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Several miles away, more police officers stopped another bus of students, used tear gas to get them off, then snatched them away. One of the police commanders asked him “who he should hand over the ‘packages’” to, referring to the hostages. A cartel assassin also called, asking who was bringing him “the packages,” according to his sworn statement. According to one cartel member whose testimony has become key to the case, some of the students were taken to a house, killed and dismembered. Machete hacks left gashes in the floor, the witness said, and the students’ remains were later burned in the crematory owned by the coroner’s family.

Persons: “, Machete Locations: Mexican

☆ Gang Member Pleads Guilty in Killing of 2 Long Island Teenagers
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( Colin Moynihan | Nate Schweber | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

One night in September 2016, two teenage girls were walking down a street in the Long Island hamlet of Brentwood when they were spotted by four members of MS-13, a violent transnational gang with Salvadoran roots. Federal prosecutors said the MS-13 members had set out that evening in a car looking for rival gang members to kill. When they saw Kayla Cuevas, 16, prosecutors added, they recognized her as someone their gang had designated for death after a series of disputes with MS-13 members on social media and at school. They gave the order to kill Kayla and her 15-year-old friend, Nisa Mickens, prosecutors said. One of the gang members in the car, Enrique Portillo, 19, and two younger members then attacked and killed the girls with baseball bats and a machete, prosecutors said.

Persons: Kayla Cuevas, Alexi Saenz, Kayla, Nisa Mickens, Enrique Portillo, Timothy Sini, Portillo Organizations: Suffolk County Police Locations: Long, Brentwood, Suffolk

☆ Armenia-Azerbaijan: 'Reasonable' to believe genocide being committed, former ICC chief prosecutor says
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-11 | by ( Eve Brennan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —A former International Criminal Court chief prosecutor has said there is “reasonable basis to believe that genocide is being committed against Armenians” in the contested region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Armenia and Azerbaijan have been battling over the region for decades. On Monday, UN experts urged Azerbaijan to lift a blockade on the Lachin corridor, the sole road connecting Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia. An Azerbaijani checkpoint at the entry of the Lachin corridor, the Armenian-populated breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region's only land link with Armenia, on July 30. “It is essential to ensure the safety, dignity, and well-being of all individuals during this critical time,” they added.

Persons: CNN —, ”, Luis Moreno Ocampo, Ocampo, KAren Minasyan, Vahe, Josep Borrell, “, Antony Blinken, Blinken, Karabak Organizations: CNN, Criminal Court, ICC, UN Security, Deputy, European Union, EU Locations: Nagorno, Karabakh, Eastern Europe, Western Asia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Netherlands, UNHCR, Azerbaijani

☆ Native Americans Caught in Border Strife on Their Own Land
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-07 | by ( Jack Healy | More About Jack Healy | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

It was pitch black when the Border Patrol rolled up to Raymond Mattia’s home on a remote corner of the Tohono O’odham reservation in southern Arizona, investigating a report of gunshots. Border agents, smugglers and migrants were a familiar sight in the tiny desert village a mile from the southern border where the Mattia family had lived for decades. But in a chaotic instant in May, three Border Patrol agents fatally shot Mr. Mattia as they came upon him in the desert, hitting him nine times, according to an autopsy. A Border Patrol report says he had tossed a sheathed machete toward an officer and then “abruptly extended his right arm.” His family said he was unarmed and posed no threat. His death has touched off an outcry on the Tohono O’odham (pronounced Toh-HO-noh AW-tham) Nation, which lies along 62 miles of the southern border, and stirred up long-running resentments over the federal agency’s presence on the Native American territory.

Persons: Raymond Mattia’s, Mattia, “ Organizations: Patrol, Border Patrol Locations: Arizona

BEJUCAL, Cuba, June 14 (Reuters) - Just outside the sleepy Cuban village of Bejucal, a winding track, rutted with potholes and losing ground to the jungle, ends at a barbed wire fence. The question of Chinese spying from Cuba was renewed last week following a Wall Street Journal report. China, Washington’s top geopolitical rival, on Monday denied it was using Cuba as a spy base. [1/5] A truck passes by a sign at the entrance of Bejucal, Cuba, June 12, 2023. Onelvis Despaigne, 36, a farm worker who lives just outside the base, told Reuters on Monday he had not heard the recent foreign media reports on Chinese spying.

Persons: Biden, Bejucal, Arnaldo Perez, Dave Sherwood, Perez, motioning, Marco Rubio, Havana “, Fulton Armstrong, ”, Armstrong, Vladimir Putin, Onelvis Despaigne, Matt Spetalnick, Adam Jourdan, Don Durfee, Bill Berkrot Organizations: Reuters, Federal Communications Commission, Communist Party, FCC, Security, Commission, ARCOS, U.S . Department of Homeland Security, Justice Department ., Guantanamo, Base, White House National Security Council, REUTERS, Cuban Missile, Soviet Union, U.S, Cuban, CIA, Thomson Locations: BEJUCAL, Cuba, Cuban, Bejucal, China, Beijing, States, Key West , Florida, U.S, United States, Justice Department . China, Havana, Soviet, Moscow, Marco Rubio of Florida, Caribbean, Taiwan Strait, South China, Russia, Ukraine, Lourdes, Washington

☆ Rwanda: UN court rules Félicien Kabuga mentally unfit to stand trial
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( Zahid Mahmood | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

London CNN —A UN war crimes court has ruled that 88-year-old Rwandan genocide suspect Félicien Kabuga is no longer capable of “meaningful participation” in his trial. Kabuga’s trial began last September before the IRMCT for what prosecutors say was his “substantial” contributions to the genocide against the Tutsi ethnic group in Rwanda. Prosecutors say Kabuga’s radio station RTLM broadcast genocidal propaganda and accuse him of arming the ‘Interahamwe’ militia, widely considered to be the main culprits behind the killings. IRMCT prosecutors say he did not wield a machete or pick up a microphone to broadcast hate but his conduct since 1992 pointed to a consistent anti-Tutsi agenda. “The charges against Kabuga reflect his status as a wealthy and well-connected insider,” prosecutor Rashid S. Rashid said in his opening statement last September.

Persons: Félicien Kabuga, ”, Kabuga, Rashid S, Rashid Organizations: London CNN, UN, Radio Television Libre des, Prosecutors Locations: Hague, Rwanda, Paris

☆ Melbourne rocked by largest earthquake in over 120 years
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( Tara Subramaniam | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Melbourne was shaken Sunday by a rare and shallow earthquake – the largest earthquake to hit the Australian city in over a century – swaying buildings but ultimately causing very little damage. Adam Pascale, chief scientist at the Victoria-based Seismology Research Centre, said the earthquake was the largest within 40 kilometers of Melbourne since a magnitude 4.5 quake hit in 1902. “Felt like a plane crashed next to my house or something,” one resident said, according to CNN affiliate 7News. Earthquakes are not as common in Australia though the continent does experience seismic activity due to tectonic plate movement. In 2021, Victoria experienced a magnitude 5.9 earthquake that caused some minor structural damage in Melbourne despite hitting nearly 200 kilometers away.

☆ They've been beaten, trolled, threatened with sexual violence but refuse to be silenced
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Adie Vanessa Offiong | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Ixchíu Hernández had already been the victim of years of online threats -- attempts to humiliate and silence her. Published in April 2021, it reveals: "Online attacks on women journalists appear to be increasing significantly, as this study demonstrates, particularly in the context of the 'shadow pandemic' of violence against women during COVID-19. "Online violence against women journalists is designed to: belittle, humiliate, and shame; induce fear, silence, and retreat; discredit them professionally, undermining accountability journalism and trust in facts; and chill their active participation...in public debate. Ricchiardi-Folwell explains that because of the often-sexualized nature of the attacks, women remain silent about their harassment, which leads them to believe they are alone. Editor's note: This story was originally published in 2021 and updated to reference the latest report by UNESCO.

Nestle (NESN.S) and Hershey (HSY.N) said they paid the LID premium. But when the COVID pandemic cratered demand, global cocoa prices plunged before they built up a cushion. Ivory Coast and Ghana say companies should pay both premiums. Industry data from the International Cocoa Organisation (ICCO) shows cocoa output in Ivory Coast rose to record levels in the 2020/21 season. Of the roughly 2 million tonnes of cocoa Ivory Coast produces each year, between 20-30% is grown illegally in protected forests by an estimated 1.3 million people, many of them children.

☆ East Congo militants kill at least 22 in string of attacks
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BENI, Democratic Republic of Congo, March 19 (Reuters) - Suspected militants killed at least 22 people in a string of attacks across the Democratic Republic of Congo's eastern Ituri and North Kivu provinces overnight Saturday, officials and activists said on Sunday. The incidents were the latest in a stream of continuous violence that has plagued eastern Congo for years, despite increasing interventions from the country's army and U.N. peacekeepers. At least 12 people were killed Saturday in simultaneous raids across several villages in Ituri province. Congo's government declared a state of siege in North Kivu and Ituri in 2021, in an attempt to stem rampant militia violence in the country's vast mineral-rich east. "Even when we are under siege, the enemy still surprises us every day," said Delphine Malekani, an activist in North Kivu.

☆ As his beliefs have seeped into homes and classrooms, children as young as 11 think Andrew Tate is their 'god'
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-29 | by ( Lindsay Dodgson | Bethany Dawson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

Insider spoke with teachers and parents about how Tate's beliefs are seeping into young boys' minds. Insider spoke with seven teachers who said Tate's words and beliefs have significantly impacted their students — some as young as 11 years old. Many young boys are drawn in by this promise of personal development. Mary McCarthy, a mother of four from Dublin, told Insider that Tate seems to have an "intoxicating" effect on her 14-year-old son. Speaking to the BBC, Nia Williams, a psychologist and academic, addressed why so many young boys get "sucked in" by Tate's image.

☆ 1 dead in Spanish church machete attacks, terror link probed
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

The assailant then went to a second church, Nuestra Señora de La Palma, a five-minute walk away, where he attacked the sexton. Police gather outside the Church of San Isidro, in Algeciras, Spain on Jan. 25, 2023. Nono Rico / Europa Press via APThe Algeciras town hall said the sexton was named Diego Valencia and identified the wounded priest as Antonio Rodríguez. The town hall said he was hospitalized and in stable condition. The town hall declared a day of mourning when flags will fly at half-staff.

☆ Spain church machete attack suspect was 25-year-old Moroccan, police confirm
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] People observe a moment of silence a day after a 25-year-old Moroccan suspect attacked two churches, in Algeciras, Spain January 26, 2023. REUTERS/Marcelo del PozoMADRID, Jan 26 (Reuters) - The suspect in a machete attack on two churches in southern Spain in which one clergyman was killed and another seriously injured is a 25-year-old Moroccan man who was due to be deported from the country, police said on Thursday. A police source denied local media reports that the suspect had been under surveillance by security operatives in the days or months before the attack. The man was not in Spain legally and his deportation process began in June last year and was ongoing, the source added. According to a High Court ruling, the perpetrators were linked to Al Qaeda and the Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group.

☆ At least one dead, several injured in machete attack at southern Spain churches
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( David Latona | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] A body covered in thermal blanket is seen at the scene of a stabbing incident at a church in Algeciras, Spain January 25, 2023 in this screen grab from a video. The man attacked clergymen at two different churches - San Isidro and Nuestra Senora de La Palma, around 300 metres (1,000 feet) apart - just after 8pm on Wednesday evening in downtown Algeciras, a spokesperson for the city said. Jose Ignacio Landaluce, the mayor of Algeciras, has declared a day of mourning in the city for Thursday and a rally outside Nuestra Senora de La Palma church at midday. Earlier on Wednesday, two people were killed and several others injured when a 33-year-old stateless Palestinian man attacked them with a knife on a regional train travelling between Kiel and Hamburg in northern Germany, authorities said. Reporting by David Latona, Belén Carreño and Aislinn Laing; Editing by Rosalba O'BrienOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Venezuelans describe dangers and desperation amid U.S. asylum changes
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Albinson Linares | Noticias Telemundo | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +11 min

MEXICO CITY — Mariantonela Orellana spent nine days in the dangerous Darien Gap jungle in the Colombia-Panama border, and she described her nightmarish ordeal. Now back in Mexico, migrants wrestle with whether to try to stay in Mexico, keep trying to seek asylum in the U.S. or return to Venezuela. According to Department of Homeland Security data, the flow of Venezuelan migrants to the U.S. increased by almost four times compared to the year prior. Mexican authorities approved 61% of asylum applications from January to November, including at least 90% of approvals for Hondurans and Venezuelans. “I left Venezuela because the discrimination against the LGBT community is terrible; we are trampled on and attacked every day.

☆ Justice Department Charges Alleged NYC New Year’s Eve Attacker With Attempted Murder
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Sadie Gurman | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

NYPD was on alert New Year’s Eve after a machete attack on police officers near the Times Square celebrations. The Justice Department on Tuesday charged a 19-year-old alleged Islamic extremist with federal crimes stemming from a New Year’s Eve machete attack on three New York police officers, a case law-enforcement officials said underscores their challenge in preventing attacks by people acting alone. Federal prosecutors charged Trevor Bickford with four counts of attempted murder of officers and employees of the U.S. government, saying he traveled to Manhattan from his family’s home in Maine to attack police in an effort to achieve martyrdom.

☆ Times Square Machete Attack Highlights Challenge of Preventing Lone Wolves
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( Sadie Gurman | Dan Frosch | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The 19-year-old alleged Islamic extremist charged with attacking three New York City police officers with a sword is the latest example of what law-enforcement officials say continues to be one of their most challenging threats: attacks by people acting alone. The mother of accused attacker Trevor Bickford called police near their home in Maine in early December after her son, who had recently converted to Islam, expressed a desire to go to Afghanistan and join the Taliban, said Thomas Galati , NYPD’s chief of intelligence and counterterrorism. The Federal Bureau of Investigation interviewed him, requested that he be prevented from traveling overseas and continued to investigate, Mr. Galati said.

☆ New York Machete Attack Highlights Challenge of Preventing Lone Wolves
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( Sadie Gurman | Dan Frosch | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

☆ Suspect in NYC Machete Attack Faces Attempted Murder Charges
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-03 | by ( Deborah Acosta | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

A 19-year-old man accused of attacking police with a machete near Times Square in New York City on New Year’s Eve was arrested on charges of attempting to murder police officers, according to authorities. The attack took place steps from where crowds had gathered to watch the annual ball-drop ceremony. The suspect, Trevor Bickford of Wells, Maine, walked up to a police officer at the corner of Eighth Avenue and West 52nd Street shortly after 10 p.m. and tried to strike his head with a machete before hitting two other officers in the head, said New York City Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell . One of the officers then shot the attacker in the shoulder, Ms. Sewell said at a news conference.

☆ New Year's Eve attack on New York police linked to Islamist extremism
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-03 | by ( Kanishka Singh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Jan 3 (Reuters) - The teenager accused of attacking three policemen with a machete on New Year's Eve near Times Square and charged with attempted murder was linked to Islamist extremism, a senior New York City Police Department official said on Tuesday. The FBI interviewed the suspect, Trevor Bickford, last month in Maine after his mother reported her concern that her son was possibly becoming radicalized, Galati said. "He is not representing, you know, the Islamic religion but rather, you know, a very, very small percentage of people that get radicalized," Galati added. The attack, which officials say was unprovoked, took place before midnight outside a secure area set up for New Year's Eve celebrations. Before the attack, Bickford wrote a farewell letter to his mother in a diary, according to the New York Times report quoting a law enforcement official.

☆ NYC machete attacker arrested, faces charges of attempted murder
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-02 | by ( Julianne Mcshane | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

A spokesperson for the Manhattan District Attorney's Office told NBC News Monday afternoon it is unclear when he will be arraigned "based on a number of factors." The three officers were hospitalized, according to Sewell, who said one had a fractured skull and another had a bad cut. The sources added that Bickford is believed to have traveled from Wells to lower Manhattan on Thursday mainly via Amtrak. FBI agents were outside Bickford's Wells home on Sunday, NBC affiliate WCSH of Portland, Maine reported. Neighbors told NBC affiliate WJAR of Providence, Rhode Island they were shocked by the attack.

☆ Suspect in New Year's Eve NYC police attack reportedly linked to Islamic extremism
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-02 | by ( Kanishka Singh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Jan 2 (Reuters) - A teenager accused of attacking three policemen with a machete on New Year's Eve near Times Square was charged with attempted murder and attempted assault, New York police said on Monday, in an incident the New York Times said was linked to Islamic extremism. Authorities did not comment on the motivation for the attack, but the Times reported that the suspect was driven by Islamic extremism. The newspaper quoted an unnamed senior law enforcement official, who said that Bickford may later face extremism charges. The Times said Bickford had converted to Islam sometime in the last year and a half. Before the attack, Bickford wrote a farewell letter to his family in a diary, the Times reported.

☆ New Year’s Eve Machete Attack Leaves Three New York City Police Officers Injured
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-01 | by ( Konrad Putzier | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Three New York City police officers were injured in a machete attack near Times Square on New Year’s Eve, Mayor Eric Adams said Sunday morning. The attack took place steps from Times Square, where crowds had gathered to watch the annual ball-drop ceremony. The suspect, a 19-year-old man, walked up to a police officer at the corner of Eighth Avenue and West 52nd Street shortly after 10 p.m. and tried to strike his head with a machete before hitting two other officers in the head, said New York City Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell . One of the officers then shot the attacker in the shoulder, Ms. Sewell said at a news conference.

☆ New Year’s Eve Machete Attack Hurts Three New York City Police Officers
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-01 | by ( Konrad Putzier | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

☆ NYPD officers injured in machete attack near Times Square New Year’s Eve event, officials say
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-01 | by ( Mithil Aggarwal | Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Tom_Winter_Nbc_News.Jpg | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

Three New York City police officers were injured after being attacked with a machete near New Year's Eve celebrations in Times Square, authorities said. The suspect approached an officer and attempted to strike him over the head with the machete, Commissioner Keechant Sewell said. Multiple law enforcement officials told NBC News they were looking into whether the suspect had previously posted what they called jihadist writings online and traveled to New York to target police on New Year’s Eve. Four senior law enforcement officials told NBC News that the man had been identified as Trevor Bickford from Wells, Maine. The NYPD mounts a massive security operation every year during New Year’s Eve celebrations, with thousands of officers deployed in the area around Times Square.

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