Politics
Person of interest in missing Dominican Republic tourist case set free by judge – National TenX News
A judge in the Dominican Republic granted a request for freedom for Joshua Riibe, who is believed to be the last person to have seen missing U.S. tourist Sudiksha Konanki before her disappearance on March 6.
Riibe’s lawyer Alfredo Guzmán Saladín filed a habeas corpus petition seeking the release of their client. A hearing addressing the petition was held on March 18.
The petition asked for the return of Riibe’s passport, which was allegedly withheld by Dominican authorities while the 22-year-old college student was being interviewed by the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the FBI, who were investigating the case.
Judge Edwin Rijo ordered Riibe’s release, saying that he can cooperate with authorities without being detained.
“All parties say that he has cooperated in everything that has been asked of him,” Rijo said, adding that Riibe is a witness and as such, cannot be detained.
The Associated Press reports that so many journalists showed up to cover the hours-long hearing, it had to be moved to a bigger courtroom.
Before the ruling, prosecutors told the judge that Riibe was not under arrest and that he was free to move around the hotel where he is staying. They said Riibe told them he lost his passport, although Riibe said in court that officials had seized his passport and cellphone.
“I really want to be able to go home and talk to my family, give them hugs,” Riibe told the judge via a translator. “I understand that I’m here to help. I’ve done that. It’s been 10 days.”
When leaving the hearing, Ribbe’s lawyers said they expressed their solidarity with Konanki’s family, according to Dominican news outlet Noticias Sin.
“We express our solidarity with Sudiksha Konanki’s family in these difficult times, joining in the collective hope that she be found safe and sound as soon as possible,” Guzmán Saladín said upon leaving the court.
Get daily National news
Get the day’s top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.
Riibe’s lawyers also said they express a “deep gratitude to the Dominican judiciary and all institutions involved in the Joshua Steven Riibe case for recognizing and upholding the rule of law and showing respect for his fundamental rights as a foreign citizen in the Dominican Republic.”
Riibe’s father, Francis Albert Riibe, was also in attendance during his son’s court hearing. He told reporters that he came to the Dominican Republic because his son “is being held captive and cannot leave the hotel.”
According to Noticias Sin, Riibe told reporters that Konanki’s mother, Sreedevi, had thanked him for trying to save her daughter’s life.
“We were in the lobby and the mother hugged me and said thank you for saving Sudiksha the first time,” Riibe reportedly said.
Riibe, who has not been charged with any crime, previously told local investigators that he and Konanki were “in waist-deep water, talking and kissing a little,” when a large wave crashed into them and swept them both “out to sea,” according to the transcript obtained by NBC News.
“I kept trying to get her to breathe, but that didn’t allow me to breathe all the time, and I swallowed a lot of water,” Riibe reportedly said.
Riibe, a former lifeguard, told investigators he was able to get himself and Konanki to shore safely.
“It took me a long time to get her out, it was difficult,” Riibe told officials, according to the transcript. “I was a lifeguard in the pool, not in the sea.
“When I finally reached the ground on the beach, I held her in front of me. She wasn’t out of the water, she was knee-deep and walking at an angle out of the water.
“The last time I saw her, I asked if she was OK. I didn’t hear her answer because I started vomiting all the sea water I had swallowed.”
After vomiting, Riibe said he looked around and didn’t see Konanki and assumed she left the beach.
“I looked around and I didn’t see anyone. I thought she’d grabbed her things and left.”
Michael Chapman, sheriff of Loudoun County in Virginia, said in a statement Tuesday that officials have been working with Dominican authorities and continue to review evidence in the case.
“The disappearance of Sudiksha Konanki is tragic, and we cannot imagine the grief her family has been feeling,” he said. “Sudiksha’s family has expressed their belief that she drowned. While a final decision to make such a declaration rests with authorities in the Dominican Republic, we will support the Konanki family in every way possible.”
Konanki’s parents spoke with reporters outside their home in Loudoun County, Va., on Tuesday and said that authorities told them they believed their daughter drowned.
“Both sides of authorities have shown us how high the ocean waves were at the time of the incident, and both sides of the authorities have clarified the person of interest was not a suspect from the beginning,” Konanki’s father, Subbarayudu, said while fighting back tears.
“It is with deep sadness and heavy, heavy heart, we are coming to the terms with the fact that our daughter has drowned,” Subbarayudu continued. “This is incredibly difficult for us to process. We kindly ask you to keep our daughter in your prayers.”
“We still have two young children to care for. In light of this, we respectfully request some space, time and privacy to focus on healing and helping our children recover as we try to move forward with our lives.”
On Monday, Dominican Republic National Police spokesperson Diego Pesqueira said that Konanki’s family sent a letter “requesting declaration of death.”
The letter, viewed by Global News, said the family made the request “after much deliberation” and thanked supporters for their international search efforts.
“Following an extensive search, Dominican authorities have concluded that Sudiksha is believed to have drowned,” her parents wrote in a letter to La Policia Nacional. “Her clothes were discovered on a beach near where she was last seen. The individual last seen with her is cooperating with the investigation, and no evidence of foul play has been found.
“We understand that certain legal procedures must be followed and are prepared to comply with any necessary formalities or documentation.
“Initiating this process will allow our family to begin the grieving process and address matters related to her absence.”
“While no declaration can truly ease our grief, we trust that this step will bring some closure and enable us to honor her memory.”
— With files from The Associated Press
Politics
UK refuses to invite Israeli government officials to London arms fair over the war in Gaza – National TenX News
The U.K. has barred Israeli government officials from attending the country’s biggest arms fair over growing concern about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
The decision does not cover representatives of Israeli defense contractors, who will be allowed to attend the DSEI UK exhibition, scheduled for Sept. 9-12 in London. The event was formerly known as Defense and Security Equipment International.
“The Israeli Government’s decision to further escalate its military operation in Gaza is wrong,” the British government said in a statement. “As a result, we can confirm that no Israeli government delegation will be invited to attend DSEI UK 2025.”
Get daily National news
Get the day’s top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.
The decision comes after Prime Minister Keir Starmer in July announced plans to recognize a Palestinian state unless Israel takes steps to end the crisis in Gaza, agrees to a ceasefire with Hamas and commits to a long-term peace agreement. Britain previously barred sales to Israel of any arms that could be used in the nearly 23-month war in Gaza.
Israel’s Defense Ministry said the decision was based on politics and “serves extremists.”
“These restrictions amount to a deliberate and regrettable act of discrimination against Israel’s representatives,” the ministry said.
The Israeli ministry said it would withdraw from the exhibition and will not establish a national pavilion.
Pro-Palestinian and anti-war groups have announced plans to for protests during DSEI, which will take place at the Excel center in east London.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
Politics
Israel soon will halt or slow aid to northern Gaza as military offensive grows – National TenX News
Israel will soon halt or slow humanitarian aid into parts of northern Gaza as it expands its military offensive against Hamas, an official said Saturday, a day after Gaza City was declared a combat zone.
The decision was likely to bring more condemnation of Israel’s government as frustration grows in the country and abroad over dire conditions for both Palestinians and remaining hostages in Gaza after nearly 23 months of war.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media, told The Associated Press that Israel will stop airdrops over Gaza City in the coming days and reduce the number of aid trucks arriving in the north as it prepares to evacuate hundreds of thousands of people south.
Israel on Friday ended recently imposed daytime pauses in fighting to allow aid delivery, describing Gaza City as a Hamas stronghold and alleging that a tunnel network remains in use, despite previous large-scale raids. The United Nations and partners have said the pauses, airdrops and other measures fell far short of the 600 trucks of aid needed daily in Gaza.
A ‘massive population movement’ coming
AP video footage showed several large explosions across Gaza overnight. Israel’s military Saturday evening said it had struck a key Hamas member in the area of Gaza City, with no details.
In recent days, Israel’s military has increased strikes on the outskirts of Gaza City, where famine was recently documented and declared by global food security experts.
By Saturday there had been no airdrops for several days across Gaza, a break from almost daily ones. Israel’s army didn’t respond to a request for comment or say how it would provide aid to Palestinians during another major shift in Gaza’s population of over 2 million people.
Get breaking National news
For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen.
“Such an evacuation would trigger a massive population movement that no area in the Gaza Strip can absorb, given the widespread destruction of civilian infrastructure and the extreme shortages of food, water, shelter and medical care,” Mirjana Spoljaric, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross, said in a statement.
It’s impossible that a mass evacuation of Gaza City can be done in a safe and dignified way, she said.
Hundreds of residents have begun leaving Gaza City, piling their remaining possessions onto pickup trucks or donkey carts. Many have been forced to leave their homes more than once.
Killed while seeking food
Israeli gunfire killed four people trying to get aid in central Gaza, according to health officials at Al-Awda Hospital, were the bodies were taken.
An Israeli strike on a bakery in Gaza City’s Nasr neighborhood killed 12 people including six women and three children, the Shifa Hospital director told the AP, and a strike on the Rimal neighborhood killed seven.
Gaza’s Health Ministry said another 10 people died as a result of starvation and malnutrition over the past 24 hours, including three children. It said at least 332 Palestinians have died from malnutrition-related causes during the war, including 124 children.
At least 63,371 Palestinians have died in Gaza during the war, said the ministry, which does not say how many are fighters or civilians but says around half have been women and children. The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government and staffed by medical professionals. The U.N. and independent experts consider it the most reliable source on war casualties. Israel disputes its figures but has not provided its own.
“There is no food and even water is not available. When it is available, it is not safe to drink,” said Amer Zayed, as he waited for food from a charity kitchen in Deir al-Balah on Friday.
“The suffering gets worse when there are more displaced people,” he added.
Israelis rally again to demand a ceasefire deal
Israelis waited to hear the identity of the remains of a hostage that Israel on Friday said had been recovered in Gaza. It also said it recovered the remains of hostage Ilan Weiss.
Forty-eight hostages now remain in Gaza of the over 250 seized in the Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7, 2023, that sparked the war. Israel had believed 20 are still alive.
Their loved ones fear the expanding military offensive will put them in even more danger, and they were rallying again Saturday to demand a ceasefire deal to bring everyone home.
“Netanyahu, if another living hostage comes back in a bag, it will not only be the hostages and their families who pay the price. You will bear responsibility for premeditated murder,” Zahiro Shahar Mor, nephew of hostage Avraham Munder, said in Tel Aviv.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
The Trump administration said Friday it was denying and revoking U.S. visas from members of the Palestinian Authority and the Palestine Liberation Organization.
That comes ahead of next month’s United Nations General Assembly, where Canada and several other countries have said they intend to officially recognize a Palestinian state.
The U.S. State Department cited the groups’ efforts to secure statehood recognition at the UN, along with their appeals to the International Criminal Court and International Court of Justice to investigate alleged Israeli crimes in Gaza, as reasons for the decision by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
“Both steps materially contributed to Hamas’s refusal to release its hostages, and to the breakdown of the Gaza ceasefire talks,” the department said in a statement.
“The Trump Administration has been clear: it is in our national security interests to hold the PLO and PA accountable for not complying with their commitments, and for undermining the prospects for peace.”
The statement did not name the officials being denied entry. It was not immediately clear if the list included Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who was expected to travel to New York for the UN gathering.
The Palestinians’ ambassador to the UN, Riyad Mansour, told reporters at the UN headquarters that they were checking exactly what the U.S. move means “and how it applies to any of our delegation, and we will respond accordingly.”
Get breaking National news
For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen.
Representatives assigned to the Palestinian Authority mission at the UN, led by Mansour, will be granted waivers so they can continue their New York-based operations, the U.S. statement said.
Mansour said Abbas still intends to lead the delegation to the high-level meetings and is expected to address the General Assembly — as he has done for many years — and to attend a meeting on the afternoon of Sept. 22 on a two-state solution co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia.
U.S. President Donald Trump will travel to New York and address the general assembly on Sept. 23, the White House said on Thursday.
Canada, Britain, Australia and France in recent weeks have announced or signalled their intention to recognize a Palestinian state during the meeting.
The countries have said their recognition is conditional on the Palestinian Authority — which has limited self-rule over parts of the occupied West Bank and has for years been positioning itself as a legitimate government alternative to Hamas in Gaza — undergoing reforms and new elections.
Abbas has signalled he will co-operate with the Western nations’ demands.
The Palestinian Liberation Organization is an internationally recognized coalition that represents Palestinian people in its occupied territories and abroad.
The Trump administration has staunchly backed Israel’s military offensive in Gaza. The U.S. has also refused to condemn expanded Israeli settlements in the West Bank, which Canada and other allies have said undermine two-state solution efforts.
Rubio hosted Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar in Washington on Wednesday “to reaffirm our two nations’ close cooperation,” the U.S. secretary said in a post on X.
Saar, asked after the meeting what the plan was for a Palestinian state, said there would not be any.
The Israeli minister on Friday thanked Rubio for holding the PA and PLO “accountable for rewarding terrorism, incitement and efforts to use legal warfare against Israel” in a social media statement.
Officials with the Palestinian Authority reject that they’ve undermined peace prospects.
Under the 1947 UN “headquarters agreement,” the U.S. is generally required to allow access for foreign diplomats to the UN in New York. But Washington has said it can deny visas for security, terrorism and foreign policy reasons.
Hamas earlier this month said it had accepted a U.S.-backed proposal on a ceasefire in Gaza that would see the release of some hostages in exchange for talks with Israel that would end the conflict and see the return of all remaining hostages.
But Israel has said it will only accept the full return of all the hostages and has pressed ahead with a plan to occupy Gaza City, which international monitors like the UN have warned could worsen a famine already afflicting the Palestinian territory.
Rubio last week announced sanctions against multiple International Criminal Court judges and prosecutors involved in the court’s investigation into Israel’s actions in Gaza and the issuing of arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant.
—With files from Reuters
© 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
UK refuses to invite Israeli government officials to London arms fair over the war in Gaza – National TenX News
Israel soon will halt or slow aid to northern Gaza as military offensive grows – National TenX News
U.S. scraps Palestinian officials’ visas ahead of UN General Assembly – National TenX News
-
Fashion6 months agoThese ’90s fashion trends are making a comeback in 2017
-
Entertainment6 months agoThe final 6 ‘Game of Thrones’ episodes might feel like a full season
-
Fashion6 months agoAccording to Dior Couture, this taboo fashion accessory is back
-
Politics4 months agoBefore being named Pope Leo XIV, he was Cardinal Robert Prevost. Who is he? – National TenX News
-
Entertainment6 months agoThe old and New Edition cast comes together to perform
-
Sports6 months agoPhillies’ Aaron Altherr makes mind-boggling barehanded play
-
Entertainment6 months agoDisney’s live-action Aladdin finally finds its stars
-
Business6 months agoUber and Lyft are finally available in all of New York State