Identities of agents and elite soldiers are among UK's most closely guarded state secrets
Scores of Special Forces personnel and spies' identities are understood to have been included in a spreadsheet containing the names
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Otago Daily Times
2 days ago
- Otago Daily Times
Hong Kong issues arrest warrants for 19 overseas activists
Hong Kong's national security police announced arrest warrants for 19 activists based overseas, accusing them of subversion under a stringent national security law, marking the largest such tally yet. They are accused of organising or participating in the "Hong Kong Parliament", a group that authorities in the Asian financial hub say aimed to subvert state power, under the law Beijing imposed in 2020 following months of pro-democracy protests in 2019. The activists are accused of having launched a referendum or run as candidates in the unofficial "Hong Kong Parliament" group, which authorities say aims at achieving self-determination and drafting a "Hong Kong constitution". Police, who said the organisation sought to overthrow the governments of China and Hong Kong by unlawful means, said they are still investigating and further arrests may follow. Among those named are businessman Elmer Yuen, commentator Victor Ho, and activists Johnny Fok and Tony Choi. Four of them are subject to previous arrest warrants, each carrying a bounty of HK$1 million (NZ$211,000). Among the remaining 15, for each of whom police are offering a bounty of HK$200,000, are those said to have organised or run in the election and sworn in as its councillors. None of the accused could be reached for comment. The UK's Foreign and Home Secretaries condemned the move in a joint statement, calling the arrests "another example of transnational repression" and saying it damages Hong Kong's international reputation. "(The UK) will not tolerate attempts by foreign governments to coerce, intimidate, harass or harm their critics overseas," it said in a statement on Friday. In response, the Chinese embassy in the UK said the British government's remarks "constitute a gross interference" in China's internal affairs and the rule of law in Hong Kong. "China urges the UK to abandon its colonial mentality, stop interfering in Hong Kong shielding criminals," it said. The former British colony returned to Chinese rule in 1997 with the guarantee of a high degree of autonomy, including freedom of speech, under a "one country, two systems" formula. Critics of the national security law say authorities are using it to stifle dissent. Chinese and Hong Kong officials have repeatedly said the law was vital to restore stability after the city was rocked for months by sometimes violent anti-government and anti-China protests in 2019. Police reiterated that national security offenses were serious crimes with extraterritorial reach and urged the wanted individuals to return to Hong Kong and surrender. "If offenders voluntarily give up continuing to violate the crime, turn themselves in, truthfully confess their crimes, or provide key information that helps solve other cases, they may be eligible for reduced punishment," they said in a statement. Police also warned that aiding, abetting, or funding others to participate in the "Hong Kong Parliament" could be a criminal offense.
NZ Herald
2 days ago
- NZ Herald
Kiwi family speaks after UK man killed by wife with samurai sword
Andrew Rowland-Stuart, 70, died in May 2024 following a frenzied knife attack by his wife. Image / Sussex Police However, she was deemed unfit to plead following a psychiatric assessment and was instead tried under a 'trial of the act' - a legal process that determines whether someone committed the act in question, regardless of their mental intent at the time, The Telegraph reported. She has been sentenced to an indefinite Hospital Order under Section 41 of the UK's Mental Health Act. The couple had been in a civil partnership since 2006. Speaking after the verdict, Andrew Rowland-Stuart's family released a statement acknowledging the support they received during the investigation, particularly from British police and volunteers. 'We would like to say a huge thank you to everyone involved with this case over the past year,' the family said. 'To DC Anna Stacey for her care and communication with the family while we were in England and back home in New Zealand, and to Andrew's Sussex 4x4 family, especially Jason, who helped us immensely while we were there.' According to The Telegraph, graphic details of the killing were laid out in court. Prosecutor Charlotte Newell KC said the 'sheer number and nature of the wounds' made any claim of self-defence untenable. 'Whatever the cause for attacking Andrew, the sheer number and the nature of the wounds inflicted could not have been a reasonable use of force,' she told jurors. The court heard Andrew Rowland-Stuart's legs and stomach were covered in blood in footage captured by a doorbell camera. She was seen knocking on neighbours' doors and shouting 'help' and 'Andy's dead'. While on the phone to police, Joanna Rowland-Stuart claimed her husband had tried to kill her with a samurai sword, and that during the scuffle he had 'fallen on the sword'. But prosecutors said the 50-plus stab wounds were consistent with her gripping the weapon and inflicting the injuries, rather than acting defensively. 'Andy was lying in the small living room in a pool of blood,' Newell told the court. 'He was covered in blood from significant knife wounds to his hands, his arms and to his torso. He was wearing underwear and a long sleeve t-shirt and that was soaked through.' Inside the house, police found the walls, a cabinet, sofa and shower stained with blood, The Telegraph reported. Neighbours described the couple as quiet and said they had never heard them argue. But internet searches from Joanna Rowland-Stuart's phone revealed a fixation with swords, including replica and samurai-style blades, in the weeks leading up to the killing. Judge Christine Laing KC ruled Joanna Rowland-Stuart unfit to stand trial, saying: 'She would be an unreliable witness in her own defence and would not be fit to be cross-examined.' Detective Chief Inspector Alex Campbell of Sussex Police said: 'Our thoughts remain with the family of Andrew, and we want to thank everyone who has assisted us in this complex investigation.'
RNZ News
3 days ago
- RNZ News
South African DJ's murder exposes nexus between crime and power
South African Minister of Police Senzo Mchunu pictured on January 14, 2025. Mchunu has been suspended after accusations of burying investigations. Photo: Christian Velcich / AFP By Clément Varanges, AFP On a quiet November night in 2022, DJ Sumbody - a rising star in South Africa's music scene - was gunned down in a hail of bullets while heading home. Then in April 2024, engineer Armand Swart was executed in a similar shooting after his company flagged a suspicious government tender in which prices had been inflated by over 4,500 percent. But dramatic arrests this week are tying those murders and many more together, exposing a murky underworld where criminals consort with political bigwigs for lucrative state tenders. The arrests came after explosive allegations by a senior police chief who accused the force and South Africa's police minister of a cover-up. Deep-rooted procurement corruption has seeped through every level of government for decades, security researcher David Bruce told AFP. "The whole issue of killings of whistleblowers and assassinations generally is massively interlinked with that issue," said Bruce, a consultant with the Institute for Security Studies. DJ Sumbody, a rising star in South Africa's music scene, was shot dead in November 2022. His murder is tied to others in the country, exposing a murky underworld. Photo: Instagram / DJ Sumbody Among those arrested this week are a former Johannesburg police officer at the time of DJ Sumbody's murder, as well as the prime suspect, a businessman named Katiso Molefe. British media have reported that a South African man of Molefe's same name and age was sentenced to four years in prison in the United Kingdom in 2003 for drug trafficking. Two other men, already in custody for the 2023 attempted murder of former reality TV star turned influencer Tebogo Thobejane, are also believed to have played a role. It doesn't end there. During the raid on Monday, police found prominent Johannesburg politician, Kenny Kunene, at Molefe's home. Kunene, a Johannesburg city council member, has since been suspended by his party leader, Sports Minister Gayton McKenzie, though police have not formally implicated him. Kunene denied any wrongdoing, saying he was merely trying to assist a journalist seeking to interview Molefe. At the centre of the widening web is businessman Vusimuzi 'Cat' Matlala, described locally as a "tenderpreneur", a term referring to individuals who have made fortunes through government contracts. Also the head of private security firm, Matlala was arrested in May in connection with the 2023 attempt on his ex-partner Thobejane's life. Thobejane, famous for her role in the long-running local soap opera Muvhango, earlier this month denied having "snitched" on Matlala. "I am a victim," she told local newspaper News24. In 2024, Matlala secured a $20 million contract with the national police - now cancelled - despite being implicated in a $125 million public hospital embezzlement scandal. The Tembisa hospital case cost whistleblower Babita Deokaran her life in 2021, when she was shot nine times outside her home. No arrests have been made in Deokaran's killing, reflecting the impunity that reigns with only 11 percent of murders solved, according to 2024 police statistics. "All these three cases are linked somehow," police spokeswoman Athlenda Mathe said, referring to DJ Sumbody, Swart and Thobejane. Four weapons, including the AK-47 rifle used to kill DJ Sumbody, have been linked through ballistics to at least 10 high-profile cases, she added. SA President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced a judicial inquiry into the allegations against his police minister. Photo: AP Photo/Jerome Delay The implications run deep. KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Commissioner Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi last month accused colleagues and Police Minister Senzo Mchunu of burying investigations targeting Matlala. In a bombshell televised press conference, flanked by armed security forces, Mkhwanazi alleged Mchunu had received payments from a corruption suspect and accused prosecutors of delaying justice. "We do hope that pretty soon we might find some changes with good, dedicated prosecutors and we might see arrests happening," he said, adding that cases of murdered artists would finally "come to the fore". President Cyril Ramaphosa has since suspended Mchunu and announced a judicial inquiry into the allegations. But there has been no tangible action. South Africa faces one of the world's highest murder rates, averaging more than 75 killings a day. Politically motivated contract killings have surged 108 percent over the past decade, according to a 2024 report by the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime. Studies show hiring a contract killer can cost as little as $145 in the country all too accustomed to violence. "It's easier to silence someone with a bullet than contend with an investigation," said Chad Thomas, head of private investigation company IRS Forensic. - AFP
