Latest news with #Violence
New York Times
27-05-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
Israeli Forces Said They Killed a ‘Terrorist.' He Was 14 Years Old.
The clothes were strewn on a ridge dotted with olive and almond trees, perched above a highway in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. On rust-colored earth sprinkled with wildflowers were a torn black T-shirt, black Converse socks and a pair of Nike Air white sneakers. Nearby lay a pair of bloodied, gray Nike sweatpants and a black hoodie perforated with holes. Here, on April 6, near Turmus Aya, a village in the West Bank where most of the residents have U.S. citizenship, Israeli soldiers gunned down Amer Rabee a 14-year-old Palestinian American boy who was born in New Jersey. The military handed over his naked, bullet-ridden body a few hours later in a blue body bag, according to his family. The Israeli military has accused Amer and two of his friends of hurling rocks toward the highway and endangering civilians. It described the boys as 'terrorists,' and said its soldiers had 'eliminated' one and shot the two others. Amer's family and one of the surviving boys deny the accusation, saying that they were picking almonds. Amer was shot multiple times in his upper body, according to photographs his family shared with The New York Times. Amer's killing has added to accusations that the Israeli military uses excessive force and operates with impunity. It came amid a sharp spike in violence against Palestinians in the West Bank, where the Israeli military has been carrying out raids and tightening control in the most sweeping crackdown on militancy there in a generation. Rampages by extremist settlers against Palestinians have also increased recently. Amer's death has also raised questions about the American response to helping its own citizens. Senators Andy Kim and Cory Booker of New Jersey have called for an American-led investigation into Amer's death, but the Trump administration has remained largely noncommittal. Last month, the State Department spokeswoman, Tammy Bruce, said at a press briefing that the Israeli military believed it was stopping an act of terrorism. 'We need to learn more about the nature of what happened on the ground,' she added. American officials did not respond to a request for further information. More than 900 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank, mostly by the Israeli military and some by settlers, since the Hamas-led offensive against Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, according to the United Nations. Roughly 30 Israelis have been killed by Palestinians in the West Bank during that period. From 2018 to 2022, less than a third of complaints that soldiers had harmed Palestinians in the West Bank resulted in an investigation, according to a recent report by Yesh Din, an Israeli human rights organization. Only a fraction have led to legal action. A Hail of Gunfire The three young boys had gone out to pick green almonds, a seasonal delicacy, in a terraced orchard between Turmus Aya and Route 60, a busy north-south artery linking a patchwork of Palestinian towns and Jewish settlements, one of the friends, Ayoub Jabara, 14, told The Times at his home in Turmus Aya. He denied that they had thrown stones, saying that they had merely been throwing dried almonds at each other. Ayoub, who is also a Palestinian-American, described reaching a point very close to the main road, and finding a tree with dried-up nuts. 'Amer picked one up and was joking that it was like a stone and threw it at me. I threw it back,' he said. Amer was shot at least 11 times, according to his father, Mohammed Rabee. Photographs taken on the cellphone of a family friend who accompanied Mr. Rabee when they picked up Amer's body appeared to show several entry wounds, including one in the center of his forehead and others in his neck and upper torso. Hours after the shooting, the Israeli military issued a 10-second clip of blurry footage without a time stamp that shows three unidentifiable figures appearing to gather things from the ground. One of the figures appears to fling something in a downward motion, though no object is visible. The video cuts out as all three appear to turn and run. The military said that its footage was filmed from a military post and that the soldiers were lying in ambush in what they described as a counterterrorism operation in the area. Four days after Amer died, reporters for The Times searched the ridge where he was killed for any signs of the shooting and came across the clothes. Garments that appeared to have been cut off by soldiers and blue surgical gloves were scattered around a bloodstained rock. The military said it was standard procedure to remove clothes to ensure the body was not booby-trapped. The clothes were later identified by the family as Amer's, when the reporters returned them to the family at their home. Even if the boys did throw stones, said Mr. Rabee, Amer's father, the soldiers could have fired warning shots to scare them away, or could have chased and detained them. 'He was 14 years old,' he said. 'It takes no special training to catch a little kid.' Instead, the soldiers fired a barrage of bullets at family believes they wanted to kill him. The military declined to confirm or deny that it has a shoot-to-kill policy for stone throwers. Ayoub, Amer's friend, suffered 'multiple gunshot wounds,' according to medical records from the Istishari Arab hospital in nearby Ramallah, where he spent three days in the intensive care unit. Both Dr. Mohammad Qneibi, a physician at a local clinic where Ayoub was first taken, and Ayoub's father, Ahed Jabara, told The Times that the boy was shot at least three times in the groin area. The family of the third boy, Abdulrahman Shihada, 15, declined to be interviewed. Hopes of Living in America In Turmus Aya, Amer's parents were still reeling from their loss in the days after the shooting, and Amer's siblings and cousins from the United States had flown in to mourn him. Mr. Rabee and his wife, Majed, left the West Bank for New Jersey in 2001. They moved back to Turmus Aya in 2013, when Amer, the youngest of their five children, was a toddler. The parents wanted their children to be schooled in Arabic and to absorb Palestinian identity and culture. Amer's four older siblings had moved back to the United States after finishing high school. He had dreamed of joining them, and the night before he was killed, he had been texting in English with his siblings about his future business plans to market mini cotton candy machines. Villagers first started moving to the United States more than a century ago and relatives followed. Now, about 85 percent of Turmus Aya's residents are dual Palestinian-American citizens. Many, like the Rabee family, come and go. The evening Amer died, he left the house without saying goodbye, his mother, Majed, said. 'He didn't think he was never coming back.' Amer's father, Mr. Rabee, got a call from a friend at 6:41 p.m. saying there had been a shooting. Word had been spreading in the village that Amer was involved. Mr. Rabee called his son's phone several times but got no reply. At 6:58 p.m., he called the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem's hotline and said his son needed immediate help. He said American officials did not respond with any practical assistance. The embassy did not respond to a request for comment. At about 9:30 p.m., a Palestinian official called to say that Amer had been killed. Mr. Rabee went to an Israeli military base in the northern West Bank where, shortly before midnight, Amer's body was transferred to a Palestinian ambulance. 'I said, 'Praise be to God,' and I kissed him,' Mr. Rabee said. Mr. Rabee said that he did not trust any of the authorities to investigate and that Amer had been buried a day later, without an autopsy. 'Only God can judge; I have sent the case to God for judgment,' Mr. Rabee said. .
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
City of Savannah kicking off 100 days of summer on May 23
SAVANNAH, Ga. (WSAV) – The City of Savannah, in collaboration with E-93 Radio, will kick off 100 Days of Summer programming on May 23 at Daffin Park. The program will start with a free Summer Pool Party at 3 p.m., featuring music by E-93's DJ, food, drinks, games and giveaways. Each year, City departments work together on the 100 Days of Summer initiative to offer positive and engaging programs that provide youth with meaningful alternatives during the summer months. This year, Community Services, the Savannah Police Department (SPD), and Savannah Fire Department (SFD) will offer a variety of programs during 100 Days of Summer, including camps, outdoor movie nights, and more. Community Services programming highlights include: Summer Youth Employment and Violence Intervention Program Summer visual and performing arts camps Summer sports leagues On May 23, the Sundown Cinema series will host the movie Inside Out 2 at Forest Hills Park at 7:30 p.m. This event was originally scheduled for May 16 but will be moved due to forecasted weather conditions. SFD will host the annual Camp Ignite in July. This program is a free, all-girls camp designed to introduce participants to careers in the fire service and inspire future leaders. SPD will host several activities in June, including Juneteenth events, Magic Marc summer shows, and a Citizens Police Academy. More information on 100 Days of Summer programming can be found here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Sky News AU
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Sky News AU
'Odd': Victorian MP Will Fowles attends Melbourne domestic violence vigil after being probed over rape allegations
Victorian MP Will Fowles, who has been cleared by police following an investigation into allegations he raped a Labor staffer, has attended a candlelight vigil dedicated to victims of domestic and family violence on family violence remembrance day. Footage posted to social media, shows the State Member for Ringwood attended Wednesday night's event at the Family Violence memorial garden in East Melbourne. Mr Fowles has strenuously denied the 'baseless allegations'. Sky News understands all Victorian members of Parliament were invited by the organisers to the event, including Premier Jacinta Allan who did not attend and Opposition leader Brad Battin, who did attend. The organisers of the event declined to comment further. Two Victorian members of parliament, who wished to remain anonymous told Sky News Australia, they felt it was "odd" for the independent member to have attended. Last year, Victoria Police concluded its investigation into Mr Fowles over allegations made by former staffer Lucy Gunner, the sister of former Northern Territory Chief Minister Michael Gunner. A Labor Party investigation made the determination that "on the balance of probabilities" Mr Fowles "engaged in sexual assault; rape; and sexual harassment" at a taxpayer funded hotel on Bourke St after a parliamentary sitting in August 2023. Vigil events were held across Victoria and around Australia on Wednesday evening to honour lives lost to family and domestic violence, in a moving annual event first started in 2005. Safe Steps provides a 24 hour a day, seven day a week confidential family and domestic violence crisis support service for Victorians. On average, the organisation manages around 300 calls, web chats and emails to support those who are considering leaving unsafe situations. More than 40 per cent of Australians under 16 are exposed to domestic violence. The crime leapt 11.3 per cent in 2023 and 9.5 per cent again in the last financial year, making it the highest reported incident ever. Sky News has contacted Mr Fowles for comment.
CNA
07-05-2025
- Politics
- CNA
India strikes Pakistan in aftermath of Kashmir tourist killings
India attacked nine sites in Pakistan and Pakistani Kashmir on Wednesday (May 7) and Islamabad said it was mounting a response as the worst fighting in years erupted between the longstanding enemies. India's offensive occurred amid heightened tensions in the aftermath of an attack on Hindu tourists in Indian Kashmir last month. Islamist assailants killed 26 men in the Apr 22 attack, the worst such violence targeted at civilians in India in nearly two decades.
Hindustan Times
30-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
A misfit in motion: Chaar Diwaari on working with Raftaar for Farebi, growing through music, and chaos that built him
For rapper Chaar Diwaari aKa Garv Taneja, music isn't just a form of self-expression—it's survival in chaos. And there's no better training ground for that than Delhi, his hometown. 'Delhi's chaos is a part of who I am. Its hustle, its attitude, the stories that unfold every night on the streets—I love it,' says the rapper-producer. It's this unfiltered energy that has shaped not just his sound, but his inner conflict, an ongoing search for belonging and his way of seeing the world. That theme of belonging—or the lack of it—cuts through his latest release Farebi, a gritty, cinematic track that plays like a fugitive's confession. 'It's about a guy on the run, from heartbreak, from the law, from himself,' he says. What started as a one-man vision transformed into something layered and multidimensional once popular rapper Raftaar stepped in. 'I sent him the track on WhatsApp, and he came up with this verse from the girl's perspective—the one whose heart I've broken. It flipped the whole narrative. We got on a call and he wrote his verse right in front of me. I loved what he did with it.' The result is a powerful two-sided story, one that mirrors the emotional complexity often buried under his hard-hitting beats. A post shared by Chaar Diwaari (@chaardiwaari) The sound of Farebi is intense—gruff electronic textures crash into hip-hop flows, with flashes of dubstep-like aggression. But for Chaar Diwari, sonic direction isn't a strategic choice. 'I don't decide much. I just let the track's soul guide me. Wherever the track speaks, I produce it in that way. I don't think too much,' he says. It's a mindset that's also reflected in his unconventional journey: he dropped out of music school after three years, not out of rebellion, but because it wasn't serving his purpose. 'I wasn't learning anything there and a lot of my time was being wasted. But I'm glad I went—it was in the hills, in Solan Bada, basically a forest. Being there for three years gave me a new perspective,' he says. That perspective continues to evolve with every release, whether it's the raw, emotional Jhaag or the bristling Violence. Yet the one thread running through it all is a deep, restless self-exploration. 'I think my music represents me growing up. Figuring out where I'm supposed to be, who I'm supposed to be, dealing with the feeling of being a misfit. That's just a part of me,' he reflects. And perhaps that's why the track that introduces his artistry to new listeners in the best way according to him is Barood. 'It's one of the rawest things I've made, one of the most on-edge. I usually send that to people first—I like seeing their reaction,' he concludes.
