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☆ Bangladesh court orders murder probe into ousted former leader Sheikh Hasina
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-14 | by ( Lex Harvey | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

The murder complaint, filed Tuesday in the Dhaka Metropolitan Court, is the first legal case to be filed against Hasina following her deadly crackdown on huge protests against government employment quotas, that erupted across Bangladesh last month. The murder case also names Hasina’s former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan, the general secretary of her party, and four former top police officers. In her first public remarks since leaving Bangladesh, Hasina on Tuesday called for an investigation into the “heinous killings and acts of sabotage” during the protests. Anti-government protestors storm ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's palace in Dhaka, Bangladesh on August 5, 2024. When the protests escalated, Hasina blamed the opposition for the violence and imposed internet blocks and an indefinite curfew across the country.

Persons: CNN —, Sheikh Hasina’s, Hasina, Asaduzzaman Khan, ”, ” Hasina, Sheikh Hasina's, Parvez Ahmad Rony, jubilation, Muhammad Yunus Organizations: CNN, Bangladesh Sangbad, Dhaka Metropolitan Court, United Nations ’, Getty Locations: Bangladesh, Dhaka, AFP, India

☆ Southport: Eight people stabbed in northern England
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-29 | by ( Lauren Kent | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

London CNN —At least eight people were stabbed in the northern English town of Southport on Monday, with some of the victims being transferred to a children’s hospital, ambulance officials said. Merseyside Police said it received reports of a stabbing and emergency services were called to a “major incident” in the town at around 11:50 a.m. local time (6:50aET). “It’s like something from America, not like sunny Southport,” Parry said. The Alder Hey Children’s Hospital Trust in Liverpool, about 20 miles from Southport, declared a “major incident. Correction: This story has been updated to correct the name of the town where the incident occurred.

Persons: Colin Parry, Parry, ” Parry, Taylor Swift, “, Patrick Hurley, ”, ” Hurley Organizations: London CNN —, Merseyside Police, ” Local, PA Media, Street, Hart Space, Emergency Department, British, Southport Locations: Southport, ”, America, Liverpool

☆ Bangladesh protests: Anger over job quotas escalates into deadly violence. Here’s what you need to know
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-19 | by ( Helen Regan | Samra Zulfaqar | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

CNN —Huge protests across Bangladesh escalated into deadly violence this week with clashes between students, pro-government supporters and armed police fueling widespread anger over civil service job quotas opponents say are discriminatory. Many Bangladeshi students are demanding an end to the government’s quota system, which reserves more than half of civil service posts for certain groups. In 2018, the quota system was scrapped following similar protests but in June the High Court reinstated it, ruling its removal was unconstitutional. Critics and protesters say the quota system creates a two-tier Bangladesh where a politically connected elite benefit by their birth. “This is not just about quota protests anymore, this is much bigger than that, in simple quota protests the government wouldn’t go around hurting and shooting students.

Persons: Sheikh Hasina, Hasina, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Hasina’s, “, ”, Maruf Khan, Stringer, Tahmeed Hossain, –, Hossain, Munir Uz Zaman, Hassan Abdullah, Abdullah, Prothom Alo, ” Hasina, Salman, ” Hossain, Antonio Guterres, Stephane Dujarric, ” Dujarric Organizations: CNN, Bangladesh Television, Mobile, Awami League, Getty, Bank, Dhaka University, Bangladesh Chatra League, Rapid Action Battalion, Wednesday, Agence France, Press, Authorities, Student, State Department, ” UN Locations: Bangladesh, Dhaka, State, Pakistan, Australia, Sydney, “, AFP, United States, ”, New, Melbourne, Copenhagen

☆ What is China’s ‘monster’ coast guard ship and why is the Philippines spooked by it?
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-08 | by ( Brad Lendon | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

“It’s an intimidation on the part of the China Coast Guard,” Tarriela said during a forum on Saturday, according to a Reuters report. Powell and other analysts say intimidation is one of the main jobs of the CCG-5901, which is larger than any regular coast guard ship in the world (a specialty US Coast Guard icebreaker is bigger) and even outsizes US Navy destroyers. The US Coast Guard, for instance, is part of the US Department of Homeland Security, not the Defense Department, although US Coast Guard vessels can come under US Navy control in certain scenarios. The China Coast Guard is part of the country’s People’s Armed Police, which is under the command of the Central Military Commission. The China Coast Guard “doesn’t want to be outdone thus this monster came along to show who’s got a bigger set of muscles,” Koh said.

Persons: ”, Jay Tarriela, Sabina Shoal, Tarriela, BRP Teresa Magbanua, “, ” Tarriela, “ We’re, we’re, Shoal, wasn’t, Ray Powell, SeaLight, ” Powell, Powell, Arleigh Burke, ‘, ” Carl Schuster, Collin Koh, Teresa Magbanua, who’s, ” Koh Organizations: CNN, Philippine, Philippine Coast Guard, China Coast Guard, United, Coast, National Security, BRP, Stanford University, Coast Guard, US, Guard’s National Security Cutters, Chinese Coast Guard, CNN Coast, US Coast Guard, US Department of Homeland Security, Defense Department, Armed Police, Central Military Commission, Analysts, Pacific Command’s Joint Intelligence Center, Guard, Rajaratnam, of International Studies Locations: China, Philippines, Beijing, Manila, South China, Sabina, Spratly, Philippine, Palawan, The Hague, Singapore

☆ The ‘fearless young activists’ thrown in jail for climate campaigns in Cambodia
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-06 | by ( Heather Chen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

“We demand that our friends in Mother Nature Cambodia, and all political prisoners, be released immediately,” said Fridays for Future, the youth-led global climate strike movement founded by Thunberg, in a statement. “Like what we are seeing with dictators in other countries, Cambodia is becoming more repressed,” said Alejandro Gonzalez-Davidson, a Spaniard who co-founded Mother Nature Cambodia over a decade ago, alongside local Cambodian activists. Environmental activists stage a mock funeral procession in the streets of Phnom Penh. Video footage showed activists Mother Nature Cambodia activists Ly Chandaravuth, Long Kunthea, Thun Ratha, Phuon Keoraksmey and Yim Leanghy surrounded by dozens of armed police officers and dragged away into waiting cars, bound for prisons across the country. “This week, a new generation of Cambodian activists was born – one that did not exist back in 2012,” he said.

Persons: Greta Thunberg, ”, Thunberg, Mu Sochua, “, ” “, ” Mu Sochua, Chantha Lach, Hun Sen –, Hun Manet, Hun Sen, Alejandro Gonzalez, Davidson, Pen Bona, Ole von Uexkuell, Magnus Lejhall, Gonzalez, Valeria Mongelli, –, Ly Chandaravuth, Long, Phuon Keoraksmey, Yim, Pilorge, lèse, Thameen Al, Kheetan Organizations: CNN, Nature Cambodia, Reuters, United States Agency for International Development, USAID, Nature, TT, Agency, AFP, Getty, Facebook, Court, Cambodian League, Promotion, Human, Journalists, ” United Nations Human Rights Locations: Cambodia, Nature, Reuters Cambodia, Nature Cambodia, Phnom Penh, Cambodian, Sweden, Stockholm, Sihanoukville, Thun

☆ Kenya president backs down on tax rises after deadly protests
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-26 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Kenya's president on Wednesday withdrew planned tax rises, bowing to pressure from protesters who had stormed parliament, launched demonstrations across the country and threatened more action this week. "Listening keenly to the people of Kenya who have said loudly that they want nothing to do with this finance bill 2024, I concede. And therefore, I will not sign the 2024 finance bill, and it shall subsequently be withdrawn," he said in a televised address. Thousands took to the streets of Nairobi and several other cities during two days of protests last week as an online movement gathered momentum. Protests in Kenya have usually been called by political leaders who can be amenable to negotiated settlements.

Persons: William Ruto, Ruto, Ruto's, Lawmakers Organizations: Wednesday, Kenyan, IMF, The Nation, Kenya Medical, Medical, Protesters, State, World Bank, International Monetary Fund Locations: Kenya, Eldoret, Nairobi

☆ Opinion: If you opposed the pro-Palestinian protests, here’s why you should reconsider
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-22 | by ( Opinion Haroon Moghul | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

The media line fed to the public about weeks of protests at Columbia — and the administrative crackdown that followed — has been selective at best. Columbia students have made clear that that’s what drives their protests. Why, even as numerous students at Columbia and elsewhere have been doxxed, harassed and bullied, were no congressional hearings called? But if Columbia students didn’t care about their university and the values it claims to uphold, they wouldn’t have risked so much with their protests. By the same token, if students didn’t care about our country, they wouldn’t protest so vocally against its policies.

Persons: Haroon Moghul, I’ve, —, What’s, we’ve, Minouche Shafik, Shafik, aren’t, maters Organizations: The Concordia Forum, CNN, Columbia University’s Department of, Studies, Columbia, Columbia University, Columbia —, UCLA, Israel, Police, Ivy League, America, Twitter, Facebook Locations: Islam, Eastern, Europe, Columbia, Gaza, Washington , DC, America

☆ A 19-year-old called 911 in a crisis and ended up dead. For advocates, it’s a call for a better way of policing
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-12 | by ( Zoe Sottile | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

In New York, a similar but limited pilot program called “B-Heard” dispatches EMTs and trained mental health responders to some emergency calls. 2 minutes, 4 gunshots, and a young life cut shortRozario was in the throes of an apparent mental health crisis when he called 911 on March 27. Another vision for crisis interventionRozario wasn’t the first New Yorker to die at the hands of police while experiencing a mental health crisis. Community Access, a non-profit supporting people with mental health concerns in New York, says at least 26 New Yorkers experiencing mental health crises have been shot and killed by police since 2007. “No mother should have to go through the pain I’m going through,” Rozario’s mother said.

Persons: CNN —, ” Notan Eva Costa, “, ” Costa, ”, general’s, Win Rozario, Rozario, EMTs, Loyda Colón, Utsho, “ Tell, Colón, ” Colón, Michael Alcazar, Kawaski Trawick, Deborah Danner, Mohamed Bah, Jeremy Gates, Evan Thompkins, ” Arvind Sooknanan, Sooknanan, Ken Zimmerman, Fountain, they’ve Organizations: CNN, New, New York City, Rozario, NYPD, Justice, John Jay College of Criminal, Eugene Police Department, White Bird Clinic, “, STAR, Fountain House Locations: Queens, New York, New York City, Eugene , Oregon, Denver , Colorado, South Dakota, Rozario, Alcazar, Eugene, Springfield , Oregon, Colorado, Denver, Fountain

☆ Joost Klein: Eurovision disqualifies Dutch act over incident involving female crew member
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-11 | by ( Matt Wells | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Malmo CNN —The Eurovision Song Contest was thrown into fresh turmoil Saturday when organizers disqualified the Dutch entrant hours before the grand final for a backstage incident involving a female crew member. “Swedish police have investigated a complaint made by a female member of the production crew after an incident following his performance in Thursday night’s Semi Final. While the legal process takes its course, it would not be appropriate for him to continue in the Contest,” the EBU said. The EBU said the disqualification of Klein did not involve any other performer or member another country’s delegation. Tensions brew in Malmo ahead of finalThe alleged incident involving Klein happened on Thursday evening after the second semi-final, the EBU said.

Persons: Joost Klein, ”, Klein’s, AVROTROS, Klein, Eden Golan, Israel, Switzerland’s Nemo, France’s, Alyona, Jerry Heil, Golan Organizations: Malmo CNN, European Broadcasting Union, Swedish Police Authority, CNN, Malmo Arena, EBU, Security, RAI, Croatia, Israel Locations: Malmo, Sweden, Israel, Russia, Ukraine, Gaza

☆ China's true military spending in 2022 was likely worth $711 billion, or 'nearly equal' to the US military budget that year: US think tank
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-03 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

A new report says China's $229 billion military budget in 2022 was actually equivalent to $711 billion. AdvertisementIn June 2023, Sen. Dan Sullivan of Alaska warned Congress that China's military was catching up to America's faster than previously imagined. That makes Beijing's spending in 2022 "nearly equal" to the US defense budget of about $740 billion that year, wrote Eaglen, a senior fellow at AEI. Using that factor, Eaglen wrote that it's highly likely China's spending on personnel that year was worth $293 billion of US military spending. US military spending is also often cited as higher than the actual defense budget.

Persons: —, Sen, Dan Sullivan, Mackenzie Eaglen, Sullivan, Eaglen, haven't Organizations: AEI, Service, Republican, American Enterprise Institute, Pentagon, Beijing, United Nations, Labor, US Army, People's Armed Police, Liberation Army's, Publishing, Getty, China's, Guard Locations: Alaska, Beijing, Washington, China, Nanning, South, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous, United States

☆ Dina Boluarte: ‘Rolex case’ sees Peruvian police raid presidential palace over leader’s 14 luxury watches
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-30 | by ( Claudia Rebaza | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Armed police raided Peru’s government palace and the private home of President Dina Boluarte in search of Rolexes and other luxury watches as part of a preliminary corruption inquiry. The probe was prompted by Peruvian news outlet La Encerrona’s investigation into Boluarte’s watches. After reviewing thousands of photographs of the President, La Encerrona determined that Boluarte owned at least 14 luxury watches. Peruvian media have since dubbed the incident the “Rolex case.”Boularte had denied any wrongdoing before the raid, saying anything she owned was a result of her hard work. Peru has in recent years been rattled by political instability, with president after president brought down by allegations of corruption or political malfeasance.

Persons: Dina Boluarte, La Encerrona, ” Boularte, “, ”, Mateo Castaneda, Castaneda, Boularte, Boluarte, Sebastian Castaneda, Gustavo Adrianzen, RPP, Eduardo Arana, Pedro Castillo, Castillo, Martin Vizcarra, Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, Ollanta Humala, Humala Organizations: CNN — Armed, Police, Reuters, RPP, Kuczynski Locations: Peruvian, Peru, Vizcarra’s

☆ Red Army Faction Fugitive Wanted for Decades Is Arrested in Germany
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-27 | by ( Christopher F. Schuetze | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

One of Germany’s most wanted fugitives was arrested on Monday after living in plain sight in Berlin, just miles from the seat of government that the police say she fought to overthrow in the 1990s. The woman, Daniela Klette, who had evaded the police for decades, was wanted in connection with the bombing of a prison in 1993. The police say they believe she was a guerrilla with the Red Army Faction, originally know as the Baader-Meinhof gang, Germany’s most infamous postwar terrorist group. During her time in hiding, the police say, Ms. Klette and two accomplices, Ernst-Volker Staub and Burkhard Garweg, who are also wanted in connection with Red Army Faction activities, committed at least 13 violent robberies, netting them about two million euros (a little more than $2.1 million). The police also said they found two ammunition magazines and bullets in the apartment, but no gun.

Persons: Daniela Klette, Baader, Meinhof, Klette, Ernst, Volker Staub, Burkhard Garweg, Wall Organizations: Red Army Faction, Red Army Locations: Berlin, Kreuzberg

☆ Major companies in China are setting up their own volunteer armies
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-21 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

Hong Kong CNN —Chinese companies are doing something rarely seen since the 1970s: setting up their own volunteer armies. According to China’s Military Service Law, male militia members should be 18 to 35 years old. It was latest in a slew of militias established by major Chinese companies in the past year. After 1949, when the party took control of mainland China, the units were eventually embedded into governments, schools and companies. This can, in the long run, save the PLA resources by delegating some duties to militia forces to care for,” Heath said.

Persons: Xi, ”, Neil Thomas, Nuo Nuo, Huang Zhiqiang, Qilai Shen, Liu Jie, Mao Zedong, Mao, Timothy Heath, homebuyers, Heath, ” Heath, Willy Lam, Sam Yeh, ” Lam, China’s Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, CNN, People’s Armed Forces Departments, America’s National Guard, Communist, Asia Society, Center for, Communist Party, China Labour Bulletin, Foxconn, Yili, Armed Forces Department, China’s Military Service Law, People’s Liberation Army, PLA, government’s Communist Party, Inner Mongolia Autonomous, Bloomberg, Getty, Shanghai Municipal Investment Group, Construction Investment, Development, Defense Ministry, People’s Armed Police, Armed, Rand Corporation, Jamestown Foundation, Party, Taiwan Locations: China, Hong Kong, Center for China, Beijing, Zhengzhou, Henan, Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, Yili, Shanghai, Mengniu, Nantong city, Jiangsu, Huizhou city, Guangdong, Wuhan, Hubei province, People’s Republic, United States, Taiwan, Fangchenggang City, Guangxi, ”, PLA, Taiwan's, AFP

☆ Gun control advocates say farewell to Wayne LaPierre and his bullet-riddled legacy on his first day as an NRA retiree
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-02 | by ( Laura Italiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Thursday was longtime NRA leader Wayne LaPierre's first day of retirement after 30 years leading the gun-rights group. Gun control and gun safety advocates say they're not sorry to see LaPierre go. "Wayne LaPierre's legacy is one of lies, deceit, and manipulation leading to a uniquely American epidemic of gun violence," said Kris Brown, who heads the gun group Brady. Advertisement"Just because Wayne is gone does not mean our fight for a country free from gun violence is over." The attorney general's office is expected to rest its case Monday against the NRA, LaPierre, and two other longtime executives at the gun lobby.

Persons: Wayne LaPierre's, LaPierre, they're, Nick Suplina, Suplina, Wayne, Kris Brown, Brady, Sandy Hook, Willes Lee Organizations: NRA, Business, Gun Safety, Safety Locations: New York

☆ Swatting Is a Political Problem - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-23 | by ( Barbara Mcquade | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

In a year with so much political and legal tension, law enforcement is seeing a disturbing trend: targeting public officials with swatting, or false emergency calls intended to draw a heavily armed police response. Recent incidents involving officials who have taken stands seen as hostile to Donald Trump and bomb threats in multiple state capitols are signs of a troubling escalation in political violence. In addition, swatting diverts law enforcement resources from real emergencies. But more insidiously, these tactics are tools of intimidation, designed to silence voices in the political process. The frequency and visibility of these incidents suggest that swatting and political violence require prosecutors to prioritize their efforts to stop it.

Persons: Donald Trump, swatting, Tanya S, Chutkan, Trump, Jack Smith, ”, Gabriel Sterling, Trump’s, Arthur Engoron, Shenna Bellows, isn’t, Michigan’s, Gretchen Whitmer Organizations: Republican, ” Locations: Kansas, Georgia, York, New Jersey

UVALDE, Texas (AP) — Families of the children and teachers killed in the Uvalde, Texas, school massacre are renewing demands for criminal charges after a scathing Justice Department report again laid bare numerous failures by police during one of the deadliest classroom shootings in U.S. history. The Justice Department report says the FBI has assisted the Rangers but is not doing its own investigation. But she pushed back that timeline in December and said Thursday that she will need time to review the voluminous Justice Department report. Produced by a Justice Department office that supports local police, the document is among the most comprehensive accountings to date of what went wrong. The Department of Justice report faults state and local officials with undercutting the public's trust in law enforcement by repeatedly releasing false and misleading information about the police response.

Persons: “, ”, Velma Lisa Duran, Irma Garcia, Uvalde, General Merrick Garland, Will, Joe Biden, Pete Arredondo, Attorney Christina Mitchell, ” Mitchell, Uvalde's, Sen, Roland Gutierrez, Brett Cross, Uziyah Garcia, Garland, Mitchell, Greg Abbott, Jesse Rizo, Jacklyn Cazares, ___ Bleiberg, Zeke Miller Organizations: —, Department, Robb Elementary School, U.S, Texas Department of Public Safety, Texas Rangers, The, FBI, Rangers, Texas DPS, Attorney, Republican, Democratic, Justice Department, Associated Press Locations: UVALDE, Texas, , Texas, Uvalde County, San Antonio, Dallas, Washington

☆ UC Berkeley is using a wall of shipping containers to block activists from the new site of its student housing complex
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-05 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

UC Berkeley is trying to build a new $312 million housing complex on the iconic People's Park. AdvertisementThe makeshift wall is around "15 to 16 feet high," UC Berkeley spokesperson Kyle Gibson told The Associated Press. People's Park on a night that UC Berkeley and other authorities prepare to cordon off People's Park on Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2024 in Berkeley, CA. In August, people in a mass protest pushed down a fence that UC Berkeley tried to use to cordon off the area. The empty shipping containers around People's Park echo the hundreds of containers set up to fill gaps on the Arizona-Mexico border in 2022.

Persons: —, UC Berkeley's, Kyle Gibson, Jason Armond Organizations: UC Berkeley, Service, UC, Associated Press, UC Berkeley's, Los Angeles Times, Getty, Berkeley, Guardian Locations: Berkeley , California, People's, Berkeley , CA, Park, California, Berkeley, Arizona, Mexico

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — The deaths of two people, muggings and a dangerous heat wave left legions of Taylor Swift's Brazilian fans angry and disappointed in the three-day Rio de Janeiro leg of the pop superstar's Eras Tour, which concludes Monday night. It was the second death of a Swift fan in four days. Fans also reported fainting from extreme heat, being mugged or getting caught up in a police raid. Inside the stadium, concertgoers complained of unbearable heat and some said they had difficulty getting access to water. “Come on stage, I want to see you!”The postponement was followed by chaos outside the stadium.

Persons: Taylor Swift's, Gabriel Mongenot Santana Milhomem Santos, Swift, Rio's, Ana Clara Benevides Machado, Benevides, ”, concertgoers, Kléssia Menezes, “, Julia Alvarenga, Alvarenga, “ We’re, Hely Olivares Organizations: RIO DE, Rio’s Municipal Health Department, Forensic Medical Institute, Nilton Santos Olympic, Twitter Locations: RIO DE JANEIRO, Rio de Janeiro, Rio’s, Rio ., Rio, Burger, Brazil, Panama

As a Palestinian resident of the West Bank, Handal needs a permit to enter Jerusalem. Israel controls all entry and exit points to the West Bank through roadblocks and checkpoints which are staffed by soldiers and armed police. Ivana Kottasova/CNNIsrael has occupied the West Bank since seizing the territory from Jordanian military occupation in 1967. In the early 1990s, under the Oslo Accords peace agreements, the West Bank was divided into three distinct zones: A, B and C.Area C, which comprises about 60% of the West Bank, is fully Israeli-controlled and forms one continuous territory. The increased violence is forcing many West Bank residents to stay at home.

Persons: Joseph Handal, ” Handal, Israel, Bani Moufleh, ‘ I’ll, ”, Mohammad Jamil, Jamil, Ibrahim, Ibrahim –, Ivana Kottasova, CNN Israel, Volker Turk, “, ” Turk, Mohamad Torokman, Joe Biden, Biden, Benjamin Netanyahu, Handal Organizations: West Bank CNN —, West Bank, CNN, Hamas, Getty, International Labour Organization, Palestinian Authority, West Bank ., Bank, Palestinian Ministry of Health, Jihad, UN Office, Humanitarian Affairs, UN, Fourth Geneva Convention, Reuters, ” Locations: Bethlehem, Old City, Jerusalem, Bethlehem ., Palestinian, Israel, Territories, Nablus, Tulkarem, Hebron, Oslo, Israeli, West Bank . Cities, Handal’s, Oslo Accords, Ramallah, That’s, “

☆ Indonesia says arrests militants suspected of plotting to disrupt election
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

An armed police officer stands guard following a blast at a district police station, that according to authorities was a suspected suicide bombing, in Bandung, West Java province, Indonesia, December 7, 2022. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsJAKARTA, Oct 31 (Reuters) - Indonesia's counter-terrorism unit has arrested 59 suspected militants including some loyalists of the Islamic State-inspired Jamaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD) suspected of planning to disrupt an upcoming election, a unit spokesperson said on Tuesday. Aswin Siregar, spokesperson for the Densus 88 counter-terrorism taskforce, said the JAD militants were suspected of plotting attacks to disrupt Feb. 14 presidential and legislative elections. It relates to their main goal which is to cancel the election," he added without giving any more detail of the suspected plotting. However, security analysts say the militant threat has diminished significantly in recent years, largely because of successful security force operations.

Persons: Willy Kurniawan, Ansharut, Aswin Siregar, Aswin, Ananda Teresia, Robert Birsel Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Islamic, Islamic State, JI, Thomson Locations: Bandung, West Java, Indonesia, Rights JAKARTA, al Qaeda, JAD, United States, Bali

But hours later, after repeated announcements and a search, authorities moved off — and it was still unclear whether Card had ever been at the location, state police said. Richard Goddard, who lives on the road where the search took place, knows the Card family. The evening shootings killed 18 people and wounded 13 others, with three people still hospitalized in critical condition, authorities said. Schools in Lewiston were to remain closed Friday, while those in Portland would decide in the morning whether to open. Ten more will likely be issued once the names of the rest of the dead are confirmed, said Maine State Police Col. William Ross.

Persons: —, Robert Card, Card, Richard Goddard, Goddard, “, haven’t, Stevens, ” Stevens, Janet Mills, Dave Letarte, Letarte, ” Letarte, didn’t, William Ross ., Patrick Poulin, ” Poulin, ”, Ryan Smith, Smith, Diana Florence, Patrick Whittle, Robert Bukaty, Darlene Superville, Lolita Baldor, Michael Casey, Kathy McCormack, Rhonda Shafner, Jeffrey Collins Organizations: FBI, Authorities, Canada Border Services Agency, . Schools, Bates College, Maine Gov, U.S, Associated Press, Police, Central Maine Medical, Coast Guard, University of North, The Associated Press, USA, Northeastern University, ___ Associated Press, Washington , D.C Locations: LEWISTON , Maine, Maine, Bowdoin, —, Lewiston, Portland, U.S, Schemengees, Kennebec, Lisbon, Androscoggin, University of North Carolina, Chapel, United States, Portland , Maine, Lewiston , Maine, Washington ,, Boston, Concord , New Hampshire, New York, Columbia , South Carolina

☆ UK inquiry starts hearings into Afghan extra-judicial killings' claims
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

An armed police officer patrols near the Ministry of Defence in London, Britain May 11, 2016. REUTERS/Neil Hall/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Oct 9 (Reuters) - An inquiry investigating allegations that British special forces carried out dozens of extra-judicial killings in Afghanistan a decade ago will begin hearing evidence in public on Monday. The independent inquiry was ordered by Britain's defence ministry last December after a BBC TV documentary reported that soldiers from the elite Special Air Service (SAS) had killed 54 people in suspicious circumstances. "The bereaved families look to the inquiry to fearlessly uncover the truth of the deaths of their loved ones and to ensure that those responsible are held to account." While the hearings will begin in public, some of the evidence relating to special forces will be restricted on national security grounds.

Persons: Neil Hall, Tessa Gregory, Leigh, Charles Haddon, Cave, Mansour Aziz, Leigh Day, Michael Holden, William Maclean Organizations: Ministry of Defence, REUTERS, BBC, Special Air Service, SAS, Thomson Locations: London, Britain, Afghanistan, Haddon

☆ Kosovo Police Enter Northern Village After Shootout With Gunmen Killed Four
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-25 | by ( Sept. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

JOSEVIK, Kosovo (Reuters) - Kosovar police units in armoured vehicles moved in to secure and search a village in north Kosovo on Monday, a day after four people were killed in a shootout there between police and ethnic Serb gunmen in the restive region. The gunmen stormed the village of Banjska on Sunday, battling police and barricading themselves into a Serbian Orthodox monastery. The armed police units searched houses in the village on Monday, looking for any gunmen who had not fled, a police source told Reuters. Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti has blamed Serbia for financing and sending armed men to Kosovo. Tensions have been running high since clashes in northern Kosovo in May when more than 90 NATO peacekeeping soldiers and some 50 Serb protesters were injured in northern Kosovo.

Persons: Albin Kurti, Aleksandar Vucic, Kurti, Josep Borrell, Fatos Bytyvi, Ivana Sekularac, Edmund Blair Organizations: Reuters, Kosovar, Police, Serbian, Kosovo, European Union, NATO Locations: JOSEVIK, Kosovo, restive, Banjska, Serbian, Belgrade, Kosovo Albanian, Serbia, EU

☆ A $120 million megayacht linked to a Russian billionaire was seized by authorities, and now residents of a small Caribbean nation are paying $28,000-a-week to maintain it, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-25 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A $120 million megayacht linked to a Russian billionaire has been docked in Antigua and Barbuda for 19 months. Now taxpayers in the small country are paying $28,000-a-week to maintain the idle vessel, per the WSJ. The Alfa Nero is a $120 million vessel that was raided by armed police and the FBI in August 2022, having been left in Antigua's Falmouth Harbor since Russia invaded Ukraine six months earlier. The US Treasury Department has linked the Alfa Nero to Andrey Guryev , a Russian oligarch who the department says is a "close associate" of Vladimir Putin. The Journal reports that the country's residents are paying $28,000-a-week in taxes to maintain the Alfa Nero, including the salary of an Italian captain and $2,000-a-day in diesel to keep its air conditioning running.

Persons: Nero, Alfa Nero, Andrey Guryev, Vladimir Putin, Eric Schmidt, Guryev's, it's, Joan Miró, Tom Paterson Organizations: Service, Street Journal, FBI, US Treasury Department, Bloomberg, Alfa, Guardian, Google Locations: Russian, Antigua, Barbuda, Caribbean, Wall, Silicon, Antigua's Falmouth Harbor, Russia, Ukraine, Falmouth Harbor, Italian

☆ Kosovo police enter northern village after shootout with gunmen killed four
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] A Kosovo police officer stands guard on a road to Banjska monastery, in the aftermath of a shooting incident, near Zvecan, Kosovo September 25, 2023. REUTERS/Ognen Teofilovski Acquire Licensing RightsJOSEVIK, Kosovo, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Kosovar police units in armoured vehicles moved in to secure and search a village in north Kosovo on Monday, a day after four people were killed in a shootout there between police and ethnic Serb gunmen in the restive region. The gunmen stormed the village of Banjska on Sunday, battling police and barricading themselves into a Serbian Orthodox monastery. Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti has blamed Serbia for financing and sending armed men to Kosovo. Tensions have been running high since clashes in northern Kosovo in May when more than 90 NATO peacekeeping soldiers and some 50 Serb protesters were injured in northern Kosovo.

Persons: Ognen, Albin Kurti, Aleksandar Vucic, Kurti, Josep Borrell, Fatos Bytyvi, Ivana Sekularac, Edmund Blair Organizations: REUTERS, Kosovar, Police, Reuters, Serbian, Kosovo, European Union, NATO, Thomson Locations: Kosovo, Banjska, Zvecan, restive, Serbian, Belgrade, Kosovo Albanian, Serbia, EU

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