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Russia blames US for Crimea deaths and vows response

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Russia has blamed the US and vowed “consequences” for a Ukrainian missile strike on Sevastopol in occupied Crimea on Sunday, which officials say killed four people – including two children.

Around 150 more were injured in the attack as missile debris fell on a beach nearby.

Russia’s defence ministry said the missiles used by Ukraine were US-supplied ATACMS missiles, and claimed they were programmed by US specialists.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov called the strike “barbaric” and accused the US of “killing Russian children”.

He pointed towards comments by President Vladimir Putin, who recently vowed to target countries supplying weapons to Ukraine.

Moscow said Sunday’s deaths and injuries were caused by falling debris, after its air defences in Crimea intercepted five missiles loaded with cluster warheads launched by Ukrainian forces.

Footage carried on Russian state TV showed chaos on the beach in the Uchkuyevka area, as people ran from the falling debris and some injured people were carried away on sun loungers.

Russia’s defence ministry claimed on Sunday that all ATACMS missiles are programmed by US specialists and guided by American satellites.

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov reiterated the claim during a meeting in Minsk on Monday, saying that the system “cannot be used without the direct participation of the American military, including satellite capabilities”.

The US has been supplying ATACMS missiles to Ukraine for over a year. The system allows Ukrainian forces to strike targets up to 300km (186 miles) away, according to manufacturer Lockheed Martin.

Moscow illegally annexed Crimea in 2014 and just a handful of countries recognise the peninsula as Russian territory. It therefore does not fall under the US demands that Ukraine refrain from using Washington-supplied weapons to strike Russian territory.

A spokesperson for the White House National Security Council told the BBC: “Ukraine makes its own targeting decisions and conducts its own military operations.”

But Mr Peskov told reporters in Moscow on Monday that the “involvement of the United States, the direct involvement, as a result of which Russian civilians are killed, cannot be without consequences”.

“Time will tell what these will be,” he added.

The Russian foreign ministry summoned the US Ambassador Lynne Tracy on Monday, with Mr Lavrov claiming that US involvement in the attack was “not in doubt”.

Moscow has repeatedly threatened to target countries supplying weapons to Ukraine, claiming that they are legitimate military targets.

Earlier this month, Mr Putin vowed to target countries arming Ukraine during a meeting with international news agencies.

“If someone thinks it is possible to supply such weapons to a war zone to attack our territory and create problems for us, why don’t we have the right to supply weapons of the same class to regions of the world where there will be strikes on sensitive facilities of those (Western) countries?” he said.

“That is, the response can be asymmetric. We will think about it,” he added.

Ukrainian officials have defended the strike in the wake of the attack, calling Crimea a legitimate target.

Mykhailo Podolyak – a top aide to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy – said the peninsula was in effect “a large military camp” which he said held “hundreds of direct military targets, which the Russians are cynically trying to hide and cover up with their own civilians”.

The UN’s human rights monitoring mission in Ukraine says at least 10,000 civilians have been killed since Russia invaded in February 2022. The real figure, officials say, is likely to be far higher.

Source: BBC

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Crime

Drama in court over stolen goats

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There was drama at an Accra Circuit Court when two out of three accused persons admitted stealing goats at Teshie Camp Two area in Accra. 

Emmanuel Agyei, aka Obama, a fisherman and David Agyei, a borehole driller, pleaded guilty to the charges of conspiracy and stealing. 

The accused persons, said it was true that they had been stealing goats and that on August 8, 2024, they stole locally bred goats within the vicinity, the Ghana News Agency (GNA) reports. 

The police is holding them for allegedly stealing nine foreign goats from Germany valued at $13,500 belonging to one Seidu Yakubu, the complainant in the case. 

Emmanuel Agyei told the court that: “The goat I stole doesn’t belong to the complainant. I have not seen the kind of goats the police are talking about. I have shown the complainant and the places where I stole the goats. I don’t know anything about the kind of goats the police are talking about in the pictures taken.” 

In the case of David Agyei, he told the court that, “We did not steal from the complainant, the goats we stole were African breed. We are not the group of people who sell to the buyer.” 

The court, after listening to the accused persons, convicted them but deferred their sentence to September 2, 2024. 

Baba Musah, aka Baba Talatu, a butcher, who pleaded not guilty to the charge of dishonestly receiving, has also been remanded into police custody. 

The police said three accomplices, whose names were given as Nat, Aapah, Boola Gee, were at large. 

The prosecution, led by Superintendent of Police Augustine Yirenkyi, said the police were searching for other accomplices on the run. 

The prosecution said the complainant, Yakubu Seidu, was a driver and an animal farmer at Teshie Camp 2. 

The court heard that on Sunday, August 11, 2024, at about 0400 hours, the complainant woke up and detected the theft of nine of his foreign-breed goats. 

On the same day, the prosecution said the Police Intelligence Directorate (PID) received intelligence about a syndicate that snatched victims’ cars and used them to steal goats, and hide at Teshie and James Town. 

The prosecution said the PID mounted surveillance and arrested Emmanuel Agyei, David Agyei and Baba Musah, but the other accomplices managed to escape. 

During interrogation, Emmanuel and David admitted the offence and told the Police that they used to steal and sell.  

Emmanuel and David led the Police to Boola Gee’s house at James Town, where four sheep and two goats were found in a blue-black 2002 model Honda CRV with registration number GN 438-14 and a blue-black Nissan Altima with registration number GT3107-18.  

Emmanuel and David admitted to the Police that they stole with one Nathaniel and Aapah and sold the livestock to Boola Gee. 

The court was told that Baba Musah admitted having bought five goats from Emmanuel, David and Nathaniel at GH₵2,500. 

On August 12, 2024, the prosecution said the complainant came to the Directorate and identified two goats as his. 

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Crime

Police destroy large quantity of narcotics by court order

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The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service has destroyed a significant quantity of narcotic substances following orders from the Accra Circuit Court.

The items destroyed included 248 fertilizer sacks, 315 wraps, 24 sachets, and 68 compressed slabs of various narcotics, along with three medium-sized buckets of heroin.

“We are here to destroy some substances; cocaine, dry leaves thus cannabis, after those cases have been dealt with by the court,” Registrar at the Accra Circuit Court Prosper Kingsley Damakah revealed to journalists

The substances were seized and used as evidence in cases tried by the circuit court between 2020 and 2024.

“Some of the cases started in 2020. The people were arrested by the Police, charged and brought to court. Judgments have been delivered in the cases’ Mr. Damakah clarified.

The burning of the narcotics was carried out at the shore behind the Black Star Square in Accra and was witnessed by representatives from the Narcotics Control Commission and the Judicial Service.

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Crime

4 remanded in Tumu for alleged robbery of MoMo vendor

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The Tumu Magistrate Court in the Sissala East Municipality of the Upper West Region has remanded four individuals in custody on charges of allegedly robbing a mobile money vendor.

The suspects have been under police surveillance in Tumu due to a series of robberies targeting commuters in the Sissala East Municipality. 

Their arrest was the result of an investigation into an attack on the mobile money vendor.

The suspects, Sumaila Tembieru (a mechanic), Hamidu Muniru (a farmer), Sumaila Issahaku (also a mechanic), and Salifu Abu (a farmer), were apprehended on July 19 following thorough police investigations in Tumu related to a robbery in the Kong community. 

The mobile money vendor was deprived of his cash and two mobile phones during the incident.

At the Tumu Magistrate Court, Sissala East Municipal Police Commander Superintendent Kumpe Dieku Gbele reported that on June 17, around 9:30 PM, three armed individuals stormed the mobile shop, discharged firearms, and stole GH¢25,000 from the owner. 

The victim, Voguworun Gadafi, who also trades in agrochemicals, recognised Hamidu Muniru, who had visited the shop earlier that day. 

A police report led to Muniru’s arrest, who subsequently identified his three co-conspirators.

Presiding Judge Frederick Kaar Tiem ordered the four suspects to be held in police custody until their next court appearance on July 29.

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