Ghana says a helicopter crash kills 8 including defense and environment ministers
The military said the helicopter took off Wednesday morning from the capital, Accra, toward Obuasi, a gold-mining area in the Ashanti region, but went off the radar. The cause of the crash was not immediately known.
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Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
More people experiencing homelessness in Metro Vancouver: report
New Westminster is launching programs to help get more people into shelter spaces. It comes as preliminary data from the most recent homeless count shows a nine per cent increase in the region in the last few years.
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
Fort Stewart shooting suspect was a hard worker who had been bullied over his stutter, Army soldiers say
The soldier accused of opening fire Wednesday at his Army base in Georgia, wounding five people, had endured relentless bullying over his stutter almost as soon as he joined the military, former co-workers said. Sgt. Quornelius Radford, 28, was picked on during the roughly two months in 2018 he spent at the Army's Advanced Individual Training (AIT) school at Fort Lee in Virginia, according to two people who served with him there. 'He got bullied a lot,' said Sgt. Cameron Barrett, 28, who became friends with Radford during that time. 'It was very bad to the point where he could barely talk.' Barrett said people would mock Radford by also pretending to have a stutter. He said the apparent speech impediment was a 'trigger' for Radford, who endured the mocking by being silent. Still, Radford showed no signs of anger, resentment or deeper issues, Barrett and other fellow soldiers said. And to those who got to know him, the reserved Radford shared a goofier and playful side, they said. So, they said, the Wednesday morning shooting at Fort Stewart came as a complete shock. When reports of an active shooter on base first surfaced, Barrett said he sent Radford a message on Snapchat, asking if he was OK. Radford did not respond. Hours later, Army officials identified Radford as the man suspected of using his personal handgun to allegedly shoot five of his co-workers shortly before 11 a.m. Radford worked as a logistics sergeant assigned to the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, which is based at Fort Stewart. The wounded soldiers were in stable condition Wednesday and are expected to recover. Three of the victims were released from hospitals on Wednesday, while two more, both women, were still being treated on Thursday, officials said. It's unclear whether the victims were subordinates or superiors of Radford. Army officials said a motive was unclear, as the investigation is ongoing. Radford, an automated logistical specialist assigned to the 2nd Brigade Combat Team at Fort Stewart, was tackled and subdued by fellow soldiers, which ended his alleged shooting rampage. Radford remained in custody Thursday and has been interviewed by the Army Criminal Investigation Division. The Jacksonville, Florida, native joined the Army in January 2018 and has not been deployed to combat, records showed. Some soldiers who met him that year in AIT school were left shocked and confused. They said Radford appeared laid back, despite being teased for his stutter. 'It was easy for those people to make fun of him for the way he spoke,' said Sgt. Carlos Coleman, who was in the same formation as Radford during that training. 'After that, he really didn't speak that much.' 'I just saw him get quiet,' Coleman, 27, added. 'I've never seen him angry. That's why I'm so surprised.' Barrett and Coleman said something else must have happened, since it had been years since the initial military bullying. 'I have questions, too,' Coleman said. 'I just want to know what pushed him to that point.' Coleman, who is now based in Washington state, said he stayed friends with Radford on Facebook and remembers Radford's last post on Jan. 28, when he expressed deep, residual heartache over losing a loved one in a wrong-way crash. 'I remember I couldn't speak after hearing that,' Radford wrote, according to a screenshot that Coleman shared with NBC News. Radford wrote that he cried and drank to 'make that pain feeling go away.' He described the loved one as a safe haven and someone who cared deeply about his present and future. 'I know you tried to keep me on a good path when I was hanging out in the streets,' he wrote. 'I remember the nights you were scared when I was going down that road and I'm truly sorry for putting you through that.' Radford's former co-workers described him as a normal and playful person and a hardworking soldier. 'He was good as a soldier and a person, to me,' Coleman said. 'There were never any red flags about him. He did what he was told.' In a Facebook post that has since been taken down, QuaSondra Cobb, who used to work with Radford, shared a video of the two racing to be the first to eat a Fruit by the Foot snack last year. 'It was lunch time and we were just goofing around,' Cobb told NBC News. 'My interactions with him were always like that.' Cobb, who was Radford's superior until roughly a year ago, when they both moved to different units, said she was heartbroken and at a loss for words. Radford, she said, didn't show stress or anger and did not appear to have issues with co-workers. 'I've never gotten that from him,' she said. 'He was a hard worker. If he had any issues, he would come to me, ask for advice. I just didn't see that coming.' Radford's father, Eddie Radford, could not be reached Thursday and declined to comment Wednesday evening, telling NBC News it was a 'bad time' to talk. The suspect's father told The New York Times that his son had been trying to transfer out of Fort Stewart, where he had experienced racism. Eddie Radford said his son texted his aunt Wednesday morning, saying that 'he loved everybody, and that he'll be in a better place because he was about to go and do something,' the Times reported. This article was originally published on
CNN
9 hours ago
- CNN
New leadership appointed in Haiti as gangs threaten to overthrow government
A wealthy businessman on Thursday became the head of Haiti's transitional presidential council tasked with restoring order in the troubled country as a top gang leader underscored the challenges facing the nation by vowing to overthrow the government. Laurent Saint-Cyr's appointment at the council's heavily guarded office in the capital, Port-au-Prince, where criminal gangs control 90% of the neighborhoods, marked the first time that members of Haiti's private sector serve in both the rotating presidency and the post of prime minister, two positions that share the country's executive duties. Saint-Cyr had his start at a local insurance company while Haiti's current prime minister once ran an internet firm. 'Our country is going through one of the greatest crises in all its history,' Saint-Cyr said as he was sworn in. 'It's not the time for beautiful speeches. It's time to act.' Hours earlier, a powerful gang federation that has long denounced Haiti's oligarchs threatened to overthrow the government, and gunfire erupted in parts of the capital. In a video posted on social media, Viv Ansanm gang leader Jimmy Chérizier — better known as 'Barbecue' — warns residents to give his armed group free passage through neighborhoods to reach the council's office. 'People of Haiti, take care of yourselves and help us … in the battle to free the country,' Chérizier says, wearing a bulletproof vest and with an automatic rifle slung around his shoulder. A UN-backed mission led by Kenyan police said in a statement that officers thwarted potential attacks by around-the-clock patrols and by boosting the number of armed forces in certain neighborhoods and around critical infrastructure. 'Armed gangs had plotted to disrupt national stability and render the country ungovernable,' it said. Saint-Cyr thanked all national and international actors who have helped Haiti, as well as the private sector, which he called the engine of the country's economy. He noted that while he's from the private sector, he would serve all people equally. Saint-Cyr previously served as president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Haiti and of the country's Chamber of Commerce and Industry. He'll be working with Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé, a one-time president of an internet company in Haiti and also a former president of the country's Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Saint-Cyr said security was a priority. He called on the armed forces to intensify their operations and on international partners to send more soldiers, offer more training and help boost a mission lacking resources and personnel. 'We must restore state authority,' he said. 'The challenges we face are certainly linked to insecurity, but they also are the result of our lack of courage, a lack of vision and our irresponsibility.' He questioned what was preventing the government from offering services Haitians deserve, including health and education. 'Mister prime minister, assume your responsibilities!' he said. Meanwhile, 58 organizations from countries that include the United States in a letter to Saint-Cyr accused the council of violating its legal obligations to Haiti's women and girls. 'Collective rape is endemic,' they said, noting that sexual violence has surged as gangs persist in their rampage. The organizations also accused Haiti's government of being 'completely absent' at shelters where rape survivors need basic services. A growing number of people have grumbled about Haiti's private sector leading the country. Some of Haiti's wealthy elites and powerful politicians have long been accused of financing and arming dozens of gangs. 'The elites have always wanted power, and they have always wanted to control Haiti, and now they're in control,' said Marline Jean-Pierre, a 44-year-old teacher who braved gunfire to visit a friend at a hospital in downtown Port-au-Prince. She said she has lost hope that things will change, accusing former council presidents of making promises they didn't keep. 'Nothing really happened,' she said. 'Young women are being raped, families are being dismantled.' However, dozens of Haitians wearing white T-shirts and clutching signs emblazoned with Saint-Cyr's photograph gathered outside the council's office to support him. Skirmishes broke out hours later between supporters and those who opposed Saint-Cyr. 'Even though he's a mulatto with good hair, he's Haitian,' one supporter said of Saint-Cyr, who is part of the country's small and powerful lighter-skinned elite — as is Fils-Aimé. As the country prepared for Saint-Cyr's swearing-in ceremony, Haitians posted a flurry of warnings about violence in hopes that people could remain safe. 'Those of you in the capital, you will hear gunshots both ahead of you and behind you. Remain on guard!' one message stated. Tripotay Lakay, a local news site, reported that one person was killed and another injured while driving into Port-au-Prince on Thursday, though it was unclear how that happened. A video posted on social media shows a woman's body slumped in the car. Heavy gunfire around downtown Port-au-Prince persisted on Tuesday afternoon, with local media reporting that several people were wounded. Small explosions from police-manned drones also were heard. Violence also was reported in Kenscoff, a once peaceful farming area above the hills of Port-au-Prince. The UN-backed mission said it lost two armored vehicles after they became trapped in trenches dug out by gangs. It said Kenyan policemen came under an attack with Molotov cocktails but 'courageously held their ground, inflicting significant damage on the assailants.' Three officers received minor injuries. Videos posted on social media show suspected gang members laughing and cheering as they surrounded one of the armored vehicles that was later set on fire. 'Come get it back if you can!' one gunman is heard jeering. In a report released Thursday, the UN-backed mission noted that it has 991 personnel, far less than the 2,500 envisioned, and some $112 million in its trust fund — about 14% of the estimated $800 million needed a year. The mission said it has no air support for operations and that only 200 officers can be deployed at a time because of insufficient equipment, including vehicles. The mission also noted that the government remains fragile: 'Partisan infighting within the transitional government has had the effect of paralyzing the government and emboldening the gangs.' Gangs in Kenscoff recently kidnapped eight people from an orphanage, including an Irish missionary and a 3-year-old child. They remain missing. Violence surged in the aftermath of the July 2021 killing of President Jovenel Moïse, and ongoing violence has displaced more than 1.3 million people in recent years. At least 1,520 people were killed and more than 600 injured from April to the end of June across Haiti. More than 60% of the killings and injuries occurred during operations by security forces against gangs, with another 12% blamed on self-defense groups, according to the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti.
