Connect with us

Metro

President Kennedy’s Assassination: US releases thousands of secret files

Published

on

n this file photo taken on April 11, 2013, a student walks past a copy of Aaron Shikler’s official portrait of Kennedy which hangs in the White House during a preview of an exhibit devoted to the assassinated US President John F. Kennedy at the Newseum in Washington, DC. Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP

US authorities released thousands of secret files Wednesday on president John F. Kennedy’s assassination, a case that still fuels conspiracy theories despite the official conclusion he was shot by Lee Harvey Oswald.

The CIA and FBI files show US investigators spread their net wide and deep to find out if Oswald conspired with others in the November 22, 1963, murder that shocked the world.

Documents show they chased down myriad leads from Soviet intelligence to African communist groups and the Italian mafia.

They also show the extensive US efforts to spy on and influence the communist government of Fidel Castro in Cuba, which Oswald had contacts with and which Kennedy had sought to overthrow.

The 1,491 documents, many of them lengthy reports, were posted on the JFK Assassination Records page of the National Archives, which already has tens of thousands of record listings related to Kennedy’s death and the investigation that followed.

Kennedy’s assassination has long given rise to numerous conspiracy theories that do not accept the official verdict that Oswald worked alone when he shot Kennedy as the young president was rolling through the streets of Dallas, Texas in a convertible limousine.

Some believe Oswald, a communist sympathizer, was put up to it by Cuba or the Soviet Union.

Others believe that anti-Cuba activists, possibly with support in US intelligence or the FBI, had Kennedy killed.

And still, others believe his political rivals could have been at the root of the assassination.

‘Sinister Conspiracies’ 

In this file photo taken on November 08, 2013, a 1964 historic federal law enforcement photo of the post JFK assassination shows FBI agent Robert Frazier reenacting the JFK assassination near its original location at the Texas School Book Depository building in Dallas, Texas.Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP

Four years ago, former President Donald Trump was legally bound by a 1992 law to release the information held back by US intelligence on the subject.

The law requires all government records on the assassination be disclosed “to enable the public to become fully informed.”

Trump declassified more than 53,000 documents in seven tranches, taking the portion of the entire assassination archive available to the public to 88 percent, according to the National Archive.

But Trump left thousands of others under wraps on national security grounds.

This year, President Joe Biden pledged to honor the law, but he too came under fire in October when the White House postponed more releases.

Biden said at the time the delay was necessary “to protect against identifiable harm to the military defense, intelligence operations, law enforcement, or the conduct of foreign relations.”

The White House is now under pressure to complete reviews of the documents before the end of 2022, when they have to be released, unless the government can provide reasons for holding them back.

Philip Shenon, an expert in the Kennedy Assassination dossier, wrote in an article published by Politico on Wednesday that there are probably documents that will never be released for security reasons.

“So long as the government continues to keep some documents hidden, it will only further promote the idea that sinister conspiracies about Kennedy’s death have a basis in fact,” he said.

“Today, QAnon, which the FBI has deemed a domestic terrorism threat, has embraced JFK conspiracy theories,” Shenon added, referring to the US conspiracy movement that has in recent years crept into the mainstream.

Shenon estimated that 15,000 assassination-related documents remain classified, most of them from the CIA and FBI.

Comments

Metro

Red Sea Tragedy: US Pilots Shot Down in ‘Friendly Fire’ Mishap

Published

on

By

A handout picture released by the US Central Command (CENTCOM) on February 15, 2024, shows a shipment the US military said is of Iranian weapons destined for Yemen’s Huthi rebels which its navy seized from a vessel in the Arabian Sea on January 28. (Photo by US Central Command (CENTCOM) / AFP)

Two US Navy pilots were shot down over the Red Sea early Sunday in “an apparent case of friendly fire,” the US military said.

Yemen’s Iran-backed Huthi rebels said later on Sunday they had “targeted” the aircraft carrier USS Harry S Truman a day earlier in an operation that led to “shooting down an F-18 aircraft” and thwarting “American-British aggression” against Yemen.

United States Central Command said late on Saturday that both US pilots were recovered alive but “initial assessments indicate that one of the crew members sustained minor injuries”.

This incident, “was not the result of hostile fire, and a full investigation is underway,” CENTCOM said.

The potentially disastrous mistake underscores the dangers of a mission the United States has been involved in for more than a year to counter Yemen’s Huthi rebels.

The Huthis have repeatedly targeted merchant vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, waterways vital to global trade.

CENTCOM said the guided missile cruiser USS Gettysburg “mistakenly fired on and hit the F/A-18” fighter aircraft, which Navy pilots had flown off the USS Harry S Truman.

On Saturday the United States said it struck targets including a missile storage facility in Yemen’s rebel-held capital Sanaa, hours after a Huthi rebel missile wounded people in Israel’s commercial hub Tel Aviv.

US forces also shot down multiple Huthi attack drones and an anti-ship cruise missile over the Red Sea, CENTCOM said.

“The operation involved US Air Force and US Navy assets, including F/A-18s,” CENTCOM said.

The Huthis say they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, where Israel and Hamas have been at war since October 7, 2023.

Continue Reading

Metro

Death Toll Rises to 22 in Anambra Stampede, As Police Begin Investigation

Published

on

By

 

The death toll from a tragic stampede in Anambra State has risen to 22, local authorities confirmed on Sunday.

The Anambra State Police Command, through its spokesman Superintendent Tochukwu Ikenga, disclosed that the police have commenced an investigation into the incident. Ikenga also stated that several injured victims are receiving medical treatment.

“The Commissioner of Police, Nnaghe Obono Itam, visited the hospital where the victims of the tragic stampede that occurred on December 21, 2024, in Okija, Ihiala Local Government Area, are receiving treatment,” Ikenga said. “Regrettably, 22 people lost their lives. The CP commiserates with the families and friends of the deceased and wishes the injured a quick recovery.”

The stampede occurred on Saturday during a rice distribution event at Amaranta Stadium in Okija. The event, organized by the Obijackson Foundation, was intended to provide relief to residents.

A Pattern of Tragedy

The Anambra incident follows a series of similar tragedies across the country. Earlier in December, a stampede at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Maitama, Abuja, claimed 10 lives. A few days prior, a children’s funfair in Ibadan, Oyo State, ended in disaster, with 35 children losing their lives and six others critically injured.

The string of incidents has raised serious concerns about crowd management during large-scale events in Nigeria. Prominent figures, including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi, have called for urgent reforms.

“It is with a heavy heart and deep sorrow that I receive yet again the heartbreaking news of lives lost in tragic stampedes, this time in Okija, Anambra, and Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory,” Atiku wrote on his X handle late Saturday. “It is imperative that those entrusted with the organization of such large-scale events take the utmost care in crowd management, prioritizing the safety and well-being of all participants.”

Peter Obi, a former governor of Anambra State, lamented the incidents as a reflection of the rising desperation caused by hunger in Nigeria.

“I am deeply saddened and distressed by the tragic loss of lives in desperate searches for food,” Obi wrote on X. “While I will not cast blame, I appreciate the organizers of these events for their kind gestures. However, these tragedies reflect the systemic failures that plague our society.”

A Call for Reform

The recent stampedes underscore the urgent need for better planning and safety protocols at public events. Experts and stakeholders are calling on authorities and event organizers to adopt stringent crowd management strategies to prevent future tragedies.

Meanwhile, families of the victims continue to mourn their loss, as the nation grapples with the deepening economic challenges that have driven many to desperation.

 

Continue Reading

Metro

Grim Friday: Man, Wife, Grandson Perish in Ibadan Fire

Published

on

By

 

A devastating house fire in the Ori-Eru area of Idikan, Ibadan, Oyo State, has claimed the lives of a man, his wife, and their grandson. The incident occurred on Friday at approximately 3:46 PM, leaving the community in mourning.

According to a statement by CSP Olaniyan Jibola of the Mapo Police Division, the fire engulfed the upper floor of a six-room residential storey building.

Preliminary investigations revealed that the victims had used a naked flame to keep their room warm during the cold weather, which tragically led to the fire.

“On arrival, we met the upper floor of a residential building of six rooms on fire. We swiftly swung into action, and the fire was completely extinguished. Unfortunately, the three victims had slept off after putting on the fire and could not escape,” the statement read.

Despite the tragedy, the prompt intervention of the police and a team of Amotekun officials led by Gbenga Akinyemi from the North West Division helped rescue five individuals from the burning building. Fortunately, the fire did not spread to the ground floor or adjacent properties.

The remains of the victims have been recovered, while the rescued individuals are receiving medical attention.

 

 

Continue Reading

Trending