CNN correspondent, crew detained and escorted from Los Angeles protest zone
Los Angeles(AP): Police detained a CNN correspondent and crew reporting on protests against immigration raids in Los Angeles, calling into question whether law enforcement has been targeting journalists trying to cover the demonstrations after two other journalists were hit by rubber bullets.
Video of the CNN crew's encounter broadcast by the network on Monday shows correspondent Jason Carroll and a colleague speaking to a Los Angeles police officer who explains that they must leave. The officer said they were not being arrested, given that they are members of the press, but that officers must remove them from the scene. He warned they would be arrested if they returned.
The reporters are seen putting their hands behind their backs before officers escort them away.
Carroll explained later that he was asked to put his hands behind his back. He said officers didn't put zip ties on him, but did grab both his hands as they escorted him from the area. Police asked for his name and other basic information. When he asked if he was being arrested, they said he was not, but he was being detained.
Members of the press take some risks and this was low on that scale of risks, Carroll said.
“But it is something that I wasn't expecting, simply because we've been out here all day,” he said.
The National Press Club called on Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell and Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna to stop targeting, detaining, or obstructing journalists, and to guarantee that journalists can safely report on the demonstrations. It also called on them to investigate and hold those responsible accountable.
“Police cannot pick and choose when the First Amendment applies. Journalists in Los Angeles were not caught in the crossfire — they were targeted,” National Press Club President Mike Balsamo said in a statement. Balsamo is law enforcement news editor for The Associated Press.
On Sunday, Australian journalist Lauren Tomasi was shot in the leg by a rubber bullet while reporting live, with a microphone in her hand, from protests in downtown Los Angeles. The shooting occurred after a tense afternoon in which the 9News correspondent and her crew were caught between riot police and protesters.
Video of the event shows an officer behind Tomasi suddenly raising a firearm and firing a nonlethal round at close range. Tomasi cries out in pain and clutches her lower leg as she and her cameraman quickly move away from the police line.
Speaking later to 9News, Tomasi confirmed she was safe and unharmed.
“I'm OK, my cameraman Jimmy and I are both safe. This is just one of the unfortunate realities of reporting on these kinds of incidents,” she said.
Meanwhile, a British photographer remained hospitalised Monday after undergoing surgery for a similar strike to the thigh Saturday in Paramount, a city south of Los Angeles.
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Middle East-bound flights resume from Thiruvananthapuram
Thiruvananthapuram/Kochi (PTI): Flights to the Middle East resumed early Tuesday morning from Thiruvananthapuram International Airport, following the reopening of airspace in the region after a brief closure, according to airport sources.
Emirates, Etihad Airways, and Air Arabia were among the first to resume operations.
Flights bound for Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Sharjah operated by the three carriers landed and departed in the early hours without disruption, airport sources said.
However, several scheduled services were cancelled earlier in the morning as the situation stabilised, they said.
Affected services included Air India Express flights to Muscat, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi, Dammam, and Dubai.
Qatar Airways' Doha-bound flight, Kuwait Airways' service to Kuwait, and IndiGo's flight to Sharjah were also cancelled, they said.
To manage the passenger backlog and assist those affected, airport authorities have set up additional seating arrangements and service counters at Terminal 2.
Extra staff have been deployed to support passenger handling and provide on-ground assistance, they added.
Several flights were delayed, cancelled or diverted at Cochin International Airport also late Monday night, after the closure of Qatar's airspace amid the rising tensions in the West Asia, authorities added.
As per the CIAL advisory issued at 3.00 am, the operation of at least 17 flights was affected due to the situation.
