Gunman kills 1, wounds 2 in US metro rampage before passengers disarm him

Gunman kills 1, wounds 2 in US metro rampage before passengers disarm him
A view of the Metro Center Station in Washington DC. (Shutterstock)
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Updated 02 February 2023

Gunman kills 1, wounds 2 in US metro rampage before passengers disarm him

Gunman kills 1, wounds 2 in US metro rampage before passengers disarm him
  • Mayor Muriel Bowser of Washington, D.C., said the shootings highlight the need for serious gun control
  • “This is not a Metro-specific safety issue; it’s an American gun violence issue,” says Metro GM

WASHINGTON: A man “randomly” brandishing a firearm shot three people, killing one, in a Wednesday morning rampage in the nation’s capital that started on a city bus and ended in a Metro tunnel after passengers attacked and disarmed him.
Authorities were still piecing together the chaotic series of events that left two people with gunshot wounds to the leg and Metro employee Robert Cunningham shot dead. The shooter is in police custody and has not been publicly identified.
Metropolitan Police Department Executive Assistant Chief Ashan Benedict praised the “heroic actions of our citizens, our community, to disarm this shooter.”
But he added, “The fact that our citizens had to intervene with armed gunmen is disturbing to me.”
The violence began shortly after 9 a.m. when the man began brandishing a weapon and confronting passengers on a city bus in the southeast area of the city. The man pursued one of the passengers off the bus and shot them in the leg, Benedict said.
The man then went down the escalator of the nearby Potomac Avenue Metro stop, confronted someone who was buying a Metro pass and shot that person in the leg as well. Both victims were recovering in local hospitals.
The armed man then went down to the train platform and began confronting a woman there. Benedict characterized his behavior as deeply erratic, saying, “He’s walking around brandishing a firearm and just randomly engaging people in confrontation. He’s clearly agitated about something.”
At that point, Cunningham, a 64-year-old mechanic in Metro’s power department, tried to intervene and was killed by a gunshot. A statement from Paul Smedberg, chair of the Metro board, said Cunningham “acted with extreme bravery to help a customer who was being threatened by the shooter.”
The armed man then attempted to board a Metro train and was apparently confronted and disarmed by the passengers. He exited the train car and was taken into custody by police officers, who recovered his weapon on the train tracks, Benedict said.
Mayor Muriel Bowser said the shootings highlight the need for serious gun control. Bowser and the Police Department have recently endured intense public pressure after a city employee shot and killed a 13-year old boy who was part of a group of youth breaking into parked cars on his block. The resident was charged this week with second-degree murder.
“We’re focused on how we get guns out of our city,” Bowser said. “Whether it’s the Metro, it’s the street, it’s in individual homes, we know that we have guns that are creating tragedies in our city and in our nation.”
Metro General Manager Randy Clarke said his administration had recently beefed up security measures, including increased police patrols and video surveillance. But he said the morning’s incident was indicative of a wider issue beyond Metro security.
“This is not a Metro-specific safety issue; it’s an American gun violence issue,” Clarke said.

 


Lawyer: Steenkamp’s parents to oppose parole for Oscar Pistorius

Lawyer: Steenkamp’s parents to oppose parole for Oscar Pistorius
Updated 58 min 55 sec ago

Lawyer: Steenkamp’s parents to oppose parole for Oscar Pistorius

Lawyer: Steenkamp’s parents to oppose parole for Oscar Pistorius
  • Former Olympic runner was convicted of murder for the Valentine’s Day 2013 shooting of Reeva Steenkamp
  • A decision on Pistorius’ parole could come on Friday but is more likely to take days to finalize

PRETORIA: The parents of Reeva Steenkamp, the woman Oscar Pistorius shot dead 10 years ago, will oppose the former Olympic runner’s application for parole, their lawyer said Friday.
Lawyer Tania Koen said ahead of a scheduled parole hearing for Pistorius that “unless he comes clean, they don’t feel that he is rehabilitated.”
Pistorius, a multiple Paralympic champion who made history by running against able-bodied athletes at the 2012 Olympics, was convicted of murder for the Valentine’s Day 2013 shooting of Reeva Steenkamp at his home.
Pistorius claims he shot Steenkamp by mistake thinking she was an intruder in his home.
He was sentenced to 13 years and five months in prison and is eligible for parole under South African law after having served half his sentence.
Koen said Steenkamp’s mother, June Steenkamp, would submit written and oral statements at Friday’s hearing opposing Pistorius’ application to be released from prison.
“She doesn’t feel that he must be released,” Koen told reporters outside the Atteridgeville Correctional Center in Pretoria, where Pistorius has been held since 2016 and where his parole hearing is expected to take place.
Submissions from a victim’s relative are just one of the factors a parole board takes into account when deciding if an offender can be released early on parole. The parole board will also consider Pistorius’ behavior in prison and if he would be a threat to society if he were released.
A decision on Pistorius’ parole could come on Friday but is more likely to take days to finalize.


Hijacked Danish ship located in Gulf of Guinea, ‘part of crew’ kidnapped

Hijacked Danish ship located in Gulf of Guinea, ‘part of crew’ kidnapped
Updated 31 March 2023

Hijacked Danish ship located in Gulf of Guinea, ‘part of crew’ kidnapped

Hijacked Danish ship located in Gulf of Guinea, ‘part of crew’ kidnapped
  • No details were provided on the number of crew kidnapped, nor their nationalities
  • The owner said there was no reported damage to the vessel or cargo

COPENHAGEN: The Danish oil tanker seized by pirates has been located in the Gulf of Guinea but a part of its crew has been kidnapped, the ship’s owner Monjasa said Friday.
The Monjasa Reformer, which had 16 crew on board when it was boarded by pirates on March 25, was found on Thursday by the French navy off the coast of Sao Tome and Principe.
When the vessel was located, “the pirates had abandoned the vessel and brought a part of the crew members with them,” Monjasa said in a statement.
“The rescued crew members are all in good health and safely located in a secure environment and receiving proper attention following these dreadful events,” it said.
No details were provided on the number of crew kidnapped, nor their nationalities.
“Our thoughts are with the crew members still missing and their families during this stressful period,” Monjasa said, adding that it was “working closely with the local authorities” to obtain the sailors’ safe return.
The owner said there was no reported damage to the vessel or cargo.
The 135-meter-long Monjasa Reformer “experienced an emergency situation” on March 25 around 260 kilometers west of Port Pointe-Noire in the Republic of Congo, Monjasa said.
The shipowner added that the crew had sought refuge in the tanker’s secure room or “citadel” when the pirates boarded, “in accordance with the onboard anti-piracy emergency protocol.”
The vessel was “sitting idle” at the time of the incident.


Malaysia’s former PM Najib Razak loses final bid to review graft conviction

Malaysia’s former PM Najib Razak loses final bid to review graft conviction
Updated 31 March 2023

Malaysia’s former PM Najib Razak loses final bid to review graft conviction

Malaysia’s former PM Najib Razak loses final bid to review graft conviction
  • Former leader convicted over the multi-billion-dollar scandal at state fund 1MDB
  • Some $4.5 billion was stolen from 1MDB and more than $1 billion went to accounts linked to Najib

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s top court on Friday dismissed a bid by jailed former prime minister Najib Razak to review his corruption conviction over the multi-billion-dollar scandal at state fund 1MDB, ending Najib’s judicial efforts to challenge the guilty verdict.
Najib became the first Malaysian premier to be imprisoned after Malaysia’s Federal Court upheld a guilty verdict and 12-year prison sentence handed down to him by a lower court.
Najib, 69, can no longer challenge the conviction in court, but he has applied for a royal pardon which if successful could see him released without serving the full 12-year term.
Federal Court Judge Vernon Ong said a five-member panel voted 4-1 to dismiss Najib’s application to review the conviction.
There was no miscarriage of justice in the top court’s decision last year, he said, adding that a review was granted only in “very limited and exceptional circumstances.”
“In the final analysis, and having regard to all circumstances, we are constrained to say that the applicant (Najib) was the author of his own misfortunes,” Ong said.
Najib’s lawyer Shafee Abdullah said there was a possibility of another action in court due to the dissenting view of one judge.
“As a result of the minority judgment, there is an avenue that is open,” Shafee told reporters. He declined to say what action his client would pursue.
US and Malaysian investigators have said some $4.5 billion was stolen from 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) — co-founded by Najib during his first year as prime minister in 2009 — and that more than $1 billion went to accounts linked to Najib.
Various recipients of the siphoned 1MDB funds used the money to buy luxury assets and real estate, a Picasso painting, a private jet, a superyacht, hotels, jewelry and to finance the 2013 Hollywood film “The Wolf of Wall Street,” investigators have said.
Najib suppressed Malaysian investigations of the wide-ranging 1MDB scandal during his leadership even as global probes continued, but was charged after he lost a general election in 2018.
The British-educated son of Malay nobility held the premiership from 2009 to 2018, when public anger over the graft scandal brought election defeat.
He was found guilty by a high court in 2020 of criminal breach of trust, abuse of power and money laundering for illegally receiving about $10 million from SRC International, a former unit of 1MDB. He lost all his appeals.
Najib faces three other trials related to graft at 1MDB and other government agencies.
The former premier has consistently pleaded not guilty to all the charges against him.


Taiwan leader scrambles for allies in Central America visit

Taiwan leader scrambles for allies in Central America visit
Updated 31 March 2023

Taiwan leader scrambles for allies in Central America visit

Taiwan leader scrambles for allies in Central America visit
  • In a region under growing Chinese influence, analysts say that Taiwan may already have lost the long game

MEXICO CITY: As Taiwan’s diplomatic partners dwindle and turn instead to rival China, Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-wen is aiming to shore up ties with the self-governing island’s remaining allies during a trip this week to Central America.
In a speech addressed to leaders of Guatemala and Belize shortly before departing, Tsai framed the trip as a chance to show Taiwan’s commitment to democratic values globally.
“External pressure will not obstruct our resolution to go on the world stage. We will be calm, self-confident, we will not submit but also not provoke,” said Tsai, who will also meet with US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in a stopover in the United States.
But the trip also is aimed to solidifying ties in Latin America as China funnels money into the region and pressures its countries to break off relations with the self-governed democratic island.
In Guatemala and Belize, Tsai is expected to bring an open checkbook. But in a region under growing Chinese influence, analysts say that Taiwan may already have lost the long game.
“These countries, they are symbolic. And I don’t think Taiwan wants to lose any of them,” said June Teufel Dreyer, a political scientist at University of Miami. “But if China is going to indulge in checkbook diplomacy, I don’t think Taiwan can compete and it knows it.”
The visit comes just days after Honduras became the latest country to break with Taiwan in favor of establishing ties with China.
Honduras follows in the footsteps of Nicaragua, El Salvador, the Dominican Republic, Panama and Costa Rica in ditching Taiwan. In some cases, China was said to have dangled hefty investment packages and loans in exchange for switching allegiances.
As the Asian superpower has sought to isolate Taiwan and expand its power on the global stage, Chinese trade and investment in Latin America has soared.
Between 2005 and 2020, the Chinese have invested more than $130 billion in Latin America, according to the United States Institute of Peace. Trade between China and the region has also shot up, and is expected to reach more than $700 billion by 2035.
Honduras’ move came in conjunction with the construction of a hydroelectric dam project built by the Chinese company SINOHYDRO with about $300 million in Chinese government financing.
It left Taiwan with no more than 13 official diplomatic partners. More than half of those are small countries in Latin America and the Caribbean: Belize, Guatemala, Paraguay, Haiti, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
At the same time Chinese influence has grown, lagging spending by the US — Taiwan’s primary ally and source of defensive weaponry — has caused its sway in Latin America to slip.
For decades, China has claimed Taiwan as its own territory to be brought under its control by force if necessary, but the Taiwanese public overwhelmingly favors the current state of de-facto independence.
China has spent a great amount of effort in its campaign to diplomatically isolate Taiwan ever since Tsai’s election in 2016, successfully convincing nine countries to break off relations with Taipei since she has been in office.
China’s government views Tsai and her independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party as separatists.
In recent months, tensions have only intensified as relations between Beijing and Washington have spiraled. As a result, regions like Central America have grown in geopolitical importance.
“While our policy has not changed, what has changed is Beijing’s growing coercion – like trying to cut off Taiwan’s relations with countries around the world,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a speech about China relations last year.
Guatemala and Belize are among those who have remained steadfast supporters of Taiwan, Guatemala’s government reaffirming in March its “recognition of Taiwan as an independent nation with which democratic values and mutual respect are shared.”
Yet analysts say their allegiance is also a political calculation.
Tiziano Breda, researcher at International Affairs Institute, said that position will likely be wielded politically, used as a potential shield against pressure from the US
The US government, for example, has been highly critical of the administration of President Alejandro Giammattei for not doing enough to crack down on corruption.
“It’s a card these countries wait to play,” Breda said.
Dreyer of University of Miami said many of Taiwan’s allies will use their relationship with both China and Taiwan as a “bargaining chip” to seek greater investment and monetary benefits from both countries.
She said in Ing-wen’s meetings with Guatemala and Belize, the president is likely to offer investment and development projects contingent on maintaining good relations with her country.
But Dreyer noted that given the power China wields on a world stage, it’s only a matter of time before the economic superpower pulls Taiwan’s final diplomatic partners onto their side.
The Chinese “are not only willing to wait, but eager to wait until they think the time is ripe,” Dreyer said. “They want the most auspicious moment possible.”


Death toll in India temple collapse rises to 35

Death toll in India temple collapse rises to 35
Updated 31 March 2023

Death toll in India temple collapse rises to 35

Death toll in India temple collapse rises to 35
  • Worshippers celebrating a major religious holiday plunge into the stepwell after the floor covering it collapses
  • Rescue efforts continuing and the injured are being taken to government hospitals for treatment

NEW DELHI: The death toll after a floor collapsed at a Hindu temple in India had risen to 35 on Friday with rescue operations ongoing, a local official said.
Dozens of worshippers celebrating a major religious holiday on Thursday plunged into the stepwell — a stair-lined communal water source — after the floor covering it collapsed in the central city of Indore.
“Thirty-five people are dead. One person is still missing. Rescue operations are on,” Indore district magistrate Ilayaraja T. said by phone.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Thursday he was “extremely pained” by news of the accident.
“The state government is spearheading rescue and relief work at a quick pace,” he added. “My prayers with all those affected and their families.”
Modi’s office said compensation payments of 200,000 rupees ($2,400) would be given to next-of-kin.
Narottam Mishra, the home minister of Madhya Pradesh state, told reporters that an investigation had been launched into the mishap.
Police official Manish Kapooriya said rescue efforts were continuing and that the injured were being taken to government hospitals for treatment.
Television footage showed emergency workers using ropes and ladders to reach those trapped in the well in Madhya Pradesh state.
Other videos showed the caved-in floor and mangled steel bars as well as police officers using ropes to seal the area.
Temples across India were brimming with devotees on the occasion of Ram Navami, the birthday of the Hindu deity Lord Ram.
Deadly accidents are common at worship sites in India during major religious festivities.
At least 112 people died in 2016 after a huge explosion caused by a banned fireworks display at a temple marking the Hindu new year.
The blast ripped through concrete buildings and ignited a fire at a Hindu temple complex in Kerala state where thousands had gathered.
Another 115 devotees died in 2013 after a stampede at a bridge near a temple in Madhya Pradesh.
Up to 400,000 people were gathered in the area, and the stampede occurred after the spread of a rumor that the bridge was about to collapse.