Romania&#39;s anti-mafia police have seized 2.5 tonnes of cocaine worth at least 600 million Euros ($667.20 million) street value, hidden in banana containers from Colombia in the Black Sea port of Constanta, the country&#39;s biggest ever haul. 
 
The police, which arrested four Lithuanians and one Colombian after a six month-long operation including undercover agents and help from US authorities, said the cocaine was due to be transferred to trucks and sent to the Netherlands. 
 
&quot;The plan was that trucks hired from different companies and bound for the Netherlands were due to transport the drugs among marble (construction) materials,&quot; head of the anti-mafia prosecutor&#39;s office, Daniel Horodniceanu, said. 
 
The drugs belonged to an international crime ring also comprising an ethnic Morocan with Spanish and Dutch citizenship. The man was arrested by Spanish police. 
 
The containers had arrived from Colombia last week. 
 
(Reuters)

The drugs were found hidden in banana containers from Colombia, and were to be shipped via truck concealed amid construction material

Romania's anti-mafia police have seized 2.5 tonnes of cocaine worth at least 600 million Euros ($667.20 million) street value, hidden in banana containers from Colombia in the Black Sea port of Constanta, the country's biggest ever haul. The police, which arrested four Lithuanians and one Colombian after a six month-long operation including undercover agents and help from US authorities, said the cocaine was due to be transferred to trucks and sent to the Netherlands. "The plan was that trucks hired from different companies and bound for the Netherlands were due to transport the drugs among marble (construction) materials," head of the anti-mafia prosecutor's office, Daniel Horodniceanu, said. The drugs belonged to an international crime ring also comprising an ethnic Morocan with Spanish and Dutch citizenship. The man was arrested by Spanish police. The containers had arrived from Colombia last week. (Reuters)

Record 2.5-tonnes of cocaine seized in Romania

Two Taliban suicide bombers killed at least 27 police and wounded around 40 in an attack today on buses carrying recently graduated cadets on the western outskirts of Kabul. 
 
A police official said that, according to preliminary information, three buses were attacked as they approached the Afghan capital from neighbouring Wardak province. 
 
&quot;Initial information we have is that two suicide bombers were involved and there are many casualties,&quot; he said, declining to be identified by name. 
 
An interior ministry official said at least 27 people were killed and 40 wounded. 
 
The incident comes 10 days after an attack on a bus carrying Nepali security guards working for the Canadian embassy in Kabul that killed 14 people. 
 
In April, at least 64 people were killed by a Taliban attack on a security services facility in Kabul in the deadliest bombing of its kind in Afghanistan since 2011. 
 
(Reuters)

Three buses carrying recently graduated cadets were attacked by the two bombers as they approached Kabul from Wardak province

Two Taliban suicide bombers killed at least 27 police and wounded around 40 in an attack today on buses carrying recently graduated cadets on the western outskirts of Kabul. A police official said that, according to preliminary information, three buses were attacked as they approached the Afghan capital from neighbouring Wardak province. "Initial information we have is that two suicide bombers were involved and there are many casualties," he said, declining to be identified by name. An interior ministry official said at least 27 people were killed and 40 wounded. The incident comes 10 days after an attack on a bus carrying Nepali security guards working for the Canadian embassy in Kabul that killed 14 people. In April, at least 64 people were killed by a Taliban attack on a security services facility in Kabul in the deadliest bombing of its kind in Afghanistan since 2011. (Reuters)

Taliban suicide bombers kill 27, wound 40 in attack on Afghan police

Two things catch the eye in the office of Joselito Esquivel, a police colonel enforcing a national crackdown on drugs in the Philippines&#39; most crime-ridden district: a pair of boxing gloves in a display cabinet and an M4 assault rifle lying beside him. 
 
&quot;It&#39;s all-out war,&quot; the Quezon City officer says of a spike in killings of suspected drug dealers by police across the country since last month&#39;s election of Rodrigo Duterte, a tough-talking city mayor, as the country&#39;s President. &quot;Duterte has already given the impetus for this massive operation.&quot; 
 
Duterte has vowed to wipe out drug crime within six months, but, according to Chito Gascon, head of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR), the aggressive rhetoric behind his promises has already instilled a sense of impunity among the police. 
 
&quot;Basically, you have Mr Duterte saying: &#39;It&#39;s okay, I&#39;ve got your back&#39;,&quot; said Gascon. 
 
On average, at least one person has been shot dead by police or anonymous vigilantes every day since the May 9 election that swept Duterte to power, an escalation from the first four months of the year when the rate was about two a week. 
 
Handwritten warning signs have been left on some corpses. 
 
Duterte, who will be inaugurated on Thursday for a six-year term, has cheered the police on: after a druglord was killed in a northern province recently, he travelled there to congratulate them and hand over a reward worth about $6,000. 
 
Critics, including leaders of the influential Roman Catholic Church and human rights advocates, fear a spiral of violence could lie ahead for the Philippines if vigilantism and summary executions become an accepted norm after Duterte takes office. 
 
&quot;My concern is that instead of law and order, what we will see is lawlessness and fear,&quot; said Gascon. &quot;What will result is an increase in the body-bag count.&quot; 
 
On Monday, Duterte branded as &quot;stupid&quot; human rights groups and lawmakers who have complained about his draconian plans to crush crime and re-introduce the death penalty. 
 
&quot;When you kill someone, rape, you should die,&quot; he told his last public meeting as mayor of Davao City, where death squads have killed hundreds of drug-pushers, petty criminals and even streetchildren since 1998, according to rights groups. 
 
Duterte denies any involvement in the vigilante killings. 
 
A political outsider whose coarse defiance of the traditional ruling class has drawn comparisons with Donald Trump, Duterte has even figured in commentaries on Britain&#39;s vote to leave the European Union as an example of a global trend towards populism triumphing over the establishment. 
 
Police covering their tracks 
 
Duterte&#39;s pick to be the country&#39;s police chief, Ronald dela Rosa, concedes that some recent killings may have been carried out by officers involved in the drugs business who were covering their tracks so that the new President does not go after them. 
 
&quot;That could be true,&quot; he told Reuters. &quot;Some police officers are shifting from drug protectors to drug punishers.&quot; 
 
But dela Rosa added that so much work towards wiping out drug crime has been accomplished recently that his job will be easy when he takes over at the end of this week. 
 
Railing against critics, he said most of the victims in the recent wave of killings were shot by police in self-defence. 
 
&quot;I have no problem how many people die in legitimate police operations, the police have a right to defend themselves,&quot; he said. &quot;We are police officers, we are not hard killers.&quot; 
 
Only two of the roughly 60 recent killings took place in Quezon City, a crowded and gritty part of sprawling Metro Manila that has the country&#39;s highest crime rate. Most were in areas outside the capital that are less intensively policed. 
 
Esquivel, the officer in Quezon City, said his force has also adopted a softer tack by inviting drug peddlers and addicts to surrender and go into rehabilitation. Just last week, over 1,000 gave themselves up there, he said. 
 
Despite that gentler approach, police in the Philippines are open about their readiness to use guns. 
 
Outside Esquivel&#39;s headquarters there is a police firing range and a banner cheerily announces a monthly &quot;shoot fest&quot;, a contest for officers where sometimes winners receive a gun. 
 
According to data from the University of Sydney, the number of guns in the Philippines is a small fraction of the total in the United States, but Filipinos seem much more inclined to use them. 
 
Gun deaths per 100,000 people in the United States was at 10.54 in 2014, but the Philippines rate of 7.2 in 2008, the last year for which figures were available, was not far behind. 
 
Narco-state 
 
Duterte has predicted that if the tide of drug addiction in the Philippines is not pushed back, it will become a narco-state. 
 
In 2012, the United Nations said the Philippines had the highest rate of methamphetamine use in East Asia, and according to a US state department report, 2.1 per cent of Flipinos aged 16 to 64 use the drug, which is known locally as &quot;shabu&quot;. 
 
There appears to be support in the Philippines for Duterte&#39;s uncompromising line on criminals. 
 
When a suspected rapist was killed in custody recently, the CHR raised concerns, but they were lost amid an outpouring of sympathy for the police on social and mainstream media. 
 
Still many people across the country are feeling anxious. 
 
&quot;There is a sense of fear because what was done to the hardened drug couriers, users and manufacturers could be done to you,&quot; said Winston Boston, a 49-year-old financial adviser in Manila. &quot;Anyone could just be accosted.&quot; 
 
(Reuters)

The new President has already delivered the impetus for a massive operation to crack down on suspected druglords.

Two things catch the eye in the office of Joselito Esquivel, a police colonel enforcing a national crackdown on drugs in the Philippines' most crime-ridden district: a pair of boxing gloves in a display cabinet and an M4 assault rifle lying beside him. "It's all-out war," the Quezon City officer says of a spike in killings of suspected drug dealers by police across the country since last month's election of Rodrigo Duterte, a tough-talking city mayor, as the country's President. "Duterte has already given the impetus for this massive operation." Duterte has vowed to wipe out drug crime within six months, but, according to Chito Gascon, head of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR), the aggressive rhetoric behind his promises has already instilled a sense of impunity among the police. "Basically, you have Mr Duterte saying: 'It's okay, I've got your back'," said Gascon. On average, at least one person has been shot dead by police or anonymous vigilantes every day since the May 9 election that swept Duterte to power, an escalation from the first four months of the year when the rate was about two a week. Handwritten warning signs have been left on some corpses. Duterte, who will be inaugurated on Thursday for a six-year term, has cheered the police on: after a druglord was killed in a northern province recently, he travelled there to congratulate them and hand over a reward worth about $6,000. Critics, including leaders of the influential Roman Catholic Church and human rights advocates, fear a spiral of violence could lie ahead for the Philippines if vigilantism and summary executions become an accepted norm after Duterte takes office. "My concern is that instead of law and order, what we will see is lawlessness and fear," said Gascon. "What will result is an increase in the body-bag count." On Monday, Duterte branded as "stupid" human rights groups and lawmakers who have complained about his draconian plans to crush crime and re-introduce the death penalty. "When you kill someone, rape, you should die," he told his last public meeting as mayor of Davao City, where death squads have killed hundreds of drug-pushers, petty criminals and even streetchildren since 1998, according to rights groups. Duterte denies any involvement in the vigilante killings. A political outsider whose coarse defiance of the traditional ruling class has drawn comparisons with Donald Trump, Duterte has even figured in commentaries on Britain's vote to leave the European Union as an example of a global trend towards populism triumphing over the establishment. Police covering their tracks Duterte's pick to be the country's police chief, Ronald dela Rosa, concedes that some recent killings may have been carried out by officers involved in the drugs business who were covering their tracks so that the new President does not go after them. "That could be true," he told Reuters. "Some police officers are shifting from drug protectors to drug punishers." But dela Rosa added that so much work towards wiping out drug crime has been accomplished recently that his job will be easy when he takes over at the end of this week. Railing against critics, he said most of the victims in the recent wave of killings were shot by police in self-defence. "I have no problem how many people die in legitimate police operations, the police have a right to defend themselves," he said. "We are police officers, we are not hard killers." Only two of the roughly 60 recent killings took place in Quezon City, a crowded and gritty part of sprawling Metro Manila that has the country's highest crime rate. Most were in areas outside the capital that are less intensively policed. Esquivel, the officer in Quezon City, said his force has also adopted a softer tack by inviting drug peddlers and addicts to surrender and go into rehabilitation. Just last week, over 1,000 gave themselves up there, he said. Despite that gentler approach, police in the Philippines are open about their readiness to use guns. Outside Esquivel's headquarters there is a police firing range and a banner cheerily announces a monthly "shoot fest", a contest for officers where sometimes winners receive a gun. According to data from the University of Sydney, the number of guns in the Philippines is a small fraction of the total in the United States, but Filipinos seem much more inclined to use them. Gun deaths per 100,000 people in the United States was at 10.54 in 2014, but the Philippines rate of 7.2 in 2008, the last year for which figures were available, was not far behind. Narco-state Duterte has predicted that if the tide of drug addiction in the Philippines is not pushed back, it will become a narco-state. In 2012, the United Nations said the Philippines had the highest rate of methamphetamine use in East Asia, and according to a US state department report, 2.1 per cent of Flipinos aged 16 to 64 use the drug, which is known locally as "shabu". There appears to be support in the Philippines for Duterte's uncompromising line on criminals. When a suspected rapist was killed in custody recently, the CHR raised concerns, but they were lost amid an outpouring of sympathy for the police on social and mainstream media. Still many people across the country are feeling anxious. "There is a sense of fear because what was done to the hardened drug couriers, users and manufacturers could be done to you," said Winston Boston, a 49-year-old financial adviser in Manila. "Anyone could just be accosted." (Reuters)

As Duterte takes over in Philippines, police killings stir fear

An Australian paralympic sailor and team official were robbed at gunpoint while training in Rio de Janeiro at the weekend, raising fears about the security of athletes and tourists in &nbsp;Olympic Games. 
 
Liesl Tesch and physiotherapist Sarah Ross said that they were taking a bike ride in a park near their hotel at Flamengo Beach early on Sunday when they were confronted by two men, one of whom was carrying a pistol. 
 
Tesch, who won a sailing gold at the London Paralympic Games and has also competed in wheelchair basketball, told Australian television that the armed man pointed the gun at her and then gave her a shove. 
 
&quot;I think he said &#39;dinero&#39; (money),&quot; she told Channel Nine, adding that she lifted up her shirt to showed she had no money with her. 
 
&quot;And then he said something else, but I don&#39;t know what he said, lifted the gun up towards me and then pushed me in the shoulder and I just fell down on the cobblestones.&quot; 
 
The men took the bikes and rode off, she added. 
 
&quot;It was absolutely horrific, I can see it clear as day in my own head. We are both shaken, but physically we&#39;re both OK,&quot; said Tesch, who trained on her boat later that day. 
 
Tesch and Ross reported the incident to local police, said&nbsp;the Australian Paralympic Committee . 
 
Australia&#39;s Paralympic team chef de mission Kate McLoughlin said the sailing team were shaken by the incident and repeated a warning to athletes to exercise a high degree of caution while travelling in Rio. 
 
&ldquo;That advice is particularly important before the Paralympic Games period,&rdquo; said&nbsp;McLoughlin . 
 
&ldquo;We know there will be a hugely elevated level of security in place during the Paralympic Games, but for athletes and teams travelling there before the Games, there is a heightened need to be security conscious.&rdquo; 
 
The Sept. 7-18 Paralympics follow the Olympics, which opens on Aug. 5. 
 
Olympic organizers plan to deploy around 85,000 security personnel for the Games, double the number used in London in 2012. 
 
Security issues are just one of the concerns facing Rio, which on Friday declared a state of financial emergency to help fulfil obligations for public services during the Olympics. 
 
Emergency measures are needed to avoid &quot;a total collapse in public security, health, education, transport and environmental management,&quot; a decree in the state&#39;s Official Gazette said. 
 
The financial pinch resulted in a 30 percent cut in the state&#39;s security budget - just as Rio has seen a jump in homicides and assaults in recent months, raising concerns about safety ahead of the Olympics. 
 
(Reuters)

Liesl Tesch and physiotherapist Sarah Ross were taking a bike ride in a park near their hotel on Flamengo Beach when two men attacked them

An Australian paralympic sailor and team official were robbed at gunpoint while training in Rio de Janeiro at the weekend, raising fears about the security of athletes and tourists in Olympic Games. Liesl Tesch and physiotherapist Sarah Ross said that they were taking a bike ride in a park near their hotel at Flamengo Beach early on Sunday when they were confronted by two men, one of whom was carrying a pistol. Tesch, who won a sailing gold at the London Paralympic Games and has also competed in wheelchair basketball, told Australian television that the armed man pointed the gun at her and then gave her a shove. "I think he said 'dinero' (money)," she told Channel Nine, adding that she lifted up her shirt to showed she had no money with her. "And then he said something else, but I don't know what he said, lifted the gun up towards me and then pushed me in the shoulder and I just fell down on the cobblestones." The men took the bikes and rode off, she added. "It was absolutely horrific, I can see it clear as day in my own head. We are both shaken, but physically we're both OK," said Tesch, who trained on her boat later that day. Tesch and Ross reported the incident to local police, said the Australian Paralympic Committee . Australia's Paralympic team chef de mission Kate McLoughlin said the sailing team were shaken by the incident and repeated a warning to athletes to exercise a high degree of caution while travelling in Rio. “That advice is particularly important before the Paralympic Games period,” said McLoughlin . “We know there will be a hugely elevated level of security in place during the Paralympic Games, but for athletes and teams travelling there before the Games, there is a heightened need to be security conscious.” The Sept. 7-18 Paralympics follow the Olympics, which opens on Aug. 5. Olympic organizers plan to deploy around 85,000 security personnel for the Games, double the number used in London in 2012. Security issues are just one of the concerns facing Rio, which on Friday declared a state of financial emergency to help fulfil obligations for public services during the Olympics. Emergency measures are needed to avoid "a total collapse in public security, health, education, transport and environmental management," a decree in the state's Official Gazette said. The financial pinch resulted in a 30 percent cut in the state's security budget - just as Rio has seen a jump in homicides and assaults in recent months, raising concerns about safety ahead of the Olympics. (Reuters)

Australian paralympic sailor robbed at gunpoint in Rio

&nbsp;Al Shabaab militants killed five police officers in a border region in northeastern Kenya today, a regional official said. 
 
&quot;We condemn the attack by al Shabaab at Dimu this morning five police officers killed. The info about their presence was long shared by the locals,&quot; Mandera county governor Ali Roba said on his Twitter account. 
(Reuters)

Mandera county governor Ali Roba condemned the attack at Dimu and said locals alerted the authorities

Al Shabaab militants killed five police officers in a border region in northeastern Kenya today, a regional official said. "We condemn the attack by al Shabaab at Dimu this morning five police officers killed. The info about their presence was long shared by the locals," Mandera county governor Ali Roba said on his Twitter account. (Reuters)

5 police officers killed by al-Shabaab militants in Kenya

<div lang="EN-US" paraeid="{7925e5b9-6228-427f-a482-00fa781626e1}{172}" paraid="1780931624" style="text-align: justify;" >The main suspect in the murder of the Bangladesh bloggers,&nbsp;Avijit&nbsp;Roy and&nbsp;Niladri&nbsp;Chattopadhyay&nbsp;Niloy, was killed in an&nbsp;alleged gunfight with the police in capital Dhaka&#39;s&nbsp;Khilgaon&nbsp;area early on Sunday. 
&nbsp;</div>

<div lang="EN-US" paraeid="{05a0032d-ac79-453f-a114-958b5ecea2d7}{96}" paraid="295924590" style="text-align: justify;" >The suspect,&nbsp;Shariful&nbsp;alias&nbsp;Sakib&nbsp;alias Sharif alias Saleh alias&nbsp;Arif&nbsp;alias Hadi-1, was a top&nbsp;organiser&nbsp;of&nbsp;Ansarullah&nbsp;Bangla Team (ABT), Bangladesh&nbsp;newspaper,&nbsp;The Daily Star, reported&nbsp;Musudur&nbsp;Rahman, a Dhaka police officer&nbsp;as saying. ABT is a banned militant group.&nbsp; 
&nbsp;</div>

<div lang="EN-US" paraeid="{984d1263-ec83-482f-8a1a-583559350cb5}{12}" paraid="1413621411" style="text-align: justify;" >The &quot;gunfight&quot;&nbsp;apparently took place&nbsp;at&nbsp;Meradiya&nbsp;Banshpotti&nbsp;at about 2.00 am on Sunday.&nbsp; 
&nbsp;</div>

<div lang="EN-US" paraeid="{7362ad74-bce9-4f03-84af-fcff745e99de}{173}" paraid="1819828175" style="text-align: justify;" >The police had claimed they found evidence that&nbsp;Shariful&nbsp;was present at&nbsp;Dhaka University where&nbsp;Avijit&nbsp;Roy was hacked to death with&nbsp;machetes&nbsp;on February 26, 2015 and of his involvement even in the killing of&nbsp;Niladri&nbsp;Niloy.&nbsp;&nbsp;</div>

<div lang="EN-US" paraeid="{7d89d678-a532-47d7-8f4a-8dd68125f7d7}{27}" paraid="895991529" style="text-align: justify;" > 
Shariful, who was originally from Khulna,&nbsp;played an important role in the recruitment of ABT members, apart from providing training in&nbsp;firearms and information technology&nbsp;to the new recruits, as per the Dhaka metropolitan police&#39;s website.&nbsp;</div>

<div lang="EN-US" paraeid="{7362ad74-bce9-4f03-84af-fcff745e99de}{159}" paraid="1494492534" style="text-align: justify;" > 
He&nbsp;was also linked to the murder attempt on&nbsp;publisher Ahmed Rashid&nbsp;Tutul&nbsp;at&nbsp;Lalmatia&nbsp;and&nbsp;the&nbsp;killing of&nbsp;Riyad&nbsp;Morshed&nbsp;Babu, a student of Shanta Mariam University.&nbsp;</div>

<div lang="EN-US" paraeid="{7362ad74-bce9-4f03-84af-fcff745e99de}{161}" paraid="1062033893" style="text-align: justify;" > 
This is not all, the police said&nbsp;Shariful&nbsp;was&nbsp;one of the brains behind the murders of&nbsp;Jagriti&nbsp;Prokashoni&nbsp;owner,&nbsp;Faisal&nbsp;Arefin&nbsp;Dipan, blogger&nbsp;Oyashiqur&nbsp;Rahman&nbsp;Babu, secular activist&nbsp;Nazim&nbsp;Uddin&nbsp;Samad&nbsp;and LGBT rights activist&nbsp;Xulhaz&nbsp;Mannan&nbsp;and his friend&nbsp;Mahbub&nbsp;Tonoy.&nbsp;</div>

<div lang="EN-US" paraeid="{87805b9a-9ccf-46cd-b117-e1b01fe3d6f0}{205}" paraid="1372513054" style="text-align: justify;" > 
The alleged gun fight took place within hours of&nbsp;another&nbsp;suspected militant, nineteen-year-old&nbsp;Golam&nbsp;Faizullah&nbsp;Fahim, being killed in a&nbsp;reported ambush&nbsp;when he was taken along on a search for his Islamist associates, the police claimed.&nbsp;</div>

<div lang="EN-US" paraeid="{e4ca9fd8-f38a-4e36-8526-4567b7e7bdbc}{166}" paraid="1621426751" style="text-align: justify;" > 
The search team was reportedly&nbsp;ambushed in a farmland.&nbsp;Faizullah&nbsp;was in police custody for questioning for attacking Hindu mathematics lecturer Ripon&nbsp;Chakrabarti&nbsp;and grievously injuring him&nbsp;in Bangladesh&#39;s&nbsp;Madaripur. Eyewitnesses managed to catch him and hand him to the police.&nbsp;</div>

<div lang="EN-US" paraeid="{57b998cf-5434-431a-b2c2-d45e1cf5717d}{75}" paraid="1784564055" style="text-align: justify;" > 
As per the police,&nbsp;Fahim&nbsp;was a college student and was a member of the banned Islamist group&nbsp;Hizb&nbsp;ut-Tahrir&nbsp;--&nbsp;an international group which wants to combine all Muslim countries in a unitary Islamic state. The group is outlawed in several countries, including Bangladesh.&nbsp;</div>

<div lang="EN-US" paraeid="{74659285-ee64-4e3d-82d9-6922b2b828be}{52}" paraid="1214658543" style="text-align: justify;" > 
Seven suspected Islamist militants have now been shot dead since Bangladesh launched a nationwide crackdown on local jihadist groups in the wake of a spike in the murders of secular activists and religious minorities.&nbsp; 
&nbsp; 
The drive has seen more than 11,000 people including 194 militants arrested over the past week despite widespread criticism by local and international human rights groups.&nbsp;</div>

<div lang="EN-US" paraeid="{74659285-ee64-4e3d-82d9-6922b2b828be}{74}" paraid="840182797" style="text-align: justify;" > 
Nearly 50 people have been killed over the last three years in a wave of gruesome murders targeting Hindus, Christians, Sufi Muslims, secular activists and foreigners, with most blamed on or claimed by Islamist militants.&nbsp; 
&nbsp; 
Many of the victims were hacked to death with machetes.&nbsp; 
(WION)</div>

Seven Islamist militants have been shot dead since Bangladesh started its crackdown on Jihadist groups

The main suspect in the murder of the Bangladesh bloggers, Avijit Roy and Niladri Chattopadhyay Niloy, was killed in an alleged gunfight with the police in capital Dhaka's Khilgaon area early on Sunday. The suspect, Shariful alias Sakib alias Sharif alias Saleh alias Arif alias Hadi-1, was a top organiser of Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT), Bangladesh newspaper, The Daily Star, reported Musudur Rahman, a Dhaka police officer as saying. ABT is a banned militant group. The "gunfight" apparently took place at Meradiya Banshpotti at about 2.00 am on Sunday. The police had claimed they found evidence that Shariful was present at Dhaka University where Avijit Roy was hacked to death with machetes on February 26, 2015 and of his involvement even in the killing of Niladri Niloy. Shariful, who was originally from Khulna, played an important role in the recruitment of ABT members, apart from providing training in firearms and information technology to the new recruits, as per the Dhaka metropolitan police's website. He was also linked to the murder attempt on publisher Ahmed Rashid Tutul at Lalmatia and the killing of Riyad Morshed Babu, a student of Shanta Mariam University. This is not all, the police said Shariful was one of the brains behind the murders of Jagriti Prokashoni owner, Faisal Arefin Dipan, blogger Oyashiqur Rahman Babu, secular activist Nazim Uddin Samad and LGBT rights activist Xulhaz Mannan and his friend Mahbub Tonoy. The alleged gun fight took place within hours of another suspected militant, nineteen-year-old Golam Faizullah Fahim, being killed in a reported ambush when he was taken along on a search for his Islamist associates, the police claimed. The search team was reportedly ambushed in a farmland. Faizullah was in police custody for questioning for attacking Hindu mathematics lecturer Ripon Chakrabarti and grievously injuring him in Bangladesh's Madaripur. Eyewitnesses managed to catch him and hand him to the police. As per the police, Fahim was a college student and was a member of the banned Islamist group Hizb ut-Tahrir -- an international group which wants to combine all Muslim countries in a unitary Islamic state. The group is outlawed in several countries, including Bangladesh. Seven suspected Islamist militants have now been shot dead since Bangladesh launched a nationwide crackdown on local jihadist groups in the wake of a spike in the murders of secular activists and religious minorities. The drive has seen more than 11,000 people including 194 militants arrested over the past week despite widespread criticism by local and international human rights groups. Nearly 50 people have been killed over the last three years in a wave of gruesome murders targeting Hindus, Christians, Sufi Muslims, secular activists and foreigners, with most blamed on or claimed by Islamist militants. Many of the victims were hacked to death with machetes. (WION)

Bangladesh bloggers' murder:?Main suspect?dead in gunfight with police

Two suspected associates of the killer of a French police commander and his partner will be placed under investigation on Saturday for membership of a terrorist organisation, the Paris prosecutor&#39;s office said. 
 
The police duo were stabbed to death outside their home in Paris in an attack claimed by Islamic State on Monday. 
 
The magistrate&#39;s office said it had opened a judicial investigation into the deaths, focused on charges of assassination, sequestration and participation in a terrorist project. 
 
&quot;Charaf-Din Aberouz and Saad Rajraji (...) will be brought before a magistrate as part of the judicial investigation in order to be placed under investigation for membership of a terrorist group,&quot; the prosecutor&#39;s office said. 
(Reuters)

Islamic State claimed the police couple's murder

Two suspected associates of the killer of a French police commander and his partner will be placed under investigation on Saturday for membership of a terrorist organisation, the Paris prosecutor's office said. The police duo were stabbed to death outside their home in Paris in an attack claimed by Islamic State on Monday. The magistrate's office said it had opened a judicial investigation into the deaths, focused on charges of assassination, sequestration and participation in a terrorist project. "Charaf-Din Aberouz and Saad Rajraji (...) will be brought before a magistrate as part of the judicial investigation in order to be placed under investigation for membership of a terrorist group," the prosecutor's office said. (Reuters)

Two suspected associates of French police killer investigated for terror group links

Actress Amber Heard has given a statement to Los Angeles police accusing estranged husband Johnny Depp of domestic violence, her lawyers said on Tuesday, a week after she filed for divorce and obtained a restraining order against Depp. 
 
Heard`s attorneys said in a statement that in an attempt to &quot;protect her privacy and Johnny`s career&quot; the actress initially declined to report to police a May 21 incident between her and Depp that she claimed left her with a bruised eye. 
 
&quot;Johnny`s team has forced Amber to give a statement to the LAPD to set the record straight as to the true facts ...,&quot; Heard`s lawyers Samantha Spector and Joseph P. Koenig said. 
 
&quot;Amber has suffered through years of physical and psychological abuse at the hands of Johnny,&quot; they said. 
 
Representatives for Depp did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Los Angeles Police Department spokeswoman Officer Liliana Preciado declined to comment, citing privacy. 
 
Depp`s 17-year-old daughter Lily-Rose supported her father on Instagram, posting a photo captioning her father as &quot;the sweetest most loving person I know.&quot; 
 
Heard, 30, said in court papers filed in Los Angeles last week that Depp, 52, had been abusive to her throughout their relationship, culminating in an argument during which he hurled a cell phone at her face and shattered objects in her apartment. 
 
Depp`s lawyer argued in a court document that Heard &quot;is attempting to secure a premature financial resolution by alleging abuse.&quot; 
 
Judge Carl H. Moor granted a temporary restraining order requiring Depp to stay at least 100 yards away from Heard and move out of the couple`s shared downtown Los Angeles condominium. A hearing was scheduled for June 17. 
 
Heard, who will star in upcoming superhero ensemble &quot;The Justice League Part One,&quot; said she was seeking $50,000 a month for spousal support. 
 
Depp, one of Hollywood`s leading actors and box office draws, and Heard married in February 2015 after meeting on the set of 2011`s &quot;The Rum Diary.&quot; 
 
Heard`s lawyers said they held off serving Depp with the divorce petition at the Hollywood premiere of his latest film &quot;Alice Through the Looking Glass&quot; last week because the actress wanted to keep it private. 
 
The Disney film failed to perform strongly at U.S. and Canadian box offices this past weekend, grossing $28.1 million, with some critics blaming the poor performance on negative headlines.&nbsp;

Actress Amber Heard has given a statement to Los Angeles police to this effect, a week after she filed for divorce

Actress Amber Heard has given a statement to Los Angeles police accusing estranged husband Johnny Depp of domestic violence, her lawyers said on Tuesday, a week after she filed for divorce and obtained a restraining order against Depp. Heard`s attorneys said in a statement that in an attempt to "protect her privacy and Johnny`s career" the actress initially declined to report to police a May 21 incident between her and Depp that she claimed left her with a bruised eye. "Johnny`s team has forced Amber to give a statement to the LAPD to set the record straight as to the true facts ...," Heard`s lawyers Samantha Spector and Joseph P. Koenig said. "Amber has suffered through years of physical and psychological abuse at the hands of Johnny," they said. Representatives for Depp did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Los Angeles Police Department spokeswoman Officer Liliana Preciado declined to comment, citing privacy. Depp`s 17-year-old daughter Lily-Rose supported her father on Instagram, posting a photo captioning her father as "the sweetest most loving person I know." Heard, 30, said in court papers filed in Los Angeles last week that Depp, 52, had been abusive to her throughout their relationship, culminating in an argument during which he hurled a cell phone at her face and shattered objects in her apartment. Depp`s lawyer argued in a court document that Heard "is attempting to secure a premature financial resolution by alleging abuse." Judge Carl H. Moor granted a temporary restraining order requiring Depp to stay at least 100 yards away from Heard and move out of the couple`s shared downtown Los Angeles condominium. A hearing was scheduled for June 17. Heard, who will star in upcoming superhero ensemble "The Justice League Part One," said she was seeking $50,000 a month for spousal support. Depp, one of Hollywood`s leading actors and box office draws, and Heard married in February 2015 after meeting on the set of 2011`s "The Rum Diary." Heard`s lawyers said they held off serving Depp with the divorce petition at the Hollywood premiere of his latest film "Alice Through the Looking Glass" last week because the actress wanted to keep it private. The Disney film failed to perform strongly at U.S. and Canadian box offices this past weekend, grossing $28.1 million, with some critics blaming the poor performance on negative headlines.

Amber Heard accuses Johnny Depp of domestic violence

Authorities in Bangladesh have arrested at least 103 militants as part of a broad crackdown on Islamists after a wave of deadly attacks on members of minority groups and liberal activists, police said on Monday.

In addition to the arrest of the Islamist militants, about 6,000 suspected criminals have been arrested since law enforcement agencies began a week-long drive on Friday to halt a series of targeted killings in the mainly Muslim nation.

All the arrests were made on specific charges, national police chief AKM&nbsp;Shahidul Hoque said, relating to firearms, narcotics and other offences.

&quot;We will have to prevent the emergence of militancy collectively as a whole nation. It is not possible to eliminate it by police alone,&rdquo; Hoque said.

Over the past week, an elderly Hindu priest, a Hindu monastery worker and a Christian shopkeeper were hacked to death in attacks for which Islamic State claimed responsibility. The Muslim wife of a counter-terrorism police official was also stabbed and shot dead.

Militants have killed more than 30 people in Bangladesh since early last year, with atheist bloggers, liberal academics, gay rights campaigners, foreign aid workers, members of&nbsp;minority Muslim sects&nbsp;and other&nbsp;religious&nbsp;groups among the victims.

Islamic State has claimed responsibility for 21 of the attacks since its first claim in September last year and al Qaeda has claimed most of the rest, according to Site Intelligence Group, a US-based monitoring service.

The government denies that either group has a presence in Bangladesh and says home-grown radicals are responsible.

Last month, junior foreign minister Shahriar Alam told Reuters that Islamic State was trying to ride a wave of religious radicalisation by falsely claiming killings and said there was enough evidence implicating domestic militant groups.

Police said two domestic militant groups - Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen and Ansarullah Bangla Team - were behind the attacks as part of their efforts to impose strict Islamic law on Bangladesh, whose population of 160 million are mostly moderate Muslims.

At least 10 suspected members of the outlawed Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen have been killed in shootouts since November, including five last week, police said.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has vowed to track down the killers, blaming the growing violence on political opponents linked to Islamist parties.

The main opposition party, led by former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, dismisses such accusations and said the mass arrests were a ploy to suppress political opponents.

Police also arrest 100 Islamist militants, who killed over 30 minorities and activists, in the mainly Muslim nation

Authorities in Bangladesh have arrested at least 103 militants as part of a broad crackdown on Islamists after a wave of deadly attacks on members of minority groups and liberal activists, police said on Monday. In addition to the arrest of the Islamist militants, about 6,000 suspected criminals have been arrested since law enforcement agencies began a week-long drive on Friday to halt a series of targeted killings in the mainly Muslim nation. All the arrests were made on specific charges, national police chief AKM Shahidul Hoque said, relating to firearms, narcotics and other offences. "We will have to prevent the emergence of militancy collectively as a whole nation. It is not possible to eliminate it by police alone,” Hoque said. Over the past week, an elderly Hindu priest, a Hindu monastery worker and a Christian shopkeeper were hacked to death in attacks for which Islamic State claimed responsibility. The Muslim wife of a counter-terrorism police official was also stabbed and shot dead. Militants have killed more than 30 people in Bangladesh since early last year, with atheist bloggers, liberal academics, gay rights campaigners, foreign aid workers, members of minority Muslim sects and other religious groups among the victims. Islamic State has claimed responsibility for 21 of the attacks since its first claim in September last year and al Qaeda has claimed most of the rest, according to Site Intelligence Group, a US-based monitoring service. The government denies that either group has a presence in Bangladesh and says home-grown radicals are responsible. Last month, junior foreign minister Shahriar Alam told Reuters that Islamic State was trying to ride a wave of religious radicalisation by falsely claiming killings and said there was enough evidence implicating domestic militant groups. Police said two domestic militant groups - Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen and Ansarullah Bangla Team - were behind the attacks as part of their efforts to impose strict Islamic law on Bangladesh, whose population of 160 million are mostly moderate Muslims. At least 10 suspected members of the outlawed Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen have been killed in shootouts since November, including five last week, police said. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has vowed to track down the killers, blaming the growing violence on political opponents linked to Islamist parties. The main opposition party, led by former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, dismisses such accusations and said the mass arrests were a ploy to suppress political opponents.

5,000 arrested in Bangladesh in crackdown on wave of targeted killings

&nbsp;A car&nbsp;bomb&nbsp;ripped through a&nbsp;police&nbsp;bus in central&nbsp;Istanbul&nbsp;during the morning rush hour on Tuesday, killing 11 people and wounding 36 near the main tourist district, a major university and the mayor&#39;s office. 
 
The car was detonated as&nbsp;police&nbsp;buses passed,&nbsp;Istanbul&nbsp;Governor Vasip Sahin told reporters, in the fourth major&nbsp;bombing in Turkey&#39;s biggest city this year. There was no immediate claim of responsibility but Kurdish militants have staged similar&nbsp;attacks, including one last month inIstanbul. 
 
&quot;A car-bomb&nbsp;attack&nbsp;was made against vehicles carrying our rapid-response&nbsp;police&nbsp;and passing by on the road, resulting in seven&nbsp;police&nbsp;and four civilians losing their lives,&quot; Sahin said. 
 
Three of the 36 wounded were in critical condition, he added. 
 
The blast hit the Vezneciler district, between the headquarters of the local municipality and the campus of&nbsp;Istanbul&nbsp;University, not far from the city&#39;s historic heart. It shattered shop windows and scattered rubble over nearby streets. 
 
&quot;There was a loud bang, we thought it was lightning but right at that second the windows of the shop came down. It was extremely scary,&quot; said Cevher, a shopkeeper who declined to give his surname. The blast was strong enough to topple all the goods from the shelves of his store. 
 
The&nbsp;police&nbsp;bus that appeared to have borne the brunt of the blast was tipped onto its roof on the side of the road. A second&nbsp;police&nbsp;bus was also damaged. The charred wreckage of several other vehicles lined the street. 
 
Gunshots were heard in the area after the blast, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported. 
 
Turkey has suffered a spate of&nbsp;bombings this year, including two suicide&nbsp;attacks in tourist areas of&nbsp;Istanbul&nbsp;blamed on Islamic State, and two car&nbsp;bombings in the capital, Ankara, which were claimed by a Kurdish militant group. 
 
The outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) claimed responsibility for a May 12 car&nbsp;bombattack&nbsp;in&nbsp;Istanbul&nbsp;that wounded seven people. In that&nbsp;attack, a parked car was also blown up as a bus carrying security force personnel passed by. 
 
The PKK, which has waged an armed insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984, frequently targets passing&nbsp;police&nbsp;and military vehicles with remote-controlled car&nbsp;bombs in itsattacks in the largely Kurdish southeast.

A car bomb in central Istanbul killed 11 people and wounded 36 today. The car was detonated as?police?buses passed,?Istanbul?Governor Vasip Sahin told reporters

A car bomb ripped through a police bus in central Istanbul during the morning rush hour on Tuesday, killing 11 people and wounding 36 near the main tourist district, a major university and the mayor's office. The car was detonated as police buses passed, Istanbul Governor Vasip Sahin told reporters, in the fourth major bombing in Turkey's biggest city this year. There was no immediate claim of responsibility but Kurdish militants have staged similar attacks, including one last month inIstanbul. "A car-bomb attack was made against vehicles carrying our rapid-response police and passing by on the road, resulting in seven police and four civilians losing their lives," Sahin said. Three of the 36 wounded were in critical condition, he added. The blast hit the Vezneciler district, between the headquarters of the local municipality and the campus of Istanbul University, not far from the city's historic heart. It shattered shop windows and scattered rubble over nearby streets. "There was a loud bang, we thought it was lightning but right at that second the windows of the shop came down. It was extremely scary," said Cevher, a shopkeeper who declined to give his surname. The blast was strong enough to topple all the goods from the shelves of his store. The police bus that appeared to have borne the brunt of the blast was tipped onto its roof on the side of the road. A second police bus was also damaged. The charred wreckage of several other vehicles lined the street. Gunshots were heard in the area after the blast, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported. Turkey has suffered a spate of bombings this year, including two suicide attacks in tourist areas of Istanbul blamed on Islamic State, and two car bombings in the capital, Ankara, which were claimed by a Kurdish militant group. The outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) claimed responsibility for a May 12 car bombattack in Istanbul that wounded seven people. In that attack, a parked car was also blown up as a bus carrying security force personnel passed by. The PKK, which has waged an armed insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984, frequently targets passing police and military vehicles with remote-controlled car bombs in itsattacks in the largely Kurdish southeast.

Car bomb targeting police in Istanbul kills 11, wounds 36

Saudi Arabia sentenced 14 people to death for terrorism today&nbsp;after they were convicted of attacks on police in the Shi&#39;ite Muslim minority area of Qatif in Eastern Province, scene of past anti-government protests, their lawyer said.

Another nine people were given jail sentences of three to 15 years and one was acquitted, their defence lawyer, who asked to remain anonymous, told Reuters.

He said the 24 defendants had been held for about three years and accused of carrying weapons and shooting at police. During 2011-14 protests, around 20 Shi&#39;ites and several police officers were killed.

A spokesman for the Saudi justice ministry could not immediately be reached for a comment on the report, first broadcast by the Dubai-based al-Arabiya TV.

Some Saudi Shi&#39;ites complain they suffer systematic discrimination in Saudi Arabia, whose majority follow a strict form of Sunni Islam that regards the minority sect as heretical. The government denies that.

On January 2 Saudi Arabia executed four Shi&#39;ites convicted of similar crimes alongside 43 Sunnis accused of carrying out attacks for al Qaeda a decade ago.

The execution of the Shi&#39;ites, including a prominent cleric, by Sunni-led Saudi Arabia pushed up tensions with its main regional rival Iran and contributed to rising sectarian anger in some neighbouring countries.

International human rights groups have criticised Saudi Arabia&#39;s justice system, which they say holds unfair trials, and have said that convictions for terrorism sometimes extend to peaceful protesters and are secured by torture.

Saudi Arabia denies this, saying its judiciary is independent and that it does not practice torture. It says it does not differentiate between Sunnis and Shi&#39;ites accused of politically motivated attacks on other citizens or the security forces.

Saudi Arabia sentence 14 people to death for attacking police in the Shi'ite Muslim minority area of Qatif.

Saudi Arabia sentenced 14 people to death for terrorism today after they were convicted of attacks on police in the Shi'ite Muslim minority area of Qatif in Eastern Province, scene of past anti-government protests, their lawyer said. Another nine people were given jail sentences of three to 15 years and one was acquitted, their defence lawyer, who asked to remain anonymous, told Reuters. He said the 24 defendants had been held for about three years and accused of carrying weapons and shooting at police. During 2011-14 protests, around 20 Shi'ites and several police officers were killed. A spokesman for the Saudi justice ministry could not immediately be reached for a comment on the report, first broadcast by the Dubai-based al-Arabiya TV. Some Saudi Shi'ites complain they suffer systematic discrimination in Saudi Arabia, whose majority follow a strict form of Sunni Islam that regards the minority sect as heretical. The government denies that. On January 2 Saudi Arabia executed four Shi'ites convicted of similar crimes alongside 43 Sunnis accused of carrying out attacks for al Qaeda a decade ago. The execution of the Shi'ites, including a prominent cleric, by Sunni-led Saudi Arabia pushed up tensions with its main regional rival Iran and contributed to rising sectarian anger in some neighbouring countries. International human rights groups have criticised Saudi Arabia's justice system, which they say holds unfair trials, and have said that convictions for terrorism sometimes extend to peaceful protesters and are secured by torture. Saudi Arabia denies this, saying its judiciary is independent and that it does not practice torture. It says it does not differentiate between Sunnis and Shi'ites accused of politically motivated attacks on other citizens or the security forces.

Saudi Arabia sentences 14 to death for terrorism

A crocodile in Australia snatched a woman taking a late-night swim in a national park and is believed to have killed her, media reported on Monday. 
 
The 46-year-old woman was swimming with a friend late on Sunday in waist-deep water at a beach in Queensland state when she disappeared, police said. 
 
&quot;They felt a nudge, and a large crocodile is alleged to have grabbed one of the ladies and pulled her into the water,&quot; Neil Noble, a supervisor for the Queensland state ambulance service, told reporters. 
 
Police would only say the woman was believed to have been taken by a crocodile. Media reported that the friend struggled to pull the woman back from the crocodile`s jaws. 
 
Police did not identify the woman or give her nationality but said she lives in Australia and has family in New Zealand. 
A police spokesman told Reuters a search and rescue operation would continue on Tuesday. 
 
Warren Entsch, the area`s member of parliament, said the incident occurred in a place that is popular with crocodile-spotting tours, with many warning signs. 
 
The incident should not encourage reprisals against the animals, he said. 
 
&quot;You can`t legislate against human stupidity,&quot; Entsch told reporters. &quot;This is a tragedy but it was avoidable. There are warning signs everywhere up there.&quot;

A crocodile in Australia snatched a woman taking a late-night swim in a national park and is believed to have killed her, media reported on Monday. The 46-year-old woman was swimming with a friend late on Sunday in waist-deep water at a beach in Queensland state when she disappeared, police said.

A crocodile in Australia snatched a woman taking a late-night swim in a national park and is believed to have killed her, media reported on Monday. The 46-year-old woman was swimming with a friend late on Sunday in waist-deep water at a beach in Queensland state when she disappeared, police said. "They felt a nudge, and a large crocodile is alleged to have grabbed one of the ladies and pulled her into the water," Neil Noble, a supervisor for the Queensland state ambulance service, told reporters. Police would only say the woman was believed to have been taken by a crocodile. Media reported that the friend struggled to pull the woman back from the crocodile`s jaws. Police did not identify the woman or give her nationality but said she lives in Australia and has family in New Zealand. A police spokesman told Reuters a search and rescue operation would continue on Tuesday. Warren Entsch, the area`s member of parliament, said the incident occurred in a place that is popular with crocodile-spotting tours, with many warning signs. The incident should not encourage reprisals against the animals, he said. "You can`t legislate against human stupidity," Entsch told reporters. "This is a tragedy but it was avoidable. There are warning signs everywhere up there."

Crocodile attacked woman taking late-night swim in Australia

police

Police, News on Police, stories on Police, articles on Police, Police stories at Wion, Police news, Police latest news