News Trending

Paris shooting: Three dead and several injured in attack

By 609 0

Three individuals were killed and three others were injured when a shooter opened fire in the heart of Paris. Witnesses claimed that the attacker specifically targeted a restaurant and community centre for Kurds, and authorities stated they would check into any potential racial motivation.

A 69-year-old suspect was detained right away, and it immediately became clear that he had recently been released from prison. Authorities urged people to stay away from Strasbourg-Saint Denis in Paris’s 10th arrondissement.

The shooting’s cause has not been established, however Paris Prosecutor Laure Beccuau has revealed that the suspect has a history of racial violence charges.

On December 8, 2021, near Bercy, a man brandished a sword and attacked tents at a Parisian migrant camp. He had only lately been released, although it was unclear why.

The suspect was also hurt in the shooting, according to the local mayor Alexandra Cordebard, and three locations were targeted: a restaurant, a hair salon, and a Kurdish cultural centre. In the salon, there were two shootings.

Anne Hidalgo, the mayor of Paris, claimed that a “far-right activist” was responsible for the killings. She added: “Kurds wherever they reside must be able to live in peace and security. In these difficult times, Paris stands on their side more than ever.”

“We were walking in the street and heard gunshots,” a witness, Ali Dalek, told the BBC. “We turned around and saw people running left and right.

“And then, five or six minutes later, because we know people who work at the hair salon, we went in and we saw that they had arrested a guy – an old man, elderly, tall.”

Without encountering any resistance, police apprehended the man and reportedly found the attack’s weapon. Authorities declared that they had started a murder inquiry. Ms. Hidalgo commended the police for taking prompt action.

Nearly ten years had passed since the January 2013 murder of three Kurdish women in Paris when the attack occurred.

Along with a number of eateries and stores, the cultural centre is located on the street next to the Château d’Eau metro station. It was a very active location, according to Ms. Cordebard.

Picture Courtesy: Google/images are subject to copyright

News Trending

Spain approves divisive transgender bill

By 501 0

A transgender rights measure has been passed in Spain, enabling anyone 16 years of age or older to change their ID card’s gender. With 188 votes in favour and 150 votes against, it was adopted. It will now go to the Senate for final approval.

The left-leaning Podemos party, which is a partner in the coalition government with Pedro Sánchez’s Socialist party, has worked to bring about the change. The bill has caused disagreement among feminists in Spain, with some claiming it could weaken women’s rights.

If approved, anyone over the age of 16 will be able to change their gender, but they must affirm it three months later. Applicants must be 12 years of age or older in some circumstances.

Until recently, applicants had to provide documentation of hormonal treatment for two years and a medical diagnosis of gender dysphoria, which is the sense that one’s biological sex does not match their gender identity. Minors also needed parental consent.

Irene Montero, the minister of equality and a member of the Podemos party, claimed during the discussion that the law “de-pathologizes” trans persons and protects their rights.

“Trans women are women,” said Ms Montero, who has strongly advocated for gender self-identification and criticised opposition to the law as “transphobia”.Members of Mr. Sánchez’s Socialist party have criticised the bill, dividing the nation’s female movement and exposing divisions within the ruling coalition.

Critics claim that because it permits men who self-identify as women to play women’s sports or want to be transferred to women’s prisons, the rule could be abused and pose a threat to women’s rights. Concerns have also been expressed regarding children’ ability to choose their own gender.

Ireland, Denmark, Norway, Portugal, Switzerland, and nine other European nations have previously established self-declaration methods for recognising gender legally. The Scottish parliament recently supported a law that would make it simpler for people to change their legal gender, which brings about the Spanish action.

Picture Courtesy: Google/images are subject to copyright

News Trending War

Ukraine war: Russia not to blame for conflict – Putin

By 553 0

Vladimir Putin asserts that both countries are “sharing a sorrow” and that Russia is not to blame for the conflict in Ukraine. The Russian president stated that he still views Ukraine as a “brotherly nation” in a televised talk with senior military leaders.

He asserted that rather than being the outcome of Russian policy, the conflict was “the product of the policy of third countries.” Outside of Russia, the theory—which contends that Western expansion is the reason—has consistently been refuted. President Putin asserted that the West had “brainwashed,” beginning with Ukraine, the post-Soviet republics.

He said: “For years, we tried to build good-neighbourly relations with Ukraine, offering loans and cheap energy, but it did not work.

“There’s nothing to accuse us of. We’ve always seen Ukrainians as a brotherly people and I still think so.

“What’s happening now is a tragedy, but it’s not our fault.”

President Putin’s persistent worries appear to be related to Nato’s expansion since the Soviet Union’s fall in 1991.

Although the Kremlin has long contended that NATO’s admission of former Soviet allies as members endangers the alliance’s security, Nato’s primary purpose was to thwart Russian expansion following World War Two.

Following the fall of pro-Kremlin Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych in 2014 as a result of months of public unrest, tensions between the Kremlin and the West grew.

Military personnel vowed to continue the alleged “special military operation” through 2023 during the speech. The amount of money Russia was willing to spend was unbounded, President Putin added.

Sergei Shoigu, Russia’s minister of defence, suggested raising the minimum age requirement for conscription.

Picture Courtesy: Google/images are subject to copyright

News Trending

Irmgard Furchner: Nazi typist guilty of complicity in 10,500 murders

By 489 0

The murder of more than 10,500 persons was committed with the help of a former secretary who worked for the Nazi camp commander. Irmgard Furchner, now 97, worked in Stutthof as a young shorthand typist from 1943 until 1945.

Furchner received a two-year suspended sentence and became the first woman to face trial for Nazi crimes in decades. Despite the fact that she was a civilian employee, the judge found that she was fully informed of all activities at the camp. According to estimates, 65,000 people—including Jewish prisoners, non-Jewish Poles, and captured Soviet soldiers—died at Stutthof in appalling conditions.

Furchner was held responsible for the attempted murder of five other people as well as the murder of 10,505 people. She was tried in a special juvenile court since at the time, she was just 18 or 19 years old. Detainees were murdered at Stutthof, a concentration camp close to the present-day Polish city of Gdansk, starting in June 1944. Thousands of them perished in gas chambers.

The court in Itzehoe, Germany, heard testimony from camp survivors, some of whom had since passed away. Irmgard Furchner fled her retirement community when the trial started in September 2021 and was eventually discovered by police on a street in Hamburg. Stutthof commandant Paul-Werner Hoppe was jailed in 1955 for being an accessory to murder and he was released five years later.

A series of prosecutions have taken place in Germany since 2011, after the conviction of former Nazi death camp guard John Demjanjuk set the precedent that being a guard was sufficient evidence to prove complicity.

Additionally, because Furchner handled correspondence pertaining to Stutthof prisoners and reported directly to the camp commander, this decision meant that she could be tried.

It took 40 days for her to break her silence in the trial, when she told the court “I’m sorry about everything that happened”.

“I regret that I was in Stutthof at the time – that’s all I can say,” she said.

Her defence lawyers argued she should be acquitted because of doubts surrounding what she knew, as she was one of several typists in Hoppe’s office. After the war, Furchner married an SS squad leader called Heinz Furchstam whom she probably met at the camp. She went on to work as an administrative worker in a small town in northern Germany. Her husband died in 1972.

By accompanying two judges to the location of the camp, historian Stefan Hördler played a significant part in the trial. The visit revealed that Furchner had access to some of the worst camp conditions from the commandant’s office.

The historian testified at the trial that between June and October 1944, 27 transports carrying 48,000 inmates arrived at Stutthof after the Nazis made the decision to enlarge the camp and accelerate mass slaughter by using Zyklon B gas.

Picture Courtesy: Google/images are subject to copyright

News Trending

Berlin AquaDom aquarium: Police not seeking suspects over explosion

By 565 0

Following the explosion of the “AquaDom” aquarium on Friday, Berlin police said they are not looking for suspects and have warned the public about what they claim to be a bogus tweet saying otherwise. One million litres of saltwater were released during the explosion at the Radisson Blu hotel, soaking the establishment and the streets around it.

Numerous fish perished, while glass that fell on people harmed two individuals. The structure has now been deemed safe by inspectors. There is no proof the explosion in the 15.85m-high (52 foot) aquarium was the product of a targeted attack, a police source told local media on Friday.

They have also utilised social media to refute a tweet from a replica account that requests public assistance in finding suspects connected to the incident.

According to a tweet from the official Berlin police account, they have encouraged people not to share the phoney message and “expressly distance” themselves from it.

The precise reason of the explosion is still under investigation, however it has been hypothesised that the cold temperatures, which fell as low as -6C over the course of one night on Friday, may have produced a crack in the tank.

Iris Spranger, a senator for the interior in Berlin, told the DPA news agency that early indications point to “material fatigue” as the root problem.

Reynolds Polymer Technology, a US company that worked on the tank’s construction, has announced that it will send a team to analyse the breach but that it is yet too early to tell what caused it.

The largest cylindrical aquarium in the world, AquaDom received the Guinness World Record after it debuted in December 2003. Its construction reportedly cost about €12.8 million (£11.2 million) at the time. It was most recently renovated in 2020.

According to reports, the Radisson Blu hotel lobby has sustained significant damage as a result of Friday’s explosion; a fire department spokesperson told German television Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg that it “looks like a battlefield.” According to Friedrich Engel, a spokesman for the Federal Agency for Technical Relief, which provides assistance in times of need, the structure has been deemed safe and given back to its owners.

According to a spokesperson for the building’s owner, Union Investment, there is no imminent risk of the structure falling. The hotel’s guests have been relocated, and it has been closed indefinitely. According to reports, further companies in the complex of buildings also sustained damage.

The explosion killed the bulk of the 1,500 fish maintained in the aquarium, although some of them made it out alive and were relocated. The power outage that followed the event put hundreds more fish held in the basement for breeding purposes at risk, but they have since all been relocated to safety. An online petition opposing the construction of a new aquarium has been launched by the animal rights organisation Help for Animals in Need.

Picture Courtesy: Google/images are subject to copyright

News Trending

Ukraine: Russia to deploy musicians to front to boost morale

By 537 0

In an effort to raise morale, Russia claims it will send musicians to the front lines of its conflict in Ukraine. This week, the defence ministry made an announcement about the creation of the “front-line creative brigade,” saying it would include musicians and singers.

In a Sunday intelligence update, the UK’s ministry of defence emphasised the formation of the brigade. According to the government, Sergei Shoigu, the Russian minister of defence, visited Ukrainian frontline troops. The Russian military’s advanced positions in the area of the special military operation were verified by Mr. Shoigu, according to a statement sent to Telegram by the defence ministry.

Although it was noted that he “spoke with troops on the frontline” and at a “command post,” the BBC is unable to confirm the timing of the visit or whether Mr. Shoigu actually travelled to Ukraine. Low morale is reportedly still a “major weakness throughout most of the Russian army,” according to UK defence experts.

The UK claimed the new creative brigade is in keeping with the historical use of “military music and organised entertainment” to promote morale. This comes after a recent campaign inviting the public to donate musical instruments to troops. However, they questioned if the new brigade would actually divert troops from their main concerns, which were “extremely high mortality rates, weak leadership, pay problems, shortage of equipment and ammunition, and lack of clarity about the war’s objectives”.

Heavy fighting between Ukrainian and Russian forces has been going on in the area for months as Russia tries to hold onto its territory after suffering a series of setbacks in eastern Ukraine early this year.

Russian attacks on the town, according to earlier claims made by Western intelligence sources, are being led by the Wagner Group, a private military contractor. In order to launch operations on the Ukrainian-held cities of Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, Moscow intends to utilise the town as a staging area.

Picture Courtesy: Google/images are subject to copyright

News Trending

Boris Becker: Former Wimbledon champion released after serving eight months of prison sentence

By 504 0

Boris Becker, a former Wimbledon champion, has been freed from prison after serving the entirety of his eight-month term for concealing assets and loans totaling £2.5 million in order to avoid paying obligations. After being convicted guilty of four offences under the Insolvency Act in April, the 55-year-old German was sentenced to two and a half years in prison.

He was let out of jail on Thursday morning and has since taken a flight to Germany. According to the BBC, Becker was expelled from the United Kingdom. Becker “was released from detention in England and has left for Germany today,” according to a statement from his Berlin-based attorney Christian-Oliver Moser. According to a government source who spoke to the BBC, Becker took a private plane rented by a friend out of Biggin Hill.

Any foreign national who is found guilty of a crime and given a prison sentence is taken into consideration for deportation at the earliest opportunity, a Home Office spokesperson told BBC Sport.

As a foreigner without British citizenship who was given a sentence of more than 12 months in custody, Becker is automatically deported.

Becker resigned from playing in 1999 and has been residing in the UK since 2012. Throughout his 15-year career, he captured six Grand Slam singles titles, including three at Wimbledon.

Due to an outstanding loan of more than £3 million on his estate in Mallorca, Spain, he was declared bankrupt in June 2017.

Earlier this year, Becker was accused of concealing assets worth millions of pounds in order to avoid paying his debts. 

Picture Courtesy: Google/images are subject to copyright

News Trending

Boy run over and killed after France World Cup win

By 572 0

In Montpellier, a southern French city, a 14-year-old kid was run over and killed shortly after France defeated Morocco in the World Cup semi-final.  After the match, according to the authorities, he was hit by a car and later died in the hospital.

Images shared on social media showed an automobile covered in a French tricolour, which was later seized by onlookers.  The driver then accelerated into two youngsters, perhaps in a hurry. The 14-year-old was struck and suffered a cardiac attack as the driver turned around and sped away.

“Immense sadness that a sporting event should end in total tragedy,” said local MP Nathalie Oziol, who expressed her sympathy with the boy’s family.

The automobile was later discovered abandoned not far from the scene of the collision, according to the local prefect in the southern Hérault region, and police have started looking for the driver. Everyone was horrified and in disbelief over “this awful tragedy,” according to Mayor Michal Delafosse, who also prayed that those responsible for “this vile act” would face justice.

According to local MP Patrick Vignal, the motorist needed to be apprehended and punished harshly.  Around 30 minutes after the final horn in Qatar, when France defeated Morocco 2-0, the incident took place in Montpellier’s La Paillade neighbourhood.

As flares were fired and police used tear gas in response, tensions between France and Morocco supporters briefly erupted in the city centre. A Moroccan community of about 1.5 million individuals exists in France.

While police deployed tear gas to quell unrest among far-right youngsters in Lyon’s centre, celebrations in other French cities were mainly peaceful. Ten thousand police officers were stationed all around the nation, and 167 arrests were reportedly made.

Picture Courtesy: Google/images are subject to copyright

News Trending

Olivier Vandecasteele: Iran jails Belgian aid worker for 28 years – family

By 520 0

According to his relatives, an Iranian court has sentenced a Belgian aid worker to 28 years in prison on unspecified allegations. During a brief trip to Tehran in February, 41-year-old Olivier Vandecasteele was detained and charged with espionage.

His family said on Wednesday that they were notified of his sentencing during a meeting with the prime minister of Belgium. Although Iran did not confirm the report, it was announced just days after Belgium’s constitutional court blocked a contentious prisoner exchange agreement.

Iran wants to trade Mr. Vandecasteele for Assadollah Assadi, who is said to be its top intelligence agent in Europe. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison in Belgium last year for attempting to bomb a demonstration of an Iranian opposition party operating in exile.

Mr. Vandecasteele spent six years working for the Norwegian Refugee Council and other humanitarian organisations in Iran. He fled the nation last year, but in order to close his flat in Tehran, he returned in February against Belgian government advice.

He was detained by members of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) during the brief visit and sent to Tehran’s notorious Evin prison, where several US and European expatriates are being held on spying-related allegations. His family claims that while he was being held, he was subjected to “inhumane conditions” that amounted to torture.

They claim he has experienced different health issues as a result of being held in solitary confinement for the whole time in a basement cell without windows.

According to Mr. Vandecasteele’s family, Belgian consular representatives were able to communicate with him on November 28 for the first time in seven weeks. He said that neither his Iranian attorneys nor Belgian diplomats were aware of his appearance before a court.

He said that without being informed of the specifics of the allegations against him, he was found guilty of all of them during the hearing. His court-appointed attorney did not even make an appearance in court. Additionally, Mr. Vandecasteele disclosed to the consular representatives that he had begun a partial hunger strike in mid-November to protest his treatment. On Wednesday, his family said in a statement that they had been told by Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo that he had been given a 28-year jail term and that a prisoner swap was the only way to secure his release.

The office of Mr. De Croo claimed that he had pledged to “continue to pursue all potential paths that could lead to Olivier Vandecasteele’s homecoming.”

In order to ratify the prisoner exchange agreement with Iran, which would allow Assadollah Assadi to be transferred back to Tehran to complete the remainder of his sentence in exchange for Mr. Vandecasteele’s release, his administration introduced a law in June.

However, the Iranian opposition group that Assadi and human rights advocates were targeting argued that doing so would violate the victims’ right to life and run the risk of inciting Iranian operatives to commit crimes overseas to stifle dissent.

Picture Courtesy: Google/images are subject to copyright

News Trending

EU corruption scandal: MEP denies Qatar bribery after €1.5m seized

By 574 0

Eva Kaili, a Greek MEP, has denied involvement in a World Cup host country Qatar-related bribery controversy before the European Parliament. After discovering €1.5 million (£1.3 million) in two apartments and a suitcase, Belgian detectives charged four individuals, including her.

By a vote of 625 to 1, MEPs decided to remove Ms. Kaili from her position as one of its 14 vice presidents. Roberta Metsola, the speaker of the parliament, has mentioned “tough days for European democracy.” Any misconduct has been refuted by Qatar.

“[Eva Kaili] declares her innocence and that she has nothing to do with bribery from Qatar,” her lawyer, Michalis Dimitrakopoulos, told Greek TV on Tuesday.

After several days of searching, prosecutors reported finding cash totaling roughly €600,000 at the residence of one suspect, €150,000 at the apartment of an MEP, and €750,000 in a suitcase in a Brussels hotel room.

On Tuesday, Belgian police released a picture of stacks of bills with values of 200, 50, 20, and 10 euros. Apparently, the €150,000 was discovered at Ms. Kaili’s apartment. Her attorney responded, “I have no idea if any money was recovered or how much was found,” when asked if that was the case.

According to prosecutors, the suspects detained by Belgian police have been accused of “membership in a criminal organisation, money-laundering, and corruption.” On Wednesday, they will show up in front of a pretrial court.

The charges have raised questions about the function of lobby organisations within the European Parliament. This week, MEPs were scheduled to vote on a suggestion allowing Qataris to enter the EU without a visa; however, the proposal has since been tabled.

Searches have been conducted in Brussels and Italy. Ten members of the parliamentary staff have had their IT resources “frozen” since Friday in order to prevent the loss of information crucial to the investigation.

Tuesday’s revocation of Ms. Kaili’s vice-presidency was approved by an overwhelming majority of the Strasbourg-based parliament. The “access banned” sign was taped to the door to her office in the parliament building.

Picture Courtesy: Google/images are subject to copyright