Tag Archives: Investigation

Call from Trump interrupts Israeli police questioning Netanyahu

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends the weekly cabinet meeting at his office in Jerusalem March 5, 2017. REUTERS/Abir Sultan/Pool

By Luke Baker

JERUSALEM (Reuters) – A phone call from U.S. President Donald Trump interrupted a police inquiry into Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was on Monday being questioned for a fourth time over suspicions of corruption.

Not long after sitting down with police investigators at his residence in Jerusalem, one aide said, Netanyahu briefly excused himself to speak with Trump.

“The two leaders spoke at length about the dangers posed by the nuclear deal with Iran… and about the need to work together to counter those dangers,” Netanyahu’s office said in a statement issued just before details of the police probe led prime time news.

Netanyahu, 67, is a suspect in two cases, one involving the receipt of gifts from businessmen and the other related to conversations he held with an Israeli newspaper publisher about limiting competition in the news sector in exchange for more positive coverage.

No charges have been brought against Netanyahu, who has been in power since 2009 and has denied wrongdoing.

A police spokeswoman said a statement would be released after the session. “We are in the final stages,” Police chief Roni Elsheich told reporters earlier about the investigation.

Once it is complete, police will decide whether to drop the case or recommend the attorney general bring charges.

As speculation bubbles, politicians from across the spectrum have begun maneuvering, believing early elections will probably have to be called if Netanyahu is indicted.

Such a move would most likely lead to his resignation – in 1993 the Supreme Court set a precedent for ministers to step down if they are charged with corruption.

It is possible someone from his Likud party could replace Netanyahu without a new vote, but many analysts think it unlikely, predicting an election would have to be called for September or November, depending on developments.

The opposition Labour party will hold primaries in July, former defense minister Moshe Yaalon has launched his own party and Avi Dichter, the former head of the Shin Bet intelligence agency and a senior member of Likud, said on Saturday he would consider running for the party leadership.

“I am here to lead and will undoubtedly run for Likud leadership and the premiership,” Dichter was quoted as saying, comments his spokesman said were not a challenge to Netanyahu and referred to future primaries.

SHAKE-UP?

To analysts, the rumblings are clear and foreshadow change after 20 years of Netanyahu dominating the landscape.

“Active politicians and those on the benches waiting to enter, all of them have concluded that early elections are coming because of the investigation,” Menachem Klein, a politics professor at Bar-Ilan University, told Reuters.

“They are starting to prepare themselves.”

Opinion polls show Yair Lapid, the head of the centrist Yesh Atid party, as the strongest candidate for prime minister if Netanyahu goes, but there are a host of others nipping at his heels. Other polls show Netanyahu remains the most popular politician.

In recent weeks, Netanyahu has visited Britain, the United States and Australia. Trips are planned to Russia, China and India. Some critics suggest the travel is a way of delaying questioning. Others say it is about appearing statesman-like.

“His junkets to far-flung places and visits with the leaders of world powers are intended to persuade Israelis that he’s the be-all and end-all,” columnist Yossi Verter wrote in Haaretz. “The deeper the investigations, the more he’ll be in the air.”

Netanyahu’s opponents name a number of party rivals bidding to replace him, including Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan, Culture Minister Miri Regev and Transport Minister Yisrael Katz. Naftali Bennett of the far-right Jewish Home is seen as someone who could switch to Likud to try to lead.

(Additional reporting by Jeffrey Heller; Editing by Robin Pomeroy and John Stonestreet)

Indonesian police kill bomber, investigate for link to IS sympathizers

REFILE EDITING BYLINE IN IPTCPolice approach a local government office following an explosion in Bandung, West Java, Indonesia February 27, 2017, in this photo taken by Pikiran Rakyat newspaper. Pikiran Rakyat Newspaper/Harry Surjana/via REUTERS.

By Agustinus Beo Da Costa and Gayatri Suroyo

JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesian police killed a militant on Monday after he detonated a small bomb in the city of Bandung and authorities said they were investigating whether he had links to a radical network sympathetic to Islamic State.

Indonesia, an officially secular state with the world’s largest Muslim population, faces what many people fear is a growing threat from supporters of Islamic State.

Recent attacks by Islamic State sympathizers have mostly been poorly organized, but authorities believe about 400 Indonesians have left to join the militant group in Syria, and some could pose a more deadly threat if they came home.

The blast in the courtyard of a government office in Bandung, southeast of the capital Jakarta, did not cause any casualties and the bomber was shot by police after he ran into the building.

The militant had arrived at the office on a motorbike and placed his bomb, made with explosives packed into a pressure cooker, in the corner of the courtyard.

The attacker had demanded that an anti-terror police unit, Densus 88, release all detainees, according to provincial police chief Anton Charliyan.

The attacker may have been linked to Jemaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD), an umbrella organization on a U.S. State Department “terrorist” list that is estimated to have drawn hundreds of Islamic State sympathizers in Indonesia.

“There’s a possibility of JAD,” Charliyan said, when asked which group the militant belonged to.

The bomber had been jailed for three years after undertaking militant training in Aceh, a province on the northwest tip of Sumatra island, said national police spokesman Martinus Sitompul.

Indonesia had scored major successes tackling militancy inspired by the al Qaeda attacks on the United States in 2001. But there has been a resurgence of Islamist activity in recent years, some of it linked to the rise of Islamic State.

Authorities foiled at least 15 attacks in 2016 and made more than 150 arrests.

The most serious incident last year was in January when four suicide bombers and gunmen attacked a shopping area in central Jakarta.

Eight people, including all four attackers, were killed in the first attack in Indonesia claimed by Islamic State.

Militant attacks had been relatively rare in Bandung, about three hours away from Jakarta. Provincial police spokesman Yusri Yunus said the situation was “under control” after the bomber was killed.

(Additional reporting by Kanupriya Kapoor; Writing by Eveline Danubrata and Robert Birsel; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)

Police question Netanyahu for third time in criminal case

Benjamin Netanyahu

By Maayan Lubell

(Reuters) – Israeli police questioned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday for the third time this month as part of a criminal investigation into abuse of office, Israeli media reported.

A police source confirmed the questioning took place but would not provide further details. A Reuters cameraman at Netanyahu’s official residence, where the questioning took place, said investigators were on the scene for three hours.

Police confirm they are questioning Netanyahu as a suspect in two criminal cases, one involving gifts given to him and his family by businessmen and the other related to conversations he held with an Israeli publisher. He has denied wrongdoing.

If charges are brought, political upheaval in Israel would be likely, with pressure on Netanyahu, 67, to step down after 11 years in office, spread over four terms.

The first case — referred to by police as Case 1,000 — involves Netanyahu and family members receiving gifts on a regular basis from two businessmen. Israeli media have reported that the gifts include cigars and champagne.

The second involves a deal Netanyahu allegedly discussed with the owner of one of Israel’s largest newspapers, Yedioth Ahronoth, for better coverage in return for curbs on competition from a free paper owned by U.S. casino mogul Sheldon Adelson.

Adelson is a supporter of the prime minister and his newspaper is staunchly pro-Netanyahu.

Israel Radio said Friday’s questioning mainly focused on the second case.

Addressing parliament on Wednesday, Netanyahu said there was nothing wrong with receiving gifts from close friends and that it was common for politicians to hold conversations with newspaper publishers. He accused opponents of trying to overthrow him.

“The goal is to pressure the attorney-general to press charges at any cost. There is no limit to the hounding, the persecution, the lies,” Netanyahu said.

In a research note published this week, Moody’s rating agency said the investigations into Netanyahu “are sufficiently serious that they could end his tenure as prime minister”.

“Should Netanyahu be forced to resign, it is likely that new elections would need to be held, since there is no clear successor in his Likud party.”

Under Israeli law, the prime minister is not obliged to resign even after he is charged, but he could be pressured into stepping down. Opponents are calling for him to do so.

Netanyahu is not the first Israeli leader to have faced criminal investigation: former prime minister Ehud Olmert was convicted of breach of trust and bribery in 2014 and Ariel Sharon was questioned while in office over allegations of bribery and campaign financing illegalities.

Israel Radio and Channel Ten television reported this week that police were investigating two more cases involving Netanyahu. Police did not confirm or deny the reports.

(Editing by Luke Baker and Dominic Evans)

U.S. in deal to reform Baltimore police after Freddie Gray death

mural of late Freddie Gray in Baltimore

By Donna Owens

BALTIMORE (Reuters) – The city of Baltimore will enact a series of police reforms including changes in how officers use force and transport prisoners under an agreement with the U.S. Justice Department filed in federal court on Thursday.

The agreement comes almost two years after the death of a black man, Freddie Gray, of injuries sustained while in police custody sparked a day of rioting and arson in the majority-black city. It also led to an investigation that found the city’s police routinely violated residents’ civil rights.

Outgoing U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch said the deal, which is subject to a judge’s approval, would be binding even after President-elect Donald Trump is sworn in on Jan. 20.

“The reforms in this consent decree will help ensure effective and constitutional policing, restore the community’s trust in law enforcement, and advance public and officer safety,” Lynch told reporters, flanked by recently elected Mayor Catherine Pugh.

The 227-page consent decree agreement is the result of months of negotiations after a federal report released in August found that the city’s 2,600-member police department routinely violated black residents’ civil rights with strip searches, by excessively using force and other means.

The probe followed the April 2015 death of Gray, 25, who died of injuries sustained in the back of a police van. His was one of a series of high-profile deaths in U.S. cities from Ferguson, Missouri, to North Charleston, South Carolina, that sparked an intense debate about race and justice and fueled the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement.

The Department of Justice is scheduled to release the findings of its investigation into the Chicago Police Department on Friday in the Midwest city, local media reported. In Philadelphia on Friday, a report on reform efforts by the Philadelphia Police Department will be released, according to a statement from the Department of Justice.

Prosecutors brought charges against six officers involved in Gray’s arrest but secured no convictions.

William Murphy Jr., an attorney who represented the Gray family in a civil suit against the city that led to a $6 million settlement, praised the deal.

“Make no mistake, today is a revolution in policing in Baltimore,” Murphy said.

The head of city’s police union was warier, saying his group had not been a part of the negotiations.

“Neither our rank and file members who will be the most affected, nor our attorneys, have had a chance to read the final product,” Gene Ryan, president of the Baltimore Fraternal Order of Police, said in a statement.

City officials said union officials had been involved in talks early on but stopped attending meetings.

(Additional reporting by Timothy McLaughlin in Chicago. Editing by Tom Brown and Andrew Hay)

Malaysia says search for missing MH370 to end in two weeks

Family member of a passenger onboard missing Malaysian flight

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Malaysia said on Friday the hunt for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 will end in two weeks after the search is completed of a 120,000 square kilometer (9,650 sq mile) area where experts thought it went down.

Investigators recommended last month that the search be extended by 25,000 sq km to an area further north in the Indian Ocean, after conceding for the first time they were probably looking in the wrong place. [nL4N1EF02J]

But Malaysia’s transport minister, Liow Tiong Lai, told reporters the search of the 120,000 sq km area would be completed but the hunt would then end in the absence of any “credible clue” suggesting it be extended.

The latest report by the search coordinator, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, was due to be completed in a week or two, he said.

“The search mission will end soon and after that,” Liow was quoted as saying by state news agency Bernama.

The report would be made available online, he said, adding:

“Any decision based on the report will be done later.”

Flight MH370 disappeared in March 2014 with 239 passengers and crew on board, most of them Chinese, en route to Beijing from the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur.

Its whereabouts have become one of the world’s greatest aviation mysteries.

Families of many of those on board have called for the search to continue and to be extended to other areas.

The three countries involved in the search – Malaysia, Australia and China – would meet before Jan. 28 to decide on the next course of action, Liow said.

Australia last month also rejected recommendations to extend the search, citing a lack of “credible evidence”.

A total of 33 pieces of wreckage suspected to be from the plane have been found, including parts of wings and a tail, on the shores of Mauritius, the French Indian Ocean island of Reunion, Mozambique, Tanzania and South Africa.

(Reporting by Praveen Menon; Editing by Robert Birsel)

A year after San Bernardino attack, investigators still seek answers

Law enforcement looking over evidence

By Alex Dobuzinskis

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – One year after two Islamic militants shot dead 14 people in a massacre in Southern California, FBI investigators are still seeking to answer key questions such as the location of the married couple’s computer hard drive and whether anyone helped them, an official said.

Syed Rizwan Farook, 28, and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, 29, opened fire on Dec. 2 during a party and training session for San Bernardino County employees, who were co-workers of Farook, injuring 22 people in addition to the 14 killed.

It was one of the deadliest attacks by militants in the United States since the Sept. 11, 2001, hijacked plane attacks.

Authorities have said that U.S.-born Farook and Malik, a native of Pakistan who lived most of her life in Saudi Arabia, were inspired by Islamic extremism. The couple, who were parents of a 6-month-old daughter, both died in a shootout with police four hours after the massacre.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is still seeking to determine if anyone assisted the couple, such as in financing the attack or helping to plan for it, FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said.

“While we have not charged anyone with providing support to Farook and Malik, we certainly will continue to investigate to determine if they were supported in any way,” she said in a telephone interview.

To that end, the FBI is still hoping to find the hard drive from the couple’s computer, Eimiller said.

A search by FBI divers in the weeks after the attack of a small lake at a park where Farook and Malik stopped in the hours after the shooting failed to turn up the hard drive.

In addition, the FBI still has an 18-minute gap in accounting for the whereabouts of Farook and Malik in the hours they spent driving around San Bernardino in a sport utility vehicle after the attack at the city’s Inland Regional Center.

The couple left three pipe bombs at the center, in an apparent attempt to harm emergency workers caring for the wounded, according to authorities. The couple approached the center after the attack and might have been trying to detonate one of the devices remotely, Eimiller said.

Several public events are scheduled for Friday in San Bernardino to mark the one-year anniversary of the attack.

Elected officials and emergency responders who handled the attack will attend a ceremony at a San Bernardino blood bank on Friday morning. In the evening, another event is expected to draw at least 2,000 participants to an arena in the city.

(Editing by Leslie Adler)

Fourth worker in a year dies at Virginia Goodyear plant

(Reuters) – A worker died at a Goodyear Tire and Rubber plant at Danville, Virginia, on Friday, the fourth fatality in a year at the site, state officials said.

Goodyear said it had reported the death to the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and would cooperate with it.

“Our hearts go out to the family, friends and co-workers of the employee during this very difficult time,” the statement said.

The employee’s identity and the circumstances of the death at the plant about 250 miles southwest of Washington were not announced.

The death at the plant was the fourth since August 2015, a spokeswoman for the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry said. The department has sent a team to the Goodyear site, she said.

Investigations into the previous three deaths have not been concluded, said Ron Graham, health director of the Virginia Occupational Safety and Health Program, which oversees federal workplace rules in the state.

The Virginia agency issued three violations totaling $16,975 in fines in February for the accident last year, according to an inspections report on the OSHA website. Goodyear is contesting the penalties. The other two accidents, prior to Friday, took place this year.

(Reporting by Ian Simpson in Washington; Editing by Phil Berlowitz)

Congress to receive 28 classified pages of 9/11 report today

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) speaks during a media briefing on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., July 7, 2016.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Congress on Friday will receive 28 classified pages of the official report on the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States, House of Representatives Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi said.

“The documents are coming to Congress today,” she said at her weekly news conference, adding that she was not sure when the material would be made public.

Some U.S. lawmakers have alleged the 28 pages link Saudi government officials to the 2001 attacks. CIA chief John Brennan said in June that people should not take them as evidence of Saudi complicity.

The still-classified section of the report on the attacks, informally the 9/11 Commission Report, is central to a dispute over whether Americans should be able to sue the Saudi Arabian government for damages. The Office of the U.S. Director of National Intelligence has been reviewing the material to see whether it could be declassified.

Legislation allowing such lawsuits has been making its way through Congress. President Barack Obama has said he will not sign any such measure. His administration says the legislation could pose a national security threat to the country and is opposed by important U.S. allies.

(Reporting by David Morgan and Patricia Zengerle; Writing by Mohammad Zargham and Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)

Senate committee questions Facebook over news selection

Facebook Entrance Sign

By Amy Tennery

(Reuters) – A U.S. Senate committee launched an inquiry on Tuesday into how social media website Facebook selects its news stories after a report that company employees blocked news about conservative issues from its “trending” list.

The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation asked Facebook Chairman and Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg in a letter to answer questions about the company’s news curation practices and its trending topics section.

The investigation comes after Gizmodo reported on Monday that a former Facebook employee claimed workers “routinely suppressed news stories of interest to conservative readers,” while “artificially” adding other stories to the trending list.

U.S. Senator John Thune, the chairman of the committee, told reporters Tuesday his primary concern was that Facebook may be engaging in deceptive behavior if employees meddled with what trending news was displayed.

“If you have a stated policy, which your followers or your audience knows to be the case, that you use an objective algorithm for trending topics — you better follow that policy,” Thune said. “It’s a matter of transparency and honesty and there shouldn’t be any attempt to mislead the American public.”

The letter to Facebook includes requests for information on the organizational structure for the “Trending Topics feature.”

Adam Jentleson, deputy chief of staff to Democratic Senator Harry Reid, balked at the request in a statement provided to Reuters.

“The Republican Senate refuses to hold hearings on [Supreme Court nominee] Judge [Merrick] Garland, refuses to fund the President’s request for Zika aid and takes the most days off of any Senate since 1956, but thinks Facebook hearings are a matter of urgent national interest,” Jentleson said.

A Facebook <FB.O> spokesman said the company has received the Senate letter and is reviewing it. They also denied the Gizmodo report Tuesday in a statement provided to Reuters.

“After an initial review, no evidence was found that the anonymous allegations are true,” a spokesman said.

Tom Stocky, the vice president of search at Facebook, responded to the allegations Monday night in a lengthy post published to the social media site saying there are “strict guidelines” for trending topic reviewers who “are required to accept topics that reflect real world events.”

He added that those guidelines are under “constant review” and that his team would “continue to look for improvements.”

Katie Drummond, the editor-in-chief of Gizmodo, called her publication’s story “accurate” in a statement released to Reuters Tuesday.

Gizmodo’s report alarmed several social media users, with some conservatives in particular criticizing Facebook for alleged bias.

“‘If a Conservative Speaks – and Facebook Censors Him – Does He Make a Sound?'” Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker (@ScottWalker) wrote on Twitter <TWTR.N> Tuesday, with a link to a National Review story that detailed the allegations against Facebook.

(Reporting By Amy Tennery; additional reporting by Dustin Volz in Washington; Editing by Alan Crosby)