International
Shinzo Abe murder suspect: What we know
AFP
The man accused of assassinating Japan’s former prime minister Shinzo Abe has been arrested and named by police as Tetsuya Yamagami.
Police say the unemployed 41-year-old admits shooting Abe with a homemade gun at a campaign event on Friday, but what else do we know about the suspect so far?
Who is Yamagami?
Yamagami told police he had served in Japan’s navy, the Maritime Self-Defense Force, for three years from 2002.
More recently, he worked at a factory in western Japan for around a year and a half, but quit in May this year, local media reports said.
“His attitude towards work had not been a problem. I’m surprised and shocked,” his former manager at the plant told the Mainichi Shimbun newspaper.
Yamagami spoke to police after the attack in a “matter-of-fact” way, according to officers.
Former middle school classmates interviewed by public broadcaster NHK said the suspect had been quiet but not a loner, and was good at both sports and academics.
What could the motive be?
“The suspect stated that he held a grudge against a particular organisation, and that he committed the crime because he believed former prime minister Abe had a connection to it,” police said Friday.
They did not give the name of the organisation in question, but Japanese media said it was a religious group, citing unnamed investigative sources.
NHK and the Mainichi Shimbun said Yamagami’s family had suffered troubles as a result of his mother’s financial donations to the organisation.
Yamagami had originally planned to target the head of the group but then switched focus to Abe, who he believed had promoted the organisation in Japan, Kyodo News reported, also citing anonymous investigative sources.
How was the crime carried out?
Yamagami said he had used a handmade gun to carry out the attack, and images from the scene showed a crude, boxy weapon with two barrels, covered in heavy-duty black tape.
Police searched his home and confiscated “several handmade gun-like items”.
He is suspected of making at least one of the weapons several months ago, Jiji news agency said. Jiji also reported that Yamagami had taken part in live-fire shooting exercises in the Navy.
The officers said Yamagami had found out about Abe’s visit to Nara online.
He is believed to have taken a train to the station where the former prime minister was giving a stump speech.
International
Erin brings strong winds and storm surge despite weakening offshore
Hurricane Erin weakened to a Category 2 storm on Tuesday but continues to pose a threat to parts of the U.S. East Coast with potentially dangerous flooding, according to meteorologists.
Although the hurricane’s eye is expected to remain offshore, experts are concerned about Erin’s size, as strong winds extend hundreds of kilometers beyond the storm’s center.
In its 18:00 GMT bulletin, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) lifted tropical storm warnings for the Bahamasand Turks and Caicos Islands, but kept them in effect for parts of North Carolina.
Erin was located several hundred kilometers southeast of North Carolina and was moving northwestward.
“This means there is a risk of potentially life-threatening flooding of 60 to 120 centimeters above ground level,” said NHC Director Michael Brennan.
He also warned of the possibility of destructive waves, combined with storm surge, that could cause severe damage to beaches and coastal areas, making roads impassable.
International
Three U.S. Warships deploy near Venezuela to combat drug trafficking
Three U.S. naval vessels are moving toward the coasts of Venezuela, according to international media reports on Tuesday, after White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt confirmed that President Donald Trump is ready to combat and curb international drug trafficking.
Reports indicate that the ships will reach Venezuelan waters within the next 36 hours as part of a recent U.S. deployment aimed at countering international narcotics operations.
The announcement coincides with Leavitt’s statement that Trump is prepared to “use the full extent of his power” to halt drug flows into the United States. The naval deployment involves approximately 4,000 military personnel.
“The President has been clear and consistent. He is ready to use every element of U.S. power to prevent drugs from flooding our country and to bring those responsible to justice. The Maduro regime is not the legitimate government of Venezuela—it is a narco-terror cartel,” the spokesperson said during a press conference.
International
Cuban authorities free salvadoran convicted in 1997 hotel bombing
Salvadoran national Otto René Rodríguez Llerena was released after serving a 30-year prison sentence for his involvement in a terrorist attack at a hotel in Cuba in 1997, the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported.
During his trial, Rodríguez Llerena admitted to placing an explosive device at the Meliá Cohiba Hotel under the orders of anti-Castro exile leaders. He was arrested the following year when he returned to Havana with another load of explosives that failed to detonate.
“The Cuban government reiterates its commitment to combating terrorism, respecting human rights, and the need for the international community to hold accountable those who promote such acts,” the statement read.
He was released on August 15 and is the second Salvadoran to complete his sentence. In December of last year, another Salvadoran, Ernesto Cruz León, was released after planting bombs at tourist centers, one of which killed an Italian tourist identified as Fabio Di Celmo.
A third Salvadoran, Francisco Chávez Abarca, also received a 30-year sentence from Cuban courts in 2010 after being extradited from Venezuela through Interpol for actions against Cuba.
Rodríguez Llerena had requested conditional release in 2016, arguing that his actions had not caused any direct fatalities, but no further information was released about his situation until now.
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