Seven young individuals in Sydney were apprehended by the Australian law enforcement for allegedly embracing a violent extremist ideology.They were arrested in raids on Wednesday. A judge also said that social media platform X couldn’t share a video of a knife attack on a bishop, which led to the investigation.
Seven teenagers, who were between the ages of 15 to 17, were in a group connected to a 16-year-old boy. The boy is accused of stabbing a bishop in a Sydney church on April 15, according to the police.
Videos of the stabbing were taken from the church service and then shared on X. Last week, a regulator in Australia told the platform to remove the videos. The platform is now trying to not do that.
Five more teenagers were still talking to the police on Wednesday night. The police team includes federal and state police, the Australian Security Intelligence Organization, and the New South Wales Crime Commission. They are all working together to investigate terrorism.
Over 400 police officers searched 13 properties in southwest Sydney because they thought the suspects were a big danger. This was said by Deputy Commissioner David Hudson of the New South Wales Police.
“We will say that these people followed a religiously motivated, violent extremist belief,” Hudson told the news.
“It was thought that the group. ” Hudson said that the current way we investigate is not enough to keep people in New South Wales safe from the dangerous risk.
Australian police deputy commissioner Krissy Barrett said that investigators did not find any clear targets or timing for a planned “violent act. ”
She said the police action was not related to Anzac Day, a public holiday when Australians honor their war dead.
In the past, extremists have wanted to attack it.
A teenager, 16, was accused on Friday of doing a terrorist act, which is a serious crime with a maximum punishment of life in prison. This was after a knife attack that injured an Assyrian Orthodox bishop and priest.
On Wednesday, a judge in an Australian Federal Court made a decision to continue the ban on X from sharing videos of Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel being stabbed.
Judge Geoffrey Kennett decided to continue the ban that was put in place on Monday until May 10.
X, which was previously known as Twitter, said last week that it will go to court to oppose orders from Australia to remove posts about the attack.
Australia’s eSafety Commission, the first government agency focused on keeping people safe on the internet, asked the court for a temporary worldwide ban.
Marcus Hoyne, a lawyer for X, said to the judge on Wednesday that the bishop didn’t want the video to be banned. Emmanuel just signed a document saying he strongly believes the material should be made available, Hoyne said.
Hoyne said the eSafety Commission was trying to use a lot of power with “orders that basically affect the whole world. ”
Hoyne also said that a ban on the video ordered by the court might not work.
Hoyne said that this material is now showing up in many different places.
The lawyer for the commission, Christopher Tran, said that X did not follow the order given on Monday. Hoyne said he didn’t know what to do about that.
X did not answer The Associated Press’s questions on Tuesday about whether or not the company followed the order.
Elon Musk, who owns X, is saying that Australia is stopping people from speaking freely. The Prime Minister of Australia, Anthony Albanese, is calling Musk a “cocky billionaire. ”
Musk said on his personal account that people in Australia want the truth. “X is the only person fighting for their rights. ”
Musk also criticized Australian independent Sen. in his comments. Jacqui Lambie stopped using her X account because of a problem, and she wants other lawmakers to do the same.
“Elon Musk said she is against the people of Australia. ” This woman really hates the Australian people.
Lambie said to Sky News that Musk is a very rich and mean person.
“He doesn’t care about anyone but himself,” she said. Someone like that deserves to be in prison and the key should be thrown away.
Officials say that social media caused 2,000 people to come to the Christ the Good Shepherd Church after the attack. This led to a riot where 51 police officers were hurt and 104 police cars were damaged.
ASIO boss Mike Burgess said his organization was part of Wednesday’s operation.
“Australia’s security service works hard to give police the information they need to handle threats right away, whether it’s about safety or other issues,” Burgess explained.
He said a few years ago, 50% of the cases ASIO was investigating involved children, but now the number has gone down.
But Burgess said that more young people are being looked into for things like what they post on social media.
“They are a group of people who need protection,” Burgess said.
Tag: Bishop
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7 young radicals detained by Australian police in over the death of a bishop in Sydney
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Australian judge bans X from sharing video of stabbed church bishop
A judge in Australia ordered social media platform X to block access to a video showing a bishop being stabbed in a Sydney church worldwide.This rule applies to all users, not just those in Australia.
X Corp, a big tech company owned by Elon Musk, said they will go to court to battle orders from Australia to remove posts about a knife attack on Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel at an Assyrian Orthodox church while a service was being shown online on April 15.
The material couldn’t be seen in Australia, but people in other places could still watch it.
Australia’s eSafety Commission asked a court to make a temporary ban on sharing a video of the bishop getting stabbed. They are a government agency trying to keep people safe on the internet.
In a meeting held after regular working hours, Judge Geoffrey Kennett stopped the videos from being seen by anyone until Wednesday. On Wednesday, they will decide if the videos should be banned permanently.
X has one day to keep the footage away from users, the judge decided.
The lawyer for the regulator, Stephen Tran, said that blocking access to the footage in Australia doesn’t count as taking it off the internet according to Australian law.
Tran said the video was really graphic and violent and would cause a lot of damage if it keeps getting shared.
X’s lawyer Marcus Hoyne said he couldn’t talk to his client in San Francisco because it was very early in the morning there.
Musk called Julie Inman Grant the “Australian censorship boss. ”
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was upset because X didn’t take down pictures of the knife attack at the Christ the Good Shepherd Church.
Albanese said that social media posts, false information, and the sharing of violent pictures made the pain from the church attack worse. Two priests survived the attack, and there was also a knife attack at a Sydney mall two days before that killed six people.
“Albanese said that social media has a duty to society. ” “I think it’s strange that X didn’t follow the rules and is now trying to argue their point. ”The people in charge of the platform’s Global Government Affairs said that Inman Grant told them to take down some posts about the church attack. However, they said the posts didn’t break X’s rules on violent speech.
X said that the Australian government has told their platform to either remove certain posts from everywhere in the world or pay a daily fine of US$785,000.
“X thinks that eSafety’s request didn’t follow Australian law. We followed the request while waiting for a legal challenge. ” – said the Global Government Affairs account.
“X understands that a country can make its own laws, but the eSafety Commissioner can’t tell X’s users what they can see everywhere in the world. ”
“We will strongly oppose this wrong and risky approach in court,” it said.
The attack on the church was shown on social media, and it made a lot of people angry. 2,000 people gathered and started a riot against the police, who kept the suspected attacker inside the church.
The violent protest hurt 51 police officers and broke 104 police cars, officials said.
Three people who were believed to have caused trouble were arrested by Sunday. On Monday, the police showed pictures of 12 more people who they think were the main people responsible for starting the violence in the riot. They got the pictures from a video of the riot.
A 16-year-old boy who is believed to have stabbed people has been charged with terrorism crimes. He got both negative and positive comments online for the attack. -
Sydney Assyrian church bishop says he forgives his assailant
A bishop from an Assyrian church who was stabbed during a church service, has said he is getting better and has forgiven the person who attacked him. The police are investigating the riots that happened after the stabbing.
Two knife attacks happened in Sydney. One at a shopping center near Bondi beach on Saturday killed six people, and the other at a church in Sydney’s west on Monday. This has surprised the people of Sydney.
I am doing well and getting better very fast. “Don’t worry,” Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel said in a message on social media, his first public comments since the attack. I forgive the person who did this. I will pray for you and the person who told you to do this. I also forgive them.
Bishop Emmanuel, who is popular with young people on TikTok and has spoken against homosexuality, COVID vaccinations, and Islam in his church speeches, was hurt in the attack. The attack is believed to be a terrorist act driven by suspected religious extremism.
A young man has been arrested for attacking the bishop, and he is in the hospital under police supervision.
A group of angry people outside the church fought with the emergency workers and demanded that they give them the person they thought was the attacker.
New South Wales state Police Commissioner Karen Webb said a 19-year-old man, who was not a church member, was charged because of his part in the riot.
“Many people joined in the riot. ” Webb said it is really bad and gross during a news talk.
Additional investigators have been given the job to look into the riot. It hurt around 50 officers and ruined 20 police cars.
Bishop Emmanuel told his church members to stay calm and follow the law.
The police are checking things, and the Bondi mall opened on Thursday so people can go inside to honor the victims. The stores are still closed, and there are flowers laid out on the second floor. Businesses can start trading again from Friday.
“We’ve moved from being very surprised to not believing what happened to feeling very sad, and it will take a long time for people to understand and accept it,” said Paula Masselos, who is in charge of the local council, in an interview with ABC TV.
She said there will be a gathering with candles on Sunday, and there are many flowers and bouquets at a memorial that was made quickly. -
VIDEO: Ghanaian pastor rescues child from burning car in Maryland (USA)
A video circulating on social media has captured the dramatic rescue of a child from a burning vehicle.
The cause of the fire remains unknown, as does the exact number of individuals trapped inside before the rescue efforts began.Passersby can be seen in the video attempting to rescue those trapped in the burning vehicle, as ambulances and firefighters faced delays in arriving at the scene to control the situation.
The video shows a popular Ghanaian Bishop by name Bishop Adonteng Boateng stepping in to rescue a child from the engulfing flames, despite the child suffering burns.
Additionally, another woman was rescued from the vehicle, although the total number of people rescued remains uncertain.The video has sparked widespread discussion on social media, with many praising the Bishop’s heroic actions while others criticize the delayed response of emergency services.
Watch video below:
BREAKING NEWS: LIVE – Bishop Adonteng Boateng rescues a child from burning car In Maryland (USA)
— WithAlvin 🇬🇭 (@withAlvin__) April 8, 2024
Is Bishop Adonteng the same man that said Bola Ray will some day be President? pic.twitter.com/3VQqlF8lqO -
I was nearly poisoned – Ajagurajah
Leader behind the Ajagurajah Movement, Bishop Kwabena Asiamah, known popularly as Ajagurajah recently revealed a futile attempt on his life through poisoning, crediting his survival to divine intervention.
In response to the close call, Bishop Asiamah has adopted vigilant measures in his dietary choices, opting for water from sealed glass containers to prevent potential tampering.During a candid TikTok live session, Ajagurajah shed light on the broader scope of poisoning, dispelling the notion that it is limited to food or drink.
“Someone tried to poison me. The person was in my circle… Because of that encounter, I’ve been drinking water from a glass container so that no one can inject anything into it,” he explained during a TikTok live session.
He warned against complacency, citing various unconventional methods employed by individuals seeking to cause harm.
Additionally, Bishop Asiamah recalled issuing a prior caution on such threats, lamenting that his advice had been overlooked.The religious leader specifically addressed the unconventional dangers associated with intimate encounters, pointing out how some individuals use unorthodox means to poison others.
In light of this revelation, he urged members of the Ajagurajah Movement to exercise caution and issued a public plea for heightened awareness to protect against potential harm.Watch video below:
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Sex workers faced reduced income during COVID-19 but Akufo-Addo did not reduce salaries – Bishop
Former Methodist Bishop of Obuasi Diocese, Bishop Stephen Bosomtwe Ayensu, responded to questions regarding his and other religious leaders’ reluctance to criticize the Nana Addo-led administration for its shortcomings, as they did during the tenure of former President John Mahama.
He stated that President Akufo-Addo’s government has been doing its best to manage the country despite the challenges and that global factors, including the COVID-19 pandemic, have contributed to the difficulties.
Bishop Ayensu also defended his previous criticisms of former President Mahama, citing economic challenges during that time, and expressed his view that the current administration has performed better compared to the previous NDC government.
“Thank you for making reference to such stories where I gave it to Mahama. It is good to reference such records. It helps by giving us an opportunity to recollect the past.
“When you go into an examination hall, you answer the questions with the expected answers and not different answers. When journalists call me for an interview, I provide answers based on the questions they ask me. If you have good intentions or bad ones and you ask your questions, I will respond with my answers.”
Under Mahama, I responded by providing answers to the kinds of questions I was asked. Those who conduct the interviews also have their agenda.”
In regard to the Akufo-Addo administration’s performance, Bishop Ayensu pointed out that the indicators and government’s overall performance should be assessed truthfully. He acknowledged that the outbreak of COVID-19 was devastating and had severe repercussions, emphasizing the importance of focusing on the handling and impact of such crises. Bishop Ayensu noted that, when examining the records, it becomes evident that President Akufo-Addo’s government had performed well until the onset of COVID-19.
He also highlighted that even sex workers experienced reduced income during this challenging period, yet the Akufo-Addo government maintained worker salaries without reductions.
“Things became so difficult that even commercial sex workers had their payments reduced. But the government did not reduce the salaries and wages of workers. Those who did not even go to work were paid their salaries. We were provided with free water and electricity. From the perspective I am speaking from, I believe things were going well until the global crisis came in,” he said
He continued by saying that the president has told us that he is working to fix the issues and has openly acknowledged that things were challenging.
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Stop describing rich people as thieves – Bishop Tackie-Yarboi
The Presiding Bishop of Victory Bible Church International, Bishop N. A. Tackie-Yarboi, has admonished Pastors and Christians to desist from describing rich people as thieves.
According to Bishop Tackie-Yarboi, many wealthy people worked very hard day and night for their money and properties and therefore cannot be called thieves.
“Some people may acquire their monies through dubious means but not all rich people are thieves,” he noted.
He made the statement during an annual gathering of the congregants dubbed Wonderful Jesus at the VBCI Headquarters, Accra Ghana.
He was preaching on the topic; “Clarifying Unmerited Favour and Merited Favour” emphasising that man needs to work hard to provoke blessings.
“Unmerited favour is only for our salvation but for the rest of everything in life you have to work for it. Remember God doesn’t come down himself but uses people and
the only favour we don’t merit is our salvation,” he explained.Quoting from the book of Luke 2:40, he admonished the congregants to seek for wisdom and understanding about how the world system is operating.
Bishop Tackie-Yarboi added that, “after you have been saved, then every favour you must get, you have to work for it.”
He finally charged Christians to stop being timid and cowards and get up to fight for higher positions.