Tag: KILLED

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Indian Mission ‘Strongly’ Raises Jaahnavi Kandula Death With US Authorities

The Prosecutor’s Office is not pressing charges against Seattle Police Officer Kevin Dave, who ran over and killed Jaahnavi Kandula, last year due to “lack of sufficient evidence”

The Indian consulate in Seattle said that it has “strongly” raised the issue of Indian student Jaahnavi Kandula’s killing in the US with the city police and the case is now being referred to Seattle City Attorney’s office for review.

The move comes after the King’s County Prosecutor’s Office said on Wednesday that they will not be pressing charges against Seattle Police Officer Kevin Dave, who ran over and killed Kandula, last year due to “lack of sufficient evidence”.

In a statement posted on X on Friday, the Indian Consulate said that they are awaiting the “completion of Seattle Police’s administrative investigation and will continue to monitor progress in the case”.

“We have also raised the matter strongly with local authorities, including Seattle Police for appropriate redress. The case has now been referred to Seattle City Attorney’s office for review,” the Consulate said.

In addition, the Consulate said that it is in “regular touch with the designated family representatives and will continue to extend all possible support in ensuring justice for Jaahnavi and her family”.

Kandula, a student of the Northeastern University in South Lake Union, died after she was hit by a Seattle Police vehicle driven by officer Kevin Dave at a pedestrian crossing on the night of January 23 last year.

Dave, who was responding to a “high priority” call that day at 8 pm, had reportedly chirped his siren, but did not have it running consistently, as he plowed into Kandula.

“After staffing this case with senior deputy prosecuting attorneys and office leadership, I have determined that we lack sufficient evidence under Washington State law to prove a criminal case beyond a reasonable doubt,” the King County Prosecuting Attorney said in its statement on Wednesday.

Attorney Leesa Manion, however, noted, “Kandula’s death is heartbreaking and impacted communities in King County and across the world.”

Meanwhile, the Coalition of Hindus of North America (CoHNA), a US-based Hindu advocacy group, said on Friday that it is “shocking” and “disheartening” to see that the investigation into the killing of Kandula is dismissed with no charges against those who struck her.

“It is shocking and disheartening to see the investigation into the killing of #JaahnaviKandula be dismissed with no charges against those who struck her. Where is #justice for the family of this young international student, run over in a #Seattle sidewalk by a police car?” CoHNA said in a post on X.

Kandula was thrown 100 feet when she was struck by the speeding police patrol vehicle and died on the spot.

“I f–ked up,” Dave was heard saying after the accident at the intersection where he accelerated up to 74 miles per hour at one point, much higher than the prescribed limits of 25 and 20 mph respectively.

According to the footage, moments after reaching the top speed, he slowed down the car before striking Kandula at the intersection.

The bodycam video also showed Dave performing CPR on Kandula after the collision.

Kandula came to the US in 2021 and was pursuing a Master of Science in Information Systems at the College of Engineering, Northeastern University. She was set to graduate in December 2023.

She was the daughter of a single mother, who earned less than $200 a month and had taken an education loan to send Kandula to study abroad.

ALSO READ: South Asian Community Demand Justice For Kandula

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Eight Iraqi Paramilitary Fighters Killed in US Strikes

A statement by the media office of Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani said the US airstrikes constitute a clear violation of the coalition’s mission which is to fight the Islamic State militants on Iraqi soil…reports Asian Lite News

Eight members of the Iraqi paramilitary Hashd Shaabi forces were killed and four others were wounded by US airstrikes near the Iraqi capital Baghdad.

A statement by the Hashd Shaabi said on Wednesday that at 2:30 a.m. (2330 GMT on Tuesday), the US aircraft attacked positions of the Hashd Shaabi forces in the Jurf al-Nasr area, south of Baghdad, leaving eight of its fighters killed and wounding four others.

“We affirm our strong condemnation of this hostile act, which represents a blatant violation of Iraq’s sovereignty,” the statement said.

Meanwhile, the US Central Command said in a statement that the US aircraft conducted precision strikes in Iraq in direct response to the attacks against US and coalition forces by Iran and Iran-backed groups, Xinhua news agency reported.

A statement by the media office of Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani said the US airstrikes constitute a clear violation of the coalition’s mission which is to fight the Islamic State militants on Iraqi soil.

The latest US airstrikes came after the Iraqi armed group “Islamic Resistance in Iraq,” an umbrella body for Iranian-backed Iraqi militias, claimed responsibility for carrying out a series of rocket and drone attacks on military bases housing US-led coalition forces in Iraq and Syria.

The attacks by the armed group are believed to be part of a series of retaliatory measures amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza.

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Two Military Trainer Jets Crash in Ukraine, Three Pilots Killed

The crash took place on Friday, when two aircraft were performing a combat task, the statement said on Saturday as quoted by Xinhua news agency report…reports Asian Lite News

Three pilots were killed after two L-39 military trainer jets collided in the sky over Ukraine’s northern Zhytomyr region, the country’s Air Force said in a statement on Telegram.

The crash took place on Friday, when two aircraft were performing a combat task, the statement said on Saturday as quoted by Xinhua news agency report.

The regional prosecutor’s office launched criminal proceedings into the crash on charges of violation of flight rules, said the Prosecutor General’s Office.

An investigation into the collision is underway.

ALSO READ-Ukraine confirms drone attack on Russian air base near Moscow

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Ecuadorian Prez candidate Fernando Villavicencio killed in shooting

As a legislator, Villavicencio was criticised by opposition politicians for obstructing an impeachment process this year against Lasso, which led the latter to call the early elections…reports Asian Lite News

Ecuadorian presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio has been killed, the country’s president Guillermo Lasso has said, vowing the “crime will not go unpunished”.

Local media had earlier reported Villavicencio, a former lawmaker who had been polling at 7.5 per cent and a leading anti-corruption campaigner, had been shot at a campaign event in Quito, The Guardian reported. 

Videos on social media appear to show the candidate walking out of the event surrounded by guards. The video then shows Villavicencio entering a white truck followed by gunfire.

“For his memory and his fight, I assure you that this crime will not remain unpunished,” Lasso said on Twitter.

Villavicencio, from the Andean province of Chimborazo, was the candidate for the Build Ecuador Movement. He was a former union member at state oil company Petroecuador and later a journalist who denounced alleged millions in oil contract losses. He was one of eight presidential candidates for the late August election.

Villavicencio was one of the most critical voices against corruption, especially during the government of former president Rafael Correa from 2007 to 2017, and was sentenced to 18 months in prison for defamation over statements made against the former president.

He fled to Indigenous territory within Ecuador and later was given asylum in Peru, The Guardian reported.

As a legislator, Villavicencio was criticised by opposition politicians for obstructing an impeachment process this year against Lasso, which led the latter to call the early elections.

Lasso added that he was “outraged and shocked by the assassination of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio. My solidarity and condolences to his wife and daughters”.

He said his security cabinet would meet shortly.

The killing comes amid a startling wave of violence in the South American nation, with drug trafficking and killings on the rise.

“Organized crime has gone too far, but they will feel the full weight of the law,” Lasso said, referring to the perpetrators of the crime.

“Today more than ever, the need to act with a strong hand against crime is reiterated. May God have him in his glory,” fellow presidential hopeful Jan Topic said in response to the shooting.

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Ukraine claims nearly 200 Russian soldiers killed in a day

Ukraine soldiers Pic credits Twitter @DefenceU

In its latest update, the General Staff said the Russians also carried out 25 air strikes on Sunday…reports Asian Lite News

The Ukrainian military has claimed that nearly 200 Russian soldiers were killed and a variety of equipment had also been destroyed in the past one day.

Although the claim was not officially verified, the military went on to say that in the last 48 hours, the frontlines across the war-torn nation witnessed heavy combat, with more than 20 engagements occurring in areas in the Donetsk region — chiefly Lyman, Marinka and Bakhmut, CNN reported.

In its latest update, the General Staff said the Russians also carried out 25 air strikes on Sunday.

There had been heavy Russian artillery and mortar fire in the Kupyansk area of Kharkiv, where the Russians have been trying to break through for over a month, the military added.

The General Staff insisted all Russian efforts to take territory had been foiled.

Across the Donetsk frontlines, the fighting was characterised by exchanges of indirect fire, but with little movement.

However, the Ukrainians say they are on the front foot around Bakhmut.

“(Troops) hold the initiative, continue assault operations and push the enemy back. Over the last day, the Ukrainian forces advanced 600 to 1,000 meters on the southern and northern flanks around Bakhmut,” CNN quoted Serhii Cherevatyi, a spokesperson for the Eastern Grouping of the Armed Forces, as saying. 

In the south, where Ukrainian forces have attempted to break through Russian lines, the General Staff said a Russian effort to regain lost positions in the area of Novodarivka had also failed.

Russian artillery continued to strike about 30 settlements along the frontlines in the Zaporizhzhia region, it added.

In Kherson, Nataliya Humenyuk, a spokesperson for Ukrainian forces in the south, said the Russians struggled to regain positions on the east bank of the river Dnipro, which was flooded by the June 6 damage to the dam at Nova Kakhovka. 

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Nine US soldiers killed after Black Hawk helicopters crash in Kentucky

Nine US servicemen of elite unit killed in chopper collision

Crew members were flying “during a routine training mission when the incident occurred”, the Fort Campbell base said in a statement on Facebook…reports Asian Lite News

Nine US servicemen of the elite 101st Airborne Division – the US Army’s sole air assault formation – were killed when two Black Hawk helicopters crashed during a “routine training mission” in US’ Kentucky state late on Wednesday, media reports said.

The incident, involving the 101st Airborne Division, happened during a training mission near the Fort Campbell military base at around 10 p.m. local time (2 a.m. GMT) on Wednesday, the BBC reported.

It said the US military officials termed the incident as a “truly tragic loss”.

Crew members were flying “during a routine training mission when the incident occurred”, the Fort Campbell base said in a statement on Facebook.

Kentucky State Police got the call at around 10.15 p.m. (local time) and rushed to an area with a field and woods, State Police Post 1 spokesperson Trooper Sarah Burgess said, adding that no residential areas are affected.

As per the BBC, a US Army spokesperson, in a statement issued earlier, said two HH60 Black Hawk helicopters had crashed during “a routine training mission” and the incident was under investigation and more information would be released as they become available.

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