Latest news with #terror
Daily Mail
6 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Manhattan bomb plotter accused of stashing homemade explosives on subway tracks and rooftops
A New York man is facing federal terror charges after allegedly building homemade bombs and hiding them across Manhattan. Michael Gann, 55, of Inwood, was arrested on June 5 in SoHo carrying an improvised explosive device (IED) in his bag, just hours after he allegedly tossed another onto the Williamsburg Bridge subway tracks and stashed several more on nearby rooftops, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. Authorities say the homemade explosives, some packed with shotgun shells, posed a serious threat to public safety. 'As alleged, Michael Gann built explosive devices, stored them on a rooftop in SoHo, and threw one onto the subway tracks - putting countless lives at risk,' U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Jay Clayton said. 'Thanks to swift work by our law enforcement partners, no one was harmed. That vigilance assuredly prevented a tragedy in New York.' According to prosecutors, Gann used chemicals purchased online – including potassium perchlorate and aluminum powder – to construct at least seven IEDs. He allegedly tested the explosive mixtures twice in June, once blinding a bystander temporarily, before assembling the devices using cardboard tubes and fuses. Investigators say Gann kept at least five bombs on residential rooftops in SoHo, along with four shotgun shells intended for use with the devices. A sixth device was thrown onto the subway tracks, and a seventh was recovered from his bag during his June 5 arrest. 'This defendant allegedly stockpiled homemade explosives and traveled to New York City with these deadly devices,' NYPD Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch said. 'He threw one of these devices onto an active subway track and stored others on the rooftop of a residential building, but because of the skilled investigative work and swift response from the NYPD and our partners, we were able to intervene before he caused any harm.'
The Independent
21 hours ago
- The Independent
‘Travesty' no officers prosecuted for Jean Charles de Menezes' death
The family of mistaken terror suspect Jean Charles de Menezes have said it is a 'travesty' no police officer has been held accountable 20 years after he was shot dead. Dozens of people joined his relatives for a vigil outside Stockwell Tube station in south London, where the Brazilian was shot and killed by police the day after failed bombing attempts on the London transport network. It came two weeks after the 7/7 terror attacks, which killed 52 people in central London in 2005. Mr de Menezes' family were joined at a memorial outside the station to pay tribute and lay flowers, to mark the 20th anniversary of his death. A minute's silence was held to mark the moment the 27-year-old was killed, a prayer was also read in both Portuguese and English, and traditional South American music was played in his honour. Family members and supporters of the campaign wore black T-shirts which read: '20 years: Justice denied. Justice4Jean.' Relatives say the anniversary marks a renewed call for truth and accountability for those responsible for his death. Mr de Menezes was shot seven times in the head the day after police mistakenly identified him as one of the suspects for the failed bombings. Would-be suicide bombers had targeted the transport network on July 21, but their devices failed to explode. Police found an address in Scotia Road, Tulse Hill, written on a gym membership in one of the unexploded bags used by the bombers. Mr de Menezes, who lived in one of the flats at Scotia Road, was wrongly identified by police as Hussain Osman, one of the terrorists. He was shot dead at Stockwell Tube station on July 22 2005. His family said it is 'a travesty' that no police officer has been held accountable for his death. Patricia da Silva Armani, Mr de Menezes' cousin, said: 'He was a completely innocent man. And yet, he was shot in cold blood. 'To make things worse, lies were spread to justify the unjustifiable. 'For our family, the grief of that loss and the injustice surrounding it are still with us, every single day. 'Nothing can erase the pain of knowing that the life of a hard-working, kind, and honest young man was taken from us out of prejudice and incompetence. 'To this day, no police officer has been held accountable for Jean's death. That is a travesty. 'It is unacceptable that agents of the state can act with impunity. Without accountability, there is no justice. 'Jean's memory demands more than words – it demands truth, accountability, and real change. We will not forget. We will not be silent.' No officers were ever prosecuted for the killing of Mr De Menezes but the Metropolitan Police were fined for breaching health and safety laws. Dame Cressida Dick, who became Metropolitan Police commissioner in 2017, led the operation in which Mr de Menezes died. Yasmin Khan, the campaign's lawyer, said: 'Twenty years ago today, Jean Charles de Menezes stepped on to a train here at Stockwell station and never came home. 'We remember him today, because the system that killed him never faced justice, and not a single police officer was ever held accountable.' Ms Khan added: 'What I've learned from these people we see standing in front of you is to remember Jean Charles is a lesson in refusing to be silent. 'It's an honour, not just to his life, but to the bravery of those who fought for him to remind us that the fight for justice is long. 'Justice may have been denied, but their fight was worth every breath.'
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
‘Travesty' no officers prosecuted for Jean Charles de Menezes' death
The family of mistaken terror suspect Jean Charles de Menezes have said it is a 'travesty' no police officer has been held accountable 20 years after he was shot dead. Dozens of people joined his relatives for a vigil outside Stockwell Tube station in south London, where the Brazilian was shot and killed by police the day after failed bombing attempts on the London transport network. It came two weeks after the 7/7 terror attacks, which killed 52 people in central London in 2005. Mr de Menezes' family were joined at a memorial outside the station to pay tribute and lay flowers, to mark the 20th anniversary of his death. A minute's silence was held to mark the moment the 27-year-old was killed, a prayer was also read in both Portuguese and English, and traditional South American music was played in his honour. Family members and supporters of the campaign wore black T-shirts which read: '20 years: Justice denied. Justice4Jean.' Relatives say the anniversary marks a renewed call for truth and accountability for those responsible for his death. Mr de Menezes was shot seven times in the head the day after police mistakenly identified him as one of the suspects for the failed bombings. Would-be suicide bombers had targeted the transport network on July 21, but their devices failed to explode. Police found an address in Scotia Road, Tulse Hill, written on a gym membership in one of the unexploded bags used by the bombers. Mr de Menezes, who lived in one of the flats at Scotia Road, was wrongly identified by police as Hussain Osman, one of the terrorists. He was shot dead at Stockwell Tube station on July 22 2005. His family said it is 'a travesty' that no police officer has been held accountable for his death. Patricia da Silva Armani, Mr de Menezes' cousin, said: 'He was a completely innocent man. And yet, he was shot in cold blood. 'To make things worse, lies were spread to justify the unjustifiable. 'For our family, the grief of that loss and the injustice surrounding it are still with us, every single day. 'Nothing can erase the pain of knowing that the life of a hard-working, kind, and honest young man was taken from us out of prejudice and incompetence. 'To this day, no police officer has been held accountable for Jean's death. That is a travesty. 'It is unacceptable that agents of the state can act with impunity. Without accountability, there is no justice. 'Jean's memory demands more than words – it demands truth, accountability, and real change. We will not forget. We will not be silent.' No officers were ever prosecuted for the killing of Mr De Menezes but the Metropolitan Police were fined for breaching health and safety laws. Dame Cressida Dick, who became Metropolitan Police commissioner in 2017, led the operation in which Mr de Menezes died. Yasmin Khan, the campaign's lawyer, said: 'Twenty years ago today, Jean Charles de Menezes stepped on to a train here at Stockwell station and never came home. 'We remember him today, because the system that killed him never faced justice, and not a single police officer was ever held accountable.' Ms Khan added: 'What I've learned from these people we see standing in front of you is to remember Jean Charles is a lesson in refusing to be silent. 'It's an honour, not just to his life, but to the bravery of those who fought for him to remind us that the fight for justice is long. 'Justice may have been denied, but their fight was worth every breath.'
France 24
a day ago
- Politics
- France 24
'Our journalists might die of hunger': AFP press agency warns Gaza team risk starvation
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The Independent
a day ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Swarms of Russian drones attack Ukraine nightly as Moscow puts new emphasis on the deadly weapon
The long-range Russian drones come in swarms each night, buzzing for hours over Ukraine by the hundreds, terrorizing the population and attacking targets from the industrial east to areas near its western border with Poland. Russia now often batters Ukraine with more drones in a single night than it did during some entire months in 2024, and analysts say the barrages are likely to escalate. On July 8, Russia unleashed more than 700 drones — a record. Some experts say that number could soon top 1,000 a day. The spike comes as U.S. President Donald Trump has given Russia until early September to reach a ceasefire or face new sanctions -– a timeframe Moscow is likely to use to inflict as much damage as possible on Ukraine. Russia has sharply increased its drone output and appears to keep ramping it up. Initially importing Shahed drones from Iran early in the 3 1/2-year-old war, Russia has boosted its domestic production and upgraded the original design. The Russian Defense Ministry says it's turning its drone force into a separate military branch. It also has established a dedicated center for improving drone tactics and better training for those flying them. Fighting 'a war of drones' Russian engineers have changed the original Iranian Shahed to increase its altitude and make it harder to intercept, according to Russian military bloggers and Western analysts. Other modifications include making it more jamming-resistant and able to carry powerful thermobaric warheads. Some use artificial intelligence to operate autonomously. The original Shahed and its Russian replica — called 'Geran,' or 'geranium' — have an engine to propel it at 180 kph (just over 110 mph). A faster jet version is reportedly in the works. The Washington-based Institute for the Study of War noted that cooperation with China has allowed Russia to bypass Western sanctions on imports of electronics for drone production. Ukraine's military intelligence estimates that Russia receives up to 65% of components for its Geran drones from China. Beijing rejects the claims. Russia initially launched its production of the Iranian drones at factory in Alabuga, located in Tatarstan. An Associated Press investigation found employees at the Alabuga plant included young African women who said they were duped into taking jobs there. Geran production later began at a plant in Udmurtia, west of the Ural Mountains. Ukraine has launched drone attacks on both factories but failed to derail production. A report Sunday by state-run Zvezda TV described the Alabuga factory as the world's biggest attack drone plant. 'It's a war of drones. We are ready for it,' said plant director Timur Shagivaleyev, adding it produces all components, including engines and electronics, and has its own training school. The report showed hundreds of black Geran drones stacked in an assembly shop decorated with Soviet-style posters. One featured images of the father of the Soviet nuclear bomb, Igor Kurchatov, legendary Soviet space program chief, Sergei Korolyov, and dictator Josef Stalin, with the words: 'Kurchatov, Korolyov and Stalin live in your DNA.' Shifting tactics and defenses The Russian military has improved its tactics, increasingly using decoy drones named 'Gerbera' for a type of daisy. They closely resemble the attack drones and are intended to confuse Ukrainian defenses and distract attention from their more deadly twins. By using large numbers of drones in one attack, Russia seeks to overwhelm Ukrainian air defenses and keep them from targeting more expensive cruise and ballistic missiles that Moscow often uses alongside the drones to hit targets like key infrastructure facilities, air defense batteries and air bases. Former Russian Defense Ministry press officer Mikhail Zvinchuk, who runs a popular war blog, noted the Russian military has learned to focus on a few targets to maximize the impact. The drones can roam Ukraine's skies for hours, zigzagging past defenses, he wrote. 'Our defense industries' output allows massive strikes on practically a daily basis without the need for breaks to accumulate the necessary resources,' said another military blogger, Alexander Kots. 'We no longer spread our fingers but hit with a punching fist in one spot to make sure we hit the targets.' Ukraine relies on mobile teams armed with machine guns as a low-cost response to the drones to spare the use of expensive Western-supplied air defense missiles. It also has developed interceptor drones and is working to scale up production, but the steady rise in Russian attacks is straining its defenses. How Russia affords all those drones Despite international sanctions and a growing load on its economy, Russia's military spending this year has risen 3.4% over 2024, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, which estimated it at the equivalent of about $200 billion. While budgetary pressures could increase, it said, the current spending level is manageable for the Kremlin. Over 1.5 million drones of various types were delivered to the military last year, said President Vladimir Putin. Frontelligence Insight, a Ukraine-based open-source intelligence organization, reported this month that Russia launched more than 28,000 Shahed and Geran drones since the full-scale invasion began in 2022, with 10% of the total fired last month alone. While ballistic and cruise missiles are faster and pack a bigger punch, they cost millions and are available only in limited quantities. A Geran drone costs only tens of thousands of dollars — a fraction of a ballistic missile. The drones' range of about 2,000 kilometers (1,240 miles) allows them to bypass some defenses, and a relatively big load of 40 kilograms (88 pounds) of explosives makes them a highly effective instrument of what the Center for Strategic and International Studies calls 'a cruel attritional logic.' CSIS called them 'the most cost-effective munition in Russia's firepower strike arsenal." 'Russia's plan is to intimidate our society,' Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, adding that Moscow seeks to launch 700 to 1,000 drones a day. Over the weekend, German Maj. Gen. Christian Freuding said in an interview that Russia aims for a capability of launching 2,000 drones in one attack. Russia could make drone force its own military branch Along the more than 1,000-kilometer (600-mile) front line, short-range attack drones have become prolific and transformed the fighting, quickly spotting and targeting troops and weapons within a 10-kilometer (6-mile) kill zone. Russian drone units initially were set on the initiative of midlevel commanders and often relied on equipment purchased with private donations. Once drones became available in big numbers, the military moved last fall to put those units under a single command. Putin has endorsed the Defense Ministry's proposal to make drones a separate branch of the armed forces, dubbed the Unmanned Systems Troops. Russia has increasingly focused on battlefield drones that use thin fiber optic cables, making them immune to jamming and have an extended range of 25 kilometers (over 15 miles). It also has set up Rubicon, a center to train drone operators and develop the best tactics. Such fiber optic drones used by both sides can venture deeper into rear areas, targeting supply, support and command structures that until recently were deemed safe. Michael Kofman, a military expert with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said the Russian advancements have raised new defensive challenges for Ukraine. 'The Ukrainian military has to evolve ways of protecting the rear, entrenching at a much greater depth,' Kofman said in a recent podcast.
