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Melbourne, Australia – More than four decades after they were convicted in one of Australia’s longest-running criminal trials, the evidence used to jail six former Yugoslav migrants is being re-examined to determine if they were victims of a miscarriage of justice. A rare judicial inquiry in the state of New South Wales (NSW) began investigating this month the convictions of six Croatian-Australian men found guilty in 1981 of plotting to bomb sites across Sydney, Australia’s biggest city. end of list A Supreme Court judge ordered the inquiry on the grounds that there were “doubts” and “questions” about the evidence provided to the trial by police officers and a key witness, who Australia’s domestic spy agency suspected may have been an informant for the state intelligence agency of the then-Yugoslavia, the Eastern European country that eventually broke up in a wave of nationalism in 1991. “The members of the ‘Croatian Six’ for whom I act have always and steadfastly maintained their innocence,” said Sebastian De Brennan, one of the lawyers representing the three men on whose behalf the judicial review application was made: Vjekoslav Brajkovic, Maksimilian Bebic and the late Mile Nekic, who died last year in Croatia. De Brennan told Al Jazeera the inquiry was “a vindication for my clients who wanted nothing more than to have their names, and those of the many other Croatian-Australians whose good reputations were tarnished by the case, cleared.” The inquiry will also examine the cases of the three other members of the “Croatian Six”: Anton Zvirotic and brothers Ilija and Joseph Kokotovic. All six men were recent migrants from Yugoslavia when they were arrested in Sydney and the NSW town of Lithgow in February 1979. After a 172-day trial in the NSW Supreme Court, in February 1981, they were convicted of involvement in a conspiracy to bomb two travel agencies, a Serbian community club, a suburban theatre and Sydney water supply pipes. They were also convicted on charges of possessing explosives and each sentenced to a maximum of 15 years in prison. They served sentences of 10 years before being released in 1991. Intelligence has been declassified for the inquiry [Courtesy of the National Archives of Australia] Multiple legal appeals and applications for judicial review were unsuccessful but in 2022, after examining new information submitted to the NSW Supreme Court, Judge Robertson Wright ordered a judicial inquiry into the convictions. Judge Wright said there were “doubts or questions as to parts of the evidence … and the guilt of the Croatian Six”, including whether a central witness gave “deliberately false” evidence in the original trial. The man, known as Vico Virkez, told police that he was a member of the largely anti-communist Croatian-Australian community and involved in the alleged bombing plot with the convicted men. His confession to Lithgow police in 1979 led to their arrests. Declassified government documents name him as Vito Misimovic or Mesimovic, a Bosnian-born migrant who was reported by the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) as having links to the Yugoslav consulate in Sydney. Yugoslavia’s eventual split following the collapse of the then-Soviet Union led to the independence of several countries including Croatia. ASIO files describe the “Croatian Six” as belonging to a “Croatian nationalist movement dedicated to overthrowing the Yugoslav government and establishing an independent Croatian state”. In his decision, Judge Wright states there is a “real possibility that the Yugoslav Intelligence Service used Mr Virkez as an agent provocateur or informer, to cause false information to be given to the NSW Police, and possibly ASIO, as to the existence of a bombing conspiracy involving the Croatian Six, in order to discredit Croatians in Australia”. Investigative journalist Hamish McDonald, who has written extensively on the “Croatian Six”, expects the declassified information on Virkez’s activities to have a significant impact on the inquiry. In 2018, McDonald’s research led to the intelligence agency files being declassified and included in the application for a judicial inquiry. “The ASIO evidence shows that this information was given very early to the state police but none of it reached the defence counsel or was heard in the court,” McDonald recalled. “The Crown Counsel assured the court there was not a scintilla of evidence that Virkez was a Yugoslav agent.” In directing the inquiry, Judge Wright found that “the unavailability to the defence at the trial of the information of the type disclosed in the declassified ASIO documents may well have deprived each accused of a chance of acquittal”. McDonald believes that if any of the surviving police officers involved in arresting the “Croatian Six” appear before the inquiry, they will be questioned “about the physical evidence they claim to have found on the premises of the six Croatian Australians and why they did not do certain things that would be routine procedures now, like photographing evidence and fingerprinting. They’d be asked whether they used violence in the interrogation of the arrested men”. Four of the men alleged they were beaten while in police custody. Judge Wright said there were questions too about the evidence provided by NSW Police officers about the confessions attributed to all six men and the discovery of explosives linked to them. “The inquiry will have a wider scope than a trial and examine the convictions in a different way to an appeals court,” explained Associate Professor Mehera San Roque, an expert in evidence law at the University of New South Wales. “It is not bound by the rules of evidence. So, the judge will be able to receive evidence that might otherwise be inadmissible in a trial,” she said. At the end of the inquiry, the judge will submit a report to the chief justice of the Supreme Court and “may refer the matter to the Court of Criminal Appeal for consideration of whether the convictions should be quashed, or the sentence reconsidered”. “If the convictions are quashed, it is possible to seek compensation,” added San Roque. ‘I was innocent’ The “Croatian Six” and their families have rarely spoken publicly about the…

About 18,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli bombardment since October 7. The revised death toll in Israel stands at 1,147. A special UN General Assembly session to be held on Tuesday comes after Egypt and Mauritania invoked resolution 377, “Uniting for Peace”. The WHO requests “immediate, unimpeded” access to Gaza as its chief called the current situation “catastrophic”. UN forces in Lebanon have warned of a “wider conflict” as Israel and Hezbollah escalate air raids and drone attacks. Occupied West Bank comes to a standstill amid solidarity strike Nida Ibrahim Reporting from Jenin, occupied West Bank Palestinians are closing down their shops – including pharmacies, bakeries and street vendors – and all aspects of life in various areas of the occupied West Bank in solidarity with those in the besieged Gaza Strip. Palestinians are hoping that by doing this, the world will take notice and this will translate into increased pressure on Israel. Their main demand is for a ceasefire in Gaza but they also want the world to pressure Israel to end the occupation. For Palestinians, strikes have historically been important ways to shed light on their situation. It’s also a sign of unity that they’re all united against the Israeli occupation. Click here to share on social media Gaza conflict shows need to put people first, says Somali FM Alma Milisic Reporting from the Doha Forum The situation in Gaza serves as a stark reminder of the need to put people first, Somalia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Abshir Omar Jama said in a speech at the Doha Forum. Global leaders have gathered for a second day in the Qatari capital with discussions on how to ease the humanitarian situation in Gaza and agree a ceasefire topping this year’s agenda. The Somali official emphasised the importance of involving the “international community to address the underlying causes of suppressed advocacy for the protection and dignity of the civilian population, including children and vulnerable groups who are disproportionately affected”. Click here to share on social media 142 female prisoners from Gaza detained by Israel Palestine’s Commission for Detainees’ Affairs says Israel is currently holding 142 female Palestinian prisoners, including children and elderly, who were arrested during the ground invasion in Gaza. It added that they were being detained in several prisons, including Damon and Hasharon. As of the end of November, Israel said 260 Palestinians from Gaza were held in Israel, whom it classifies as illegal combatants. Gaza residents with permits to work in Israel found themselves stuck outside the besieged enclave after Israel launched its relentless bombardment. Click here to share on social media Palestinians being killed at historic pace by Israeli bombing Hani Mahmoud Reporting from Rafah, southern Gaza The overnight bombardment across the Gaza Strip just confirmed what people have been saying: The Israeli military is targeting civilians in their homes when they’re sleeping or eating with their families. We’re seeing civilians being killed at a historic pace. Maghazi is a densely populated refugee camp in central Gaza … in a very densely populated neighbourhood. Homes were targeted overnight and 23 people were reported killed. Many were injured around those houses that were targeted. The lack of equipment for rescue crews makes it very difficult to help those who might have survived. People are using their hands to remove rubble and save as many as they can. Nuseirat – another densely populated refugee camp – was also targeted in what seems to be a war on refugee camps. Click here to share on social media Violence escalates between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah Crossfire on the Lebanon-Israel border is continuing. We’re getting reports that at least eight rockets were fired from Lebanon at the northern Israeli city of Ma’alot-Tarshiha this morning, The Times of Israel said. Footage published on social media shows rockets fired from southern Lebanon into northern Israel being intercepted by the Iron Dome air defence system. Some rockets appeared to have landed in open areas. There are no reports of injuries. In southern Lebanon, an Al Jazeera correspondent said an Israeli artillery bombardment targeted the vicinity of the towns of Naqoura, Zibqin, Yarin, Marwahin and Jebbayn. Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah have been trading fire since the war in Gaza erupted two months ago in their worst hostilities since a 2006 conflict. The violence has largely been contained to the border area. Click here to share on social media WATCH: Sirens blare in Spanish civil war town in solidarity with Gaza Protesters in Guernica form the Palestinian flag in the same market square that was bombed by Nazi and fascist forces during the Spanish civil war. Doha Forum resumes in Qatar The Doha Forum resumes today in the Qatari capital with the war in Gaza expected to top the agenda again. Speakers and panellists on the opening day highlighted the need for an urgent ceasefire and halt to Israel’s continued bombing of the besieged enclave that has killed almost 18,000 people. Our correspondents Virginia Pietromarchi and Alma Milisic are at the event and will bring you all the major developments. [Alma Milisic/Al Jazeera] Click here to share on social media Window on Israel’s war in Gaza closing Yossi Mekelberg of Chatham House believes there could be a ceasefire in the next few weeks, either before Christmas or by the end of the year, as the US becomes increasingly concerned over the death toll in Gaza. He said that for the people of Gaza, a few weeks would still be a “very long time”. Mekelberg, who is an associate fellow of the MENA programme at Chatham House, said the fighting also needs to stop if Israel wants all the captives released. “Everyone needs to go back to the negotiating table…  all of this is one big disaster,” he added. Source:https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/12/11/israel-hamas-war-live-who-decries-catastrophic-situation-in-gaza

  At least 10 people have died and thousands remain cut off from the power grid in Ukraine, in three days of stormy weather that has blanketed parts of the country in heavy snow, a senior official said Tuesday. More than 400 settlements across 11 regions were without electricity, and more than 1,500 responders were trying to reach thousands of people in need of rescue, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko wrote on Telegram, as fresh bouts of snow are expected to continue this week. Another 23 were injured, including two children, Klymenko said Tuesday, adding the deaths were in Odesa, Kharkiv, Mykolaiv and Kyiv regions. The storm also hit occupied Crimea, prompting Russian-appointed officials to announce a state of emergency in parts of the peninsula. The worst of the storm that hit Ukraine on Sunday appears to have passed, but another powerful low-pressure system will hit the country late Tuesday through Wednesday, unleashing rounds of additional heavy snow, wind and rain. Snow totals — which measure how much snow has fallen — from the current storm will be highest across the mountainous southwestern regions of Ivano-Frankivsk and Zakapattia, where the Ukrainian Hydrometeorological Center has warned of “considerable danger” of avalanches. Odesa meteoroligists say the current snowfall is the heaviest in the last five years. Viacheslav Onyshchenko/SOPA Images/LightRocket/Getty Images Interior Ministry spokesperson Maryana Reva said that snow drifts in some places had reached 2 meters high. She told Ukrainian television that the south was worst affected, with five deaths recorded in Odesa region. The storm hit as Ukrainians continue to live through challenging conditions that have come from Russia’s war on the country. Infrastructure and basic services have been compromised already in many places, and the extreme weather is compounding those problems. Officials gave grim accounts of where the dead were found. “All the deceased were discovered on the streets,” Reeva said Tuesday. “According to preliminary information, they died of hypothermia.” Enter your email to sign up for CNN’s “Meanwhile in China” Newsletter. close dialog She said a total of 6,000 Interior Ministry personnel had been involved in responding to the storm since Sunday. Rescue teams evacuated nearly 2,500 people from Odesa, including 162 children, according to Governor Oleh Kiper. “849 vehicles were towed, including 24 buses and 17 ambulances,” he wrote on Telegram. The extreme weather was caused by a low-pressure system over eastern Europe over the weekend. Wind speeds of up to 65 miles (105 kilometers) per hour on Sunday were reported. Thousands without power In occupied Crimea, the Russian-appointed head of the peninsula Sergey Aksenov announced a state of emergency in 10 municipalities on Tuesday. “Yesterday I reported the situation to our President [Vladimir Putin], who gave instructions to the federal government to allocate funds for the restoration of the destroyed infrastructure,” Aksenov wrote on Telegram. The storm had left some 93,000 people in Crimea without electricity, and disrupted the water supply to 245 villages, Aksenov said. “Work at the sites is being carried out around the clock. Teams of resource specialists have been formed,” he said. The Russian Emergency Ministry also warned the situation could deteriorate across the country, Russian state news agency TASS reported. Climate change, caused primarily by humans burning fossil fuels, is making severe storms in many parts of the world more frequent. In Ukraine, the overall snow cover each year is expected to decline as the planet warms further. But climate change is also making heavy snowfall events in winter more frequent there. The country is also grappling with drought that has impacted agriculture, also made more likely by the climate crisis, as well as an uptick in flooding events. Source:https://edition.cnn.com/2023/11/28/europe/ukraine-odesa-black-sea-snow-storm-intl/index.html

MANSEHRA: The internal and external security of the Dasu Hydropower Project had been beefed up after the attack on a passenger bus on Karakoram Highway (KKH) near Chilas in which 10 people were killed earlier this month, an official said on Thursday. “We have enhanced security of the Chinese nationals working on this mega energy project, and also established more posts in and outside of the project’s premises,” Dasu Hydropower Project General Manager Anwarul Haq told reporters. He said though the security of Chinese engineers and workers executing the 4300-megawatts project was already up to the mark, it was further enhanced following an attack on the neighbouring Diamer district in Gilgit-Baltistan on December 2. He said the security personnel were more vigilant to deal with any situation.The official said that the execution of the dam was well underway and a delegation from the World Bank also visited the dam sites recently and reviewed ongoing work. “We could complete the first phase of this mega energy project at its stipulated period,” Anwarul Haq said. The Upper Kohistan police have also increased patrolling at Karakoram Highway and of development projects being executed by foreigners in the district. District Police Officer Mohammad Khalid Khan visited the Shatial area of the district and reviewed the security arrangements made by police at Karakoram Highway and police posts.The Lower Kohistan police also enhanced its patrolling in KKH in the limits of Dubair and Jijal police stations. “We have been allowing local and foreign passengers and workers following a complete security and bio-data check at Chakai police post at KKH,” said District Police Officer, Lower Kohistan, Jamil Akhtar. Source:https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/1136153-security-of-dasu-power-project-upped-after-kkh-attack

Health ministry says at least six Palestinians killed and many wounded in Israeli raids across occupied West Bank overnight and this morning. Israel continues intense bombardment of the Gaza Strip, as health facilities and humanitarian aid efforts are crumbling due to intense fighting. White House aide says US has “not given a firm deadline to Israel” to end military operations in the besieged enclave. UN Security Council expected to discuss situation in Gaza on Friday as countries press for a ceasefire amid continued opposition from veto-holding US. At least 17,177 Palestinians killed in Gaza since October 7. In Israel, the revised official death toll stands at about 1,147. Israeli military claim to have hit targets in Syria The Israeli military announced that they had, overnight, struck what they described as an “armed terrorist cell” in the vicinity of the occupied Golan Heights. They said they had also hit several targets in Syria in response to attacks on the occupied Golan Heights yesterday. The Golan Heights is a 1,200 square kilometre (463 square miles) plateau in Syrian territory that was occupied by Israel in 1967 after capturing the area in the Six-Day War. It was annexed by Israel in 1981. At least five Palestinians killed in Far’a refugee camp At least five Palestinians have been shot dead by Israeli forces in a raid on the Far’a refugee camp in occupied West Bank, according to the Palestinian health ministry. Overnight and early this morning, raids have been reported in several areas across the occupied Palestinian territory: Ramallah, where Israeli soldiers fired sound grenades and tear gas Al-Fawwar refugee camp, south of Hebron Villages of Kafr Qaddum and Jinsafut, east of Qalqilya Occupied East Jerusalem, where Israeli forces have also arrested two Palestinian men, according to the Palestinian news agency Wafa Click Palestinian Authority working with US for post-war Gaza: Report Bloomberg News is reporting that the Palestinian Authority is working with US officials on a plan to run Gaza once the war is over. The preferred outcome of the conflict would be for Hamas to become a junior partner under the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), helping to build a new independent state that includes the occupied West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem, the report said, citing Palestinian PM Shtayyeh. “If they [Hamas] are ready to come to an agreement and accept the political platform of the PLO, then there will be room for talk. Palestinians should not be divided,” he said, adding that Israel’s aim to fully defeat Hamas is unrealistic. Smoke rises over Gaza [Athit Perawongmetha/Reuters] Click here to share on social media US officials voice concern over Israel’s military ambitions: Report The HuffPost has reported that US officials are concerned that Israel is looking to secure US weapons for a war in Lebanon. “This is a pivotal moment in history, and we should feel angry about how Netanyahu has literally put our reputation on fire to advance his personal political agenda. The collateral effects to American security are extremely consequential,” the news website quoted a State Department official as saying, Click here to share on social media Men kidnapped from schools under heavy gunfire Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud, reporting from Rafah in the Gaza Strip, said that dozens of men taken from UN-affiliated schools in northern Gaza on Thursday were rounded up under “heavy gunfire” with snipers also positioned around the school. “Those men were ordered to leave the school and then they were blindfolded. They were stripped of their clothes, and there were signs of beatings and torture as we’ve seen in one of the videos and the pictures circulating,” he said. Footage aired by Israeli media showed at least 100 Palestinian men sitting in their underwear on the street in Jabalia before being taken to an unknown location. Among the men were doctors, academics, journalists and the elderly, according to the Geneva-based Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor. We are getting reports of casualties in Far’a refugee camp near Tubas, northeast of Nablus, in the occupied West Bank, following an Israeli raid. At least three people have been killed and three others were wounded, medical sources told Al Jazeera. Videos from earlier this morning show Israeli forces entering the site with tanks while sounds of explosions could be heard across the camp. We will add more information as we get it. Click here to share on social media Will Netanyahu risk a tunnel conflict to ‘eradicate Hamas’, stay in power? Nils Adler Al Jazeera spoke to experts on the challenges the Israeli army would face if they entered the sophisticated, sprawling network of tunnels under the Gaza Strip. Fighting in the narrow tunnels would be a risky move for the Israelis, who would be without the aerial support they rely on overground. However, some believe that a politically embattled Netanyahu may still choose to engage Hamas in the tunnels to fulfil his ambitions of eradicating the group. Read the full article here. An Israeli soldier secures a tunnel underneath Gaza City, on November 22, 2023 [Ronen Zvulun/Reuters] Click here to share on social media Renewed Israeli air strikes across Gaza Israeli forces struck a number of areas across the Gaza Strip earlier today, including in the Jabalia refugee camp, northern Gaza. Additionally, an Israeli air attack on a house in Nuseirat refugee camp, central Gaza, killed five people. Click here to share on social media Ben-Gvir requests Hamas prisoners be moved to underground prison wing Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has ordered the country’s prison service commissioner to reopen an underground prison wing to hold jailed members of Hamas’s armed wing, the Qassam Brigades. The Times of Israel, citing Hebrew media, reported that the wing was part of the Nitzan prison in central Israel and is reported to have been unused for years. Ben-Gvir also wrote to Israel’s police commissioner describing the conditions in the underground wing as “not among the best”, but that the conditions “comply with the provisions of the law and the relevant regulations, and it has housed prisoners in the past”. Click here to share on social

The death toll from the fire that ripped through a multi-storey commercial-cum-residential building located near Ayesha Manzil in Karachi’s Federal B Area a day earlier has increased to five, police said on Thursday. Late on Wednesday evening, 12 fire engines, two snorkels and two bowsers brought under control the fire that erupted in the six-storey building after several hours of hectic efforts. Officials had said three people were killed and two sustained burn injuries in the blaze. Witnesses had said the fire erupted in a mattress shop located at the front of the building and then later spread throughout the structure. Immediately after the incident, caretaker Sindh Chief Minister retired Justice Maqbool Baqar ordered a probe. Yesterday’s blaze was the second incident of fire in under a fortnight. On Nov 25, a fire that erupted in a six-storey building on Rashid Minhas Road claimed 11 lives. Speaking to Dawn.com today, Central Senior Superintendent of Police Faisal Abdullah Chachar said the death toll from the Ayesha Manzil fire had increased to five. The deceased persons were aged between 20 and 40 years. He added that a first information report of the incident had not yet been registered. Footage aired on television in the morning showed the charred building, covered in soot. Meanwhile, in a visit to the fire site, Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) convener Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui held the PPP responsible for the incident. “Who should the people of Karachi blame for those who were killed and burned?” he asked. “The public need to know those who are responsible for turning this city into a jungle.” Siddiqui stated that Karachi had seen several of its people being killed on the streets. He demanded that the caretaker chief minister should come forth and show “how much power does he have”. MQM-P’s Dr Farooq Sattar lamented the absence of officials at the building, saying that there was no one present who could comfort the bereaved families. “Who will compensate these people? Who will bring back their homes and shops? These are all questions that need to be answered […] for God sake please listen to our voices,” he added. 90pc buildings in Karachi have no firefighting system At a moot last month, city planners, engineers and experts of building plans had revealed that some 90 per cent of all structures in Karachi — residential, commercial and industrial — did not have fire prevention and firefighting systems. The experts had referred to the data that more than 15,000 people lost their lives and suffered losses of over a trillion rupees every year due to fire accidents across the country which mainly occurred in urban areas where majority of residential, commercial and industrial structures were raised in violation of defined building rules. They had warned that growing concrete structures without following the defined building code posed serious threats to hundreds of thousands of lives. They had also asked the government to move fast for effective implementation of fire prevention and firefighting laws “before it’s too late”. Source:https://www.dawn.com/news/1795817/death-toll-from-blaze-in-building-near-karachis-ayesha-manzil-rises-to-5

The gunman in a Wednesday mass shooting on the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, campus that left three dead and a fourth wounded is a 67-year-old career college professor with connections to colleges in Georgia and North Carolina, a law enforcement source told CNN, but it’s unknown what connection he had with the school where the shooting took place. At a Wednesday evening news conference, Las Vegas Metro Sheriff Kevin McMahill said the identity of the shooter, who is dead, will not be released until his family has been notified. Campus police engaged the shooter outside of Beam Hall, the sheriff said. There was a gathering outside the hall where students were playing games and building things with Legos, according to the sheriff. “What happened today is a heinous, unforgivable crime… If it hadn’t been for the heroic actions of one of those police officers who responded, there could have been countless additional lives taken,” he said. In addition to the four victims who were shot, four people were taken to hospitals due to symptoms of panic attacks, the sheriff said. Two law enforcement officers were treated for minor injuries suffered during the search for victims. Three patients were taken to Sunrise Hospital, spokesperson Marissa Mussi said. The sheriff said the condition of the wounded victim – initially listed as critical – had been upgraded to stable. Police are working to uncover evidence and identify a motive, McMahill said, adding he didn’t have any details on the suspect’s weapon. This latest mass shooting comes as students are in the middle of a study week before taking final exams and going on winter break, in the same city that suffered the worst mass shooting in modern US history in 2017. Student Amanda Perez, 23, is comforted by her fiancé, Alejandro Barron, 24, on campus. Ronda Churchill/AFP/Getty Images Police responded shortly before noon Wednesday to reports of a shooting with multiple victims on the campus, near Beam Hall, the home of the university’s Lee Business School, according to a social media post. At 11:54 a.m. local time, the university posted an emergency notice online, saying, “University Police responding to report of shots fire in BEH evacuate to a safe area, RUN-HIDE-FIGHT.” The university then said on X police were responding to “additional report of shots fired in the Student Union,” and advised people to evacuate the area. Students were ordered to shelter in place for hours as law enforcement confronted the suspect and then worked to clear and evacuate campus buildings. The order was lifted around 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, the university said in a post on X, noting that there was no longer an active threat on campus. Enter your email to sign up for CNN’s “Meanwhile in China” Newsletter. close dialog “I was sitting outside, I was just having breakfast. I heard three loud booms and I was like, ‘Oh, what was that?’” a student told CNN affiliate KVVU. “Police showed up, then I ran inside. “After two minutes, more shots. I ran into the basements, and I was there for 20,” the student said. “I was just hearing a lot of shots.” Brett Johnsen was in Beam Hall when he heard a loud noise during class, he told CNN, but it didn’t sound like a gunshot and the professor continued to teach. “Then an alarm came on,” Johnsen said, “I’ve never heard an alarm like that before, it didn’t sound like a fire alarm.” The students in the class began packing things up, relatively calmly, Johnsen explained. “When we began to walk out of the class, that’s when things got real,” he added. After the professor opened the door to let students out, the look on his face turned to panic and he urged the students to get back, lock the doors and get on the ground, Johnsen said. The professor checked the situation outside again after 30 seconds, Johnsen said, and then told the students to “run as fast as we can.” UNLV president Keith Whitfield said in a statement that the campus community is in shock following the “unfathomable event.” “We will forever remember and honor those we have lost and who were injured. I’m grieving for the victims of today’s senseless shooting, and my heart breaks for the many students, faculty, staff, parents, loved ones and community members who suffered through hours of painful uncertainty while officers ensured that our campus was safe and secure again,” Whitfield said. Shooting is 80th at a US school this year and in same city as deadliest modern US mass shooting There have been 631 mass shootings in the United States this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive. There have been 80 US school shootings so far this year, according to a CNN analysis. Of those, 51 shootings have been reported on K-12 campuses and 29 on university and college campuses. UNLV is located just a few miles from the site of the mass shooting at the Route 91 Harvest music festival, which left at least 58 people dead and hundreds more wounded. In the years after the massacre, two more victims died of shooting-related injuries. A student told CNN affiliate KSNV he was in class in the building next to the student union and saw law enforcement officers going in. “We were really nervous so we barricaded all up,” he told the Las Vegas station. He and the other students took a few minutes to look out the windows, he said. Site of reported shooting “We saw students running out in single file lines with their hands up, scared, and we saw officers going in,” the student, who said he was in journalism class with about a dozen others, added. He said they didn’t hear any shooting or see anyone who might have been the shooter. “Tragic and heartbreaking news coming out of @unlv. Praying for everyone on campus as law enforcement responds to the situation,” Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn G. Goodman posted on X just after news of the shooting broke. The White House said it was monitoring the shooting “very closely.” The second gentleman was also already scheduled to deliver remarks tonight

Palestinians across Gaza face relentless Israeli bombardment as war in Gaza enters third month. UN chief Guterres invokes seldom-used Article 99 to force the Security Council to address war in Gaza, warning of deepening “catastrophe”. Gaza City’s Ahli Arab Hospital is at full capacity, Health Ministry spokesman warns, as the health system struggles to cope with new influx of wounded. At least 16,248 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since October 7. In Israel, the official death toll stands at about 1,200. Photos: Two months of Israeli war on Gaza Palestinians wave their flag and celebrate by a destroyed Israeli tank at the southern Gaza fence east of Khan Younis on Saturday, October 7, 2023. [Yousef Masoud/AP Photo] Palestinians inspect the rubble of the Yassin Mosque destroyed after it was hit by an Israeli airstrike at Shati refugee camp in Gaza City, early Monday, October 9, 2023 [Adel Hana/AP Photo] Palestinians pray over bodies of people killed in the Israeli bombardment who were brought from the Shifa hospital before burying them in a mass grave in the town of Khan Younis, southern Gaza, Wednesday, November 22, 2023. [Mohammed Dahman/AP Photo] Smoke rises following Israeli bombardment in Gaza, Wednesday, December 6, 2023 [Ariel Schalit/AP Photo] Women mourn holding the body of a Palestinian child killed in Israeli strikes on homes in Rafah, December 7, 2023 [Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/Reuters] Click More Israeli raids across occupied West Bank At least 21 Palestinians were detained in overnight and pre-dawn raids across the occupied West Bank, according to initial reports by the Palestinian Prisoners Society. Here’s a breakdown: In Hebron, Israeli forces confiscated more than a dozen scrap cars from Beit Ummar town north of the city – often used within villages as they cost less; Israel fears they can be used to carry out attacks, since they are not registered. In Bethlehem, at least five Palestinians were detained, in addition to three workers from Gaza. At least five other Palestinians were detained from Tulkarem, where Israeli forces raided the city with bulldozers destroying infrastructure in and around Nour Shams and Tulkarem refugee camps. Three Palestinians were detained from Nablus’ old city a short while ago, during yet another raid. A print shop was closed in downtown Ramallah after its contents were confiscated during a pre-dawn raid. Click here to share on social 1media G7 leaders demand measures be taken to protect civilians in Gaza The leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) have released a statement in which they express concern over the devastating impact that the war is having on the Palestinian civilian population in Gaza. Here are some of the key points: More effective action must also be taken to prevent the displacement of additional people and protect civilian infrastructure. Every effort must be made to ensure unhindered and continued humanitarian assistance for civilians, including food, water, medical care, fuel and shelter, and access for humanitarian workers. The population is increasingly vulnerable, and with winter approaching, we must continue to increase the flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza to meet fully the needs on the ground, including by opening additional crossings. Click here to share on social media Two months of ‘death, destruction and displacement’ Hani Mahmoud Palestinians have been experiencing the worst of living conditions under heavy Israeli bombardment since day one of the war. We are talking about a carpet bombardment of entire neighbourhoods and residential blocks. A large number of critically injured Palestinians overwhelmed their hospitals with this extreme shortage of medical supplies and necessities to keep them surviving. There is a serious lack of everything that Palestinians need to survive. So far, the mood of these more than 60 days has been death, destruction and displacement. We’re talking about more than 60 days of constant movement and running for their lives from one place to another, from the extreme northern part of the Gazan City of Beit Hanoon to the extreme south by Rafah, where many people are being packed and squeezed. Click Two months of war Two months ago, Israel declared war on Hamas after its deadly attack on October 7. Here is a quick recap of key developments: On October 7, Hamas fighters launched an unprecedented assault into Israel, killing at least 1,147 people, including 320 Israeli soldiers and 59 policemen. About 240 people were taken captive. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared war with the promise to destroy Hamas’s military and governmental capabilities and to return all hostages. A day later, Israel imposed a total blockade on Gaza, including a ban on admission of food, electricity and fuel. Weeks of intensive and indiscriminate bombing followed, destroying entire neighbourhoods in Gaza. At the end of October, Israel unleashed its second phase of the war by starting a ground operation in northern Gaza. On November 24, a weeklong truce mediated by Qatar took effect. It resulted in the release of more than 100 captives in exchange for at least 240 Palestinians who were held in Israeli prisons. Israeli air strikes resumed with renewed intensity on Friday following the collapse of the truce. Since then, Israeli troops have expanded their military operations to the south of Gaza with its troops now pressing deeper into Khan Younis. Overall, Israeli forces have killed more than 16,000 people, including at least 7,000 children. More than 1.9 million people have been forcefully displaced. Panic in Rafah as Israeli army strikes city overnight Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud, reporting from Rafah in the Gaza Strip, said on Thursday that despite Israeli orders for people from central Gaza and Khan Younis to evacuate to the city for safety, the city experienced heavy shelling overnight. The Israeli army “ordered with a threatening tone to move to Rafah because it is safe, but as of last night overnight … at least five residential homes were targeted and destroyed. And we’re talking about a large number of people who were killed,” he said. “[These strikes] are not concentrated in one area of Rafah … multiple locations were targeted, just sending waves of fear and concern that confirm what people have talked about and expressed before – there is literally no safe place

Nepal has arrested a gang that it accuses of smuggling people to be forced to join the Russian military campaign in Ukraine. The 10 detainees are accused of extorting large sums of money from unemployed youths, with the promise of a travel visa, an official said on Wednesday. However, the customers were then coerced into illegal recruitment into the Russian army. end of list Earlier this week, the government in Kathmandu urged Moscow to stop the use of Nepali mercenaries and send any men serving back home. That move followed the death of six Nepali citizens on the front line in Ukraine, with another captured by Kyiv’s forces. Kathmandu district police chief Bhupendra Khatri said the 10 suspects were arrested over the past few days following tip-offs. “We are discussing with the government lawyers about the case and will produce them to the court,” Khatri told Reuters news agency. He did not say when they would appear in court. Khatri said the detainees illegally charged each person up to $9,000 and sent them to Russia on “visit [tourist] visas”, mainly through the United Arab Emirates. They were then recruited into the Russian army. “It is a case of human smuggling … organised crime,” Khatri added. The detainees could not be immediately reached for comment. Situated between China and India, Nepal has requested compensation from Russia, currently involved in a prolonged war since its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, for the families of Nepali citizens who lost their lives. Nepali soldiers, renowned for their courage and combat prowess, known as Gurkhas, have served in the British and Indian armies since India gained independence in 1947 through a trilateral agreement. However, there is no such agreement with Russia. A large number of Nepalis seek employment abroad to make a living, and remittances play an important role in Nepal’s economy. These remittances accounted for nearly a quarter of the gross domestic product (GDP) last year, ranking as the ninth-highest globally, according to the World Bank. Russia has sought various sources for soldiers to post to Ukraine as its invasion extends. A mobilisation drive launched last year has added more than 300,000 soldiers to the cause, while the Wagner mercenary group recruited thousands of convicts. Last week, President Vladimir Putin signed a decree boosting the size of the Russian army by 15 percent, although the Kremlin said it would not seek to fill the quota with a draft by offering generous benefits to recruits. Source:https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/12/6/nepal-detains-10-over-allegations-they-sent-citizens-to-russian-army