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Saturday, July 16, 2016

Turkey Coup: Dozens Killed In Act Of 'Treason'

More than 100 people have been killed and 1,563 members of the armed forces arrested after an attempted military coup in Turkey. 
Turkey's state news agency said almost 200 soldiers had surrendered at the military HQ. 
Special troops have been sent in to secure the complex. 
Turkey's chief of police, Celalettin Lekesiz, said 16 plotters were killed during clashes at the military police command.  
The Anadolu news agency also reported that 1,154 people had been injured in the coup attempt.     
Aerial attacks, explosions and gunfire ripped through Istanbul and the capital Ankara through the night. 
Multiple blasts reportedly struck the parliament building in Ankara over the course of several hours, with lawmakers forced to retreat into shelters. 
A military jet also dropped a bomb near the presidential palace in Ankara, according to a Turkish TV station, quoted by news agency AFP.
A military helicopter, apparently firing at the offices of the state satellite operator Turksat, was reportedly shot down. 
At least three people were wounded when Turkey's intelligence agency headquarters were attacked by military helicopters and heavy machine gun fire, according to an intelligence source speaking to the Reuters news agency.
The source added that the agency's head, Hakan Fidan, was at a secure location and in constant contact with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Prime Minister Binali Yildirim. 
A live television broadcast showed dozens of pro-coup soldiers who had seized Istanbul's Bosporus bridge abandoning their tanks with their hands in the air. 
An email statement from the pro-coup faction insisted, however, that they were still "determinedly" fighting.
Earlier, Mr Erdogan, whose whereabouts were unknown for the first few hours of the coup, touched down in Istanbul to hundreds of cheering supporters. 
In an address to the nation, he said he remained "at the helm", condemning the uprising as an act of "treason".

"This is a betrayal ... and they are going to pay for this," he said.
The president claimed his hotel on Turkey's Aegean coast was bombed after he left and that his general secretary, Hulusi Akar, was abducted by the coup makers. Mr Akar has since reportedly been rescued.
At one stage, Mr Erdogan conducted an extraordinary television interview, in which he addressed the nation from a mobile phone held up by the presenter. 
The uprising began late on Friday with reports of the sound of gunfire and military fighter jets screeching through the skies of Istanbul and Ankara.
Soldiers then stormed Turkey's state broadcaster TRT, forcing a presenter to read a statement live on air announcing that the military had "fully seized control" of the country.
The statement said Turkey, a NATO member, was being run by a "peace council". It declared that martial law and a nationwide curfew were in place.
Nothing was initially heard from the Turkish president until an extraordinary television interview, in which he addressed the nation from a mobile phone held up by the presenter.
Among the first reported casualties were seventeen police officers killed in a helicopter attack on the police headquarters in the capital, according to Turkish news agency, Anadolu. 
There were unconfirmed reports of explosions at Istanbul's Ataturk airport, forcing the cancellation or diversion of all commercial flights. Soldiers loyal to the government have since regained control of the airport, according to one Turkish official.
Blasts were also heard at Istanbul's famous Taksim Square, where large crowds gathered after news of the attempted coup broke
The well-being of a number of hostages, including a top general, who were reportedly taken at the military headquarters in Ankara remains unknown.

Meanwhile, Turkish television stations TRT and CNN Turk have both resumed broadcasting after being stormed by the military and briefly taken off the air.
It is unclear who is leading the movement. However, Mr Erdogan insisted some in the military have been taking orders from Fethullah Gulen, a US-based Turkish cleric who the president has repeatedly accused of fomenting unrest.
He said the attempted uprising was the work of a "parallel state" and "Pensylvania" - a reference to the state where the cleric is based.
Gulen's movement has denied involvement, saying in a statement that it was committed to democracy and was opposed to any military intervention

According to Turkish media, the military said it had taken action to: "reinstall the constitutional order, democracy, human rights and freedoms, to ensure that the rule of law once again reigns in the country, for the law and order to be reinstated".
The military statement said "all international agreements and commitments will remain. We pledge that good relations with all world countries will continue".
The Foreign Secretary, Boris Johnson, says he has spoken to his Turkish counterpart and underlined the UK's support for Turkey's democratically elected government. 
The United States has issued a call for all parties in Turkey to support Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government against the coup attempt. 

Friday, July 15, 2016

Nice attack: Who was the driver in the lorry attack?

The driver of the lorry that sped through a crowd in Nice, killing at least 84 people, has been identified as Tunisian national Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel, according to a French prosecutor and Tunisian security sources.

Prosecutor Francois Molins said Bouhlel had been identified by a driver's licence and bank card left in the lorry. Authorities also found in the truck a fake pistol, an ammunition magazine, a replica M16 rifle, a replica Kalashnikov rifle and a fake grenade.

Bouhlel, who ploughed the lorry into crowds celebrating Bastille Day on the French Riviera, had been convicted only once before - for road rage.

While he had several previous run-ins with the law, Bouhlel, a 31-year-old Nice resident born in Tunisia, was not on a watch list of international or French intelligence services.

Hunt For Parents Of Children Injured In Nice

A hospital treating children injured in the Bastille Day attack in Nice says it has been unable to trace the parents of a number of them.
"They won't say how many," Sky's Sam Kiley, reporting from outside Pasteur Hospital, said.
"They don't know if they are dead or merely separated." 
Another group of children who have been separated from their parents are at nearby police station, according to medical sources.
:: Bastille Day Attack: A Sky News special programme at 7pm tonight
At least 84 people, several of them children, were killed when a 31-year-old French-Tunisian drove a truck into the crowdsafter a seaside firework display.
Christian Estrosi, the regional president in Nice, said at least 10 children were among the dead.
About 50 children have been treated in hospital for injuries, including fractures and head injuries.
"Some are still life and death," Stephanie Simpson, the communications director for the Lenval foundation hospital, said.
Meanwhile, an eight-month-old child lost in the chaos was traced through Twitter. 
Tiava Banner appealed for any information on the baby who was in his blue stroller when the rampaging truck sent people fleeing in panic.
The post was shared thousands of times until it was updated with: "Found! Thank you Facebook and all those who helped us."
A member of the family said: "A young woman found him and took him home with her. She then went online and found the photo of the baby on Facebook."
The woman then contacted the baby's parents.

French-Tunisian Attacker 'Had Criminal Past'

At least 60 people were killed along the Promenade des Anglais in Nice, France, when a truck ran into a crowd celebrating the Bastille Day national holiday July 14. REUTERS/Jean-Pierre Amet
The lorry driver was killed, and images show the truck riddled with bullets
The man who drove a truck into a crowd celebrating Bastille Day in Nice was a French-Tunisian with a history of petty crimes, police sources said.
Identity papers belonging to the 31-year-old were reportedly found in the cab after the attack, which left at least 84 people dead.
The man, who has not been named, was not on French intelligence services' watch list, the police source told Reuters.
He was said to be a resident of Nice.
Photographs from the scene show the vehicle's windscreen riddled with gunshots.
The attacker fired a pistol several times into the crowd after the truck was brought to a halt, according to the regional president.
"At the moment that he was shot dead by police, he had fired several times," Christian Estrosi said.
Earlier, authorities said they had found "grenades and larger weapons" in the truck, which had picked up speed and travelled along the famous Promenade des Anglais for more than a mile.
However, a source close to the investigation told AFP that rifles in the vehicle were "fake" and the one grenade was "inactive".
Footage shows the lorry barrelling down the road, as several people chase after it on foot. Gunshots can be heard.

Thursday, July 14, 2016

President Barack Obama released a statement on Nice

President Barack Obama released a statement on the attack in Nice saying the United States stands “in solidarity and partnership with France, our oldest ally, as they respond to and recover from this attack.”

Nice latest as lorry hits crowd

  1. A lorry has struck a crowd during Bastille Day celebrations in the southern French city of Nice
  2. At least 60 people are dead, prosecutors say
  3. The driver of the lorry was shot dead, French media report

Dozens Killed In France Truck Attack

"People are running. It's panic. The lorry mounted the Prom, he drove over everyone," a journalist on the scene for local newspaper Nice Martin reported.
"Everyone is bleeding - there are loads of people injured, without doubt."