice. One woman died when a tree fell on her tent in a wooded area near Duncan, RCMP said. There were four other people in the tent and two male occupants were also injured. One was airlifted, and the other was transported by ambulance, to hospital for treatment. The B.C. Coroners Service is in the early stages of its investigation and can release no further details at this time, it said. “Our investigation will look at how she died, where and by what means,” spokesman Andy Watson said. All wind warnings have been dropped and service is getting back to normal on B.C. Ferries routes after most sailings were cancelled Thursday. The first sailings Friday were already full on most major routes, while power outages at smaller terminals were affecting those schedules. Service also returned to normal Friday for transit passengers in Metro Vancouver, after trains along the Expo and Canada lines experienced significant delays and shutdowns due to debris on the tracks. Four Metro Vancouver parks — Tynehead, Deas Island, Belcarra and Pacific Spirit — remained closed on Friday due to potential injury from falling trees and other debris. A section of the Dyke Trail was closed in Boundary Bay park because of flooding and debris. Regional parks staff are conducting assessments of all sites hit by the storm.
• B.C. wind storm: White Rock pier split in two, ferries cancelled, hundreds of thousands lose power ||||| Thousands of Metro Vancouver residents remain without power, a day after a powerful wind storm swept over B.C.’s South Coast, causing widespread damage. And, B.C. Hydro says it could be days before some customers have their lights back on. B.C. Hydro crews were busy through the night, yet early on Friday morning nearly 60,000 customers in the Lower Mainland, and more than 80,000 on Vancouver Island were still without power. A post on the B.C. Hydro website said the windstorm was “one of the most severe storms” B.C. Hydro has experienced in years, causing extensive damage to electrical infrastructure across Vancouver Island, the Lower Mainland and the Fraser Valley. “All available crews and resources will be working around the clock until all damage is repaired. Due to the extent of the damage, many customers will be without power overnight and for some customers it could be days. We appreciate your patience and will continue to provide updates as available,” B.C. Hydro said, in the post. Nine schools in Abbotsford remained closed Friday because of the continued power outages. The affected schools are: On Thursday, the wind storm knocked down trees across the region, sent objects flying, forced ferry cancellations, and caused traffic woes and delays on SkyTrain. In White Rock, high winds sent loose boats crashing into the pier, splitting it in two and stranding one individual at the far end. For more on Thursday’s storm read Postmedia’s story here. On Friday, Environment Canada had lifted the wind warning, and the weather was expected to be much calmer, with sunshine in the forecast. The agency released a summary of the wind activity during the storm, saying gusts reached more than 100 km/h in Abbotsford, 111 km/h in Tofino, 89 km/h in Vancouver, and 128 km/h at Sandheads Lighthouse in the Fraser River. B.C. Ferries said early Friday that there were no service notices and all sailings were running as normal. However, travellers should expect a backlog of travellers after all the major routes were shut down on Thursday because of the storm. On Vancouver Island, the storm may be linked to at least one fatality. A man died in Duncan, but the B.C. Coroners Service said there was no official cause of death yet, though confirmed it involved a fallen tree. With files from The Times Colonist ||||| The man who ended up on the wrong side of a crumbling pier during a "devastating," deadly windstorm on Thursday says he wants to apologize for his "foolishness." Oren Perry, 42, was caught on the far end of the pier in White Rock, B.C., after it collapsed in the early afternoon. Waves churned by 90 km/h winds had ripped nearby boats from their moorings and sent them crashing into the century-old pier, beating against the wooden beams until they cracked apart. Other people on the pier ran back to safety at the first signs of collapse, but Perry says he didn't feel safe. "Embarrassing. That's about it," he said of being the only one caught on the wrong side. The mayor of White Rock said Thursday's windstorm was the worst he's seen in his 50 years as a city resident. Gales led to fallen trees across the province's South Coast, killing one woman on Vancouver Island and knocking out power to tens of thousands of homes over the course of the day. Hopes to wait it out Perry went to the beach with his wife and son around noon Thursday. They were storm-watching from the beach promenade, but Perry's wife and son went inside a restaurant for a break when the weather worsened. "The waves were a little bit too big for my son, who's two, and he was nervous," Perry said over the phone Friday. Alone, he decided to walk down the pier to join the crowd watching the waves and boats — "the excitement of the storm," he said, adding that he's watched storms from the pier before. Perry said it took a few "tries" before boats started to break through the beams holding up the 104-year-old pier. "At first, I was stuck with some other people and it didn't seem like it was safe enough to cross, and I thought, 'Well, the storm is going to die down in about an hour and we'll just wait it out,'" Perry said. He said he walked further out to get away from the break. Meanwhile, RCMP were onshore shouting for people on the pier to sprint to safety. Everyone did, except Perry. "I guess the police showed up to encourage the other people to run through, but I didn't know ... then I wasn't close enough to make it a make across in time," he said. "It didn't seem like it was safe enough to cross." Eventually, a section of the pier tore away from the rest and left a gap over the ocean. Perry said he hoped to wait out the storm on the far end of the pier, but a Royal Canadian Air Force helicopter from Vancouver Island lifted him to shore just after 3:30 p.m. "I just felt foolish. Especially with everybody watching onshore," said Perry. "Shout-out to the first responders. They did a great job — all of them," he added. "And I have to apologize to everybody for getting stuck out there." The pier was open when Perry walked across. RCMP shut down the area after the collapse and it remained closed Friday. ||||| VANCOUVER — A person who was stranded on a pier in White Rock, B.C., has been rescued after part of the structure collapsed in strong winds. The Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre in Victoria says on Twitter one of its helicopters successfully hoisted the person to safety. Parts of southern British Columbia were hit by a powerful wind storm today that left thousands of BC Hydro customers without power on Vancouver Island, the Lower Mainland and the Sunshine Coast. BC Hydro says about 330,000 customers late Thursday afternoon didn’t have electricity on Vancouver Island, the Lower Mainland and on the Sunshine Coast. Environment Canada issued a wind warning for those areas saying a powerful low pressure system was sweeping into the B.C. coast, bringing winds in the range of 70 to 90 km/h with gusts up to 100 km/h. The winds also prompted cancellations or delays at BC Ferries for sailings between Nanaimo and Horseshoe Bay, Tsawwassen to Swartz Bay, Tsawwassen to Duke Point and Tsawwassen to the Southern Gulf Islands. Rainfall warnings were posted for Howe Sound, the Fraser Valley and Fraser Canyon, with Environment Canada saying 50 millimetres could drench those regions by Friday. Snowfall or winter storm warnings were also up for mountain passes to and from the Interior with Environment Canada advising of rapidly accumulating snow on sections of a number of highways including the Sea-to-Sky, Coquihalla, Highway 3 and Highway 1 between Eagle Pass and Rogers Pass. ||||| VANCOUVER — Police say a person is trapped on a pier in White Rock, B.C., after part of the structure collapsed in strong winds. RCMP Const. Chantal Sears says a rescue team has been sent out. Parts of southern British Columbia were hit by a powerful wind storm today that left thousands of BC Hydro customers without power on Vancouver Island, the Lower Mainland and the Sunshine Coast. BC Hydro says about 100,000 customers didn’t have electricity on Vancouver Island shortly after midday, while the lights were out for almost 130,000 in the Lower Mainland and Sunshine Coast. Environment Canada issued a wind warning for those areas saying a powerful low pressure system was sweeping into the B.C. coast, bringing winds in the range of 70 to 90 km/h with gusts up to 100 km/h. The winds also prompted cancellations or delays at BC Ferries for sailings between Nanaimo and Horseshoe Bay, Tsawwassen to Swartz Bay, Tsawwassen to Duke Point and Tsawwassen to the Southern Gulf Islands. Rainfall warnings were posted for Howe Sound, the Fraser Valley and Fraser Canyon, with Environment Canada saying 50 millimetres could drench those regions by Friday. Snowfall or winter storm warnings were also up for mountain passes to and from the Interior with Environment Canada advising of rapidly accumulating snow on sections of a number of highways including the Sea-to-Sky, Coquihalla, Highway 3 and Highway 1 between Eagle Pass and Rogers Pass. ||||| VANCOUVER — White Rock Mayor Darryl Walker says it could take months and millions of dollars to repair the city's beloved pier after part of it was ripped away during an intense windstorm that swept British Columbia's southern coast. It's one of several communities dealing with the aftermath of Thursday's storm, which BC Hydro is describing as among the most severe in many years. The 457 metre pier will be closed until further notice after several boats broke away from their moorings and battered the middle of the pier, eventually collapsing a 30-metre section, Walker said. "The damage that was done to our pier appears to be something that will take some months for us to recoup from, it's extremely damaged," he said. The force of the waves also tossed logs and concrete picnic tables onto the popular promenade along the city's waterfront and Walker said that area will be cordoned off while repairs are made. One person was trapped at the end of the pier and had to be airlifted by helicopter to safety at the height of the storm but no one was hurt. BC Hydro said about 155,000 customers were still without power by midday Friday and some could be in the dark for days as crews work to repair outages on Vancouver Island, Metro Vancouver, the Sunshine Coast and Fraser Valley. "Yesterday's windstorm was one of the most severe storms BC Hydro has experienced in years," a post on the utility's website said. At its height, about 400,000 customers lost electricity and many remained without power overnight. Environment Canada says gusts topped 100 km/h just south of Vancouver and in parts of the Fraser Valley, making the storm more powerful than the 2006 gales that levelled a large section of forest in Stanley Park. ||||| Crews were called to White Rock on Thursday to conduct a rescue after someone became trapped on the city’s seaside pier. Victoria Joint Rescue Co-ordinateion Centre spokesperson Katelyn Moores said a helicopter crew was able to successfully pluck the person to safety just after 3:30 p.m. READ MORE: More than 300,000 without power as windstorm hits B.C.’s South Coast “So the damage to the pier and the rough seas were preventing rescue by land and water, so we tasked a helicopter form 442 Transport and Rescue squadron in Comox to respond, they were able to reach the individual and assist them,” she said. The situation began shaping up around 2 p.m. when a number of sailboats broke free from their mooring due to a powerful windstorm and blew into the pier, according to witnesses. Photographer Leslie Achtymichuk, who lives nearby, said she went to see what was going on when her barbecue blew away in the wind, and saw waves topping the breakwaters in the bay. “Half of the sailboats broke loose and they just started flying in the air a bit and finally slamming into the pier and there was a guy trapped on the other side,” she said. Video from the scene showed the boats slamming repeatedly into the pier while curious onlookers stood nearby. “It took about a half an hour for the boats to actually break through the pier, like they just kept pounding and pounding and pounding and after about 40 minutes, it just broke a whole section apart,” King said. “As soon as it started to break away, he was stranded and the other guys backed off.” Const. Chantal Sears with the White Rock RCMP said police and firefighters have now blocked the pier off to the public. The rescue came in the nick of time. King said as a second group of sailboats had also broken free and was threatening to damage the pier further. “So the guy [was] in between the gap and where the boats are going to start slamming against the pier again, so if that goes, he’s basically on an island,” he said. ||||| Vancouver Island is dealing with a lot of cleanup from the storm on Thursday. Nanaimo residents are being told not to use tap water until further notice as the city’s water treatment plant has been compromised. The city says pools are also closed because people can’t take showers prior to getting into the water as per health and safety regulations. Arenas are closed because the ice can’t be cleaned and bathrooms are not available in the facilities. READ MORE: More than 150,000 without power in aftermath of B.C. windstorm On Saltspring Island, downed trees have damaged water infrastructure in the Fernwood area, so that part of the island is under a boil-water advisory. In Duncan, a woman was killed when a tree fell on the tent she was in during the morning winds. North Cowichan/Duncan RCMP say the tree came crashing down on the tent with five people inside at approximately 11:25 a.m. Five people were inside at the time and two other men were injured. Travel is also impacted as several major routes are closed by downed trees. A section of Highway 4 near Port Alberni, known as “The Hump” was closed overnight, stranding some travellers in their cars or the community. Crews worked overnight to clear toppled trees and other debris, as well as restore power. READ MORE: Pender Island on virtual lockdown after windstorm brings down 50 trees, cuts power to whole community Pender Island is also cleaning up Friday after the storm knocked down about 50 trees all over the island. Police are asking people not to come to Pender Island until BC Hydro crews have been able to clear the roads. About 80,000 BC Hydro customers remain without power as of noon on Friday across Vancouver Island. | Severe windstorms in Vancouver and Vancouver Island damage houses, damage roads, and destroy a 100 year old pier in White Rock, British Columbia. One person stranded on the pier is rescued by helicopter. Several highways were closed due to trees falling. |
Three men have been convicted of murder after deliberately starting a fire at a Leicester shop that killed five people, including a woman and her two sons, in a plot to claim a £300,000 insurance payout. Arkan Ali, 38, Hawkar Hassan, 33, and Aram Kurd, 34, used dozens of litres of petrol in an arson attack on a Polish supermarket, triggering a huge explosion which tore through the shop and destroyed the flat above it. They left Viktorija Ijevleva, a 22-year-old shopworker, to die in the building because she was aware of the insurance policy, which had been taken out less than three weeks earlier, Leicester crown court heard during the five-week trial. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Left to right: Hawkar Hassan, Arkan Ali and Aram Kurd. Photograph: Leicestershire police/PA Ali, Hassan and Kurd were unanimously found guilty of five counts of murder on Friday after they had denied murder and alternative counts of manslaughter. They were also convicted of conspiring with Ijevleva, who was Ali’s girlfriend, to make a gain by dishonestly pursuing an insurance claim in respect of the fire. Ijevleva, Mary Ragoobeer, 46, her teenage sons Shane and Sean, and 18-year-old Leah Beth Reek, who was Shane’s girlfriend, were all killed in the blast on 25 February in Hinckley Road. Such was the ferocity of the explosion that some residents living nearby thought a bomb had had been detonated, the court heard. In fact, about 26 litres of petrol had been used to start the fire in the supermarket’s basement, causing the explosion just after 7pm. CCTV and traffic camera footage released by the police after the trial show people fleeing from a nearby takeaway moments later. Rubble was also blasted into the road as cars passed. Other footage police recovered from a neighbouring business showed Ali three days before the blast, moments before the angle of the camera was moved. A day before the fire, other images from the same CCTV unit showed a gloved hand again moving the camera angle at a time when all the defendants were nearby. Another CCTV camera recorded Kurd escaping from the scene at the rear of the shop. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Brothers Sean and Shane Rajoobeer with their mother Mary, three of the five victims of the explosion. Photograph: Leicestershire police/PA Ali, Hassan and Kurd, who were remanded in custody, will be sentenced later this month. David Herbert, prosecuting, told the jury at the start of the trial that the trio had intended to maximise the damage to the shop and would have been aware that people would have been in the two-storey flat above. “The explosion and the proceeding fire demolished a building and killed five people in the building – one person who was in the shop and four who were in the flat above enjoying a peaceful night in,” he said. “Even on camera 50 metres away you can see the explosion and the enormity of what happened. It was an explosion, the prosecution say, caused by many, many litres of petrol. “The explosion and the fire that followed was deliberately caused by these defendants who intended to profit from loss of stock, contents and future loss of business from the shop. It was not an accident, the prosecution say, that the petrol used caused such devastating damage.” Describing the unlawful killing of Ijevleva, Herbert said: “The defendants thought she knew too much and decided to leave her to die in the explosion that they created. In other words, the devastation that they caused was carried out with the intention to kill.” Facebook Twitter Pinterest Viktorija Ijevleva was left to die because she was aware of the insurance policy, the court heard. Photograph: Leicestershire police/PA A statement was read out on the court steps by DC Steve Markley on behalf of Jose Ragoobeer, the husband of Mary and father of Shane and Sean Ragoobeer. He said Mary was devoted to her family and had two jobs to ensure her sons had everything they needed. “She always made sure that the boys had the latest gear, including football kits for the teams they supported.” Reek’s family said she had been looking forward to training as a nurse. Her older sister, Molly, said: “We have been asked to try to explain the impact on our lives after losing Leah in such horrific circumstances. “She was an amazing, inspirational young lady who had only turned 18 last July. She was just starting out on her life adventure. In her 18 too short but wonderful years, she made a lasting impression on everyone lucky enough to know her. “We miss her terribly, every second of every day we carry the pain of losing Leah. She has left a Leah-shaped hole in our hearts that nothing will ever fill. She was too special for anyone that didn’t know her to fully understand the impact her death has had on so many.” ||||| ASSOCIATED PRESS The shop was completely destroyed by the blast Three men have been found guilty of murder in relation to a shop explosion in Leicester. Aram Kurd, Arkan Ali and Hawkar Hassan, who denied five counts of murder and five alternative counts of manslaughter, were found guilty at Leicester Crown Court today. They were also convicted of conspiracy to commit insurance fraud. On 25 February, the fire tore through a Polish supermarket and two-storey flat on Hinckley Road. Mary Ragoobeer, 46; her two sons Shane, 18, and 17-year-old Sean and Shane’s 18-year-old girlfriend Leah Beth Reek were killed in the blast, along with Viktorija Ljevleva, 22. Several others were injured. Disturbing police bodycam footage shown to the court showed a casualty, Thomas Lindop, under the rubble with a severe head injury. He had been walking by the shop at the time of the blast and suffered a traumatic brain injury and fractures to his skull, head, pelvis and spine, leaving him in hospital for around three months. During the trial, families of those who died were in tears as they heard cries for help on some of the footage shown to the court, including teenager Scotty Ragoobeer, who survived the explosion in what the prosecution described as a “miracle”. ||||| Aram Kurd, Arkan Ali and Hawkar Hassan have been convicted at Leicester Crown Court of murdering five people in a shop explosion. All three men were also found guilty of conspiracy to commit insurance fraud. Kurd, Ali and Hassan showed little emotion at the verdicts after the jury took just over 11 hours to unanimously convict them of murder. The first two defendants were also unanimously convicted of conspiracy to commit fraud, while Hassan was convicted of the offence by a majority 11-1 verdict. Kurd glanced around the courtroom as the jury foreman took around 10 minutes to confirm the verdicts, while Ali sat with his arms folded looking towards his barrister. High Court judge Mr Justice Holgate remanded all three men in custody until sentencing in mid-January. Yesterday at Leicester Crown Court the jury of seven women and five men returned after the Christmas break to continue their deliberations. The court was opened specially as it would normally stay closed between Christmas and New Year. They returned this morning to announce their verdict. All three men have been found guilty of murder and conspiracy to commit insurance fraud. They will be sentenced at a later date. The prosecution had claimed the three had hoped to pocket £300,000 by claiming the blast was accidental. They poured “many, many litres” of petrol inside Polish store Zabka before deliberately sparking it, jurors were told. Prosecutor David Herbert QC said the blast was so huge residents thought it was a “bomb exploding” He told the jury: “It was an explosion caused by many, many litres of petrol. There was no gas supply to the shop. It was a petrol vapour explosion. “It was so powerful it demolished the entire building and killed five people inside. One had been left in the shop and four others were in the flat above, enjoying a peaceful Sunday evening together." ||||| Three men who killed five people in a "bomb-like" shop blast have been convicted of murder and plotting to claim a £300,000 insurance pay-out. Arkan Ali, Hawkar Hassan and Aram Kurd used "many, many litres of petrol" in an arson attack on Kurd's supermarket - causing an explosion which completely destroyed the shop and a flat above the premises. Leicester Crown Court heard how some residents living near the Polish supermarket on Hinckley Road, Leicester, thought a bomb had reduced the property to rubble. A five-week trial was told the defendants left shop worker Viktorija Ijevleva, 22, to die in the building because she was aware of the insurance policy taken out less than three weeks earlier. Opening the Crown's case at the start of the trial, prosecutor David Herbert QC told a jury of seven women and five men the defendants intended to maximise the damage to the premises and "would have known" people would have been in the two-storey flat above. Ali, 38, Hassan, 33, and Kurd, 34, were assisted by a Kurdish interpreter throughout the trial after denying murder and alternative counts of manslaughter. But they were unanimously found guilty of five counts of murder after 11 hours and 26 minutes of deliberations. The trio were also convicted of conspiring with Ms Ijevleva to make a gain, by dishonestly pursuing an insurance claim in respect of the fire. Ms Ijevleva, Mary Ragoobeer, 46, her teenage sons Shane and Sean, and 18-year-old Leah Beth Reek, 18, who was Shane's girlfriend, were all killed in the blast on Sunday, February 25. Around 26 litres of petrol was used to start the fire in the basement of the supermarket, triggering a massive explosion at 7.01pm. CCTV and traffic camera footage released by police at the end of the trial shows people escaping from a nearby takeaway moments after the explosion, and rubble being blasted into the roadway as cars pass by. Footage recovered by police from a neighbouring business showed Ali in shot three days before the blast - moments before the camera angle was moved. Further images from the same CCTV unit a day before the fire showed a gloved hand moving the camera angle again - at a time when all three defendants were nearby. Kurd was also recorded on a security camera as he escaped from the scene at the rear of the shop. Ali, of Drake Close, Oldham, Hassan, of Eld Road, Coventry, and Kurd, of Hillary Place, Leicester, were remanded in custody and will be sentenced in mid-January. ||||| Three men who killed five people in a “bomb-like” shop blast have been convicted of murder and plotting to claim a £300,000 insurance pay-out. Arkan Ali, Hawkar Hassan and Aram Kurd used “many, many litres of petrol” in an arson attack on Kurd’s supermarket – causing an explosion which completely destroyed the shop and a flat above the premises. Leicester Crown Court heard how some residents living near the Polish supermarket on Hinckley Road, Leicester, thought a bomb had reduced the property to rubble. A five-week trial was told the defendants left shop worker Viktorija Ijevleva, 22, to die in the building because she was aware of the insurance policy taken out less than three weeks earlier. Brothers Sean Rajoobeer, 17 (left) and Shane Rajoobeer, 18, and their mother Mary, three of the five victims of the Hinckley Road explosion in Leicester (Leicestershire Police) Opening the Crown’s case at the start of the trial, prosecutor David Herbert QC told a jury of seven women and five men the defendants intended to maximise the damage to the premises and “would have known” people would have been in the two-storey flat above. Ali, 38, Hassan, 33, and Kurd, 34, were assisted by a Kurdish interpreter throughout the trial after denying murder and alternative counts of manslaughter. But they were unanimously found guilty of five counts of murder after 11 hours and 26 minutes of deliberations. Viktorija Ljevleva was among the victims (Leicestershire Police) The trio were also convicted of conspiring with Ms Ijevleva to make a gain, by dishonestly pursuing an insurance claim in respect of the fire. Ms Ijevleva, Mary Ragoobeer, 46, her teenage sons Shane and Sean, and 18-year-old Leah Beth Reek, 18, who was Shane’s girlfriend, were all killed in the blast on Sunday February 25. Around 26 litres of petrol was used to start the fire in the basement of the supermarket, triggering a massive explosion at 7.01pm. CCTV and traffic camera footage released by police at the end of the trial shows people escaping from a nearby takeaway moments after the explosion, and rubble being blasted into the roadway as cars pass by. Footage recovered by police from a neighbouring business showed Ali in shot three days before the blast – moments before the camera angle was moved. Further images from the same CCTV unit a day before the fire showed a gloved hand moving the camera angle again – at a time when all three defendants were nearby. Kurd was also recorded on a security camera as he escaped from the scene at the rear of the shop. Ali, of Drake Close, Oldham, Hassan, of Eld Road, Coventry, and Kurd, of Hillary Place, Leicester, were remanded in custody and will be sentenced in mid-January. During his opening address, Mr Herbert told jurors: “The explosion and the proceeding fire demolished a building and killed five people in the building – one person who was in the shop and four who were in the flat above enjoying a peaceful night in.” Mr Herbert said: “Even on camera 50 metres away you can see the explosion and the enormity of what happened. “It was an explosion, the prosecution say, caused by many, many litres of petrol. “The explosion and the fire that followed was deliberately caused by these defendants who intended to profit from loss of stock, contents and future loss of business from the shop. “It was not an accident, the prosecution say, that the petrol used caused such devastating damage.” Describing the unlawful killing of Ms Ijevleva, Mr Herbert added: “The defendants thought she knew too much and decided to leave her to die in the explosion that they created. “In other words, the devastation that they caused was carried out with the intention to kill.” ||||| Three men have been found guilty of murder after they deliberately set fire to a shop in Leicester, causing an explosion that killed five people. Shopkeeper Aram Kurd, 34, and his friends Arkan Ali, 37, and Hawkar Hassan, 33, plotted to destroy the Polish supermarket in order to claim £300,000 in insurance because the business was failing. The trial at Leicester Crown Court heard that Ali's girlfriend, Viktorija Ijevleva, who worked in the shop, was left to die in the blaze because she had been in on the plot and "knew too much". "In other words, the devastation that they caused was carried out with the intention to kill," prosecutor David Herbert QC told the trial. Ms Ijevleva and Mary Ragoobeer, 46, her teenage sons Shane and Sean, and 18-year-old Leah Beth Reek, who was Shane's girlfriend, were all killed in the blast in February. The Ragoobeer family lived in the flat above the shop which was completely destroyed. Mrs Ragoobeer's husband Jose was out at work at the time of the explosion. Their third son survived after he was rescued from the rubble. Mr Herbert told the court that Kurd, Ali and Hassan intended to maximise the damage to the premises and "would have known" people were in the two-storey flat above. The day before the explosion, Hassan was seen on CCTV buying 26 litres of petrol. The container he put it in was recovered from the wreckage after the fire. On the night of the blast, Ali doused the basement of the building with petrol before running to be collected in the getaway car, driven by Hassan. Kurd remained in the shop and emerged soon after the blast, feigning shock and concern for the victims. In the hours afterwards he did a series of television interviews expressing concern for the people trapped inside the building. But soon police began to suspect the fire was started deliberately. "The evidence shows that this was a really callous act borne out of greed and financial gain and showed a real disregard for human life," Detective Chief Inspector Michelle Keen told Sky News. The trial heard that the explosion was so loud that people nearby thought a bomb had gone off. Kurd chose not to give evidence during the trial. Both Ali and Hassan went into the witness box to claim they did not know of any plan to set fire to the shop. Mr Herbert told the jury "they are remorseless, callous men dominated by greed, who have proved they're capable of trampling over the boundaries of basic human decency and honesty". ||||| Three men have been found guilty of murder after setting fire to 26 litres of petrol in the basement of a shop in Leicester. Aram Kurd, Arkan Ali and Hawkar Hassan killed five people with the blaze and were also found guilty of conspiracy to commit insurance fraud, as they had hoped to benefit from a £330,000 insurance payout. On 25 February, the fire tore through a Polish supermarket and two-storey flat on Hinckley Road. Mary Ragoobeer, 46; her two sons Shane, 18, and 17-year-old Sean and Shane’s 18-year-old girlfriend Leah Beth Reek were killed in the blast, along with Viktorija Ljevleva, 22. Several others were injured. The investigation into the men led police to trawl through over 700 hours of CCTV footage, and examined more than 2,500 exhibits, 1,000 witness statements and 4,000 different lines of inquiry. Leicestershire Police said shopkeeper Kurd, who gave an account to the media after the blast, “probably felt there was a need” to tell his story in a deceitful bid to cover his tracks. Speaking of the explosion itself, Detective Chief Inspector Michelle Keen, who led the investigation, said: “The evidence we have identified is that this was a significant amount of petrol - significant such that it caused that level of devastation and five people lost their lives.” Describing the CCTV evidence, Keen continued: “We know there were acts of planning - we don’t know whether they knew about the cameras. “Certainly some cameras were moved in an attempt to avoid detection but we will never truly know what was in their mind as they haven’t told us.” Keen added that the motive behind the killings “seem[ed] to be purely financial greed and personal gain”. “The intention was to claim against an over-inflated insurance policy for business interruption and contents,” she said. “There was significant investment into the shop’s set-up and it is evident that it wasn’t as profitable as expected. This led to the subsequent fire and explosion.” Disturbing police bodycam footage shown to the court showed a casualty, Thomas Lindop, under the rubble with a severe head injury. He had been walking by the shop at the time of the blast and suffered a traumatic brain injury and fractures to his skull, head, pelvis and spine, leaving him in hospital for around three months. During the trial, families of those who died were in tears as they heard cries for help on some of the footage shown to the court, including teenager Scotty Ragoobeer, who survived the explosion in what the prosecution described as a “miracle”. ||||| Three men who killed five people in a "bomb-like" shop blast have been convicted of murder and plotting to claim a £300,000 insurance pay-out. Arkan Ali, Hawkar Hassan and Aram Kurd used "many, many litres of petrol" in an arson attack on Kurd's supermarket - causing an explosion which completely destroyed the shop and a flat above the premises. Leicester Crown Court heard how some residents living near the Polish supermarket on Hinckley Road, Leicester, thought a bomb had reduced the property to rubble. A five-week trial was told the defendants left shop worker Viktorija Ijevleva, 22, to die in the building because she was aware of the insurance policy taken out less than three weeks earlier. Opening the Crown's case at the start of the trial, prosecutor David Herbert QC told a jury of seven women and five men the defendants intended to maximise the damage to the premises and "would have known" people would have been in the two-storey flat above. Ali, 38, Hassan, 33, and Kurd, 34, were assisted by a Kurdish interpreter throughout the trial after denying murder and alternative counts of manslaughter. But they were unanimously found guilty of five counts of murder after 11 hours and 26 minutes of deliberations. The trio were also convicted of conspiring with Ms Ijevleva to make a gain, by dishonestly pursuing an insurance claim in respect of the fire. Ms Ijevleva, Mary Ragoobeer, 46, her teenage sons Shane and Sean, and 18-year-old Leah Beth Reek, 18, who was Shane's girlfriend, were all killed in the blast on Sunday February 25. Around 26 litres of petrol was used to start the fire in the basement of the supermarket, triggering a massive explosion at 7.01pm. CCTV and traffic camera footage released by police at the end of the trial shows people escaping from a nearby takeaway moments after the explosion, and rubble being blasted into the roadway as cars pass by. Footage recovered by police from a neighbouring business showed Ali in shot three days before the blast - moments before the camera angle was moved. Further images from the same CCTV unit a day before the fire showed a gloved hand moving the camera angle again - at a time when all three defendants were nearby. Kurd was also recorded on a security camera as he escaped from the scene at the rear of the shop. Ali, of Drake Close, Oldham, Hassan, of Eld Road, Coventry, and Kurd, of Hillary Place, Leicester, were remanded in custody and will be sentenced in mid-January. During his opening address, Mr Herbert told jurors: "The explosion and the proceeding fire demolished a building and killed five people in the building - one person who was in the shop and four who were in the flat above enjoying a peaceful night in." Mr Herbert said: "Even on camera 50 metres away you can see the explosion and the enormity of what happened. "It was an explosion, the prosecution say, caused by many, many litres of petrol. "The explosion and the fire that followed was deliberately caused by these defendants who intended to profit from loss of stock, contents and future loss of business from the shop. "It was not an accident, the prosecution say, that the petrol used caused such devastating damage." Describing the unlawful killing of Ms Ijevleva, Mr Herbert added: "The defendants thought she knew too much and decided to leave her to die in the explosion that they created. "In other words, the devastation that they caused was carried out with the intention to kill." In a statement issued by police after the verdict, Jose Ragoobeer, the husband of Mary, and father of Shane and Sean Ragoobeer, said: "Mary was a hard-working, loving mother and wife who was devoted to her family. "Shane was in a relationship with a lovely girl called Leah. They were so happy together. Leah was a lovely girl who bought so much joy and happiness to our home. "Sean was a good person and loving son who like Shane was always willing to help family and friends. He was looking forward to going to university and to study French and history." The family of Leah said she had been looking forward to training as a nurse. Speaking outside court, her older sister Molly said: "The light went out of our world on that terrible night. No parent should ever have to arrange a funeral for their child. It is so difficult to put into words how much we miss Leah." ||||| THREE men have been convicted of murdering five people in a shop explosion as part of a botched insurance scam. Aram Kurd, Arkan Ali and Hawkar Hassan have been convicted at Leicester Crown Court of murdering five people after setting fire to the Polish supermarket because the business was failing. They have also been found guilty of conspiracy to commit insurance fraud in attempt to embezzle £300,000. Shop worker Viktorija Ijevleva, 22, Mary Ragoobeer, 46, along with her teenage sons Shane and Sea and Shane’s girlfriend Leah Beth Reek, 18, were killed in the blast on Hinckley Road, Leicester in February. The court heard that Viktorija Ijevleva was left to die in the blaze because she “knew too much”. Prosecutor David Herbert QC told the trial: "In other words, the devastation that they caused was carried out with the intention to kill.” Mary Ragoobeer lived in the flat above which was completely destroyed. She died along with her sons and Shane’s girlfriend Leah Beth Reek. Mrs Ragoobeer’s husband Jose was out at work at the time of the explosion and their third son survived after being rescued from the rubble. Mr Herbert told the court that the three defendants intended to maximise damage to the property and “would have known” people were in the flat above. The day before the explosion, Hassan was seen on CCTV buying 26 litres of petrol. After the fire, the container he used was recovered from the wreckage. Ali doused the basement of the building in petrol before running to be collected in the getaway car driven by Hassan. Kurd feigned shock and concern for the victims as well as doing a series of television interviews. But police began to suspect the fire was deliberate soon afterwards. The jury took just over 11 hours to unanimously convict them of murder. The first two defendants were also unanimously convicted of conspiracy to commit fraud, while Hassan was convicted of the offence by a majority 11-1 verdict. Kurd glanced around the courtroom as the jury foreman took around 10 minutes to confirm the verdicts, while Ali sat with his arms folded looking towards his barrister. ||||| Three men in Britain have been found guilty of murdering five people in an explosion as part of a plot to claim over 300,000 pounds ($380,000) from an insurance policy. Arkan Ali, Hawkar Hassan and Aram Kurd were convicted Friday in Leicester Crown Court. Prosecutors say they used around 26 liters (7 gallons) of gasoline in an arson attack in February on a supermarket, causing a blast that destroyed the shop and an apartment above. Prosecutors say the men left a shop worker to die in the building because she was aware of the insurance policy taken out less than three weeks earlier. Four others also died in the explosion. | The three men suspected of causing an explosion at a shop in Leicester in February are convicted of murder. The explosion destroyed the shop and the flat above it, killing five people. The three men were also convicted of conspiracy with one of the victims to commit insurance fraud. |
||||| A St. Louis-area man shot his girlfriend, her two young children and her mother in the home they all shared, authorities said Saturday. A St. Louis-area man shot his girlfriend, her two young children and her mother in the home they all shared, authorities said Saturday. ST. CHARLES, Mo. (AP) — A St. Louis-area man shot to death his girlfriend, her two young children and her mother in the home they all shared, authorities said Saturday. He exchanged gunfire with officers as he fled and was captured several hours later in a convenience store, covered in blood and wounded. Prosecutors filed 15 charges against Richard Darren Emery of St. Charles, Missouri, including first-degree murder, assault and attempted robbery. Authorities said Emery, 46, abandoned his own pickup and tried unsuccessfully to steal a woman’s car while on the run, attacking her as well. Emery remained in a local hospital with two gunshot wounds that authorities said did not appear self-inflicted and most likely came from the shootout with officers. St. Charles County Prosecuting Attorney Tim Lohmar said investigators did not know the motive for the shootings as of Saturday evening. “We may never know,” Lohmar said during a news conference. “This one in particular was the worst example of a domestic violence case. Anytime you have a domestic violence case you worry about the safety of the victim, and this would be your worst nightmare.” St. Charles is a city of about 70,000 residents on the Missouri River northwest of St. Louis. Officials said it’s had of spate of deadly domestic violence incidents recently — with six deaths in the past eight days that Lohmar said are unrelated. Officials said police received a call just before midnight Friday about a shooting at the house where Emery and the victims lived. Lohmar said officers later found three victims dead of gunshot wounds in one bedroom. They were Zoe Kasten, 8; her brother, Jonathan Kasten, 10; and their grandmother, Jane Moeckel, 61. Officers found the fourth victim, a 39-year-old woman, in the home’s master bedroom, suffering from gunshot wounds but still alive, Lohmar said. She was taken to an area hospital, where she died. Authorities did not name the fourth victim but described her as the children’s mother, the daughter of the older woman and Emery’s girlfriend. The initial call came to police came from inside the house, and Lohmar said investigators believe Moeckel made it. “During that phone call, the 911 operator could hear gunshots in the background,” St. Charles Police Lt. Tom Wilkison said. Lohmar said Emery attempted to flee in his pickup and was stopped by a police car. He and the officers exchanged shots, and he fled on foot. Authorities described his attempt to steal another vehicle as a carjacking and said she stabbed its female driver seven times. They said her injuries were not life-threatening. The area is wooded, and Lohmar said Emery was able to elude police in the dark. But when he sought shelter in the bathroom of the convenience store a few miles away, an employee contacted police, Lohmar said. Each of the charges against Emery carries a possible penalty of 30 years to life in prison, Lohmar said, adding that more charges are possible and seeking the death penalty is an option under Missouri law. “It’s premature for us to make any sort of pronouncement about that right now, but I can tell you this thing looks and smells like a death penalty case,” he said. ___ This version of the story corrects the direction of St. Charles from St. Louis in the second paragraph ||||| ST. CHARLES, Mo. (KDKA) — St. Charles, Missouri, police confirmed they have a suspect in custody related to the overnight shooting deaths of four people on Saturday. Police say they were called to the scene of a shooting in the 100 block of Whetstone Drive just before midnight Saturday and discovered multiple gunshot victims. The police observed a vehicle leaving the scene at a high rate of speed. After the vehicle was stopped by officers, there was an exchange of gunfire between the suspect and police. No officers were injured but the suspect escaped. A short time after that, the suspect attempted a carjacking and stabbed another victim. The carjacking victim’s injury is not life threatening, according to police. After an extensive manhunt, the suspect was not immediately located. At 7:26 a.m., however, the suspect was apprehended inside a St. Charles QuikTrip after calls came in that the suspect was inside bleeding. The suspect was taken into custody and transported to the hospital for injuries sustained while fleeing police. ||||| ST. CHARLES, Mo. (KMOV.com) -- St. Charles City police confirm they have a suspect in custody related to the overnight murder of 4 people in St. Charles. Police tell News 4 this happened on Whetstone Dr., near Muegge Rd. and Abbydale Dr. Police took the suspect in custody when they found him at a St. Charles QuikTrip. Workers at the convenience store called police when a man covered in blood went into the bathroom. St. Charles police confirmed that three people were shot and killed at the home on Whetstone, and a fourth victim later died at the hospital from gunshot wounds sustained at the home. The Major Case Squad has been called in to assist with the investigation. Helicopter and SWAT teams were also called to assist in the search for the suspect. The suspect, male, allegedly left the scene on foot. Police will only describe the suspect as a white male in his 40s. Police say they were called to the scene of a shooting in the 100 block of Whetstone at midnight Saturday. Upon arrival an officer was involved in gun battle with the suspect. The officer was uninjured and it is unknown if the suspect was struck. Police held a press conference at St. Charles PD headquarters Saturday morning. No information on the suspect or the victim's identity has been released as authorities work to notify next of kin. ||||| ST. CHARLES, MO.—Authorities say four people have been fatally shot inside a St. Louis-area home and a suspect has been taken into custody after seeking shelter hours later in a convenience store. Police in St. Charles, Missouri, said the suspect also had a gun battle with officers just after midnight Saturday as he attempted to drive away from the home. ||||| ST. CHARLES, Mo. (KCTV/KMOV) -- St. Charles City police confirm they have a suspect in custody related to the overnight murder of four people in St. Charles. The police have said that the victims include an 8-year-old and a 10-year-old. Police told our affiliate KMOV this happened on Whetstone Dr., near Muegge Rd. and Abbydale Dr. Police took the suspect in custody when they found him at a St. Charles QuikTrip. Workers at the convenience store called police when a man covered in blood went into the bathroom. St. Charles police confirmed that three people were killed at the home on Whetstone, and a fourth victim later died at the hospital from wounds sustained at the home. The Major Case Squad has been called in to assist with the investigation. The suspect, male, allegedly left the scene on foot. Police will only describe the suspect as a white male in his 40s. Police say they were called to the scene of a shooting in the 100 block of Whetstone at midnight Saturday. Upon arrival an officer was involved in gun battle with the suspect. The officer was uninjured and it is unknown if the suspect was struck. According to police, the suspect fled the scene on foot and attempted to carjack a woman, and stabbed her in the process. The woman's injuries are not life threatening, police say. Police held a press conference at St. Charles PD headquarters Saturday morning. No information on the suspect or the victim's identity has been released as authorities work to notify next of kin. ||||| ST. CHARLES, Mo. (KMOV.com) -- St. Charles City police confirm they have a suspect in custody related to the overnight murder of 4 people in St. Charles. Police tell News 4 this happened on Whetstone Dr., near Muegge Rd. and Abbydale Dr. Police took the suspect in custody when they found him at a St. Charles QuikTrip. Workers at the convenience store called police when a man covered in blood went into the bathroom. St. Charles police confirmed that three people were killed at the home on Whetstone, and a fourth victim later died at the hospital from wounds sustained at the home. The Major Case Squad has been called in to assist with the investigation. The suspect, male, allegedly left the scene on foot. Police will only describe the suspect as a white male in his 40s. Police say they were called to the scene of a shooting in the 100 block of Whetstone at midnight Saturday. Upon arrival an officer was involved in gun battle with the suspect. The officer was uninjured and it is unknown if the suspect was struck. The Major Case Squad has been called in to assist with the investigation. They, along with St. Charles PD, will hold a press conference at 9 a.m. News 4 will stream that event on the KMOV News App and on Facebook. ||||| ST. CHARLES, Mo. — Authorities say four people have been fatally shot inside a St. Louis-area home and a suspect has been taken into custody after seeking shelter hours later in a convenience store. Police in St. Charles, Missouri, said the suspect also had a gun battle with officers just after midnight Saturday as he attempted to drive away from the home. They said he fled on foot, tried unsuccessfully to steal a woman’s car, stabbed her and fled on foot again. The woman’s injuries were not life-threatening. Three shooting victims were found dead inside the home. A fourth died at a local hospital. The suspect also was injured and was in a local hospital Saturday. Authorities did not name the suspect or the victims or provide details about the suspect’s potential motives. ||||| ST. CHARLES, Mo. (KMOV.com) -- St. Charles City police have identified the victims in the overnight quadruple homicide on Whetstone Drive which include a 8 and 10-year-old. Zoe J. Kasten, 8, Jonathan Kasten, 10, and Jane Moeckel, 61, have been identified by police as the victims. A fourth victim, an adult female, has not yet been positively identified. Police took the suspect, a 46-year-old male, in custody when they found him at a St. Charles QuikTrip. Workers at the convenience store called police when a man covered in blood went into the bathroom. St. Charles police confirmed that three people were shot and killed at the home on Whetstone, and a fourth victim later died at the hospital from gunshot wounds sustained at the home. The Major Case Squad has been called in to assist with the investigation. Helicopter and SWAT teams were also called to assist in the search for the suspect. The suspect, male, allegedly left the scene on foot. Police will only describe the suspect as a white male in his 40s. Police say they were called to the scene of a shooting in the 100 block of Whetstone at midnight Saturday. Upon arrival an officer was involved in gun battle with the suspect. The officer was uninjured and it is unknown if the suspect was struck. Police held a press conference at St. Charles PD headquarters Saturday morning. No information on the suspect or the victim's identity has been released as authorities work to notify next of kin. Charges are expected to be announced against the suspect in a 4 p.m. press conference at St. Charles Police headquarters. News 4 will stream the press conference on the KMOV News App and Facebook page. This is a developing story. Stay with News 4 as we work to get more information. ||||| ST. CHARLES, Mo. (AP) — The Latest on the fatal shootings of four people in a St.-Louis area home (all times local): Authorities have identified three of the four fatal shooting victims in a St. Louis-area home as a young sister and brother and their grandmother. The Major Case Squad of Greater St. Louis said three victims were found inside the home in St. Charles, Missouri early Saturday. They were 8-year-old Zoe Kasten, 10-year-old Jonathan Kasten and 61-year-old Jane Moeckel, all from St. Charles. The fourth victim, a woman, was transported to a local hospital and died there. She has not been identified. Authorities also have not identified the suspect, a 46-year-old man. He exchanged gunfire with officers as he tried to drive away and fled on foot. He was taken into custody about 7:30 a.m. Saturday at a convenience store a few miles away. Authorities say four people have been fatally shot inside a St. Louis-area home and a suspect has been taken into custody after seeking shelter hours later in a convenience store. Police in St. Charles, Missouri, said the suspect also had a gun battle with officers just after midnight Saturday as he attempted to drive away from the home. They said he fled on foot, tried unsuccessfully to steal a woman's car, stabbed her and fled on foot again. The woman's injuries were not life-threatening. Three shooting victims were found dead inside the home. A fourth died at a local hospital. The suspect also was injured and was in a local hospital Saturday. Authorities did not name the suspect or the victims or provide details about the suspect's potential motives. | Four people are killed in a shooting in St. Charles, Missouri, United States. Another person was stabbed but survived. A suspect was arrested soon after. |
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Manchester stabbing: Police restrain suspect The stabbing of three people - including a police officer - in Manchester is being treated as a terrorist investigation, police say. A man, aged 25, was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after the attack on New Year's Eve at the city's Victoria railway station. Two knives were recovered at the scene and a property is being searched in the Cheetham Hill area. The BBC understands the security services are assisting police. The three victims were taken to a nearby hospital with "serious" but not life-threatening injuries. A woman, aged in her 50s, suffered injuries to her face and stomach, while a man - also in his 50s - has injuries to his stomach. Image caption Police raided a house in the Cheetham Hill area of Manchester The officer, a police sergeant in his 30s, sustained knife wounds to his shoulder during the attack, but has since been released from hospital. Manchester Victoria railway station has reopened after the stabbings. Assistant Chief Constable Russ Jackson, of Greater Manchester Police (GMP), told reporters at a briefing at force HQ the suspect lived in the Cheetham Hill area of the city. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption GMP Chief Constable Ian Hopkins says the incident is being treated as "a terrorist investigation" Earlier, officers raided a newly built semi-detached house on Schoolside Close, a mile north of Manchester city centre. Resident Nousha Babaakachel, 40, said a Somali family lived at the address, a mother and father of five, in their 40s, who came to live in the street about 12 years ago from the Netherlands. She said two of the four sons were at university, one works at Manchester Airport and the youngest is back in Somalia. They also have a daughter. Both parents attend the local Khiza Mosque. 'Frenzied attack' At the briefing, Greater Manchester Chief Constable Ian Hopkins said: "I know that the events of last night will have affected many people and caused concern. "That the incident happened so close to the scene of the terrorist attack on 22 May 2017 makes it even more dreadful." Mr Jackson added that "given how frenzied the attack was" officers were considering the mental health of the arrested suspect. "There is wide reporting in the press about what the attacker allegedly said during the incident and because of this we want to be clear, we are treating this as a terrorism investigation," he said. He explained officers were "retaining an open mind in relation to the motivation for this attack", and said there was no information "to suggest at this time others are involved". Police recovered two knives at the scene but do not yet know if both were used in the attack. Emergency services praised Manchester Metrolink said services to the station were operating "to the normal pattern" but advised of "minor delays". Officers said counter terrorism police were leading the inquiry. Image copyright AFP Image caption The station was shut after the attack and police remain at the scene Prime Minister Theresa May and Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn both said the victims were in their thoughts, with Mrs May praising the "courageous response" of the emergency services, and Mr Corbyn highlighting their "bravery". The Home Secretary Sajid Javid said he wished those injured a "full recovery". ACC Sean O'Callaghan, from British Transport Police, said he was "incredibly proud" of the four officers who detained the suspect. They were "fearless, running towards danger and preventing further harm coming to passengers," he said. BBC 5 live producer Sam Clack, who had been at the station at the time, said he saw a man stabbed on a tram platform at the station "feet from me". Mr Clack also said he heard the knifeman shouting "Allah" during the attack, along with a slogan criticising Western governments. Image copyright AFP Image caption A man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder He added he was "close to jumping on the tracks" as the attacker had a "long kitchen knife". Greater Manchester Police, which declared the attack a "critical incident", said it understood that people would be worried but there was "no intelligence to suggest that there is any wider threat at this time". The Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, said the attacks appeared to be an "isolated incident". Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham: Stabbings appear to be "an isolated incident" Mr Clack said he first "heard this most blood-curdling scream and looked down the platform". "It looked like they were having a fight, but the woman was screaming in this blood-curdling way. I saw police in high-vis come towards him. He came towards me. "I looked down and saw he had a kitchen knife with a black handle with a good, 12in blade. It was just fear, pure fear." Image copyright AFP Image caption Police said there was "no intelligence to suggest that there is any wider threat at this time" He said police used pepper spray and a Taser on the detained man, who he said had been "resisting arrest". He said he saw "six or seven" officers on top of the man, who he described as "very skittish". "He was very aggressive and very intent on causing more harm than he actually did," he said. "It was very, very scary." Image caption A man has been arrested and officers remain at the scene Police said the woman had injuries to her face and abdomen and the man had injuries to his abdomen. The New Year firework display in Albert Square went ahead. You may also like: ||||| A man who was arrested after three people were stabbed at Manchester Victoria station has been detained under the Mental Health Act. Police said the 25-year-old suspect was being assessed by specialist medical staff over the New Year's Eve incident, which is being treated as terror related. It happened shortly before 9pm and two knives were later recovered from the scene, with a search also still being carried out at an address in the Cheetham Hill area. Police added there was "nothing to suggest the involvement of other people in this attack, but confirming this remains a main priority for the investigation". Earlier on Tuesday, police said they were keeping an open mind about the motive of the suspect, who has not yet been confirmed to be a British national. The three victims - a woman and a man in their 50s, and a British Transport Police (BTP) sergeant in his 30s - were taken to a nearby hospital in a "serious" condition but their injuries are not thought to be life-threatening. The woman suffered injuries to her face and stomach and the man had wounds to his stomach, and both are still being treated in hospital. The BTP sergeant was also treated after he was stabbed in the shoulder, but has since been released. Prime Minister Theresa May tweeted on Tuesday: "My thoughts are with those who were injured in the suspected terrorist attack in Manchester last night. I thank the emergency services for their courageous response." Also posting on Twitter, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said: "Thinking of those injured in Manchester last night, their families and loved ones. Thanks to our emergency services for their professionalism and bravery in dealing with this suspected terror attack." Great Manchester mayor Andy Burnham also paid tribute the heroism of the police and said the "vile attack" appeared to be an isolated incident. Sam Clack, a BBC producer who works in the city, was on a platform at the station when he witnessed the attack. He said: "I just heard this most blood curdling scream and looked down the platform. What it looked like was a guy in his 60s with a woman of similar age and another guy all dressed in black. "It looked like they were having a fight, but she was screaming in this blood curdling way. I saw police in high-viz come towards him. He came towards me. I looked down and saw he had a kitchen knife with a black handle with a good, 12-inch blade. It was just fear, pure fear." Mr Clack said police officers used a Taser and pepper spray before "six or seven" of them jumped on the man. Ian Hopkins, chief constable of Great Manchester Police, called the incident a "horrific attack on people simply out to enjoy the New Year's Eve celebrations". He said British Transport Police officers had showed "incredible bravery" in tackling and detaining the suspect. The man is believed to have recently been living at the address being searched in Cheetham Hill. :: Anyone with pictures or video of the incident is asked to send it to fib@gmp.police.uk. Anyone with information can call 0161 8563400. ||||| According to the Greater Manchester Police, the suspect is being held and assessed for mental health issues. On Monday evening, three people, a couple and a policeman, received stab wounds in a knife attack at Victoria station. The suspected attacker was detained minutes after the attack and is currently in custody in Manchester. The policeman was discharged from the hospital earlier on Tuesday, while the couple "are still being treated in hospital for their serious injuries," police said. UK police added that they were "currently searching an address in the Cheetham Hill area of Manchester which is believed to be where the man had most recently been living." READ MORE: Seventh Suspect Arrested in Connection with Manchester Arena Bombing Police also noted that the attack took place very close to the scene of the May 2017 Manchester Arena bombing, killed 23 people, including the attacker. ||||| A 25-year-old man arrested last night after three people were stabbed at Manchester Victoria Station has been assessed by specialist medical staff and detained under the Mental Health Act, police have revealed. However, officers have said 'the counter terrorism investigation remains ongoing'. In a statement, Greater Manchester Police also said: "There is nothing to suggest the involvement of other people in this attack, but confirming this remains a main priority for the investigation." Meanwhile, police are continuing to search an address in Cheetham Hill. A man and a woman were seriously injured and a police officer suffered a stab wound to the shoulder during the attack on Monday night. The couple are expected to remain in hospital for some time, however their injuries are not thought to be life threatening. The BTP officer has since been released from hospital. The 25-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder at the scene. IN PICTURES: Three injured in knife attack at Victoria The full text of Greater Manchester Police's latest statement said: "The 25 year old man arrested last night (31 January 2018) following the incident at Manchester Victoria Station has been assessed by specialist medical staff and detained under the Mental Health Act. "The Counter Terrorism investigation remains ongoing. There is nothing to suggest the involvement of other people in this attack, but confirming this remains a main priority for the investigation. "The search of the address in Cheetham Hill continues." ||||| The Manchester Victoria stabbing suspect has been detained under the mental health act, police announced tonight. The 25-year-old was arrested after three people, including a British Transport Police officer, were injured in a frenzied knife attack at the train station on New Year's Eve. The man has since been assessed by specialist medical staff and detained under the Mental Health Act. "There is nothing to suggest the involvement of other people in this attack, but confirming this remains a main priority for the investigation. "The search of the address in Cheetham Hill continues." Police confirmed in the early hours of this morning they were treating the attack as a terror probe. It came as screams were heard as a man allegedly knifed a couple and a British Transport Police (BTP) officer at the busy station just before 9pm last night. A Snapchat video appeared to show the suspect shouting "Allahu Akbar", meaning "God is most great", as he was surrounded by police. Today, Greater Manchester Police (GMP) told a media briefing that senior officers were treating the incident as a 'terror investigation'. They are now working to get "the full facts of what happened". The force also said that officers were searching an address in Cheetham Hill, Manchester, in relation to the probe, where the suspect is believed to have most recently been living. “Just before 9pm the British Transport Police officers at Victoria Train Station responded to a man armed with a knife and swiftly detained him," Chief Constable Ian Hopkins told reporters this morning. "The officers acted with incredible bravery in tackling the armed attacker at the busy Metrolink station and ensured he was immediately detained." He added: "We are treating this as a terrorist investigation which is being led by counter terrorism officers with support from Greater Manchester Police. "They were working throughout the night to piece together the details of what happened and to identify the man who was arrested. "This detailed work will continue and we are currently searching an address in the Cheetham Hill area of Manchester which is believed to be where the man had most recently been living. "Our work will continue to ensure we get to the full facts of what happened and why it took place." Police said the wounded couple were still being treated in hospital for their "serious" injuries following the "horrific" New Year's Eve attack. Assistant Chief Constable Russ Jackson told the briefing that the pair, in their 50s, suffered multiple stab wounds in the "frenzied" attack. The "brave" BTP officer, who is in his 30s and was stabbed in the shoulder, was also hospitalised but has since been released. Mr Jackson added: "We believe we have identified the man in custody. "In fact we are currently searching an address in the Cheetham Hill area of Manchester, we commenced that in the last 30 to 40 minutes. "We know the attacker arrived at the location and soon after he attacked two people, a man and a woman, who have suffered very serious injuries. Whilst serious thankfully these are not life threatening." The couple are expected to remain in hospital for some time, he said. He continued: "There is wide reporting in the press about what the attacker allegedly said during the incident and because of this we want to be clear, we are treating this as a terrorism investigation. "However it's really important to stress we are retaining an open mind in relation to the motivation for this attack. "We have nothing to suggest at this time others are involved." Ast Chf Const Jackson told the briefing that police recovered two knives but do not yet know if both were used in the attack. Witnesses had earlier described how "hero" officers ran through the station and hurled themselves at the suspect without hesitation. Police raced over as horrified commuters heard a "bloodcurdling scream" and a man was allegedly spotted with a 12-inch blade. Determined to protect the public, officers reportedly used a Taser and pepper spray before "six or seven" of them 'jumped' on the suspect. They are then said to have held him down on the ground. One shocked witness, called Bekky, told Mirror Online last night: "I’m in awe of the BTP, as soon as I heard the screaming they were running to the scene to protect everyone. Another witness described how police 'came towards' the suspect. "At one point one of the police officers fired the Taser but it missed him," recalled Sam Clack, who had been waiting for a tram home. "Then he got pepper sprayed and Tasered and he went to the ground." BTP Assistant Chief Constable Sean O'Callaghan said: "I am incredibly proud of the four officers who were immediately on scene last night, detaining a man who was wielding a knife. "They were fearless, running towards danger and preventing further harm coming to passengers. "Unfortunately however, one of our police officers suffered a stab injury to their shoulder and we're all relieved that this is not more serious. "It is good news that he has now been discharged from hospital, we are all wishing him a speedy recovery." GMP had earlier described the 'stabbed' couple's injuries. The force said the woman had suffered injuries to her face and abdomen, while the man sustained injuries to his abdomen. A spokesman added: "The police sergeant... was taken to hospital with a stab wound to his shoulder following the attack at the station. "Within minutes, a man was arrested near to Metrolink platforms A and B on suspicion of attempted murder." Victoria station is situated next to Manchester Arena, where suicide bomber Salman Abedi killed 22 people on May 22. Chf Const Hopkins said: "I know that the events last night will have affected many people and caused concern. "That the incident happened so close to the scene of the terrorist attack on 22 May 2017 makes it even more dreadful." GMP had earlier said there would be a greater police presence around the station today, but that there was no increased threat to people's safety. ||||| The terror suspect who was arrested after a “frenzied” New Year’s Eve stabbing which left three people hurt has been detained under the Mental Health Act. Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said the 25 year-old, who is being held on suspicion of attempted murder, has been assessed by specialist medical staff. Police are searching his home. “There is nothing to suggest the involvement of other people in this attack, but confirming this remains a main priority for the investigation. “The search of the address in Cheetham Hill continues.” British Prime Minister Theresa May joined British Transport Police in commending the emergency services for containing the threat during the incident, which occurred at around 9pm on Monday at Manchester Victoria Station. Police at Victoria Station in Manchester following the incident (PA) ||||| The suspect arrested over the stabbings at Manchester Victoria Station on New Year’s Eve has been detained under the Mental Health Act, police have confirmed. Greater Manchester Police said the 25-year-old man from Cheetham Hill, Manchester had been assessed by medical staff on Tuesday afternoon after being taken into custody yesterday evening. The man, who has yet to be identified, stabbed three people including a police officer in Manchester Victoria station on New Year's Eve while screaming 'Allahu Akbar'. Anti-terror officers raided his home in the city today and spoke to neighbours who said they believe the house was inhabited by a Somali couple. Neighbours also said the couple have four or five children, who reportedly moved with their parents to the UK from the Netherlands around 12 years ago. Footage of the aftermath of the 'frenzied' attack at Manchester's Victoria Station last night shows a man being pinned down by five police officers, with blood stains on the pavement. Another video shows the suspect shouting 'Allahu Akbar', meaning 'God is most great' in Arabic, as he was put in the back of a police van. He was also heard screaming: 'Long live the Caliphate', a reference to the enclave carved out by terror group ISIS. A witness said he also shouted: 'As long as you keep bombing other countries, this sort of s*** is going to keep happening.' Nousha Babaakachel, a neighbour of the home raided, said a Somali family live at the address. She said the couple have two sons are at university, one working at Manchester Airport and the youngest son is back in Somalia. They also have a daughter. Witnesses to last night's events have praised the British Transport Police officer who was stabbed in the shoulder after 'bravely and immediately' confronting the attacker during a routine patrol. BTP Assistant Chief Constable Sean O'Callaghan said: 'I am incredibly proud of the four officers who were immediately on scene last night, detaining a man who was wielding a knife. 'They were fearless, running towards danger and preventing further harm coming to passengers. 'Unfortunately however, one of our police officers suffered a stab injury to their shoulder and we're all relieved that this is not more serious. It is good news that he has now been discharged from hospital, we are all wishing him a speedy recovery.' Prime Minister Theresa May said: 'My thoughts are with those who were injured in the suspected terrorist attack in Manchester last night. I thank the emergency services for their courageous response.' Home Secretary Sajid Javid tweeted on Tuesday evening: 'Just had an update from @TerrorismPolice about last night's £ManchesterVictoria incident and their investigation. Can't praise police and emergency services response enough - swift and brave.' A witness told the Daily Mirror: 'As soon as I heard the screaming they were running to the scene to protect everyone. They are heroes.' Police said a 25-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and remains in custody as his home is searched. They could not confirm whether he had previously been flagged to them. Assistant Chief Constable Russ Jackson said a couple in their 50s suffered multiple stab wounds in the 'frenzied' and 'random' attack around 9pm, during which the attacker wielded two knives. Mr Jackson said: 'We believe we have identified the man in custody. In fact we are currently searching an address in the Cheetham Hill area of Manchester. 'We know the attacker arrived at the location and soon after he attacked two people, a man and a woman, who have suffered very serious injuries. Whilst serious, thankfully these are not life threatening.' The station where the attack unfolded is next to Manchester Arena, where suicide bomber Salman Abedi killed 22 people on May 22. The area was reopened after a cordon was lifted this morning. Witness Sam Clack, who came within touching distance of the attacker, said he heard the man shout 'Allah' as he launched the attack. Mr Clack, a BBC producer, was on a platform at Manchester Victoria railway station waiting for a tram home when he witnessed the attack. The 38-year-old said: 'I just heard this most blood-curdling scream and looked down the platform. What it looked like was a guy in his 60s with a woman of similar age and another guy all dressed in black. 'It looked like they were having a fight but she was screaming in this blood curdling way. I saw police in high-vis come towards him. 'He came towards me. I looked down and saw he had a kitchen knife with a black handle with a good, 12-inch blade. It was just fear, pure fear.' Mr Clack said police officers used a Taser and pepper spray before 'six or seven' officers jumped on the man and held him down. He said he heard the suspect saying: 'As long as you keep bombing other countries this sort of s*** is going to keep happening.' Mr Clack said it looked like both the man in his 60s and the woman with him had been stabbed, but both were conscious and were walked to a waiting ambulance. He said he also heard the knifeman shouting 'Allah' before and during the attack. Police appeared 'within seconds' and the knifeman backed down the platform towards where Mr Clack was standing alone. Mr Clack described how he feared the man would attack him. 'I just had a feeling in the pit of my stomach,' he said. 'Here's a man who's very agitated, angry, skittish. It appears he had already attacked someone. He had police coming towards him and he's coming towards me. 'I thought what I need to do is jump onto the tracks because next thing he's going to do is turn around and stab me. He's looking about, side to side and jumpy. 'At one point one of the police officers fired the Taser but it missed him. Then he got pepper sprayed and tasered and he want to the ground. 'The guy, his exact words were, he said: 'As long as you keep bombing other countries, this sort of s*** is going to keep happening'.' He added: 'It was scary. I have never been so scared in my life. Someone with a knife six to eight feet away, he had just stabbed someone. It was the proximity. 'It just highlights the fact that it can happen anywhere. It's just a guy with a knife on a platform. It can happen anywhere. Anyone can do it.' A police sergeant in his 30s injured in the attack has been released from hospital, while the other two victims are currently receiving treatment. A British Transport Police spokesperson said the woman has injuries to her face and abdomen and the man has injuries to his abdomen, while a BTP officer has a stab wound in his shoulder - all of which are described as 'serious but not life-threatening'. In footage posted on Snapchat reportedly showing the suspect being put in the back of a police van, he can be heard shouting 'Allahu Akbar' as he is led away by officers. Another eyewitness, named only as Rebecca, told Mirror Online: 'I heard the most bloodcurdling scream I've ever heard and turned to see everyone running towards me. 'Some guy told me to run. 'Keep running' was all he kept saying - 'just keep running'. I jumped off the tram track and started to run down the tram lines and hid behind some concrete slabs under one of the arches. The Metrolink has been cordoned off and the station is currently shut down while police investigate the scene. The attack took place just a few hundred meters away from the Manchester Arena, scene of the deadly bombing in May 2017 which killed 23 revellers at an Ariana Grande concert. British Transport Police said in a statement: 'Officers are attending Manchester Victoria station following reports of a man wielding a knife. We received the call at 8.52pm on Monday, 31 December. 'A man has been detained and two members of the public, a man and a woman have been taken to hospital with knife injuries. 'A BTP officer is also receiving treatment for a stab wound to the shoulder. British Transport Police remain at the scene along with colleagues from Greater Manchester Police and the North West Ambulance Service.' ISIS urge British extremists to carry out 'horror and misery' UK attack during festive season by Larisa Brown, Middle East Correspondent for the Daily Mail Islamic State jihadists yesterday used encrypted apps to urge extremists in Britain to carry out a knife attack in Westminster during the festive season. They told members of closed groups on the encrypted Telegram messaging app to bring 'horror and misery' to non-believers over the New Year, it can be revealed. One image circulated showed a crowd of people outside Big Ben watching fireworks with a man carrying a bloodied knife. There was also a splatter of blood over the image of Parliament. In Arabic and also translated in English, it read: 'Hunt them O Muwahid (a believer in Allah).' It had chilling echoes of the Westminster terror attack in March 2017 when Briton Khalid Masood drove a car into pedestrians before fatally stabbing an unarmed police officer. In a separate document posted on the app, known for its use by terrorists, IS extremists explained in graphic detail who to target with a knife. The terror manual suggested targeting a 'drunken kafir (non-believer)' or someone 'in an alley close a night club or another place of debauchery'. 'It may also help to carry a baton or some kind of concealable blunt object, such as a baseball bat, to strike the victim's head', it said. This would immobilise him 'before cutting his throat or stabbing him in other lethal areas to finish him off', it recommended. The call to inflict bloodshed in Europe has significantly increased in recent days, with the group appearing to have a 'new energy', according to intelligence experts. The documents were circulated in closed groups on Telegram and intercepted by cyber intelligence company Global Intelligence Insight. They said most of the accounts are managed by individuals with extensive operational experience, both in recruitment and radicalisation. 'According to our analysis we have been seeing a growing increase in the level of threat that has been used,' a spokesman for the company said. There were also threats against the US, France, Italy and Spain in numerous languages including in Arabic, English and Russian. Some of the Telegram groups have hundreds of members, others with just a few which are used for 'operational tasking'. They are also actively pushing and circulating old terror manuals from Rumiyah Magazine. These are urging extremists to inflict mass casualties with vans such as the one used in the London Bridge attack. Vasco Amador, CEO of GGII, who intercepted the terrorists communications, said: 'They are putting a lot of effort into increasing their online reach in order to stimulate terror attacks and recent trends in activity are greater than we have seen for some time. 'There are thousands of people interacting in theses communications channels all over the world and it is clear there are British supporters in there as well.' Philip Ingram MBE, a former Colonel in British military intelligence and chairman of GII, said there was a seeming 'new energy' in IS's online radicalisation efforts. He said: 'The volume of information that is circulating about how to carry out attacks, where to acquire weapons, how to manufacture explosives, how to maintain security, is huge. 'Extremist terrorism has not gone and the threats to Europe and the UK through 2019 will remain extremely high.' IS has nearly been defeated militarily in Syria and Iraq but many have fled to countries such as Afghanistan. There are fears battle-hardened jihadists could also try to return to the UK. ||||| It’s time we realised that good mental health is as important as being physically fit. People suffering from depression and anxiety need to be heard. They need to be told that they’re loved. The year 2018 has been an eye opening year. The increasing number of suicide cases compelled people to have meaningful talks on the disease. Young people whose smiling faces hid inexplicable pain took their lives after struggling from depression. This year we need to take pledge to convince people who are struggling with mental health issues to seek help and live a life with good mental health. ||||| Sir, – Mr John Farrelly, chief executive of the Mental Health Commission, is correct that more needs to be done to improve mental health services (“Legacy of disrespect lingers in our mental health services”, Opinion & Analysis, December 27th). There is a global dimension to this issue. The World Health Organisation reports that, despite depression being the world’s leading cause of disability and 800,000 people dying by suicide annually, most people affected by mental illness – 75 per cent in many low-income countries – do not get the treatment they need. In addition, people with mental illness are at increased risk of unemployment, homelessness and imprisonment in many countries, including Ireland. But there are reasons for optimism. Globally, suicide has fallen by 38 per cent since 1994 and many countries are stepping up to the challenge of mental illness in new and positive ways. In May 2018, India granted a legally binding right to mental health care to all of its 1.3 billion residents – one sixth of the planet’s population. Given the under-resourcing of services in India, the challenge is certainly great, but the vision is greater still. In Ireland, too, rates of suicide are falling and our 2006 mental health policy, A Vision for Change, is currently being updated. The Mental Health Act 2001 is also being revised, to place greater emphasis on human rights. In March 2018, we ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and we are introducing new mental capacity legislation to provide greater voice to people with disabilities, including those with long-term mental illness. Yes, we need to do much more, but there are signs of positive change. In the words of Martin Luther King, “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice”. – Yours, etc, ||||| A man with a 'long knife' has stabbed at least three people in a frenzied attack at Manchester's Victoria Station. British Transport Police (BTP) were called to the scene just before 9pm tonight as a man wielding a knife stabbed members of the public. Two members of the public, a man and a woman, and a BTP officer were taken to hospital with stab injuries. People travelling this evening feared it was a terror attack and were left shaken by the incident, reports our sister title the Daily Mirror . Sam Clack, a producer at the BBC, tweeted how he nearly jumped on the tracks to get away from the knifeman. He said: "Just been very close to the most terrifying thing. Man stabbed in Manchester Victoria station on tram platform. "Feet from me, I was close to jumping on the tracks as attacker had long kitchen knife. Totally shaken. This is seriously messed up." He described the incident as "so surreal and terrifying" and said "hope I never see anything like that again". BTP said in a statement: "Officers are attending Manchester Victoria station following reports of a man wielding a knife. "We received the call at 8.52pm on Monday, 31 December. "A man has been detained and two members of the public, a man and a woman have been taken to hospital with knife injuries. "A BTP officer is also receiving treatment for a stab wound to the shoulder. "British Transport Police remain at the scene along with colleagues from Greater Manchester Police and the North West Ambulance Service." BTP greater Manchester later added the station remains closed and officers are at the scene | Three people are injured after being stabbed in an attack at Manchester Victoria station. The attacker shouted "Allah" during the attack. The attack is being treated as a terror-related incident, police have confirmed, and due to concerns over his mental health, the suspect is being held under the Mental Health Act. |
TOKYO – Police said a car slammed into pedestrians on a street where people had gathered for New Year’s festivities in downtown Tokyo, injuring eight people. Police took into custody a man in his 20s but did not further identify him. They say he is suspected of intentionally trying to kill people by driving the car through the street. READ MORE: 3 injured after New Year’s Eve stabbing at Manchester, U.K. train station NHK TV footage showed a small van with the entire front end smashed and officers and ambulance workers rushing to the scene. The crash occurred early Tuesday on Takeshita Dori, well known to tourists and pop culture and fashion fans, that runs right by Meiji Shrine in Harajuku. ||||| Policemen stand next to a car which plowed into pedestrians on New Year day in Tokyo, Japan, January 1, 2019. TOKYO - At least eight people were injured, one seriously, when a vehicle plowed into crowds celebrating New Year's Day in Tokyo early on Tuesday. A police spokesman said the driver had been detained and national broadcaster NHK said the man had been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder. He was identified as Kazuhiro Kusakabe, 21, from Osaka, a major city about 400 km (250 miles) southwest of Tokyo, NHK said. NHK said the suspect had initially described the incident as an "act of terror" but later said the attack was in retaliation for capital punishment. The incident happened shortly after midnight local time on Monday in the popular tourist area of Harajuku, near Meiji Shrine, in central Tokyo. "I can't believe it, this is a place I'm familiar with, so it's very shocking," said Tatsuhiro Yaegashi, a 27-year-old worker in the area. The street was closed to vehicles at the time of the incident to accommodate the large number of pedestrians making their way to the shrine for New Year's prayers. TV pictures of the scene on Tuesday showed a gray coloured light vehicle used in the attack, positioned across the street. The front of the vehicle was badly damaged and dozens of police and rescue officials were at the scene. The suspect fled from the scene and assaulted a passerby before he was captured 20 minutes later, NHK said. About 20 liters of kerosene were found in the vehicle. "I learned about the incident later. But I shudder to think. If the incident had happened five minutes later, I would've been involved," a woman who walked past the scene shortly after the incident told NHK. In a similar attack in 2008, a man who said he was tired of life drove a rental truck into a crowd of pedestrians in Tokyo before jumping out and stabbing several people. At least seven people were killed and a dozen injured. ||||| At least nine people were injured, one seriously, when a car plowed into crowds celebrating New Year’s Eve in a central part of Tokyo, according to police. The incident occurred on the well-known Takeshita Street in the shopping and tourist district of Harajuku, which runs parallel to the famous Meiji shrine. The road was closed to facilitate access to the shrine, which is a popular destination for people on New Year’s Eve. Tokyo Metropolitan Police told CNN that they have opened an investigation into the incident, which occurred at around 10 minutes past midnight on January 1st. One person, a 21-year-old man, has been detained on suspicion of attempted murder, according to police. The injured ranged in age from teenagers to those in their 50s. One male university student remains in critical condition. The suspect, named as Kazuhiro Kusakabe, initially told police that he had conducted a terrorist act, later saying he had deliberately driven the car down the narrow street to protest his opposition to the death penalty, telling police he “would not make any excuse” for his actions. The car barreled down the narrow street, which was packed with pedestrians, slamming into a number of them, police said. ||||| Tokyo -- A minivan slammed into pedestrians early Tuesday on a street where people had gathered for New Year's festivities in downtown Tokyo, injuring eight people, police said. The suspect, 21, Kazuhiro Kusakabe, was arrested and being questioned, Tokyo Metropolitan Police said on customary condition of anonymity. He is suspected of intentionally trying to kill people by driving the small vehicle through the street. NHK TV footage showed a small van with the entire front end smashed and officers and ambulance workers rushing to the scene. A ninth person was injured after Kusakabe got out of the car and punched him, police said. His condition was not immediately known. A large tank filled with kerosene was found in the car, police said. The suspect appeared to have planned to set his car on fire, Mainichi newspaper and other Japanese media reported. Police declined to comment on the reports, saying such possible motives were still under investigation. Investigative sources told the Japan Times that the man said he rammed his vehicle into the crowd "in retaliation for an execution." It was not immediately clear what he was referring to. The crash occurred early Tuesday on Takeshita Dori, a road well known to tourists and pop culture and fashion fans that runs right by Meiji Shrine in Harajuku, Shibuya ward. Every New Year's Eve, the train line that includes Harajuku station runs all night, for people welcoming the new year with a shrine visit. Japan is a relatively crime free nation with strict gun-control laws. In 2008, a man drove his car into a crowd in the popular Akihabara electronic-shopping district, got off and went on a stabbing spree with a knife. Seven people were killed. ||||| A car has rammed pedestrians on a busy Tokyo street that was closed to traffic for New Year festivities. A 21-year-old man initially confessed to a terrorist act but later recanted, leaving investigators puzzled about his motives. The car, which was driving in a wrong lane, bulldozed into revelers in Japan’s capital city as it swerved into a shopping street bustling with people just after midnight, NHK reported. The ramming is believed to have been intentional, as the street had been closed to traffic due to the New Year celebrations. Hundreds of people were heading to a nearby shrine to pray for good luck in the new year. Eight people were injured in the incident, including one male university student who was taken to hospital in critical condition. Teenagers and adults in their 50s are among the victims. The driver was identified as 21-year-old Kazuhiro Kusakabe. He initially attempted to flee the scene on foot but was located and apprehended by police some 20 minutes after the incident. Kusakabe repeatedly changed his story when questioned about his motives. Initially, the 21-year-old claimed that he had carried out a terrorist attack. However, he then backtracked on that, saying instead that he had attempted a murder. Shortly after, Kusakabe again changed his tune, claiming that he rammed the people in response to executions. It is unclear if he was referring to the system of capital punishment that exists in Japan, or to specific executions. Japan executed 15 people in 2018, its highest number in one year since 2008. Death penalties are carried out with no advance warning to an inmate, his or her family or their legal representative. Earlier this year, Japan executed 13 members of the Aum Shinrikyo sect that had carried out a sarin chemical attack on Tokyo subway in 1995. Their deaths rekindled the debate on capital punishment, with the US and Japan being the only countries among the G7 group that still have recourse to it. Last week, Japan executed two prisoners who had been on death row since 2004, charged with robbery and murder. ||||| At least nine people were injured, one seriously, when a car deliberately plowed into crowds celebrating the New Year in central Tokyo in the early hours of Tuesday morning. The incident occurred on the well-known Takeshita Street in the shopping and tourist district of Harajuku, which runs parallel to the famous Meiji shrine. The narrow, iconic street is known worldwide as a hub of Japanese youth culture and fashion, and the area famous for its “Harajuku girls,” who dress in outlandish, striking costumes. The road was closed to traffic over the New Year, largely because of its proximity to the Meiji Shrine, which is a popular destination for people on New Year’s Eve — many Japanese visit local or famous shrines over the new year period to pray for good fortune in the coming year. Images showed crowds flocking to the shrine on New Year’s Day, despite the incident just hours earlier. The car barreled down the narrow street, which was packed with pedestrians, at around 12.10 a.m., on New Year’s day, police said. One of the injured was reportedly attacked by the suspect after he had exited the vehicle after it had come to a stop. One eyewitness told local media that he saw “people collapsed one after another and being helped.” Media also reported that the driver eluded arrest for around 20 minutes before police caught him. Tokyo Metropolitan Police told CNN that they have opened an investigation into the incident. One person, a 21-year-old man, has been detained on suspicion of attempted murder, according to police. The injured ranged in age from teenagers to those in their 50s. One male university student remains in critical condition. The suspect, named as Kazuhiro Kusakabe, initially told police that he had conducted a terrorist act, later saying he had deliberately driven the car down the narrow street to protest his opposition to the death penalty, telling police he “would not make any excuse” for his actions. CNN affiliate TV Asahi reported, citing police, that a large amount of kerosene was discovered in the suspect’s car. Traces of the liquid were also found on his clothes. The suspect reportedly told police that he had acted in “retaliation for the execution of Aum cult members.” The remaining members of the doomsday cult, which was found to be responsible for a 1995 sarin gas attack on a Tokyo subway, were executed in July. ||||| A car has rammed pedestrians on a busy Tokyo street that was closed to traffic for New Year festivities.The car, which was driving in a wrong lane, bulldozed into revelers in Japan's capital city as it swerved into a shopping street bustling with people just after midnight, NHK reported. Hundreds of people were heading to a nearby shrine to pray for good luck in the new year.Eight people were injured in the incident, including one male university student who was taken to hospital in critical condition. Teenagers and adults in their 50s are among the victims.The driver was identified as 21-year-old Kazuhiro Kusakabe.Kusakabe repeatedly changed his story when questioned about his motives. Initially, the 21-year-old claimed that he had carried out a terrorist attack. However, he then backtracked on that, saying instead that he had attempted a murder. Shortly after, Kusakabe again changed his tune, claiming that he rammed the people in response to executions. It is unclear if he was referring to the system of capital punishment that exists in Japan, or to specific executions.Japan executed 15 people in 2018, its highest number in one year since 2008. Death penalties are carried out with no advance warning to an inmate, his or her family or their legal representative. Earlier this year, Japan executed 13 members of the Aum Shinrikyo sect that had carried out a sarin chemical attack on Tokyo subway in 1995.Last week, Japan executed two prisoners who had been on death row since 2004, charged with robbery and murder. ||||| TOKYO (AP) — A minivan slammed into pedestrians early Tuesday on a street where people had gathered for New Year’s festivities in downtown Tokyo, injuring eight people, police said. The suspect, 21, Kazuhiro Kusakabe, was… TOKYO (AP) — A minivan slammed into pedestrians early Tuesday on a street where people had gathered for New Year’s festivities in downtown Tokyo, injuring eight people, police said. The suspect, 21, Kazuhiro Kusakabe, was arrested and being questioned, Tokyo Metropolitan Police said on customary condition of anonymity. He is suspected of intentionally trying to kill people by driving the small vehicle through the street. NHK TV footage showed a small van with the entire front end smashed and officers and ambulance workers rushing to the scene. A ninth person was injured after Kusakabe got out of the car and punched him, police said. His condition was not immediately known. A large tank filled with kerosene was found in the car, police said. The suspect appeared to have planned to set his car on fire, Mainichi newspaper and other Japanese media reported. Police declined to comment on the reports, saying such possible motives were still under investigation. The crash occurred early Tuesday on Takeshita Dori, a road well known to tourists and pop culture and fashion fans that runs right by Meiji Shrine in Harajuku, Shibuya ward. Every New Year’s Eve, the train line that includes Harajuku station runs all night, for people welcoming the new year with a shrine visit. Japan is a relatively crime free nation with strict gun-control laws. In 2008, a man drove his car into a crowd in the popular Akihabara electronic-shopping district, got off and went on a stabbing spree with a knife. Seven people were killed. Yuri Kageyama is on Twitter at https://twitter.com/yurikageyama Copyright © 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed. ||||| Nine people were hurt, one seriously, when a man deliberately ploughed his car into crowds celebrating New Year’s Eve along a famous Tokyo street, police and media said Tuesday. With an “intent to murder”, 21-year-old Kazuhiro Kusakabe drove a small vehicle into Takeshita Street in Tokyo’s fashion district of Harajuku at 12.10am, a police spokesman said. According to national broadcaster NHK, Kusakabe told police he was acting in “retribution for the death penalty” without giving more precise details. NHK footage showed a small box vehicle with a smashed front and paramedics carrying people on stretchers into ambulances. “It is a shock. Really scary, isn’t it?” one bystander told NHK. Hong Kong actor Eric Tsang Chi-wai says policeman’s car was ‘totally out of control’ in Japan Christmas Day crash, reveals his ribs fractured Police immediately cordoned off the street, which was packed with people celebrating the New Year. One college student suffered serious injuries during the attack and was undergoing surgery, the police spokesman said. Kusakabe was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, police said. According to local media, Kusakabe hit a total of eight people and assaulted another on the street, which was closed to car traffic at the time as revellers packed the area to celebrate New Year. Takeshita Street is packed with small shops and is considered the centre of youth culture and fashion in Japan, attracting tens of thousands of international tourists every day. Unlike in other major cities, New Year in Tokyo is a relatively muted affair. There is no major fireworks display and no central point where drunken revellers gather to see in the New Year. Instead, Japanese people tend to see in the New Year with families and quietly go to the shrine to pray for good fortune in the year to come. ||||| At least nine people were hurt shortly after midnight on Tuesday when a man rammed his car into pedestrians on a Tokyo street in what he claimed was an act of terrorism, local media reported. The suspect, 21, Kazuhiro Kusakabe, was arrested and being questioned, Tokyo Metropolitan Police said on customary condition of anonymity. He is suspected of intentionally trying to kill people by driving the small vehicle through the street. NHK TV footage showed a small van with the entire front end smashed and officers and ambulance workers rushing to the scene. According to national broadcaster NHK, Kusakabe told police he was acting in "retribution for the death penalty" without giving more precise details. NHK footage showed a small box vehicle with a smashed front and paramedics carrying people on stretchers into ambulances. A ninth person was injured after Kusakabe got out of the car and punched him, police said. His condition was not immediately known. A large tank filled with kerosene was found in the car, police said. The suspect appeared to have planned to set his car on fire, Mainichi newspaper and other Japanese media reported. Police declined to comment on the reports, saying such possible motives were still under investigation. The crash occurred early Tuesday on Takeshita Dori, a road well known to tourists and pop culture and fashion fans that runs right by Meiji Shrine in Harajuku, Shibuya ward. Every New Year's Eve, the train line that includes Harajuku station runs all night, for people welcoming the new year with a shrine visit. Japan is a relatively crime free nation with strict gun-control laws. In 2008, a man drove his car into a crowd in the popular Akihabara electronic-shopping district, got off and went on a stabbing spree with a knife. Seven people were killed. | A car plows into New Year's celebrators in Tokyo, Japan, injuring eight. A ninth person was assaulted by the driver after he got out of the vehicle. Police believe the incident to be intentional. |
RIO DE JANEIRO/BRASILIA (Reuters) - New Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro issued an executive order on Wednesday making the Agriculture Ministry responsible for deciding on lands claimed by indigenous peoples, in a victory for agribusiness that will likely enrage environmentalists. FILE PHOTO: Brazil's new President Jair Bolsonaro gestures after receiving the presidential sash from outgoing President Michel Temer at the Planalto Palace, in Brasilia, Brazil January 1, 2019. REUTERS/Sergio Moraes/File Photo The temporary decree, which will expire unless it is ratified within 120 days by Congress, strips power over land claim decisions from indigenous affairs agency FUNAI. It says the Agriculture Ministry will now be responsible for “identification, delimitation, demarcation and registration of lands traditionally occupied by indigenous people.” The move stoked concern among environmentalists and rights groups that the far-right president, who took office on Tuesday, will open up the vast Amazon rainforest and other ecologically sensitive areas of Brazil to greater commercial exploitation. The executive order also moves the Brazilian Forestry Service, which promotes the sustainable use of forests and is currently linked to the Environment Ministry, under Agriculture Ministry control. Additionally, the decree states that the Agriculture Ministry will be in charge of the management of public forests. Bolsonaro, who enjoys strong support from Brazil’s powerful agribusiness sector, said during his campaign he was considering such a move, arguing that protected lands should be opened to commercial activities. Brazil’s 900,000 indigenous people make up less than 1 percent of the population, but live on lands that stretch for 106.7 million hectares (264 million acres), or 12.5 pct of the national territory. “Less than a million people live in these isolated places in Brazil, where they are exploited and manipulated by NGOs,” Bolsonaro tweeted, referring to non-profit groups. “Let us together integrate these citizens and value all Brazilians.” Critics say Bolsonaro’s plan to open indigenous reservations to commercial activity will destroy native cultures and languages by integrating the tribes into Brazilian society. Environmentalists say the native peoples are the last custodians of the Amazon, which is the world’s largest rainforest and is vital for climate stability. Adding to the gloom for NGOs, Bolsonaro also signed an executive order to give his government potentially far-reaching and restrictive powers over non-governmental organizations working in Brazil. The temporary decree mandates that the office of the Government Secretary, Carlos Alberto Dos Santos Cruz, “supervise, coordinate, monitor and accompany the activities and actions of international organizations and non-governmental organizations in the national territory.” GOOD NEWS FOR FARM LOBBY After she was sworn in on Wednesday, new Agriculture Minister Tereza Cristina Dias defended the farm sector from accusations it has grown at the expense of the environment, adding that the strength of Brazil’s farmers had generated “unfounded accusations” from unnamed international groups. Dias used to be the head of the farm caucus in Brazil’s Congress, which has long pushed for an end to land measures that it argues hold back the agricultural sector. “Brazil is a country with extremely advanced environmental legislation and is more than able to preserve its native forests,” Dias said. “Our country is a model to be followed, never a transgressor to be punished.” In comments to reporters after her speech, she said that decisions over land rights disputes were a new responsibility for the Agriculture Ministry. However, she indicated that in practice, the demarcation of land limits would fall to a council of ministries, without giving further details. Bartolomeu Braz, the president of the national chapter of Aprosoja, a major grain growers association, cheered Wednesday’s move to transfer indigenous land demarcation to the Agriculture Ministry. “The new rules will be interesting to the farmers and the Indians, some of whom are already producing soybeans. The Indians want to be productive too,” he added. ENVIRONMENTAL FEARS Three-time presidential candidate and former Environment Minister Marina Silva, who was beaten by Bolsonaro in October’s election, reacted with horror to the move. “Bolsonaro has begun his government in the worst possible way,” she wrote on Twitter. Dinamã Tuxá, a member of Brazil’s Association of Indigenous Peoples, said many isolated communities viewed Bolsonaro’s administration with fear. “We are very afraid because Bolsonaro is attacking indigenous policies, rolling back environmental protections, authorizing the invasion of indigenous territories and endorsing violence against indigenous peoples,” said Tuxá. Under the new plan, the indigenous affairs agency FUNAI will be moved into a new ministry for family, women and human rights. Slideshow (2 Images) A former army captain and longtime member of Congress, Bolsonaro said at his inauguration on Tuesday that he had freed the country from “socialism and political correctness.” An admirer of Donald Trump, Bolsonaro has suggested he will follow the U.S. president’s lead and pull out of the Paris climate change accord. In addition to the indigenous lands decree, the new administration issued decrees affecting the economy and society on Wednesday, while forging closer ties with the United States. ||||| Brazil's newly inaugurated president issued an executive order on Wednesday making the Ministry of Agriculture responsible for deciding on lands claimed by Indigenous peoples, in a victory for agribusiness that will likely enrage environmentalists. During his presidential campaign, far-right Jair Bolsonaro said he was considering placing Indigenous affairs under the Ministry of Agriculture, alleging lands should be opened to commercial activities that are currently banned. Bolsonaro has now decided to move Indigenous affairs agency FUNAI into a new ministry for family, women and human rights. As a result, key decisions on land claims will be in the hands of an Ministry of Agriculture with deep ties to Brazil's powerful farm sector. Critics say Bolsonaro's plan to open Indigenous reservations to commercial activity will destroy native cultures and languages by integrating the tribes into Brazilian society. Environmentalists say the local Indigenous peoples are the last custodians of the Amazon, the world's largest rainforest, which is vital for climate stability. A former army captain, Bolsonaro took office in Brazil on Tuesday saying he had freed the country from "socialism and political correctness." His supporters hope he will cut through red tape to kick-start the economy, tackle violent drug gangs and run a graft-free government. Others fear he will unleash bloodshed by making guns more readily available and roll back social victories for minorities. ||||| SAO PAULO/BRASILIA (Reuters) - New Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro issued an executive order on Wednesday making the Agriculture Ministry responsible for deciding on lands claimed by indigenous peoples, in a victory for agribusiness that will likely enrage environmentalists. The temporary decree, which will expire unless it is ratified within 120 days by Congress, strips power over land claim decisions from indigenous affairs agency FUNAI. It hands it to the Agriculture Ministry, which will now be responsible for “identification, delimitation, demarcation and registration of lands traditionally occupied by indigenous people.” The move is likely to stoke concern among environmentalists and rights groups that the far-right new president, who took office on Tuesday, will open up the vast Amazon rainforest and other ecologically sensitive areas of Brazil to greater commercial exploitation. The executive order also moves the Brazilian Forestry Service, which promotes the sustainable use of forests and is currently linked to the Environment Ministry, under the control of the Agriculture Ministry. Additionally, the decree states that the Agriculture Ministry will be in charge of the management of public forests. Bolsonaro, who enjoys strong support from Brazil’s powerful agribusiness sector, said during his campaign he was considering such a move, arguing that currently protected lands should be opened to commercial activities. Brazil’s 900,000 indigenous people make up less than 1 percent of the population, but live on lands that stretch for 106.7 million hectares (264 million acres), or 12.5 pct of the national territory. Tereza Cristina Dias, Bolsonaro’s new agriculture minister, used to be the head of the farm caucus in Brazil’s Congress, which has long pushed for an end to land measures that it argues hold back the agricultural sector. Bartolomeu Braz, the president of the national chapter of Aprosoja, a major grain growers association, cheered Wednesday’s move. “We support the initiative of transferring to the agriculture ministry the responsibility of demarcating indigenous land,” he said. “The new rules will be interesting to the farmers and the Indians, some of whom are already producing soybeans. The Indians want to be productive too,” he added. Critics say Bolsonaro’s plan to open indigenous reservations to commercial activity will destroy native cultures and languages by integrating the tribes into Brazilian society. Environmentalists say the native peoples are the last custodians of the Amazon, which is the world’s largest rainforest and is vital for climate stability. “We are very afraid because Bolsonaro is attacking indigenous policies, rolling back environmental protections, authorizing the invasion of indigenous territories and endorsing violence against indigenous peoples,” said Dinamã Tuxá, a member of Brazil’s Association of Indigenous Peoples. A former army captain and longtime member of Congress, Bolsonaro said at his inauguration on Tuesday that he had freed the country from “socialism and political correctness.” A strong admirer of Donald Trump, Bolsonaro has suggested he will follow the U.S. president’s lead and pull out of the Paris climate change accord. His supporters hope he will cut through red tape to kick-start the economy, tackle violent drug gangs and run a graft-free government. Others fear he will unleash bloodshed by making guns more readily available and roll back social gains for minorities. Under the new plan, the indigenous affairs agency FUNAI will be moved into a new ministry for family, women and human rights. During her inauguration as agriculture minister on Wednesday, Dias did not mention the executive order, but sought to defend the farm sector from accusations it has grown at the expense of the environment, saying Brazil has some of the world’s toughest environmental laws. She also promised a streamlining of bureaucracy and increased rule of law in the agricultural sector. ||||| SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Brazil’s newly inaugurated President Jair Bolsonaro has issued an executive order saying that the ministry of agriculture will be responsible for indigenous land in a victory for agribusiness that is likely to enrage environmentalists, according to the official gazette on Wednesday. During his presidential campaign, Bolsonaro had said that he was considering placing indigenous affairs under the ministry of agriculture, alleging lands should be opened to commercial activities that are currently banned. A former army captain, Bolsonaro took office in Brazil on Tuesday saying he had freed the country from “socialism and political correctness.” ||||| SAO PAULO/BRASILIA (Reuters) - New Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro issued an executive order on Wednesday making the Agriculture Ministry responsible for deciding on lands claimed by indigenous peoples, in a victory for agribusiness that will likely enrage environmentalists. The temporary decree, which will expire unless it is ratified within 120 days by Congress, strips power over land claim decisions from indigenous affairs agency FUNAI. It says the Agriculture Ministry will now be responsible for “identification, delimitation, demarcation and registration of lands traditionally occupied by indigenous people.” The move stoked concern among environmentalists and rights groups that the far-right new president, who took office on Tuesday, will open up the vast Amazon rainforest and other ecologically sensitive areas of Brazil to greater commercial exploitation. The executive order also moves the Brazilian Forestry Service, which promotes the sustainable use of forests and is currently linked to the Environment Ministry, under Agriculture Ministry control. Additionally, the decree states that the Agriculture Ministry will be in charge of the management of public forests. Bolsonaro, who enjoys strong support from Brazil’s powerful agribusiness sector, said during his campaign he was considering such a move, arguing that protected lands should be opened to commercial activities. Brazil’s 900,000 indigenous people make up less than 1 percent of the population, but live on lands that stretch for 106.7 million hectares (264 million acres), or 12.5 pct of the national territory. “Less than a million people live in these isolated places in Brazil, where they are exploited and manipulated by NGOs,” Bolsonaro tweeted, referring to non-profit groups. “Let us together integrate these citizens and value all Brazilians.” New Agriculture Minister Tereza Cristina Dias used to be the head of the farm caucus in Brazil’s Congress, which has long pushed for an end to land measures that it argues hold back the agricultural sector. After she was sworn in on Wednesday, Dias defended the sector from accusations it has grown at the expense of the environment, adding that the strength of Brazil’s farmers had generated “unfounded accusations” from unnamed international groups. “Brazil is a country with extremely advanced environmental legislation and is more than able to preserve its native forests,” Dias said. “Our country is a model to be followed, never a transgressor to be punished.” Bartolomeu Braz, the president of the national chapter of Aprosoja, a major grain growers association, cheered Wednesday’s move. “We support the initiative of transferring to the agriculture ministry the responsibility of demarcating indigenous land,” he said. “The new rules will be interesting to the farmers and the Indians, some of whom are already producing soybeans. The Indians want to be productive too,” he added. Critics say Bolsonaro’s plan to open indigenous reservations to commercial activity will destroy native cultures and languages by integrating the tribes into Brazilian society. Environmentalists say the native peoples are the last custodians of the Amazon, which is the world’s largest rainforest and is vital for climate stability. Three-time presidential candidate and former Environment Minister Marina Silva, who was beaten by Bolsonaro in October’s election, reacted with horror at the move. “Bolsonaro has begun his government in the worst possible way,” she wrote on Twitter. Dinamã Tuxá, a member of Brazil’s Association of Indigenous Peoples, said many isolated communities viewed Bolsonaro’s administration with fear. “We are very afraid because Bolsonaro is attacking indigenous policies, rolling back environmental protections, authorizing the invasion of indigenous territories and endorsing violence against indigenous peoples,” said Tuxá. Under the new plan, the indigenous affairs agency FUNAI will be moved into a new ministry for family, women and human rights. A former army captain and longtime member of Congress, Bolsonaro said at his inauguration on Tuesday that he had freed the country from “socialism and political correctness.” An admirer of Donald Trump, Bolsonaro has suggested he will follow the U.S. president’s lead and pull out of the Paris climate change accord. His supporters hope he will slash red tape to kick-start the economy, tackle violent gangs and run a graft-free government. Others fear he will unleash bloodshed by making guns more readily available and roll back social gains for minorities. ||||| Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro has decreed the FUNAI agency in charge of indigenous affairs will no longer have a say over creating and defining the boundaries of lands occupied by indigenous people (AFP Photo/CARL DE SOUZA) Brasília (AFP) - Brazil's new president, Jair Bolsonaro, has stripped an agency of the responsibility to demarcate indigenous lands in a move that has unsettled native rights groups and even some farm businesses that will benefit. The decree published late Tuesday marked Bolsonaro's first order since taking office earlier that same day. It stipulates that the FUNAI agency in charge of indigenous affairs will no longer have a say over creating and defining the boundaries of lands occupied by indigenous people in Brazil. Instead, the agriculture ministry will take over those functions. Bolsonaro has said he intends to loosen regulations holding back farming and mining interests in Brazil, including those relating to nature preservation and indigenous land. Part of his proposed reform is to bring FUNAI under the ministry in charge of human rights, instead of the justice ministry where it is currently placed. He had planned to merge to merge the agriculture and environment ministries but backtracked when that provoked an outcry. Bolsonaro, a far-right veteran lawmaker, won election in October by promising a pro-business, anti-crime agenda. To pass legislation, he will rely on lobbies in Congress representing the interests of agribusiness and a burgeoning evangelical movement, instead of reaching out to the leaders of other parties. "You see? The dismantlement has already started. FUNAI is no longer responsible for the identification, delimitation and demarcation of indigenous lands," a far-left indigenous leader, Sonia Guajajara, tweeted. Agribusiness lobbyists also expressed concern, fearing that trade sanctions could end up being slapped on Brazilian agricultural exports by countries in favor of nature preservation. ||||| Brazil's new president is making it all but impossible for lands of indigenous tribes to be identified and demarcated. President Jair Bolsonaro issued an inauguration day executive order to transfer those responsibilities to Brazil's Agriculture Ministry. The Justice Ministry demarcated the lands of indigenous tribes previously, but far-right leader Bolsonaro made it a campaign promise to change that. His agriculture minister, Tereza Cristina, is part of the agribusiness caucus in Brazil's lower house and an adversary of requests from native tribes. Indigenous leader Sonia Guajajara says the presidential order aims to dismantle protections for Brazilian tribes. Bolsonaro said during the campaign he wanted to annul demarcation decisions made by previous administrations. His order also affects the lands of quilombolas, as descendants of former slaves are known. ||||| SAO PAULO — Brazil’s new president is making it all but impossible for lands of indigenous tribes to be identified and demarcated. President Jair Bolsonaro issued an inauguration day executive order late Tuesday to transfer those responsibilities to the Agriculture Ministry. The new agriculture minister, Tereza Cristina, is part of the agribusiness caucus in Brazil’s lower house and an adversary of requests from native communities. Bolsonaro, a far-right former army captain and longtime congressman, said during his presidential campaign that he would stop making what he calls concessions to native Brazilians. His executive order also affects the lands of “quilombolas,” as descendants of former slaves are known. “Less than one million people live in those places isolated from the real Brazil,” Bolsonaro tweeted Wednesday. “They are explored and manipulated by nonprofits. Together we will integrate those citizens and give value to all Brazilians.” The agriculture minister did not mention indigenous tribes in her first speech on the job Wednesday, which she used to criticize those that in her view consider the Latin American nation “a transgressor to be incriminated” when it comes to climate change. “Unfounded accusations come from all sides, including international organizations,” said Cristina, one of the two women in Bolsonaro’s 22-member Cabinet. The Justice Ministry previously handled demarcation of indigenous lands, through the FUNAI agency, which also oversees other initiatives for indigenous communities such as health care, housing and language preservation. Bolsonaro’s order is raising uncertainties about FUNAI by shifting it to a new ministry for family, women and human rights that is headed by an ultraconservative evangelical pastor. Indigenous leader Sonia Guajajara said the presidential order aims to dismantle protections for Brazil’s indigenous communities. “Does anyone still doubt his promises to exclude us during the campaign?” she asked on Twitter. The new president said last year he also wants to annul demarcation decisions made by previous administrations, but legal experts say recent Brazilian Supreme Court rulings could block such move. Bolsonaro, a fan of U.S. President Donald Trump, met with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday. Pompeo told him that Trump is “very pleased with the relationship that our two countries are on the precipice of beginning to develop.” “He’s also confident that it (the relationship between the U.S. and Brazil) will benefit the world and the set of shared values that we believe we can together advance,” Pompeo said before leaving Brasilia for Colombia. Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. ||||| SAO PAULO (AP) — Newly installed President Jair Bolsonaro targeted Brazil’s indigenous groups, descendants of slaves and the LGBT community with executive orders in the first hours of his administration, moving quickly after a campaign… SAO PAULO (AP) — Newly installed President Jair Bolsonaro targeted Brazil’s indigenous groups, descendants of slaves and the LGBT community with executive orders in the first hours of his administration, moving quickly after a campaign in which the far-right leader said he would radically overhaul many aspects of life in Latin America’s largest nation. Sao Paulo’s stock market, meanwhile, jumped 3.56 percent to a record closing of 91,012 points as new Cabinet ministers reinforced the intent to privatize state-owned companies and a Brazilian arms maker benefited from Bolsonaro’s plans to loosen gun controls. Similar spikes in stock prices also occurred during the presidential campaign. One of the orders issued late Tuesday, hours after Bolsonaro’s inauguration, likely will make it all but impossible for new lands to be identified and demarcated for indigenous communities. Areas set aside for “Quilombolas,” as descendants of former slaves are known, are also affected by the decision. Another order removed the concerns of the LGBT community from consideration by the new human rights ministry. In a move favorable to his allies in agribusiness, which have criticized giving large swaths of lands to the indigenous, Bolsonaro transferred the responsibilities for delineating indigenous territories from the Justice Ministry to the Agriculture Ministry. The new agriculture minister, Tereza Cristina, is part of the agribusiness caucus in Brazil’s lower house and has opposed requests from native communities. Bolsonaro, a former army captain and longtime congressman, said during his presidential campaign that he would stop making what he calls concessions to native Brazilians and Quilombolas. “Less than one million people live in those places isolated from the real Brazil,” he tweeted Wednesday. “They are explored and manipulated by nonprofits. Together we will integrate those citizens and give value to all Brazilians.” The Justice Ministry previously handled demarcation of indigenous lands through the FUNAI agency, which also oversees other initiatives for indigenous groups such as health care, housing and language preservation. Bolsonaro’s order is raising uncertainties about FUNAI by shifting it to a new ministry for family, women and human rights that is headed by an ultraconservative evangelical pastor. Observatorio do Clima, a network of 45 Brazilian civil society groups, criticized the executive orders, calling them “only the first step on meeting Bolsonaro’s campaign promises of dismantling environmental governance, stripping indigenous peoples of their rights and opening up indigenous lands for business.” “The attack on FUNAI goes beyond the wildest dreams of the rural caucus, who had tried for years to pass a constitutional amendment transferring the demarcation of indigenous lands from the president to Congress,” the nonprofit said. “Bolsonaro solved the problem by transferring them directly to farmers.” The far-right leader said last year that he also wants to annul land demarcation decisions made by previous administrations, but legal experts say recent Brazilian Supreme Court rulings could block such move. New Health Minister Luiz Henrique Mandetta also suggested on Wednesday that there will be spending cuts in health care for the indigenous. “We have figures for the general public that are much below what is spent on health care for the indigenous,” he said, without providing details. In removing LGBT concerns from the responsibilities of the human rights ministry, Bolsonaro did not name any agency to consider such issues. He has strongly criticized what he calls “gender-based ideology,” saying it is a threat to Brazil’s Christian values. Damares Alves, the new human rights minister, did not discuss the LGBT order in her first address on the job, but the evangelical pastor has insisted over the years that “the Brazilian family is being threatened” by diversity policies. On Wednesday, she said: “The state is lay, but this minister is terribly Christian.” Under the new administration, Alves added, “Girls will be princesses and boys will be princes. There will be no more ideological indoctrination of children and teenagers in Brazil.” LGBT activist Symmy Larrat said she doesn’t’ expect reasonable treatment from the Bolsonaro administration. “The human rights ministry discussed our concerns at a body called secretariat of promotion and defense of human rights. That body just disappeared, just like that. We don’t see any signs there will be any other government infrastructure to handle LGBT issues,” she said. The newspaper Folha de S.Paulo reported that Bolsonaro will later announce the closing of an agency within the Education Ministry that has been aimed at promoting diversity in public schools and universities. New Foreign Minister Ernesto Araujo indirectly criticized the LGBT community as being “those that say they are not men and women.” Also on Wednesday, the Brazilian Press Association criticized restrictions on journalists at Bolsonaro’s inauguration. Reporters had to arrive seven hours before the events began and were forbidden to move freely in Congress and the presidential palace. Food was seized and access to bathrooms and water was limited. “What was seen in different scenarios of Brasilia is incompatible with a democratic regime,” the association said in a statement. “Respect to the press is one of the main indicators of nations that consider themselves civilized.” Bolsonaro’s first day in office sparked a wave of optimism in Brazil’s financial market. Stocks of Brazil’s electric-company Eletrobras soared more than 20 percent. Arms maker Taurus, one of the main allies of the new president, jumped more than 47 percent. Bolsonaro, a fan of U.S. President Donald Trump, met with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to discuss joint efforts regarding the leftist administrations in Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela. Pompeo told him that Trump is “very pleased with the relationship that our two countries are on the precipice of beginning to develop.” “He’s also confident that it (the relationship between the U.S. and Brazil) will benefit the world and the set of shared values that we believe we can together advance,” Pompeo said before leaving Brasilia for Colombia. Copyright © 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed. ||||| related media assets (image or videos) available. Click to see the gallery. 2 related media assets (image or videos) available. Click to see the gallery. Brazil's newly inaugurated president issued an executive order on Wednesday making the ministry of agriculture responsible for deciding on lands claimed by indigenous peoples, in a victory for agribusiness that will likely enrage environmentalists. SAO PAULO: Brazil's newly inaugurated president issued an executive order on Wednesday making the ministry of agriculture responsible for deciding on lands claimed by indigenous peoples, in a victory for agribusiness that will likely enrage environmentalists. During his presidential campaign, far-right Jair Bolsonaro said he was considering placing indigenous affairs under the ministry of agriculture, alleging lands should be opened to commercial activities that are currently banned. Bolsonaro has now decided to move indigenous affairs agency FUNAI into a new ministry for family, women and human rights, and so the key decision on land claims will be in the hands of an agriculture ministry with deep ties to Brazil's powerful farm sector. Critics say Bolsonaro's plan to open indigenous reservations to commercial activity will destroy native cultures and languages by integrating the tribes into Brazilian society. Environmentalists say the native peoples are the last custodians of the Amazon, the world's largest rainforest that is vital for climate stability. A former army captain, Bolsonaro took office in Brazil on Tuesday saying he had freed the country from "socialism and political correctness." His supporters hope he will cut through red tape to kick-start the economy, tackle violent drug gangs and run a graft-free government. Others fear he will unleash bloodshed by making guns more readily available and roll back social victories for minorities. | President of Brazil Jair Bolsonaro issues a decree to place the responsibility for "identification, delimitation, demarcation and registration of lands traditionally occupied by indigenous people" on the Ministry of Agriculture, instead of the indigenous peoples affairs agency, FUNAI. The management of public forests also goes to the agriculture ministry. The move is seen as a big win for the industrial agribusiness lobby. |
Containers with items including flat-screen televisions have washed up on Dutch islands in the North Sea. Dozens of containers with items including flat-screen televisions have washed up on Dutch islands in the North Sea after a ship lost part of its cargo in heavy seas, bringing a windfall for local treasure hunters. The Dutch Coast Guard said up to 270 containers had fallen off the Panamanian-flagged MSC ZOE, one of the world's biggest container ships, in rough weather near the German island of Borkum and floated southwest toward Dutch waters. Containers broke open on the shores of the Dutch islands of Terschelling and Vlieland. Others were floating or stranded off the coasts of Ameland and Schiermonnikoog, part of a chain of islands that guard the Dutch coast. The Coast Guard warned ships in the area to beware of floating containers. Three containers holding hazardous materials have not yet been located, the Coast Guard said. Dozens of containers with items including flat-screen televisions have washed up on Dutch islands in the North Sea after a ship lost part of its cargo in heavy seas, bringing a windfall for local treasure hunters. Dutch media reported that local treasure hunters had found an array of items from containers whose contents had spilled, including light bulbs, car parts, Ikea furniture, clothing and toys. Local media carried pictures of groups of people congregating around beached blue containers and one carrying off what appeared to be a flatscreen TV still packed in foam. Such material is considered flotsam, and residents of the islands have a centuries-old tradition of collecting it. It was unclear if the goods were water-damaged. The mayor of the island of Vlieland, Tineke Schokker, said that the municipality doesn't mind scavenging. "It's just really nice of people," she told local news agency ANP. "Processing it would cost more than the stuff is worth, and anyway with the two officers we have it would be impossible to guard, the stuff is littered over the whole beach." A spokesman for the ship's operator, MSC, had no immediate comment. Get Breaking news, live coverage, and Latest News from India and around the world on NDTV.com. Catch all the Live TV action on NDTV 24x7 and NDTV India. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter and Instagram for latest news and live news updates. ||||| Around 270 containers are estimated to have fallen overboard from MSC Zoe, an ultra large containership owned by Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), while the boxship was battling heavy weather on its journey toward Bremerhaven, Germany, on January 2. The Dutch Coast Guard informed that at least 21 containers have washed ashore at the beaches of Vlieland, Terschelling and Ameland, adding that there are still containers in the water. The coast guard said on Wednesday that interested parties should not help with the cleaning activities as there are three unlocalized containers that could contain hazardous materials. According to the latest update from Germany’s Central Command for Maritime Emergencies (Havariekommando), some of the containers that went overboard have already been spotted, including six in German waters. However, it is yet to be determined whether a container with dangerous goods had been among those that went overboard. “MSC has started a clean-up operation in response to a substantial spill of containers in the North Sea,” MSC said in a statement today. “Unfortunately, a number of the containers were damaged or lost overboard amid very difficult conditions.” The Swiss-based containership owner has appointed a salvage company to coordinate the retrieval of cargo and beach clean-up operations and is also deploying specialised ships equipped with sonar to search for missing cargo at sea. “MSC takes this incident very seriously, both in terms of the impact of such accidents on the natural environment and in terms of any damage to customers’ cargo. In all aspects of the clean-up MSC is collaborating with local authorities,” the company added. “MSC will ensure that customers who seek further information receive direct communications in the coming days. They are invited to contact local MSC representatives.” MSC Zoe proceeded to Bremerhaven for cargo discharge operations. The German authorities said that the ship moored at Bremerhaven at 00:35 this morning after being accompanied to the port by the multipurpose vessel Neuwerk. MSC said it was analyzing the causes of the incident. Image Courtesy: Havariekommando; Kustwacht ||||| A Dutch beach has been left covered in chemicals and plastic after hundreds of shipping containers fell into the North Sea. At least 270 containers toppled into the ocean from the freighter MSC Zoe on Wednesday, many of which were filled with plastic toys, flat-screen TVs and hazardous materials. Treasure-hunters are being warned not to touch anything that washes ashore, but scavengers have flocked to the beach in search of items. Among the debris was a 25kg bag of peroxide, a bleaching agent which can cause injury when it comes into contact with skin. It is not yet know how many of the containers sank to the sea bottom and how many could still be floating in the ocean and pose a risk to marine life or other ships. The bag was safely removed by emergency crews, but more debris is expected to wash ashore in the coming days. The Dutch military has been mobilised and hundreds of local people have volunteered to clean away the pollution which washed up on or near the Dutch islands of Terschelling, Vlieland, Ameland and Schiermonnikoog. Defence Ministry spokesman Sjaak Van Elten said: ‘The expectation is that more things may wash up on beaches tonight.’ But the Dutch Coast Guard said attempts to locate floating containers were being ‘hindered by multiple sport planes that have come to look … We ask them to remain out of the area of this air space to prevent dangerous situations’. German authorities are leading the investigation into what caused the accident, which occurred in German waters near the island of Borkum. An MSC statement said the containers were lost overboard during ‘heavy weather’, and a salvage company had been hired to assist in the clean up and search for missing items. MSC said it was taking the incident ‘very seriously, both in terms of the impact of such accidents on the natural environment and in terms of any damage to customer’s cargo’. The MSC Zoe, one of the world’s largest container vessels, is owned by Geneva-based Mediterranean Shipping Company. The freighter is currently docked at port in Bremerhaven, Germany. ||||| The MSC Zoe, one of the world's largest cargo ships, lost some of its cargo on Tuesday as it navigated stormy waters on its way from Antwerp in Belgium to Bremerhaven in Germany. The Dutch coastguard said more than 20 containers have washed up on the beaches of Vlieland, Terschelling and Ameland on the western side of the Frisian Island chain. Six containers have been spotted in German waters and the country's East Frisian Islands were also on alert, with a warning issued on Borkum late Wednesday. A message, issued via the mobile warning and information service KATWARN, said that containers and hazardous goods could make their way onto the beaches. Following discussions with the ship's crew, emergency authorities in the North Sea coastal city of Cuxhaven reported that at least one of the containers has inside it the industrial chemical benzoyl peroxide, used to make plastic. The shipping company that operates the MSC Zoe is deploying specialised vessels kitted out with sonar to clean up the "substantial spill," it said in a statement. The cargo ship arrived in Bremerhaven during the night, Germany's Central Command for Maritime Emergencies said on Thursday. It is 394 metres in length and can carry more than 19,000 standard-sized containers. ||||| Up to 270 containers at least one transporting dangerous materials fell off a cargo ship in a storm on its way from Belgium to Germany, the German Maritime Emergencies Command said. The ship was heading from Antwerp to Bremerhaven in the North Sea. The shipping company corrected the operation team’s initial estimate of 30 containers falling overboard, the command said on Wednesday. At least one container that went overboard contained hazardous materials. READ ALSO:N150m tramadol Bribe: Group wants Customs to disclose identity of Importer According to the Dutch coastguard, at least three containers contained peroxides, chemical compounds which can be dangerous in high concentrations. The container ship, the MSC Zoe, is one of the largest container ships in the world and can transport roughly 19,000 containers. Thus far, 21 containers have washed up on the Dutch islands of Vlieland, Terschelling and Ameland, the Dutch coastguard said. ||||| AMSTERDAM (REUTERS) - Dozens of containers with items including flat-screen televisions have washed up on Dutch islands in the North Sea after a ship lost part of its cargo in heavy seas, bringing a windfall for local treasure hunters. The Dutch Coast Guard said up to 270 containers had fallen off the Panamanian-flagged MSC ZOE, one of the world's biggest container ships, in rough weather near the German island of Borkum and floated south-west toward Dutch waters. Containers broke open on the shores of the Dutch islands of Terschelling and Vlieland. Others were floating or stranded off the coasts of Ameland and Schiermonnikoog, part of a chain of islands that guard the Dutch coast. The Coast Guard warned ships in the area to beware of floating containers. Three containers holding hazardous materials have not yet been located, the Coast Guard said. Dutch media reported that local treasure hunters had found an array of items from containers whose contents had spilled, including light bulbs, car parts, Ikea furniture, clothing and toys. Local media carried pictures of groups of people congregating around beached blue containers and one carrying off what appeared to be a flatscreen TV still packed in foam. Such material is considered flotsam, and residents of the islands have a centuries-old tradition of collecting it. It was unclear if the goods were water-damaged. The mayor of the island of Vlieland, Tineke Schokker, said that the municipality doesn't mind scavenging. "It's just really nice of people," she told local news agency ANP. "Processing it would cost more than the stuff is worth, and anyway with the two officers we have it would be impossible to guard, the stuff is littered over the whole beach." A spokesman for the ship's operator, MSC, had no immediate comment. ||||| Search is on for containers lost off Dutch coast by ship BERLIN (AP) — Authorities in Germany and the Netherlands are searching for up to 270 shipping containers lost at sea by a cargo ship caught in a storm, saying some are carrying hazardous materials. German authorities say the cargo ship that lost the containers landed in the German port of Bremerhaven early Thursday. The Central Command for Maritime Emergencies said six containers so far have been sighted in German waters, while more than 20 have washed ashore in the Netherlands or are drifting off the Dutch island of Terschelling. German authorities say at least one of the containers is carrying organic peroxide, a flammable and highly toxic compound. Authorities in the Netherlands have warned the public to stay away from the containers. ||||| BERLIN — Authorities in Germany and the Netherlands were searching Thursday for up to 270 shipping containers lost at sea by a cargo ship caught in a storm, saying that a few of them are carrying hazardous material. A bag of the substance washed ashore on a Dutch island. The ship that lost the containers, the MSC Zoe, arrived in the German port of Bremerhaven early Thursday. The ship, which had last called at Sines, Portugal, lost part of its cargo Wednesday in a storm off the northern coast of the Netherlands and Germany. Germany’s Central Command for Maritime Emergencies said authorities have established that three missing containers at most contained a dangerous substance, but none of them has been found yet. The substance in question is an organic peroxide, a flammable and highly toxic compound. On Thursday, authorities in the Netherlands said that one bag of peroxide had been washed ashore on Schiermonnikoog island. German authorities said that most of the containers located so far were in Dutch waters. Special ships equipped with sonar were being used to search in the North Sea for sunken containers. The Dutch defense ministry said it was recalling soldiers from their Christmas leave to help clear up beaches on North Sea islands starting Friday, following requests from the mayors of Schiermonnikoog and nearby Terschelling island. It said about 100 soldiers will be deployed. Officials in both countries have warned the public to stay away from the containers. The ship’s operator, MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company, said it “takes this incident very seriously, both in terms of the impact of such accidents on the natural environment and in terms of any damage to customers’ cargo.” It said it is collaborating with local authorities “in all aspects of the cleanup.” Police in Bremerhaven were investigating the cause of the accident. Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. ||||| BERLIN — Authorities in Germany and the Netherlands are searching for up to 270 shipping containers lost at sea by a cargo ship caught in a storm, saying some are carrying hazardous materials. German authorities say the cargo ship that lost the containers landed in the German port of Bremerhaven early Thursday. The Central Command for Maritime Emergencies said six containers so far have been sighted in German waters, while more than 20 have washed ashore in the Netherlands or are drifting off the Dutch island of Terschelling. German authorities say at least one of the containers is carrying organic peroxide, a flammable and highly toxic compound. Authorities in the Netherlands have warned the public to stay away from the containers. Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. ||||| Public warned away from ship containers lost off Dutch coast THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Dutch authorities are warning the public to stay away from some of the 270 containers that a cargo ship lost off the northern coast of the Netherlands because they contained a hazardous chemical. The Dutch coast guard said three containers carried closed-off barrels of an organic peroxide, a flammable and highly toxic compound. The container ship is suspected to have lost cargo that included toys, light bulbs and flat screens during an overnight storm off the coastal border between Germany and the Netherlands. German maritime officials identified the ship as the MSC Zoe. By mid-afternoon on Wednesday, more than 20 containers had washed ashore on the Wadden Islands, a North Sea archipelago. Some beaches on the islands already saw a surge of curious people checking out what washed up. | The Dutch Coast Guard says 270 containers fell off MSC Zoe in heavy seas near the German island of Borkum and floated towards the Netherlands. Treasure hunters revel on the West Frisian islands of Terschelling and Vlieland. Three containers containing hazardous materials are still missing and ships are warned for floating containers. |
Of course, the announcement was also celebrated by New Yorkers who rely on the line. Jocelyn Crespo, 35, who lives in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, described herself as “very relieved.” “It gives us more options to get into work and opportunities to get to our friends,” she said. But Mr. Cuomo’s announcement also raised a host of questions: Would the new technology work? Has it been effective elsewhere? Why did the governor wait until the last minute to do this? Transit advocates wondered how much the construction would cost and raised questions over whether Mr. Cuomo, who controls the subway, had made the decision unilaterally. Mr. Cuomo appeared pleased to have stepped in to save the day. The decision, he said, would be a “phenomenal benefit to the people of New York City.” Mayor Bill de Blasio’s office, however, sounded a note of caution, saying the whiplash move by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which oversees the subway, “was certainly no way to run a railroad.” “So long as this new strategy proves to be real, the mayor thinks this is great news for L-train riders,” Eric Phillips, a spokesman for the mayor, said in a statement. “But like everyone else, the mayor thinks the M.T.A. has some real explaining to do about how it has handled this for the last few years.” |||||
• A New York City subway line that was scheduled to close completely for 15 months won’t be shutting down after all, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced Thursday.
• Teams of engineers from Columbia and Cornell universities studied systems in London, Hong Kong, and Riyadh to find a cheaper – and quicker – solution that wouldn’t strand 300,000 daily commuters.
• “Smart” fiber optic cables, lidar, and “racked” cabling will be used to mitigate further damage in the rehabilitated tunnel. When New York Governor Andrew Cuomo toured a subway tunnel nearly destroyed by Hurricane Sandy in December, he and an entourage of engineers from Columbia and Cornell Universities saw first-hand the tremendous damage that salt water can do to a century-old tunnel. After the hurricane’s 14-foot storm surge inundated the L train’s tracks, it crippled a vital link between Brooklyn and Manhattan that carries more than 250,000 commuters every day. The only option, now more than six years later, seemed to be a complete closure of the tunnel for 15 months. After carefully studying technologies in London, Hong Kong, and Riyadh, the team assembled by Gov. Cuomo – the de-facto leader of the state’s Metropolitan Transportation Administration – recommended a ten-fold solution that would avoid a complete shutdown. First, it’s important to understand why the damage was so bad New York’s subway is old. Very old. The Canarsie Line, which now carries the L train service from 14th street in Chelsea, under the East River to Williamsburg, through Bushwick and eventually to Canarsie, began service in 1924. It’s only two tracks for its entire 10-mile length – a surprising anomaly, considering most of the system has multiple to accommodate express and local services. Despite being the first service of New York’s 27 lines to receive an upgrade to a modern signal system, known as Communications Based Train Control, or CBTC for short, much of the electronic equipment was installed inside a concrete “bench wall” in the tunnel. When the tunnel flooded, it got inside the wall and corroded the communications and signaling equipment. The MTA was able to restore service following the storm, but warned for years that a complete shutdown would be necessary to remove and replace the destroyed infrastructure. In 2017, after three years of public input and several possible options, officials decided a 15-month closure beginning in April 2019 was the best course of action. With just months until the closure was scheduled to begin, a cryptic tweet from the non-profit Transit Center foundation began to make the rounds on Thursday morning. And an hour later, a scheduled announcement appeared on the Governor’s public schedule for 12:45 pm at his Midtown Manhattan office. Assembled high above third avenue’s bustling traffic was the team of experts assembled by Cuomo, including the deans of Columbia and Cornell’s engineering schools alongside MTA acting chairman Fernando Ferrer and other agency officials. Moments later, the governor would announce the cancellation of the closure that had seen Brooklyn rents plummet and businesses make contingency plans for the lost foot traffic and revenue. The repaired tunnel will be the first of its kind in the US Instead of replacing the cabling that’s stuck inside the concrete benchwall, contractors will instead repair any damaged portions of the wall and convert it into a walkway for emergency situations and repairs going forward. For this, they’ll use fiberglass patching that’s been used on other infrastructure projects and is a bonafide method of construction, experts said at the press conference. New electronic equipment will be sheathed in low-smoke, fire resistant cabling and “racked” or hung from the tunnel in a way that it avoids further damage and can be easily repaired if need be. A ground wire will be placed underneath the track bed, as is currently done on some outdoor and above-ground lines. “This is a design that has not been used in the US before,” Cuomo said. “It has been implemented in Europe, but has never been implemented in a tunnel restoration project. It uses many new innovations that are new, frankly, to the rail industry.” Some night and weekend closures of one tube will still be necessary, the MTA said in a press release, allowing for a limited service to continue at the same time as construction. The “de-coupling” of the infrastructure has “never been done before,” the governor added. Damaged cabling inside the benchwall will be abandoned and replaced with new electronics. Fiber optic cables will also be installed along the entire 32,000 benchwall that can continuously monitor the tunnel for cracks or damage, before a catastrophe occurs. Lidar, a laser-like radar technology, can also be added onto trains for more thorough periodic inspections to the structure. “This is really state of the art technology,” Lance Collins, dean of Cornell’s engineering school, said at the press conference. “This is an unusual application in that we’re using it in rehabilitation, but its proven technology.” Other recommendations from the task force, all of which have been accepted by the MTA, include waterproof tunnel gates which can be closed in the event of high water to prevent flooding. The technology could be rolled out to other infrastructure projects, too The L train is far from the only piece of New York infrastructure experiencing a crisis. The Gateway tunnel that connects New York and New Jersey via the Hudson River, which Gov. Cuomo also toured in December, is also badly in need of repair or a new tube for the critical Amtrak Northeast Corridor trains and commuter rail services. The Second Avenue Subway – a multi-decade boondoggle that only recently opened with three stops – could also use the technology, the MTA said. “Human nature is to do what you have done that is tried and true,” said Gov. Cuomo. “No designer wants to give you a plan that hasn’t been done before, but you have to be willing to break the box.”
• New York Gov. Cuomo axes plan to shut down the L train, saves Brooklynites from commuting hell
• New York’s governor just killed a plan to shut down one of the most crowded subway lines in NYC – and people are freaking out
• New York Governor Andrew Cuomo killed a controversial plan that would have caused commuting hell for thousands of people – but it’s terrible news for people moving to the area
• People are slamming New York’s governor for taking over 2 years to come up with a plan to avoid shutting down one of NYC’s busiest subway lines ||||| NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — Gov. Andrew Cuomo has proposed a new option which would change plans to shut down the L train subway tunnel between Manhattan and Brooklyn, currently set to begin work on April 27. Repairs on the tunnel were expected to take 15 months and only keep L train service operational between Bedford Avenue and Canarsie Parkway stations in Brooklyn during that time, with no service between the boroughs. Cuomo announced on Thursday his engineers and officials have come up with a new plan that, among other features, “would not require to shutdown the L train at all.” Night and weekend work would only require closures of one tube, allowing transit to continue. “To make a long story short, they have proposed a new design to use in the tunnel,” said Cuomo. “It is a design that has not been used in the United States before to the best of our knowledge.” The governor noted the new plan follows methods that have been used in Europe, but not for tunnel restoration. “The MTA has gone through the new designs and believes it is feasible,” he said. The repairs on what is called the Canarsie Tunnel have been needed for years due to damage from Superstorm Sandy. The tunnel flooded during the storm, requiring extensive short-term repairs just to bring service back. Long-term repairs are now need to make sure the tunnel can continue to operate “without major failures.” Last month, Cuomo and his team toured the Gateway Tunnel and Canarsie Tunnel ahead of the scheduled shutdown as part of their ongoing L train shutdown evaluation. According to the current plan from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and New York City Department of Transportation, on April 21 the MTA plans to start service on five additional bus routes and offer new select bus service on 14th Street. Ferry service between the boroughs will also be added to help commuters. As part of its plan, the MTA says additional service will also be added on seven subway lines. You can read full details about that here. For the complete list of temporary service options, click here. ||||| New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Thursday the long-talked-about L train shutdown that would cut off subway service to troves of New Yorkers is canceled after a panel of “experts” found a “highly innovative but feasible” alternative to avoid the 15-month closure. The L train, which connects Manhattan and Brooklyn and sees roughly 250,000 daily riders, was slated to shut down for 15 months starting April to make necessary repairs to damage caused by Superstorm Sandy in 2012. The plan has been discussed for years, and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority officially announced in 2016 that "L-mageddon" will be happening, giving residents three years to prepare for the impending difficult commute. "There will be no shutdown," Cuomo said in a news conference Thursday. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Cuomo said that he conducted a panel of “the best experts” officials could find who recommended a “major breakthrough” new design that’s been used in European train systems. Instead of a full shutdown, commuters will see some night and weekend closures during the tunnel renovations. Both tunnels will be operating during the day, but one of them will be shut down at night for repairs, according to Cuomo. "It uses many new innovations that are new, frankly, to the rail industry in this country,” Cuomo said in a news conference Thursday. “…With this design, it will not be necessary to close the L train tunnel at all, which would be a phenomenal benefit to the people of New York City.” Cuomo said the subway tunnel itself was fine, despite several sections that do need repairing. The main concern was the electrical components that came in contact with the seven million gallons of saltwater brought in from the 2012 storm. “Saltwater and electronics do not mix,’’ said Cuomo. THE COLORFUL HISTORY OF THE NEW YORK CITY SUBWAY MAP REVEALED The governor toured the L train tunnel with engineering experts last month and hinted there may be another alternative to a full shutdown. “If there’s a better way of doing it, they tell us there’s a better way of doing it,” Mr. Cuomo said last month. “If there’s not a better way of doing it, they say that’s the best that it can be done.” Thursday’s surprise announcement shocked and angered some New Yorkers. “Waiting until the last minute to cancel the L train shutdown -- after three years of anxiety, & a lot of uproot -- just to be hailed the hero, is the single most Cuomo thing possible,” one Twitter user wrote. Another person said: “I have been in the tunnel and the damage is a ticking time bomb. It has to be fixed and should have been done already. By not closing it peoples lives are in danger.” “Some might be wondering why canceling the L train shutdown is a bad thing. Here is why: Tons of people moved in order to prepare, we were told this was NECESSARY post Sandy, also told that the 15 month shutdown would speed up & actually fix the mess...,” a woman tweeted. “Now, Cuomo wants to shut it down on weeknights & weekends. If you live here & use transit frequently, you know that this means the project will take YEARS. So get ready for MORE delays/service changes, my fellow NYers.” News of the canceled shutdown gave other straphangers who didn’t move some relief. “A.ll those gentrifiers in northern Brooklyn get a reprieve if true. Glad for the longtime residents on the L line if true,” a tweet read, while others posted GIFs showing their excitement over the cancelation. If the original plan went through, about 15 percent of commuters were expected to take the bus, PIX11 reported. The majority of riders were then expected to travel to a different subway line. ||||| NEW YORK (Reuters) - More than two years after the announcement that one of New York City’s busiest subway lines would stop running between Manhattan and Brooklyn to allow for repairs, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Thursday that service would not be halted after all. The expected closure of the L train tunnel under the East River for at least 15 months had dismayed residents of the Brooklyn communities of Williamsburg, Bushwick and beyond, who were bracing themselves for squeezing onto other already crowded lines or into promised new bus services. Some even moved out of their neighborhoods. Cuomo told a news conference that engineering experts from Cornell and Columbia universities had looked at the plans over the last few weeks drawn up by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the state agency that runs the subway, and found them needlessly disruptive. “The simple fact is you have roughly 250,000 people who would need another way to get to work,” Cuomo said. Under the new plan, work would take place only on nights and weekends, with trains running on limited service through one of the two tubes inside the tunnel. Fernando Ferrer, the MTA’s acting chairman, said at the news conference the MTA would adopt the academics’ plan and that, beginning in the spring, it will take 15 to 20 months to complete. Asked whether he would promise that work would not exceed 20 months, Cuomo said: “I can’t promise,” before chiding the reporter for asking what he called “a silly question.” The repairs were necessary to fix damage caused by Hurricane Sandy in 2012, one of the most devastating storms ever to hit the U.S. East Coast. Although the century-old tunnel is structurally sound, salt water from the East River leaks inside, corroding electrical switches and power lines. “Salt water and electronics do not mix,” Cuomo said. One of the biggest changes in the new plan is that the MTA will no longer remove and replace all 32,000 feet of benchwall, a gangway-like walkway that allows workers, or evacuating passengers, to walk along the edge of the tunnel. Instead, weakened parts of the benchwall will be patched up with strengthened, industrial-use plastic. The cables that currently run inside the benchwall will instead be suspended from racks higher up the tunnel wall. ||||| Democratic New York Governor Andrew Cuomo gives a news conference after casting his vote for the midterm elections, at the Presbyterian Church in Mt. Kisco, New York, U.S., November 6, 2018. REUTERS/Caitlin Ochs/File Photo NEW YORK (Reuters) - More than two years after an announcement that one of New York City's busiest subway lines would stop running between Manhattan and Brooklyn to allow for repairs, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Thursday that service would not be halted after all. The expected closure of the L train tunnel under the East River for at least 15 months had dismayed residents of the Brooklyn communities of Williamsburg, Bushwick and beyond, who were bracing themselves for squeezing onto other already crowded lines or into promised new bus services. Some even moved out of their neighborhoods. Cuomo told a news conference that engineering experts from Cornell and Columbia universities had looked at the plans drawn up by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the state agency that runs the subway, and found them needlessly disruptive. "The simple fact is you have roughly 250,000 people who would need another way to get to work," Cuomo said. The line also is one of the relative few that connect the east and west sides of Manhattan. Under the new plan, work would take place on nights and weekends, with trains running on limited service through one of the two tubes inside the tunnel. It was not clear how long the repairs would take to complete. The repairs were necessary to fix damage caused by Hurricane Sandy in 2012, one of the most devastating storms ever to hit the U.S. East Coast. Although the tunnel is structurally sound, salt water from the East River leaks inside, corroding electrical switches and power lines. "Salt water and electronics do not mix," Cuomo said. ||||| [What you need to know to start the day: Get New York Today in your inbox.] Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announced on Thursday that the L train subway tunnel would not fully shut down in April as planned in what would have been one of the biggest transit disruptions in New York City’s recent history. The L train shutdown was scheduled to begin April 27 and last 15 months, crippling a key piece of the city’s transportation network. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which operates the subway, had said the closing was necessary to repair damage from Hurricane Sandy in 2012, when the tunnel between Manhattan and Brooklyn was inundated by floodwaters. Under a new plan unveiled by Mr. Cuomo workers would use a different design to repair the tunnel and some work could be done on nights and weekends. He said not fully closing the L train would be a “phenomenal benefit to the people of New York City.’’ The alternative plan was recommended by a panel of experts convened by Mr. Cuomo, who called the new design a “major breakthrough’’ that had been used in Europe but had not been tried in the United States. ||||| New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced on Thursday that New York City's L train will not shut down for 15 months. The New York Times first reported the planned announcement. Read more: New York's Cuomo is killing a plan that would shut down an entire subway line for 15 months and leave hundreds of thousands struggling to find transportation The city had planned to close the subway line, which runs between Brooklyn and Manhattan, for 15 months beginning in April to repair two tunnels that run beneath the East River. The tunnels received serious damage during Hurricane Sandy in 2012. The shutdown would have made life difficult for the hundreds of thousands of people who rely on it, as the L line serves a number of commuters who don't have many convenient alternatives. Using a new technology that has been used in Europe for tunnel construction — but never in the US and never for a tunnel reconstruction — a complete closure will not be necessary, Governor Cuomo said. Teams from Columbia and Cornell Universities' engineering schools toured the tunnel and proposed the new methods. Before the new announcement, the city's transit agency, the MTA, has been scrambling to figure out how to transport the line's 250,000 daily commuters on buses and connecting subway lines. Experts were projecting crippling congestion on the Williamsburg Bridge, and even more packed trains on the few other options for the North Brooklyn neighborhood. The impending transit emergency caused rents to drop in affected neighborhoods, many of which as much as a 45 minute walk away from other trains. Luxury buildings along the waterfront even announced plans for shuttles to Manhattan and other subway lines. Even more audacious hopefuls proposed things like a tram across the river or a floating pontoon bridge. "This is the shortest, best route to the rebuilding of the tunnel," Cuomo said. Twitter users expressed divided opinions over reports of the announcement. Some said they were excited by it, while others suggested the announcement would be most beneficial to landlords. "The L train is not shutting down? This is major news, especially for us the M trainers. Rejoice y'all!" one Twitter user said. "Congrats to North Williamsburg and Greenpoint landlords on the reversal of the L train shutdown, it's always good to see the little guys win one," another said. Here's what people are saying on Twitter. ||||| Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced on Thursday that the complete 15-month L train shutdown will be canceled, with only some night and weekend train closures now necessary to fix the subway tunnel. Cuomo said that he asked a panel of "best experts," including those from Columbia and Cornell, to look at the L train situation again as the April 2019 start date looms. "I asked them to review the plan, to look at it with fresh eyes, no assumptions, no givens, and if there's any possible suggestions for how we can make it better, great," Cuomo said at an announcement Thursday. "To make a long story short, they have proposed a new design to use in the tunnel." This design has not yet been used in the United States, per Cuomo. "With this design it would not be necessary to close the L train tunnel at all, which would be a phenomenal benefit to the people of New York City," he said. The L train shutdown was slated to begin in April 2019 and last 15 months, stranding thousands of straphangers and disrupting New York City transportation. The closure was necessary, officials said, to fix the Canarsie Tunnel, which was flooded and damaged during Hurricane Sandy. At the announcement of the news, some New Yorkers expressed concern that this would inconvenience their subway travel for even longer. Cuomo said at the news conference that "this is the shortest, best route for rebuilding the tunnel." This story is developing and will be updated with more information. |||||
• New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced on Thursday that New York City will not shut down the L train subway tunnel for 15 months.
• The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), the city’s transit agency, announced the planned closure in 2016.
• Some Twitter users criticized Cuomo for taking over two years to introduce an alternative plan. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced on Thursday that New York City will not shut down the L train subway tunnel for 15 months. The city had planned to close the tunnel, which runs between Brooklyn and Manhattan, for 15 months beginning in April to repair two tubes located beneath the East River. The tubes received serious damage during Hurricane Sandy in 2012. Read more: New York Governor Andrew Cuomo axes plan to shut down the L Train, saves Brooklynites from commuting hell New York City will instead adopt a new technology previously used for tunnel construction in Europe. The technology, which was recommended by teams from Columbia and Cornell Universities’ engineering schools, has not been used in the US. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), New York City’s transit agency, announced the planned L train tunnel closure in 2016. The MTA and other government agencies, like the Department of Transportation, had been working on a plan for the L line’s 250,000 daily riders to use buses and other subway lines during the closure. Some Brooklyn residents had moved from the borough in anticipation of the closure as rents declined in neighborhoods that would have been affected by it. Some Twitter users criticized Cuomo for taking over two years to introduce the alternative plan. Here’s what Cuomo’s critics are saying.
• New York Governor Andrew Cuomo axes plan to shut down the L Train, saves Brooklynites from commuting hell
• New York’s governor just killed a plan to shut down one of the most crowded subway lines in NYC – and people are freaking out
• New York’s governor called Tesla to see if the company could help fix NYC’s subway system
• New York Governor Andrew Cuomo killed a controversial plan that would have caused commuting hell for thousands of people – but it’s terrible news for people moving to the area
• Lyft says it is ‘optimistic’ about Andrew Cuomo’s solution to the L train shutdown after the ride-sharing service ran an ad campaign targeting stranded subway riders | New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announces that a complete shutdown of the 14th Street Tunnel in New York City, proposed to allow for subway repairs caused by damage from Hurricane Sandy, has been halted. Cuomo says that engineers will use a new technology from Europe to make critical repairs to the tunnel without having to close it entirely. The complete shutdown would have closed the tunnel, which is used by nearly 225,000 people each weekday, for an expected 15 months. |
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