Syria mass executions: 50 a day are being hanged. US accuses, burning bodies

WARNING: Graphic details.

THE Trump administration has accused the Syrian government of carrying out mass killings of thousands of prisoners and burning the bodies in a large crematorium outside the capital.

The State Department said it believed that about 50 detainees a day are being hanged at Saydnaya military prison, about 45 minutes from Damascus.

Many of the bodies, it said, are then being burned in the crematorium.

“We believe that the building of a crematorium is an effort to cover up the extent of mass murders taking place in Saydnaya prison,” said Stuart Jones, the top US diplomat for the Middle East.

The department released commercial satellite photographs showing what it said is a building in the prison complex that has been modified to support the crematorium.

The photographs taken over the course of several years, beginning in 2013, do not definitely prove the building is a crematorium, but they show construction consistent with such use.

One photograph taken in January 2015 shows one area of the building’s roof cleared of snow due to melt.

In presenting the photographs, Jones said Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government “has sunk to a new level of depravity” with the support of Russia and Iran and called on both countries to use their influence with Syria to establish a credible ceasefire and begin political talks.

DAWN STRIKES KILL 30 IN SYRIA

Dawn air strikes on a Syrian border town in the Islamic State-held eastern province of Deir al-Zor have killed at least 30 people, most of them civilians including more than a dozen children, a war monitoring group says.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights on Monday said jets thought to belong to the US-led coalition hit the town of Al-Bukamal near the border with Iraq. They struck near a residential area and a mosque, wounding dozens more, the Britain-based monitor said.

The IS-linked media outlet Amaq said coalition strikes killed 15 people and wounded 35 others in Al-Bukamal.

Islamic State holds most of Deir al-Zor province, apart from an enclave at the centre and a nearby air base controlled by Syrian government forces. The province links territory Islamic State militants control in Syria and Iraq.

The United States military has said it makes “extraordinary efforts” to avoid civilian deaths in its air strikes in Syria and Iraq.

Source: US accuses Syria of mass executions, burning bodies | Perth Now

Harley Bennell has played his last game, says AFL commentator Mike Sheahan

LEGENDARY football writer Mike Sheahan believes Harley Bennell has played his last game in the AFL.

Speaking on SEN radio in Melbourne on Monday, Sheahan and host Garry Lyon were discussing the footage of Bennell pulling aside his nephew Traye during Peel’s win over Swan Districts in the WAFL on Saturday.

Bennell, who is yet to play a game for the Dockers due to persistent calf injuries, warned a Channel 7 camera person not to film him during the afternoon.

He also picked up a camera cord in the rooms after the game before being whisked out by Dockers assistant coach Marc Webb.

The former Gold Coast midfielder’s behaviour is being investigated by the Dockers.

Sheahan said Bennell’s recent behaviour, including being kicked off a plane last month, meant he was done at the elite level.

“He’s never going to play another game, Harley Bennell,” he said.

“His behaviour, apart from his physical problems, he’s got soft-tissue injuries and his behaviour is abysmal.”

Source: Harley has played his last game, says respected football commentator Mike Sheahan | Perth Now

Samsung crane collapse kills six workers

A crane collapse at a South Korean shipyard run by Samsung has killed six people and injured more than 20 others, says the Yonhap news agency.

Rescuers have been searching for people trapped after Monday’s incident at Geoje near Busan.

The victims are understood to be subcontractors working for shipbuilder Samsung Heavy Industries.

The incident has shocked South Korea which has a relatively low rate of industrial accidents.

‘Investigation ongoing’

The oil platform was being built for French firm Total, for use in its Martin Linge oil field in the North Sea off Norway.

“The crane fell onto the platform’s well bay module, where the people were working,” Total spokesman Leif Harald Halvorsen told Yonhap.

“For the time being, all work at the yard has been stopped and the investigation is ongoing.”

He added no Total employees were among those killed or hurt.

Samsung Heavy Industries is the world’s third biggest shipbuilder, and is also involved in other engineering work.

Source: Samsung crane collapse kills six workers – BBC News

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