Headline

US Missionary Couple In Their 20’s Killed In Haiti Gang Violence

Published

1 year ago

May 25, 2024

Editor

A United States missionary couple were among three people killed in Haiti as widespread gang violence continues to plague the country.

Natalie Lloyd, 21, her 23-year-old husband David, and Jude Montis, a 20-year-old Haitian, were ambushed by gunmen as they left a church.

The couple’s deaths were confirmed on Facebook by Natalie’s father, Missouri State Senator Ben Baker.

“They were attacked by gangs this evening and were both killed,” he wrote. “They went to heaven together.”

According to BBC, the couple were married in 2022.

Their organisation, Missions in Haiti, confirmed to US media that Mr Montis was the third victim.

In an earlier Facebook post, the organisation said that the three were attacked by two separate armed groups, beginning with an attack by gunmen in three vehicles.

After another group arrived and a gang member was shot dead, the three missionaries were trapped in a house while the gang went “into full attack mode”, the post added.

“They are holed up in there, the gangs have shot all the windows out of the house and continued to shoot,” the post said.

Missions in Haiti confirmed that all three were dead three hours later, BBC reports.

The state department is aware of the deaths, a spokesperson told the BBC’s US partner CBS.

“We offer our sincerest condolences to the family on their loss,” the spokesperson said. “We stand ready to provide all appropriate consular assistance.”

On X social media platform, Missouri Governor Mike Parson called the deaths “absolutely heart-breaking news”.

The White House on Friday called for the swift deployment of a Kenyan-led multinational force to stabilise the nation.

“The security situation in Haiti cannot wait,” said a National Security Council spokesperson, adding that President Joe Biden had pledged to support the “expedited deployment” of the force in talks with Kenya’s president on Thursday.

“Our hearts go out to the families of those killed as they experience unimaginable grief,” the spokesperson added.

In an interview with the BBC on Friday, Kenyan President William Ruto said this type of incident was part of the reason his country will deploy forces in the country.

“We shouldn’t be losing people. We shouldn’t be losing missionaries. It is the reason why we made this decision – knowing very well that the responsibility for security in Haiti is a shared responsibility,” he said.

“We are doing this to forestall and to stop more people losing their lives to gangs,” he added.

In a similar incident in 2021, 17 North American missionaries were kidnapped and held east of Port-au-Prince.

Kenya police to arrive in Haiti in ‘three weeks’

Five were released and 12 ultimately escaped by using stars for navigation to trek through dense bush.

Missions in Haiti has been operating in the country since 2000, and is largely focused on helping Haitian children.

For weeks, gangs had been carrying out deadly co-ordinated attacks, demanding the resignation of the then Prime Minister Ariel Henry.

He agreed to step down in March. Nine members of the transitional council have now been sworn in to lead the country.

But the gangs have capitalised on the power vacuum left by Mr Henry’s exit and expanded their control over large swathes of the country.

Kenya is due to deploy police forces to Haiti at the head of an international force aimed at helping the country’s transitional authorities restore order.

Earlier this week, the UN children’s agency, Unicef, warned that the violence and widespread malnutrition have brought Haiti’s health system to “the verge of collapse”.

Headline

Antitrust Trial: US Asks Court To Break Up Google’s Ad Business

Published

22 hours ago

September 22, 2025

Editor

Google faces a fresh federal court test on Monday as US government lawyers ask a judge to order the breakup of the search engine giant’s ad technology business.

The lawsuit is Google’s second such test this year, following a similar government demand to split up its empire that was shot down by a judge earlier this month.

Monday’s case focuses specifically on Google’s ad tech “stack” — the tools that website publishers use to sell ads and that advertisers use to buy them.

In a landmark decision earlier this year, Federal Judge Leonie Brinkema agreed with the US Department of Justice (DOJ) that Google maintained an illegal grip on this market.

Monday’s trial is set to determine what penalties and changes Google must implement to undo its monopoly.

According to filings, the US government will argue that Google should spin off its ad publisher and exchange operations. The DOJ will also ask that after the divestitures are complete, Google be banned from operating an ad exchange for 10 years.

Google will argue that the divestiture demands go far beyond the court’s findings, are technically unfeasible, and would be harmful to the market and smaller businesses.

“We’ve said from the start that DOJ’s case misunderstands how digital advertising works and ignores how the landscape has dramatically evolved, with increasing competition and new entrants,” said Lee-Anne Mulholland, Google’s Vice President of Regulatory Affairs.

In a similar case in Europe, the European Commission, the EU’s antitrust enforcer, earlier this month fined Google 2.95 billion euros ($3.47 billion) over its control of the ad tech market.

Brussels ordered behavioral changes, drawing criticism that it was going easy on Google as it had previously indicated that a divestiture may be necessary.

This remedy phase of the US trial follows a first trial that found Google operated an illegal monopoly. It is expected to last about a week, with the court set to meet again for closing arguments a few weeks later.

The trial begins in the same month that a separate judge rejected a government demand that Google divest its Chrome browser, in an opinion that was largely seen as a victory for the tech giant.

That was part of a different case, also brought by the US Department of Justice, in which the tech giant was found responsible for operating an illegal monopoly, this time in the online search space.

Instead of a major breakup of its business, Google was required to share data with rivals as part of its remedies.

The US government had pushed for Chrome’s divestment, arguing the browser serves as a crucial gateway to the internet that brings in a third of all Google web searches.

Shares in Google-parent Alphabet have skyrocketed by more than 20 percent since that decision.

Judge Brinkema has said in pre-trial hearings that she will closely examine the outcome of the search trial when assessing her path forward in her own case.

These cases are part of a broader bipartisan government campaign against the world’s largest technology companies. The US currently has five pending antitrust cases against such companies.

AFP

Headline

Google Faces Court Battle Over Breakup Of Ad Tech Business

Published

22 hours ago

September 22, 2025

Editor

Google faces a fresh federal court test on Monday as US government lawyers ask a judge to order the breakup of the search engine giant’s ad technology business.

The lawsuit is Google’s second such test this year after the California-based tech juggernaut saw a similar government demand to split up its empire shot down by a judge earlier this month.

Monday’s case focuses specifically on Google’s ad tech “stack” — the tools that website publishers use to sell ads and that advertisers use to buy them.

In a landmark decision earlier this year, Federal Judge Leonie Brinkema agreed with the US Department of Justice (DOJ) that Google maintained an illegal grip on this market.
Monday’s trial is set to determine what penalties and changes Google must implement to undo its monopoly.

Google will argue that the divestiture demands go far beyond the court’s findings, are technically unfeasible, and would be harmful to the market and smaller businesses.

In a similar case in Europe, the European Commission, the EU’s antitrust enforcer, earlier this month fined Google 2.95 billion euros ($3.47 billion) over its control of the ad tech market.
Brussels ordered behavioral changes, drawing criticism that it was going easy on Google as it had previously indicated that a divestiture may be necessary.

The trial begins in the same month that a separate judge rejected a government demand that Google divest its Chrome browser, in an opinion that was largely seen as a victory for the tech giant.

That was part of a different case, also brought by the US Department of Justice, in which the tech giant was found responsible for operating an illegal monopoly, this time in the online search space.
Instead of a major breakup of its business, Google was required to share data with rivals as part of its remedies.

The US government had pushed for Chrome’s divestment, arguing the browser serves as a crucial gateway to the internet that brings in a third of all Google web searches.
Shares in Google-parent Alphabet have skyrocketed by more than 20 percent since that decision.

Judge Brinkema has said in pre-trial hearings that she will closely examine the outcome of the search trial when assessing her path forward in her own case.

These cases are part of a broader bipartisan government campaign against the world’s largest technology companies. The US currently has five pending antitrust cases against such companies.

Headline

Peru Anti-government Protesters Clash With Police

Published

2 days ago

September 21, 2025

Editor

Hundreds of anti-government protesters clashed with police in the Peruvian capital Lima on Saturday, throwing stones and sticks as officers fired tear gas on the demonstrators, AFP journalists reported.

The protest, organized by a youth collective called “Generation Z”, is part of growing social unrest in Peru against organized crime, corruption in public office, and a recent pension reform.

“Today, there is less democracy than before. It’s getting worse… because of fear, because of extortion,” said 54-year-old protester Gladys, who declined to give her last name.

Around 500 people gathered in the city center, under heavy police presence.

“Congress has no credibility, it doesn’t even have the approval of the people… It is wreaking havoc in this country,” said protester Celene Amasifuen.

The clashes broke out as demonstrators tried to approach executive and congressional buildings in Lima.

The radio station Exitosa said that its reporter and a cameraman were hit by pellets, commonly fired by law enforcement.

Police said at least three officers were wounded.

Approval ratings for President Dina Boluarte, whose term ends next year, have plummeted amid rising extortion and organized crime cases.

Several opinion polls show the government and conservative-majority Congress are seen by many as corrupt institutions.

This week, the legislature passed a law requiring young adults to join a private pension fund, despite many facing a precarious working environment.