TACOMA, Washington: Four people were killed in a shooting in Tacoma on Thursday afternoon, police said.
The Tacoma Police Department said on Twitter at about 5:30 p.m. that two females and one male had died at the scene and that a male was taken to a hospital with life-threatening injuries.
At about 6:30 p.m., police said on Twitter that the person taken to a hospital had died from his injuries. The victims appeared to be adults, police told The News Tribune.
Police said the shooting happened on the 4200 block of Everett Street, near the city’s Eastside neighborhood.
Police spokeswoman Wendy Haddow told the newspaper that the shootings happened in an alley behind a residence and that at least one victim was found in the street in front of the residence.
Police called it an active scene and asked people to stay away from the area. Detectives and crime scene technicians were at the scene.
No further information was immediately available.
4 killed in Washington state shooting
https://arab.news/5yqz9
4 killed in Washington state shooting
Chairman of hard-right Reform UK party Zia Yusuf quits
Zia Yusuf’s announcement came after he criticized the party’s newest MP for asking Prime Minister Keir Starmer whether he would ban the wearing of burqas in the UK.
The resignation hints at unrest in arch-Euroskeptic Nigel Farage’s party, which has already lost one MP since it secured a breakthrough result at last July’s general election.
“Eleven months ago I became chairman of Reform. I’ve worked full time as a volunteer to take the party from 14 to 30 percent (voter support), quadrupled its membership and delivered historic electoral results,” Yusuf wrote on X.
“I no longer believe working to get a Reform government elected is a good use of my time, and hereby resign the office,” he added.
Earlier, the 38-year-old had slammed Sarah Pochin, who was elected in a by-election last month, for her question to Starmer on Wednesday.
“I do think it’s dumb for a party to ask the PM if they would do something the party itself wouldn’t do,” Yusuf wrote on X.
He became chairman in July last year, shortly after Reform won 14 percent of the vote and five seats in parliament — an unprecedented haul for a hard-right group in a British general election.
Yusuf was tasked with professionalizing the group’s grassroots operations and training up candidates ahead of what Farage has said will be a major challenge to Starmer’s Labour party at the next general election, likely in 2029.
Anti-immigrant Reform has consistently led national opinion polls for several weeks now and won hundreds of councillors at local polls on May 1.
Farage said he was “genuinely sorry” that Yusuf had decided to stand down, but some analysts saw it as another example of the charismatic Brexit cheerleader falling out with a senior figure in his party.
“It’s like deja vu all over again,” political scientist Tim Bale wrote on X, citing Farage’s previous leadership of UKIP and the Brexit Party.
“No-one but no-one gets to be bigger than big Nige,” added the Queen Mary University of London politics professor.
Last month, former Reform lawmaker Rupert Lowe called Farage a “viper” after his dramatic suspension from the party over claims he had threatened Yusuf.
Prosecutors did not charge Lowe, citing “insufficient evidence.”
Beautiful Rajanpuri Nukra goats highly prized, and costly, at Islamabad’s Eid market
- South Punjab natives are large, muscular, with striking white coats
- Popular for meat, Eid Al-Adha sacrifices, some sell for over $7,000
ISLAMABAD: With their snow-white coats, drooping pink ears and regal build, Rajanpuri Nukra goats are turning heads and emptying wallets at Islamabad’s bustling Eid Al-Adha cattle market this year.
A strain of the Beetal goat native to the Rajanpur region of Pakistan’s Punjab province, they are also known for their large size and muscular build.
Highly prized for their meat, and a popular choice for Eid Al-Adha sacrifices, some have sold for as much as Rs2 million ($7,140) this season.
At Islamabad’s cattle market on Bhatta Chowk earlier this week, many people gathered around the goats to admire their appearance and snap pictures, while others negotiated deals.
“We have come here from Rajanpur as people in Islamabad and Rawalpindi prefer Rajanpuri goats over other breeds due to their white and pink coloration and impressive height,” said merchant Hamza Ali.
He added that he had brought 20 of the prized animals to the market and sold most of them within four days.
“We’re getting good prices for them here. Of the 20 goats we brought, one sold for Rs2 million last night.”
Traders at the market have been selling the Rajanpuri goats for anywhere between $715 and $7,140, several merchants said.
Highlighting the care involved, Muhammad Umair, a cattle trader, said the goats are nurtured from birth, referring to them as a “purebred line.”
“We divide them into two groups. Those with good height and large size receive a special diet that includes wanda, choker, desi ghee and other nutritious ingredients,” he told Arab News as he petted one of his animals.
Goats similar in size to regular breeds are available at lower prices but still higher than other strains.
“It has large pink ears, white eyes, and a pink nose, along with a pure white coat, which makes it highly attractive to buyers,” Umair added.
Muhammad Bilal, a 23-year-old student from Islamabad, said he wanted to buy a Rajanpuri goat because of its white coat and long ears.
“Although the price is a bit higher, we will still buy it because we really like it,” he told Arab News.
Another customer Ilyas Khan, 40, expressed frustration over the high prices, saying they were unaffordable for most market visitors.
“My children took pictures with them,” Khan, a businessman, said. “But these are out of our reach as even the smallest ones are starting at Rs150,000, which is too much.”
Reform UK chief slams MP’s calls for burqa ban as ‘dumb’
- Question prompts public criticism from party’s chairman
LONDON: A row has erupted within the right-wing British party Reform UK after its newest member of Parliament, Sarah Pochin, used her maiden question during Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday to call for a nationwide ban on the burqa, it was reported on Thursday.
The question prompted public criticism from Zia Yusuf, Reform UK’s chairman, who rebuked the move, calling it a “dumb” question.
Pochin, who recently won the Runcorn and Helsby by-election, asked Prime Minister Keir Starmer whether the UK would follow European nations such as France, Belgium, and Denmark in banning the burqa “in the interests of public safety.”
Her remarks were met with audible disapproval from some MPs, with cries of “shame” heard in the chamber of the House of Commons.
Lee Anderson, Reform UK’s chief whip, expressed support for Pochin’s suggestion, saying: “Ban the burqa? Yes we should. No one should be allowed to hide their identity in public.”
However, Yusuf was less than supportive, writing on X: “Nothing to do with me. Had no idea about the question, nor that it wasn’t policy. I do think it’s dumb for a party to ask the PM if they would do something the party itself wouldn’t do.”
A Reform spokesperson later clarified that Yusuf had not been criticizing Pochin personally, but highlighting the inconsistency of raising a proposal not endorsed by the party.
The spokesperson reiterated that a burqa ban was not official Reform UK policy but acknowledged it was an issue that “deserves national debate.”
Nigel Farage, Reform UK’s leader, speaking on GB News, was more cautious and distanced himself from an outright endorsement, but suggested public discomfort around face coverings warranted discussion.
He said: “I don’t think face coverings in public places make sense, and I think we do deserve a debate about that, of which I see the burqa as being a part.”
Pochin, a former Conservative councillor, later suggested her question had been sourced from public suggestions submitted online. “Thank you to everyone who sent in questions for the prime minister,” she posted.
The incident has reignited concerns about internal divisions within Reform UK. It comes just months after former Reform UK MP Rupert Lowe was expelled from the party following a falling out with both Yusuf and Farage.
Lowe, who has expressed hardline views on immigration and has backed calls to ban the burqa, now sits as an independent.
Reform has also been plagued by tension at the grassroots level. Following the recent local elections, Donna Edmunds, a Shropshire councillor, resigned from the party in protest, describing Farage as a “terrible leader” and warning that he “must never be prime minister.”
Amid the latest fallout, a Labour spokesperson said: “Nigel Farage could fit all of his MPs in the back of a cab, yet he can’t stop them fighting among themselves.”
Reform UK and Sarah Pochin were approached by the BBC, The Guardian, and The Independent for further comment.
Ailing Baltic Sea in need of urgent attention
- Unveiling its road map to protect Europe’s seas, the European Ocean Pact, Brussels announced a summit on the state of the Baltic Sea in late September
- The Baltic Sea is home to some of the world’s largest dead marine zones, mainly due to excess nutrient runoff into the sea from human activities on land
HELSINKI: Decades of pollution and climate change have caused fish to disappear from the Baltic Sea at an alarming rate, with the European Union on Thursday vowing to make the sea an “urgent priority.”
Unveiling its road map to protect Europe’s seas, the European Ocean Pact, Brussels announced a summit on the state of the Baltic Sea in late September.
The semi-enclosed sea is surrounded by industrial and agricultural nations Germany, Poland, Russia, Finland, Sweden, Denmark and the three Baltic states.
Connected to the Atlantic only by the narrow waters of the Danish straits, the Baltic is known for its shallow, low-salinity waters, which are highly sensitive to the climate and environmental changes that have accumulated over the years.
“Today, the once massive Baltic cod stocks have collapsed, herring stocks in several sub-basins are balancing on critical levels, sprat recruitment is at a record low and wild salmon stocks are in decline,” Swedish European MP Isabella Lovin, rapporteur for the EU Committee of Fishing, warned in a report, calling the situation “critical.”
The Baltic Sea is home to some of the world’s largest dead marine zones, mainly due to excess nutrient runoff into the sea from human activities on land — a challenge the sea has long grappled with.
The runoff has primarily been phosphorus and nitrogen from waste water and fertilizers used in agriculture, as well as other activities such as forestry.
It causes vast algae blooms in summer, a process known as eutrophication that removes oxygen from the water, leaving behind dead seabeds and marine habitats and threatening species living in the Baltic.
Today, agriculture is the biggest source of nutrient pollution.
Marine biodiversity in the relatively small sea has also deteriorated due to pollution from hazardous substances, land use, extraction of resources and climate change, according to the Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission (HELCOM).
“The state of the Baltic Sea is not good,” Maria Laamanen, a senior adviser at the Finnish environment ministry, told AFP.
Climate change poses “a massive additional challenge” for the marine environment, she said.
Of the world’s coastal seas, the Baltic Sea is warming the fastest.
A 2024 study said sea surface and sea floor temperatures have increased by 1.8 and 1.3 degrees Celsius respectively in the Finnish archipelago in the northern Baltic Sea, in the period from 1927 to 2020.
The consequences of rising temperatures already affect species, while increased rainfall has led to more runoff from land to sea.
Better waste water treatment and gypsum treatment of agricultural soil, as well as an expansion of protected marine areas in Finland, have had a positive effect on the maritime environment, according to Laamanen, who said environmental engagement had grown in recent years.
“The situation would be much worse without the measures already implemented,” she said.
In her report, Lovin called for an ambitious reform of fisheries, with stronger attention paid to environmental and climate change impacts.
The report also questioned whether the Baltic could continue to sustain industrial-scale trawling, and suggested giving “priority access to low-impact fisheries and fishing for human consumption.”
The head of the Finnish Fishermen’s Association (SAKL) Kim Jordas said eutrophication was to blame for the declining fish stocks in the Baltic Sea, not overfishing.
“Looking at cod for example, it is entirely due to the state of the Baltic Sea and the poor oxygen situation,” Jordas told AFP.
In Finland, the number of commercial fishermen has been declining, with a total of around 400 active today.
Afghan women UN staff forced to work from home after threats
- UNAMA confirmed that UN staff had been threatened
- “Several United Nations female national staff members in the Afghan capital Kabul have been subjected to threats,” it said
KABUL: Afghan women working for the United Nations in Kabul have been threatened by unidentified men because of their jobs, the organization and several women told AFP on Thursday.
Multiple women working for various UN agencies told AFP on condition of anonymity they had been threatened on the street and over the phone by men warning them to “stay home.”
UN staffer Huda — not her real name — said that for weeks she has been bombarded with messages abusing her for “working with foreigners.”
“The messages keep coming and they are always harassing us... saying, ‘Don’t let me see you again, or else’,” the young woman told AFP.
She said her office had advised her to work from home until further notice.
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) confirmed that UN staff had been threatened.
“Several United Nations female national staff members in the Afghan capital Kabul have been subjected to threats by unidentified individuals related to their work with the UN,” it said in a statement.
Considering the threats “extremely serious,” the UN has taken “interim” measures “to ensure the safety and security of staff members,” it added.
The Taliban government, accused by the UN of imposing a “gender apartheid” against women since returning to power in 2021, has denied any involvement.
Interior ministry spokesman Abdul Mateen Qani said such threats were a “crime” and that police would take action.
UNAMA said the authorities had opened an investigation.
Since seizing power in 2021, the Taliban authorities have severely restricted Afghan women from working and it is the only country in the world where women are banned from education beyond primary school.
The government in 2022 banned women from working for domestic and international NGOs, which was extended to include the UN’s offices in the country the following year.
The policy has some exceptions including for women working in health care and education, and has not been consistently enforced.
The UN has previously called the policy “deeply discriminatory.”
Selsela, in her 30s, said while returning from the office last week she was approached by unknown men who told her she should be “ashamed” and that she must “stay home.”
“They said, ‘We told you nicely this time, but next time you’ll have another thing coming’,” she told AFP.
“I was very scared,” she said, explaining how she struggles to work efficiently from home in a country where electricity and Internet are unreliable.
“The situation for women is getting worse every day.”
Another woman, Rahila, said she and two other women colleagues were stopped by men while traveling home in a UN vehicle and told not to go to the office anymore.
“They said, ‘Don’t you know that you are not allowed?’,” Rahila said, adding that she has also received threatening messages from unknown numbers.
“I am very worried, I need my job and my salary,” she said.
Three-quarters of Afghanistan’s population of some 45 million people struggle to meet their daily needs, according to the UN, with the country facing one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
