Disorder breaks out in Northern Ireland for third straight night
Ballymena, Northern Ireland Reuters —
Public disorder broke out in Northern Ireland for the third successive night on Wednesday with videos and pictures on social media purportedly showing a fire in a leisure center in the town of Larne after masked youths smashed the building's windows.
Reuters could not immediately verify the authenticity of the clips.
Hundreds of masked rioters attacked police and set homes and cars on fire 33 kilometers (20 miles) west in Ballymena during the previous two nights in what police condemned as 'racist thuggery.' Thirty-two officers were injured.
Riot police and armored vans blocked roads in Ballymena on Wednesday evening as a crowd of around 200 people watched on. Two rocks were thrown at a police van and one person kicked the bonnet of a police van, a Reuters witness said.
The police vans slowly moved towards the crowd who were warned over a loud speaker to disperse immediately as force was 'about to be used against violent individuals.'
The violence initially erupted after two 14-year-old boys were arrested and appeared in court, accused of a serious sexual assault on a teenage girl in Ballymena, located 45 kilometers (28 miles) from Belfast.
The charges were read via a Romanian interpreter to the boys, whose lawyer told the court that they denied the charge, the BBC reported. Police are investigating the damaging of property in Ballymena as racially-motivated hate crimes.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CBS News
an hour ago
- CBS News
Former Michigan police officer accused of using police database to get women's phone numbers
A former Upper Peninsula police officer accused of accessing women's personal contact information through a police database is facing several charges. Chad Olson, 43, of Vulcan, was arraigned Wednesday on two counts of misconduct in office, one count of purchasing a pistol without a license and one count of providing a false statement on a pistol sales record, according to Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel's office. Officials allege that Olson, who was an officer with the Norway Police Department until Dec. 20, 2024, used police databases to access the personal information of women. The attorney general's office accuses Olson of using that information to "flirt and curry favor with the women." Prosecutors say Olson also allegedly had at least one sexual encounter with a woman while he was on duty in the police station. After resigning from the police department, officials say, Olson illegally purchased a pistol without a license by using his Michigan law enforcement certification number. "We expect law enforcement officers who take an oath to protect and serve our communities to do so with integrity," said Nessel in a statement. "I commend the investigative efforts of the Dickinson County Sheriff's Department and the Michigan State Police and remain committed to ensuring those who commit such serious dereliction of duty are held accountable." Olson is due back in court on June 26.
Associated Press
2 hours ago
- Associated Press
Weinstein case judge declares mistrial on remaining rape charge as jury foreperson won't deliberate
NEW YORK (AP) — Harvey Weinstein 's sex crimes retrial came to a disjointed end Thursday as the jury foreperson declined to deliberate and the judge declared a mistrial on a remaining rape charge, a day after a split verdict on other charges in the landmark #MeToo-era case. The outcome positions the ex-studio boss for a third New York trial — prosecutors said they're ready to retry the rape count — even as he faces a new sentencing on his sexual assault conviction. Weinstein, 73, denies all the charges. The Oscar-winning movie producer had a blank, drained expression as court officers escorted him out Thursday in his wheelchair. His lawyer said he plans to appeal. 'What happened in that jury room was absolutely improper,' attorney Arthur Aidala said outside court. Weinstein is due back in court July 2 for discussion of retrial and sentencing dates. His first-degree criminal sex act conviction carries the potential for up to 25 years in prison, while the unresolved third-degree rape charge is punishable by up to four years — less than he already has served. He's been behind bars since his initial conviction in 2020, and he later also was sentenced to prison in a separate California case, which he's appealing. In Wednesday's partial verdict, Weinstein was convicted of one criminal sex act charge but acquitted of another. Both concerned accusations of forcing oral sex on women in 2006. Those verdicts still stand. While the jury of seven women and five men was unanimous on those decisions, it got stuck on the rape charge involving another woman, Jessica Mann. The hairstylist and actor testified at length — as she did in 2020 — that Weinstein raped her amid a years-long consensual relationship. 'I will never give up on myself and making sure my voice – and the truth – is heard,' Mann said in a statement Thursday, confirming she's ready to testify yet again. Jury-room strains started leaking into public view Friday, when a juror asked to be excused because he felt another was being treated unfairly. Then Monday, the foreperson complained that other jurors were pushing people to change their minds and talking about information beyond the charges. The man raised concerns again Wednesday, telling the judge he felt afraid in the jury room because another juror was yelling at him for sticking to his opinion and suggested the foreperson would 'see me outside.' When Judge Curtis Farber asked the foreperson Thursday whether he was willing to return to deliberations, the man said said no. And with that, Farber declared a mistrial on the rape count. Two jurors disputed the foreperson's account as they left court. One, Chantan Holmes, said that no one mistreated the man and that she believed he was just tired of deliberating. 'We all felt bad. Because we really wanted to do this. We put our hearts and souls in here,' she said. Another jury member, who identified himself only by his juror number, said the deliberations were contentious, but respectful. Weinstein's 2020 conviction seemed to cement the downfall of one of Hollywood's most powerful men in a pivotal moment for the # MeToo movement. The anti-sexual-misconduct campaign was fueled by allegations against him. But that conviction was overturned last year, and the case was sent back for retrial in the same Manhattan courthouse. Weinstein's accusers said he exploited his Tinseltown influence to dangle career help, get them alone and then trap and force them into sexual encounters. 'These hopeful young women were trying to follow their dreams in a world that he controlled,' Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a Democrat, said at a news conference Thursday. Weinstein's defense portrayed his accusers as Hollywood wannabes and hangers-on who willingly hooked up with him to court opportunity, then later said they were victimized to collect settlement funds and #MeToo approbation. Miriam Haley, the producer and production assistant whom Weinstein was convicted — twice, now — of sexually assaulting, said outside court Wednesday that the new verdict 'gives me hope.' Accuser Kaja Sokola also called it 'a big win for everyone,' even though Weinstein was acquitted of forcibly performing oral sex on her when she was a 19-year-old fashion model. Her allegation was added to the case after the retrial was ordered. Holmes, the juror who spoke outside court, said the panel all felt Sokola 'wasn't credible.' The Associated Press generally does not name people who say they have been sexually assaulted, unless they agree to be identified. Haley, Mann and Sokola did so. ___ Associated Press journalists Joseph B. Frederick and Ted Shaffrey contributed.
CBS News
2 hours ago
- CBS News
Santa Rosa police responding to domestic violence call find 2 dead inside home
Two people were found dead inside a Santa Rosa apartment Wednesday afternoon by officers who were responding to a domestic violence call, police said Thursday. Around 2:40 p.m., police were called to an fourplex on the 1500 block of Atlanta Court. Officers at the scene learned from residents that they heard several gunshots about 20 minutes before police arrived. As a precaution, officers evacuated the three additional units of the apartment building. The department's Hostage Negotiations Team made repeated attempts to contact the occupants but were unsuccessful. Police called the SWAT team and a medic to the scene. After additional attempts to contact the people inside the apartment were unsuccessful, SWAT members entered the apartment around 4:30 p.m. A short time later, SWAT members found two people in a back bedroom with gunshot wounds. Both people were pronounced dead at the scene. According to a preliminary investigation, the victims were identified as a 24-year-old man and a 24-year-old woman. The pair had recently moved to Santa Rosa from Southern California. Police have not released the victims' names. Detectives served a search warrant at the home and located two pistols, an assault rifle and a shotgun, who are determined to have been owned by the man who died. Police said the woman was shot multiple times with the assault rifle and that the man had at least one gunshot wound from the same firearm. The incident is believed to have been isolated and that there is no continued risk to public safety. If you or someone you know is a victim of domestic violence, there are resources. The National Domestic Violence Hotline can be reached at 1-800-799-7233 (TDD: 1-800-787-3224) and provides free and private help in more than 100 languages.
