Upset with newspaper, US gunman Jarrod Ramos kills 5 in newsroom

Agencies
June 29, 2018

Annapolis, Jun 29: A US gunman with a long-standing grudge against a Maryland newspaper on Friday blasted his way through its newsroom with a shotgun and smoke grenades, killing at least five people and injuring two others in one of the deadliest attacks on the media in America.

The shooter identified as Jarrod Ramos, 38, has been arrested and the police are questioning him.

The shooting at the Capital Gazette newspaper in the US city of Annapolis is said to be one of the worst attacks on the media in decades in the US and has been described as a "targeted attack" by the police.

"This was a targeted attack on the Capital Gazette. This person was prepared today to come in. He was prepared to shoot people. His intent was to cause harm," Anne Arundel County Deputy Police Chief William Krampf told reporters at a news conference.

The five persons killed in the shootout are assistant editor Rob Hiaasen, editorial page editor Gerald Fischman, editor and reporter John McNamara, special publications editor Wendi Winters and sales assistant Rebecca Smith, police said.

According to 'The Washington Post', Ramos lost a defamation case he had brought against 'The Capital Gazette' over a 2011 column he contended defamed him.

"The column provided an account of Ramos's guilty plea to criminal harassment of a woman over social media," the report said.

White House Deputy Press Secretary Lindsay Walters said President Donald Trump has been briefed on the situation and the White House has been in touch with the FBI.

"Our thoughts and prayers go out to those affected by the horrible shooting at the Capital Gazette newspaper in Annapolis, Maryland. We are grateful to the first responders who are on the scene," she said.

Asked about Trump's criticism of the press corps, she said the president and his staff did not believe violence was acceptable in any situation, adding that "we stand by that".

Earlier, Phil Davis, the Gazette's crime reporter, had tweeted about the shooting.

"Gunman shot through the glass door to the (newsroom) and opened fire on multiple employees. Can't say much more and don't want to declare anyone dead, but it's bad," Davis said.

Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi said in mass shootings and daily tragedies, the epidemic of gun violence has stolen too many lives for far too long.

"Congress has a responsibility to take action now to ensure that no other community or family must endure the unthinkable horror of gun violence. Every day it fails to do so is a stain on our country," she said.

Asserting that reporters should not have to hide from gunfire while doing their jobs, former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, founder of the gun violence prevention organisation, said time and time again, those in the Congress had failed to show the courage needed to keep people safe.

"Americans are demanding that their lawmakers pass effective laws that can protect our communities and stop dangerous people from accessing guns, but this Congress refuses to listen. We should be outraged. And we should be making plans to hold them accountable," she said.

Media watchdog, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said it was deeply disturbed to learn that a shooting at the Capital Gazette, had resulted in the death of five people.

"Is what happened in the Capital Gazette newsroom in Annapolis, Maryland, the equivalent of the Charlie Hebdo killing or of the last bombing against journalists in Kabul?" said RSF Secretary general Christophe Deloire.

In any case, this is a new tragedy for journalism, which is the victim of increasing violence globally, even in democracies, he said.

"It is deeply saddening to learn of this shooting happening in a local newsroom in the US. RSF strongly condemns this act of violence, and any such acts against journalists," Deloire added.

"We expect a quick and thorough investigation into this tragedy," said Margaux Ewen, Director of RSF's North America bureau.

Indian-American Congressman Ro Khanna demanded that the Congress act now on gun violence.

"Yet another tragedy in Annapolis and it won't be the last unless we do something. Far too many people are hiding in closets, under their desks, in their places of work, worship, and in schools. This must stop," he said.

"My heart is with The Capital Gazette and all the victims and families affected," Khanna said.

Meanwhile, as a precautionary measure, security was tightened outside media offices across the US.

Boston Police said that it had increased patrols near local media outlets.

"While there are no credible concerns or information detailing similar threats directed towards media outlets in Boston, Commissioner Evans has called for increased and directed patrols in and around various media agencies throughout the city," a police spokesman told the local Boston Globe.

Similar measures have been taken by the New York Police Department including posting police officers outside 'The New York Times' office.

"The NYPD has deployed counterterrorism teams to media organisations in and around New York City. These deployments are not based on specific threat information, but rather out of an abundance of caution until we learn more about the suspect and motives behind the Maryland shooting," said John Miller, Deputy Commissioner for Counterterrorism and Intelligence at the NYPD.

""It has become a standard practice to shift resources strategically during active shooter or terrorist events," he said.

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News Network
February 18,2020

New Delhi, Feb 18: A Delhi court today sent Sharjeel Imam, who has been named as an "instigator" by the Delhi Police in its chargesheet on violent protests against the amended citizenship act at New Friends Colony near Jamia in Delhi last year, to judicial custody till March 3.

Sharjeel Imam was arrested on sedition charges last month.

The Delhi Police has filed a chargesheet before Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Gurmohina Kaur, naming Sharjeel Imam as an instigator of the violence.

It said it has attached CCTV footage, call detail records and statements of over 100 witnesses as evidence in the chargesheet.

The court had on Monday sent Sharjeel Imam to one-day custody of Delhi Police in the case.

Protestors had torched four public buses and two police vehicles as they clashed with police in New Friends Colony near Jamia Millia Islamia in Delhi during the demonstration against the CAA on December 15, leaving nearly 60 people including students, cops and fire fighters injured.

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News Network
January 6,2020

Jan 6: India’s Finance Ministry has delivered a challenge to its revenue collectors: meet tax targets despite $20 billion of corporate tax cuts.

Through a video conference on Dec. 16, officials were exhorted to meet the direct tax mop-up target of 13.4 trillion rupees ($187 billion), a government official told reporters. Collection in the eight months to November grew at 5% from a year earlier, against the desired 17%.

The missive shows Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s urgent need to buoy public finances in a slowing economy where April-November tax collections were half the amount budgeted. Authorities withheld some payments to states and have capped ministries’ expenditure as the fiscal deficit ballooned beyond the target.

The government’s efforts to maintain its deficit goal goes against advice from some quarters, including central bank Governor Shaktikanta Das, who urged more spending to spur economic growth.

It’s uncertain though how much room Modi’s administration has to boost expenditure, given that it may already be borrowing as much as 540 billion rupees through state-run companies, a figure that isn’t reflected on the federal balance sheet. Uncertainty about public finances pushed up sovereign yields in November and December, compelling Das to announce unconventional policies to keep costs in check.

“This is not a time to conceal the fiscal deficit by off-budget borrowing or deferring payments,” said Indira Rajaraman, an economist and a former member of the Reserve Bank of India’s board. “If they were to stick to the target, that would be catastrophic because there is so much pump-priming that is needed right now.”

GDP grew 4.5% in the quarter ended September, the slowest pace in more than six years as both consumption and investments cooled in Asia’s third-largest economy. Only government spending supported the expansion, piling pressure on Modi to keep stimulating.

S&P Global Ratings warned in December it may downgrade India’s sovereign ratings if economic growth doesn’t recover. Government support seems to be waning now, with ministries asked to cap spending in the final quarter of the financial year at 25% of the amount budgeted rather than 33% allowed earlier. This new rule will hamstring sectors including agriculture, aviation and coal, where not even half of annual targets have been disbursed.

As the federal government runs short of money, it’s been delaying payouts to state administrations.

Private hospitals have threatened to suspend cash-less services to government employees over non-payment of dues, while a builder informed the stock exchange about delayed rental payments from no less than the tax office itself.

India is considering a litigation-settlement plan that will allow companies to exit lingering tax disputes by paying a portion of the money demanded by the government, the Economic Times newspaper reported Saturday.

The move will help improve the ease of doing business besides unlocking a part of the almost 8 trillion rupees ($111 billion) caught up in these disputes. The step, which is being considered as part of the annual budget, could also bridge India’s fiscal gap.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has refused to comment on the deficit goal before the official budget presentation due Feb. 1.

A deviation from target, if any, “will need to be balanced with a credible consolidation plan further-out,” said Radhika Rao, an economist at DBS Group Holdings Ltd. in Singapore.

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News Network
April 2,2020

Washington, Apr 2: The total US death toll from the coronavirus pandemic topped 4,000 early Wednesday, more than double the number from three days earlier, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

The number of deaths was 4,076 -- more than twice the 2,010 recorded late Saturday.

More than 40 percent of recorded deaths nationally were in New York state, the Johns Hopkins data showed.

On Tuesday the United States exceeded the number of deaths in China, where the pandemic emerged in December before spreading worldwide.

The number of confirmed US cases has reached 189,510, the most in the world, though Italy and Spain have recorded more fatalities.

After initially downplaying the threat from new coronavirus in the early stages of the US outbreak, President Donald Trump warned of "a very, very painful two weeks" to come for the country on Tuesday.

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