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Saturday, July 23, 2016

First Victims Of Munich Shooting Named

Some of the victims of the deadly shooting rampage in Munich have been named.
Three of the nine people killed by the 18-year-old gunman were from Turkey.
They have been named by the country's foreign minister as Sevda Dag, Can Leyla and Selcuk Kilic.
Mevlut Cavusoglu said he had telephoned their families.

Three Kosovans were also killed in the attack, it has been confirmed by their country's foreign ministry.
President Hashim Thaci has declared Sunday a day of mourning for the two young girls and a man, who were ethnic Albanians.
He said he considered them "heroes in the war for the joint freedom and values in Europe".
Armela Segashi
Victim Armela Segashi was described as polite and clever
The father of one of the Kosovan victims, 21-year-old Diamant Zabergja, visited the scene of the shooting holding a picture of his son.
His uncle Baki Zarbgja said: "Diamant always came here (Kosovo) on holiday, but not this time because his path was cut by evil-doers.
"What more can I say? An angel left us."
Fadil Segashi, uncle of teenage victim Armela Segashi, said she was "an example to others".
He added: "She was very polite, she was clever and she was very good in school.
"She was only 14-years-old and she was a very good girl.
"I have no bad words for her. She was good in every way."
A Greek citizen also died.
The Greek foreign ministry said in a statement: "The impact of yesterday's tragic attack at the Olympia shopping mall in Munich sadly includes a Greek citizen among the innocent victims."

Welsh Teenagers Injured In France Bus Crash

A bus carrying teenagers from Wales has crashed in France, injuring 15 people, according to local police.
One of the injured teenagers is said to have life-threatening injuries.
Fifty people were on board the bus, most of them aged 14 to 17.
The bus was heading to Italy when it tipped over onto its side on the A39 motorway near the Swiss border. 
A coach carrying Welsh children has crashed in France
The bus carrying Welsh children crashed in France
Two helicopters were sent to the scene, near Lons-le-Saunier.
A Foreign Office spokesman said: "We are providing support to a group of British nationals following a coach crash in France. We are in contact with the relevant local authorities."
Bus crash
The vehicle was heading to Italy when it tipped onto its side. Pic: Paulette59553

Thousands Of Jobs To Go As BHS Name Vanishes

The BHS brand will disappear from British high streets on 20 August with the closure of the stricken chain's final stores, administrators will say next week.
Sky News has learnt Duff & Phelps is expected to announce on Monday the remaining 114 BHS shops will cease trading within four weeks, although many will close their doors for the last time before that date.
Their closure will directly affect more than 5,000 shopworkers, although the precise number who will lose their jobs was unclear on Saturday.
The news has been anticipated since efforts to find a buyer for the whole of BHS fell apart in early June, six weeks after the chain collapsed into administration.
The timing of the store closure announcement will be excruciating for Sir Philip Green, whose decision to sell BHS for £1 last year will be severely criticised by MPs in a coruscating report to be published on the same day.
It emerged on Friday the Cabinet Office is reviewing Sir Philip's knighthood, which could be stripped from him by Her Majesty The Queen if the move is recommended by the forfeiture committee.
The Commons Business Select Committee and its Work and Pensions counterpart are expected to accuse Sir Philip of failing to safeguard the interests of BHS's pension scheme members.
The TopShop tycoon promised to "sort" BHS's estimated £600m pension deficit during a six-hour hearing last month, although he is said to be still some way from reaching a deal that is acceptable to the Pensions Regulator.
To do so, he is likely to have to write a cheque for several hundred million pounds, although the precise structure of a rescue deal for pensioners could take months to finalise.
Roughly 50 BHS stores have already closed, with the loss of more than 1,300 jobs.
New tenants have been lined up for some BHS shops, although few details have emerged of successful efforts to find new jobs for the 11,000 staff who worked at the chain.
About 3000 of the total workforce were employed by concession operators in BHS stores, including those run by Sir Philip's Arcadia Group.
The MPs' inquiry, which has been running in tandem with probes by the Insolvency Service and Pensions Regulator, is also expected to single out Dominic Chappell, the former bankrupt to whom Sir Philip sold BHS, for heavy criticism.
Other parties, including a number of City advisers, may also be accused of failing to perform their duties in a responsible way.
During hours of evidence sessions, Parliament heard allegations of myriad secret payments, property transactions and negotiations over the yawning deficit in BHS‎'s pension schemes.
Sir Philip gave a vigorous defence of his tenure as the owner of BHS, saying he had invested £420m in the chain.
He dismissed as "nonsense" the suggestion that he had intervened to prevent a rescue deal involving the Sports Direct tycoon Mike Ashley.
On Friday, a court approved the appointment of FRP Advisory as BHS's joint administrator, a role that will involve examining the conduct of past directors of BHS.
FRP was appointed at the instigation of the Pension Protection Fund, BHS's biggest unsecured creditor.
The PPF has estimated that the cost to it of meeting BHS pensioners' retirement payments would be at least £275m, 
Duff & Phelps, which secured a successful sale of BHS's online and international operations to Qatar's Al Mana Group, declined to comment on Saturday.

Munich Teen Gunman Had No IS Links - Police


A teen gunman who killed nine people and injured 27 others in Munich had no links to Islamic State, police have said. 
In a news conference on Saturday morning, the attack was described as a "classic shooting rampage" and not terrorism. 
Munich police chief Hubertus Andrae said the 18-year-old attacker's room had been searched, telling reporters: "Based on the searches, there are no indications whatsoever that there is a connection to Islamic State." 
Mr Andrae also said the attacker had "no link whatsoever to the topic of refugees". 
Police investigator Robert Heimberger said it appeared that the man had hacked into a Facebook account and lured people to a shopping centre with an offer of free food.
The posting had been sent from a young woman's account.
It urged people to arrive at the centre at 4 pm, saying: "I'll give you something if you want, but not too expensive."
Investigators said the gunman, who was born and raised in Munich, had received psychiatric care and been treated for depression. 
He was armed with a 9mm Glock pistol and had 300 bullets in a backpack.
He had no licence for the gun.     
Prosecutors said he did not have a criminal record.   
Seven of the victims were teenagers, police said. 
Three of the nine killed were Turkish citizens.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu named them as Sevda Dag, Can Leyla and Selcuk Kilic. 
Of the 27 hurt, 10 were seriously injured. 

During the attack, police said they received more than 4,000 emergency calls.
It is understood the attacker later shot himself in the head, taking his own life. 
His body was found on a side street near the mall, about two-and-a-half hours after the assault.  
Anti-terror robots examined the backpack for explosives. 
The gunman began shooting at a McDonald's restaurant in Hanauer Street near the Olympic Park, before moving to the Olympia-Einkaufszentrum mall. 
A woman named Loretta said she was in the restaurant when the pistol-wielding suspect came out of a bathroom and began shooting. 
She told CNN: "I come out of the toilet and I hear like an alarm, boom, boom, boom.
"He's killing the children. The children were sitting to eat. They can't run."
Witness Luan Zequiri said he was near the McDonald's when the shooting began.
He told German broadcaster n-tv that he heard the attacker yell an anti-foreigner insult and "there was a really loud scream".
Mr Zequiri said he saw only one attacker, who was wearing jack boots and a backpack.
"I looked in his direction and he shot two people on the stairs," he said. 
In a conversation between the gunman and someone on a balcony, the attacker can be heard shouting: "I am German... I was born here."
Employees and customers barricaded themselves inside shops as the attack took place, while more than 2,000 police flooded the area.
Video footage shows shoppers filing through the mall under police guard with their arms raised before lying down on the ground.
An employee who was inside the mall told Reuters by phone that many shots were fired.
The witness said they saw someone who was "so severely injured that he definitely didn't survive".
The entire transport network in Munich was suspended, and the city's main railway station evacuated.
Several highways north of Munich were also sealed off by police. 
Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said: "I am shocked and appalled by the terrible attack unfolding this evening in Munich, and the loss of life."
French President Francois Hollande called the attack "a disgusting act that aims to foment fear in Germany after other European countries. 
"Germany will resist. It can count on France's friendship and cooperation."    
This is the second attack in Germany in less than a week.
On Monday, a 17-year-old Afghan wounded four people in an axe and knife attack on a train near the Bavarian city of Wuerzberg.
The latest incident happened not far from where Palestinian attackers opened fire in the Olympic Village in 1972, killing 11 Israeli athletes.
Five guerrillas and a police officer were also killed.

Eight-Hour Delays As Dover Security Tightened

People travelling across the Channel from Dover have been warned by police to expect delays of up to eight-and-a-half hours after checks were stepped up at the request of French authorities. 
Hundreds of motorists were reportedly stranded overnight.
Severe backlogs have been reported on the A20 and the A2, while measures have been taken to split tourist, freight and local traffic. 
As the summer holiday season begins in earnest, those stuck in the queues have been advised to stock up on food and water.
Kent Police said on Twitter that parts of the northbound A20 would be closed to allow water to be distributed.
Kent County Council tweeted that it was going to deliver more than 11,000 bottles of water as soon as possible. 
In a statement, the Port of Dover said: "The French border control booths have been seriously understaffed overnight with only three booths available for tourists out of a potential seven.
"At one stage, only one French officer was available to check passengers on hundreds of coaches, resulting in each coach taking 40 minutes to process.
"The Port of Dover, which has no authority over French border operations, raised concerns over French manning levels with the UK Government earlier this week and the Government, in turn, raised the issue with its French counterparts." 
People step out of their vehicles after getting stuck in the backlog
People step out of their vehicles after getting stuck in the backlog
The port also said French checks had been temporarily relaxed to try to get vehicles flowing more freely. 
As the morning went on, P&O Ferries tweeted: "Estimated waiting times to get to the port: A20, 300 minutes. A2, 180 minutes. Once you get to the Buffer Zone: 30 minutes."
People have been tweeting their frustration. Paul Gower wrote: "No end in sight. Super start to the holiday!"
Dover is not the only port experiencing delays.
Eurotunnel tweeted: "Travelling from Folkestone this morning?
"It is taking up to 90 minutes to check in due to reinforced security and Border checks." 


Munich Gunman Was German-Iranian, 18

Police say the Munich gunman was an 18-year-old German-Iranian who had been living in the city.
Munich police said the teenager's motive was "completely unclear".
"The perpetrator was an 18-year-old German-Iranian from Munich," police chief Hubertus Andrae told reporters after the massacre.
He had lived in the city "for a while", Mr Andrae said.

"The motive or explanation for this crime is completely unclear," the officer said. 
Mr Andrae said the body of the attacker was found about two-and-a-half hours after the shooting began.
His identity was established on the basis of witness statements and closed circuit television.
The body was found in a side street, not far from the shopping mall where much of the shooting happened.
Police say the suspect was not known to authorities and officers were searching his apartment for clues.  
Speculation about the gunman's motives ranged from a right-wing extremist attack to an assault inspired by Islamic State.
Some witnesses describe hearing him yelling anti-foreigner insults before opening fire outside the McDonald's restaurant, near to the mall. 
In a later conversation with a witness, recorded on a mobile phone, the attacker said he was a German citizen.      
Other media reported that the gunman had been bullied for "several years" and was seeking revenge.
US intelligence officials said initial reports from their German counterparts indicated no apparent link between the suspect and Islamic State or other militant groups.
Two others who fled the area quickly were investigated but had "nothing to do with the incident".


Friday, July 22, 2016

Munich In Hiding As Shooters Hunted By Police

People caught up in the deadly attack on a Munich shopping centre have described hiding in shops, hotels, police stations and railway stations.
Maximilian Bielenfeld told Sky News he was in a restaurant with his girlfriend when "suddenly everyone started to run".
"Armed police were passing by and it was total chaos. We jumped out of a window," he said.
"First of all we were hiding under a police car and some policemen came by and told us to come with them and brought us to a police station nearby.
"We heard something again and we were told to move. Now we are hiding in the central station, which is totally empty."
Sky presenter Sam Washington said the hotel she was in staying in was "jammed with people who've come in off the street".
"The hotel was handing out bottles of water at the same time as the very strange site of preparing afternoon teas for people," she said.
"The hotel security are in constant dialogue with police. The police have told them not to allow anyone out. Security are doing fairly rudimentary searches on those coming in." 
The Olympia-Einkaufszentrum shopping mall was being evacuated by police, but some employees and customers were still inside hours after the reports of the shooting began to emerge.
"Many shots were fired, I can't say how many but it's been a lot," one employee said from inside the mall.

"All the people from outside came streaming into the store and I only saw one person on the ground who was so severely injured that he definitely didn't survive.
"We have no further information, we're just staying in the back in the storage rooms. No police have approached us yet."