Assault against rabbi in Maryland probed as hate crime, police says

The suspect was charged with felony assault and related crimes, police said. (REUTERS)
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Updated 16 October 2024
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Assault against rabbi in Maryland probed as hate crime, police says

  • The suspect was charged with felony assault and related crimes, police said, adding that the victim, who was not identified, suffered minor injuries

WASHINGTON: Police in Maryland said on Tuesday that an assault against a rabbi who was attacked with a wooden stake was being probed as a hate crime and a suspect was arrested.
The incident took place in Silver Spring in Maryland.

WHY IT’S IMPORTANT
Rights advocates have noted rising threats against American Muslims, Arabs and Jews since the eruption of Israel’s wars in Gaza and Lebanon following an Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Palestinian Hamas militants.
Some recent incidents that have raised alarm over antisemitism include threats of violence against Jews at Cornell University that led to a conviction and sentencing, an unsuccessful plot to attack a New York City Jewish center and a physical assault against a Jewish man in Michigan.

KEY QUOTE
“For unknown reasons, the male suspect, identified as 47-year-old Junior Michael Reece, swung a wooden stake at the victim, striking him,” Montgomery County Police Department said in a statement. “This incident is being investigated as a hate crime.”
The suspect was charged with felony assault and related crimes, police said, adding that the victim, who was not identified, suffered minor injuries.

CONTEXT
Other recent violent US incidents with Muslim and Arab victims include the attempted drowning of a 3-year-old Muslim girl in Texas, the fatal stabbing of a 6-year-old Muslim boy in Illinois, the stabbing of a Muslim man in Texas, the beating of a Muslim man in New York and a violent mob attack on pro-Palestinian protesters in California.

 


US envoy reassures Panamanians about contentious military deal

Updated 6 sec ago
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US envoy reassures Panamanians about contentious military deal

  • The agreement allows US military personnel to deploy to Panamanian-controlled bases along the canal

PANAMA:The new US ambassador to Panama on Thursday reassured its citizens that an agreement signed by the two countries last month does not permit the return of American military bases.
US President Donald Trump's repeated threats to "take back" control of the Panama Canal from what he calls excessive Chinese influence has caused alarm in the Central American nation.
The agreement signed by Trump's defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, and President Jose Raul Mulino's administration allows US military personnel to deploy to Panamanian-controlled bases along the canal for training, exercises and "other activities."
"Nowhere" does the agreement "talk about opening military bases," Trump's ambassador, Kevin Cabrera, told a news conference.
This agreement "will strengthen our cooperation against drug trafficking and protect the canal," which the United States built and controlled until 1999, he added.
The recent deal has sparked protests from Panamanians who oppose any perceived infringement of their country's sovereignty after a 1989 US invasion to depose then-leader General Manuel Noriega.
Cabrera said that "false" information was being spread about the agreement "for political reasons."
Mulino on Thursday ruled out canceling the pact, which he said did not allow "any form" of US military base in his country.
"There is no cession of territory here," he told a news conference.


Ransomware group Lockbit appears to have been hacked, analysts say

Updated 4 min 52 sec ago
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Ransomware group Lockbit appears to have been hacked, analysts say

  • Lockbit is one of the world’s most prolific cyber extortion gangs and it has survived past disruptions

 

WASHINGTON: The ransom-seeking cybercriminals behind the extortion group Lockbit appear to have suffered a breach of their own, according to a rogue post to one of the group’s websites and security analysts who follow the gang.
On Wednesday one of Lockbit’s darkweb sites was replaced with a message saying, “Don’t do crime CRIME IS BAD xoxo from Prague” and a link to an apparent cache of leaked data.
Reuters could not immediately verify the data, which appeared to capture chats between the hackers and their victims, among other things. But others who sifted through the material told Reuters it appeared authentic.
“It’s legit,” said Jon DiMaggio, the chief security strategist with the cybersecurity company Analyst1.
Christiaan Beek, senior director of threat analytics at cybersecurity firm Rapid7, agreed the leak “looks really authentic.” He said he was struck by how it showed Lockbit’s hackers hustling even for modest payouts from small businesses.
“They attack everyone,” he said.
Reuters could not immediately reach Lockbit or establish who had apparently leaked their data. Some darkweb sites associated with Lockbit appeared to be inoperative on Thursday, displaying a note saying they would be “working soon.”
Lockbit is one of the world’s most prolific cyber extortion gangs — diMaggio once called it “the Walmart of ransomware groups” — and it has survived past disruptions. Last year British and US officials worked with a coalition of international law enforcement agencies to seize some of the gang’s infrastructure. A few days later, the group defiantly announced it was back online, saying, “I cannot be stopped.”
Behind the bravado, diMaggio said this week’s hack was an embarrassment.
“I think it will hurt them and slow them down,” he said.


US military to ‘immediately’ start removing 1,000 trans troops

Updated 11 min 48 sec ago
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US military to ‘immediately’ start removing 1,000 trans troops

WASHINGTON: The US military will “immediately” start the process of removing some 1,000 transgender troops and will force out those who do not leave voluntarily by early June, the Pentagon said on Thursday.
President Donald Trump issued an executive order in January banning transgender military service, and the US Supreme Court ruled this week that the ban could take effect while litigation challenging it plays out.
“The Military Departments will immediately begin processing for separation service members who previously self-identified for voluntary separation prior to March 26, 2025,” a memo from Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth said.
Approximately 1,000 troops who identified as having gender dysphoria diagnoses fall into that category, Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement.
There were a total of 4,240 currently serving troops with such diagnoses as of late last year, according to a senior defense official, and the memo said those who do not voluntarily leave by June 6 for active-duty troops and the following day for reserves will be removed.
“On conclusion of the self-identification eligibility window, the Military Departments will initiate involuntary separation processes,” the memo said.
In his January 27 executive order, Trump stated that “expressing a false ‘gender identity’ divergent from an individual’s sex cannot satisfy the rigorous standards necessary for military service.”
The Pentagon followed that up with a memo issued in late February stating that it would remove transgender troops from the military unless they obtain a waiver on a case-by-case basis, as well as prevent transgender people from joining.
Transgender Americans have faced a roller coaster of changing policies on military service in recent years, with Democratic administrations seeking to permit them to serve openly, while Trump has sought to keep them out of the ranks.


Trump calls for ‘unconditional’ 30-day Russia-Ukraine ceasefire

Updated 09 May 2025
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Trump calls for ‘unconditional’ 30-day Russia-Ukraine ceasefire

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump called Thursday for a month-long unconditional ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, with any breaches punishable by sanctions.
“Talks with Russia/Ukraine continue. The US calls for, ideally, a 30-day unconditional ceasefire,” Trump said on his Truth Social network shortly after speaking to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
“If the ceasefire is not respected, the US and its partners will impose further sanctions.”
Trump said that “both countries will be held accountable for respecting the sanctity of these direct negotiations” to halt the conflict that started when Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.
The US president said he wanted any ceasefire to then build to a “lasting peace.”
“It can all be done very quickly, and I will be available on a moment’s notice if my services are needed.”
Trump opened talks with Russia’s Vladimir Putin in February in a bid to end the war that he had previously pledged to end within 24 hours of starting his second term.
But he has shown growing impatience, first with Zelensky and more recently with Putin as the fighting has continued.
Trump and other top US officials have stepped up warnings in recent weeks that Washington is prepared to walk away from its role as a broker if there is no progress soon.
Zelensky said on social media that he had told Trump Thursday that Ukraine was ready for talks on the war with Russia “in any format” but insisted that there first had to be a full ceasefire.


US VP Vance says India-Pakistan conflict ‘fundamentally none of our business’

Updated 09 May 2025
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US VP Vance says India-Pakistan conflict ‘fundamentally none of our business’

WASHINGTON: US Vice President JD Vance on Thursday said Washington wanted to see a “de-escalation” in a worsening conflict between India and Pakistan, but that it was “fundamentally none of our business.”
“What we can do is try to encourage these folks to de-escalate a little bit, but we’re not going to get involved in the middle of a war that’s fundamentally none of our business and has nothing to do with America’s ability to control it,” said Vance, who has been a proponent of US disengagement from international conflicts, in an interview with Fox News.