Day: June 16, 2023

Robert Bowers, the gunman who shot and killed 11 people at a Pennsylvania synagogue in 2018, was found guilty on Friday on all 63 federal charges he faced, according to multiple news outlets.

Bowers carried out the deadly attack on Oct. 27 at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh using an AR-15 assault-style rifle and three handguns. The mass shooting was the deadliest antisemitic attack in US history.

“He outright told SWAT operators he went to the synagogue to kill Jews, prosecutor Mary Hahn said during closing arguments.

Of the 63 criminal counts, which included hate crimes, Bowers, 46, was found guilty on 11 counts of obstructing the exercise of religious beliefs resulting in death, a capital offense that carries the death penalty.

Legal proceedings will now move to sentencing wherein a jury must decide whether Bowers will be given the death penalty or spend the rest of his life in prison. Prosecutors had already rejected a plea deal in which Bowers would have pleaded guilty in exchange for taking the death penalty off the table.

“He came to kill Jews,” New Light Congregation said in a statement during the trial. “Survivors were forced to relive the day’s trauma, while family members suffered through testimony recalling the final minutes of their loved ones.”

In addition to the 11 victims who were killed, six others were injured. Police eventually shot Bowers multiple times before he was taken into custody.

Source: Anadolu Agency

The UK has decided to impose a hosepipe and sprinkler ban on residents of Kent and Sussex, officials announced on Friday.

South East Water said 4,000 customers are without water or have been experiencing low pressure since Monday due to supply issues. The water company said it had no other choice after drinking water demand reached “record levels” in June, similar to last year’s drought.

People are not allowed to use equipment to water gardens, clean cars, and fill swimming pools.

The temporary usage ban can only be enforced after ten days of consultation, meaning after June 26. Those breaking the rules could face a £1,000 ($1,300) fine.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) said a wide impactful “serious water shortage” was also threatening Scotland.

The water authority warned that scarcity would only worsen if hot and dry weather continues. It has issued a water scarcity alert for every region of the country and forecast that 28 out of 83 areas would be put on the highest warning level by the end of June if river levels do not recover.

SEPA’s head of water planning, Nathan Critchlow-Watton, said: “Scotland’s climate is changing, and we urgently need to adapt. Severe water scarcity significantly impacts our environment, economy, and society. Our rivers and lochs are under immense stress, and further action will be needed to protect them.”

According to SEPA, high temperatures and low-level river flows pose a real threat to fish, invertebrates, and plants.

“While some parts of river ecology can recover quickly, others such as fish and plant populations can be seriously damaged longer-term or lost completely.”

Source: Anadolu Agency

Michael Jordan is set to sell the majority share of the Charlotte Hornets, NBA confirmed on Friday, a move that will end his 13-year run overseeing the basketball team.

In a statement, NBA said that Jordan has reached an agreement to sell the majority share of the Charlotte Hornets to a group led by Gabe Plotkin and Rick Schnall.

“Plotkin, who acquired a minority stake in the Hornets in 2019, has been an alternate governor on the NBA Board of Governors since 2019 and is the founder and chief investment officer of Tallwoods Capital LLC,” the statement said.

“Schnall is co-president of Clayton, Dubilier and Rice LLC, where he has worked for 27 years, and has been a significant minority owner of the Atlanta Hawks and an alternate governor on the NBA Board of Governors since 2015. Schnall is in the process of selling his investment in the Hawks, which is expected to be completed in the next several weeks,” it added.

Jordan is largely considered to be the greatest player in the history of the game, winning six NBA titles in 1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, and 1998 during his career with the Bulls.

He was also a six-time NBA Finals MVP (most valuable player) and 14-time NBA All-Star.

The 60-year-old legendary retired from basketball in 2003.

Source: Anadolu Agency

The Republic of Cyprus and the United States of America have reached a mutually beneficial deepening of defence cooperation during the second meeting of the bilateral Defence and Security Dialogue which took place in early June, in Washington, between a delegation of the Ministry of Defence (MoD) of the Republic of Cyprus and a delegation of the US Department of Defense.

In statements to the CNA, Brigadier General Charis Georgiou, head of the Minister of Defence’s military staff, said that the main purpose of the meeting was to expand and upgrade the two countries’ defence and military cooperation and noted that they were now putting together a specific cooperation plan with some objectives that should be implemented within the coming years.

He said that there was mutual intention for expanding strategic cooperation, such as for example, an agreement on the exchange of classified information between the Ministries of Defence of the two countries.

At the same time, Georgiou said that a joint military exercise was expected to take place within the year, following the previous exercises that took place between the two countries.

He said that a third meeting will take place in Cyprus in 2024 at a time to be determined by the two sides and noted that the purpose of these meetings was to monitor the implementation progress and evaluate the goals that have been set, as well as to set new ones.

Georgiou also said that during the meeting, cooperation matters and the training of military officers in the USA were also discussed, within the framework of the International Military Education and Training (IMET) programme through which the US provides funds for the training of military officers. He added that during the current period approximately 20 officers of the Cyprus National Guard (NG) will be trained. He noted that this, specific training of Cypriot officers began two years ago and continues progressively with more participants.

Georgiou told CNA that during the meeting they also discussed the implementation of joint cooperation exercises with the US armed forces, while the Cypriot side requested a ‘more frequent and greater presence’ of the American armed forces on the island for joint training with military units of the NG.

He also said that, in the context of the meeting, they reviewed developments and the security situation in the wider area of Cyprus, in relation to Turkey in particular, and added that the Cypriot delegation briefed the US officials about the country’s regional defence policy which is based on extroversion and cooperation with states of the Middle East and the Gulf and a network of bilateral and trilateral defence partnerships.

In addition, Georgiou said that the Cypriot delegation carried out an analysis of security issues in Cyprus and reported that the Turkish occupying forces have not only not reduced their military forces and equipment they keep on the island, but on the contrary are upgrading, mainly technologically, with better electronic and monitoring systems.

He also referred to the military base that the occupying forces have developed in occupied Lefkoniko with the possibility for landing for various types of unmanned aircraft, showing in this way, as Georgiou said, that this particular base does not only concern Cyprus but aims to control the wider Middle East region, affecting the interests of neighbouring states and states that have a presence in the eastern Mediterranean.

Georgiou told CNA that they also discussed the provision of expertise by the US regarding cyber defence and cyber security as well as climate change issues and especially the Armed Forces’ carbon footprint.

Lifting of the US arms embargo

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Regarding the lifting of the US embargo on the sale of defence equipment to Cyprus, Gergiou told CNA that the Republic of Cyprus has already made purchases from the American defence industry. He added that the delegation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cyprus welcomed the lifting of the anachronistic embargo and called on the US to end the annual assessment for the renewal of the lifting of the arms embargo, which, as he said, would broaden the prospects of cooperation.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. Repeated rounds of UN-led peace talks have so far failed to yield results. The latest round of negotiations, in July 2017 at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana ended inconclusively.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

The establishment of the Deputy Ministry for Immigration and Asylum was a key pillar of President Christodoulides Governance Program, Government Spokesman, Constantinos Letymbiotis has told CNA.

The establishment of the Deputy Ministry aims to put under a single body the implementation of an integrated strategy for immigration and asylum, he said. The goal is to “ensure the best management of the phenomenon and to offer protection to those who are legitimate beneficiaries, within the framework of the international and European obligations of the Republic”.

The Government expects that the Deputy Ministry for Immigration will contribute to a more effective management of the subject, with acceleration of the procedures regarding asylum applications, preventing irregular flows and fighting against the networks of traffickers, fighting against undeclared work, and improving the conditions in the reception centers.

Regarding the implementation timetable, the Spokesman said that the bill is expected to be approved by the House of Representatives as soon as possible, with its staffing and operation remaining high priorities for the government.

Source: Cyprus News Agency