WASHINGTON

Federal agents took a retired firefighter into custody Thursday who is accused of throwing a fire extinguisher and striking three police officers during last week's siege of the US Capitol by President Donald Trump's supporters.  

Robert Sanford, 55, of Pennsylvania was charged Wednesday before being taken into custody on one count each of entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority, disorderly or disruptive conduct on Capitol grounds, civil disorder and assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers while they were engaged in the performance of official duties.

The extinguisher ultimately hit all three of the officers in the head, one of whom was not wearing a helmet at the time he was struck, according to the Justice Department. Bystander video of the incident was captured on the scene and has circulated on social media.

The case is being prosecuted by the US attorney in Washington, D.C. and the department's national security counterterrorism office.

Trump was impeached for a second time on Wednesday. The House of Representatives on Wednesday overwhelmingly approved a single article of incitement of insurrection against the outgoing leader.

The case will not be taken up against the president until after he leaves office next Wednesday, but it could still have far-reaching consequences for the benefits he is entitled to as a commander-in-chief. Should he be convicted, the Senate is likely to take up a follow-on measure that would seek to prevent him from running for public office again./aa

BALIKESIR, Turkey

A married couple in the town of Bandirma in Turkey’s northwestern Balikesir province sold their home to rent a boat and spend the four seasons at sea.

55-year-old Hukumsur and 50-year-old Zumrut Canarslan decided to live on a boat when Hukumsur retired six years ago.

Selling their home and renting a 1989 model boat dubbed “Baray” for 10 years, the couple has been living at sea for six years.

The boat has a bedroom, a kitchen, a bathroom and a toilet on the ground floor.

The couple spend their time near the town of Marmaris in Mugla province and the bays around there.

Coming to Bandirma to see their two daughters, Hukumsur told Anadolu Agency they have been living with normal home standards on the boat.

“We will spend the winter in Bandirma. We will be here until April. We live in a beautiful region, in nature. Sometimes we visit the Greek islands.

“Just like all sailors, we dream of voyaging on an ocean. We want to go to at least the Canary Islands,” he added.

His wife, Zumrut, said she is happy to be living on the sea.

“We are very happy on our 12-meter-long boat, in our blue world,” she said.

She added that her husband is a professional captain and she holds an amateur mariner certificate, which allows her to navigate her own boat.

Noting that they are not “land people,” she said they chose to live on a boat, which is no different than living in a home, to be nested on the sea.

“The landscape we live in is gorgeous. We have always dreamed of oceans,” she said. “We live a small but happy life on out boat. We are free because we can travel anywhere.”/aa

With COVID-19 death toll in Europe exceeding 600,000 and still climbing, the World Health Organization's European head on Thursday said people have new tools to face a "challenging start" that needs vigilance despite some stabilization in the number of infections.

"Transmission across the region has sustained at very high rates of infection," Hans Kluge said at a virtual news conference, speaking for the massive region which extends across Europe from the Arctic to the Russian Far East.

"Where there are signs of stabilization or even decreased incidence in some countries, this needs to be taken with some caution," said Kluge, reminding over 580,000 confirmed COVID-19 deaths in 2020 and more than 280 million people living in countries under full national lockdown.

The impact of the recent holiday period, including gatherings of families, communities, and any relaxation of physical distancing and mask-wearing behavior, cannot yet be determined, he stressed.

Kluge said: "One year from WHO's first news report about this virus, we have new tools at our disposal and considerably more knowledge.

"But we remain in the grip of COVID-19, as cases surge and we tackle new challenges brought by the mutating virus," he said.

The WHO chief said it was a scenario in which "science, politics, technology and values must form a united front, to push back this persistent and elusive virus."

This year brings new tools, such as the vaccine, but the virus also poses new challenges as COVID-19 has changed over time, Kluge said, stressing that the new variant is "not unexpected."

"This is a normal evolution of a virus which tries to adapt to its host, which is the human being. In this case, for the UK variant."

He said: "I do understand the concern around the possible impact of the SARS CoV-2 Variant of Concern (VOC) 202012/01 on our shared public health with 25 countries in the WHO European region, including Russia, reporting the new strain."

Kluge noted that the variant is "of concern" due to its increased transmissibility.

"So far, we understand there is no significant change to the disease this variant produces, meaning the COVID-19 is not more, nor less, severe. It spreads across all age groups, and children do not appear to be at higher risk."

Kluge said the WHO currently has no evidence that the new variant is causing more severe disease or less.

"So, it's not going to bring a second pandemic, or it is not going to change the way to fight the virus."

"As of today, there is no evidence that the vaccines which are approved will not work, but this is something that we continue to follow and to be very, very vigilant about.

"Ultimately, it is a cruel reminder that the virus is still with us, and 2021 will be another year of the coronavirus, but it will be more manageable, more predictable.

Kluge said that for the COVID-19 vaccine rollout, 95% of the 23.5 million doses of vaccines administered globally have been in 10 countries.

"To date, 31 countries in the WHO European region have started rolling out vaccination campaigns," he said.

WHO is making "huge efforts to get the vaccines into every country."

"Collectively, we simply cannot afford to leave any country, any community behind."/aa

The US added two Chinese companies to its blacklist, claiming they threaten national security, according a statement Thursday by the Commerce Department.

The Chinese National Overseas Oil Corporation (CNOOC) was added to the US' economic list and Skyrizon was added to the military end-user list.

"Both companies threaten US national security, CNOOC by helping China intimidate neighbors in the South China Sea and Skyrizon for its capability to develop, produce, or maintain military items, such as military aircraft engines," the statement said.

Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said Beijing's actions to acquire intellectual property and technology for its militarization efforts are a threat to the US' national security and the security of the international community.

Intellectual property and technology transfer have been significant but unresolved issues between Washington and Beijing that have engaged in a trade conflict during President Donald Trump’s administration.

Before he leaves office Jan. 20, Trump has intensified pressure on Chinese companies, including TikTok and WeChat apps, and has tried to delist several that traded on the New York Stock Exchange. /aa

French data privacy watchdog National Commission for Informatics and Liberties (CNIL) on Thursday sanctioned the Interior Ministry over illegal use of drones for surveillance in police operations and against civilian demonstrators, and ordered it to immediately cease their use until a formal framework is devised for their authorization.

The CNIL’s criticism followed the Dec. 22 order of the Council of State -- the highest administrative court -- prohibiting Paris police from using drones for surveillance in public places and infringing privacy rights. The sanction procedure initiated by the CNIL bans the use of drones across the French national territory and applies to all services of the ministry, to prevent or detect criminal offenses, carry out investigations, and prosecute perpetrators.

The ban will be enforced until a framework of processing of personal data or a technical system preventing any identification of persons is implemented, it said.

Issuing a call to order against the ministry, the CNIL in a statement said the ministry had breached several provisions of the Data Protection Act by collecting, transmitting, and processing images containing personal data.

It noted that so far no official text authorized the ministry nor did it inform the public about use of drones equipped with cameras, capturing images on which people are identifiable.

Last May, both the CNIL and the Council of State had passed an order banning the use of drones in respect of the security rules imposed during confinement. The regulatory body, however, noted the police and gendarmerie continued their use.

It held that the law enforcement agencies' claim of deploying the mechanism of blurring the images of people “cannot be performed directly by the drone” and it does not “necessarily prevent the identification of people.” The ministry also saves the images before the blurring is applied and it can also de-activate the blurring if it wants to, the statement pointed out.

At a law commission hearing on Jan. 12 on the controversial Global Security Law, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin defended the use of drones by the police as private individuals had the right to its use. He said: "I would be surprised if only the police do not have the right to use them."/aa

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia

Former Ethiopian Foreign Minister Seyoum Mesfin, was killed in a shootout Wednesday, according to a local news agency.

Defunct Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) members Asmelash Woldeselassie, Abbay Tsehaye and Col. Kiros Hagos were also killed when the four men defied commands to surrender, state-run Ethiopian News Agency quoted Brig. Gen. Tesfaye Ayalew in a statement.

The four were killed, along with their guards, as they opened fire on an Ethiopian National Defense Forces and Federal Police search team on the banks of Tekezze River in Western Tigray.

Seyoum led and organized an insurrection attempt by TPLF "junta" members against the administration of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed who came to power in 2018.

The dead leaders were from a group who organized an attack Nov. 3 perpetrated by TPLF forces against the Northern Command of the federal army, according to Tesfaye, who is the head of the deployment department with the Ethiopian National Defense Forces,

An operation to apprehend TPLF militants and operatives is underway as more fighters are hiding in the northernmost region of Tigray that is being governed by an interim administration.

Tesfaye reiterated demands for those in hiding to peacefully surrender.

He said colonels Gebremeskel Gebrekidan, Fisseha Birhane and Zerabiruk Tadesse were captured during the search operation, along with Commander Gebrekidan Asgedom and Mebrahtom Kinde Hailu./aa