Ukrainian drone attack kills two civilians in Russia's Belgorod region, governor says
Reuters could not independently verify his assertion.
(Reporting by Reuters; Writing by Lucy Papachristou; Editing by Andrew Osborn)
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The Star
an hour ago
- The Star
Car set ablaze outside Turkish parliament before meeting on PKK disarmament
ANKARA (Reuters) -A car was set ablaze near Turkey's parliament on Tuesday in a grim reminder of decades of conflict with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), just hours before families of some victims were to address a commission overseeing the group's disarmament. The PKK, which took up arms against the Turkish state in 1984, said in May it would disarm and dissolve. The parliamentary commission was launched this month to set a path towards lasting peace, which would also resonate in neighbouring Iraq and Syria. The white Renault Toros burned for a short time outside parliament's main gate on Tuesday morning. Police in Ankara said in a statement that a man detained for setting it alight suffered from psychological problems and also had a prior criminal record. In the 1990s, during one of the bloodiest phases of the PKK conflict, such vehicles became notorious in the mainly Kurdish southeast where they were linked to abductions and extrajudicial killings blamed on state-linked groups. More than 40,000 people were killed in the fighting over more than four decades. Families of security personnel and civilians killed in the conflict are due to speak at the parliamentary commission on Tuesday, with some expected to question the peace effort. The PKK is designated a terrorist group by Turkey and its Western allies. Its jailed leader, Abdullah Ocalan, had urged it to end the insurgency and some militants burned their weapons last month in a ceremony in northern Iraq - where they are now based - marking a symbolic first step. (Reporting by Ece ToksabayEditing by Jonathan Spicer and Gareth Jones)
New Straits Times
2 hours ago
- New Straits Times
Indian police exhume human remains in mass-burial investigation
BENGALURU: Indian police have exhumed human remains in a temple town in the country's south, officials said, as part of an investigation into allegations that hundreds of murder and rape victims were secretly buried there from around the mid-1990s. The probe centres on Dharmasthala, home to an 800-year-old temple dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva in the state of Karnataka and is drawing headlines in media nationwide. A former cleaner at the temple told police last month that he had been forced by superiors to dispose of hundreds of bodies over two decades, many of them women and girls showing signs of sexual assault. His allegations were made in a police complaint dated July 4 and seen by Reuters. The man, whose identity authorities have withheld for safety reasons, fled Dharmasthala in 2014 but said he was compelled to speak out now because of lingering guilt. "If the skeletons now exhumed receive respectful funeral rites, those tormented souls will find peace and my sense of guilt could also decrease," he wrote in the complaint. The police did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A spokesman for the temple said it welcomed a thorough investigation and hoped police would "bring out true facts to light". In the complaint, the former cleaner accused temple officials of forcing him to dispose of the bodies and told police he would name the officials if they protected him and his family. Karnataka's interior minister told the state assembly yesterday that the protection was now in place. The former cleaner said he had secretly exhumed a skeleton from one of the burial sites to prove his claims. A special investigation team formed by the Karnataka government has so far recovered human remains from two of 16 suspected burial sites, according to two senior police officials familiar with the probe. They declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the matter. Karnataka's interior minister, Gangadharaiah Parameshwara, said the police have collected bone fragments, soil samples, and other material for testing from two sites thanks to the information from the former cleaner. "The analysis is ongoing. Only once that is complete can we say the investigation has truly begun," Parameshwara said. "My request is to not make this a religious matter." Sachin Deshpande, a lawyer for the complainant, told Reuters "they have found human remains where our client pointed and we are sure that the truth will come out". He declined to make his client available for an interview. The revelations have revived interest in older unsolved cases, including Padmalatha, a college student whose family alleged she was raped and murdered in Dharmasthala in 1986. Padmalatha, like many in India, went by one name. Her sister, Indravathi, said the family buried Padmalatha's body rather than cremating it according to Hindu custom, hoping that would help with any investigations later. "We hope that we will get justice one day for her abduction, rape and murder," said Indravathi, who uses only one name.
The Sun
5 hours ago
- The Sun
US denies role in release of Israeli official accused in Nevada sex crime
WASHINGTON: The U.S. State Department said on Monday the American government played no role in the release of an Israeli official charged with soliciting sex electronically from a minor. Tom Artiom Alexandrovich was one of eight people charged last week following an undercover operation 'targeting child sex predators,' the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police said in a statement issued last week. Alexandrovich faces a felony charge of luring or attempting to lure a child or mentally ill person to commit a sex act 'with use of computer technology,' according to Nevada State court records reviewed by Reuters. Israeli media said on Thursday Alexandrovich, who they described as a senior department head in Israel's National Cyber Directorate, was released by U.S. authorities and is back in Israel. Reuters could not establish why Alexandrovich was in the Las Vegas area, but at the time the city was hosting Black Hat, one of the cybersecurity industry's most prominent conferences. A representative for Black Hat said the conference did not share data on attendees. The report that an Israeli official accused of a felony sex crime was allowed to return home drew a storm of speculation online. Alexandrovich 'did not claim diplomatic immunity and was released by a state judge pending a court date. Any claims that the U.S. government intervened are false,' the State Department said Monday on the social media site X. BOND PAID The court records reviewed by Reuters show a $10,000 bond was posted in Alexandrovich's case at the Henderson Detention Center, southeast of Las Vegas, on August 7. Reuters could not immediately confirm Alexandrovich's whereabouts and could not immediately locate contact information for him. The records indicate he is due back in court on August 27. The Israeli Embassy in Washington and the Israeli Prime Minister's Office did not immediately return messages. Israeli media quoted the Prime Minister's Office as denying that Alexandrovich was arrested, saying only that a 'state employee' was 'questioned by American authorities during his stay' and he had 'returned to Israel as scheduled.' Reuters could not immediately ascertain the circumstances around Alexandrovich's arrest. The Las Vegas police statement credited the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Nevada Attorney General's office, the Henderson Police Department, the North Las Vegas Police, and the Department of Homeland Security with helping to pull off the undercover operation. The FBI referred Reuters to a statement from the Nevada U.S. Attorney's office, which in turn said the case was being prosecuted by the District Attorney's office in Clark County, Nevada, which includes Las Vegas and Henderson. The District Attorney's office did not immediately reply to an email requesting a comment. The Nevada Attorney General's office referred questions to the Henderson Police Department, which did not return messages seeking comment. The North Las Vegas Police referred questions to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police, who did not return messages. The Department of Homeland Security did not reply to emails seeking comment. - Reuters
