From the Daily Mail
Huge fires set across Baltimore as Freddie Gray rioters torch city, loot stores and injure fifteen police officers as violence rages into the night and local politicians are left turning on each other
- State of emergency declared in Baltimore just hours after funeral for Freddie Gray who died in police custody
- Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake branded the rioters ‘thugs’ and issued a 10pm-5am curfew starting on Tuesday
- President has been briefed on the situation, more than 1,000 police and Maryland National Guard are on standby
- Three rival gangs announced an unprecedented alliance to ‘take out’ Baltimore officers on Monday
- 15 police officers injured, two in a serious condition in hospital, and 27 people have been arrested
- Looters seen raiding gun shops and check cashing stores. CVS set ablaze and rioters slashed fire fighters’ hoses
- Freddie Gray, 25, died after suffering severed spine in police custody on April 12. He died days later on April 19
- His family has denounced the riots. But Eric Garner’s daughter said she understood their frustration
- Police said they needed help from the National Guard after the protestors ‘outnumbered and outflanked us’
More than 1,000 Maryland police officers, the Maryland National Guard, and 5,000 officers from neighboring states are on standby in the city and the president has been briefed on the situation as violence continues to escalate. It is the same level of reinforcement the city requested during the riots of 1968 after Martin Luther King Jr was assassinated.
The scenes of destruction were initially billed as anti-police protests to avenge the death of Freddie Gray, who suffered a fatal spinal cord injury in police custody on April 12.
But it rapidly mushroomed into uncontrolled riots.
From Ynet News
Troops descend on Baltimore after riots
National Guardsmen called up to restore peace, curfew instated overnight after mass riots spread out across city in wake of funeral of black man who died in police custody. National Guardsmen took up positions across Baltimore and hundreds of volunteers began sweeping the streets of broken glass and other debris Tuesday, the morning after riots erupted following the funeral of a black man who died in police custody.
The streets were calm in the morning, but authorities remained on edge against the possibility of another outbreak of looting and arson. The city was under a 10 pm-to-5 am curfew, all public schools were closed, and the Baltimore Orioles canceled their Tuesday night game.”We’re not going to leave the city unprotected,” Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan vowed during a visit to a West Baltimore intersection where cars were burned and windows smashed the night before.
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From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Obama wasn’t the only world leader George W. Bush dissed this week
We covered this week’s Republican Jewish Coalition conference in Las Vegas, and noted that only one session was on the record.
Jews do dish though, and we also got the skinny on former President George W. Bush’s off the record speech to the crowd and his veiled digs at President Barack Obama’s Iran and Iraq policies.
Now Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, who was in attendance, throws up his arms and says, if someone’s gonna leak some of the content to the New York Times, I may as well give it all up.
Turns out, Ari Fleischer, Bush’s former spokesman, pitched his ex-boss a tough question during the session, asking Bush whether he regretted saying he could see into Russian President Vladimir Putin’s soul.
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From Russia Today
Pentagon: Iran seizes Marshall Islands-flagged ship, US destroyer on standby
The Iranian Navy has reportedly seized a Marshall Islands-flagged ship with 24 crew members on board. It was previously reported by media that it was a US vessel, though the Pentagon denied those claims.
The navy seized the Maersk Tigris under court order at the request of Iran’s Ports and Maritime Organization, Fars news agency reported.
“The ship was seized after a relevant court order was issued for its confiscation,” Fars quoted a source as saying.
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From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Arab-Israelis rally in Tel Aviv for more equitable housing policies
(JTA) — Approximately 2,000 Arab-Israelis participated in a Tel Aviv demonstration to protest Arab housing shortages and home demolitions.
The protest Tuesday in Rabin Square was organized by the Higher Arab Monitoring Committee and followed a daylong general strike in the Arab sector.
“This is one of the most painful issues for the Arab public,” said Ayman Odeh, the head of the Joint Arab List party in a statement released shortly before the rally, the French news agency AFP reported. “For a family that loses its home that was built on private land, its whole world is destroyed.”
The Joint Arab List received the third most votes of any party in Israel’s March 17 elections.
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From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Facebook bans pejorative for anti-Russia Ukrainian Jews
MOSCOW (JTA) – Facebook has taken down dozens of pages containing a Russian-language phrase that combines a Ukrainian pejorative for “Jew” with the name of a nationalist whose troops murdered Jews.
Pages with the phrase “Zhidbanderovets” were removed on April 22 after Facebook said they violated the social network’s community standards against offensive speech, according to a report on the news website evreiskiy.kiev.ua.
More than 1,000 people complained about the phrase, according to the report.
The phrase means “Yid-Banderite”: “Banderite” refers to an admirer of the late Ukrainian nationalist figure Stepan Bandera, who fought alongside, and later against, the Nazis in the 1940s and whose troops massacred Ukrainian Jews. Bandera and his troops hoped the Nazis would allow them to gain independence from Russia.
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From Russia Today
Forest fires heading for Chernobyl nuclear plant – Ukraine Interior Ministry
The Ukrainian National Guard has been put on high alert due to worsening forest fires around the crippled Chernobyl nuclear power plant, according to Ukraine Interior Minister Arsen Avakov.
“The forest fire situation around the Chernobyl power plant has worsened,” a statement on Avakov’s Facebook page says.
“The forest fire is heading in the direction of Chernobyl’s installations. Treetop flames and strong gusts of wind have created a real danger of the fire spreading to an area within 20 kilometers of the power plant. There are about 400 hectares [988 acres] of forests in the endangered area.”
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