Three suspected militants were shot dead by Indonesian anti-terror officers during a raid Wednesday, authorities said, with police discovering a cache of bombs at the scene of the shootout.

The firefight erupted at a house about 25 kilometres (15 miles) outside the capital Jakarta.

Police said the alleged militants had opened fire at officers.

&quot;Suddenly somebody threw something (at officers) and it was a man-made bomb, but it didn`t explode and there were shots from inside,&quot; police spokesman Rikwanto, who goes by one name, told Metro TV.

&quot;Police responded ... and three people (inside the house in South Tangerang) were killed.&quot;

Rikwanto said police had not ruled out the possibility the explosives were planned to be detonated in attacks over the holiday period.

The police have not revealed how many bombs were found in the house. One alleged militant was arrested.

The incident came less than two weeks after police arrested four Islamic militants, including a female suicide bomber, and a bomb in Bekasi, east of Jakarta.

The group in South Tangerang is linked to the Bekasi group, Rikwanto said.

A sustained crackdown in Indonesia, the world`s most populous Muslim-majority country, weakened many of the most dangerous extremist networks responsible for a string of deadly homegrown attacks during the 2000s.

But there have been fears of a resurgence in militancy and police believe hundreds of Indonesians have travelled to Syria to fight with militant groups including IS.

&nbsp;

(AFP)

The police have not revealed how many bombs were found in the house. One alleged militant was arrested

Three suspected militants were shot dead by Indonesian anti-terror officers during a raid Wednesday, authorities said, with police discovering a cache of bombs at the scene of the shootout. The firefight erupted at a house about 25 kilometres (15 miles) outside the capital Jakarta. Police said the alleged militants had opened fire at officers. "Suddenly somebody threw something (at officers) and it was a man-made bomb, but it didn`t explode and there were shots from inside," police spokesman Rikwanto, who goes by one name, told Metro TV. "Police responded ... and three people (inside the house in South Tangerang) were killed." Rikwanto said police had not ruled out the possibility the explosives were planned to be detonated in attacks over the holiday period. The police have not revealed how many bombs were found in the house. One alleged militant was arrested. The incident came less than two weeks after police arrested four Islamic militants, including a female suicide bomber, and a bomb in Bekasi, east of Jakarta. The group in South Tangerang is linked to the Bekasi group, Rikwanto said. A sustained crackdown in Indonesia, the world`s most populous Muslim-majority country, weakened many of the most dangerous extremist networks responsible for a string of deadly homegrown attacks during the 2000s. But there have been fears of a resurgence in militancy and police believe hundreds of Indonesians have travelled to Syria to fight with militant groups including IS. (AFP)

Three militants killed in Indonesia, bombs recovered

Turkish police detained nearly 200 pro-Kurdish Peoples` Democratic Party (HDP) officials on Monday over alleged links to Kurdish militants after deadly twin weekend blasts claimed by a radical Kurdish group.

The raids saw 198 HDP officials rounded up on suspicion of belonging to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers` Party (PKK) or producing propaganda for the group, state news agency Anadolu said.

Part of an anti-terror probe, the sweeping arrest operation came after weekend attacks killed 44 people in Istanbul, mostly police, which were claimed by the Kurdistan Freedom Falcons (TAK), seen as a radical offshoot of the PKK.

According to Anadolu, 20 officials in Istanbul -- including the HDP`s provincial head in the city, Aysel Guzel -- were taken into custody while another 18 were detained in the Turkish capital, among them the party`s Ankara chief Ibrahim Binici.

The other detentions took place in the southern provinces of Adana and Mersin, Manisa in western Turkey as well as Hakkari, Sanliurfa and Gaziantep in the country`s restive southeast.&nbsp;

The majority of detentions were in Mersin where 93 officials were taken into custody and accused of being PKK members, Anadolu said.

Last month, 10 HDP lawmakers -- including co-leaders Selahattin Demirtas and Figen Yuksekdag -- were arrested, causing international alarm. They are also accused of PKK membership or of promoting the group and are being held in pre-trial detention.&nbsp;

The PKK, which is proscribed as a terrorist organisation by Ankara, Brussels and Washington, has been waging an insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984.

Since the collapse of a ceasefire in July last year, Ankara has vowed to wipe out the PKK and has conducted several military operations against the group.

There have been frequent clashes between security forces and PKK militants and almost daily attacks on the military carried out by the group`s fighters in the southeast.

The sweeping arrest operation came after weekend attacks killed 44 people in Istanbul, which were claimed by the Kurdistan Freedom Falcons

Turkish police detained nearly 200 pro-Kurdish Peoples` Democratic Party (HDP) officials on Monday over alleged links to Kurdish militants after deadly twin weekend blasts claimed by a radical Kurdish group. The raids saw 198 HDP officials rounded up on suspicion of belonging to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers` Party (PKK) or producing propaganda for the group, state news agency Anadolu said. Part of an anti-terror probe, the sweeping arrest operation came after weekend attacks killed 44 people in Istanbul, mostly police, which were claimed by the Kurdistan Freedom Falcons (TAK), seen as a radical offshoot of the PKK. According to Anadolu, 20 officials in Istanbul -- including the HDP`s provincial head in the city, Aysel Guzel -- were taken into custody while another 18 were detained in the Turkish capital, among them the party`s Ankara chief Ibrahim Binici. The other detentions took place in the southern provinces of Adana and Mersin, Manisa in western Turkey as well as Hakkari, Sanliurfa and Gaziantep in the country`s restive southeast. The majority of detentions were in Mersin where 93 officials were taken into custody and accused of being PKK members, Anadolu said. Last month, 10 HDP lawmakers -- including co-leaders Selahattin Demirtas and Figen Yuksekdag -- were arrested, causing international alarm. They are also accused of PKK membership or of promoting the group and are being held in pre-trial detention. The PKK, which is proscribed as a terrorist organisation by Ankara, Brussels and Washington, has been waging an insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984. Since the collapse of a ceasefire in July last year, Ankara has vowed to wipe out the PKK and has conducted several military operations against the group. There have been frequent clashes between security forces and PKK militants and almost daily attacks on the military carried out by the group`s fighters in the southeast.

200 pro-Kurdish Peoples` Democratic Party officials detained by Turkish police

Jacksonville (Florida) police said that the 11 hostages in the bank robbery case have been released and robbery suspect/hostage taker is in police custody.

A bank robbery turned into a hostage situation earlier in the day with shots fired in Jacksonville, Florida, the Daily Mail reported.

The robbery at the Community First Credit Union on West Edgewood Avenue was reported on Wednesday.

The suspect had threatened the 11 hostages with a handgun, ABC News reported.

(WION)

The robbery at the Community First Credit Union on West Edgewood Avenue was reported on Wednesday

Jacksonville (Florida) police said that the 11 hostages in the bank robbery case have been released and robbery suspect/hostage taker is in police custody. A bank robbery turned into a hostage situation earlier in the day with shots fired in Jacksonville, Florida, the Daily Mail reported. The robbery at the Community First Credit Union on West Edgewood Avenue was reported on Wednesday. The suspect had threatened the 11 hostages with a handgun, ABC News reported. (WION)

11 hostages in Florida bank robbery case released: Police

A 25-year-old woman was allegedly raped by three persons here after they lured&nbsp;the victim with the promise of getting her a bank job, police said today. 
 
According to DySP Pratap Baviskar, the incident took place on Saturday evening after which two persons&nbsp;identified as Vilas Haribhau Varpe (32) and Vilas Raghunath Shinde (30) were arrested yesterday. Varpe is&nbsp;working in a co-operative bank at Supa tehsil in the district. 
 
The third accused is absconding and police have launched a manhunt to trace him, he said. 
 
The accused abused the woman -- a science graduate -- after taking her to an isolated spot in Dharmadi hills in&nbsp;Rahuri tehsil, 48 kms from here. 
 
The trio also filmed the act and threatened the girl from disclosing anything, police said.&nbsp;The victim was also robbed off her mobile and cash. 
 
Soon after the incident, an FIR was registered in Rahuri Police station under sections 376, 392 and 506 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) on Saturday after the woman lodged a complaint. 
 
Varpe, one of the accused, is working in one of the Co-operative Banks at Supa tehsil in the district, police&nbsp;added. 
 
(PTI)

The third accused is absconding and police have launched a manhunt to trace him

A 25-year-old woman was allegedly raped by three persons here after they lured the victim with the promise of getting her a bank job, police said today. According to DySP Pratap Baviskar, the incident took place on Saturday evening after which two persons identified as Vilas Haribhau Varpe (32) and Vilas Raghunath Shinde (30) were arrested yesterday. Varpe is working in a co-operative bank at Supa tehsil in the district. The third accused is absconding and police have launched a manhunt to trace him, he said. The accused abused the woman -- a science graduate -- after taking her to an isolated spot in Dharmadi hills in Rahuri tehsil, 48 kms from here. The trio also filmed the act and threatened the girl from disclosing anything, police said. The victim was also robbed off her mobile and cash. Soon after the incident, an FIR was registered in Rahuri Police station under sections 376, 392 and 506 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) on Saturday after the woman lodged a complaint. Varpe, one of the accused, is working in one of the Co-operative Banks at Supa tehsil in the district, police added. (PTI)

Woman gangraped in India's Ahmednagar, 2 arrested

A 26-year-old Dalit man on Thursday died in police custody under suspicious circumstances in Kanpur, following which twelve police personnel have been suspended. 
 
Kamal Valmiki, a resident of Shiv Katra village, was found dead at Ahirwan police station on Thursday afternoon after he was picked up along with another man, Raju Mistri, Wednesday in a case of loot. 
 
Police called the family of Mistri to identify the body, which was later claimed by Kamal&#39;s family. 
 
The family members of the deceased filed an FIR against the station in charge and other police personnel for beating Kamal to death. However, police claimed he had committed suicide and sent the body for postmortem. 
 
&quot;Twelve police personnel, including the station in charge Yogendra Singh, have been suspended and strict action will be taken against them if found guilty,&quot; SSP, Mathura, Shalabh Mathur said 
 
The members of Valmiki community blocked the Kanpur-Lucknow highway and threw stones at the police station, following which senior police officials reached there to control the situation.&nbsp;Meanwhile, Raju Mistri has been reported missing. 
 
(DNA)

Kamal Valmiki was found dead at Ahirwan police station on Thursday afternoon under suspicious circumstances

A 26-year-old Dalit man on Thursday died in police custody under suspicious circumstances in Kanpur, following which twelve police personnel have been suspended. Kamal Valmiki, a resident of Shiv Katra village, was found dead at Ahirwan police station on Thursday afternoon after he was picked up along with another man, Raju Mistri, Wednesday in a case of loot. Police called the family of Mistri to identify the body, which was later claimed by Kamal's family. The family members of the deceased filed an FIR against the station in charge and other police personnel for beating Kamal to death. However, police claimed he had committed suicide and sent the body for postmortem. "Twelve police personnel, including the station in charge Yogendra Singh, have been suspended and strict action will be taken against them if found guilty," SSP, Mathura, Shalabh Mathur said The members of Valmiki community blocked the Kanpur-Lucknow highway and threw stones at the police station, following which senior police officials reached there to control the situation. Meanwhile, Raju Mistri has been reported missing. (DNA)

Dalit man dies in police custody in India's Kanpur

A small group of Russian and English fans briefly scuffled in Lille in the early hours of Wednesday (June 15) morning, after bars and pubs closed in the northern French city where thousands of supporters continue to arrive for the Euro 2016 soccer tournament. 
 
Lille is seen as the next potential Euro 2016 trouble spot as Russia play Slovakia there on Wednesday. England fans are also congregating there ahead of their match against Wales in nearby Lens on Thursday (June 16). 
 
Both teams have been threatened with expulsion from the competition if the violence seen in Marseille last week is repeated. 
 
The brief skirmish between the Russian and English fans was broken up by police. 
 
Authorities in Lille and Lens have ordered alcohol bans running from Tuesday (June 14) to Friday (June 17), officials said.&nbsp; 
 
(Reuters) 
 
&nbsp;

They scuffle in Lille despite UEFA warning that they will be disqualified if they do so

A small group of Russian and English fans briefly scuffled in Lille in the early hours of Wednesday (June 15) morning, after bars and pubs closed in the northern French city where thousands of supporters continue to arrive for the Euro 2016 soccer tournament. Lille is seen as the next potential Euro 2016 trouble spot as Russia play Slovakia there on Wednesday. England fans are also congregating there ahead of their match against Wales in nearby Lens on Thursday (June 16). Both teams have been threatened with expulsion from the competition if the violence seen in Marseille last week is repeated. The brief skirmish between the Russian and English fans was broken up by police. Authorities in Lille and Lens have ordered alcohol bans running from Tuesday (June 14) to Friday (June 17), officials said. (Reuters)

Never mind the warning, Russia and England fans go at it again

A French court today jailed three Russian football supporters for up to two years for their role in violence in Marseille before the England-Russia Euro 2016 match. 
 
Alexei Yerunov, Nikolai Morozov and Sergei Gorbachev were among 43 Russian supporters detained by French police in southern France on Tuesday after the pitched battles which left more than 30 people injured. 
 
Yerunov, 29, who is supporters&#39; liaison officer at Lokomotiv Moscow according to the club&#39;s website, received the longest prison sentence of 24 months. 
 
He admitted he was at the scene of an attack on an English supporter who was left in a critical state after being beaten around the head with an iron bar. He denied being responsible. 
 
&quot;I apologise. I recognise that I was there but I didn&#39;t hit anyone. My hands are clean,&quot; he told the court. 
 
Gorbachev, who leads a supporters&#39; club at Russian second division club Arsenal Tula, was jailed for 18 months. 
 
Morozov, 28, received the shortest sentence of 12 months. 
 
Prosecutor Andre Ribe described the Russians&#39; behaviour in the chaotic scenes in Marseille on Saturday: &quot;It was a hunt. They ran off together, staying in a group and keeping enough energy for what they call &#39;the fight&#39;.&quot; 
(AFP)

Alexei Yerunov, Nikolai Morozov and Sergei Gorbachev were among 43 Russian supporters detained by French police on Tuesday

A French court today jailed three Russian football supporters for up to two years for their role in violence in Marseille before the England-Russia Euro 2016 match. Alexei Yerunov, Nikolai Morozov and Sergei Gorbachev were among 43 Russian supporters detained by French police in southern France on Tuesday after the pitched battles which left more than 30 people injured. Yerunov, 29, who is supporters' liaison officer at Lokomotiv Moscow according to the club's website, received the longest prison sentence of 24 months. He admitted he was at the scene of an attack on an English supporter who was left in a critical state after being beaten around the head with an iron bar. He denied being responsible. "I apologise. I recognise that I was there but I didn't hit anyone. My hands are clean," he told the court. Gorbachev, who leads a supporters' club at Russian second division club Arsenal Tula, was jailed for 18 months. Morozov, 28, received the shortest sentence of 12 months. Prosecutor Andre Ribe described the Russians' behaviour in the chaotic scenes in Marseille on Saturday: "It was a hunt. They ran off together, staying in a group and keeping enough energy for what they call 'the fight'." (AFP)

Russian fans jailed for up to 2 years for Euro 2016 violence

Burundi said it would refuse to allow United Nations police onto its territory to monitor the security and human rights situation after the UN Security Council voted to send 228 officers. 
 
More than 450 people have been killed since President Pierre Nkurunziza won a third term last year, a move his opponents say violated both the constitution and a peace deal that ended a civil war in 2005. Government and opposition officials were among those killed in tit-for-tat violence by rival sides. 
 
About a quarter of a million people have fled the violence, which has alarmed neighbouring countries in a region where memories of Rwanda&#39;s 1994 genocide remain raw. Like Rwanda, Burundi has an ethnic Hutu majority and a Tutsi minority. 
 
The Security Council voted on Friday to authorise the police deployment, though four of the 15 members abstained. 
 
&quot;Concerning the deployment of the police force, the government of Burundi reminds the Security Council that...every resolution...has to be approved by the host country, which was not, unfortunately, the case,&quot; government spokesman Phillipe Nzobonariba said in a statement late on Tuesday. 
 
&quot;The government...rejects any resolution measure in connection with sending any force on its territory in violation of elementary rules governing the family of United Nations and especially violating the sovereignty of its territory.&quot; 
 
Burundi&#39;s UN Ambassador Albert Shingiro said in July his country would only accept up to 50 unarmed UN police. 
 
(Reuters)

More than 450 people have been killed since President Pierre Nkurunziza won a third term last year. Many thousands have fled the violence

Burundi said it would refuse to allow United Nations police onto its territory to monitor the security and human rights situation after the UN Security Council voted to send 228 officers. More than 450 people have been killed since President Pierre Nkurunziza won a third term last year, a move his opponents say violated both the constitution and a peace deal that ended a civil war in 2005. Government and opposition officials were among those killed in tit-for-tat violence by rival sides. About a quarter of a million people have fled the violence, which has alarmed neighbouring countries in a region where memories of Rwanda's 1994 genocide remain raw. Like Rwanda, Burundi has an ethnic Hutu majority and a Tutsi minority. The Security Council voted on Friday to authorise the police deployment, though four of the 15 members abstained. "Concerning the deployment of the police force, the government of Burundi reminds the Security Council that...every resolution...has to be approved by the host country, which was not, unfortunately, the case," government spokesman Phillipe Nzobonariba said in a statement late on Tuesday. "The government...rejects any resolution measure in connection with sending any force on its territory in violation of elementary rules governing the family of United Nations and especially violating the sovereignty of its territory." Burundi's UN Ambassador Albert Shingiro said in July his country would only accept up to 50 unarmed UN police. (Reuters)

Burundi rejects UN police deployment after Security Council vote

A militant and a policeman were killed while three other security personnel were injured in an encounter on Tuesday in Pakistan&#39;s restive Khyber Pakthunkhwa province. 
 
District Police Officer Swabi Javed Iqbal told reporters that the terrorist was killed when police raided a house in Gadoon Amazai area of Swabi district after credible information about the presence of terrorists. He said terrorists opened-fire on the police team, and that constable Muhammad Javed died while sub-inspector Muhammad Tariq and frontier corps personnel Muhammad Sajjad sustained critical bullet wounds. 
 
They were shifted to Peshawar for treatment.&nbsp;In retaliation, he said, police shot dead a terrorist identified as Anwar Sayed wanted in cases of terrorism. 
 
The police arrested two brothers of the terrorist from the house and also recovered a hand-grenade, one Kalashnikov, two pistols and cartridges.&nbsp;A search operation was conducted after the encounter during which dozens of suspects were taken into custody. 
 
In a separate incident, at least 42 suspected people, including 19 undocumented Afghan nationals, were arrested during a search operation in Hayatabad area of Peshawar district, bordering Khyber Agency.&nbsp;Drugs and arms were also recovered from some of the suspects. 
 
Pakistan has intensified the crackdown against illegal Afghan nationals in parts of Khyber Pakthunkhwa province after it decided not to allow any foreigner to stay in the country without valid documents. 
 
(PTI)

Police arrested two brothers of the terrorist and also recovered a hand-grenade, one Kalashnikov, two pistols and cartridges

A militant and a policeman were killed while three other security personnel were injured in an encounter on Tuesday in Pakistan's restive Khyber Pakthunkhwa province. District Police Officer Swabi Javed Iqbal told reporters that the terrorist was killed when police raided a house in Gadoon Amazai area of Swabi district after credible information about the presence of terrorists. He said terrorists opened-fire on the police team, and that constable Muhammad Javed died while sub-inspector Muhammad Tariq and frontier corps personnel Muhammad Sajjad sustained critical bullet wounds. They were shifted to Peshawar for treatment. In retaliation, he said, police shot dead a terrorist identified as Anwar Sayed wanted in cases of terrorism. The police arrested two brothers of the terrorist from the house and also recovered a hand-grenade, one Kalashnikov, two pistols and cartridges. A search operation was conducted after the encounter during which dozens of suspects were taken into custody. In a separate incident, at least 42 suspected people, including 19 undocumented Afghan nationals, were arrested during a search operation in Hayatabad area of Peshawar district, bordering Khyber Agency. Drugs and arms were also recovered from some of the suspects. Pakistan has intensified the crackdown against illegal Afghan nationals in parts of Khyber Pakthunkhwa province after it decided not to allow any foreigner to stay in the country without valid documents. (PTI)

Militant, policeman killed in clash in Pakistan's Khyber Pakthunkhwa province

A police officer died and another was wounded in a shooting at a traffic stop in San Diego, police said on Friday. 
 
A Hispanic man was later taken into custody, San Diego police chief Shelley Zimmerman told a news conference. 
 
The officers radioed in that they were making a traffic stop late on Thursday, then called for emergency backup soon after, she said. 
 
Officers who arrived found the first two had been shot. One died in the hospital, Zimmerman said. It was too early to say whether the officers had been ambushed, she added.&nbsp;Police launched a manhunt after the incident. 
 
America has been on edge for weeks following shootings of police officers in Dallas and Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Those attacks followed anger among the black community over the shooting deaths of African-Americans by white police, several of which bystanders caught on videotape. 
 
(AFP)

A Hispanic man has been taken into custody, the Police chief says

A police officer died and another was wounded in a shooting at a traffic stop in San Diego, police said on Friday. A Hispanic man was later taken into custody, San Diego police chief Shelley Zimmerman told a news conference. The officers radioed in that they were making a traffic stop late on Thursday, then called for emergency backup soon after, she said. Officers who arrived found the first two had been shot. One died in the hospital, Zimmerman said. It was too early to say whether the officers had been ambushed, she added. Police launched a manhunt after the incident. America has been on edge for weeks following shootings of police officers in Dallas and Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Those attacks followed anger among the black community over the shooting deaths of African-Americans by white police, several of which bystanders caught on videotape. (AFP)

One cop killed and one wounded in San Diego shooting

Moroccan police have crushed an escape attempt by inmates at a juvenile detention centre in Casablanca, resulting in nine detainees being injured, the prison service said on Friday. 
 
&quot;The Ain Sebaa rehabilitation centre was the scene of rioting&quot; by prisoners on Thursday night, the General Directorate of Prisons and Re-integration said. 
 
Detainees at the centre in the Northeast of Morocco&#39;s biggest city set fire to beds in a bid to attract staff, attack them and try to escape, it said.&nbsp;The prisoners tried and failed to break into a weapons store, but managed to get out of the main building and set alight a prison bus, it said.&nbsp;They attacked and lightly wounded several staff. Police then intervened to put down the riot. 
 
An AFP photographer on the scene saw fire and smoke coming from the centre, which was surrounded by security forces.&nbsp;Videos posted online appeared to show a large explosion at the centre and a burning bus, with the sound of gunshots and police sirens. Local news websites said witnesses had heard the sound of gunfire coming from the facility. 
 
The prison service said nine detainees were hurt in the incident, although it was not clear whether from smoke inhalation or during clashes with the police. 
 
The prison service said it would open an enquiry to determine who was behind the incident. Moroccan prisons are chronically overcrowded, housing some 65,000 detainees in facilities with a capacity of just 30,000, according to the Ministry of Justice.&nbsp; 
 
(AFP)

The prisoners tried and failed to break into a weapons store, but managed to get out of the main building and set alight a prison bus

Moroccan police have crushed an escape attempt by inmates at a juvenile detention centre in Casablanca, resulting in nine detainees being injured, the prison service said on Friday. "The Ain Sebaa rehabilitation centre was the scene of rioting" by prisoners on Thursday night, the General Directorate of Prisons and Re-integration said. Detainees at the centre in the Northeast of Morocco's biggest city set fire to beds in a bid to attract staff, attack them and try to escape, it said. The prisoners tried and failed to break into a weapons store, but managed to get out of the main building and set alight a prison bus, it said. They attacked and lightly wounded several staff. Police then intervened to put down the riot. An AFP photographer on the scene saw fire and smoke coming from the centre, which was surrounded by security forces. Videos posted online appeared to show a large explosion at the centre and a burning bus, with the sound of gunshots and police sirens. Local news websites said witnesses had heard the sound of gunfire coming from the facility. The prison service said nine detainees were hurt in the incident, although it was not clear whether from smoke inhalation or during clashes with the police. The prison service said it would open an enquiry to determine who was behind the incident. Moroccan prisons are chronically overcrowded, housing some 65,000 detainees in facilities with a capacity of just 30,000, according to the Ministry of Justice. (AFP)

Mass jail-break attempt in Casablanca juvenile home leads to riot

Police special forces in Germany&#39;s fourth largest city were searching an employment agency building yesterday after witnesses told police they saw an armed woman, a police spokesman said. 
 
The spokesman said that they had just detained a suspect on another matter at the employment agency when witnesses said they had seen an armed woman walking around in the building. 
 
Bild newspaper had reported the special forces operation while the local Express newspaper had reported that an apparently armed man had been seen in the building. 
 
(Reuters)

A police spokesman said they had detained a suspect on another matter when witness reports of an armed woman came in

Police special forces in Germany's fourth largest city were searching an employment agency building yesterday after witnesses told police they saw an armed woman, a police spokesman said. The spokesman said that they had just detained a suspect on another matter at the employment agency when witnesses said they had seen an armed woman walking around in the building. Bild newspaper had reported the special forces operation while the local Express newspaper had reported that an apparently armed man had been seen in the building. (Reuters)

Police search job agency after reports of armed woman in Germany

Pro-opposition gunmen locked in a protracted stand-off with police in the Armenian capital Yerevan today took four medics hostage, officials said, after a shootout left five people wounded. 
 
Police said the medics were held after entering a police compound seized by the assailants 10 days ago to treat two gunmen injured in clashes that also left two attackers and a police officer hospitalised. 
 
&quot;The doctors who went into the captured territory to assist two members of the armed group who refused to go to hospital have been taken hostage,&quot; police spokesman Ashot Aharonyan wrote on Facebook. 
 
&quot;The police are taking steps to free the doctors through negotiations.&quot; 
 
 
Lengthy stand-off shakes&nbsp;tiny Caucasus republic &nbsp; 
 
The lengthy stand-off has shaken the tiny Caucasus republic and sparked clashes between police and protesters furious over the handling of the incident.&nbsp; 
 
Gunmen supporters of fringe jailed opposition leader Zhirair Sefilyan, stormed a police building in Yerevan on July 17, killing one officer, taking several more hostage and seizing a store of weapons. 
 
Over the weekend, they released the final four police officers being held captive but remained holed up inside the police building surrounded by law enforcement officers. 
 
The group has demanded the resignation of the ex-Soviet nation&#39;s President Serzh Sarkisian and the release of Sefilyan. 
 
Sefilyan, the leader of a small opposition group named the New Armenia Public Salvation Front and six of his supporters were arrested in June accused of preparing to seize government buildings and telecoms facilities in Yerevan. 
 
A fierce critic of the government, he was previously arrested in 2006 over calls for &quot;a violent overthrow of the government&quot; and jailed for 18 months. He was released in 2008. 
 
Sarkisian, a pro-Russian former military officer, has been president of the country of 2.9 million people since winning a vote in 2008 that saw clashes between police and supporters of the defeated opposition candidate in which 10 people died. 
 
(AFP)

Police said medics were held after entering a police compound seized by assailants 10 days ago to treat two gunmen injured in clashes

Pro-opposition gunmen locked in a protracted stand-off with police in the Armenian capital Yerevan today took four medics hostage, officials said, after a shootout left five people wounded. Police said the medics were held after entering a police compound seized by the assailants 10 days ago to treat two gunmen injured in clashes that also left two attackers and a police officer hospitalised. "The doctors who went into the captured territory to assist two members of the armed group who refused to go to hospital have been taken hostage," police spokesman Ashot Aharonyan wrote on Facebook. "The police are taking steps to free the doctors through negotiations." Lengthy stand-off shakes tiny Caucasus republic The lengthy stand-off has shaken the tiny Caucasus republic and sparked clashes between police and protesters furious over the handling of the incident. Gunmen supporters of fringe jailed opposition leader Zhirair Sefilyan, stormed a police building in Yerevan on July 17, killing one officer, taking several more hostage and seizing a store of weapons. Over the weekend, they released the final four police officers being held captive but remained holed up inside the police building surrounded by law enforcement officers. The group has demanded the resignation of the ex-Soviet nation's President Serzh Sarkisian and the release of Sefilyan. Sefilyan, the leader of a small opposition group named the New Armenia Public Salvation Front and six of his supporters were arrested in June accused of preparing to seize government buildings and telecoms facilities in Yerevan. A fierce critic of the government, he was previously arrested in 2006 over calls for "a violent overthrow of the government" and jailed for 18 months. He was released in 2008. Sarkisian, a pro-Russian former military officer, has been president of the country of 2.9 million people since winning a vote in 2008 that saw clashes between police and supporters of the defeated opposition candidate in which 10 people died. (AFP)

Armenia stand-off drags on: Pro-opposition gunmen take 4 medics hostage

Several people were killed on Friday in a shooting rampage by a lone gunman in a Munich shopping centre, police said. 
 
Police have cordoned off a wide area around the Olympia shopping centre in the southern part of the city after shots were fired, a spokeswoman for the police said. 
 
At least six people are believed to have been killed in the shooting rampage, police source said. Witnesses say they spotted three different people with firearms, who are believed to be still at large. A manhunt is under way. 
 
Authorities were evacuating people from the Olympia mall but many others were hiding inside. A Munich police spokeswoman said mulitple people were killed or wounded. 
 
&quot;We believe we are dealing with a shooting rampage,&quot; the spokeswoman said. More than one gunman was believed to be involved and no one had been arrested, she said. 
 
The Bild newspaper reported that the gunman ran through the mall, firing on several people before fleeing in the direction of a nearby metro station. 
 
Staff in the mall were still in hiding, an employee told Reuters by telephone. 
 
&quot;Many shots were fired, I can&#39;t say how many but it&#39;s been a lot,&quot; the employee, who declined to be identified, said from the mall in Munich. 
 
&quot;All the people from outside came streaming into the store and I only saw one person on the ground who was so severely injured that he definitely didn&#39;t survive.&nbsp;We have no further information, we&#39;re just staying in the back in the storage rooms. No police have approached us yet.&quot; 
 
Local TV images showed dozens of emergency vehicles outside the mall.&nbsp;NTV television reported that German police special forces had arrived at the scene.&nbsp;Munich police tweeted urging people to avoid the area. 
 
&quot;At the moment we have a major police operation on OEZ. Please avoid the area around the mall.&quot; &nbsp; 
&nbsp;
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Im Moment haben wir einen gro?en Polizeieinsatz am OEZ. Bitte meiden Sie den Bereich um das Einkaufszentrum.
&mdash; Polizei M?nchen (@PolizeiMuenchen) <a href="https://twitter.com/PolizeiMuenchen/status/756527978411094016">July 22, 2016</a> 
&nbsp;</blockquote>
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Officials say the main train station in Munich has been evacuated, metro and bus transport have also been suspended. 
 
The U.S. State Department says &quot;our thoughts are with the victims and their families&quot; after gunmen went on a shooting rampage in a shopping mall in the southern German city of Munich. 
 
The shopping center is next to the Munich Olympic stadium, where the Palestinian militant group Black September took 11 Israeli athletes hostage and eventually killed them during the 1972 Olympic Games. 
 
Friday&#39;s attack took place a week after a 17-year-old asylum-seeker wounded passengers on a German train in an axe rampage claimed by Islamic State. Bavarian police shot dead the teenager after he wounded four people from Hong Kong on the train and injured a local resident while fleeing. 
 
German Justice Minister Heiko Maas told Bild newspaper&#39;s Friday edition that there was &quot;no reason to panic but it&#39;s clear that Germany remains a possible target&quot;. 
 
Interior minister Thomas de Maiziere said the teenager was believed to be a &quot;lone wolf&quot; attacker who appeared to have been &quot;inspired&quot; by the Islamic State group but was not a member of the jihadist network. 
 
The incidents in Germany follow an attack in Nice, France, on Bastille Day in which a Tunisian drove a truck into crowds, killing 84. Islamic State also claimed responsibility for that attack. 
 
(Reuters, AFP) 
&nbsp;

Munich Olympia shopping centre under fire. Three armed suspects are still at large: Reports

Several people were killed on Friday in a shooting rampage by a lone gunman in a Munich shopping centre, police said. Police have cordoned off a wide area around the Olympia shopping centre in the southern part of the city after shots were fired, a spokeswoman for the police said. At least six people are believed to have been killed in the shooting rampage, police source said. Witnesses say they spotted three different people with firearms, who are believed to be still at large. A manhunt is under way. Authorities were evacuating people from the Olympia mall but many others were hiding inside. A Munich police spokeswoman said mulitple people were killed or wounded. "We believe we are dealing with a shooting rampage," the spokeswoman said. More than one gunman was believed to be involved and no one had been arrested, she said. The Bild newspaper reported that the gunman ran through the mall, firing on several people before fleeing in the direction of a nearby metro station. Staff in the mall were still in hiding, an employee told Reuters by telephone. "Many shots were fired, I can't say how many but it's been a lot," the employee, who declined to be identified, said from the mall in Munich. "All the people from outside came streaming into the store and I only saw one person on the ground who was so severely injured that he definitely didn't survive. We have no further information, we're just staying in the back in the storage rooms. No police have approached us yet." Local TV images showed dozens of emergency vehicles outside the mall. NTV television reported that German police special forces had arrived at the scene. Munich police tweeted urging people to avoid the area. "At the moment we have a major police operation on OEZ. Please avoid the area around the mall." Im Moment haben wir einen gro?en Polizeieinsatz am OEZ. Bitte meiden Sie den Bereich um das Einkaufszentrum. — Polizei M?nchen (@PolizeiMuenchen) July 22, 2016 Officials say the main train station in Munich has been evacuated, metro and bus transport have also been suspended. The U.S. State Department says "our thoughts are with the victims and their families" after gunmen went on a shooting rampage in a shopping mall in the southern German city of Munich. The shopping center is next to the Munich Olympic stadium, where the Palestinian militant group Black September took 11 Israeli athletes hostage and eventually killed them during the 1972 Olympic Games. Friday's attack took place a week after a 17-year-old asylum-seeker wounded passengers on a German train in an axe rampage claimed by Islamic State. Bavarian police shot dead the teenager after he wounded four people from Hong Kong on the train and injured a local resident while fleeing. German Justice Minister Heiko Maas told Bild newspaper's Friday edition that there was "no reason to panic but it's clear that Germany remains a possible target". Interior minister Thomas de Maiziere said the teenager was believed to be a "lone wolf" attacker who appeared to have been "inspired" by the Islamic State group but was not a member of the jihadist network. The incidents in Germany follow an attack in Nice, France, on Bastille Day in which a Tunisian drove a truck into crowds, killing 84. Islamic State also claimed responsibility for that attack. (Reuters, AFP)

Shots fired at shopping centre in Munich, at least 8 dead, 10 wounded

A bomb killed four policemen today in the Yemenese city of Aden, where jihadists have repeatedly targeted security forces, a security official said.&nbsp;Another six officers were wounded in the blast in the southern port city where the Saudi-backed government has its base, the official told AFP. 
 
Despite a 16-month-old Saudi-led military intervention, the government has struggled to secure the city.&nbsp;On Friday, a suicide bombing claimed by al-Qaeda hit the convoy of Aden governor Aidarus al-Zubaidi, wounding three people travelling with him. 
 
The jihadists also claimed two suicide bombings on Monday that killed 11 people in two of their former strongholds in the southeast. 
 
Earlier this year, the Saudi-led coalition launched a major offensive against al-Qaeda, helping to recapture the Hadramawt provincial capital of Mukalla in April after a year of jihadist rule.&nbsp;Coalition forces had previously focused their guns on Shiite rebels and their allies who control the capital Sanaa and much of the north and centre, creating a power vacuum that the jihadists exploited. 
 
(AFP)

The attack comes two days after double suicide bombings killed 11 in two of their former strongholds in the southeast

A bomb killed four policemen today in the Yemenese city of Aden, where jihadists have repeatedly targeted security forces, a security official said. Another six officers were wounded in the blast in the southern port city where the Saudi-backed government has its base, the official told AFP. Despite a 16-month-old Saudi-led military intervention, the government has struggled to secure the city. On Friday, a suicide bombing claimed by al-Qaeda hit the convoy of Aden governor Aidarus al-Zubaidi, wounding three people travelling with him. The jihadists also claimed two suicide bombings on Monday that killed 11 people in two of their former strongholds in the southeast. Earlier this year, the Saudi-led coalition launched a major offensive against al-Qaeda, helping to recapture the Hadramawt provincial capital of Mukalla in April after a year of jihadist rule. Coalition forces had previously focused their guns on Shiite rebels and their allies who control the capital Sanaa and much of the north and centre, creating a power vacuum that the jihadists exploited. (AFP)

Al Qaeda bomb kills four policemen, injures six others in Yemen

Authorities in Armenia called on gunmen holed up in a police station in the capital Yerevan to lay down their arms today and release five police officers they were holding hostage. 
 
The gunmen seized the police station and hostages on Sunday, killing one police officer and wounding two others in the process before demanding Armenians take to the streets to secure the release of jailed opposition politicians. 
 
They released two hostages on Sunday and released two more today, the security service said. 
 
Negotiations to end the situation peacefully are underway. 
 
The hostage takers main demand is to free Jirair Sefilian, an opposition leader whom the authorities have accused of plotting civil unrest. Sefilian was jailed in June over allegations of illegally possessing weapons. 
 
The security service said talks were deadlocked so far. 
 
&quot;The armed group is refusing to release other hostages, including high ranking officials, to lay down their weapons, or to surrender,&quot; the National Security Service said in a statement, saying the group posed a direct threat to society. 
 
Yerevan&#39;s deputy police chief, Valery Osipyan, was reported to be among the hostages as was Vardan Yeghiazaryan, the country&#39;s deputy police chief. 
 
The security service said the outcome remained uncertain. 
 
&quot;Law enforcement agencies are doing everything they can to end this peacefully, but in the circumstances it might not be enough,&quot; it said. 
 
&quot;That&#39;s why we again appeal to the members of the armed group ... to end their armed resistance. For now, there is still time and the opportunity to do that.&quot; 
 
 
(Reuters)

National Security Service said four hostages have been released so far. The country's deputy police chief is reportedly held captive

Authorities in Armenia called on gunmen holed up in a police station in the capital Yerevan to lay down their arms today and release five police officers they were holding hostage. The gunmen seized the police station and hostages on Sunday, killing one police officer and wounding two others in the process before demanding Armenians take to the streets to secure the release of jailed opposition politicians. They released two hostages on Sunday and released two more today, the security service said. Negotiations to end the situation peacefully are underway. The hostage takers main demand is to free Jirair Sefilian, an opposition leader whom the authorities have accused of plotting civil unrest. Sefilian was jailed in June over allegations of illegally possessing weapons. The security service said talks were deadlocked so far. "The armed group is refusing to release other hostages, including high ranking officials, to lay down their weapons, or to surrender," the National Security Service said in a statement, saying the group posed a direct threat to society. Yerevan's deputy police chief, Valery Osipyan, was reported to be among the hostages as was Vardan Yeghiazaryan, the country's deputy police chief. The security service said the outcome remained uncertain. "Law enforcement agencies are doing everything they can to end this peacefully, but in the circumstances it might not be enough," it said. "That's why we again appeal to the members of the armed group ... to end their armed resistance. For now, there is still time and the opportunity to do that." (Reuters)

Authorities in Armenia called on gunmen to release remaining hostages

Three police officers and one civilian were killed today following armed attacks on a police station and a security service office in Kazakhstan&#39;s largest city Almaty, the interior ministry said. 
 
Parts of the city were in lockdown following the incident with one suspect in custody and a manhunt underway for an accomplice still at large, the interior ministry said in a statement. 
 
The detained man is accused of killing a local resident during a carjacking and attacking a police station at around 11 am (0500 GMT), shooting a police officer and taking his gun, said the statement. 
 
The suspect then shot two officers as they gave chase before being arrested. 
 
&quot;According to preliminary information, the detained man is a 27-year-old man with previous convictions,&quot; the ministry said, adding that he is &quot;suspected of murdering a woman at the weekend&quot;. 
 
It said that police are now searching for the gunman&#39;s &quot;partner in crime.&quot; 
 
Local media reported that at least seven police officers are being treated in hospital. 
 
The country&#39;s anti-terror service has issued a red alert threat warning following the attacks and police have called on residents of the city to stay in their homes. 
 
&#39;Very tense&#39;&nbsp; 
 
A woman who lives in the Almalinsky district of Almaty where the police station was attacked said the situation in the city was &quot;very tense&quot;. 
 
&quot;I left Almalinsky district in the morning and everything was calm. Now I do not know how I am going to return home,&quot; the 22-year-old woman, Sholpan, said. 
 
Several areas of the city have been cordoned off including the city&#39;s railway station, witnesses told AFP. 
 
The country has been rocked by several violent incidents in recent months. 
 
Gunmen went on a rampage in the northwestern city of Aktobe near the Russian border on June 5, killing three civilians at two gun stores before trying to storm a military base with a hijacked bus, killing three soldiers. 
 
In a statement on last month&#39;s violence President Nursultan Nazarbayev called the attackers &quot;followers of radical pseudo-religious groups&quot; adding that the gunmen had operated on &quot;instructions received from abroad.&quot; 
 
At least 18 suspects were killed in police anti-terror raids following those attacks. 
 
For much of its independence Kazakhstan was able to avoid the kind of political tumult seen in other countries in ex-Soviet Central Asia. 
 
But growing social dissatisfaction in the majority Muslim nation has grown as the economy reels from low oil prices and a crisis in neighbouring Russia, a strategic ally. 
 
 
(AFP)

The city is in lockdown with one suspect in custody and a manhunt underway for an accomplice still at large, interior ministry said

Three police officers and one civilian were killed today following armed attacks on a police station and a security service office in Kazakhstan's largest city Almaty, the interior ministry said. Parts of the city were in lockdown following the incident with one suspect in custody and a manhunt underway for an accomplice still at large, the interior ministry said in a statement. The detained man is accused of killing a local resident during a carjacking and attacking a police station at around 11 am (0500 GMT), shooting a police officer and taking his gun, said the statement. The suspect then shot two officers as they gave chase before being arrested. "According to preliminary information, the detained man is a 27-year-old man with previous convictions," the ministry said, adding that he is "suspected of murdering a woman at the weekend". It said that police are now searching for the gunman's "partner in crime." Local media reported that at least seven police officers are being treated in hospital. The country's anti-terror service has issued a red alert threat warning following the attacks and police have called on residents of the city to stay in their homes. 'Very tense' A woman who lives in the Almalinsky district of Almaty where the police station was attacked said the situation in the city was "very tense". "I left Almalinsky district in the morning and everything was calm. Now I do not know how I am going to return home," the 22-year-old woman, Sholpan, said. Several areas of the city have been cordoned off including the city's railway station, witnesses told AFP. The country has been rocked by several violent incidents in recent months. Gunmen went on a rampage in the northwestern city of Aktobe near the Russian border on June 5, killing three civilians at two gun stores before trying to storm a military base with a hijacked bus, killing three soldiers. In a statement on last month's violence President Nursultan Nazarbayev called the attackers "followers of radical pseudo-religious groups" adding that the gunmen had operated on "instructions received from abroad." At least 18 suspects were killed in police anti-terror raids following those attacks. For much of its independence Kazakhstan was able to avoid the kind of political tumult seen in other countries in ex-Soviet Central Asia. But growing social dissatisfaction in the majority Muslim nation has grown as the economy reels from low oil prices and a crisis in neighbouring Russia, a strategic ally. (AFP)

Armed attacks on police station and security service office leave 3 cops dead, 1 civilian injured

Maryland police arrested dozens of demonstrators, 65 according to NBC, on Saturday who were protesting over the most recent fatal shootings of two black American men by police. The arrests were mostly for misdemeanors for blocking traffic. 
 
Authorities grappled with a wave of demonstrations against police use of force that has swept the country in the past weeks after the killing of Philando Castile, 32, in a St Paul, Minnesota, suburb, and Alton Sterling, 37, in Baton Rouge. 
 
The protest took place as Baltimore awaits a decision in the trial of a police officer charged in the 2015 death of black detainee Freddie Gray, which then triggered protests and rioting. 
 
At a spontaneous march in Dallas on July 7, a US military veteran shot and killed five police officers, sending a chill through law enforcement as well as those involved in the mostly peaceful demonstrations. 
 
Baltimore police received a warning from the Federal Bureau of Investigation on Thursday that local gangs were targetting police, Police Chief Kevin Davis said. 
 
With protests hitting many US cities, the deadly ambush of Dallas police, and the ever-present threat of gun violence, four countries have urged citizens to be on alert if visiting the United States.&nbsp;The Bahamas, Bahrain, New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates have warned citizens to be on guard if visiting US cities rocked by sometimes violent protests. 
 
(Reuters)

The arrests were mostly for misdemeanors, like blocking traffic

Maryland police arrested dozens of demonstrators, 65 according to NBC, on Saturday who were protesting over the most recent fatal shootings of two black American men by police. The arrests were mostly for misdemeanors for blocking traffic. Authorities grappled with a wave of demonstrations against police use of force that has swept the country in the past weeks after the killing of Philando Castile, 32, in a St Paul, Minnesota, suburb, and Alton Sterling, 37, in Baton Rouge. The protest took place as Baltimore awaits a decision in the trial of a police officer charged in the 2015 death of black detainee Freddie Gray, which then triggered protests and rioting. At a spontaneous march in Dallas on July 7, a US military veteran shot and killed five police officers, sending a chill through law enforcement as well as those involved in the mostly peaceful demonstrations. Baltimore police received a warning from the Federal Bureau of Investigation on Thursday that local gangs were targetting police, Police Chief Kevin Davis said. With protests hitting many US cities, the deadly ambush of Dallas police, and the ever-present threat of gun violence, four countries have urged citizens to be on alert if visiting the United States. The Bahamas, Bahrain, New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates have warned citizens to be on guard if visiting US cities rocked by sometimes violent protests. (Reuters)

65 arrested at Baltimore protest over police brutality

The Delhi High Court has said it was &quot;unfortunate&quot; that India was still following British era recruitment process and selecting police personnel on basis of only physical strength and fitness, and advised devising of a procedure which would include criteria like emotional maturity and psychological tests. 
 
&quot;What we find in India is that the only screening done is with respect to the moral character and integrity, physical strength and (that the person is) free from medical disease.&nbsp;No evaluation pertaining to the emotional maturity, ability to remain calm in emotionally charged situations, ability to handle difficult situations and be responsive and the ability of initiative in work is conducted,&quot; a bench of justices Pradeep Nandrajog and Pratibha Rani said. 
 
The bench said it was &quot;unfortunate&quot; that India was &quot;not marching ahead in the comity of nations&quot;, where psychological tests are also conducted to ascertain suitability of a candidate commensurate to the nature of job they are being inducted to. 
 
It advised the Centre to devise a selection procedure under which those who are desirous of joining police forces would be tested with regard to not only their integrity, physical strength and fitness but also with respect to their emotional maturity, ability to be calm in charged situations, ability to exercise initiative in their work, dependability and good judgement. 
 
The observations came on a man&#39;s plea challenging the order withdrawing his appointment to post of constable in the CISF on the ground that he was an accused in a criminal case, even though he was acquitted by the trial court. 
 
It noted there were &quot;no rules to guide the authorities in Delhi Police as to in what cases despite acquittal, the person can be kept out of service or can be deprived of employment&quot;. 
 
With regard to the criteria of criminal background of a candidate, the court said it would be a violation of the Constitutional right of a person if &quot;trivial offences&quot; by him would justify the government &quot;shutting its eyes and denying employment&quot;. 
 
It said it was &quot;high time&quot; that the executive made a policy for not treating summary or ordinary conviction as a bar to entry or retention in government service, including the police force. 
 
Noting that his acquittal was &quot;honourable&quot; as it came after the prosecution led all its evidence, the high court set aside his rejection and directed that he be inducted into service as a Constable with Central Industrial Security Force (CISF). 
 
It also said that &quot;he would be entitled to all benefits of seniority and continuity into service with effect from the date the person immediately beneath the petitioner in the empanelled list was made to join&quot;.&nbsp; 
 
(PTI)

The Delhi High Court said it was 'unfortunate' India still followed British era recruitment, selecting police only by strength and fitness

The Delhi High Court has said it was "unfortunate" that India was still following British era recruitment process and selecting police personnel on basis of only physical strength and fitness, and advised devising of a procedure which would include criteria like emotional maturity and psychological tests. "What we find in India is that the only screening done is with respect to the moral character and integrity, physical strength and (that the person is) free from medical disease. No evaluation pertaining to the emotional maturity, ability to remain calm in emotionally charged situations, ability to handle difficult situations and be responsive and the ability of initiative in work is conducted," a bench of justices Pradeep Nandrajog and Pratibha Rani said. The bench said it was "unfortunate" that India was "not marching ahead in the comity of nations", where psychological tests are also conducted to ascertain suitability of a candidate commensurate to the nature of job they are being inducted to. It advised the Centre to devise a selection procedure under which those who are desirous of joining police forces would be tested with regard to not only their integrity, physical strength and fitness but also with respect to their emotional maturity, ability to be calm in charged situations, ability to exercise initiative in their work, dependability and good judgement. The observations came on a man's plea challenging the order withdrawing his appointment to post of constable in the CISF on the ground that he was an accused in a criminal case, even though he was acquitted by the trial court. It noted there were "no rules to guide the authorities in Delhi Police as to in what cases despite acquittal, the person can be kept out of service or can be deprived of employment". With regard to the criteria of criminal background of a candidate, the court said it would be a violation of the Constitutional right of a person if "trivial offences" by him would justify the government "shutting its eyes and denying employment". It said it was "high time" that the executive made a policy for not treating summary or ordinary conviction as a bar to entry or retention in government service, including the police force. Noting that his acquittal was "honourable" as it came after the prosecution led all its evidence, the high court set aside his rejection and directed that he be inducted into service as a Constable with Central Industrial Security Force (CISF). It also said that "he would be entitled to all benefits of seniority and continuity into service with effect from the date the person immediately beneath the petitioner in the empanelled list was made to join". (PTI)

Indian police recruitment to vet for emotional maturity, other psychological tests

Three police officers were shot to death and three others wounded in Baton Rouge, Louisiana on Sunday, in what authorities said was an ambush less than two weeks after an African-American was killed by police, sparking nationwide protests. The situation is still unfolding as the authorities look to secure the area and bring it under control. 
 
One suspect is dead and police are checking for explosives, Baton Rouge Police spokesman L&#39;Jean Mckneely said. 
 
The officers in Baton Rouge were responding to a call of shots fired when they were ambushed by at least one gunman, Baton Rouge Mayor Kip Holden said.
A spokesman for the East Baton Rouge Sheriff&#39;s Office said police and sheriff&#39;s deputies were involved in the shooting incident. &quot;Multiple officers from both agencies sustained injuries and were transported to local hospitals,&quot; he said in an email. He said there were no firm numbers on the number hurt or the extent of injuries. 
 
WAFB television aired video footage of police responding to the scene in Baton Rouge. Multiple shots could be heard as civilian cars quickly backed away. Citizens took to Twitter about the shooting, warning others to stay away from the troubled area.
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en-gb">
Mayor&#39;s office confirms 2 police officers have been killed in Baton Rouge shooting. They say stay home. Stay off the streets.
&mdash; Rebekah Allen (@rebekahallen) <a href="https://twitter.com/rebekahallen/status/754692055952076802">17 July 2016</a></blockquote>
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The officers were taken to a local hospital, Police spokesman Sergeant Don Coppola told the local CBS affiliate, adding he did not know the extent of their injuries. 
 
&quot;The scene, we feel now, is contained,&quot; Coppola said, adding that he had no information on the extent of injuries or whether a suspect or suspects had been detained. The&nbsp;police have still not taken the shooter into custody and warned local residents to stay away from the scene, near Airline Highway. 
 
The reports come a week after a wave of protests against police violence in Baton Rouge and other cities after a 37-year-old father of five was shot and killed at close quarters by law enforcement officers. At one of the demonstrations in Dallas, a gunman opened fire on white officers assigned to the protest, killing five of them. 
 
(Agencies)

Multiple shots were heard as civilian cars backed away. Officers responding to the situation were ambushed by at least one gunman: US media

Three police officers were shot to death and three others wounded in Baton Rouge, Louisiana on Sunday, in what authorities said was an ambush less than two weeks after an African-American was killed by police, sparking nationwide protests. The situation is still unfolding as the authorities look to secure the area and bring it under control. One suspect is dead and police are checking for explosives, Baton Rouge Police spokesman L'Jean Mckneely said. The officers in Baton Rouge were responding to a call of shots fired when they were ambushed by at least one gunman, Baton Rouge Mayor Kip Holden said. A spokesman for the East Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office said police and sheriff's deputies were involved in the shooting incident. "Multiple officers from both agencies sustained injuries and were transported to local hospitals," he said in an email. He said there were no firm numbers on the number hurt or the extent of injuries. WAFB television aired video footage of police responding to the scene in Baton Rouge. Multiple shots could be heard as civilian cars quickly backed away. Citizens took to Twitter about the shooting, warning others to stay away from the troubled area. Mayor's office confirms 2 police officers have been killed in Baton Rouge shooting. They say stay home. Stay off the streets. — Rebekah Allen (@rebekahallen) 17 July 2016 The officers were taken to a local hospital, Police spokesman Sergeant Don Coppola told the local CBS affiliate, adding he did not know the extent of their injuries. "The scene, we feel now, is contained," Coppola said, adding that he had no information on the extent of injuries or whether a suspect or suspects had been detained. The police have still not taken the shooter into custody and warned local residents to stay away from the scene, near Airline Highway. The reports come a week after a wave of protests against police violence in Baton Rouge and other cities after a 37-year-old father of five was shot and killed at close quarters by law enforcement officers. At one of the demonstrations in Dallas, a gunman opened fire on white officers assigned to the protest, killing five of them. (Agencies)

3 police officers and 1 gunman dead in Louisiana shooting

Police made two more arrests Sunday morning in connection with the Nice attack. Three were arrested on Saturday and two were arrested on Friday. 
 
Islamic State claimed responsibility on Saturday for the truck attack that killed at least 84 people celebrating Bastille Day in the French city of Nice.&nbsp;&quot;The person who carried out the operation in Nice, France, to run down people was one of the soldiers of Islamic State,&quot; the Amaq news agency affiliated with the militant Islamist group said on its Telegram account.&nbsp;He carried out the operation in response to calls to target nationals of states that are part of the coalition fighting Islamic State.&quot; 
 
French authorities have yet to produce any evidence that the 31 year-old Tunisian killer, shot dead by police in the attack, had turned to radical Islam. Nevertheless, interior minister Bernard Cazeneuve said that Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel may have undergone a rapid change. 
 
&quot;It seems that he was radicalised very quickly -- in any case these are the elements that have come up from the testimony of the people around him,&quot; Cazeneuve told reporters. 
 
Speaking from his home town in Tunisia, Bouhlel&#39;s sister told Reuters he had been having psychological problems when he left for France in 2005.&nbsp;Other relatives and friends interviewed in Nice doubted he had militant Islamist leanings. 
 
Saturday&#39;s arrests concerned his &quot;close entourage&quot;, police sources said. Two other people, including the attacker&#39;s wife, had already been detained.&nbsp;Bouhlel had been in France for 10 years and lived locally. 
 
He drove at the crowd in the Riviera city on Thursday night, zig-zagging along the seafront Promenade des Anglais for two kilometres as a fireworks display marking the French national day ended, until police eventually shot him dead. 
 
The Health Ministry said 121 people remained in hospital, including 30 children. Twenty-six individuals were still in intensive care. 
 
The attack plunged France into new grief and fear just eight months after gunmen killed 130 people in Paris. Assaults in January 2015 on satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo and a Jewish supermarket were also claimed by Islamic State, which controls swathes of Iraq and Syria but is now under military pressure from forces opposed to it. 
 
A state of emergency in place since the Paris killings last November is to be extended for another three months. On Saturday Cazeneuve called on &quot;patriotic citizens&quot; to become reservists to help relieve exhausted security forces. 
 
Bouhlel was known to police for petty crimes but was not on a watch list of suspected militants. He had one criminal conviction for road rage, having been sentenced to probation three months ago for throwing a wooden pallet at another driver. 
 
Edwin Bakker, Professor at the Centre for Terrorism and Counterterrorism at the University of Leiden in the Netherlands, said Islamic State&#39;s claim did not necessarily point to any formal link. 
 
&quot;Islamic State called for such (individual) attacks to be carried out back in 2014. They are also using the public perception that an attack like this seems to fit Islamic State.&nbsp;Investigators still have not discovered a direct link between Islamic State and the attacker, so it is a cheap claim,&quot; he said. 
 
 
Nissa ma belle 
 
In Nice, where the holiday season would normally be in full swing, organisers of the annual Jazz festival joined the singer Rihanna in cancelling their event. A five-day annual festival that has run since 1948 had been due to start on Saturday. 
 
Nice&#39;s beaches, which are usually packed in mid-July, were noticeably less busy.&nbsp;Tearful well-wishers were still laying flowers, candles, teddy bears and drawings at a makeshift memorial on the Promenade des Anglais. 
 
&quot;Nothing will ever be like before ... Nissa ma belle,&quot; read one, a reference to the hymn &#39;Nissa la Bella&#39;, or Nice the Beautiful, sung in the local Nicois dialect.&nbsp;&quot;Enough of the carnage. Stop the massacre,&quot; read another. 
 
Tora Hakausson, from Norway, owns a flat in Nice, and was dining in a beach restaurant when the attack took place. 
 
&quot;We don&#39;t want to go home. Life has to remain normal. I don&#39;t want this to change how we feel about France,&quot; she said as she wiped away a tear from under her sunglasses. 
 
&quot;Anger is the main emotion today,&quot; said Maiche Arlette, a resident of the city. &quot;For two and a half years now we have suffered from these attacks...Our society has gone mad.&quot; 
 
(Reuters)

IS claimed responsibility, but authorities have not produced any evidence he was radicalised, and those who knew Bouhlel expressed shock

Police made two more arrests Sunday morning in connection with the Nice attack. Three were arrested on Saturday and two were arrested on Friday. Islamic State claimed responsibility on Saturday for the truck attack that killed at least 84 people celebrating Bastille Day in the French city of Nice. "The person who carried out the operation in Nice, France, to run down people was one of the soldiers of Islamic State," the Amaq news agency affiliated with the militant Islamist group said on its Telegram account. He carried out the operation in response to calls to target nationals of states that are part of the coalition fighting Islamic State." French authorities have yet to produce any evidence that the 31 year-old Tunisian killer, shot dead by police in the attack, had turned to radical Islam. Nevertheless, interior minister Bernard Cazeneuve said that Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel may have undergone a rapid change. "It seems that he was radicalised very quickly -- in any case these are the elements that have come up from the testimony of the people around him," Cazeneuve told reporters. Speaking from his home town in Tunisia, Bouhlel's sister told Reuters he had been having psychological problems when he left for France in 2005. Other relatives and friends interviewed in Nice doubted he had militant Islamist leanings. Saturday's arrests concerned his "close entourage", police sources said. Two other people, including the attacker's wife, had already been detained. Bouhlel had been in France for 10 years and lived locally. He drove at the crowd in the Riviera city on Thursday night, zig-zagging along the seafront Promenade des Anglais for two kilometres as a fireworks display marking the French national day ended, until police eventually shot him dead. The Health Ministry said 121 people remained in hospital, including 30 children. Twenty-six individuals were still in intensive care. The attack plunged France into new grief and fear just eight months after gunmen killed 130 people in Paris. Assaults in January 2015 on satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo and a Jewish supermarket were also claimed by Islamic State, which controls swathes of Iraq and Syria but is now under military pressure from forces opposed to it. A state of emergency in place since the Paris killings last November is to be extended for another three months. On Saturday Cazeneuve called on "patriotic citizens" to become reservists to help relieve exhausted security forces. Bouhlel was known to police for petty crimes but was not on a watch list of suspected militants. He had one criminal conviction for road rage, having been sentenced to probation three months ago for throwing a wooden pallet at another driver. Edwin Bakker, Professor at the Centre for Terrorism and Counterterrorism at the University of Leiden in the Netherlands, said Islamic State's claim did not necessarily point to any formal link. "Islamic State called for such (individual) attacks to be carried out back in 2014. They are also using the public perception that an attack like this seems to fit Islamic State. Investigators still have not discovered a direct link between Islamic State and the attacker, so it is a cheap claim," he said. Nissa ma belle In Nice, where the holiday season would normally be in full swing, organisers of the annual Jazz festival joined the singer Rihanna in cancelling their event. A five-day annual festival that has run since 1948 had been due to start on Saturday. Nice's beaches, which are usually packed in mid-July, were noticeably less busy. Tearful well-wishers were still laying flowers, candles, teddy bears and drawings at a makeshift memorial on the Promenade des Anglais. "Nothing will ever be like before ... Nissa ma belle," read one, a reference to the hymn 'Nissa la Bella', or Nice the Beautiful, sung in the local Nicois dialect. "Enough of the carnage. Stop the massacre," read another. Tora Hakausson, from Norway, owns a flat in Nice, and was dining in a beach restaurant when the attack took place. "We don't want to go home. Life has to remain normal. I don't want this to change how we feel about France," she said as she wiped away a tear from under her sunglasses. "Anger is the main emotion today," said Maiche Arlette, a resident of the city. "For two and a half years now we have suffered from these attacks...Our society has gone mad." (Reuters)

Seven arrested over weekend in connection to Nice terror attack

US President Barack Obama urged Americans on Tuesday to shed despair and rise above racial divides to honour five police officers slain in Dallas in a racially motivated attack, even as he admitted that bias remains a persistent national problem. 
 
Obama&#39;s address to a memorial service for the officers killed last Thursday also followed a series of high-profile police killings of black men in the past two years, including two last week, that have sparked the most intense debate on race and justice the country has seen since the 1960s civil rights movement. 
 
&quot;I understand how Americans are feeling. But Dallas, I&#39;m here to say we must reject such despair. I&#39;m here to insist that we are not as divided as we seem. And I know that because I know America. I know how far we&#39;ve come against impossible odds,&quot; Obama said at the service that was also attended by Vice President Joe Biden and former president George W Bush. 
 
The five Dallas officers were gunned down by military veteran Micah Johnson, who told police he was angered by police killings of black people. Johnson was killed by an explosive-laden robot sent in by police. 
 
Obama noted that the attack in Dallas came during a protest against racial bias in policing that followed the fatal police shootings of black men in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and outside St Paul, Minnesota. Obama said no institution was immune from prejudice. 
 
&quot;Perhaps we&#39;ve heard prejudice in our own heads and felt it in our own hearts. We know that. And while some suffer far more under racism&#39;s burden, some feel to a far greater extent discrimination&#39;s stain. Although most of us do our best to guard against it and teach our children better, none of us is entirely innocent. No institution is entirely immune, and that includes our police departments. We know this,&quot; Obama said. 
 
Obama also praised the police in Dallas and around the country.&nbsp;&quot;When anyone, no matter how good their intentions may be, paints all police as biased or bigoted, we undermine those officers we depend on for our safety,&quot; said Obama. 
 
Bush also addressed the packed hall, where five chairs were empty of people, holding folded American flags, in memory of the slain officers. He also sought to strike a note of unity. 
 
&quot;At times it feels like the forces pulling us apart are stronger than the forces binding us together. Argument turns too easily into animosity,&quot; Bush said. &quot;Too often we judge other groups by their worst examples, while judging ourselves by our intentions.&quot; 
 
After a week when Americans saw video images of angry crowds protesting the police killings of black men and heard the screams of 
Thursday&#39;s sniper attack on police in Dallas, the memorial ended with Obama, Bush and Dallas&#39; police chief and mayor joining hands in a gathering that crossed racial and party lines as a choir sung a hymn.&nbsp; 
 
(Reuters)

Obama, Bush and Dallas' police chief and mayor crossed racial and party lines to join hands as a choir sang a hymn

US President Barack Obama urged Americans on Tuesday to shed despair and rise above racial divides to honour five police officers slain in Dallas in a racially motivated attack, even as he admitted that bias remains a persistent national problem. Obama's address to a memorial service for the officers killed last Thursday also followed a series of high-profile police killings of black men in the past two years, including two last week, that have sparked the most intense debate on race and justice the country has seen since the 1960s civil rights movement. "I understand how Americans are feeling. But Dallas, I'm here to say we must reject such despair. I'm here to insist that we are not as divided as we seem. And I know that because I know America. I know how far we've come against impossible odds," Obama said at the service that was also attended by Vice President Joe Biden and former president George W Bush. The five Dallas officers were gunned down by military veteran Micah Johnson, who told police he was angered by police killings of black people. Johnson was killed by an explosive-laden robot sent in by police. Obama noted that the attack in Dallas came during a protest against racial bias in policing that followed the fatal police shootings of black men in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and outside St Paul, Minnesota. Obama said no institution was immune from prejudice. "Perhaps we've heard prejudice in our own heads and felt it in our own hearts. We know that. And while some suffer far more under racism's burden, some feel to a far greater extent discrimination's stain. Although most of us do our best to guard against it and teach our children better, none of us is entirely innocent. No institution is entirely immune, and that includes our police departments. We know this," Obama said. Obama also praised the police in Dallas and around the country. "When anyone, no matter how good their intentions may be, paints all police as biased or bigoted, we undermine those officers we depend on for our safety," said Obama. Bush also addressed the packed hall, where five chairs were empty of people, holding folded American flags, in memory of the slain officers. He also sought to strike a note of unity. "At times it feels like the forces pulling us apart are stronger than the forces binding us together. Argument turns too easily into animosity," Bush said. "Too often we judge other groups by their worst examples, while judging ourselves by our intentions." After a week when Americans saw video images of angry crowds protesting the police killings of black men and heard the screams of Thursday's sniper attack on police in Dallas, the memorial ended with Obama, Bush and Dallas' police chief and mayor joining hands in a gathering that crossed racial and party lines as a choir sung a hymn. (Reuters)

Obama, George W Bush address memorial for slain Dallas policemen

Nineteen Myanmar human trafficking victims have been rescued in Thailand, state media and an activist group said today, a rare policing success against criminal networks that dominate the region. 
 
The group were discovered by Thai police locked up on an Indonesian-flagged fishing vessel off the coast of Thailand&#39;s southern Pattani district on Sunday, the state-run Global New Light of Myanmar reported. 
 
The raid was launched after the families of some of those on board managed to alert the Myanmar Association in Thailand, a local support group, about their plight. 
 
Kyaw Thaung, director of the association, told AFP that the victims, some of whom were as young as 13, were lured with the promise of work in Bangkok but instead found themselves locked on the fishing vessel. 
 
&quot;A police force raided the fishing boat to Indonesia and found 19 Burmese workers there,&quot; he said. &quot;They had been there about 10 days already.&quot; 
 
A Burmese broker was arrested at the scene, he added.&nbsp; 
 
Thai police did not respond to requests for comment but a source at Myanmar&#39;s human trafficking police division in Naypyidaw confirmed to AFP that the raid rescued 19 citizens.&nbsp; 
 
Drawn by the lure of comparatively higher wages, millions of Myanmar&#39;s poor work inside Thailand, often in unregulated industries where they routinely face exploitation and abuse by unscrupulous employers. 
 
The kingdom had long been a human trafficking hub, aided by officials who either turned a blind eye or were complicit in the grim but lucrative trade. 
 
Since seizing power in 2014, Thailand&#39;s junta government has tried to clean up the country&#39;s image, launching a crackdown last year against human traffickers with some success. 
 
It has also tried to reform the country&#39;s multi-billion-dollar fishing sector, which has long been accused of using widespread slave labour. 
 
But Sunday&#39;s raid suggests criminal networks are still finding ways to traffic or press-gang vulnerable migrant workers. 
 
(AFP)

This is a rare police success in this trafficking hub, where officials can turn a blind eye or are complicit in the grim, lucrative trade

Nineteen Myanmar human trafficking victims have been rescued in Thailand, state media and an activist group said today, a rare policing success against criminal networks that dominate the region. The group were discovered by Thai police locked up on an Indonesian-flagged fishing vessel off the coast of Thailand's southern Pattani district on Sunday, the state-run Global New Light of Myanmar reported. The raid was launched after the families of some of those on board managed to alert the Myanmar Association in Thailand, a local support group, about their plight. Kyaw Thaung, director of the association, told AFP that the victims, some of whom were as young as 13, were lured with the promise of work in Bangkok but instead found themselves locked on the fishing vessel. "A police force raided the fishing boat to Indonesia and found 19 Burmese workers there," he said. "They had been there about 10 days already." A Burmese broker was arrested at the scene, he added. Thai police did not respond to requests for comment but a source at Myanmar's human trafficking police division in Naypyidaw confirmed to AFP that the raid rescued 19 citizens. Drawn by the lure of comparatively higher wages, millions of Myanmar's poor work inside Thailand, often in unregulated industries where they routinely face exploitation and abuse by unscrupulous employers. The kingdom had long been a human trafficking hub, aided by officials who either turned a blind eye or were complicit in the grim but lucrative trade. Since seizing power in 2014, Thailand's junta government has tried to clean up the country's image, launching a crackdown last year against human traffickers with some success. It has also tried to reform the country's multi-billion-dollar fishing sector, which has long been accused of using widespread slave labour. But Sunday's raid suggests criminal networks are still finding ways to traffic or press-gang vulnerable migrant workers. (AFP)

19 Myanmar human trafficking victims rescued in Thailand

Across the United States (US) police departments are searching for new tactics for a more difficult era of racial tension, increasingly lethal mass shootings and global terrorism. 
 
After last week&#39;s killing of five officers in Dallas, the deadliest assault on US law enforcement since the September 11, 2001 attacks, nearly half of America&#39;s 30 biggest cities have issued directives to pair up police officers on calls to boost safety, according to a Reuters survey of police departments.&nbsp; 
 
One, Indianapolis, said it would consider the use of robots to deliberately deliver lethal force, an unprecedented tactic until Thursday when the Dallas police department used a military-grade robot to deliver and detonate explosives where the shooter was holed up. 
 
Ambushes against police added to a sense of being under siege&nbsp; 
 
While a wave of anti-police protests since the 2014 killing of an unarmed black teen in Ferguson, Missouri, has revived memories of 1960s protests over civil rights and the Vietnam War, Thursday&#39;s shooting marked something different: a willingness to take up arms against police. 
 
Ambushes against police on Thursday and Friday in Tennessee, Georgia and Missouri added to a sense of them being under siege and vulnerable at a time when many departments already were grappling with heightened community suspicion over the use of deadly force. 
 
Responding to the Dallas shooting, Denver&rsquo;s police union wants officers to wear riot gear for local protests and to be armed with AR-15 assault rifles while patrolling Denver International Airport, the union said in a letter to the mayor published in The Denver Post. 
 
The most immediate change is the pairing up of officers. Thirteen of the country&#39;s 30 biggest city police department said they are pairing up officers - a change that could strain already thinly staffed police ranks in some regions. 
 
(The 13 are New York City, Chicago, Houston, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Diego, San Jose, San Francisco, Indianapolis, Seattle, Memphis, Boston and Portland.) 
 
In Albuquerque, New Mexico &mdash; one of several cities dealing with an officer shortage &mdash; pairing officers could mean &ldquo;possibly longer response times for lower priority calls,&rdquo; said its police spokesman, Simon Drobik. And for cities with tight municipal budgets, some question whether this expensive strategy can last beyond the short term. 
 
Doubling up officers &quot;is a resource-intense approach and it will be a significant challenge for some police departments to sustain that strategy for very long,&quot; said Thomas Manger, president of the Major Cities Chiefs Association (MCCA), which represents police chiefs from the country&#39;s largest cities. 
 
He predicted over the longer term that police will increase surveillance and expand their security presence at major events across the country. &quot;This will cause complaints about violating people&#39;s constitutional rights to free assembly, but it is the only way to guarantee safety,&quot; he said. 
 
&#39;Targets on their back&#39; 
 
The attack in Dallas came during a demonstration on Thursday over the shooting by police of two African-American men. Alton Sterling, 37, was shot by police in Baton Rouge on Tuesday and Philando Castile, 32, was killed on Wednesday night in a St. Paul, Minnesota suburb. 
 
The Dallas shooting also left seven officers injured. 
 
&quot;We need to figure out a way to ensure that police officers don&#39;t get targeted, because right now they do have targets on their backs,&quot; said Andrea Edmiston, director of governmental affairs for the National Association of Police Organisations, which represents about 241,000 US police officers. 
 
Few of the police forces approached by Reuters said they could discuss specific changes in tactics beyond pairing officers on the beat. Los Angeles and Denver, for instance, declined for safety reasons to discuss tactics. 
 
Indianapolis police spokesman Kendale Adams said his department would consider using a robot to deliver a bomb. &quot;Our team will consider all options in (a) deadly force encounter,&quot; he said in an e-mail. 
 
If every police department had New York City&#39;s resources, the challenges would be much less. 
 
New York police spokesman Stephen Davis said some 1,500 of the city&#39;s 36,000 police officers have received coordinated heavy weapons training.Davis said there are officers around the clock who can respond to an active shooter situation in an estimated three to five minutes. 
 
&quot;As most active shooter situations last under ten minutes, that speed is crucial,&quot; he said. &quot;But we are well aware of the luxury that we have with so many resources available to us.&quot; 
 
Chuck Wexler, executive director of the Police Executive Research Forum, a law enforcement policy group, said that as 90 per cent of America&#39;s 18,000 police forces have under 50 officers, many simply cannot afford the kind of staff needed to respond as quickly as needed to mass shootings. 
 
Wexler said the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013 had been a milestone for police in realising that major public events could become targets. 
 
&quot;Police departments will have to deploy additional forces to what have traditionally been low-risk events,&quot; he said, &quot;because those events now have the potential for some extremist or madman to commit violent acts.&quot; 
 
But he said that the best way to reduce deaths from attacks with semi-automatic weapons is to gain the trust of local communities so people will come forward and help prevent attacks. Once an attack starts, there is only so much the police can do. 
 
The MCCA&#39;s Manger said that beyond police strategy and tactics, what America needs is a change of mindset. 
 
&quot;Everyone on both sides needs to take a step back.&rdquo; 
 
(Reuters)

Half of America's 30 biggest cities have issued directives to pair up police officers

Across the United States (US) police departments are searching for new tactics for a more difficult era of racial tension, increasingly lethal mass shootings and global terrorism. After last week's killing of five officers in Dallas, the deadliest assault on US law enforcement since the September 11, 2001 attacks, nearly half of America's 30 biggest cities have issued directives to pair up police officers on calls to boost safety, according to a Reuters survey of police departments. One, Indianapolis, said it would consider the use of robots to deliberately deliver lethal force, an unprecedented tactic until Thursday when the Dallas police department used a military-grade robot to deliver and detonate explosives where the shooter was holed up. Ambushes against police added to a sense of being under siege While a wave of anti-police protests since the 2014 killing of an unarmed black teen in Ferguson, Missouri, has revived memories of 1960s protests over civil rights and the Vietnam War, Thursday's shooting marked something different: a willingness to take up arms against police. Ambushes against police on Thursday and Friday in Tennessee, Georgia and Missouri added to a sense of them being under siege and vulnerable at a time when many departments already were grappling with heightened community suspicion over the use of deadly force. Responding to the Dallas shooting, Denver’s police union wants officers to wear riot gear for local protests and to be armed with AR-15 assault rifles while patrolling Denver International Airport, the union said in a letter to the mayor published in The Denver Post. The most immediate change is the pairing up of officers. Thirteen of the country's 30 biggest city police department said they are pairing up officers - a change that could strain already thinly staffed police ranks in some regions. (The 13 are New York City, Chicago, Houston, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Diego, San Jose, San Francisco, Indianapolis, Seattle, Memphis, Boston and Portland.) In Albuquerque, New Mexico — one of several cities dealing with an officer shortage — pairing officers could mean “possibly longer response times for lower priority calls,” said its police spokesman, Simon Drobik. And for cities with tight municipal budgets, some question whether this expensive strategy can last beyond the short term. Doubling up officers "is a resource-intense approach and it will be a significant challenge for some police departments to sustain that strategy for very long," said Thomas Manger, president of the Major Cities Chiefs Association (MCCA), which represents police chiefs from the country's largest cities. He predicted over the longer term that police will increase surveillance and expand their security presence at major events across the country. "This will cause complaints about violating people's constitutional rights to free assembly, but it is the only way to guarantee safety," he said. 'Targets on their back' The attack in Dallas came during a demonstration on Thursday over the shooting by police of two African-American men. Alton Sterling, 37, was shot by police in Baton Rouge on Tuesday and Philando Castile, 32, was killed on Wednesday night in a St. Paul, Minnesota suburb. The Dallas shooting also left seven officers injured. "We need to figure out a way to ensure that police officers don't get targeted, because right now they do have targets on their backs," said Andrea Edmiston, director of governmental affairs for the National Association of Police Organisations, which represents about 241,000 US police officers. Few of the police forces approached by Reuters said they could discuss specific changes in tactics beyond pairing officers on the beat. Los Angeles and Denver, for instance, declined for safety reasons to discuss tactics. Indianapolis police spokesman Kendale Adams said his department would consider using a robot to deliver a bomb. "Our team will consider all options in (a) deadly force encounter," he said in an e-mail. If every police department had New York City's resources, the challenges would be much less. New York police spokesman Stephen Davis said some 1,500 of the city's 36,000 police officers have received coordinated heavy weapons training.Davis said there are officers around the clock who can respond to an active shooter situation in an estimated three to five minutes. "As most active shooter situations last under ten minutes, that speed is crucial," he said. "But we are well aware of the luxury that we have with so many resources available to us." Chuck Wexler, executive director of the Police Executive Research Forum, a law enforcement policy group, said that as 90 per cent of America's 18,000 police forces have under 50 officers, many simply cannot afford the kind of staff needed to respond as quickly as needed to mass shootings. Wexler said the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013 had been a milestone for police in realising that major public events could become targets. "Police departments will have to deploy additional forces to what have traditionally been low-risk events," he said, "because those events now have the potential for some extremist or madman to commit violent acts." But he said that the best way to reduce deaths from attacks with semi-automatic weapons is to gain the trust of local communities so people will come forward and help prevent attacks. Once an attack starts, there is only so much the police can do. The MCCA's Manger said that beyond police strategy and tactics, what America needs is a change of mindset. "Everyone on both sides needs to take a step back.” (Reuters)

US police forces search for new tactics in wake of Dallas

The US military veteran, who fatally shot five Dallas police officers in a racially motivated attack last week, asked negotiators how many people he had shot and told them he wanted to kill more, the city&#39;s police chief said today. 
 
Explosives found at the home of gunman Micah Johnson suggested he had been plotting a larger assault, said authorities, who were still trying to understand a message he wrote in his own blood on a wall before being killed by a bomb-equipped robot sent in by the police. 
 
&quot;We knew through negotiations this was the suspect because he was asking us how many did he get and he told us how many more he wanted to kill,&quot; Dallas Police Chief David Brown told reporters today. 
 
The attack on Thursday night came at the end of a demonstration over police shootings that had been prompted by incidents earlier in the week in which police in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and St. Paul, Minnesota, killed two black men. 
 
Johnson, a 25-year-old African-American, told police negotiators during an hours-long standoff that he had been angered by those deaths and had wanted to &quot;kill white people.&quot; 
 
The deaths in Baton Rouge and St. Paul were the latest in a series of high-profile and controversial killings of black men by police in cities including New York, Ferguson, Missouri, Chicago and Baltimore. 
 
Even as officials and activists condemned the shootings and mourned the slain officers in Dallas, hundreds of people were arrested on Saturday and Sunday as new protests against the use of deadly force by police flared in U.S. cities. 
 
Scores of people were arrested in Baton Rouge on Sunday after authorities warned that violence during street demonstrations would not be tolerated. 
 
Brown said a search of Johnson&#39;s home showed the gunman had practiced using explosives, and that other evidence suggested he wanted to use them against law enforcement officers. 
 
His attack was the deadliest day for US law enforcement since the hijacked plane attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Nine law enforcement officers were also wounded, Brown said on Monday. 
 
Disappointed with military 
 
Johnson, who had served with the US Army Reserve and had been deployed in Afghanistan, had been &quot;disappointed&quot; in his experience with the military, his mother told TheBlaze.com in an interview broadcast online today. 
 
&quot;The military was not what Micah thought it would be,&quot; Delphine Johnson told The Blaze. &quot;He was very disappointed. Very disappointed.&quot; She did not give details. 
 
Several media organisations have reported that while Johnson was in Afghanistan from November 2013 to July 2014, a woman soldier in his unit accused him of sexual harassment. 
 
The US Department of Defense and a lawyer who had represented Johnson in the past did not return requests for information on his military history or the status of his discharge. 
 
In Baton Rouge, protesters faced off with police officers wearing gas masks on Sunday evening. Media, citing Baton Rouge police, reported that at least 48 people were taken into custody after demonstrators clashed with police following a peaceful march to the state capitol. 
 
In St. Paul, Minnesota, 21 officers were injured on Saturday when they were pelted with rocks, bottles, construction material and fireworks. 
 
Three countries have warned their citizens to stay on guard when visiting US.cities rocked by the protests. 
 
A candlelight vigil was set for 8 p.m. today in Dallas City Hall plaza. President Barack Obama was due to travel to the city on Tuesday to attend a memorial for the slain officers. 
 
(Reuters) 
&nbsp;

Explosives found at the home of gunman Micah Johnson suggested he had been plotting a larger assault, said authorities

The US military veteran, who fatally shot five Dallas police officers in a racially motivated attack last week, asked negotiators how many people he had shot and told them he wanted to kill more, the city's police chief said today. Explosives found at the home of gunman Micah Johnson suggested he had been plotting a larger assault, said authorities, who were still trying to understand a message he wrote in his own blood on a wall before being killed by a bomb-equipped robot sent in by the police. "We knew through negotiations this was the suspect because he was asking us how many did he get and he told us how many more he wanted to kill," Dallas Police Chief David Brown told reporters today. The attack on Thursday night came at the end of a demonstration over police shootings that had been prompted by incidents earlier in the week in which police in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and St. Paul, Minnesota, killed two black men. Johnson, a 25-year-old African-American, told police negotiators during an hours-long standoff that he had been angered by those deaths and had wanted to "kill white people." The deaths in Baton Rouge and St. Paul were the latest in a series of high-profile and controversial killings of black men by police in cities including New York, Ferguson, Missouri, Chicago and Baltimore. Even as officials and activists condemned the shootings and mourned the slain officers in Dallas, hundreds of people were arrested on Saturday and Sunday as new protests against the use of deadly force by police flared in U.S. cities. Scores of people were arrested in Baton Rouge on Sunday after authorities warned that violence during street demonstrations would not be tolerated. Brown said a search of Johnson's home showed the gunman had practiced using explosives, and that other evidence suggested he wanted to use them against law enforcement officers. His attack was the deadliest day for US law enforcement since the hijacked plane attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Nine law enforcement officers were also wounded, Brown said on Monday. Disappointed with military Johnson, who had served with the US Army Reserve and had been deployed in Afghanistan, had been "disappointed" in his experience with the military, his mother told TheBlaze.com in an interview broadcast online today. "The military was not what Micah thought it would be," Delphine Johnson told The Blaze. "He was very disappointed. Very disappointed." She did not give details. Several media organisations have reported that while Johnson was in Afghanistan from November 2013 to July 2014, a woman soldier in his unit accused him of sexual harassment. The US Department of Defense and a lawyer who had represented Johnson in the past did not return requests for information on his military history or the status of his discharge. In Baton Rouge, protesters faced off with police officers wearing gas masks on Sunday evening. Media, citing Baton Rouge police, reported that at least 48 people were taken into custody after demonstrators clashed with police following a peaceful march to the state capitol. In St. Paul, Minnesota, 21 officers were injured on Saturday when they were pelted with rocks, bottles, construction material and fireworks. Three countries have warned their citizens to stay on guard when visiting US.cities rocked by the protests. A candlelight vigil was set for 8 p.m. today in Dallas City Hall plaza. President Barack Obama was due to travel to the city on Tuesday to attend a memorial for the slain officers. (Reuters)

Dallas police shooter wanted to kill more officers: Chief of police

Ten police officers were shot in Texas on Thursday during a protest against police shootings in Minnesota and Louisiana, KDFW TV in Dallas reported.&nbsp;Three have died. 
 
Broadcaster KABC reported that shots were fired during demonstrations at Belo Garden Park in Dallas. Footage showed a heavy police presence with officers taking cover behind vehicles on the street. 
 
Photos posted on Twitter by the Dallas Police Department showed, what appeared to be, several hundred people assembled on the steps of a downtown museum with many holding signs as they listened to speakers address the crowd. 
 
In other photos and footage posted on Twitter, a crowd could be seen marching through downtown streets. Police said the crowd, at one point, chanted &#39;Black Lives Matter&#39;. 
 
The protests in Dallas came as demonstrations were being held in several US cities over the most recent fatal police shootings of black men in Minnesota and Louisiana. 
 
The police department did not respond to requests for comment and did not update their Twitter account since media reports of gunfire. 
 
(Reuters)

The Dallas demonstration started as a protest against the recent fatal police shootings of black men in Minnesota & Louisiana

Ten police officers were shot in Texas on Thursday during a protest against police shootings in Minnesota and Louisiana, KDFW TV in Dallas reported. Three have died. Broadcaster KABC reported that shots were fired during demonstrations at Belo Garden Park in Dallas. Footage showed a heavy police presence with officers taking cover behind vehicles on the street. Photos posted on Twitter by the Dallas Police Department showed, what appeared to be, several hundred people assembled on the steps of a downtown museum with many holding signs as they listened to speakers address the crowd. In other photos and footage posted on Twitter, a crowd could be seen marching through downtown streets. Police said the crowd, at one point, chanted 'Black Lives Matter'. The protests in Dallas came as demonstrations were being held in several US cities over the most recent fatal police shootings of black men in Minnesota and Louisiana. The police department did not respond to requests for comment and did not update their Twitter account since media reports of gunfire. (Reuters)

Texas protest: Eleven police officers shot, five dead

The fiancee of a&nbsp;black&nbsp;man&nbsp;fatally shot by police in Minnesota after a traffic stop told reporters today&nbsp;that the officers on the scene never checked the&nbsp;man&#39;s pulse after the shooting and handcuffed her.

Diamond Reynolds, who broadcast the bloody aftermath of Philando Castile&#39;s shooting, said the officers involved did not perform first aid on him and that she and her daughter were questioned separately by police.

&quot;I was treated like a criminal,&quot; Reynolds told reporters outside the Minnesota state house. &quot;I was treated like I was the one that did this. They were very racist towards me. They treated me like this was my fault.&quot; 
 
(Reuters)

'I was treated like a criminal. I was treated like I was the one that did this,' she said

The fiancee of a black man fatally shot by police in Minnesota after a traffic stop told reporters today that the officers on the scene never checked the man's pulse after the shooting and handcuffed her. Diamond Reynolds, who broadcast the bloody aftermath of Philando Castile's shooting, said the officers involved did not perform first aid on him and that she and her daughter were questioned separately by police. "I was treated like a criminal," Reynolds told reporters outside the Minnesota state house. "I was treated like I was the one that did this. They were very racist towards me. They treated me like this was my fault." (Reuters)

Fiancee of black man slain by police says she was handcuffed after shooting

<p data-label="Package" data-reactid=".1.0.1.0.1.2.$tag=2reuters=1com,2016=2newsml_KCN0ZN0MJ=21.1.0.0.0.0" data-text="Minneapolis area police fatally shoot black man during traffic stop" dir="auto" title="Minneapolis area police fatally shoot black man during traffic stop">A black motorist was shot at close range by a Minnesota cop and seen bleeding to death in a graphic video shot by his girlfriend that went viral Thursday, the second fatal police shooting to rock America in as many days. 
 
The governor of the northern US state asked the White House to order a federal probe into Wednesday night&#39;s shooting in Falcon Heights, near Minneapolis, as calls mounted for justice for the 32-year-old victim Philando Castile. 
 
A four-year-old girl witnessed the shooting from the back seat of the car, as her mother -- Castile&#39;s girlfriend -- live-streamed the bloody aftermath while an officer pointed his gun through the window. 
 
Speaking to reporters outside the governor&#39;s mansion in St. Paul, after a night in police custody, Diamond Reynolds repeated what she asserted in the shock footage: that Castile was shot &quot;for no reason.&quot; 
 
&quot;Not one shot. Not two shots. Not three shots. Not four shots. But five shots,&quot; she said in a forceful appeal for justice to be served. 
 
Pulled over for a broken tail light, Castile informed the officer he was carrying a licensed gun, Reynolds said, and was shot as he reached for his license and registration. 
 
She said the officer, whom she described as an Asian male, made conflicting demands of Castile -- both that he keep his hands in the air and that he identify himself. 
 
&quot;Nothing within his body language said intimidation. Nothing within his body said, &#39;Shoot me.&#39; Nothing within his language said, &#39;Kill me I want to be dead.&quot; 
 
- &#39;Cover their butts&#39; - 
Reynolds said her phone had been seized as evidence and voiced fear of a police cover-up. 
 
&quot;They&#39;re gonna tamper with evidence,&quot; she told reporters. &quot;They&#39;re gonna do whatever they have to do to cover their butts.&quot; 
 
But Governor Mark Dayton pledged to push for a full and independent inquiry by the Department of Justice -- which is already investigating the police shooting of a black man caught on video two days earlier in Louisiana. 
 
&quot;Justice will be served in Minnesota,&quot; Dayton said. 
 
America&#39;s debate on police use of lethal force, especially against young black men, was set to hit fever pitch as a fourth officer went on trial Thursday in one of the highest-profile such cases of recent years. 
 
Three officers so far have escaped conviction in the case of Freddie Gray, a young black man who died last year in Baltimore after suffering spinal injuries in the back of a police van. 
 
On Tuesday this week, a black father of five, 37-year-old Alton Sterling, was pinned to the ground and shot several times at point blank range in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, prompting the launch of a federal civil rights probe. 
 
Shocked family members demanded justice for Castile, a school cafeteria worker, whose mother described him as a law-abiding citizen who kept out of trouble. 
 
&quot;I think he was just black in the wrong place,&quot; Valerie Castile told CNN. &quot;Every day you hear of another black person being shot down, gunned down by the people that are supposed to protect us.&quot; 
 
&quot;We&#39;re being hunted every day. It&#39;s a silent war against African-American people as a whole,&quot; Castile said. 
 
- Ten-minute video - 
In a 10-minute video with more than three million views after it was streamed live on Facebook, Reynolds -- clearly in shock -- methodically narrates the shooting incident as an officer trains his weapon on her. 
 
In the background, an officer is heard shouting: &quot;I told him not to reach for it. I told him to get his hands up.&quot; 
 
Reynolds starts wailing as it becomes clear Castile is dying. Castile can be seen in the driver seat, large blood stains spreading through his white shirt. He was later taken to hospital and pronounced dead. 
 
&quot;They didn&#39;t let me see my son&#39;s body, at all,&quot; Valerie Castile told CNN. 
 
In both the Minnesota and Louisiana cases, the victims had a gun in their possession, though there is no indication they pointed their weapon at police at any time. 
 
In Sterling&#39;s case, police said they intervened after an anonymous caller told police they had been threatened by a man with a gun. Sterling&#39;s family lawyer said he was merely selling CDs outside a convenience store, with the permission of its owner. 
 
A peaceful crowd of about 100 people kept vigil through the night outside the Baton Rouge store, where a mural has been painted in his honor. 
 
Officials appealed for calm after protesters took to the streets in the aftermath of Tuesday&#39;s shooting, and have promised a fully transparent probe led by federal civil rights investigators. 
 
The two officers involved in the Sterling case have been placed on administrative leave. 
 
(AFP)

A four-year-old girl witnessed the shooting from the back seat of the car

A black motorist was shot at close range by a Minnesota cop and seen bleeding to death in a graphic video shot by his girlfriend that went viral Thursday, the second fatal police shooting to rock America in as many days. The governor of the northern US state asked the White House to order a federal probe into Wednesday night's shooting in Falcon Heights, near Minneapolis, as calls mounted for justice for the 32-year-old victim Philando Castile. A four-year-old girl witnessed the shooting from the back seat of the car, as her mother -- Castile's girlfriend -- live-streamed the bloody aftermath while an officer pointed his gun through the window. Speaking to reporters outside the governor's mansion in St. Paul, after a night in police custody, Diamond Reynolds repeated what she asserted in the shock footage: that Castile was shot "for no reason." "Not one shot. Not two shots. Not three shots. Not four shots. But five shots," she said in a forceful appeal for justice to be served. Pulled over for a broken tail light, Castile informed the officer he was carrying a licensed gun, Reynolds said, and was shot as he reached for his license and registration. She said the officer, whom she described as an Asian male, made conflicting demands of Castile -- both that he keep his hands in the air and that he identify himself. "Nothing within his body language said intimidation. Nothing within his body said, 'Shoot me.' Nothing within his language said, 'Kill me I want to be dead." - 'Cover their butts' - Reynolds said her phone had been seized as evidence and voiced fear of a police cover-up. "They're gonna tamper with evidence," she told reporters. "They're gonna do whatever they have to do to cover their butts." But Governor Mark Dayton pledged to push for a full and independent inquiry by the Department of Justice -- which is already investigating the police shooting of a black man caught on video two days earlier in Louisiana. "Justice will be served in Minnesota," Dayton said. America's debate on police use of lethal force, especially against young black men, was set to hit fever pitch as a fourth officer went on trial Thursday in one of the highest-profile such cases of recent years. Three officers so far have escaped conviction in the case of Freddie Gray, a young black man who died last year in Baltimore after suffering spinal injuries in the back of a police van. On Tuesday this week, a black father of five, 37-year-old Alton Sterling, was pinned to the ground and shot several times at point blank range in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, prompting the launch of a federal civil rights probe. Shocked family members demanded justice for Castile, a school cafeteria worker, whose mother described him as a law-abiding citizen who kept out of trouble. "I think he was just black in the wrong place," Valerie Castile told CNN. "Every day you hear of another black person being shot down, gunned down by the people that are supposed to protect us." "We're being hunted every day. It's a silent war against African-American people as a whole," Castile said. - Ten-minute video - In a 10-minute video with more than three million views after it was streamed live on Facebook, Reynolds -- clearly in shock -- methodically narrates the shooting incident as an officer trains his weapon on her. In the background, an officer is heard shouting: "I told him not to reach for it. I told him to get his hands up." Reynolds starts wailing as it becomes clear Castile is dying. Castile can be seen in the driver seat, large blood stains spreading through his white shirt. He was later taken to hospital and pronounced dead. "They didn't let me see my son's body, at all," Valerie Castile told CNN. In both the Minnesota and Louisiana cases, the victims had a gun in their possession, though there is no indication they pointed their weapon at police at any time. In Sterling's case, police said they intervened after an anonymous caller told police they had been threatened by a man with a gun. Sterling's family lawyer said he was merely selling CDs outside a convenience store, with the permission of its owner. A peaceful crowd of about 100 people kept vigil through the night outside the Baton Rouge store, where a mural has been painted in his honor. Officials appealed for calm after protesters took to the streets in the aftermath of Tuesday's shooting, and have promised a fully transparent probe led by federal civil rights investigators. The two officers involved in the Sterling case have been placed on administrative leave. (AFP)

Minnesota police shoot black motorist at close range, second such shooting in as many days

A pizza chef killed during a militant attack on a cafe where he worked in Bangladesh&#39;s capital city last week was probably in league with the assailants, police said on Wednesday. 
 
Saiful Islam Chowkidar carried no arms but was seen &quot;moving and running&quot; with the five gunmen during the 12-hour stand-off, Monirul Islam, the chief of counter-terrorism police, said. 
 
On Friday, at least five Bangladeshi men had stormed the Holey Artisan Bakery, a cafe popular with foreigners, businessmen and diplomats and killed 20 customers, including Italians, Japanese, Indians and Americans. 
 
On Tuesday, police said Chowkidar was shot dead by mistake but Islam revised that, saying his death was &quot;not accidental&quot;, although police were unsure how he died and the role he played. 
 
&quot;At one point they (militants) tried to escape. They came out running and started firing, the chef was with them,&quot; Islam told reporters. &quot;He is a suspect member of this group.&quot; 
 
Two other suspects being treated in hospital were also employees of the cafe, police said. One worked as a delivery man and the other in the kitchen. 
 
&quot;Before the final operations, their movement was suspicious,&quot; Islam said. 
 
The attack was one of the deadliest ever in Bangladesh, where the Islamic State and al Qaeda have made competing claims for a series of killings of liberals and members of religious minorities in the past year. The government has dismissed those claims and insists that the violence is homegrown. 
 
The gunmen were mostly from well-to-do families and police gave their names as: Nibras Islam, 20; Rohan Imtiaz, 20; Meer Saameh Mubasheer, 19; Khairul Islam, 22; Shafiqul Islam, 26. 
 
Their attack marked a major escalation in violence aimed at forcing strict Islamic rule onto predominantly Muslim Bangladesh&#39;s 160 million people. 
 
Foreign security experts say the scale and sophistication of the attack pointed to some level of guidance from international militant groups. 
 
But the police believe Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), an outlawed domestic group that has pledged allegiance to Islamic State, was to blame. 
 
&quot;We have confirmed these attacks were by JMB,&quot; Islam said. 
 
Meanwhile, Islamic State warned that attacks would continue until Islamic law was established worldwide, saying in a video that the Dhaka assault was just a hint of what is to come. 
 
&quot;What you witnessed in Bangladesh ... was a glimpse. This will repeat, repeat and repeat until you lose and we win and the sharia is established throughout the world,&quot; said a man identified as Bangladeshi fighter Abu Issa al-Bengali, in the video monitored by SITE intelligence site. 
 
The video began with pictures of recent attacks in Paris, Brussels and Orlando in the United States that the Middle East-based militants have claimed. 
 
Bengali said Bangladesh must know that it was now part of a bigger battlefield to establish the cross-border &quot;caliphate&quot; the group proclaimed in 2014. 
 
Police said they were stepping up security in response to the video threat. 
 
(Reuters)

Saiful Islam carried no arms but was seen 'moving and running' with the five gunmen, said the chief of counter-terrorism police

A pizza chef killed during a militant attack on a cafe where he worked in Bangladesh's capital city last week was probably in league with the assailants, police said on Wednesday. Saiful Islam Chowkidar carried no arms but was seen "moving and running" with the five gunmen during the 12-hour stand-off, Monirul Islam, the chief of counter-terrorism police, said. On Friday, at least five Bangladeshi men had stormed the Holey Artisan Bakery, a cafe popular with foreigners, businessmen and diplomats and killed 20 customers, including Italians, Japanese, Indians and Americans. On Tuesday, police said Chowkidar was shot dead by mistake but Islam revised that, saying his death was "not accidental", although police were unsure how he died and the role he played. "At one point they (militants) tried to escape. They came out running and started firing, the chef was with them," Islam told reporters. "He is a suspect member of this group." Two other suspects being treated in hospital were also employees of the cafe, police said. One worked as a delivery man and the other in the kitchen. "Before the final operations, their movement was suspicious," Islam said. The attack was one of the deadliest ever in Bangladesh, where the Islamic State and al Qaeda have made competing claims for a series of killings of liberals and members of religious minorities in the past year. The government has dismissed those claims and insists that the violence is homegrown. The gunmen were mostly from well-to-do families and police gave their names as: Nibras Islam, 20; Rohan Imtiaz, 20; Meer Saameh Mubasheer, 19; Khairul Islam, 22; Shafiqul Islam, 26. Their attack marked a major escalation in violence aimed at forcing strict Islamic rule onto predominantly Muslim Bangladesh's 160 million people. Foreign security experts say the scale and sophistication of the attack pointed to some level of guidance from international militant groups. But the police believe Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), an outlawed domestic group that has pledged allegiance to Islamic State, was to blame. "We have confirmed these attacks were by JMB," Islam said. Meanwhile, Islamic State warned that attacks would continue until Islamic law was established worldwide, saying in a video that the Dhaka assault was just a hint of what is to come. "What you witnessed in Bangladesh ... was a glimpse. This will repeat, repeat and repeat until you lose and we win and the sharia is established throughout the world," said a man identified as Bangladeshi fighter Abu Issa al-Bengali, in the video monitored by SITE intelligence site. The video began with pictures of recent attacks in Paris, Brussels and Orlando in the United States that the Middle East-based militants have claimed. Bengali said Bangladesh must know that it was now part of a bigger battlefield to establish the cross-border "caliphate" the group proclaimed in 2014. Police said they were stepping up security in response to the video threat. (Reuters)

Holey Artisan chef was probably working with attackers: Bangladesh police

Brazilian police protesting unpaid salaries and officers&#39; deaths shocked travellers arriving at Rio de Janeiro&#39;s main airport on Monday with banners reading &#39;Welcome to Hell&#39; a month before the Olympics. 
 
The protest by workers of more than 100 emergency services, including firefighters, took place in the arrival hall at Galeao International Airport, which will be a key entry point for the expected half-million tourists to the Games starting August 5. 
 
Officers held up a banner reading: &quot;Welcome to hell. Police and firefighters don&#39;t get paid, whoever comes to Rio de Janeiro will not be safe.&quot; 
 
Mannequins dressed in uniform were laid out on the floor to represent the more than 50 officers killed in Rio de Janeiro so far this year. A female officer with fake blood smeared on her face and hands clutched a mannequin dressed in a T-shirt reading &quot;SOS policia.&quot; 
 
&quot;We are here to show citizens and tourists from abroad the realities of Brazil,&quot; said veteran police officer Alexander Neto, 56. &quot;They&#39;ve been conned and we too have been conned. You have to understand there is no public security.&quot; 
 
Rio police began staging street protests, including another at the airport, last week, saying that they have not been fully paid for months as Rio state hovers on the edge of bankruptcy. 
 
An emergency federal bailout received last week started to be doled out on Monday, local news reports said, with the government beginning to meet delayed commitments to emergency services workers, teachers, hospital staff and prison administrators. 
 
Rio is set to become the first South American city in history to host the Olympics. However, there are growing fears about the ability of police to control crime during the event. 
 
Murders in the first quarter of 2016 are up 15 per cent on the same period last year. 
 
Non-lethal crimes such as street robberies are also on the rise, highlighted by the hijacking on Friday of a truck carrying some $445,000 worth of television equipment to be used for Olympics news coverage. 
 
David Cervantes, a Colombian tourist who came across the airport protest on arrival in Rio, said he was shocked. 
 
&quot;It&#39;s not the best welcome we could get from Rio de Janeiro, which has the reputation of being such a wonderful city,&quot; he said. &quot;I&#39;m not quite sure what to think.&quot; 
 
Rio mayor Eduardo Paes admits that crime has become a serious issue on the eve of the Olympics but blames the security problems on the state, not city, government. 
 
&quot;This is the most serious issue in Rio and the state is doing a terrible, horrible job,&quot; he told CNN. 
 
In addition to violence and the effects of a bruising recession, preparations for the Rio Olympics have been plagued by Brazil&#39;s political instability and a series of corruption scandals. 
 
Huge construction companies building stadiums and other Olympic infrastructure have been implicated in a multi-billion dollar embezzlement scheme centered on state oil company Petrobras. 
 
Now police are investigating the suspected embezzlement of subsidies for Brazilian athletes, a television channel reported. 
 
The probe centers on deals signed by sports confederations and SB Marketing e Promocoes, a promotional company, the channel said in a report aired on late Sunday. 
 
The marketing firm was hired by the sports ministry to channel subsidies to fund athletes&#39; training, worth around nine million dollars, it said.&nbsp; 
 
SB Marketing declined to comment on the report. 
 
(AFP)

Close to bankruptcy, state hasn't been able to pay salaries of cops, firefighters casting a shadow over security during the Games

Brazilian police protesting unpaid salaries and officers' deaths shocked travellers arriving at Rio de Janeiro's main airport on Monday with banners reading 'Welcome to Hell' a month before the Olympics. The protest by workers of more than 100 emergency services, including firefighters, took place in the arrival hall at Galeao International Airport, which will be a key entry point for the expected half-million tourists to the Games starting August 5. Officers held up a banner reading: "Welcome to hell. Police and firefighters don't get paid, whoever comes to Rio de Janeiro will not be safe." Mannequins dressed in uniform were laid out on the floor to represent the more than 50 officers killed in Rio de Janeiro so far this year. A female officer with fake blood smeared on her face and hands clutched a mannequin dressed in a T-shirt reading "SOS policia." "We are here to show citizens and tourists from abroad the realities of Brazil," said veteran police officer Alexander Neto, 56. "They've been conned and we too have been conned. You have to understand there is no public security." Rio police began staging street protests, including another at the airport, last week, saying that they have not been fully paid for months as Rio state hovers on the edge of bankruptcy. An emergency federal bailout received last week started to be doled out on Monday, local news reports said, with the government beginning to meet delayed commitments to emergency services workers, teachers, hospital staff and prison administrators. Rio is set to become the first South American city in history to host the Olympics. However, there are growing fears about the ability of police to control crime during the event. Murders in the first quarter of 2016 are up 15 per cent on the same period last year. Non-lethal crimes such as street robberies are also on the rise, highlighted by the hijacking on Friday of a truck carrying some $445,000 worth of television equipment to be used for Olympics news coverage. David Cervantes, a Colombian tourist who came across the airport protest on arrival in Rio, said he was shocked. "It's not the best welcome we could get from Rio de Janeiro, which has the reputation of being such a wonderful city," he said. "I'm not quite sure what to think." Rio mayor Eduardo Paes admits that crime has become a serious issue on the eve of the Olympics but blames the security problems on the state, not city, government. "This is the most serious issue in Rio and the state is doing a terrible, horrible job," he told CNN. In addition to violence and the effects of a bruising recession, preparations for the Rio Olympics have been plagued by Brazil's political instability and a series of corruption scandals. Huge construction companies building stadiums and other Olympic infrastructure have been implicated in a multi-billion dollar embezzlement scheme centered on state oil company Petrobras. Now police are investigating the suspected embezzlement of subsidies for Brazilian athletes, a television channel reported. The probe centers on deals signed by sports confederations and SB Marketing e Promocoes, a promotional company, the channel said in a report aired on late Sunday. The marketing firm was hired by the sports ministry to channel subsidies to fund athletes' training, worth around nine million dollars, it said. SB Marketing declined to comment on the report. (AFP)

'Welcome to Hell', protesting Rio police tell tourists

A Muslim policeman who sued the New York City Police Department (NYPD) after he was suspended for refusing to shave his beard has been reinstated and the department has agreed to review its ban on beards, his lawyers said on Thursday. 
 
A judge last week ordered the NYPD to continue paying Officer Masood Syed his salary and benefits after he sued the department, claiming that the no-beard policy was unconstitutional. 
 
&quot;It seems like the department has taken the crucial first step in addressing an important and growing concern of officers of different faiths,&quot; Syed said in a statement.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;I am hopeful that the department&rsquo;s new policy will in fact allow myself and other officers to wear our beards at a reasonable length without the fear of retaliation or hostility,&quot; he said.&nbsp; 
 
NYPD spokesperson could not be reached for a comment.&nbsp; 
 
In a letter sent to the judge and provided to news agencies by Syed&#39;s attorneys, the city&#39;s law department has asked that a hearing scheduled for July 8 in the case be adjourned because the officer had been &quot;restored to full duty&quot; and the two sides were discussing a resolution of the lawsuit. 
 
The NYPD&#39;s written policy is that officers cannot wear beards, but an unwritten policy designed for religious accommodation allows for beards of up to 1 millimetre long, according to the lawsuit. 
 
Syed, a law clerk in the department, has worn a beard of about 1/2 to 1 inch (13 to 25mm) for years for religious reasons. 
 
In December, according to the lawsuit, he was told by supervisors that his beard was too long and ordered to shorten it. When he did not, he was suspended, according to the complaint. 
 
In 2013, a Hasidic Jewish probationary officer won a lawsuit against the department over the same policy.&nbsp; 
 
US district judge Harold Baer ruled in 2013 that the policy violated the First Amendment guarantee of free religious exercise. 
 
The Hasidic officer, Fishel Litzman, was allowed to return to work with a beard of 1 inch length, according to Syed&#39;s lawyer. 
 
(Reuters)

Masood Syed's lawyers say the department has agreed to review its ban on beards

A Muslim policeman who sued the New York City Police Department (NYPD) after he was suspended for refusing to shave his beard has been reinstated and the department has agreed to review its ban on beards, his lawyers said on Thursday. A judge last week ordered the NYPD to continue paying Officer Masood Syed his salary and benefits after he sued the department, claiming that the no-beard policy was unconstitutional. "It seems like the department has taken the crucial first step in addressing an important and growing concern of officers of different faiths," Syed said in a statement. "I am hopeful that the department’s new policy will in fact allow myself and other officers to wear our beards at a reasonable length without the fear of retaliation or hostility," he said. NYPD spokesperson could not be reached for a comment. In a letter sent to the judge and provided to news agencies by Syed's attorneys, the city's law department has asked that a hearing scheduled for July 8 in the case be adjourned because the officer had been "restored to full duty" and the two sides were discussing a resolution of the lawsuit. The NYPD's written policy is that officers cannot wear beards, but an unwritten policy designed for religious accommodation allows for beards of up to 1 millimetre long, according to the lawsuit. Syed, a law clerk in the department, has worn a beard of about 1/2 to 1 inch (13 to 25mm) for years for religious reasons. In December, according to the lawsuit, he was told by supervisors that his beard was too long and ordered to shorten it. When he did not, he was suspended, according to the complaint. In 2013, a Hasidic Jewish probationary officer won a lawsuit against the department over the same policy. US district judge Harold Baer ruled in 2013 that the policy violated the First Amendment guarantee of free religious exercise. The Hasidic officer, Fishel Litzman, was allowed to return to work with a beard of 1 inch length, according to Syed's lawyer. (Reuters)

Muslim officer wins battle of the beard, New York police reinstate him

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