LONDON – The man accused of a murder that has brought campaigning in the country’s European Union referendum to a standstill turned his first court appearance Saturday into a chilling spectacle by refusing to state his real identity.
Asked his name in Westminster Magistrate’s Court, Thomas Mair said: “My name is death to traitors, freedom for Britain.”
The 52-year-old Mair, accused of murdering British Labour Party lawmaker Jo Cox, also refused to reveal his address or his date of birth.
His bizarre performance prompted Deputy Chief Magistrate Emma Arbuthnot to order a psychiatric report into Mair’s mental state that may influence how the case against him proceeds.
BRUSSELS – Belgian authorities have raided dozens of homes and held 12 suspects in a major anti-terror investigation they said required “immediate intervention” because they feared an attack could have been close.
Across Belgium parties were held Saturday to watch live broadcasts of the country’s soccer team playing Ireland at the European Championships in neighboring France, and some media said such events could have been the targets. Belgium won 3-0, and no major incidents were reported during the game.
Prime Minister Charles Michel said the nation would remain “extremely vigilant, hour by hour,” but that the terror level across the nation would remain at the second-highest level, meaning a threat of an attack “is possible and likely.” Belgium has been living under such a threat level since the November attacks in Paris, some of whose perpetrators were either Belgian nationals or had lived in Brussels. On March 22, attacks on the Brussels subway and airport killed 32.
“It will be the case in the coming hours that we will take additional and adapted measures,” said Michel after a meeting of the nation’s security council. He refused to elaborate on the nature of the threat.
The federal prosecutor’s office said Saturday that homes and car ports were searched in 16 municipalities, mostly in and around Brussels. The statement said there were no major incidents during the raids and that no arms or explosives were found.
NEW YORK – Presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton is a grandmother twice over.
Chelsea Clinton announced on Twitter on Saturday that she has given birth to her second child, son Aidan.
The 36-year-old daughter of former President Bill Clinton and current presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton lives in New York.
She and her hedge fund manager husband Marc Mezvinsky have a 20-month-year-old daughter named Charlotte.
BAGHDAD – Iraqi forces gained control of the main hospital in Fallujah on Saturday and were clearing mines after driving the Islamic State group from most of the city, one of its last remaining strongholds in the Anbar province west of Baghdad, a military official said.
Fighting was still underway in parts of the city, where U.S. and Iraqi warplanes targeted snipers and other IS positions, Brig. Gen. Haider al-Obeidi told The Associated Press.
Troops had cautiously advanced toward the hospital, fearing that the militants would use patients as human shields, but when they stormed the facility they found no patients inside, he said, adding that the Iraqi flag has been raised over the building.
The troops later captured the Dubbat neighborhood and are now pushing into the northern neighborhood of Golan and several small areas, he said.
Associated Press
