Kenya ‘psychopath’ serial killer suspect escapes from custody
Collins Jumaisi, 33, described by police as a “vampire, a psychopath,” was arrested last month after the horrific discovery of mutilated bodies in a garbage dump in a slum in the Kenyan capital
Updated 20 August 2024
AFP
Nairobi: Kenyan police launched a major manhunt on Tuesday after a man they claim has confessed to murdering and dismembering 42 women escaped from a Nairobi police cell, along with a dozen other detainees.
Collins Jumaisi, 33, described by police as a “vampire, a psychopath,” was arrested last month after the horrific discovery of mutilated bodies in a garbage dump in a slum in the Kenyan capital.
“Investigations have been launched and a major security operation is under way to get the 13 suspects,” Kenya police spokeswoman Resila Onyango told AFP.
Police said in a separate statement that they discovered the breakout when officers made a routine visit to the police station cells at around 5 am to serve the prisoners breakfast.
“On opening the cell door, they discovered that 13 prisoners had escaped by cutting the wire mesh in the basking bay,” it said, referring to an area in the station where detainees could get access to fresh air.
Those who fled were Jumaisi and 12 other people that police said were of Eritrean origin and were in custody for being “illegally present immigrants.”
The police station is located in the upmarket Nairobi district of Gigiri, home to the regional headquarters of the United Nations and numerous embassies.
It is the second time in barely six months that a suspect in a high-profile case has escaped from custody.
Kenyan national Kevin Kangethe, who is accused of murdering his girlfriend in the United States last year and leaving her body in an airport car park, fled a police station in February before being caught about a week later.
Jumaisi had appeared in a court in the Kenyan capital on Friday, when the magistrate ordered him to be held for a further 30 days to enable police to complete their investigations.
Ten butchered female bodies trussed up in plastic bags were found in the dumpsite in an abandoned quarry in the Nairobi slum of Mukuru, the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) said last month.
The grisly find shocked Kenyans, already reeling from the so-called Shakahola forest massacre after the discovery of more than 400 bodies in mass graves near the Indian Ocean coast.
A Kenyan cult leader is accused of inciting his followers to starve themselves to death in order to prepare for the end of the world and “meet Jesus.” He faces numerous charges including terrorism, murder and child cruelty along with dozens of co-defendants.
Jumaisi was detained in the early hours of July 15 near a Nairobi bar where he had been watching the Euro 2024 football final.
The head of the Directorate of Criminal Investigations, Mohamed Amin, said after his arrest that Jumaisi had confessed to murdering 42 women over a two-year period from 2022, and that his wife had been his first victim.
“We are dealing with a vampire, a psychopath,” Amin said at the time.
The dumped bodies threw a fresh spotlight on Kenya’s police force as they were found just 100 meters (yards) from a police station.
The state-funded KNCHR said in July it was carrying out its own investigations into the Mukuru case because “there is a need to rule out any possibility of extrajudicial killings.”
Kenya’s police watchdog, the Independent Police Oversight Authority, had also said it was looking into whether there was any police involvement or a “failure to act to prevent” the killings.
Kenyan police are often accused by rights groups of carrying out unlawful killings or running hit squads, but few have faced justice.
Democrats claiming Florida Senate seat is in play haven’t put money behind the effort to make it so
Democrats hope ballot amendments on abortion rights and marijuana legalization will help boost turnout on their side
Updated 19 sec ago
AP
BOYNTON BEACH: Florida Democrats made bold claims last week about their chances in a state that has steadily grown more conservative in recent years. But so far they have not matched their words with the kind of money it will take to win there. “Florida is in play,” proclaimed Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, a former representative from Miami, at the start of a bus tour in defense of women’s reproductive rights in Boynton Beach. Mucarsel-Powell is the choice of Florida Democrats to challenge incumbent Republican Sen. Rick Scott for one of a handful of Senate seats the GOP is defending this election cycle. According to data from AdImpact, which tracks spending on advertising by political campaigns and their surrogates, Republicans have outspent Democrats on Florida’s US Senate race by roughly a 4-to-1 margin through Sept. 11, $12.7 million to $3.2 million. Based on ad spots currently reserved through the general election, that margin is expected to grow. The dynamics of the Senate race mirror what has happened in the presidential race in a state that used to be hotly contested by both parties’ top-of-the-ticket candidates. Vice President Kamala Harris did not attend the launch of the bus tour and has not been to Florida as a candidate since she replaced President Joe Biden as the Democratic nominee for president in the race against Republican former President Donald Trump. The Republicans’ massive spending advantage may help to explain why Scott scoffs at the claims coming from Democrats about Florida being competitive. “They are so far from what Florida voters believe in, that they don’t have a chance in the world of winning Florida,” he said in an interview last week. “They don’t have a chance of beating Trump, and they don’t have a chance of beating me.” Mucarsel-Powell says her side is more in touch with voters on issues such as reproductive rights. She says ballot amendments on both abortion rights and legalizing marijuana will help Democrats turn out voters. She also said the switch from Biden to Harris gave Florida Democrats a burst of fresh momentum. “This is momentum that has been building for quite some time, and her announcement just was like the tip of the iceberg on the momentum and the energy that was building here around the state of Florida,” Mucarsel-Powell said in an interview. A national AP-NORC survey conducted in July showed that about 8 in 10 Democrats said they’d be satisfied with Harris as the party’s nominee for president, versus 4 in 10 Democrats in March saying they’d be satisfied with Biden as the nominee. But Mucarsel-Powell’s task remains formidable. Although some polling shows Scott leading narrowly in the Senate race, national Democrats have yet to invest heavily in Florida’s expensive media markets. Harris, who has proven to be a prolific fundraiser since she became the Democratic nominee, recently allocated $25 million of her own campaign funds to help down-ballot Democrats in November — with only $10 million of those funds going to US Senate candidates. Harris’ campaign did not respond to questions on how these funds were being allocated. The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee said it has spent money on staffing and digital advertising on the race but didn’t specify how much. In a statement, they did not address plans for spending going forward but said: “Scott’s unpopularity coupled with the strength of Debbie Mucarsel-Powell’s campaign makes Florida one of Senate Democrats top offensive opportunities.” Scott, who has his eye on a Senate leadership position if he wins, said he would welcome a bigger effort from national Democrats. “I hope they spend a bunch of money and waste it, because they don’t have a chance of winning the Senate in Florida,” he said. Florida Democratic Party chair Nikki Fried said national Democrats showed their support by starting their bus tour in Florida and sending campaign representatives there to support Democratic candidates. Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, who is in a strong enough position in her own reelection bid to work on behalf of other Democrats around the country, was one of several Democrats who joined Mucarsel-Powell at the start of the bus tour. “They could have started anywhere else in the country. They started here in Palm Beach County, in Donald Trump’s backyard,” Fried said. “That shows how important Florida is, and that they are going to continue to watch what is happening on the ground, send surrogates here and making sure that we are in play for November.” About 150 people attended the bus tour event. Fried acknowledged that Democrats have been outspent on advertising in Florida, but she said they’re putting their energy into campaigning at the grassroots level. She said 40,000 new volunteers signed up after Harris entered the race and were making an all-out effort to knock on doors and reach out to Florida voters by phone. This year’s Florida ballot looks different from the one voters saw two years ago, where US Sen. Marco Rubio and Gov. Ron DeSantis led the top of Florida’s ticket. The governor had hoped to ride a wave of momentum from his emphatic 19-point victory to national prominence but was unable to loosen Trump’s grip on the Republican Party nationally. Trump, now a Florida resident, defeated Biden in Florida by 3.3 percentage points in 2020, further diminishing its status as a swing state. Brian Ballard, a Republican political strategist who was a top fundraiser for Trump’s 2020 presidential campaign, said the lackluster spending effort by Democrats will make it harder for Mucarsel-Powell to introduce herself to people across the state who don’t recognize her — as opposed to Scott, who was Florida’s governor from 2010 to 2018 and has since then been serving in the Senate. The lack of spending from the national party, Ballard said, is “usually a sign of a losing campaign.” “Florida is not in play,” Ballard said. “I hope the Democrats commit and spend a lot of money in Florida on the presidential race. It’ll move the needle not at all. If she’s relying on Democrats spending on top of the ticket, she’s relying on fool’s gold.” The Florida contest has not drawn much attention from national Democrats, who are trying to hold onto far more Senate seats than Republicans this year. Instead, they have focused much of their energy and resources on defending seats they already hold, including in the red states of Ohio and Montana. Still, the Florida US Senate race was close in late July, just before the Florida Senate primaries, according to a poll of Florida voters conducted by the University of North Florida’s Public Opinion Research Lab. Scott said in the interview that he isn’t “taking a chance” by treating his own race lightly. And yet he has spent at least some of his time campaigning for other Republicans, including a trip across state lines to battleground Georgia last week for a town hall in Braselton, northeast of Atlanta. “This is a team sport,” Scott said of his efforts on behalf of other GOP candidates. Tiffany Lanier, 36, attended the bus tour Tuesday morning in Boynton Beach. Lanier, a Lake Worth civic engagement public speaker, said that although Biden ran on a similar platform to Harris, she thinks Harris’ position and emphasis on abortion rights really excites and motivates people to turn out to vote. “I think it was more like in my wilder dreams that Florida would be in play for this November,” Lanier said. “I know that we are so very tight in the polls, but I do see that there is an energetic shift. And so, I do see a lot of possibility here.”
Australia introduces bill to step up fight against hate crimes
The bill comes as the government responds to a rise in hate incidents following the Israel-Gaza war
The Labor government said it would also introduce a separate legislation on Thursday to tackle ‘doxxing’
Updated 16 min 26 sec ago
Reuters
SYDNEY: Australia’s center-left government on Thursday introduced new hate crime legislation that would impose criminal penalties including jail for offenders if they targeted a person’s race, gender, ethnic origin, religion or sexual orientation.
The bill comes as the government responds to a rise in hate incidents following the Israel-Gaza war, and follows landmark laws passed last year which banned the Nazi salute and public displays of terror group symbols.
“No Australian should be targeted because of who they are or what they believe,” Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus said in a statement.
“We proudly live in a vibrant, multicultural and diverse community which we must protect and strengthen.”
The bill proposes jail sentences of up to five years for anyone threatening to use force or violence against a group or person, and if a person fears that the threat would be carried out. Offenders could get seven years in jail if the threats pose a danger to the government.
The Labor government said it would also introduce a separate legislation on Thursday to tackle “doxxing,” the malicious release of anyone’s personal data online, threatening offenders with jail of up to six years.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in February promised to take steps to outlaw doxxing after names, social media accounts and other personal details of hundreds of Jewish Australians were published online by anti-Israel groups.
The anti-doxxing bill would include a provision for victims to sue for “serious privacy invasions” though journalists and intelligence agencies would be given exemptions.
The US steps, including last June’s announcement of the launch of a strategic dialogue with Cyprus, are detrimental to the security of the Turkish Cypriot side of the island
Updated 17 min 6 sec ago
Reuters
ISTANBUL: Turkiye said it condemned this week’s signing of a roadmap to boost two-way defense co-operation between the United States and the Republic of Cyprus.
The move came amid United Nations efforts to find common ground for the resumption of long-stalled negotiations between the rival Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities on the Mediterranean island, which has been divided for decades.
The US steps, including last June’s announcement of the launch of a strategic dialogue with Cyprus, are detrimental to the security of the Turkish Cypriot side of the island, the Turkish foreign ministry said.
“These steps ... undermine the neutral USA position toward the island of Cyprus and make it more difficult to reach a just, lasting and sustainable settlement of the Cyprus issue,” it said in a statement on Wednesday.
On Monday, the United States and the internationally recognized Republic of Cyprus signed the co-operation roadmap in Nicosia.
In a joint statement, their defense ministries reaffirmed their commitment to collaborate to tackle international security concerns via the roadmap.
Cyprus was partitioned in a Turkish invasion in 1974 after a brief Greek-inspired coup. Peace talks have been on hold since 2017.
The Turkish Cypriot side administers a breakaway state in the north of Cyprus recognized only by Ankara. It says a resumption of talks hinges on acceptance of its equal sovereignty with the Greek Cypriot government.
Blinken in Poland to seek common cause after Ukraine jitters
Poland, with its dark historical memories of Moscow, has seen unity in backing Ukraine since its invasion by Russia in 2022
Blinken hopes to use the final months of President Joe Biden’s administration to work with allies to ensure support for Ukraine
Updated 48 min 52 sec ago
AFP
PRZEMYSL, Poland: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday meets Poland’s leaders to forge common cause on Ukraine as upcoming US elections and Russian attacks raise new jitters.
The top US diplomat crossed into Poland by train after a joint solidarity trip to Kyiv with British Foreign Secretary David Lammy, with the two pledging to swiftly review Ukraine’s requests for permission to strike deeper into Russia.
Blinken will meet separately in Warsaw with Prime Minister Donald Tusk and President Andrzej Duda, bitter rivals on the direction of the European Union member.
While split on domestic policy, Poland, with its dark historical memories of Moscow, has seen unity in backing Ukraine since its invasion by Russia in 2022.
Blinken hopes to use the final months of President Joe Biden’s administration to work with allies to ensure broad and sustained support for Ukraine, which has received billions of dollars in Western military and economic support.
The November 5 US election could dramatically shift the stance of Ukraine’s biggest backer, however, with Republican candidate Donald Trump declining to say in a debate on Tuesday whether he wants Ukraine to win.
Biden’s political heir Kamala Harris referenced Poland — and the Polish-American vote in the politically crucial state of Pennsylvania — as she vowed to keep up the fight for Ukraine.
If the United States had not backed Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin “would be sitting in Kyiv with his eyes on the rest of Europe,” Harris said.
“Why don’t you tell the 800,000 Polish-Americans right here in Pennsylvania how quickly you would give up for the sake of favor, and what you think is a friendship with what is known to be a dictator who would eat you for lunch?” she told Trump, referring to his past statements of admiration for Putin.
Poland, since the end of the Cold War an enthusiastic US ally, nonetheless sought to work with Trump during his 2017-2021 presidency.
Duda met with Trump in April in New York, and the two have praised each other’s records.
The European-oriented Tusk, who triumphed in elections last year, has spoken of restoring democracy after polarization, a key priority for Biden.
Biden this year welcomed Tusk and Duda jointly at the White House, hoping to send a signal of bipartisanship on Ukraine.
Tusk has not shied away from calling out members of Trump’s Republican Party who oppose assisting Ukraine.
During a long delay in Congress approving new military aid to Ukraine, Tusk said that Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson bore personal responsibility for “thousands of lives.”
Blinken is expected to discuss further coordination with Poland, the key logistical gateway for Western military support into Ukraine.
Poland has also ramped up purchases of US weapons since the invasion of Ukraine.
Poland last month signed a deal with Boeing to buy 96 Apache attack helicopters for $10 billion.
Indian police arrest 33 after violence in troubled Manipur
After months of relative calm, fresh fighting erupted this month among rival communities
Rights activists have accused local leaders of exacerbating ethnic divisions for political gain
Updated 12 September 2024
AFP
NEW DELHI: Indian police have arrested 33 people after a surge in ethnic violence in Manipur state, where a curfew and an Internet blackout have been imposed, officers said Thursday.
Fighting broke out in Manipur in May 2023, between the predominantly Hindu Meitei majority and the mainly Christian Kuki community, an ethnic conflict that has since killed at least 200 people.
Since then, communities have splintered into rival groups across swaths of the northeastern state, which borders war-torn Myanmar.
After months of relative calm, fresh fighting erupted this month.
At least 11 people have been killed, including in what police called a “significant escalation” of violence, with insurgents firing rockets and dropping bombs with drones.
“In the follow up to the violent protests in the past few days, Manipur Police has arrested 33 people and apprehended seven juveniles,” a police statement read.
It urged people “to cooperate with law enforcing agencies in the maintenance of peace and normalcy.”
Authorities have imposed an Internet shutdown in several areas, repeating a blackout that last year lasted for months.
Police have also ordered a curfew, but hundreds in the state capital Imphal defied the order.
Meitei protesters marched through Imphal on Tuesday to demand security forces take action against Kuki insurgent groups, whom they blame for the latest spate of attacks.
Long-standing tensions between the Meitei and Kuki communities revolve around competition for land and public jobs.
Rights activists have accused local leaders of exacerbating ethnic divisions for political gain.
Manipur is ruled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party.
Fighting last year forced around 60,000 people from their homes, according to government figures. Many have been unable to return home.
