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Suspects in Bali murder are all Australian, face death penalty: police

Suspects in Bali murder are all Australian, face death penalty: police

IOL News4 days ago

IOL Three Australians were arrested in Indonesia over the murder of a male compatriot on the resort island of Bali and face the death penalty, police said Wednesday, after a days-long manhunt. Picture: Pixabay
Three Australians were arrested in Indonesia over the murder of a male compatriot on the resort island of Bali and face the death penalty, police said Wednesday, after a days-long manhunt.
Authorities had been searching for several suspects over the shooting of Zivan Radmanovic, a 32-year-old Australian national, on Saturday.
He was killed when two people burst into his villa in the tourist hub of Badung, and at least one opened fire. A second man, 34-year-old Sanar Ghanim, was seriously wounded in the attack.
"Three suspects have been arrested along with several pieces of evidence allegedly used to carry out the shooting," Bali police chief Daniel Adityajaya told reporters.
He said the three suspects -- all Australian men -- were charged with multiple offences, including premeditated murder, which carries a maximum penalty of death, as well as murder and torture resulting in death.
Murder carries the maximum penalty of 15 years in prison, while torture resulting in death carries a potential seven-year jail term.

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The Spectacle of Innocence: How the Narrative of 'Stolen Children' Became the West's Weapon of War
The Spectacle of Innocence: How the Narrative of 'Stolen Children' Became the West's Weapon of War

IOL News

time2 days ago

  • IOL News

The Spectacle of Innocence: How the Narrative of 'Stolen Children' Became the West's Weapon of War

The portrayal of children in the Ukraine-Russia conflict serves as a potent tool of propaganda, revealing the complexities behind the narratives that shape public perception and policy, writes Gillian Schutte. Image: IOL / Ron AI In war, the image of a suffering child has long been one of the most potent tools of propaganda. A child is the cipher of innocence, the mirror of adult failure, the vessel into which we pour our grief, outrage, and moral certainty. It is no wonder, then, that in the ongoing geopolitical conflict between NATO-backed Ukraine and Russia, children have become a front line in the information war. The Washington Post's tear-soaked profile 'Thousands of Ukraine's children vanished into Russia. This one made it back' follows the return of 12-year-old Illia Matviienko, a child allegedly abducted, reprogrammed, and rescued just in time from the clutches of Russian state adoption. It is a finely crafted narrative. Illia is traumatised but eloquent. His grandmother is tireless and brave. His toys are metaphors. His memories are edited for maximum effect. But behind the Lego blocks and Garfield plush toys lies a darker machinery of manipulation. The story reads like it was written by a Pentagon-funded scriptwriter, with emotional cues planted at every paragraph break, not to report on the tragedy of war, but to mobilise sentiment for war. Let us look past the misty-eyed storytelling and ask the harder questions. What really happened to Ukraine's children? Who is keeping the score? And who benefits from turning their suffering into clickbait diplomacy? The Propaganda Template, From Wag the Dog to Wag the Child The Washington Post, long known for its role in manufacturing consent for U.S. foreign policy, frames Illia's ordeal as evidence of systematic Russian child theft. His story becomes the keystone in a broader claim: that tens of thousands of Ukrainian children have been deported, re-educated, and erased by the Russian state. The article even cites figures: 'at least 19,500 children' according to Yale University's Conflict Observatory, whose funding, incidentally, is being cut under Donald Trump's administration. Ukrainian officials inflate the figure still further: 'maybe 50,000, maybe 100,000.' No one knows for sure. No one can prove anything. But certainty is not required in the spectacle of war propaganda, only repetition and righteous tears. The real figures? According to Russia's official delegation at the Istanbul peace talks, led by Vladimir Medinsky, the only list ever presented to Moscow by Ukraine contains 339 names. Russia says it has already returned 101 of these children. Ukraine, for its part, has returned 22 Russian children who ended up in its care. These are verifiable exchanges. And yet the Western press refuses to mention these facts. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad Loading Selective Suffering, Why Is Only One Child a Headline? The case of Illia Matviienko is tragic. But why is it the story? Because it performs well. It has all the ingredients of pathos: dead mother, lonely boy, forbidden adoption, grandmother's heroism, poetic justice. It sells. It moves. It inflames. But in Russia's version of events, there are also children traumatised by shelling, evacuated from war zones, not abducted. Many were found alone in buildings or hospitals. Others were taken to safety at great personal risk by Russian soldiers, some of whom died in the effort. And when relatives come forward, parents, aunts, grandmothers, the children are reunited. No obstacle, no cover-up. Just bureaucracy and war. Yet these stories are not told. There are no Washington Post front pages for the Russian soldier who saves a wounded child under fire. There is no Pulitzer bait in the case of a child returned to a reunited family in Donetsk. These children do not cry in English. They are not crying for NATO. Manufactured Numbers, Manufactured Consent Russia has repeatedly demanded evidence: names, documents, statements from parents. None have been forthcoming. The Ukrainian and U.S. positions rely on estimates, projections, and a deep well of emotional speculation. Russia, meanwhile, says: here is the list you gave us, here are the returns we've made. The disparity between accusation and evidence is not accidental. It mirrors the propaganda campaign that preceded the war in Iraq, the intervention in Syria, the bombardment of Libya. Western soft power thrives on emotional shorthand: Saddam's incubator babies, Gaddafi's Viagra-fuelled soldiers, and now Putin's child kidnappers. It is a pattern. The facts are fluid. The imagery is fixed. What Russia Says, and the West Won't Print Medinsky's statement in Istanbul was clear. Russia is open to verification. Russia is returning children. Russia is establishing regular exchanges. It has proposed temporary ceasefires in 'grey zones' so commanders on both sides can collect the corpses of fallen soldiers, a practical and humane suggestion, met with silence. Meanwhile, Western media focuses on Lego toys and bedtime trauma. It does not ask why Ukraine will not publish a full list of the missing children. It does not examine the political utility of these stories in maintaining Western support, arms supplies, and diplomatic cover. Nor does it question why the first move in any peace negotiation is not truth and reconciliation, but a spotlight on Russian war crimes. The narrative must be secured before the facts can catch up. The Illusion of Innocence Yes, Illia's story is heartbreaking. All war stories involving children are. But to isolate it from the broader matrix of wartime reality, to use it as a blunt weapon against the Russian state, to decontextualise and sentimentalise it into a moral fable, is to exploit that child all over again. War is complex. Children are not pawns. But in the battle of narratives, they become precisely that. They are used to distract from inconvenient truths, to derail diplomacy, to justify endless escalation. And while the West cries for Illia, what of Vitalii, the friend left behind in the Donetsk hospital? What if he was never abducted, just never found? What if he was just another casualty of the same propaganda war that made Illia a headline? Beyond the Toy Box The Washington Post piece may be compelling. It is certainly emotive. But it is not journalism. It is spectacle. A carefully staged morality play in which there are only villains and victims, no context, no complexity, no dissenting voice. The weaponisation of children is one of the oldest tricks in imperial warfare. And as long as mainstream media continues to traffic in half-truths and Hollywood storylines, the real victims of this war, on both sides, will remain unheard. We should care for every child affected by war. But we should be suspicious of which children we are told to care about, and why. The portrayal of children in the Ukraine-Russia conflict serves as a potent tool of propaganda, revealing the complexities behind the narratives that shape public perception and policy, writes Gillian Schutte. Image: IOL

'Zuma is surrounded by political scoundrels': Floyd Shivambu alleges theft of R7 million a month from MK Party
'Zuma is surrounded by political scoundrels': Floyd Shivambu alleges theft of R7 million a month from MK Party

IOL News

time3 days ago

  • IOL News

'Zuma is surrounded by political scoundrels': Floyd Shivambu alleges theft of R7 million a month from MK Party

IOL In a startling revelation during a media briefing at Mhulu Hotel in Midrand, Floyd Shivambu, former MK Party secretary-general, accused senior leaders of orchestrating a campaign against him for preventing the squandering of the party's funds. Graphic: Se-Anne Rall In a startling revelation during a media briefing at Mhulu Hotel in Midrand, Floyd Shivambu, former MK Party secretary-general, accused senior leaders of orchestrating a campaign against him for preventing the squandering of the party's funds. Shivambu alleged that he was targeted for attempting to halt the monthly embezzlement of approximately R7 million from the party's funds. '(Zuma) is surrounded by political scoundrels who use his kindness, sometimes gullibility, that comes with age. To write down fake intelligence reports on me to influence him in the wrong direction. And the reason they do that is because they want to steal money from MKP this season. 'And they are doing so now -withdrawal of not less than 7 million rands monthly from organisational coffers. We are talking about this because we raised it internally,' he said. Shivambu said they asked them to stop doing that because they ran a risk of getting the party de-registered. Shivambu, a prominent figure in the MK party, revealed that his efforts to investigate and stop financial theft within the party had made him a target. He claimed that some senior leaders had access to the party's coffers and were siphoning off millions of rands each month. He said he was met with hostility when he intervened.

Gift of the Givers faces intimidation from 'water mafia' during flood relief efforts
Gift of the Givers faces intimidation from 'water mafia' during flood relief efforts

IOL News

time4 days ago

  • IOL News

Gift of the Givers faces intimidation from 'water mafia' during flood relief efforts

Gift of the Givers teams are now being escorted to deliver water to residents in Mthatha. Image: Gift of the Givers Humanitarian aid organisation, Gift of the Givers, which has been pivotal in assisting those affected by the floods in the Eastern Cape, are being intimidated by 'water mafia'. Speaking to IOL, Dr Imtiaz Sooliman, founder and chairman of Gift of the Givers, said members of the 'water mafia' have been trying to intimidate its drivers while delivering life-saving water to the people of Mthatha who have been severely affected by the recent floods. 'Given the hardships and difficulties of the people and the fact that 90 people have passed on, the behaviour of the water mafia is totally disgusting. We appreciate the fact that the SAPS acted immediately by sending out a convoy (vehicle in front and behind) our water tankers. The situation has completely calmed down. However, we are calling on the community of Mthatha to help us locate a black [Toyota] Fortuner. 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Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Next Stay Close ✕ 'This is a message to all water mafia: we will take you on wherever you are. Gift of the Givers is not afraid of anyone. We have the support of the government, SAPS, SANDF, and above all, we have the support of the communities and the municipalities. When it comes to assisting people in dire need, as is the case in Mthatha in the Eastern Cape, this kind of heinous behaviour has to stop. Profiteering from the hardships of people has to stop. We hope we are provided support in all areas where the water mafia is capitalising,' he said. Police Minister, Senzo Mchunu, also strongly condemns the threats and intimidation directed at Gift of the Givers. 'It is alleged that members of a so-called 'water mafia' reportedly linked to service providers contracted by the OR Tambo District Municipality, threatened Gift of the Givers staff as they distributed clean drinking water to residents impacted by the recent floods,' Mchunu said. Mchunu was in Mthatha at the weekend to engage with and thank members of the SAPS for their efforts during the floods, which have, to date, claimed 90 lives and displaced hundreds more. 'The police will not tolerate any attempt to intimidate or obstruct those who are working tirelessly to save lives and bring relief to our people. Gift of the Givers has consistently been a source of hope and dignity to South Africans in their hour of need. Any attack on them is an attack on the very principle of Ubuntu. No individual or group will be allowed to profiteer off disaster or compromise the safety and well-being of our people. Law enforcement will act decisively,' Mchunu said. He further stated the SAPS will ensure the safety of all humanitarian workers in the area and hold those responsible fully accountable under the law. 'We have also been made aware of individuals who go to the homes of those who lost their lives due to these floods, with a view to committing acts of theft from these homes. Police have been deployed to ensure the safety of the property of the deceased,' Mchunu added. Dr Sooliman welcomed the backing by the minister. IOL

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