Russian spy ship sinks off Turkey after collision

The Liman passes through the Bosphorus on its way to Syria in this Sept. 21, 2016, photo. (AFP)
Updated 28 April 2017
Follow

Russian spy ship sinks off Turkey after collision

ISTANBUL: A Russian naval spy ship on Thursday sank in the Black Sea off Turkey’s coast after hitting a Togo-flagged vessel packed with livestock but all of its 78 crew were rescued by Turkish coast guards.
The Russian military said the Liman — a former research ship re-fitted as an intelligence vessel — had a hole ripped out of its hull in the early afternoon incident.
The collision took place in fog outside the northwestern entrance to the Bosphorus Strait, one of the world’s biggest shipping thoroughfares that passes through Istanbul into the Sea of Marmara.
The Turkish coast guard said in a statement that the collision involved the Togo-flagged vessel Youzarsif H which was carrying a cargo of livestock.
It said that of 78 Russian personnel on board the ship, 63 were rescued by the Turkish coast guard and the other 15 by the Youzarsif H itself.
They were then transferred to a Turkish military ship, it said, without giving further details. “All the personnel were evacuated,” it said.
Turkish media said the Youzarsif suffered minor damage and went on its way after the incident.
The Russian Defense Ministry confirmed the ship had gone down and said the crew were safe and would be taken from a Turkish vessel back onto a Russian ship.
Turkish news agency Dogan said the area where the ships collided was shrouded in thick fog at the time, suggesting that the incident was accidental.
Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim spoke to his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev by phone over the incident, describing it as an accident and expressing his sadness, the state-run Anadolu news agency said.
It was not known where the Liman was sailing from or its destination.
The ship was built as a hydrography research vessel in 1970 but turned into a spy ship in 1989 and armed with an Igla missile launcher, according to public records.
Russian warships have traveled frequently through the Bosphorus Strait to and from the Syrian coast, where a navy presence has been deployed to bolster Russia’s air campaign in support of Syrian President Bashar Assad.
In February, military sources told Russian media that the Liman would be observing the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s (NATO) Sea Shield exercise in the Black Sea.
Cem Devrim Yaylali, an Istanbul-based Turkish naval expert and editor of the Bosphorus Naval News website, said the Liman had previously been to the Syrian coast but it was not clear where it was headed on this occasion.
“A collision is not something that happens very frequently,” he told AFP.
He said the incident was an embarrassment for the Russian authorities as the Liman was likely carrying sensitive surveillance equipment that Moscow would want returned.
“I imagine there will be a salvage effort to raise the ship before anyone else sees it,” he said.
“If the ship cannot be salvaged then Russia surely will try to take away the sensitive equipment from on board by divers.”
Relations between Russia and Turkey hit their worst state since the Cold War in November 2015 when Turkish war planes shot down a Russian jet over the Syrian border.


Cheating on your spouse is no longer a crime in New York, with the repeal of a little-known 1907 law

Updated 11 min 7 sec ago
Follow

Cheating on your spouse is no longer a crime in New York, with the repeal of a little-known 1907 law

ALBANY, N.Y.: New York on Friday repealed a seldom-used, more than century-old law that made it a crime to cheat on your spouse — a misdemeanor that once could have landed adulterers in jail for three months.
Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a bill repealing the statute, which dates back to 1907 and has long been considered antiquated as well as difficult to enforce.
“While I’ve been fortunate to share a loving married life with my husband for 40 years — making it somewhat ironic for me to sign a bill decriminalizing adultery — I know that people often have complex relationships,” she said. “These matters should clearly be handled by these individuals and not our criminal justice system. Let’s take this silly, outdated statute off the books, once and for all.”
Adultery bans are actually law in several states and were enacted to make it harder to get a divorce at a time when proving a spouse cheated was the only way to get a legal separation. Charges have been rare and convictions even rarer. Some states have also moved to repeal their adultery laws in recent years.
New York defined adultery as when a person “engages in sexual intercourse with another person at a time when he has a living spouse, or the other person has a living spouse.” The state’s law was first used a few weeks after it went into effect, according to a New York Times article, to arrest a married man and 25-year-old woman.
State Assemblymember Charles Lavine, sponsor of the bill, said about a dozen people have been charged under the law since the 1970s, and just five of those cases resulted in convictions.
“Laws are meant to protect our community and to serve as a deterrent to anti-social behavior. New York’s adultery law advanced neither purpose,” Lavine said in a statement Friday.
The state’s law appears to have last been used in 2010, against a woman who was caught engaging in a sex act in a park, but the adultery charge was later dropped as part of a plea deal.
New York came close to repealing the law in the 1960s after a state commission tasked with evaluating the penal code said it was nearly impossible to enforce.
At the time, lawmakers were initially on board with removing the ban but eventually decided to keep it after a politician argued that repealing it would make it seem like the state was officially endorsing infidelity, according to a New York Times article from 1965.


226 health workers killed in Lebanon since Oct. 7: WHO

Updated 55 min 6 sec ago
Follow

226 health workers killed in Lebanon since Oct. 7: WHO

  • Abubakar said: “A hallmark of the conflict in Lebanon is how destructive it has been to health care,” highlighting that 47 percent of these attacks “have proven fatal to at least one health worker or patient”

GENEVA: Nearly 230 health workers have been killed in Lebanon since the start of Israel’s war in Gaza following the Oct. 7 attacks last year, the World Health Organization said.
In total, the UN health agency said there had been 187 attacks on health care in Lebanon in the more than 13 months of cross-border fire between Israel and Hezbollah over the Gaza conflict.
Between Oct. 7, 2023 and Nov.18 this year, “we have 226 deaths and 199 injuries in total,” Abdinasir Abubakar, the WHO representative in Lebanon, said via video link from Beirut.
He said “almost 70 percent” of these had occurred since the tensions escalated into an all-out war in September.
Saying this was “an extremely worrying pattern,” he stressed that “depriving civilians of access to lifesaving care and targeting health providers is a breach of international humanitarian law.”
Abubakar said: “A hallmark of the conflict in Lebanon is how destructive it has been to health care,” highlighting that 47 percent of these attacks “have proven fatal to at least one health worker or patient” — the highest percentage of any active conflict today.
By comparison, Abubakar said that only 13.3 percent of attacks on health care globally had fatal outcomes during the same period, pointing to data from a range of conflict situations, including Ukraine, Sudan, and the occupied Palestinian territory.
He suggested the high percentage of fatal attacks on health care in Lebanon might be because “more ambulances have been targeted.”
“And whenever the ambulance is targeted, actually, then you will have three, four or five paramedics ... killed.”
The conflict has dealt a harsh blow to overall health care in Lebanon, which was already reeling from a string of dire crises in recent years.
The WHO warned that 15 of Lebanon’s 153 hospitals have ceased operating or are only partially functioning.
Hanan Balkhy, WHO’s regional director for the eastern Mediterranean region, stressed that “attacks on health care of this scale cripple a health system when those whose lives depend on it need it the most.”
“Beyond the loss of life, the death of health workers is a loss of years of investment and a crucial resource to a fragile country going forward.”

 


Kane hat-trick sends Bayern eight points clear

Updated 58 min 47 sec ago
Follow

Kane hat-trick sends Bayern eight points clear

  • Bayern, still yet to lose in the league in 2024-25, were dominant throughout but kept at bay by some dogged defending from their Bavarian neighbors
  • With 61 minutes gone, the ball connected with Augsburg’s Mads Pedersen’s outstretched arm in the box, bringing the England captain to the spot after a VAR review

MUNICH: A second-half Harry Kane hat-trick took Bayern Munich to a 3-0 home win over Augsburg on Friday, sending them eight clear atop the table ahead of Tuesday’s Champions League clash with Paris Saint-Germain.
Bayern, still yet to lose in the league in 2024-25, were dominant throughout but kept at bay by some dogged defending from their Bavarian neighbors.
With 61 minutes gone, the ball connected with Augsburg’s Mads Pedersen’s outstretched arm in the box, bringing the England captain to the spot after a VAR review.
Kane cooly converted to give Bayern the lead.
In stoppage time, Kane went down in the box after contact from Keven Schlotterbeck and Bayern were again awarded a penalty after a VAR review, which the 31-year-old converted.
Schlotterbeck was sent from the field after picking up a second yellow for his challenge.
Kane then added a third, this time controlling a cross and heading in, his seventh hat-trick since joining Bayern.
The England captain now has 14 goals in 11 league games for Bayern this season, five of which have come from the spot.
Leipzig can cut the gap back to five when they play at struggling Hoffenheim on Saturday, while defending champions Bayer Leverkusen host Heidenheim.
The German giants received a boost pre-match, with captain and veteran goalkeeper Manuel Neuer cleared to start after missing training with a rib issue.
Bayern were in control of possession and field position but could not break through.
Augsburg offered little in attack but defended stoutly, holding Bayern’s glittering attacking riches at bay.
Augsburg goalie Nediljko Labrovic held firm to snuff out first-half chances from Jamal Musiaia and Leon Goretzka.
The Bavarian giants, still smarting after going trophyless for the first time in 11 seasons last campaign, eventually broke through with half an hour remaining, breaking Augsburg’s resolve.
Riding high in the league, Bayern have struggled in the Champions League format, sitting 17th after four games — six behind leaders Liverpool.
Tuesday’s home match with PSG, who are even further down the Champions League table, could be crucial for the German side in their top-eight bid to avoid the extra playoff round.


Conor McGregor must pay 250,000 euros to woman who says he raped her, civil jury rules

Irish mixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor arriving at court in Dublin where he was ordered to pay 250,000 Euros to a woman
Updated 23 November 2024
Follow

Conor McGregor must pay 250,000 euros to woman who says he raped her, civil jury rules

  • Nikita Hand said the 2018 assault left her heavily bruised and suffering post-traumatic stress disorder
  • McGregor later said on the social platform X that he would appeal the verdict

LONDON: A woman who claimed mixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor “brutally raped and battered” her in a Dublin hotel penthouse was awarded nearly 250,000 Euros ($257,000) on Friday by a civil court jury in Ireland.
Nikita Hand said the Dec. 9, 2018, assault after a night of partying left her heavily bruised and suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.
McGregor testified that he never forced the woman to do anything against her will and said she fabricated the allegations after the two had consensual sex. His lawyer had called Hand a gold digger.
The fighter, once the face of the Ultimate Fighting Championship but now past his prime, shook his head as the jury of eight women and four men found him liable for assault after deliberating about six hours in the High Court in Dublin.
He was mobbed by cameras as he left court but did not comment. He later said on the social platform X that he would appeal the verdict and the “modest award.”
Hand’s voice cracked and her hands trembled as she read a statement outside the courthouse, saying she would never forget what happened to her but would now be able to move on with her life. She thanked her family, partner, friends, jurors, the judge and all the supporters that had reached out to her online, but particularly her daughter.
“She has given me so much strength and courage over the last six years throughout this nightmare to keep on pushing forward for justice,” she said. “I want to show (her) and every other girl and boy that you can stand up for yourself if something happens to you, no matter who the person is, and justice will be served.”
The Associated Press generally does not name alleged victims of sexual violence unless they come forward publicly, as Hand has done. Under Irish law, she did not have the anonymity she would have been granted in a criminal proceeding and was named publicly throughout the trial.
Her lawyer told jurors that McGregor was angry about a fight he had lost in Las Vegas two months earlier and took it out on his client.
“He’s not a man, he’s a coward,” attorney John Gordon said in his closing speech. “A devious coward and you should treat him for what he is.”
Gordon said his client never pretended to be a saint and was only looking to have fun when she sent McGregor a message through Instagram after attending a Christmas party. He said Hand knew McGregor socially and that they had grown up in the same area.
She said he picked her and a friend up in a car and shared cocaine with them, which McGregor admitted in court, on the way to the Beacon Hotel.
Hand said she told McGregor she didn’t want to have sex with him and that she was menstruating. She said she told him “no” as he started kissing her but he eventually pinned her to a bed and she couldn’t move.
McGregor put her in a chokehold and later told her, “now you know how I felt in the octagon where I tapped out three times,” referring to a UFC match when he had to admit defeat, she said.
Hand had to take several breaks in emotional testimony over three days. She said McGregor threatened to kill her during the encounter and she feared she would never see her young daughter again.
Eventually, he let go of her.
“I remember saying I was sorry, as I felt that I did something wrong and I wanted to reassure him that I wouldn’t tell anyone so he wouldn’t hurt me again,” she testified.
She said she then let him do what he wanted and he had sex with her.
A paramedic who examined Hand the next day testified that she had never before seen someone with that intensity of bruising. A doctor told jurors Hand had multiple injuries.
Hand said the trauma of the attack had left her unable to work as a hairdresser, she fell behind on her mortgage and had to move out of her house.
Police investigated the woman’s complaint but prosecutors declined to bring charges, saying there was insufficient evidence and a conviction was unlikely.
McGregor, in his post on X, said he was disappointed jurors didn’t see all the evidence prosecutors had reviewed.
He testified that the two had athletic and vigorous sex, but that it was not rough. He said “she never said ‘no’ or stopped” and testified that everything she said was a lie.
“It is a full blown lie among many lies,” he said when asked about the chokehold allegation. “How anyone could believe that me, as a prideful person, would highlight my shortcomings.”
McGregor’s lawyer told jurors they had to set aside their animus toward the fighter.
“You may have an active dislike of him, some of you may even loathe him – there is no point pretending that the situation might be otherwise,” attorney Remy Farrell said. “I’m not asking you to invite him to Sunday brunch.”
The defense said the woman never told investigators McGregor threatened her life. They also showed surveillance video in court that they said appeared to show the woman kiss McGregor’s arm and hug him after they left the hotel room. Farrell said she looked “happy, happy, happy.”
McGregor said he was “beyond petrified” when first questioned by police and read them a prepared statement. On the advice of his lawyer, he refused to answer more than 100 follow-up questions.
The jury ruled against Hand in a case she brought against one of McGregor’s friends, James Lawrence, whom she accused of having sex with her in the hotel without consent.


Dutch court weighs a lawsuit against arms sales to Israel

Updated 23 November 2024
Follow

Dutch court weighs a lawsuit against arms sales to Israel

  • Opening the case at the court in The Hague, Judge Sonja Hoekstra noted: “It is important to underline that the Dutch State does not contest the gravity of the situation in Gaza, nor is the status of the West Bank”

THE HAGUE: Pro-Palestinian groups took the Dutch state to court on Friday, urging a halt to arms exports to Israel and accusing the government of failing to prevent what they termed a genocide in Gaza.
The NGOs argued that Israel is breaking international law in Gaza and the West Bank, invoking, among others, the 1948 UN Genocide Convention.
“Israel is guilty of genocide and apartheid” and “is using Dutch weapons to wage war,” said Wout Albers, a lawyer representing the NGOs.
“Dutch weapons are killing children every day in Palestine, including my family,” said Ahmed Abofoul, a legal adviser to Al-Haq, one of the groups involved in the suit. Israel furiously denies accusations of genocide as it presses on with the offensive in Gaza.
Opening the case at the court in The Hague, Judge Sonja Hoekstra noted: “It is important to underline that the Dutch State does not contest the gravity of the situation in Gaza, nor is the status of the West Bank.”
“Today is about finding out what is legally in play and what can be expected of the state if the state can be expected to do more or act differently than it is currently acting,” she added.
She acknowledged this was a “sensitive case,” saying: “It’s a whole legal debate.”
The lawyer for the Dutch State, Reimer Veldhuis, said the Netherlands has been applying European laws in force for arms exports.
Veldhuis argued the case should be tossed out.
“It is unlikely that the minister responsible will grant an arms export license to Israel that would contribute to the Israeli army’s activities in Gaza or the West Bank,” said Veldhuis.
The case comes one day after another court based in The Hague, the International Criminal Court, issued arrest warrants for Israel’s prime minister and former defense minister.