Home » 2019 » September (Page 407)
Security footage showed Diana Sanchez writhing in pain while she screamed for help.
September 1, 2019Read More
Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives and her Social Democrat (SPD) coalition partners bled support to the far right in two state elections in eastern Germany on Sunday, dealing a double blow to her already unstable ruling alliance. Merkel’s Christ…
September 1, 2019Read More
More than 100 people are believed to have been killed in an air strike by the Saudi-led military coalition on a detention centre in Yemen, the International Committee of the Red Cross said Sunday. The coalition said it targeted a facility run by the Huthi rebels that “stores drones and missiles”, but the rebels said the attack had levelled a building they used as a prison. The ICRC rushed to the scene in the city of Dhamar with medical teams and hundreds of body bags. “The location that was hit has been visited by ICRC before,” Franz Rauchenstein, its head of delegation for Yemen, told AFP from Dhamar. “It’s a college building that has been empty and has been used as a detention facility for a while.” “What is most disturbing is that (the attack was) on a prison. To hit such a building is shocking and saddening – prisoners are protected by international law.” Rauchenstein said that over 100 people were estimated to be dead, and that at least 40 survivors were being treated for their injuries in hospitals in the city, south of the capital Sanaa. ICRC teams collecting bodies were also “working relentlessly to find survivors under the rubble”, he said, but cautioned that the chances of finding any were very slim. Footage obtained by AFP showed heavy damage to the building and several bodies lying in the rubble, as bulldozers worked to clear away huge piles of debris. The coalition intervened in 2015 to support the government after the Iran-aligned Huthis swept out of their northern stronghold to seize Sanaa and much of Yemen – the Arab world’s poorest nation. Fighting since then has already claimed tens of thousands of lives and sparked what the United Nations calls the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. Both sides stand accused of actions that could amount to war crimes.
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The Israeli military says the latest round of fighting with Hezbollah appears to be over. Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus, a military spokesman, told reporters Sunday that Hezbollah militants fired two or three anti-tank missiles toward an Israeli army bas…
September 1, 2019Read More
Pro-democracy protesters obstructed access to the Hong Kong airport on Sunday after police arrested dozens the night before and deployed water cannon and tear gas in response to activists lobbing petrol bombs and bricks. Activists snarled road and rail links, erecting barriers and flooding stations en route to the airport, while shouting: “Stand with Hong Kong, fight for freedom!” Others drove slowly on purposes to hinder traffic. Some built barricades outside the airport, dispersing in a flash when riot police charged and aggressively pinned people down to make arrests. The plan was to re-create mass chaos last seen in mid-August when a five-day occupation of the airport – one of the world’s busiest transport hubs – led to hundreds of flight cancellations. Scenes briefly turned violent when protesters assaulted two men from mainland China and clashed with riot police. “The Hong Kong airport is extremely important to the city in terms of the economy, and tourism,” said Toby Pun, 23. “I hope this will force the government to respond.” Hong Kong – How the protests spread Although some flights were cancelled, most still took off as scheduled on Sunday, the planes roaring above protesters’ heads. Sunday’s actions came just one day after some of the city’s most intense clashes this summer. Activists marched in the rain through several neighbourhoods before chucking Molotov cocktails and projectiles at government offices and police headquarters. Police responded with tear gas, rubber bullets, and water cannon laced with blue dye to help identify, and possibly arrest, protesters later. By nightfall, officers shot two live rounds into the sky as warnings while protesters lit a strip of stadium seats on fire, setting ablaze a main road and sending black smoke billowing around brightly lit skyscrapers. Protests first kicked off early June against an extradition proposal that would have sent people to face trial in mainland China, where Communist Party influence contributes to a 99.9 per cent conviction rate. Demands have since expanded to include greater political accountability and wider democratic freedoms, plunging Hong Kong into its worst political crisis in decades. After largely being reactive and at times blindsided by protesters’ flash mob tactics, police in recent days seem to be getting better at anticipating and thwarting them. Hundreds of Hong Kong pro-democracy activists attempted to block transport routes to the city’s airport Credit: LILLIAN SUWANRUMPHA/AFP/Getty Images Police stood on guard at the airport Sunday morning, placing heavy water barriers around entrances and only allowing passengers through. Later in the day, several teams were spotted at ferry piers and train stations in efforts to catch retreating protesters. The nearly 1,000 arrests made are starting to weigh on protesters, with many encouraging each other to flee quickly when police arrive to prevent being cuffed themselves. Closures of the city’s subway stations have also impeded protesters’ mobility to arrive at rallies and to flee the scene. By early afternoon Sunday, the city’s subway operator shut the airport express line and a number of bus links were down, forcing demonstrators, passengers, flight attendants, and journalists to walk more than three miles to the airport from the closest subway station that remained open. A visitor from Taiwan rushing to return home said the disruption didn’t bother him. “Protesting is the right of citizens,” said Mr Liu, 35, declining to give a full name. “If the flight is delayed, then we will stay at the airport and support the protesters,” said Peter, a Hong Konger who left early and walked nearly an hour to get to the airport. A policeman beats a protester in the men’s toilet inside Hong Kong International Airport Credit: Chris McGrath/Getty Images Despite escalating violence and disruption to daily life in Hong Kong, known for being an efficient global business centre, the youth-driven political movement has until now continued to draw wide public support. “I’ve attended most protests since June,” said a woman who gave her name as Miu, 58. “Those teenagers – they have been really kind. One day when police threw lots of tear gas, a really young protester, only 20, took off her gas mask and gave it to me.” But that may not remain the case with increasing disruptions to regular life and school due to star this week, which could keep activists – many of whom are students – off the streets. To prevent that, a citywide strike has been called as well as a boycott on the first few days of university and secondary school classes. Calls are also growing for the UK to pressure Beijing to uphold the Sino-British Joint Declaration, which kicked in when Hong Kong was returned to Chinese rule and guaranteed the Communist system would not be practiced in the territory for at least 50 years. Firefighters extinguish a fire at a road block during a protest in Hong Kong Credit: Paul Yeung/Bloomberg In the central business district, hundreds also gathered Sunday outside the British Consulate, waving the Union Jack flag and holding signs that read “SOS,” calling on the UK to recognise that freedoms were disappearing. “The UK government is not standing up or doing enough, and just lets the Chinese government speak,” said Shirley Lo, 22, “I feel like they left us behind here and didn’t take enough action for us.” Some also chanted, “Make Hong Kong British again!” and “We love British, we are British, equal rights for BNO!” demanding the right to live and work in the UK for holders of the British National Overseas passport. Introduced in the last decade of colonial rule, the BNO passport, with its burgundy cover and coat of arms, looks like a regular British passport but doesn’t provide holders with the right of abode, long a point of contention. “If people from the EU leave the UK because of Brexit, we can fill in the labour market,” said Rex Wong, 42, whose entire family of four holds BNO passports. “Hong Kong people are hard-working, intelligent… We can help make the UK better.” Many at the rally, however, avoided questions from the Telegraph about why they looked to the UK for support, even though life under British rule was harsh for some Hong Kong people. But it was clear that they remembered the colonial era with a more positive lens than that of current Chinese rule. Hong Kong has long had a complicated relationship with the UK, though many have long attributed a robust capitalist system and strong rule of law to the British. MP Tom Tugendhat, and chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, has called on the UK to treat BNO holders as UK citizens. “It would right a wrong we should never have implemented, and give people living there options,” he wrote in a comment piece for the Telegraph last month. Additional reporting by Michael Zhang
September 1, 2019Read More
As the Category 5 storm approaches the Bahamas, NPR’s Leila Fadel talks with Marsh Harbour resident Bill Albury about conditions there.
September 1, 2019Read More
Here’s what we learned about a feminist message in a six-woman field.
September 1, 2019Read More
Israel said it was returning fire Sunday after anti-tank missiles were launched at its territory from Lebanon, raising fears of a serious escalation with Hizbollah after a week of rising tensions. “A number of anti-tank missiles were fired from Lebanon towards an (Israeli military) base and military vehicles,” an Israeli army statement said. “A number of hits have been confirmed. (Israel’s military) is responding with fire towards the sources of fire and targets in southern Lebanon.” After the initial reports of fire from Lebanon, a military spokesman called on Israelis living within four kilometres (2.5 miles) of the Lebanese border to remain at home and prepare shelters. Tensions have risen in the last week between Israel and its enemy Hizbollah, the Lebanese Shia movement backed by Iran. Tension between Israel and Lebanese militant group Hizbollah continues to escalate Credit: ATEF SAFADI/EPA-EFE/REX Hizbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah said Saturday the group’s response to an alleged Israeli drone attack on the group’s Beirut stronghold had been “decided”. The pre-dawn August 25 attack involved two drones – one exploded and caused damage to a Hizbollah-run media centre and another crashed without detonating due to technical failure. Israel has not claimed responsibility for the incident. The attack in Lebanon came just hours after Israel launched strikes in neighbouring Syria to prevent what it said was an impending Iranian drone attack on the Jewish state.
September 1, 2019Read More
NPR’s Leila Fadel first met Rosa Gutierrez Lopez in January, after she sought refuge at Cedar Lane Unitarian Universalist Church. If she leaves the property, she risks being deported to El Salvador.
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Sunday, Sept. 1: ‘Fear the Walking Dead’ Introduces Rabbi Jacob Channel Guide MagazineAs Season 5 continues, the remaining characters in this ‘Walking Dead’ spinoff will strive to build a better life for themselves — and find a permanent pla…
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Kentucky football played just three true freshman in its 2019 opener. The rest of the class is wait-and-see mode.
September 1, 2019Read More
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