Today in History: April 28, Abu Ghraib torture images made public
In 1945, Italian dictator Benito Mussolini and his mistress, Clara Petacci, were executed by Italian partisans after attempting to flee the country.
Advertisement
In 1947, a six-man expedition, led by Norwegian Thor Heyerdahl, set out from Peru aboard a balsa wood raft, named the Kon-Tiki, on a 101-day, 4,300 mile journey across the Pacific Ocean to the Polynesian Islands.
In 1967, heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali was stripped of his WBA title after he refused to be inducted into the armed forces.
In 1994, former CIA official Aldrich Ames, who had passed US secrets to the Soviet Union and then Russia, pleaded guilty to espionage and tax evasion, and was sentenced to life in prison without parole.
Advertisement
In 2001, a Russian rocket lifted off from Central Asia carrying the first space tourist, California businessman Dennis Tito, and two cosmonauts on a journey to the International Space Station.
In 2004, the world first viewed images of prisoner abuse and torture by US troops at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, via a report broadcast on the CBS television news program '60 Minutes II.'
In 2011, convicted sex offender Phillip Garrido and his wife, Nancy Garrido, pleaded guilty to kidnapping and raping a California girl, Jaycee Dugard, who was abducted in 1991 at the age of 11 and rescued 18 years later. (Phillip Garrido was sentenced to 431 years to life in prison; Nancy Garrido was sentenced to 36 years to life.)
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
26 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Poland detains citizen suspected of spying for Russia
A Polish citizen has been arrested on suspicion of spying for Russia, the Polish Prosecutor's Office announced on June 11. According to prosecutors, 28-year-old Wiktor Z. was detained on June 4 by Poland's Internal Security Agency (ABW) on charges of gathering and passing sensitive information to Russia's intelligence services. The arrest followed searches of several properties in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian region in northern Poland, authorities said. Warsaw has intensified its crackdown on Russian intelligence activity following a number of sabotage attacks allegedly directed by Moscow. Several suspected spy networks, allegedly run by Minsk and Moscow, have been uncovered in Poland over the past years. Prosecutors said Wiktor Z. is suspected of offering to cooperate with Russian intelligence and engaging in espionage between February 2024 and April 2025 in the city of Bydgoszcz and abroad. He allegedly collected data about infrastructure critical to Poland's defense, the disclosure of which could pose a serious threat to national security. The suspect acted "out of ideological and pro-Russian convictions," the Prosecutor's Office said in a statement. Wiktor Z. has been placed in pretrial detention for three months. If convicted, he faces a minimum of eight years in prison or up to a life sentence. In May, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski announced the closure of the Russian consulate in Krakow after accusing Russian intelligence of orchestrating a 2024 arson attack that destroyed the Marywilska shopping center in Warsaw. Polish officials, including Prime Minister Donald Tusk and Justice Minister Adam Bodnar, have blamed the Kremlin for directing the sabotage, citing detailed intelligence. Multiple individuals have been arrested in connection with the fire, which burned down a complex housing over 1,400 stores. Authorities in Lithuania have also linked Russia's intelligence services to similar sabotage incidents, including an arson attack on an IKEA warehouse in Vilnius, causing over half a million euros in damages. Polish and Lithuanian officials are reportedly cooperating on the investigations. Russia has denied involvement and condemned Poland's move to shut down its diplomatic post, warning of retaliation. Western officials have warned of a growing Russian sabotage campaign across Europe targeting states that support Ukraine amid Moscow's ongoing invasion. Read also: From spy rings to arson — Russia's sabotage across Europe continues unpunished We've been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Russian attacks kill three as drones hit Kharkiv and other parts of Ukraine
Russian forces launched a new drone assault across Ukraine overnight on Wednesday, killing three people and wounding 64 others, Ukrainian officials said. One of the hardest-hit areas was the city of Kharkiv in north-eastern Ukraine, where 17 attack drones struck two residential districts, mayor Ihor Terekhov said. Emergency crews, municipal workers and volunteers worked through the night to extinguish fires, rescue residents from burning homes, and restore gas, electricity and water services. 'Those are ordinary sites of peaceful life — those that should never be targeted,' Mr Terekhov wrote on Telegram. Three people were confirmed killed, according to Kharkiv regional head Oleh Syniehubov. In a statement, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said that 64 people had been wounded and re-iterated his calls for greater international pressure on Moscow. 'Every new day now brings new vile Russian attacks, and almost every strike is telling,' he said. 'We must not be afraid or postpone new decisions that could make things more difficult for Russia. Without this, they will not engage in genuine diplomacy. And this depends primarily on the United States and other world leaders. Everyone who has called for an end to the killings and for diplomacy must act.' Kharkiv has been frequently targeted in recent months as Russia launched repeated large-scale drone and missile attacks on civilian infrastructure. Moscow's forces have launched waves of drones and missiles in recent days, with a record bombardment of almost 500 drones on Monday and a wave of 315 drones and seven missiles overnight on Tuesday. The attacks come despite discussions of a potential ceasefire in the war. The two sides traded memorandums at direct peace talks in Istanbul on June 2 that set out conditions. However, the inclusion of clauses that both sides see as non-starters make any quick deal unlikely. Wednesday's strikes also caused widespread destruction in Kharkiv's Slobidskyi and Osnovianskyi districts, hitting apartment buildings, private homes, playgrounds, industrial sites and public transportation. Images from the scene published by Ukraine's Emergency Service on Telegram showed burning apartments, shattered windows and firefighters battling the blaze. 'We stand strong. We help one another. And we will endure,' Mr Terekhov said. 'Kharkiv is Ukraine. And it cannot be broken.' Ukraine's air force said that 85 attack and decoy drones were fired over the country overnight. Air defence systems intercepted 40 of the drones, while nine more failed to reach their targets without causing damage. In other developments, Russia has returned 1,212 bodies of Ukrainian soldiers in line with an agreement reached during the talks in Istanbul between Russian and Ukrainian delegations. Ukraine's Coordination Headquarters for Treatment of Prisoners of War said that the bodies came from Kharkiv, Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson regions, as well as Russia's Kursk region where Ukrainian forces waged an incursion. It said that authorities would work to determine their identities as quickly as possible.
Business Insider
an hour ago
- Business Insider
Ukraine's gamble in Africa seems shaky as Mali takes a harsh decision
Following the formal severance of relations with Ukraine, Mali is preparing to prohibit the importation of Ukrainian goods. Mali is preparing to prohibit the importation of Ukrainian goods following the formal severance of relations with Ukraine. The diplomatic fallout began with comments from a Ukrainian representative interpreted as support for rebels against Malian and Russian forces. Amid tensions, African and international accusations regarding geopolitical interference have been discussed, particularly in the Sahel region. The revelation, made by Aliou Touankara, a deputy of Mali's National Transitional Council, reflects Bamako's growing dissatisfaction with Ukraine in the context of mounting geopolitical tensions in the Sahel. "I believe that the first step has already been taken - diplomatic relations with Ukraine have been severed. Moreover, it would be nice to ban Ukrainian products in the Alliance of Sahel States," he said. The diplomatic fallout stems from a controversial statement made in July 2024 by Andriy Yusov, spokesperson for the Ukrainian Defense Intelligence (GUR), as per Pravda. His remarks, which many interpreted as an admission of Kyiv's indirect support to rebels opposing Malian and Russian forces, sparked outrage in Mali's transitional government. 'The rebels received all the necessary information they needed, and not just the information, which allowed them to conduct a successful military operation against Russian perpetrators of war crimes,' Yusov said. 'We certainly won't go into details now, you will see more of this in the future.' The statement sought to link Ukraine to an attack that killed at least 84 Russian Wagner mercenaries and 47 Malian soldiers. As a result, Mali cut diplomatic ties with Ukraine, joining neighboring Niger. Allegations of destabilization and Ukrainian arms deals In August 2024, Xavier Messe a Tiati, Director General of the Cameroon News Agency, claimed that French President Emmanuel Macron and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky were working together to destabilize the AES group, which includes Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger. These charges, albeit unproven, are consistent with anti-Western themes gaining hold in various Sahelian cities. Adding to regional concerns, the Nigerian federal government released a news statement in November 2022 highlighting the increasing movement of weaponry and ammunition from the Russia-Ukraine conflict into the Lake Chad Basin. Then-President Muhammadu Buhari warned of the security ramifications and asked for enhanced vigilance along Nigeria's borders, an early indicator that the rippling effects of the conflict in Eastern Europe were reaching African soil. Ukraine's recent push in Africa Despite tense relations with several African countries, Ukraine has pushed to deepen ties with the continent. In February 2025, Kyiv announced intentions to look into the creation of a logistics hub in Egypt to facilitate the shipment of Ukrainian agricultural goods to Africa, a move intended to strengthen food security in the wake of global grain shortages. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky emphasized Kyiv's renewed attention on Africa with a landmark visit to South Africa in April 2025, his first since taking office in 2019. The visit, however, was unexpectedly cut short due to a Russian bombing on Kyiv, highlighting the fragility of Ukraine's diplomatic attempts amid its ongoing confrontation with Russia. South Africa's relationship with Ukraine has always been complicated. South Africa, like some African countries, refrained from denouncing Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 while maintaining close ties with Moscow.
