Armenia hostage standoff: Police officer shot dead

A police officer has been shot dead by armed men locked in a protracted siege with security forces in the capital of Armenia, Yerevan, hours after authorities issued an ultimatum to resolve a weeks-long hostage drama.

"A sniper opened fire from inside the police station and killed a police officer ... who was sitting in a car parked 350-400 metres (yards) away," police spokesman Ashot Aharonyan wrote on Facebook on Saturday.

The gunmen - supporters of fringe jailed opposition leader Zhirair Sefilyan - stormed the police building on July 17, killing one officer, taking several more hostage and seizing a store of weapons.

OPINION: Armenian hostage standoff and political implications

They have since freed all the police, but on Wednesday seized four medical staff who had entered the compound to treat some of their wounds. Two medics were later released.
Inside Story - Can tension in Armenia be contained?

Earlier on Saturday, Armenia's security services had given the gunmen a deadline to surrender after dozens were hurt and arrested in overnight clashes.

"We are giving members of the armed group until 5pm (13:00 GMT) to lay down their arms and surrender," the Armenian national security services said in a statement.

"Otherwise special forces law enforcement have the right to open fire," it said. "After the events of July 29, any opportunities to resolve the situation with the terrorists peacefully have been exhausted."

At least 26 people were arrested in the early hours of Saturday after authorities broke up a rally near the police station, where the armed pro-opposition group has been holed up.

More than 70 people were taken to various hospitals around the capital to be treated for wounds, including burns and broken limbs.

"Out of 73 injured people, 26 are still in hospital, including six policemen," health ministry spokeswoman Anahit Haytayan wrote on Facebook.

Police used truncheons, stun grenades and smoke bombs to break up the demonstration in support of the gunmen.

Journalists were among those hurt and a house caught on fire in the neighbourhood, a residential area.

Armenia hostage standoff: Clashes erupt in Yerevan

Armenian police told the AFP news agency that 165 people were detained in total during the overnight unrest, of whom 26 were later arrested.
Armenian protesters clash with police in Yerevan



The rest were released.

Earlier on Friday, police had exchanged fire with the gunmen, wounding two of them, who were then taken to hospital under armed guard.

The group has demanded the resignation of President Serzh Sarkisian and Sefilyan's release and protesters have regularly gathered in the neighbourhood, voicing similar calls.

Sefilyan and six of his supporters were arrested in June, accused of preparing to seize government buildings and telecoms facilities.
The hostage crisis and violence has shaken the small landlocked ex-Soviet nation, just months after a surge in conflict with Azerbaijan over separatist ethnic-Armenian region of Nagorny-Karabakh left 110 people dead in April.

The US embassy in Yerevan said in a statement it was "deeply concerned by the shocking images and credible reports of violence and excessive use of force by the police to disperse protestors."

"We urge the Armenian government to take immediate steps to prevent a repeat of last night's actions," the embassy added.


The European Union also called for an end to the stand-off.

"Use of force and violence to achieve political change are not acceptable," an EU spokesman said in a statement.

"Conflicts need to be resolved through political dialogue with a respect for democracy, rule of law and fundamental freedoms."

Source: Agencies

Alton Sterling: Anger swells over killing of black man

Protests have grown in the United States over the killing of Alton Sterling, a black man who was shot dead by white police in Louisiana, as an investigation into his death was announced.
Hundreds gathered in Baton Rouge on Wednesday night, a day after Sterling was wrestled to the ground by two officers and killed outside a shop as he sold CDs - an incident filmed with a mobile phone.
The rallies came as more mobile phone footage alleged to be of the incident emerged, and as the US Justice Department said it would investigate the killing.
Many carried signs to express their anger and demand for justice, blocking streets near the shop where Sterling, a father of five, died.
Demonstrators chanted "black lives matter" and "hands up don't shoot".
Protesters and friends of Sterling had earlier erected a makeshift memorial on the white folding tables and fold-out chair he had used to sell mixtape CDs.

Sandra Augustus, an aunt who helped to raise Sterling after his mother died, spoke to the crowds with a broken voice.
She said a second video that emerged on Wednesday showing the moments before her nephew was shot had left her angry.
She pleaded for protesters and those gathered not to allow the vigil to be marred by violence.
Shortly after speaking, Augustus and another aunt of Sterling's fainted in the heat and commotion. They were carried away by family members.
Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards and the US Justice Department announced on Wednesday afternoon that there would be an investigation by the department's civil rights division.

'Man with a gun'

Baton Rouge police spokesman, L'Jean McKneely, told local media that officers had responded to an anonymous call that said there was a man in the area with a gun.
Louisiana is an "open carry state", meaning that with some exceptions adults can be armed if the gun is visible.
The owner of the shop outside which Sterling worked, Abdul Muflahi, told local TV that the first officer to arrive at the scene had used a stun gun on Sterling and the second officer tackled the man. As Sterling fought to get the officer off him, the first officer shot him "four to six times".
In the footage circulated online five shots can be heard.
The store owner said Sterling did not have a gun in his hand at the time, but he saw officers remove a gun from Sterling's pocket after the shooting.

Baton Rouge Police Chief Carl Dabadie Jr called Sterling's death a "horrible tragedy" and said there were still questions about what happened.
Quinyetta Mcmillon, the mother of Sterling's 15-year-old son, addressed media, saying: "As a mother, I have now been forced to raise a son who is going to remember what happened to his father."
Community leaders said they did not trust the police and demanded answers.
The head of the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People in Baton Rouge, Michael McCalahan, called for the police chief to be fired.
"We are going to turn the entire case over to the US Attorney's office and the FBI to conduct the investigation from this point," he said, shortly after the announcement.
"What we're going to do today is root out the 1 percent of bad police officers that go around becoming the judge, the jury and the executioner of innocent people. Period. But more specifically, innocent black lives," McCalahan said.

Mobile phone footage

Footage of the moment Sterling was killed, which cannot be verified by Al Jazeera, contains images some readers may find distressing.
The 48-second video shows two police officers pushing Sterling down to the ground. One officer is seen pressing his head against the ground. There are shouts of "Get on the f*****g ground!" and "If you move, I swear to f*****g God!". Then, at least five shots can be heard.
Seconds after the gunshots end, as blood pours from Sterling's ailing body, an officer can be heard saying "F***!" and, speaking into a radio, "Shots fired! Shots fired!".

Reports said Sterling died minutes later, as paramedics arrived on the scene.
An autopsy showed that Sterling died of multiple gunshot wounds to the chest and back, according to East Baton Rouge Parish Coroner Dr William Clark.
Edwards, the Louisiana governor, announced that the US Justice Department investigation would be carried out by the department's civil rights division. Edwards said the video of Sterling's death is "disturbing, to say the least".
The Justice Department's investigation will look into whether the officers willfully violated Alton Sterling's civil rights through the use of unreasonable or excessive force.

Buhari returns after medical treatment abroad

President Muhammadu Buhari has arrived the country after 14 days medical vacation  in the United Kingdom‎.
The Presidential Jet touched  down at exactly 5:33pm at the Presidential wing of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.
He stepped out of the plane at 5:42pm.
The President inspected the guards of honour in his honour and shook hands with governors, members of federal executive ‎council, Service Chiefs, Inspector General of Police and presidential aides that turned up to welcome him.
When asked my newsmen how he was feeling, he replied, “You saw me when I was going and you saw me when I came back, you can access the situation yourself.
“I’m ok, you have seen me inspecting the guards of honour”.
When another journalist asked him in Hausa how he was feeling, he said, “Do you want to wrestle me? You can see I am taller than you.”
‎The Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina reiterated his earlier position that the President did not go on medical vacation but merely followed the advise of his physician and an ear, nose and throat specialist.
He said the President is fit and will resume today.
The Kogi Governor, Yahayaa Bello, thanked God that the President went and came back in sound health.
Zamfara State governor Abdulaziz Abubakar ‎Yari said, “Is a good thing the President went on break and returned to meet his people hale and harty.‎”
Buhari had left the country June 6th for a 10-day vacation to the United Kingdom to see an Ear, Nose and Throat specialist for a persistent ear infection, on the advice of both his Personal Physician and an E.N.T Specialist in Abuja.
On Thursday last week, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, had told StateHouse correspondents‎ shortly before the commencement of the National Economic Council meeting, that President Buhari would now return on Sunday because he wanted to take the weekend off.‎‎
This is Buhari’s second vacation since he assumed office as President on May 29, 2015.
He spent his first vacation from ‎February 5th to 10‎th also in London.
He had earlier granted an interview where he disclosed that the doctors he had been consulting since the 1970s are based in London.‎‎
President ‎Buhari had before leaving the country wrote to the National Assembly to official inform the lawmakers of his vacation.
He had indicated in the letter that Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo would be performing the duties of the President while he would be away.‎
At the presidential wing to welcome the president were, the governors present include that of Kogi and Zamfara.
Also there were the ministers of Environment, Transport, Niger Delta Affairs, Water Resources, Agriculture, Budget and National Planning, Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Minister of State for Education, Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Minister of state for Foreign Affairs.

Presidential aides, Chief of Staff, Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity.

Victory as Dasuki Storms Supreme Court with Shocking Evidence

The former National Security Adviser, NSA, Sambo Dasuki, has on Thursday, June 16, headed to the Supreme Court, to press for his freedom and dis-continuation of his incarceration by the President Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government.

This is coming after the Federal Government denied him freedom, despite three High Court orders, admitting him to bail in the criminal charges filed against him.

Dasuki, is being charged by the Federal Government for diverting funds meant for the procurement of arms.

He had on Wednesday at the Court of Appeal in Abuja, lost his bid to enforce his freedom.

The former NSA, who spoke through his lawyer, Ahmed Raji (SAN), confirmed that appeal papers had been put together to be filed at the Supreme Court, to challenge the judgment of the Court of Appeal, and those from the high courts that ordered his re-arrest.

Raji, said there were sufficient grounds for his client to approach the Supreme Court to seek the enforcement of his freedom.

Raji added, that Dasuki was not afraid of trial on charges against him, but said the proper thing must be done by the government, by respecting the bail granted him lawfully by courts.

He stated further, that since the Federal Government had approached the court on his matter, the same Government must be fully ready to abide by court decisions in the interest of justice and the rule of law.

Dasuki, had been admitted to bail by three different high courts in Abuja, but he was re-arrested on December 29, 2015 by operatives of the State Security Service.

The Buhari-led Government in its defense, claimed that Dasuki being a Crown Prince of Sokoto Caliphate, had large sympathisers across the length and breadth of the country, hence, they could jeopardize his trial if allowed on bail.

Clinton wins endorsement of the AFL-CIO

WASHINGTON (AP) — Hillary Clinton on Thursday won the endorsement of the AFL-CIO, the nation's largest labor federation, giving her a powerful voter turnout engine against Donald Trump. The Republican businessman swiftly accused labor leaders of selling out members to a candidate he said was aligned with Wall Street.

The exchange underscored Trump's efforts to win over blue-collar workers who typically support Democrats, especially those in Midwest battleground states whose wages have stagnated and have been hurt by a decline in manufacturing jobs.

The AFL-CIO's general board voted to endorse Clinton over Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, a move that had been expected after Clinton secured enough support among delegates to become the presumptive Democratic nominee.

"Hillary Clinton is a proven leader who shares our values," AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said in a statement. "Throughout the campaign, she has demonstrated a strong commitment to the issues that matter to working people, and our members have taken notice."

A short time later, Trump fired back with a statement that said the endorsement was a sign the union federation "no longer represents American workers."

"Instead," he added, "they have become part of the rigged system in Washington, D.C., that benefits only the insiders."

For months, Trump has denounced "stupid" trade deals that he says hurt U.S. workers and pledged to penalize companies for sending jobs overseas. For that reason, he predicted Thursday, the AFL-CIO's members would vote for him "in much larger numbers than" Clinton in November's general election.

Trump's statement included a number of falsehoods the billionaire businessman has repeated in recent weeks as he seeks to draw a contrast with Clinton. Among them was the incorrect allegation that Clinton's immigration proposals would "completely open America's borders in her first 100 days in office."

Trump also said that if elected, Clinton would implement the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal. While Clinton promoted the agreement dozens of times as secretary of state, she has since said she cannot support the deal in its current form.

She has said she backs trade deals only if they fulfill a three-pronged test of creating "good" jobs, raising wages and improving national security.

Trump also misleadingly claimed that as secretary of state, Clinton "racked up a $1 trillion trade deficit with China." In her role as the nation's top diplomat, Clinton had no direct control over the difference in the cost of U.S. imports from China versus its exports to the nation.

Trump issued a second statement later Thursday afternoon blaming "Clinton's global trade policies" for the fact that the "nation's current account trade deficit hit its highest mark in 7 years." He was referring to a report from the Commerce Department Thursday saying that the current account trade deficit jumped 9.9 percent in the first quarter to $124.7 billion its highest level in more than seven years.

He also repeated his false claim that Clinton supports the TPP, saying "there is no doubt she would enact it if given the chance yet more betrayal of union voters whose jobs would vanish as a result of this deal."

Clinton has won the endorsements of many of the AFL-CIO's largest unions in the past year, including the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees and the American Federation of Teachers, paving the way for the AFL-CIO to back her campaign.

The labor federation represents 12.5 million members and is a potent force in Democratic politics and voter turnout. Union leaders have been gearing up for a general election showdown against Trump, whom they portray as a threat to working families even though he fared well among blue-collar voters during the GOP primaries.

"This election offers a stark choice between an unstoppable champion for working families and an unstable charlatan who made his fortune scamming them," said Lee Saunders, the president of AFSCME and the chair of the AFL-CIO political committee.