A teenage boy who killed his 12-year-old friend in a frenzied attack after luring him to a woodland has been sentenced for murder Roberts Buncis was stabbed more than 70 times in the "brutal and prolonged" assault in Boston, Lincolnshire, just days before his 13th birthday. Jurors at Lincoln Crown Court heard Roberts' wounds were "consistent with an attempt to remove the head". Marcel Grzeszcz, 15, was ordered to serve a minimum term of 17 years. Jurors took less than two hours to convict Grzeszcz, who was 14 at the time of the attack in the Fishtoft area on 12 December 2020. Greszcz, who can be named in reports for the first time after anonymity restrictions were lifted, persuaded Roberts to meet by offering him £50 to sell cannabis. During the trial he insisted he had acted in self-defence and had "lost control" when Roberts, whom he accused of bringing a knife to the scene, tried to stab him. Prosecutor Mary Loram QC told the court there was no evidence Roberts had been armed, and the attack showed a "significant degree of pre-meditation and planning". The number of injuries and significant suffering suggested Robert's death was "more a than a simple stabbing," she said. Mr Justice Baker, sentencing, rejected Grzeszcz's claim about the knife and said he had not yet shown "any true remorse". During the "savage and brutal attack" on Roberts, he said, the defendant had made "a determined effort to remove his head before leaving his body for others to find". After the killing, the judge said, Grzeszcz made attempts to conceal the crime and dispose of evidence by burning his clothing and sending messages claiming he never met Roberts on the night he was killed. The judge warned Grzeszcz he may never be released. In a statement read to the court, Roberts' father Edgars Buncis said he felt "empty" after his son's murder.
"This is all wrong. No father should have to bury his son," he said. "Nothing is a reason for this. I have lost my destination, and my purpose. My life is in a cemetery." Speaking after the sentencing, Det Ch Insp Richard Myszczyszyn said the "utterly senseless" killing would be "remembered by officers and staff as one of the worst and saddest cases we have ever dealt with". "The level of violence, and that it involved children, makes it almost incomprehensible," he said. - BBC News
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China has punished an unnamed non-governmental organization for collecting “sensitive” maritime data and sharing it abroad, highlighting Beijing’s control of information that undercuts the official narrative on environmental issues.
The NGO set up coastal monitoring stations near military sites to track offshore debris, threatening China’s national security, the Communist Party’s highest law enforcement body, the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission said on its website Monday. The NGO’s activities came to light after being discussed at a conference in 2019, the body said, without naming the group or explaining why the incident was only now being reported. - Bloomberg At least 12 people were killed and 52 injured in Halloween weekend mass shootings in the US11/1/2021 Two people were killed and at least another dozen were injured as shots rang out at a house party in Illinois where people were gathering for Halloween.
It was one of at least 11 mass shootings in the US over the holiday weekend, including several at places where crowds had assembled. The violence left at least 12 people dead and another 52 injured, according to CNN reporting and an analysis of data from Gun Violence Archive and local news and police reports. CNN defines a mass shooting as an incident with four or more people killed or wounded by gunfire, excluding the shooter.The number of mass shootings in the US increased during the coronavirus pandemic. There have been 599 mass shootings so far this year, according to the archive. There were 611 in 2020 and 417 in 2019, the group said. The increase in mass shootings during the pandemic is consistent with the notion that the violence may be influenced by social and economic factors, researchers have said.Over the weekend, gunfire erupted at house parties, a boxing event and on the streets. These are the mass shootings that took place across seven states. - CNN Sudan's military has dissolved civilian rule, arrested political leaders and declared a state of emergency. Gen Abdel Fattah Burhan, who had been heading a joint council with civilian leaders, blamed political infighting. Protesters have taken to the streets of the capital, Khartoum, and there are reports of gunfire. Military and civilian leaders have been at odds since long-time ruler Omar al-Bashir was overthrown two years ago and a transitional government set up. Although the country remains in a deep economic crisis, there had been more international support - and a military takeover will put that hugely at risk. Video footage from the north African nation's capital on Monday showed protesters manning lit barricades and entering the area near the military's headquarters. One demonstrator, Haitham Mohamed, told Agence France-Presse (AFP): "We are ready to give our lives for the democratic transition in Sudan." Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok is among those reported to have been put under house arrest, along with members of his cabinet and other civilian leaders. A statement from the information ministry on Facebook said those arrested were being held in "an unidentified location". But thousands of protesters have already taken to the streets in Khartoum to denounce a coup. Some chanted "no to military rule".
Demonstrator Sawsan Bashir told AFP: "We will not leave the streets until the civilian government is back and the transition is back." Witnesses say the internet is down and that army and paramilitary troops have been deployed across the city. Khartoum airport is closed, and international flights are suspended.
The UK's special envoy for Sudan and South Sudan, Robert Fairweather, tweeted that military arrests of civilian leaders was "a betrayal of the revolution, the transition and the Sudanese people". The US, UN, EU and Arab League have also expressed deep concern. Recent weeks have seen a rapid build-up of tension in Khartoum. A hostile takeover of power is what many in Sudan and beyond have feared could happen anytime. The signs have been all too clear. A pro-military sit-in right in front of the presidential palace in Khartoum was seen as choreographed to lead to a coup. No attempt was made to disguise its purpose. The protesters demanded that the military overthrow "failed" civilian leaders. It was an unusual attempt at legitimising a military takeover, using the guise of a popular protest. Nearly a week later, a counter-protest was held. This time, huge crowds came out in support of the civilian government. With more protests called by pro-democracy groups to "counter a military coup", Sudan could be set for yet another period of showdown between the armed forces and the people. The country has made huge strides in normalising ties with the West and unlocking much-needed funding streams. The promise of transition to democracy has kept many Sudanese and the country's allies hopeful. But all that could be at risk now. The military and civilian transitional authorities have ruled together since President Bashir was toppled after months of street protests in 2019. The power-sharing deal between the military and a loose coalition of groups - the Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC) - saw the launch of the Sovereign Council. It was scheduled to rule the country for another year - with the aim of holding elections and transitioning to civilian rule. But the deal was always fractious, with a large number of rival political groups - and divisions within the military too. Tensions grew further after a coup attempt attributed to followers of Mr Bashir was foiled in September. Sudan has been unable to find a workable political system since independence in 1956 and has seen numerous coups and coup attempts. - BBC News Abandoned Houston children found living with skeletal remains of 9-year-old brother: Police10/25/2021 The suspected skeletal remains of a nine-year-old boy were found in a Houston apartment and may have been there for a year, Texas authorities said. "I have been in this business a long time, and never saw anything like this," Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said during a press conference Sunday, describing the scene as "horrific" and "tragic." Harris County authorities responded to a call on Sunday after a 15-year-old boy who also lives in the apartment told officials that his 9-year-old brother had been dead for a year. The teenager told the sheriff’s office that the body was in the apartment he shared with two other younger brothers, ABC 13 reported. ARIZONA MAN HELD AFTER DISCOVERY OF CHILD'S SKELETAL REMAINS WAS LOCAL HIGH SCHOOL EMPLOYEE: REPORT The teenager also said his parents had not lived in the apartment for a few months. The two other brothers are ages seven and 10. Police found the three brothers in the apartment, as well as the skeletal remains that are suspected to belong to the 9-year-old. The boys appeared to have been abandoned and malnourished, according to authorities. TENNESSEE COUPLE CHARGED AFTER CHILD'S SKELETAL REMAINS FOUND BURIED IN BACK YARD: REPORT The skeletal remains were reportedly not concealed in the apartment, but sitting out in the open, ABC 13 reported. "[We're] Connecting all the dots at this point, it appears [the kids] were in there while the body was deteriorating," Gonzalez said. MAINE HUMAN REMAINS ID'D AS THOSE OF DAUGHTER OF DECEASED HOMEOWNER
The mother of the children and her boyfriend were brought in for questioning, the sheriff’s office said late Sunday. The children are now in the county’s custody. An investigation is underway to confirm the remains belong to the 9-year-old and to determine how long he has been dead. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP It is unclear if the children were attending school while living with the skeletal remains. - Fox News Facebook papers: What we know about how misinformation and extremism spread from whistleblower10/25/2021 Misinformation and extremism spreading unchecked. Hate speech sparking conflict and violence in the U.S. and abroad. Human traffickers sharing a platform with baby pictures and engagement announcements. Despite its mission to bring people closer together, internal documents obtained by USA TODAY show that Facebook knew that users were being driven apart by a wide range of dangerous and divisive content on its platforms. The documents were part of the disclosures made to the Securities and Exchange Commission by Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen. A consortium of news organizations, including USA TODAY, reviewed the redacted versions received by Congress. The documents provide a rare glimpse into the internal decisions made at Facebook that affect nearly 3 billion users around the globe. Concerned that Facebook was prioritizing profits over the well-being of its users, Haugen reviewed thousands of documents over several weeks before leaving the company in May. ►A tale of two accounts:The story of Carol and Karen: Two experimental Facebook accounts show how the company helped divide America ►Facebook rebrand on the horizon?:Is Facebook changing company name? Shift to metaverse ignites rebranding plan, report says The documents, some of which have been the subject of extensive reporting by The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times, detail company research showing that toxic and divisive content is prevalent in posts boosted by Facebook and shared widely by users. Concerns about how Facebook operates and its impact on teens have united congressional leaders. More political fallout could come when Haugen testifies Monday before the British Parliament. Facebook's responseFacebook is now facing the most intense scrutiny it has encountered since it launched in 2004. CEO Mark Zuckerberg has defended the company and its practices, sharing in an internal staff memo that "it's very important to me that everything we build is safe and good for kids." The company's spokesman Andy Stone said in a statement to USA TODAY, "At the heart of these stories is a premise which is false. Yes, we're a business and we make profit, but the idea that we do so at the expense of people's safety or wellbeing misunderstands where our own commercial interests lie. The truth is we’ve invested $13 billion and have over 40,000 people to do one job: keep people safe on Facebook.” Concerns about how Facebook operates and its impact on teens have united congressional leaders. More political fallout could come when Haugen testifies Monday before the British Parliament. Facebook's responseFacebook is now facing the most intense scrutiny it has encountered since it launched in 2004. CEO Mark Zuckerberg has defended the company and its practices, sharing in an internal staff memo that "it's very important to me that everything we build is safe and good for kids." The company's spokesman Andy Stone said in a statement to USA TODAY, "At the heart of these stories is a premise which is false. Yes, we're a business and we make profit, but the idea that we do so at the expense of people's safety or wellbeing misunderstands where our own commercial interests lie. The truth is we’ve invested $13 billion and have over 40,000 people to do one job: keep people safe on Facebook.” The spread of misinformation The documents reveal the internal discussions and scientific experimentation surrounding misinformation and harmful content being spread on Facebook. A change to the algorithm which prioritizes what users see in their News Feed rolled out in 2018 and was supposed to encourage "meaningful social interactions" and strengthen bonds with friends and family. Facebook researchers discovered the algorithm change was exacerbating the spread of misinformation and harmful content and actively experimenting with ways to demote and contain that content, documents show ►Who is Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen:Everything you need to know ►From Facebook friend to romance scammer:Older Americans increasingly targeted amid COVID pandemic News Feeds with violence and nudity Facebook’s research found that users with low digital literacy skills were significantly more likely to see graphic violence and borderline nudity in their News Feed. The people most harmed by the influx of disturbing posts were Black, elderly and low-income, among other vulnerable groups, the research found. It also said Facebook also conducted numerous in-depth interviews and in-home visits with 18 of these users over several months. The researchers found that the exposure to disturbing content in their feeds made them less likely to use Facebook and exacerbated the trauma and hardships they were already experiencing. Researchers found: A 44-year-old who was in a precarious financial situation followed Facebook pages that posted coupons and savings and were bombarded with unknown users’ posts of financial scams. A person who’d used a Facebook group for Narcotics Anonymous and totaled his car was shown alcoholic beverage ads and posts about cars for sale. Black people were consistently shown images of physical violence and police brutality. By contrast, borderline hate posts appeared much more frequently in high-digital-literacy users’ feeds. Whereas low-digital-literacy users were unable to avoid nudity and graphic violence in their feeds, the research suggested people with better digital skills used them to seek out hate-filled content more effectively. Curbing harmful content The documents show the company’s researchers tested various ways to reduce the amount of misinformation and harmful content served to Facebook users. Tests included straightforward engineering fixes that would demote viral content that was negative, sensational, or meant to provoke outrage. In April 2019, company officials debated dampening the virality of misinformation by demoting “deep reshares” of content where the poster is not a friend or follower of the original poster. Facebook found that users encountering posts that are more than two reshares away from the original post are four times as likely to be seeing misinformation. By demoting that content, Facebook would be “easily scalable and could catch loads of misinfo,” wrote one employee. “While we don’t think it is a substitute for other approaches to tackle misinfo, it is comparatively simple to scale across languages and countries.” Other documents show Facebook deployed this change in several countries – including India, Ethiopia and Myanmar – in 2019, but it’s not clear whether Facebook stuck with this approach in these instances. ►Done with Facebook?:Here's how to deactivate or permanently delete your Facebook account ►'Profits before people':After Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen argued her case, will Congress act? How to moderate at-risk countriesFacebook knows of potential harms from content on its platform in at-risk countries but does not have effective moderation – either from its own artificial intelligence screening or from employees who review reports of potentially violating content, the documents show. Another document, based on data from 2020, offered proposals to change the moderation of content in Arabic to “improve our ability to get ahead of dangerous events, PR fires, and integrity issues in high-priority At-Risk Countries, rather than playing catch up.” A Facebook employee made several proposals, the records show, including hiring individualsfrom less-represented countries. Because dialects can vary by country or even region, the employee wrote, reviewers might not be equipped to handle reports from other dialects. While Moroccan and Syrian dialects were well represented among Facebook’s reviewers, Libyan, Saudi Arabian and Yemeni were not. “With the size of the Arabic user base and potential severity of offline harm in almost every Arabic country – as every Arabic nation save Western Sahara is on the At-Risk Countries list and deals with such severe issues as terrorism and sex trafficking – it is surely of the highest importance to put more resources to the task of improving Arabic systems,” the employee wrote. One document from late 2020 sampled more than 1,000 hate speech reports to Facebook in Afghanistan, finding deficiencies in everything from the accuracy of translation in local languages in its community standards to its reporting process. (Afghanistan was not listed among Facebook’s three tiers of at-risk countries in a document Haugen collected before her departure in May, which was before the United States' withdrawal.) The report found for one 30-day set of data, 98% of hate speech was removed reactively in response to reports, while just 2% was removed proactively by Facebook. The document recommended Facebook allow employees in its Afghanistan market to review its classifiers to refine them and add new ones. “This is particularly important given the significantly lower detection of Hate Speech contents by automation,” it said. Platform enables human traffickingFacebook found that its platform “enables all three stages of the human exploitation lifecycle” – recruitment, facilitation and exploitation – via complex real-world networks, according to internal documents. Though Facebook’s public-facing community standards claim the company removes content that facilitates human exploitation, internal documents show it has failed to do so. Facebook has investigated the issue for years, proposing policy and technical changes to help combat exploitation on its platforms, records show. But it’s unclear whether those changes were adopted. In at least one case, Facebook deactivated a tool that was proactively detecting exploitation, according to internal documents. In October 2019, prompted by a BBC investigation, Apple threatened to remove Facebook and Instagram from its app store because it found it had content promoting domestic servitude, a crime in which a domestic worker is trapped in his or her employment, abused and either underpaid or not paid at all. An internal document shows Facebook had been aware of the issue prior to Apple’s warning. In response to Apple’s threat, Facebook conducted a review and identified more than 300,000 pieces of potentially violating content on Facebook and Instagram, records show. It took action on 133,566 items and blocked violating hashtags. Contributing: Mike Snider No Appointment? No Problem - Upgrade to the World's Smartest CPAP Without Leaving HomeThe Easy Blog by EasyBreathe.com| Sponsored Average Retirement Savings By Age: Are You Normal?Speaking with a financial advisor could help.SmartAsset| Sponsored Are You Over 50? This game is a must!Raid Shadow Legends| Sponsored This Game Can Train Your Brain To Think StrategicallyTotal Battle - Tactical Game Online| Sponsored 63 Year-Old Fitness Legend Finds "Fountain of Agelessness" By Eating These 4 Foods DailyPower Life By Tony Horton| Sponsored Amazon Founder Says His Company “Will Fail.”The Motley Fool| Sponsored Kentucky Will Pay $271/Month Off Your Mortgage If You Have No Missed PaymentsTodaydaily| Sponsored Kentucky: 7 Benefits Seniors Only Get If They KnowNational Penny For Seniors| Sponsored - USA Today Beijing (CNN)China has denied a report that it tested a nuclear-capable hypersonic missile in August, saying on Monday that the test was instead a "routine spacecraft experiment."
The Financial Times reported Sunday that "China tested a nuclear-capable hypersonic missile in August that circled the globe before speeding towards its target, demonstrating an advanced space capability that caught US intelligence by surprise." The report cited unnamed sources "briefed on the intelligence." When asked about the report at a regular press briefing Monday, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Zhao Lijian said the August test was "a spacecraft, not a missile.""This test was a routine spacecraft experiment to verify the reusable technology of spacecraft, which is of great significance for reducing the cost of spacecraft use. It can provide a convenient and cheap way for humans to use space peacefully. Many companies in the world have carried out similar experiments," Zhao said.He said that "what separated from the spacecraft before returning was the supporting equipment of the spacecraft, which was burned and disintegrated in the process of falling into the atmosphere and landed on the high seas.""China will work together with other countries in the world to benefit mankind in the peaceful use of space," he said. Responding to the FT's report, Mike Gallagher, a Republican member of the US House Armed Services Committee, said the alleged hypersonic missile test should "serve as a call to action."Gallagher said America could "lose the new Cold War with Communist China within the decade" if the Biden administration sticks to its "current complacent course." The US is engaged in a race with China and Russia to develop hypersonic weapons at a time of increased global tensions. Hypersonic missiles are designed to travel at a such a high speed that they can fly great distances and move quickly through heavily defended airspace to attack targets such as harbors, airfields and other installations before they can be successfully shot down. Russia and China are both developing hypersonic weapons programs and Russia claims to have successfully tested a missile. The US is focusing on conventional hypersonic weapons that are based on ships, land and air platforms.China first tested a hypersonic missile in 2014 and Russia in 2016. China's hypersonic glide vehicle, known as DF-ZF, has been tested at least nine times since 2014, according to the Congressional Research Service (CRS).Shawn Deng, Barbara Starr and Oren Liebermann contributed to this report. - CNN A woman was allegedly raped on a suburban Philadelphia train last week while police said there were "a lot of people" around who "should have done something."
Police said they had arrested a man connected to the rape that allegedly happened on a SEPTA El train on Wednesday. Fishton Ngoy, 35, has been charged with rape and several other counts. According to authorities, the incident was caught on surveillance video that showed bystanders on the train when it happened who "did nothing." "Were they watching? I don't know. Again, we're still going through the video but there was a lot of people, in my opinion, that should've intervened. Somebody should've done something. It speaks to where we are in society. Who would allow something like that to take place? So it's troubling but again, we're working on that and we're trying to identify anyone that we saw coming on and off the El at that time," Upper Darby Police Superintendent Tim Bernhardt said. The victim was taken to a local hospital, Bernhardt told The Associated Press. "She's on the mend," Bernhardt said. "Hopefully she will get through this." Bernhardt, who described the inaction of bystanders as "troubling," said officers were called to the 69th Street terminal around 10 p.m. Wednesday night after the assault on the train. "It speaks to where we are in society; I mean, who would allow something like that to take place? So it's troubling," said Bernhardt. SEPTA issued a statement calling it a "horrendous criminal act" and said "there were other people on the train who witnessed this horrific act, and it may have been stopped sooner if a rider called 911." SEPTA said in a statement that one of its officers called 911. Commuters who use the train were shocked to hear about the incident. Shane Brown told CBS Philadelphia, "they need more security, they really do. They really need a lot of security because it's getting bad out here. You can't even get on the bus." According to police the suspect did not know the victim. - CBS News The S&P 500 was set to open near a record high on Monday as focus shifted to the Federal Reserve's meeting this week, where the central bank is expected to maintain its accommodative stance on monetary policy.
Recent data has indicated that the U.S. economy is regaining momentum but not overheating, taming worries about inflation and sending the S&P 500 (.SPX) to an all-time high. While the Fed has reassured that any spike in inflation would be transitory, policymakers could begin discussing the tapering of bond buying at the Tuesday-Wednesday meeting. Most analysts, however, don't expect a decision before the central bank's annual Jackson Hole, Wyoming, conference in August. read more Any shift in the Fed's dovish rhetoric could upend equity markets. The benchmark has climbed 13% this year while the Dow (.DJI) and the Nasdaq (.IXIC) have risen 12.6% and 9.2%, respectively. "The market is looking for the Fed to not be dramatically alarmed about fears of inflation, or move too soon with tapering," said Thomas Hayes, chairman and managing member of Great Hill Capital LLC in New York. "We're kind of in this 'Goldilocks' situation where (economic) numbers keep coming in pretty good, liquidity is ample, the Fed is accommodative, and unless those things change, we shouldn't expect a big change in the stock market." At 08:24 a.m. EDT, Dow E-minis were down 8 points, or 0.02%, S&P 500 E-minis were up 3 points, or 0.07% and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 42.75 points, or 0.31%. Lordstown Motors Corp (RIDE.O) tumbled 14.6% after it said Chief Executive Steve Burns and Chief Financial Officer Julio Rodriguez have resigned, days after the electric-truck maker warned that it may not have enough cash to stay in business over the next year. read more Oil firms Chevron (CVX.N), Marathon Oil Corp (MRO.N), Schlumberger (SLB.N), Occidental Petroleum (OXY.N) and Marathon Petroleum Corp (MPC.N) rose between 0.7% and 1% as crude prices hit their highest levels in more than two years. United Airlines Holdings (UAL.O) and American Airlines Group (AAL.O) gained 0.4% and 0.7% respectively after Citigroup raised its price target on the stocks. Novavax (NVAX.O)rose 8.8% after its late-stage trial data showed its COVID-19 vaccine candidate is more than 90% effective against COVID-19 across a variety of variants of the virus. read more Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. The Indian capital New Delhi will be under a strict lockdown for six days starting on Monday night, the city's Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said, adding the healthcare system was at a breaking point because of the worsening COVID-19 outbreak.
The city was also facing acute shortages of hospital beds, medical oxygen supplies and key medicines such as the anti-viral Remdesivir, Kejriwal said. |