Month: March 2024

Rio De Janeiro (TIP): Brazilian police said on March 12 they released 17 hostages from a gunman that took over a crowded bus in Rio de Janeiro and wounded at least two people.
Rio police said in its social media channels that all hostages aboard a bus parked at one of the city’s main terminals had been freed “after a successful work of negotiation” led by its elite squad.
The man’s motive remains unclear, Police Col Marco Andrade said in an interview on TV news channel Globo News. “We have children and older people inside the bus,” Andrade said, adding that very little was known at this stage.
The bus was parked at the Sao Cristovao terminal in the city centre and was scheduled to head to the neighboring state of Minas Gerais.
Police cars and ambulances could be seen waiting near the bus, while thousands of passengers were stranded waiting for information on scheduled travel.
People interviewed on TV said they heard several gunshots, causing panic inside the crowded terminal.
One wounded person was sent to a nearby hospital, police said. (AP)

Beijing (TIP): In a rare show of defiance, Chinese media on March 14 protested against the attempts by police to block the coverage of a suspected gas leak explosion at an eatery in the country’s north, which killed seven persons and injured 27. The blast that rocked a fried chicken shop in Yanjiao township in the city of Sanhe, near Beijing, on Wednesday is suspected to have been caused by a gas leak.
As Chinese official media and foreign journalists rushed to cover the explosion, which killed two people and injured 27 others, they were forcibly prevented by local authorities from the scene, raising a rare controversy over the country’s press restrictions.
A journalist with state broadcaster CCTV was interrupted while reporting live from the scene of the blast. The journalist was seen surrounded by several uniformed police officers who blocked the camera and shouted about the potential danger at the scene, according to a video that circulated online.
The video of the report was no longer available on CCTV’s website as of Thursday, the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post newspaper reported.
In another video, reporters were seen surrounded by a group of uniformed police officers asking them to leave the scene.
A reporter with state-run China Media Group, of which CCTV is a division, was heard saying, “We three reporters are shoved by a dozen people”.
The state-run All China Journalists Association objected to the official crackdown, saying that officials should not “simply and brutally obstruct journalists in the normal performance of their duties for the sake of controlling public opinion”. The association urged officials to make it easier for media to conduct on-site interviews when reporting emergencies.
The police crackdown against media was seen as an attempt by the local officials to downplay the coverage, fearing reprisals as last month, Chinese President Xi Jinping ordered steps to curb occurrences of recurring incidents of building fires due to various causes and protect people’s lives and property and social stability.
As the videos of media protests went viral on the Chinese social media platform Weibo, akin to X, local authorities on Thursday issued a statement saying they were “deeply remorseful” and apologised to the journalists, the Post report said.
The media protest against the official crackdown also figured in the Chinese foreign ministry briefing, as many foreign journalists were reportedly prevented from covering the evening.
When questioned on restrictions imposed on journalists, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said local officials have issued a statement on the incident.
China welcomes foreign journalists conducting reporting activities under the law and is willing to facilitate if the media faces any problems, Wang said.
Fire and gas explosions have been taking place almost every month, prompting President Xi to order the concerned agencies to take pre-emptive measures. (PTI)

PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI (TIP): A proposal to install new leadership in Haiti appeared to be crumbling March 13 as some political parties rejected the plan to create a presidential council that would manage the transition.
The panel would be responsible for selecting an interim prime minister and a council of ministers that would attempt to chart a new path for the Caribbean country that has been overrun by gangs. The violence has closed schools and businesses and disrupted daily life across Haiti.
Jean Charles Moïse, an ex-senator and presidential candidate who has teamed up with former rebel leader Guy Philippe, held a news conference Wednesday to announce his rejection of the proposed council backed by the international community.
Moïse insisted that a three-person presidential council he recently created with Philippe and a Haitian judge should be implemented.
“We are not going to negotiate it,” he said in a loud voice as he wiped his forehead with a handkerchief. “We have to make them understand.”
His ally, Philippe, who helped lead a successful revolt in 2004 against former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide and was recently released from a United States prison after pleading guilty to money laundering, said no Haitian should accept any proposal from the international community.
It was not immediately clear who be awarded a position on the council if it was rejected by certain political parties. (AP)

Moscow (TIP): Ukraine fired at least eight missiles at Russia’s Belgorod border region, killing one person and wounding six, local officials said March 14, as Kyiv’s forces apparently kept up their efforts to rattle the Kremlin on the eve of Russia’s presidential election.
Also, in Russia’s Kursk border region, Ukrainian forces attempted a cross-border raid that was repelled, according to local authorities. It was not possible to independently verify the Russian claims.
The Ukrainian assaults on Russian territory in recent days, including long-range drone attacks and alleged incursions by Ukraine-based Russian proxies, have come as President Vladimir Putin heads for near-certain reelection. Putin has sought to persuade Russians to keep him in power against a backdrop of what he says are foreign threats to the country. — AP