Orlando killer 'visited gay club' where massacre took place
The man behind the worst mass shooting in recent US history visited the gay nightclub where he carried out the massacre several times, witnesses say.
Chris Callen, a performer at Pulse in Orlando, Florida, told the Daily News that Omar Mateen had been attending the venue for the past three years.
Investigators have not yet commented on the reports.
Mateen opened fire in the packed club early on Sunday, leaving 49 people dead and dozens wounded.
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- Who was Omar Mateen?
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- Orlando shooting: Special report
"I've seen him a couple of times at Pulse, a couple of other people that I've spoken with, including an-ex security guard, have actually witnessed this guy at Pulse many times before," said Chris Callen.
In one incident, Mr Callen said Mateen pulled a knife on a friend after being angered by a religious joke.
Indonesia planning mass executions after Ramadan
Spokesman for attorney-general confirms that executions are set to resume after a hiatus
Indonesia plans to put 16 convicts to death after next month’s Muslim Eid holiday, an official said Tuesday, confirming executions were set to resume after a hiatus.
The death row convicts will be executed “immediately after” the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, Mohammad Rum, a spokesman for the attorney-general’s office, told AFP, but he did not give a precise date.
Ramadan ends with the Eid al-Fitr holiday, which falls in Indonesia on 6 and 7 July.
Rum did not say who would face the firing squad, but Indonesia has been waging a campaign against narcotics and in 2015 executed 14 drug convicts, mostly foreigners, sparking international outrage.
There have been no executions since April last year, with Indonesia saying it was pausing capital punishment to focus on fixing its slowing economy.
Distortions over Isis involvement in Orlando play into the hands of the jihadists
However, such attacks will continue to be inspired or organised by Isis so long as it exists - with Western nations needing to do more to confront the ideology behind the rise of the group
Isis will benefit from the slaughter carried out by Omar Mateen in Orlando regardless of how far it was involved in the massacre. It will do so because Isis has always committed very public atrocities which dominate the news agenda, spread fear and show its strength and defiance.
So far there is strong evidence that Isis motivated Mr Mateen in his attack, but not that it played a role in organising it as it did in the killings in Brussels and Paris. Isis’s Albayan radio station based in Iraq, is saying that “God allowed Omar Mateen, one of the soldiers of the caliphate in America, to carry out an attack entering a crusader gathering in a night club…in Orlando, killing and wounding more than 100 of them.” The FBI says that he made an emergency call just before he started shooting claiming allegiance to Isis.
On the frontlines: Libyan govt troops fight to retake Sirte
Libyan pro-government forces finally managed to enter the city of Sirte, the bastion of the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group in Libya, on Thursday, June 9, about a month after they launched their large-scale offensive. This northern city had been under the control of the IS group since February 2015. Our Observer was with the troops on the frontline.
This operation – called the "Liberation of Sirte" – was launched on May 12 and includes Libyan ground, air and naval forces all working to expel IS group combatants from a coastal strip of about 200 kilometres surrounding Sirte, where the jihadist group had set up its Libyan headquarters.
The operation to reclaim Sirte is actually a joint offensive between two rival groups: the forces loyal to the Government of National Accord (GNA), which has the support of the international community, and those loyal to the parallel government led by General Khalifa Haftar, which is based in eastern Libya.
Israel extends detention of Palestinian clown
Circus performer set to be held for another six months without trial or charge under administrative detention.
Israel has renewed the administrative detention of a Palestinian circus performer for another six months after arresting him without charge in December 2015.
Mohammad Abu Sakha, 23, teaches at the Palestinian Circus School in Birzeit, near Ramallah.
His case stirred global calls for his release after he was arrested on his way to work at the Zaatara checkpoint near Nablus and taken to Israel's Megiddo prison in the north. He was later transferred to Ketziot prison in the Negev, the country's south.
Israel's military court claims Abu Sakha carried out unspecified "illegal activities" with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a political party with an armed wing that is banned by Israel.
Ethiopia, Eritrea trade accusations over border incident
Ethiopia confirmed its military had responded to an attempted border attack by neighbor Eritrea.
ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA — Ethiopia and Eritrea are trading accusations over an incident in a disputed border area, with Ethiopia on Monday confirming its military had taken "proportional measures" against Eritrea in response to an attempted attack in the Tsorona area the day before.
"The attack heavily weakened Eritrean military's attacking capacity," Ethiopia's Communications Affairs Office said.
In a statement late Sunday, Eritrea's Information Ministry accused Ethiopian troops of carrying out attacks against Eritrean positions in the Tsorona Central Front.
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