Page 12 The Skanner September 21, 2016
News
UN chief rails against
leaders with ‘bloody hands’
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — U.N. Secre-
tary-General Ban Ki-moon railed Tues-
day against leaders who keep “feeding
the war machine” in Syria as he bowed
out of the world stage, while President
Barack Obama said there was no mil-
itary solution to the ive-year conlict
and described a globe in the throes of a
contest between authoritarianism and
democracy.
Both Ban and Obama were making
their inal speeches at the annual gath-
ering of world leaders at the United Na-
tions. They did so against a backdrop
of mounting bloodshed and a failing
cease-ire in Syria, escalating attacks
around the world by Islamic extrem-
ists, and millions of people leeing
ighting and poverty.
The U.N. chief, whose 10-year period
at the helm of the unwieldy world body
ends Dec. 31, vented his pent-up frus-
tration with uncharacteristic candor,
telling the opening of the General As-
sembly’s annual ministerial meeting
that “powerful patrons” on both sides
in the Syrian conlict — which he did
not identify — “have blood on their
hands.”
“Present in this hall today are repre-
sentatives of governments that have
ignored, facilitated, funded, participat-
ed in or even planned and carried out
atrocities inlicted by all sides of the
Syria conlict against Syrian civilians,”
he said.
But Ban blamed the Syrian govern-
ment for the most deaths. He said it was
continuing to drop barrel bombs on
neighborhoods and torture thousands
of detainees. Syria’s Foreign Ministry
condemned Ban’s address and contend-
ed that the U.N had failed to resolve any
conlicts on his watch.
FBI says it looked at
suspect 2 years ago
NEW YORK (AP) — The FBI looked
into New York bombing suspect Ah-
mad Khan Rahami two years ago — and
AP PHOTO/RICHARD DREW
World News Briefs
France’s President Francois Hollande addresses
the 71st session of the United Nations General
Assembly, at U.N. headquarters, Tuesday, Sept. 20,
2016.
came up with nothing alarming — ater
his father expressed concerns his son
might be a terrorist, law enforcement
oicials said Tuesday.
During the inquiry, the father backed
away from talk of terrorism and told
investigators that he simply meant his
son was hanging out with the wrong
crowd, including gang members, and
acting like a thug, the oicials said.
In any case, the FBI checked its data-
bases and other sources and closed the
inquiry in a matter of weeks ater see-
ing nothing tying Rahami to terrorism,
three law enforcement oicials said.
Also Tuesday, investigators disclosed
that when Rahami was shot and cap-
tured, he had a notebook with him that
contained extremist ramblings.
One bloodstained section contained
references to both Anwar al-Awlaki,
the American-born cleric who was
killed in a 2011 drone strike and whose
preaching has inspired other acts of
violence, and Nidal Hasan, the former
Army oicer who went on a deadly
shooting rampage in 2009 at Fort Hood,
Texas.
Jolie files for divorce
from Pitt ‘for health of the
family’
NEW YORK (AP) — Angelina Jolie
Pitt has iled for divorce from Brad Pitt,
bringing an end to what began as the
world’s most tabloid headline-gener-
ating romance before morphing into a
glamorous engine of family and philan-
thropy.
See BRIEFS on page 11
Information is powerful.
The power is
in your hands.
NEWS
www.TheSkanner.com
TheSkannerNews
@TheSkannerNews