Aussie police get shoot-to-kill power for marauding drivers
Sydney: Police in part of Australia were given shoot-to-kill powers on Monday, to stop drivers who deliberately plough into pedestrians. Eight people have been killed and more than 45 injured in three such attacks in Melbourne, Victoria's state capital and Australia's second-biggest city, since 2017.
Victoria Police said officers will be required to take "decisive action" in response to vehicle attacks -- including ramming cars involved or shooting the driver. Deputy Commissioner Shane Patton said officers had wide powers to stop an attack -- or even the threat of one.
"Any tactical option that currently exists, they can use, but additionally the policy says they can use lethal force," he told reporters in Melbourne. Though Patton said these were "extreme things to include in a policy", he said giving police clarity on exactly what actions they could take was "very important".
"We don't want to wait until a car ploughs into a group of people, we want them to stop it before it occurs," he said. The announcement comes ahead of an inquiry into the deaths of six people killed when a driver mowed down shoppers in the heart of Melbourne in January 2017.
It will examine whether police should have prevented the man from getting into the city centre for the attack, which left 27 others injured. James Gargasoulas was jailed for life for the murders, which police determined were not terror-related. The new hostile vehicle policy, which comes into force immediately, is the first of its kind in Australia.
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Does PM Modi support head of state's assassination as way to define world order: Rahul
New Delhi (PTI): Amid the US-Israel-Iran conflict, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi must speak up and answer as to whether he supports the assassination of a head of state as a way to define the world order.
He said the unilateral attacks on Iran, as well as Iran's attacks on other Middle Eastern nations, must be condemned.
"Silence now diminishes India’s standing in the world," the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha said on X.
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His remarks come days after Iran confirmed that its Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, had been assassinated in targeted strikes carried out the previous day by the United States and Israel.
Gandhi said escalating hostilities between the United States, Israel and Iran are pushing a fragile region toward wider conflict.
Crores of people, including nearly a crore Indians, face uncertainty, he said.
"While security concerns are real, attacks that violate sovereignty will only worsen the crisis. The unilateral attacks on Iran, as well as Iran's attacks on other Middle Eastern nations, must be condemned. Violence begets violence -- dialogue and restraint remain the only path to peace," the former Congress chief said.
"India must be morally clear. We should have the courage to speak plainly in defence of international law and human lives. Our foreign policy is rooted in sovereignty and the peaceful resolution of disputes -- and it must remain consistent," Gandhi said.
He said PM Modi must speak up.
Does he support the assassination of a head of state as a way to define the world order, Gandhi asked.
The United States and Israel launched a major attack on Iran on Saturday, with US President Donald Trump calling on the Iranian public to seize control of their destiny and rise against the Islamic leadership that has ruled their country since 1979.
