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French foreign policy breaks with its Western allies

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:47 GMT

The problem of bias in French foreign policy towards South Caucasus is not a new phenomenon. France, alongside the US and Russia, was a member of the OSCE (Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe) Minsk Group since its foundation in 1992 with the goal of seeking a negotiated resolution to the war that had take place between Armenia and Azerbaijan, writes Taras Kuzio.The Minsk Group failed to achieve any breakthroughs during its three-decade existence and went into stagnation from 2010 when France and the US lost interest. With France and the US absent, Russia was able to capitalise on the vacuum during the Second Karabakh War as the main international negotiator and supplier of so-called ‘peacekeeping’ troops.Throughout the decade prior to the Second Karabakh War, Baku became increasingly frustrated at France’s open bias in favour of Armenia. The reasons for this were two-fold. Firstly, France and the US have the largest Armenian diasporas outside the Russian Federation....

Convicted sex offender arrested for taking 'up-skirt' video at Halloween store

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:47 GMT

A 60-year-old man, who is a prior sex offender, was arrested after witnesses in a Halloween store reported seeing him use his phone to record an “up-skirt” video of a woman who was in the shop with her two children, authorities announced Wednesday night.  The incident occurred on Oct. 20 at Spirit Halloween, located at 13852 Red Hill Avenue in Tustin. Officers with the Tustin Police Department responded to the scene and learned that the suspect, now identified as Roland Moreno, had been seen by multiple people in the store “discreetly taking up-skirt videos” of the female victim.  Moreno fled Halloween Spirit in his vehicle before officers arrived. However, his phone was recovered at the scene. Roland Moreno, 60, was arrested on charges of criminal invasion of privacy on Nov. 12, 2023. (Tustin PD)“A subsequent search of his phone revealed additional videos of a similar nature from various locations,” a Tustin PD news release stated.   After 4 suspected deputy suicid...

Royal and the Serpent at the Roxy

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:47 GMT

Royal and the Serpent at the Roxy: It’s been almost exactly a year since we saw Royal and the Serpent effectively lay waste to the Troubadour with one of the most exciting sets that we saw in 2022. She’s back in Hollywood with her Serpents in tow, and we bet that it’ll be even better this time.“Throughout it all, Royal looked to be having the time of her life, switching from demanding that we promise not to drink and drive, to nervous ticks, in a blink,” we wrote last year. “She’s a glorious performer, brimming with star power. Her lyrics are eminently human — one minute she’s open and vulnerable, the next she’s angry and fighting.We spoke to Royal in June of this year, and she told us that, “I just have so much music and I was originally really wanting to put an album out, but I was feeling like I had too much and I wanted to give people more. I didn’t want to make it this really big build-up to just one explosion. I wanted to give people little mini stories to build the whole worl...

Two get 16 years for 2019 fatal shooting during Oakland marijuana robbery

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:47 GMT

OAKLAND — Two men have received the exact same prison term of 16 years for involvement in a 2019 robbery and shooting that killed a 25-year-old man.Jose Antonio Alvarez, 25, and Omar Rojo, 25, both entered no contest pleas to voluntary manslaughter and were formally sentenced in late October. They were originally charged with murder and robbery in the death of 25-year-old Jaime Valdovinos.Police said at the time that Rojo and Alvarez arranged to rob Valdovinos and another man of “a large amount of marijuana” after setting up a cannabis deal. The four men met on the 3000 block of East Ninth Street in Oakland on Sept. 26, 2019.Police reports allege both Rojo and Alvarez fired guns during the course of the setup. The shooting happened when the victims were attempting to get the marijuana back, according to Oakland police.Investigators said in a court statement that Alvarez was identified as a suspect through “surveillance video and witnesses.”The plea deal includes a ...

‘Dangerous’ man sought in missing-person case is caught in Mendocino County

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:47 GMT

The man sought in the homicide of Wendy Pullins, who disappeared last year during what was supposed to be a short drive in the Sierra Nevada foothills, was arrested Monday in Mendocino County.Wendy Pullins (Family photo via Mariposa County Sheriff’s Office) Three weeks ago, the sheriff’s office in Mariposa County had asked the public’s help in finding the 42-year-old man, whom it called armed and dangerous.The announcement did not specify his connection to Pullins, a 57-year-old Ahwahnee woman who was reported missing on June 18, 2022.She had last been seen three days earlier, before heading off toward Mariposa, 25 miles away, to register her vehicle.She reportedly planned to stay the night at a friend’s home on Stumpfield Mountain Road, off Highway 49 between Ahwahnee and Mariposa. Her cellphone location indicated she left the friend’s house, but she never made it to the Department of Motor Vehicles, the Mariposa County sheriff’s office said.About two months ...

Arrest made in fatal injury of Jewish man from Israel-Hamas war protest in Thousand Oaks

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:47 GMT

A 50-year-old Moorpark man was arrested Thursday, Nov. 16, on suspicion of involuntary manslaughter concerning the fatal injury of a 69-year-old Jewish man who apparently fell backward with his head striking the ground during dueling pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian demonstrations earlier this month in Thousand Oaks.Loay Abdelfattah Alnaji was expected to be booked into jail and held in lieu of $1 million bail, the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department said.Paul Kessler, 69, was found suffering on the afternoon of Nov. 5, a Sunday, bleeding from his head and mouth at Westlake and Thousand Oaks boulevards, according to authorities and witness accounts.The Sheriff’s Department continues to investigate the case.On Thursday, it asked that anyone driving in the area of the confrontation in a car with video-recording equipment between 3 and 4 p.m. to contact the agency. If a witness wants to remain anonymous, he or she can contact Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS (8477).This is a developing sto...

Santa Clara County court changes warrant jailing policy criticized as punishing poverty

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:47 GMT

SAN JOSE — The Santa Clara County Superior Court has resumed allowing people who are wanted on low-level warrants to get a court date without first having to spend time in jail if they can’t afford bail.The shift, made this week, is accompanied by a new court calendar reserved for people who discover they are the subject of bench or arrest warrants, and until now had to submit to jail booking — and possible detention — just for the chance to argue to a judge why they shouldn’t be in custody.According to the court and attorneys involved in shaping the new policy, the change had been in the works for several months. The issue gained added public pressure in August when the ACLU and the Stanford Law School Criminal Defense Clinic sued the court over the previous practice.The plaintiffs — led by a man who discovered he had a warrant for a minor offense, then spent three days in jail only to be released at arraignment — called the system a “bail or jai...

Lafayette kidnapping suspect captured after fleeing mental health diversion program

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:47 GMT

LAFAYETTE – A Lafayette man who was placed into a mental health diversion program to settle charges of holding a family hostage but later went on the lam has been captured, authorities said.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | Antioch man found shot to death Wednesday afternoon Crime and Public Safety | Ex-FCI Dublin correctional officer gets 8 years for sexually abusing inmates Crime and Public Safety | Oakland police seek tips on how body ended stuffed in suitcase Crime and Public Safety | Man charged in Fremont shooting that left one dead, one wounded Crime and Public Safety | Man shot while riding in vehicle on East Bay freeway Kenneth David McIsaac, 32, was arrested Tuesday in Oakland and booked into the Martinez Detention Facility, the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office said.At a hearing Wednesday, Judge Julia Campins terminated McIsaac’s mental health diversion status at the distr...

APEC updates: Bridge protesters arrested, Biden calls Xi 'dictator

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:47 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- As the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting entered its sixth day, protesters took to the Bay Bridge to shut down all westbound traffic moving from Oakland into San Francisco.With widespread street closures in effect, San Francisco has been transformed by the conference, which is expected to draw 20,000 people and 22 world leaders to the city. APEC street closures: How to navigate traffic, closures, and tow away zones Follow our live blog for the latest updates on protests, road closures and more.APEC San Francisco 2023 live updates:Thursday, Nov. 169:49 a.m. -- Bridge protesters threw their keys into the BayProtesters blocking the Bay Bridge Thursday abandoned their vehicles and threw their keys into the Bay Thursday morning, according to the California Highway Patrol. Their are currently about 250 CHP officers deployed to the scene and about 50 protesters have been arrested so far.Fifteen vehicles have been toward and there are 10-15 more vehicles re...

LexisNexis Sold Powerful Spy Tools to U.S. Customs and Border Protection

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:47 GMT

The popular data broker LexisNexis began selling face recognition services and personal location data to U.S. Customs and Border Protection late last year, according to contract documents obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request.According to the documents, obtained by the advocacy group Just Futures Law and shared with The Intercept, LexisNexis Risk Solutions began selling surveillance tools to the border enforcement agency in December 2022. The $15.9 million contract includes a broad menu of powerful tools for locating individuals throughout the United States using a vast array of personal data, much of it obtained and used without judicial oversight.“This contract is mass surveillance in hyperdrive.”Through LexisNexis, CBP investigators gained a convenient place to centralize, analyze, and search various databases containing enormous volumes of intimate personal information, both public and proprietary.“This contract is mass surveillance in hyperdrive,” Julie Mao, an ...