13 protesters arrested during first day of Democratic National Convention in Chicago

A person speaks into a megaphone as protesters march around the perimeter of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) before the start of the convention in Chicago, Illinois, on August 19, 2024. (AFP)
1 / 5
A person speaks into a megaphone as protesters march around the perimeter of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) before the start of the convention in Chicago, Illinois, on August 19, 2024. (AFP)
Demonstrators hold a puppet depicting Democratic presidential candidate and U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris on the day of a rally
2 / 5
Demonstrators hold a puppet depicting Democratic presidential candidate and U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris on the day of a rally "March on the DNC" on the sidelines of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Chicago, Illinois, U.S., August 19, 2024. (REUTERS)
13 protesters arrested during first day of Democratic National Convention in Chicago
3 / 5
People attend a rally "March on the DNC" on the sidelines of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Chicago, Illinois, U.S., August 19, 2024. (REUTERS)
13 protesters arrested during first day of Democratic National Convention in Chicago
4 / 5
Protesters march to the Democratic National Convention after a rally at Union Park Monday, Aug. 19, 2024, in Chicago. (AP)
13 protesters arrested during first day of Democratic National Convention in Chicago
5 / 5
Pro-Palestinian protesters demonstrate in Union Park before the start of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Chicago, Illinois, on August 19, 2024. (AFP)
Short Url
Updated 20 August 2024
Follow

13 protesters arrested during first day of Democratic National Convention in Chicago

13 protesters arrested during first day of Democratic National Convention in Chicago
  • Organizers had hoped at least 20,000 people would take part in Monday’s rally and march, but Snelling said about 3,500 people participated

CHICAGO: Police arrested 13 people and added additional security fences at a Chicago park where protesters clashed with officers near the site of the Democratic National Convention ahead of a second day of planned protests Tuesday, including one outside the Israeli Consulate.
The park, located a block from the convention arena, served as a destination point for a march of thousands calling for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war. Several dozen activists broke off from the main group, breached the fencing, and were pushed back by police.
The 13 people arrested during Monday’s protest were detained on charges ranging from criminal trespass and resisting and obstructing an arrest to aggravated battery of police officers, Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling said at a news conference Tuesday.
At least 10 of them were arrested in connection with the fence, he said.
Snelling said he did not connect the “brief breach” of security fencing “within sight and sound of the United Center” with the entirety of the march. He said the vast majority of participants were peaceful, and he praised his officers’ conduct in the moment.
“Our officers showed great restraint,” he said. “We’re not going to tolerate vandalism and violence in our city. ... We’re going to continue to protect the city.”
Snelling said some protesters used pepper spray against officers at the site where they broke through the fence. He said officers did not use any chemical sprays.
The Chicago chapter of the National Lawyers Guild said two of the people arrested were hospitalized. Snelling said they were taken to the hospital to ensure they would receive medication they were taking.
Two people were also arrested on misdemeanor property damage and resisting arrest charges during a protest march Sunday night.
Authorities said the inner security perimeter surrounding the United Center was not breached and there was no threat to those attending the convention.
On Tuesday morning, an extra line of fencing was installed at the park, and the tall metal barriers were reinforced to prevent protesters from lifting and removing the panels in the future. No police officers or protesters were present at the park early Tuesday.
Organizers had hoped at least 20,000 people would take part in Monday’s rally and march, but Snelling said about 3,500 people participated.
Snelling said more protests are expected as the week goes on, and his department is prepared to de-escalate situations whenever possible.
“Again, we’re up to the challenge,” he said. “The city is up to the challenge.”
Closer to downtown Chicago, security was tighter than usual — including law enforcement officers with weapons slung across their bodies — outside the office building that houses the Israeli Consulate and a major city transportation hub. Metal barricades were set up, and an officer said they were preparing for a 7 p.m. demonstration.
The consulate, located about two miles from the United Center, has been the site of numerous demonstrations since the war in Gaza began in October. It is in a building connected to the Ogilvie Transportation Center, a major commuter rail station.
Most of the largest demonstrations have been organized by the Coalition to March on the DNC, which has focused on calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. But smaller protests have popped up around the city, including disruptions at the convention’s welcome party at Navy Pier.


DHL cargo plane crashes in Lithuania

DHL cargo plane crashes in Lithuania
Updated 18 sec ago
Follow

DHL cargo plane crashes in Lithuania

DHL cargo plane crashes in Lithuania
  • The Lithuanian airport authority identified the aircraft as a “DHL cargo plane
VILNIUS: A DHL cargo plane crashed Monday morning near the Lithuanian capital.
The Lithuanian airport authority identified the aircraft as a “DHL cargo plane flying from Leipzig, Germany, to Vilnius Airport.”
It posted on the social platform X that city services including a fire truck were on site.
DHL Group, headquartered in Bonn, Germany, did not immediately return a call for comment.

UN chief slams land mine threat days after US decision to supply Ukraine

UN chief slams land mine threat days after US decision to supply Ukraine
Updated 37 min 21 sec ago
Follow

UN chief slams land mine threat days after US decision to supply Ukraine

UN chief slams land mine threat days after US decision to supply Ukraine
  • The outgoing US administration is aiming to give Ukraine an upper hand before President-elect Donald Trump enters office
  • Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called the mines ‘very important’ to halting Russian attacks

SIEM REAP, Cambodia: The UN Secretary-General on Monday slammed the “renewed threat” of anti-personnel land mines, days after the United States said it would supply the weapons to Ukrainian forces battling Russia’s invasion.
In remarks sent to a conference in Cambodia to review progress on the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Treaty, UN chief Antonio Guterres hailed the work of clearing and destroying land mines across the world.
“But the threat remains. This includes the renewed use of anti-personnel mines by some of the Parties to the Convention, as well as some Parties falling behind in their commitments to destroy these weapons,” he said in the statement.
He called on the 164 signatories — which include Ukraine but not Russia or the United States — to “meet their obligations and ensure compliance to the Convention.”
Guterres’ remarks were delivered by UN Under-Secretary General Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana.
AFP has contacted her office and a spokesman for Guterres to ask if the remarks were directed specifically at Ukraine.
The Ukrainian team at the conference did not respond to AFP questions about the US land mine supplies.
Washington’s announcement last week that it would send anti-personnel land mines to Kyiv was immediately criticized by human rights campaigners.
The outgoing US administration is aiming to give Ukraine an upper hand before President-elect Donald Trump enters office.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called the mines “very important” to halting Russian attacks.
The conference is being held in Cambodia, which was left one of the most heavily bombed and mined countries in the world after three decades of civil war from the 1960s.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet told the conference his country still needs to clear over 1,600 square kilometers (618 square miles) of contaminated land that is affecting the lives of more than one million people.
Around 20,000 people have been killed in Cambodia by land mines and unexploded ordnance since 1979, and twice as many have been injured.
The International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) said on Wednesday that at least 5,757 people had been casualties of land mines and explosive remnants of war across the world last year, 1,983 of whom were killed.
Civilians made up 84 percent of all recorded casualties, it said.


Philippines’ Marcos says threat of assassination ‘troubling’

Philippines’ Marcos says threat of assassination ‘troubling’
Updated 58 min 46 sec ago
Follow

Philippines’ Marcos says threat of assassination ‘troubling’

Philippines’ Marcos says threat of assassination ‘troubling’
  • Security agencies at the weekend said they would step up their protocols

MANILA: Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos said on Monday he will not take lightly “troubling” threats against him, just days after his estranged vice president said she had asked someone to assassinate the president if she herself was killed.
In a video message during which he did not name Vice President Sara Duterte, his former running mate, Marcos said “such criminal plans should not be overlooked.”
Security agencies at the weekend said they would step up their protocols and investigate the statement, which Duterte made at a press conference. The vice president’s office has acknowledged a Reuters request for comment.


An average of 140 women and girls were killed by a partner or relative per day in 2023, the UN says

An average of 140 women and girls were killed by a partner or relative per day in 2023, the UN says
Updated 45 min 12 sec ago
Follow

An average of 140 women and girls were killed by a partner or relative per day in 2023, the UN says

An average of 140 women and girls were killed by a partner or relative per day in 2023, the UN says
  • The agencies reported approximately 51,100 women and girls were killed in 2023
  • The rates were highest in Africa and the Americas and lowest in Asia and Europe

UNITED NATIONS: The deadliest place for women is at home and 140 women and girls on average were killed by an intimate partner or family member per day last year, two UN agencies reported Monday.
Globally, an intimate partner or family member was responsible for the deaths of approximately 51,100 women and girls during 2023, an increase from an estimated 48,800 victims in 2022, UN Women and the UN Office of Drugs and Crime said.
The report released on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women said the increase was largely the result of more data being available from countries and not more killings.
But the two agencies stressed that “Women and girls everywhere continue to be affected by this extreme form of gender-based violence and no region is excluded.” And they said, “the home is the most dangerous place for women and girls.”
The highest number of intimate partner and family killings was in Africa – with an estimated 21,700 victims in 2023, the report said. Africa also had the highest number of victims relative to the size of its population — 2.9 victims per 100,000 people.
There were also high rates last year in the Americas with 1.6 female victims per 100,000 and in Oceania with 1.5 per 100,000, it said. Rates were significantly lower in Asia at 0.8 victims per 100,000 and Europe at 0.6 per 100,000.
According to the report, the intentional killing of women in the private sphere in Europe and the Americas is largely by intimate partners.
By contrast, the vast majority of male homicides take place outside homes and families, it said.
“Even though men and boys account for the vast majority of homicide victims, women and girls continue to be disproportionately affected by lethal violence in the private sphere,” the report said.
“An estimated 80 percent of all homicide victims in 2023 were men while 20 percent were women, but lethal violence within the family takes a much higher toll on women than men, with almost 60 percent of all women who were intentionally killed in 2023 being victims of intimate partner/family member homicide,” it said.
The report said that despite efforts to prevent the killing of women and girls by countries, their killings “remain at alarmingly high levels.”
“They are often the culmination of repeated episodes of gender-based violence, which means they are preventable through timely and effective interventions,” the two agencies said.


Russia says it downs seven Ukrainian missiles over Kursk region

Russia says it downs seven Ukrainian missiles over Kursk region
Updated 25 November 2024
Follow

Russia says it downs seven Ukrainian missiles over Kursk region

Russia says it downs seven Ukrainian missiles over Kursk region

Russia’s air defense systems destroyed seven Ukrainian missiles overnight over the Kursk region, governor of the Russian region that borders Ukraine said on Monday.
He said that air defense units also destroyed seven Ukrainian drones. He did not provide further details.
A pro-Russian military analyst Roman Alyokhin, who serves as an adviser to the governor, said on his Telegram messaging channel that “Kursk was subjected to a massive attack by foreign-made missiles” overnight.