PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – Police are searching for several men, dressed up as police officers, who abducted a 33-year-old businessman and have since demanded a three million dollar (One TT dollar=US$0.16 cents) ransom for his release. Police said that Suvesh “Cooksie” Ramnarine, 33, of Warrenville, Cunupia in Central Trinidad, was at a nearby bar on Saturday night when five armed men dressed in police tactical uniforms with the word “POLICE” on the back entered the building. Two of them approached Ramnarine and escorted him outside and into a vehicle. They also drove away with Ramnarine’s vehicle. Soon afterwards Ramnarine’s mother received an anonymous phone call saying he had been kidnapped and a ransom was demanded. The Mayor of Chaguanas, Faaiq Mohammed in a statement expressed concern over the recent spate of kidnappings in the area. “This horrifying trend shakes the very foundation of Chaguanas, leaving residents and business owners in fear. In recent times, our hard-working businessmen – crucial to the development of this borough – have become prime targets for these violent acts. Today, we must confront this growing threat together and take decisive action. “This wave of kidnappings, coupled with the increasing brazenness of the criminals involved, is something we must not, and will not, tolerate. No one should have to live in fear of being abducted from their workplace, their home, or their community. No one should have to fear for their life simply because they work hard to support their family and contribute to the development of our borough,” he added. Last month, used car dealer Sachel Kungebeharry was abducted in Chaguanas in Central  Trinidad by men dressed in police tactical uniforms and driving a marked police vehicle. Media reports said that aTT$500,000 ransom had been paid for his release, but his decomposing body was discovered in early October. Since then two police officers, acting corporal Ashraf Mohammed and constable Jason Michael appeared in court last week charged murder, kidnapping for ransom as well as  misbehaviour in public office. Commissioner of Police, Erla Harewood-Christopher, in a statement, has vowed to rid the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) of “errant officers” and the TTPS “regrets the alleged involvement of law enforcement officers, sworn to promote law and order, in the commission of this heinous act. “We continue to be challenged with the presence of errant officers amongst the ranks of the TTPS. And while we are all deeply concerned with these incidents, I ask that we allow the investigations to proceed without interference and avoid any premature conclusions. “I am very conscious that this incident goes against every principle of the TTPS and threatens to erode the public’s trust in the TTPS. As such, we are determined to address all incidents of breach of duty or misconduct by any officer with unwavering impartiality, meticulous scrutiny, and swift action.”

By Ivana Kottasová, Lauren Iszo, Dana Karni, Sarah Sirgany and Eugenia Yosef, CNN (CNN) — Four Israeli soldiers have been killed and more than 60 people injured in a Hezbollah drone attack on an army base in central-northern Israel, according to first responders and the Israeli military. The incident late Sunday local time is one of the bloodiest attacks on Israel since the beginning of the war last October. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said an unmanned aerial vehicle, or UAV, launched by Hezbollah hit an army base adjacent to Binyamina, a town north of Tel Aviv that lies some 40 miles from the Lebanese border. The four killed soldiers were all 19 years old and in infantry training at the base, the IDF said, adding that eight other soldiers were severely injured. According to Israel’s Magen David Adom emergency service, a total of 61 people were wounded in the attack, with dozens still hospitalized. The news comes after Hezbollah said Sunday it had fired a swarm of attack drones on an Israeli infantry training camp in Binyamina. The Lebanon-based militant group said the attack was in response to deadly Israeli strikes in Lebanon Thursday. Hezbollah said it had targeted the Golani Brigade, an infantry unit of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) that has been deployed in southern Lebanon. The claim of responsibility for the attack came shortly after the militant group released an audio message from its slain leader Hassan Nasrallah calling on its members to “defend your people, your family, your nation, your values and your dignity.” Earlier on Sunday, the IDF said it had intercepted a Lebanon-launched UAV without specifying where. It was not immediately clear whether this was the same incident that led to the injuries. Israeli air defence systems tend to be very reliable, but on Sunday, there were no reports of alerts in the Binyamina area at the time of the attack, raising questions of how the drone was able to penetrate so deep into the Israeli territory without being spotted. Hezbollah said it had fired dozens of rockets toward the northern Israeli towns of Nahariya and Acre to engage Israel’s air defense systems, while simultaneously launching the drone swarm. “These drones broke through the Israel defense radars without detection and reached its target at the training camp of the elite Golani Brigade in Binyamina,” Hezbollah said. The IDF’s top spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said the military would investigate how the drone got through without raising an alarm at the base. “We will learn from and investigate the incident,” he said in a video statement from the base. “The threat of UAVs is a threat we are dealing with since the beginning of the war. We need an improvement to our defense,” he added. ‘Very difficult scene’ The Binyamina attack comes almost two weeks after Israel launched a ground operation in southern Lebanon. The IDF has insisted the operation is “localized” and “limited” – even though the reality on the ground suggests it might be preparing for a wider invasion. The IDF has issued evacuation orders for a quarter of Lebanon’s territory and deployed units from four different IDF divisions to the border area, while also continuing an intense bombardment campaign. More than 1,500 people have been killed and more than 8,000 injured in Lebanon since September 16, when Israel stepped up its campaign against Hezbollah, according to a CNN tally of Lebanese health ministry statements. Tensions rose again on Sunday after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on the United Nations peacekeeping forces in southern Lebanon to withdraw from the area following several incidents involving the IDF that left five members of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) injured. The 40 countries whose soldiers serve as UN peacekeepers in Lebanon issued a statement on Sunday “strongly condemning” these attacks. At the same time, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Israel would not allow Hezbollah to return to border villages in southern Lebanon after Israeli troops leave the area. Despite the ground operation targeting its infrastructure, Hezbollah continues to fire dozens of rockets into Israel on daily basis. The attack on Sunday also raises concerns over Hezbollah’s ability to use longer-range drones against Israel, as it comes just two days after another attack in which the IDF said two drones were launched from Lebanon. The Israeli military said Friday it had intercepted one of those drones, but did not specify what happened to the other one. In the attack Friday, warning sirens had activated and while a nursing home in the coastal city of Herzliya, central Israel, was damaged, no casualties were no reported. Magen David Adom said it declared a mass casualty event on Sunday evening and had evacuated 61 injured people from the scene. It said three people were in serious condition and 18 suffered moderate injuries. A statement from the emergency service quoted a paramedic at the site as saying it “was a very difficult scene.” “We declared it a mass casualty event and treated patients suffering from blast injuries and shrapnel. The injuries were severe, and we evacuated the injured to hospitals as quickly as possible for further medical treatment,” Rafi Sheva said in the statement. Those injured in Binyamina were transported to eight different hospitals across Israel, according to Magen David Adom. The Laniado Hospital in north-central Israel treated several of the people who suffered light injuries. Its spokesperson Asahel Shahaf said that one man who was brought into the emergency room had a lucky escape when shrapnel from the drone lodged into his kippah, a head covering worn by Jewish men. “The shrapnel did not scratch the wounded man,” Shahaf said, calling the incident “a small (big!!!) miracle.” The-CNN-Wire & © 2024 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.

By Helen Regan and Wayne Chang, CNN Hong Kong/Taipei (CNN) — Taiwan has condemned the latest round of Chinese military drills around the self-governing island as an “unreasonable provocation” after Beijing deployed warships and fighter jets in what it described as a “stern warning” to “separatist acts of Taiwan independence forces.” The Chinese military’s Eastern Theater Command said Monday that the drills, involving joint operations of the army, navy, air force and rocket force, are being conducted in the Taiwan Strait – a narrow body of water separating the island from mainland China – as well as encircling Taiwan. China’s military exercises around Taiwan, a democracy of 23 million people, have become increasingly frequent in recent years and have tended to coincide with events that have angered Beijing. Analysts said Monday’s drills were part of a general strategy of both keeping Taiwan under pressure and normalizing regular war games. In August 2022, China launched a week of military drills following a visit to the island by then-US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Similar drills in May came after the inauguration of Taiwan President Lai Ching-te, whom Beijing has denounced as a “dangerous separatist.” The latest exercises are code-named Joint Sword-2024B, implying it’s a follow-up to the drills five months ago which had the same name. Ahead of the drills, the Eastern Theater Command released a propaganda video entitled “prepared for battle” on its social media accounts. The roughly one-minute video shows fighter jets, warships and amphibious assault vessels in the air and at sea, and mobile missile launchers being moved into place. Accompanying text said the command is “prepared for battle at all times and can fight anytime.” In a statement, Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said it strongly condemns the drills as an “unreasonable provocation” by China and said it has dispatched its own forces. A statement from Taiwan’s presidential office called on China to “cease military provocations that undermine regional peace and stability, and stop threatening Taiwan’s democracy and freedom.” President Lai had convened national security meetings to discuss responses to the drills, it added. “In the face of external threats, I would like to reassure my compatriots that the government will continue to defend the democratic and free constitutional system, protect democratic Taiwan, and safeguard national security,” Lai said in a post on Facebook. On Sunday, Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said the Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning entered waters near the strategic Bashi Channel south of Taiwan, which separates the island from the Philippines. Later, the Eastern Theater Command confirmed the carrier squadron was conducting drills east of Taiwan on “vessel and jet coordination, joint air control, and maritime and land strikes,” according to CCTV. A spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Monday that “Taiwan independence and peace in the Taiwan Strait are incompatible, and the provocation of Taiwan independence forces will inevitably be countered.” Already a ‘sovereign country’ The drills came after President Lai gave a speech on Taiwan’s National Day Thursday, saying the island “is not subordinate” to China and that Beijing “does not have the right to represent Taiwan.” The speech followed earlier comments, where Lai said it was “absolutely impossible” for Communist China to become Taiwan’s motherland and that Taiwan is already a “sovereign and independent country.” Lai has long faced Beijing’s wrath for championing Taiwan’s sovereignty and rejecting the Chinese Communist Party’s claims over the island. Despite having never controlled Taiwan, China’s ruling Communist Party has vowed to “reunify” with the self-governing democracy, by force if necessary. But many people on the island view themselves as distinctly Taiwanese and have no desire to be part of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Successive Chinese leaders have vowed to one day take control of Taiwan. But Xi Jinping, China’s most assertive leader in decades, has ramped up rhetoric and aggression against the democratic island, fueling tension across the strait and raising concerns for a military confrontation. The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) said it kicked off the Monday exercises  “with vessels and aircraft approaching Taiwan Island in close proximity from different directions.” The drills focused on “sea-air combat-readiness patrol, blockade on key ports and areas, assault on maritime and ground targets, as well as joint seizure of comprehensive superiority,” according to a statement from the PLA’s Eastern Command. Later Monday, the PLA said it “successfully completed” the military exercise. It did not say whether the drills involved live fire exercises, but did not launch any missiles. Previous drills in 2022 did include the launch of missiles and were as a result seen as much more provocative. “Beijing gradually, of course, is trying to get everybody used to and become more numb to this kind of show of force,” Wen-Ti Sung, Taipei-based fellow with the Atlantic Council’s Global China Hub, told CNN. “Beijing has been trying to find ways to increase inch-by-inch the level of military deployment or the geographic scope of it in these military drills,” Sung explained. Enough to set a new precedent with each drill, he added, but carefully calibrated to avoid “coordinated international pushback.” The ‘gray zone’ A map released by the command shows drills taking place in nine areas surrounding Taiwan as well as its outlying islands that are closer to mainland China. The drills also involved China’s Coast Guard, operating in areas around Taiwan and its outlying islands of Matsu and Dongyin, located just off China’s southeastern coast. Between 5 a.m. and 4 p.m. local time Monday, Taiwan’s Defense Ministry detected 125 Chinese fighter jets, choppers and drones around Taiwan, including 90 that crossed the Median Line — an informal demarcation point in the Taiwan Strait that Beijing does not recognize, but until recent years had largely respected. A total of seven Chinese warships plus additional Coast Guard vessels were detected near the Taiwan Strait, according to the ministry. On Monday, Taiwan’s Coast Guard said it intercepted and detained a Chinese individual near the Kinmen Islands on a raft. Since the incident coincided with the military drills,it said, it could not rule out the possibility it was part of China’s “gray zone” tactics against Taiwan, and it has heightened its alertness. Gray zone tactics refer to actions just below what might be considered acts of war. Chen Ming-chi, associate professor at the Center for Contemporary China at National Tsinghua University, told CNN the drills were “highly dangerous” and because they are “approaching, closer and closer,” will “leave us [with] a very short response time.” “We don’t like to see the complacency kick in. That is not good for any normal country,” Chen said. Chinese military exercises in the Western Pacific are estimated to be a multi-billion dollar operation. In 2023, China spent more than $15 billion on deploying its warships, most of which were tracked in the South China Sea, and on flights by its Air Force — with most recorded in the Taiwan Strait — according to Taiwanese military documents seen by CNN in August, first reported by Reuters. During Chinese drills around Taiwan in May, 91 warship sailings were recorded over 2,200 operating hours at an estimated cost of $12.7 million. Taiwan logged Chinese jets making 111 flights which cost China about $47.8 million. The United States said it was “seriously concerned” by the latest military exercises, calling them a “response with military provocations to a routine annual speech” that “is unwarranted and risks escalation.” “We call on the PRC to act with restraint and to avoid any further actions that may undermine peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and in the broader region,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement. The-CNN-Wire & © 2024 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.