Ohio campus attacker identified as Somali student

November 29, 2016

Columbus, Nov 29: A university student, reportedly of Somali descent, rammed his car Monday into a crowd of people at Ohio State University and attacked them with a butcher knife, injuring 11 before police fatally shot him.osu

Identifying the assailant as Abdul Razak Ali Artan, officials in the northern US state said he appeared to have acted alone in what was being investigated as a possible terror attack.

But officials said they so far had no indication of a motive, and Ohio State president Michael Drake cautioned against jumping to conclusions when asked about a possible connection to the Somali community.

"We all know when things like this happen that there's a tendency sometimes for people to put people together and create other kinds of theories," he told a news conference.

"We don't know anything that would link this to any community. We certainly don't have any evidence that would say that's the case," Drake added.

The whole incident lasted just a few minutes -- from the car careening into the crowd until the suspect was shot dead -- but triggered a tense lockdown on the university's main campus in Columbus, with panicked students hiding in bathrooms before the scene was declared secure.

Officials said 11 people were being treated at local hospitals for stabbing wounds and injuries from the motor vehicle, but none of their injuries were life threatening.

Columbus police chief Kim Jacobs said earlier in the day they were considering the "possibility" that it was terrorism related.

US media reported that Artan was of Somali descent, but officials did not confirm that. They did not release his exact age, saying only that they believed he was born in 1998.

An OSU student named of the same name was profiled in the August issue of student newspaper The Lantern, for an article in which he spoke of the lack of Muslim prayer rooms on campus.

Artan, who was identified as a third-year transfer student studying logistics management, told the paper he was uncomfortable with praying on campus.

"If people look at me, a Muslim praying, I don't know what they're going to think, what's going to happen," he said.

The rampage comes two months after a Somali immigrant stabbed 10 people at a mall in Minnesota, before he was fatally shot by an off-duty police officer.

The Minnesota assailant, 20-year-old Dahir Ahmed Adan, was described as "radicalized" and the Islamic State group claimed the attack as the work of an IS "soldier."

Monday's attack unfolded just before 10:00 am (1500 GMT), when police were alerted that a car had struck pedestrians on campus, and that the driver had jumped out wielding a large knife.

"We could tell that the suspect was in the car by himself," said Craig Stone, chief of police at the university, describing a review of surveillance camera footage of his grey sedan.

A fire alarm, which investigators believed to be unrelated, had caused students and staff to evacuate a building prior to the attack.

"(The attacker) exited the vehicle, and used a butcher knife to start cutting pedestrians," Stone said.

"Our officer was on scene in less than a minute and he ended the situation in less than a minute. He engaged the suspect, and he eliminated the threat," he added.

After the suspect was shot dead by the responding officer, identified as 28-year-old Alan Harujko, university officials sent out a campus-wide alert to initiate a lockdown due to a possible active shooting incident.

SWAT teams fanned out across the facility and an FBI team was also on the scene, searching buildings for any additional suspects.

It took nearly two hours before officials lifted the lockdown, and shocked students and staff began streaming out of buildings. The university canceled classes for the rest of the day.

"I was right there," student Joseph Noll told Columbus television station WBNS. "I just heard some screams, and I saw people running."

Student Cydney Ireland told ABC she was walking out of class when she also heard screams.

"Everybody was running in any direction they possibly could, students were running out of the classroom building," she said from her hiding spot in a locked bathroom.

Ohio State has roughly 60,000 students on the main campus in Columbus, which sprawls across more than 1,900 acres (770 hectares).

A number of vigils and gatherings were planned, as university officials offered student and staff counseling.

"Days such as these test our spirit," university president Michael Drake said in a note to students and staff, "But together we remain unified in the face of adversity."

"I encourage anyone in our community in need of assistance to utilize the university's resources," he said.

Classes are scheduled to resume Tuesday.

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News Network
May 29,2020

Washington, May 29: US President Donald Trump while speaking with reporters at the White House on Thursday said that he is more liked in India than the media in his own country --the United States.

"I know. And they like me in India. I think they like me in India certainly more than the media likes me in this country, " Trump told reporters at his Oval office.

"And I like Modi (Prime Minister Narendra Modi). I like your prime minister a lot. He's a great gentleman. A great gentleman," he added further while briefing the reporters.

But when asked over ties between India and China, the US President said, "They have a big conflict going with India and China. Two countries with 1.4 billion people. Two countries with very powerful militaries. And India is not happy, and probably China is not happy."

Reiterating his offer to mediate between India and China on the border issue, Trump said that he spoke to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is not in "good mood" about the ongoing situation with Beijing.

However, informed sources from the Ministry of External Affairs told ANI on Friday that there has been no recent contact between Prime Minister Modi and the US President. The last conversation between them took place on April 4, 2020, on the subject of hydroxychloroquine.

Asked about his Wednesday's tweet regarding his offer to mediate between India and China, Trump said, "I would do that. If they (China and India) thought it would help." However, Trump did not clarify when did he speak to Modi.

Trump on Wednesday tweeted that he is "ready, willing and able to mediate" between India and China."We have informed both India and China that the United States is ready, willing and able to mediate or arbitrate their now raging border dispute," the US President said.

In response to Trump's mediation offer, India said on Thursday that it is engaged with the Chinese side to resolve the border issue peacefully.

India's Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said that the two sides have established mechanisms both at military and diplomatic levels to resolve situations that may arise in border areas peacefully through dialogue and "continue to remain engaged through these channels."

Indian and Chinese field commanders have been holding talks on de-escalating the tensions.

China has also struck a conciliatory tone on the border issue with India, saying the two countries pose no threat to each other and should resolve their differences through communication, while not allowing them to overshadow bilateral relations.

"We should never let differences overshadow our relations. We should resolve differences through communication. China and India should be good neighbours of harmonious coexistence and good partners to move forward hand in hand," said Chinese Ambassador to India, Sun Weidong, on Wednesday.

The tensions escalated between India and China following a number of confrontations between soldiers of both armies.

Troops of India and China were engaged in two face-offs in Eastern Ladakh and North Sikkim along the disputed Line of Actual Control (LAC), where troops from both sides suffered injuries early this month.

Studies over the anti-malarial drug, which is believed to cure the highly contagious coronavirus, have shown side-effects, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organisation. But Trump continues to defend his decision to take hydroxychloroquine saying he believes that it gives an additional level of safety.

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News Network
June 8,2020

Wellington, Jun 8: New Zealand lifted all domestic coronavirus restrictions on Monday after its final COVID-19 patient was given the all clear, with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern revealing she danced around her living room when told about the milestone.

While strict border controls will remain in place, Ardern said restrictions such as social distancing and limits on public gatherings were no longer needed.

"We are confident we have eliminated transmission of the virus in New Zealand for now," she said in a televised address, saying Kiwis had "united in unprecedented ways to crush the virus".

The South Pacific nation, with a population of five million, has had 1,154 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 22 deaths.

There have been no new infections for 17 days and, until Monday, just one active case for more than a week.

Details of the final patient were not released for privacy reasons but it is believed to be a woman aged in her 50s who was linked to a cluster at an Auckland nursing home.

Ardern said the sacrifices made by New Zealanders, including a drastic seven-week lockdown that helped curb infection rates, had been rewarded now that there were no active cases in the country.

Asked about her reaction upon hearing the news, she replied: "I did a little dance" with baby daughter Neve.

"She was caught a little by surprise but she joined in, having absolutely no idea why I was dancing around the lounge."

New Zealand's move down to Level 1, the lowest rating on its four-tier virus response system, means nightclubs can operate without dance floor restrictions and theatres will reopen.

It also means sporting events can proceed with crowds in the stands, a change New Zealand Rugby (NZR) said offered its Super Rugby Aotearoa competition the opportunity to achieve a world first when it kicks off this weekend.

"We're incredibly proud, and grateful, to be the first professional sports competition in the world to be in a position to have our teams play in front of their fans again," NZR chief executive Mark Robinson said.

While many other sporting competitions around the globe have announced plans to restart, the vast majority will be played either with no crowds or with numbers severely restricted.

On a broader level, Ardern said easing restrictions would help New Zealand's economy.

"We now have a head start on economic recovery because at level one we become one of the most open, if not the most open, economies in the world," she said.

The prime minister said modelling showed the economy would operate at just 3.8 percent below normal at Level 1, compared with a 37 percent impairment at Level 4 lockdown.

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News Network
June 24,2020

Geneva, Jun 24: The global cumulative count of confirmed coronavirus cases is approaching nine million, with 133,326 cases recorded over the past day, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said in its daily situation report on Tuesday.

Over the past 24 hours, 3,847 people died from COVID-19 worldwide, taking the cumulative death toll to 469,587 fatalities, according to the report.

The global case total has now reached 8,993,659.

The Americas still account for the majority of cases and deaths -- 4.4 million and 224,207, respectively.

The United States remains the country with the highest count of cases and fatalities -- 2.3 million and 119,761, respectively.

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