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☆ Sudan's paramilitary announces 72-hour ceasefire ahead of Eid al-Fitr
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Jessie Yeung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) announced the ceasefire in a statement on Twitter early Friday morning local time. The ceasefire is due to begin at 6 a.m., the statement added. The ceasefire comes just ahead of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. “The truce coincides with the blessed Eid al-Fitr … to open humanitarian corridors to evacuate citizens and give them the opportunity to greet their families,” the RSF said. The rival Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) have yet to comment on the announcement.

☆ Sudan: People scramble to leave Khartoum after attempted ceasefires fail to stop violence
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Rob Picheta | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Eyewitnesses said Thursday that reinforcements for the paramilitary RSF were on their way to Khartoum when army forces confronted them with warplanes and ground forces. There was an increase in the number of people at bus stops, trying to leave Khartoum and escape the fighting, according to witnesses. A water and electricity crisis has continued in Khartoum, with food shortages in shops and pharmacies closed, eyewitnesses say. The union also said that five ambulances had been attacked by military forces, and others were prevented from transporting patients for treatment and delivering aid. A latest attempt to strike a ceasefire for 24 hours was quickly upended late on Wednesday, when clashes erupted north of Khartoum.

☆ Myanmar airstrike survivors ask what will it take for the world to act: 'How many more children have to die?'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Helen Regan Sandi Sidhu Anna Coren Salai Tz Su Chay | Helen Regan | Sandi Sidhu | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

The aftermath of an airstrike in Pazigyi village in Sagaing Region's Kanbalu Township, Myanmar, Tuesday, April 11, 2023. The three-year-old girl (left) was among the 186 people who were killed in the military attack in Sagaing, Myanmar. There were 56 air attacks by the military junta between January and March this year, according to Myanmar’s Ambassador to the United Nations Kyaw Min Tun, who represents the NUG. The one-year-old girl (left) was another victim of the military airtsike in Sagaing, Myanmar. The survivors who lost families in last Tuesday’s attack ask how many more people have to die before such action is taken.

☆ Stampede in Yemen’s capital kills at least 78, official says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

That sparked a panic, and people, including many women and children, began stampeding, they said. Motaher al-Marouni, a senior health official in Sanaa, gave the death toll of 78 and said at least 13 were seriously hurt, according the rebels' Al-Masirah satellite TV channel. Hamdan Bagheri, deputy director of the al-Thowra Hospital in Sanaa, said in televised comments that the tragedy took place around 8.20 p.m. and the facility received at least 73 injured people. The rebels quickly sealed off the school where the event was held and barred people, including journalists, from approaching. Yemen's capital has been under the control of the Iranian-backed Houthis since they descended from their northern stronghold in 2014 and removed the internationally recognized government.

☆ At least 78 people killed in stampede in Yemeni capital - Houthi-run TV
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 20 (Reuters) - At least 78 people were killed in a stampede in the Yemeni capital Sanaa, the official media of the Houthi movement reported early on Thursday, with several more critically injured. Al Masirah TV, the main television news outlet run by Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi movement, said that in addition to the dead several people were injured, including 13 in a critical situation, citing the director of health in Sanaa. The Houthi-controlled Ministry of Interior's spokesman said in a statement that the stampede took place during the distribution of charitable donations by merchants during the final days of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. The interior ministry also said in a separate statement that the two merchants responsible for organising the donation event had been detained and an investigation was underway. Reporting by Hatem Maher Editing by Chris ReeseOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Stringer/ReutersThe RSF denied those reports, telling CNN in a statement that it “will never assault any UN staff or employees. Meanwhile, tense efforts to establish a ceasefire have ramped up, with the UN calling for rival factions to end their hostilities. Satellite imagery of the smoke plume at Khartoum International Airport on Sunday. The Sudanese Armed Forces later issued conflicting statements on a proposed 24-hour ceasefire, intended to go into effect later on Tuesday. Both sides had previously agreed to a three-hour ceasefire on Sunday, and again on Monday, with fighting resuming afterward, Perthes said.

The Sudanese Doctors' Union earlier reported at least 25 people were killed and 183 wounded in battles that erupted on Saturday between the military and the RSF. The army told soldiers seconded to the RSF to report to nearby army units, which could deplete RSF ranks if they obey. The military and RSF, which analysts say is 100,000 strong, have been competing for power as political factions negotiate forming a transitional government after a 2021 military coup. The RSF shared a video that it said showed Egyptian troops who "surrendered" to them in Merowe. Clashes also erupted between the RSF and army in the Darfur cities of El Fasher and Nyala, eyewitnesses said.

CNN —Fierce fighting across Sudan has left hopes for a peaceful transition to civilian rule in tatters. An international outcry saw Bashir formalize the group into paramilitary forces known as the Border Intelligence Units. They commanded separate battalions of Sudanese forces, who were sent to serve with the Saudi-led coalition forces in Yemen. He said that RSF leader Dagalo had “mutinied” against the state, and if captured, would be tried in court of law. CNN has previously reported on how Russia has colluded with Sudan’s military leaders to smuggle gold out of Sudan.

The Sudanese air force is conducting operations against the RSF, the army said. Footage from broadcasters showed a military aircraft in the sky above Khartoum, but Reuters could not independently confirm the material. A Reuters journalist saw cannon and armoured vehicles deployed in streets, and heard heavy weapons fire near the headquarters of both the army and RSF. The RSF, which analysts say is 100,000 strong, said its forces were attacked first by the army. Civilian political parties that had signed an initial power-sharing deal with the army and the RSF called on them to cease hostilities.

☆ Heavy gunfire heard south of Sudanese capital Khartoum: witnesses
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 15 (Reuters) - Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces said on Saturday that the army had surrounded one of its bases and opened fire with heavy weapons, as gunfire could be heard in several parts of Khartoum and adjoining cities, eyewitnesses told Reuters. The move follows days of tension between the army and the RSF, a powerful paramilitary group, that had sparked concern about a confrontation. A Reuters witness saw cannon and armoured vehicles deployed in streets, and heard the sound of heavy weaponry in the vicinity of the headquarters of both the army and RSF. The source of the gunfire could not be immediately confirmed by Reuters. A statement by the RSF on Saturday called the army's actions a "brute assault" and called for it to be condemned.

☆ A meteorite crashed in Maine. A museum there is offering a $25,000 prize for whoever finds it.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The Maine Mineral and Gem Museum wants a piece of the rare meteorite for its collection. The unusually bright fireball could be seen in broad daylight around noon Saturday, said Darryl Pitt, chair of the meteorite division at the Maine Mineral and Gem Museum in Bethel. It's the first time radar spotted a meteorite fall in Maine, the space agency said. The Maine Mineral and Gem Museum wants to add to its collection, which includes moon and Mars rocks, Pitt said, so the first meteorite hunters to deliver a 1-kilogram (2.2-pound) specimen will claim the $25,000 prize. Pitt said the museum is also looking to purchase any other specimens found by meteorite hunters.

☆ German police seek motive in shooting at Jehovah's Witnesses church
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Fabian Bimmer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/4] A view of a police vehicle at the scene following a deadly shooting, in Hamburg, Germany, March 10, 2023. REUTERS/Fabrizio BenschHAMBURG, March 10 (Reuters) - German police were searching for a motive on Friday after a gunman, believed to have been acting alone, killed several people in a Jehovah's Witnesses church in Hamburg. The Bild newspaper reported seven people were dead and eight wounded in the shooting in the northern city that is home to Germany's biggest port. Several of the wounded were seriously hurt, the Jehovah's Witnesses said. In October 2019, a gunman killed two people when he opened fire outside a synagogue in the eastern city of Halle on the Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur.

☆ Georgian police use tear gas to halt protest against 'foreign agents' law
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

TBILISI, March 8 (Reuters) - Police in the ex-Soviet state of Georgia used tear gas and stun grenades early on Wednesday to break up a protest outside Parliament against a draft law on "foreign agents". The crowd then gathered outside parliament, where some people pulled aside light metal barriers designed to keep the public away from the building. Speaking in Berlin earlier on Tuesday, Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Garibashvili reaffirmed his support for the law, saying the proposed provisions on foreign agents met "European and global standards". [1/10] Police use a water cannon to disperse protesters during a rally against the "foreign agents" law in Tbilisi, Georgia, March 7, 2023. Late on Tuesday night protesters angrily remonstrated with police armed with riot shields who then used tear gas and watercannon.

☆ New documentary reveals how Jared Fogle led a 'double life' as a 'puppet master' who committed child sex acts while pitching sandwiches for Subway
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-05 | by ( Nancy Luna | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Jared Fogle became Subway's pitchman after losing 245 pounds by mostly eating the chain's subs. He filmed over 300 ads for Subway before pleading guilty to child sex acts in 2015. Jared Fogle became a pop-culture icon after being tapped as the face of Subway in 2000. A random tip in 2015 finally exposed him as a child sex predator. Here are the most revealing highlights:Jared Fogle led a "double life," according to a documentary about his child sex crimes.

There are "continued calls for violence directed at U.S. critical infrastructure," the agency warned last February, "as a means to create chaos and advance ideological goals." Law enforcement and utility companies, though, say they're working to resolve the open cases and prevent future attacks. Members of accelerationist groups have been charged with several plots in recent years to attack critical infrastructure. "The critical infrastructure element has become one of the core components of neo-fascist accelerationist movements in the US. "They don't really care who is doing the violence, who's doing the critical infrastructure attacks, Lewis said.

☆ Migrant wreck off Libya kills eight with scores rescued, Red Crescent says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/4] Libyan Red Crescent workers put the body of a migrant, who died after their boat capsized, in a bag, in Garabulli, Libya January 24, 2023. REUTERS/StringerTRIPOLI, Jan 25 (Reuters) - At least eight people died after a boat crammed with scores of African migrants capsized off the Libyan coast, the local Red Crescent organisation said on Wednesday, adding that nearly 100 others had been rescued. According to the Red Crescent, which has been handling the search and rescue operations, eyewitnesses to the disaster said nearly 150 people had packed on to the boat in hopes of reaching Italy. On Wednesday, Red Crescent workers in protective clothes were laying bodies of the drowned into bags by the portside. Reporting by Reuters Libya Newsroom, writing by Mariam Rizk and Angus McDowall; Editing by Alex RichardsonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ At least 3 dead in Yakima, Washington, shooting as search for suspect continues
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Antonio Planas | Antonio Planas Is A Breaking News Reporter For Nbc News Digital. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

At least three people were killed early Tuesday in a “random” shooting at a convenience store in Yakima, Washington, and a search for a suspect is ongoing, police said. There were also eyewitnesses who have given us information.”Police identified the suspect as Jarid Haddock, 21, of Yakima County. Police Chief Matt Murray during a briefing at the scene of a shooting in Yakima, Wash., early morning Tuesday. The suspect then stepped inside the Circle K where two customers were and began shooting, according to the chief. The suspect also shot a person outside the convenience store, Murray said.

☆ Shooting at Washington state convenience store kills 3, suspect at large
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Jan 24 (Reuters) - Three people were killed in a shooting at a convenience store in central Washington state early Tuesday, police said, and the suspect is at large and considered armed and dangerous. Police were called to a Circle K in Yakima, Washington, about 3:30 am local time when three people, who have not been identified, were found dead, Chief Matt Murray told reporters. Two victims were shot inside the store in what authorities said appeared to be a random act of violence, and a third was shot outside. The suspect was identified as Jarid Haddock, a 21-year-old resident of Yakima County. After opening fire in the store, the suspect ran across the street and shot into a vehicle, forcing the driver to move to the passenger seat.

PESHAWAR, Pakistan — Afghanistan’s Taliban-run government on Saturday ordered all local and foreign nongovernmental organizations to prevent female employees from reporting to work, in the latest restrictive move against women’s rights and freedoms in the country. The order was made in a letter written in Persian by Economy Minister Qari Din Mohammed Hanif, Abdur Rahman Habib, a spokesman for Afghanistan’s Economic Ministry, told NBC News. Afghan women protest against a new Taliban ban on women accessing university education on Thursday in Kabul, Afghanistan. Getty ImagesForeign governments, including Muslim-majority Saudi Arabia and Turkey, condemned the university ban, which also led to criticism and protests inside Afghanistan. In the western city of Herat on Saturday, Taliban forces used water cannons to disperse women protesting the ban on university education, Reuters reported.

☆ Taliban ban women from working for domestic, foreign NGOs
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-24 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

The Taliban government on Saturday ordered all foreign and domestic non-governmental groups in Afghanistan to suspend employing women, allegedly because some female employees didn't wear the Islamic headscarf correctly. It was not immediately clear if the order applies to all women or only Afghan women working at the NGOs. More details were not immediately available on the latest Taliban ban amid concerns that it could be a stepping-stone to more restrictive measures against women in Afghanistan. Also Saturday, Taliban security forces used a water cannon to disperse women protesting the ban on university education for women in the western city of Herat, eyewitnesses said. Afghan women have since demonstrated in major cities against the ban, a rare sign of domestic protest since the Taliban seized power last year.

☆ The backlash against Megan Thee Stallion proves she's telling truth in Tory Lanez shooting, prosecutor says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

LOS ANGELES — A California prosecutor told jurors Wednesday that hip-hop star Megan Thee Stallion would never have subjected herself to the torrent of public abuse she’s received if she wasn’t telling the truth about rapper Tory Lanez shooting her in the feet and wounding her in the summer of 2020. Bott said Megan’s testimony was in itself sufficient to convict, but it’s supported by layers of other evidence, including the accounts of other eyewitnesses and apologies from Lanez. Megan testified that she left a gathering at the Hollywood Hills home of Kylie Jenner in an SUV with Lanez, his bodyguard and Harris. Bott ended his presentation Wednesday with a quote from Megan’s testimony, in which she said there have been times that “I wish he would have just shot and killed me.”“Megan does matter,” Bott said. Hold him accountable for shooting Megan over nothing more than a bruised ego.”

☆ Female protesters are being shot in the face, breasts, and genitals by Iranian security forces, report says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-10 | by ( Joshua Zitser | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Iran's security forces are shooting women's faces, breasts, and genitals, medics say, per The Guardian. One doctor told the paper that security forces "wanted to destroy the beauty of these women." Several doctors treating protesters in secret to avoid arrest told The Guardian they observed female protesters had different wounds to male patients. Another doctor from Karaj, a city close to Tehran, accused Iranian security forces of shooting at the private body parts and faces of female protesters because of "an inferiority complex," The Guardian reported. According to the human rights group HRANA, as many as 469 protesters may have been killed in violent clashes with security forces, per Reuters.

CNN —Iran’s former president Mohammad Khatami has urged the current government to be more lenient with protesters, amid ongoing nationwide demonstrations representing the biggest challenge to the Islamic Republic in decades. The anti-government demonstrations were sparked by the death of a 22-year-old Kurdish Iranian woman in September. Khatami, pictured in 2006, called on Tehran to "take a softer approach and listen to" anti-regime protesters. Public figures in Iran have solicited the government to listen to the grievances of anti-regime protesters. Middle East Images/APOther Iranian public figures have also recently called on the government to take action to listen and protect protesters.

☆ The year in review: What happened -- and what did not
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Simon Robinson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

With distant artillery fire booming across the capital, Ukraine's defence ministry urged residents to build petrol bombs to repel the invaders. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy filmed himself with aides on the streets of the city, vowing to defend his country's independence. Many in Moscow had expected Russia's military to sweep to victory, oust Zelenskiy's government and install a Russia-friendly regime. The big exception was China, whose zero-COVID policy has sparked protests and unrest in the past few weeks. Over the coming few weeks we'll recap the biggest, dig into why they mattered, and ask where they may be headed.

☆ Man demanded $300K before killing 4 Chinese nationals at Oklahoma pot farm, prosecutors say
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Marlene Lenthang | Marlene Lenthang Is A Breaking News Reporter For Nbc News Digital. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

A man accused of killing four people at an illegal Oklahoma marijuana farm last month opened fire after demanding employees give him $300,000 as a return for his “investment” in the illegal operation, prosecutors said. He is accused of killing Chinese nationals Quirong Lin, Chen He Chun, Chen He Qiang and Fang Hui Lee and injuring Yi Fei Lin, according to charging documents. Police respond to a crime scene where four people were found dead in Kingfisher County, Oklahoma, on Nov. 21, 2022. The marijuana farm has since been seized by law enforcement, the filing stated. Law enforcement officials have reported a rise in black market operators using suspected human trafficking victims, including Chinese nationals, to grow and trim marijuana sold in legal dispensaries.

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