Greece, where 62 percent of people are fully vaccinated, has started collecting monthly fines from those who refuse the shots. Austria is also taking similar measures.
Five people have been killed after security forces in Myanmar rammed an SUV into a crowd of anti-coup protesters in the Southeast Asian country’s largest city Yangon, local media have reported.
Dozens took part in the march early on Sunday, with people chanting slogans, carrying portraits of Myanmar’s deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi and a large red banner that read: “Freedom from fear.”
The crowd occupied a road, blocking traffic on it, and security forces then used the harshest means to disperse the unsanctioned rally.Shocking videos uploaded to social media have shown a speeding car ramming into the demonstrators and knocking to the ground some who were unable to flee.
According to witnesses, soldiers then got out of the SUV and started pursuing the scattering protesters, beating up and arresting those they could catch.
Junta Terrorists brutally cracked down the protest in #Yangon’s #KyiMyinDine town this morning. They opened gunfire and rammed vehicles into the crowd, KILLING at least 4 protesters and severely injuring many others. 2 women & 5 men were ABDUCTED so far. #WhatsHappeningInMyanmarpic.twitter.com/wx2OJW5wb2
Five people lost their lives as a result of the ramming, while 15 others ended up being detained, outlet Myanmar Now is reporting. Witnesses also spoke about dozens of injuries, with some people being left unconscious and others sustaining head wounds.
“I got hit and fell down in front of a truck. A soldier beat me with his rifle but I defended and pushed him back. Then he immediately shot at me as I ran away in a zig-zag pattern,” one of the protesters, who managed to escape, told Reuters.
Myanmar has been gripped by unrest since February when the military moved to arrest Aung San Suu Kyi and the country’s other top officials. Last month, they were charged with election fraud during the 2020 vote, but have rejected the accusations. International observers, who worked at the election said it was mostly free and fair.
Thousands of people took to streets across the country in the wake of the coup, but faced a violent crackdown, with police and military often resorting to the use of live fire against crowds.
More than 1,300 demonstrators have been killed in Myanmar during the last ten months, according to prisoners’ aid organization AAPP. The military denies these numbers.
The scale of demonstrations has subsided since the coup, with many protesters switching to guerrilla tactics and staging smaller ‘flash mob’ rallies across the country.
Ilias Chatzis heads up a global team of more than 60 experts at the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), committed to countering Human Trafficking and Migrant Smuggling. He says that more focus needs to be placed on those who profit from the crimes, rather than the victims.
Greece, where 62 percent of people are fully vaccinated, has started collecting monthly fines from those who refuse the shots. Austria is also taking similar measures.
A Palestinian man repeatedly stabbed a young Orthodox Jew in Jerusalem before being gunned down by Israeli Border Police. The killing was condemned by Palestinian officials, while Israeli authorities have praised the officers.
The stabbing attack occurred near Jerusalem’s Damascus Gate on Saturday. Footage from the scene, released by Israeli law enforcement, shows the assailant, identified as 25-year-old Mohammed Shawkat Salima, crossing the road, with his would-be-victim, a 20-year-old Haredi man approaching him from behind.
The Palestinian man then abruptly turns around, stabbing the ultra-Orthodox Jewish man multiple times, before running towards two Border Police officers who rushed to intervene. The assailant appeared to try and stab one of the officers, before getting shot multiple times.
WARNING: GRAPHIC FOOTAGE
Earlier today, a Palestinian #terrorist stabbed a Jewish man in #Jerusalem solely on the basis of his Jewish identity, attempted to stab security forces and was then neutralized. We will not allow terrorism to run rampant in the streets of Jerusalem. We will protect our citizens. pic.twitter.com/5h7yn2V2Fx
Another video, captured by a motorist driving by, shows the immediate aftermath of the stabbing and first shots fired. The two officers approach the already wounded Palestinian, lying prone on the ground, with one of the officers taking two shots at him, the last bullet apparently killing the man.
The actions of the Israeli officers have been condemned by Palestinians, with top officials branding the shooting a cold-blooded murder.
“The killing of the young man after he had been wounded is a documented war crime,” President of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas said in a statement.
Israeli officials, for their part, lauded the Border Police for their intervention in the stabbing, praising the resolve and quick-thinking of the officers involved in the shooting.
The chief of the force Amir Cohen said the two had acted correctly in the situation, while Israeli PM Naftali Bennett said they’d “acted very quickly and decisively, as expected of Israeli police, against a terrorist who tried to murder an Israeli citizen.”
The Haredi man suffered “moderate” injuries during the incident, ending up hospitalized and in “stable” condition. While Israeli authorities have branded the stabbing a “terrorist attack,” the motives behind the actions of the Palestinian assailant remain unknown.
