You are here

  • Home
  • Austrian avalanches leave three dead

Austrian avalanches leave three dead

Austrian avalanches leave three dead
A series of avalanches in Austria has left three people dead since Friday, as the ski season gets into full swing, with authorities warning of the risks posed by a particularly unstable snow cover. (AFP/File)
Short Url

https://arab.news/my4dk

Updated 04 February 2023
AFP

Austrian avalanches leave three dead

Austrian avalanches leave three dead
  • "One winter sports enthusiast was killed in an avalanche in Kaltenbach on Saturday," said a police spokesman
  • A 32-year-old Chinese man, also said to be skiing away from the designated routes, died in an avalanche in the resort of Soelden
Updated 04 February 2023
AFP

VIENNA: A series of avalanches in Austria has left three people dead since Friday, as the ski season gets into full swing, with authorities warning of the risks posed by a particularly unstable snow cover.
“One winter sports enthusiast was killed in an avalanche in Kaltenbach on Saturday,” a police spokesman told AFP, declining to give any information about the circumstances of the accident in the small Alpine village.
According to the Austrian news agency APA, the victim was a 17-year-old New Zealander who was skiing off-piste.
On Friday, a 32-year-old Chinese man, also said to be skiing away from the designated routes, died in an avalanche in the resort of Soelden.
A third victim was found dead Saturday after being reported missing the previous day.
APA reported that the man was 50 years old and died in the Kleinwalsertal valley on the border with Germany.
Over the past two days, intensive snowfall and wind have increased the avalanche danger in the Alpine Tyrol and Vorarlberg regions.
Warnings have been issued in both these popular ski resort regions, urging winter sports enthusiasts to exercise caution.
However an alert level four, on a scale of five, has not prevented many holidaymakers from venturing off the marked slopes, authorities said.
The avalanche situation also led to numerous rescue operations on Saturday, made hazardous by the weather conditions.
The February school holidays have begun in Vienna and resorts have filled up, after a gloomy start to the season, marked by the absence of snow at low and medium altitudes.
In recent years, in Austria, a leading winter sports destination, there have been an annual average of 20 deaths on the slopes.

Topics: Austria avalanche skiing

Related

Avalanche at exit of Tibet highway tunnel kills at least 8
World
Avalanche at exit of Tibet highway tunnel kills at least 8
Avalanche kills three at Russian Arctic ski resort
World
Avalanche kills three at Russian Arctic ski resort

At least nine dead in Russian air strikes on two Ukrainian cities

At least nine dead in Russian air strikes on two Ukrainian cities
Updated 12 sec ago

At least nine dead in Russian air strikes on two Ukrainian cities

At least nine dead in Russian air strikes on two Ukrainian cities
Updated 12 sec ago
RZHYSHCHIV, Ukraine: Russian air strikes on Ukrainian cities on Wednesday killed at least nine people in attacks that President Volodymyr Zelensky said showed Moscow was not interested in peace.
In a series of early-morning drone strikes, at least eight people were killed and seven were injured when two dormitories and a college were hit in Rzhyshchiv, 40 miles (64 km) south of the capital Kyiv, emergency services said on Facebook.
One person was rescued from the site and four people were believed trapped under rubble. Rescue operations were continuing on Wednesday night.
The attack left a gaping hole in the top floor of a five-story dormitory. A pile of rubble marked where part of another building had stood, a Reuters witness said.
Regional police chief Andrii Nebytov said an ambulance driver who went to the scene was among the dead.
Hours later, two residential buildings were damaged in a missile strike on the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia. One person was killed and 33 taken to hospital, officials said.
The Ukrainian military said it knocked out 16 of 21 Iranian-made Shahed drones fired by Russia.
“Every time someone tries to hear the word ‘peace’ in Moscow, another order is given there for such criminal strikes,” Zelensky wrote on Twitter in an apparent reference to Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s state visit to Russia, which ended on Wednesday.
Zelensky described the attack on Zaporizhzhia an act of “bestial savagery.”
Russia invaded its neighbor Ukraine 13 months ago and has carried out waves of air attacks. Russia says it is targeting infrastructure as part of what it calls a “special military operation” to remove what it says is a threat to its own security. Ukraine and its allies accuse Moscow of an unprovoked war to grab territory.
“The majority of people (at the dormitories) were saved because they ... were in bomb shelters,” police chief Nebytov said.
Viktoria, a town resident, said she heard the first explosion at 2 a.m.
“I woke up from that first explosion and went outside, where I heard another Shahed. It flew very low,” she said. “And then there was another explosion, from the first explosion there had already been a fire ... And a third time something flew by.”
A Rzhyshchiv College employee, who gave her name as Svitlana, said the students clearly knew what to do after the explosions occurred.
“Well, the children called us, we came here and took them to our homes ... Then, we sent them home,” she said. “The children were in the shelter, they did everything right.”
Air force spokesperson Yuriy Ihnat said Russia probably carried out the Zaporizhzhia attack with high-speed rockets fired from the Tornado-S multiple rocket launch system.

Shamima Begum’s former friend who inspired her to join Daesh ridicules her as ‘non-believer’

Shamima Begum’s former friend who inspired her to join Daesh ridicules her as ‘non-believer’
Updated 22 March 2023
Arab News

Shamima Begum’s former friend who inspired her to join Daesh ridicules her as ‘non-believer’

Shamima Begum’s former friend who inspired her to join Daesh ridicules her as ‘non-believer’
  • BBC tracked Sharmeena Begum after escaping from Syria’s Camp Hol
  • Former London schoolgirl discovered to be raising money to help Daesh regroup
Updated 22 March 2023
Arab News

LONDON: Shamima Begum’s best friend, whom she claims inspired her to join Daesh, was tracked down by the BBC after escaping from a Syrian detention camp. 

Sharmeena Begum, no relation, was Shamima Begum’s schoolmate in Bethnal Green, east London. In December 2014, she fled to join Daesh in Syria, with Shamima and two other friends following her two months later.

The BBC tracked Sharmeena down after she escaped from Camp Hol prison for women who were with Daesh and their children.

A journalist from the “Shamima Begum Story” podcast, posing as a sympathizer, contacted Sharmeena online after receiving a tip-off about a social media account she was using.

In her exchanges with the BBC, Sharmeena ridiculed Shamima as a failure and a non-believer, claiming she had tainted the reputation of the women who had joined Daesh. 

Sharmeena also said her former friend was “just another individual, living off the benefits” who did not contribute at all.

Sharmeena, still in Syria, is in hiding and going by a different identity.

A former Daesh member told the BBC that she is fanatical even according to the extremist group’s standards. 

When asked if she regretted joining Daesh, Sharmeena dodged the question, saying only that she did not want to return to the UK and be sent to prison. 

The BBC also discovered Sharmeena illegally fundraising for Daesh members while in hiding. She has been posting about detention camp conditions on social media while appealing for cryptocurrencies. 

Although it is unclear how much money she has raised in total, one account revealed 29 transactions totaling $3,000. 

The commander of the Syrian Democratic Forces who guards detainees at Camp Hol expressed concern that money like this is assisting Daesh in regrouping, purchasing weapons, and planning escapes and attacks. 

“If we...look at the camps, there are little children who are a few years old and are being raised on the ideology of how to kill,” Gen. Newroz Ahmed told the BBC, saying that her people are among those being targeted and killed.

Camp Hol hosts over 65,000 people of 57 different nationalities. Guards say they have discovered grenades, guns and explosive belts smuggled in and that 50 people have been murdered there over the last six months, the BBC reported.

For her part, Shamima said Sharmeena played a big role in influencing her to run away to Syria to join the extremist “caliphate.” 

Shamima told the BBC: “I was being manipulated into thinking this was the right thing to do and I was being manipulated with lies about where I would be going and what I would be doing. 

“I mean, in my opinion, even though Sharmeena probably is still radical, I will say she was also a victim of (Daesh),” she added.

Topics: Daesh Shamima Begum

Related

British-born Daesh recruit Shamima Begum loses appeal against removal of citizenship
World
British-born Daesh recruit Shamima Begum loses appeal against removal of citizenship
Shamima Begum talks to BBC about her family’s reaction after she joined Daesh
World
Shamima Begum talks to BBC about her family’s reaction after she joined Daesh

Romania further extends influencer Andrew Tate detention

Romania further extends influencer Andrew Tate detention
Updated 22 March 2023
AFP

Romania further extends influencer Andrew Tate detention

Romania further extends influencer Andrew Tate detention
  • Tate, 36, and his brother Tristan, 34, were arrested in late December
  • Their detention has been extended every month since then by Romanian judges
Updated 22 March 2023
AFP

BUCHAREST: A Romanian court on Wednesday extended the detention of controversial influencer Andrew Tate while he’s being investigated along with his brother for alleged human trafficking and rape.
Tate, 36, and his brother Tristan, 34, were arrested in late December, and their detention has been extended every month since then by Romanian judges.
Under Romania’s legal system, pre-trial detention can be extended to a maximum of 180 days, pending possible indictment.
The Bucharest Tribunal ruled to extend their detention by a further 30 days, a decision which can be appealed.
The latest extension left the brothers “speechless,” their media team said.
“The substantial material damages they have suffered are nothing compared to the moral ones. Their image has been irreparably harmed,” it said.
The brothers continue to deny all charges brought against them.
Tate, a British-American former kickboxer who has millions of online followers, along with his younger brother and two Romanian women, are under investigation for allegedly “forming an organized criminal group, human trafficking and rape.”
As part of the probe, Romanian police raided several properties connected to the Tate brothers and seized many of their assets, including a collection of luxury cars.
A court document from January said that one woman was “recruited” from the UK after she fell in love with Andrew Tate, who then brought her to Romania “with the goal of sexual exploitation.”
In 2016, Tate appeared on the “Big Brother” reality television show in Britain but was removed after a video emerged showing him attacking a woman.
He then turned to social media platforms to promote his divisive views before being banned for misogynistic remarks and hate speech.
Tate was allowed back on Twitter after the South African billionaire Elon Musk bought the company.

Topics: Romania Andrew Tate

Related

Andrew Tate loses appeal in Romania, to be held 30 more days
World
Andrew Tate loses appeal in Romania, to be held 30 more days
Andrew Tate due in Romanian court to appeal detention
World
Andrew Tate due in Romanian court to appeal detention

Pakistani parliament’s ruling sought over ex-PM Khan’s party

Pakistani parliament’s ruling sought over ex-PM Khan’s party
Updated 22 March 2023
Reuters

Pakistani parliament’s ruling sought over ex-PM Khan’s party

Pakistani parliament’s ruling sought over ex-PM Khan’s party
  • The ruling was asked for in a joint session of parliament convened over the instability caused by the crisis over Khan
  • The clashes erupted after Khan's supporters prevented police and paramilitary forces from arresting him
Updated 22 March 2023
Reuters

LAHORE, Pakistan: Pakistan’s Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah on Wednesday sought a parliament ruling to empower authorities to tackle former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s party’s alleged involvement in violence.
The ruling was asked for in a joint session of parliament convened over the instability caused by the crisis over Khan.
Sanaullah told the house nearly 68 security personnel were injured in clashes and 16 arrested Khan aides will be tried on terrorism charges.
The clashes erupted after Khan’s supporters prevented police and paramilitary forces from arresting him in a case in which he is accused of unlawfully selling state gifts during his tenure as premier from 2018-2022. He denies any wrongdoing.
The minister requested the house give “guidance” to the government about the violence stoked by Khan’s supporters, who he said included “miscreants, armed groups, and terrorists.”
“It is required that the security forces should be given authority and other measures to deal with this issue,” he said, adding that Khan’s agenda is “chaos and anarchy.”
The government has alleged that Khan’s supporters had militants among them and ministers have called for proscribing Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party.
Khan has rejected the allegation, saying that the government wanted his party out of politics.
The former premier has demanded snap elections since he was ousted in a parliamentary vote of confidence in April last year.
Khan’s successor Shehbaz Sharif has said that a general election will be held as scheduled later this year.

Topics: Pakistan Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan clashes

Related

Nobel Peace committee ‘deplores’ actions against Russia’s Memorial

Nobel Peace committee ‘deplores’ actions against Russia’s Memorial
Updated 22 March 2023
AFP

Nobel Peace committee ‘deplores’ actions against Russia’s Memorial

Nobel Peace committee ‘deplores’ actions against Russia’s Memorial
  • "The Norwegian Nobel Committee deplores the arrest of and legal actions taken against Jan Rachinsky and other leading members of Memorial," Berit Reiss-Andersen, chair of the committee, said
  • The rights group said Tuesday that Russian authorities had opened a criminal case against Oleg Orlov for "discrediting" the army
Updated 22 March 2023
AFP

OSLO: The Nobel Committee in charge of the Peace Prize on Wednesday condemned the legal actions and what it called “unfounded” charges against members of the prize-winning Russian human rights organization Memorial.
“The Norwegian Nobel Committee deplores the arrest of and legal actions taken against Jan Rachinsky and other leading members of Memorial,” Berit Reiss-Andersen, chair of the committee, said in a statement.
“The charges made against them are unfounded and must be dropped,” she said.
The rights group said Tuesday that Russian authorities had opened a criminal case against Oleg Orlov, the co-chair of Memorial, for “discrediting” the army.
The announcement came after security officials raided the homes of several Memorial employees including Orlov, 69, and Rachinsky, its 64-year-old co-founder, earlier in the day.
Memorial established itself as a pillar of civil society by preserving the memory of victims of communist repression and campaigning against rights violations in Russia under President Vladimir Putin.
The raids took place after investigators accused Memorial staff of allegedly including World War Two-era Nazi collaborators on their list of victims of political terror, the organization said.
Memorial was disbanded by Russian authorities in late 2021, just months before Putin sent troops to Ukraine.
“(I have) constant pain and shame for the horror that our army is creating in a neighboring sovereign state,” Orlov told AFP last year.
Memorial received the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize along with the jailed Belorusian activist Ales Bialiatski and Ukraine’s Center for Civil Liberties.
Rachinsky said last year that the prize came as a surprise and would give all Russian rights defenders “new strength and inspiration.”
After the start of Moscow’s offensive in Ukraine, Russian authorities expanded a crackdown on dissent, jailing or pushing into exile nearly all prominent Kremlin critics.
Public criticism of Moscow’s assault on Ukraine is punishable by up to 15 years in prison.

Topics: Russia-Ukraine Conflict Memorial Oleg Orlov

Related

Russian police target Nobel Prize-winning group in mass raids
World
Russian police target Nobel Prize-winning group in mass raids
Nobel winner Bialiatski jailed in Belarus for a decade, sparking outcry
World
Nobel winner Bialiatski jailed in Belarus for a decade, sparking outcry

Latest updates

Pakistan and Saudi Arabia enjoy a unique bond of friendship, trust
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia enjoy a unique bond of friendship, trust
UAE’s Sheikha Fatima bint Hazza honored at London’s Arab Woman Award
UAE’s Sheikha Fatima bint Hazza honored at London’s Arab Woman Award
Media has key role to play in promoting Palestinian cause, says leading Muslim official
Media has key role to play in promoting Palestinian cause, says leading Muslim official
At least nine dead in Russian air strikes on two Ukrainian cities
At least nine dead in Russian air strikes on two Ukrainian cities
OIC chief calls water conservation awareness
OIC chief calls water conservation awareness

Search form

Print Edition
Read pdf version Subscribe now
© 2023 SAUDI RESEARCH & PUBLISHING COMPANY, All Rights Reserved And subject to Terms of Use Agreement.