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Pentagon locked down due to 'hazardous materials incident', floors evacuated

A Pentagon spokesperson said that authorities are working to evacuate employees due to an air quality issue.

Ateneo opens independent probe, seeks ‘absolute truth’ in fatal drowning

MANILA, Philippines — The Ateneo de Manila University’s Board of Trustees ordered an independent fact-finding investigation to ensure an impartial, thorough and careful review of the circumstances surrounding the deaths of student-athletes Rene Clert Baterbonia and Chukwuemeka Divine Adili. “This inquiry will exhaustively examine the circumstances surrounding the incident, reconstruct a transparent timeline, review all

Pentagon locked down after hazardous material incident under mysterious circumstances

Pentagon locked down after hazardous material incident under mysterious circumstances Multiple floors and corridors of the United States Department of Defense building, also known as the Pentagon, have been put under lockdown after a hazardous material in the air was detected. The Pentagon...

CIDG seeks lookout order vs persons of interest in Ateneo drowning case

MANILA, Philippines — The Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) has asked the Department of Justice (DOJ) to issue an immigration lookout bulletin order against several persons of interest in the drowning incident involving the Ateneo de Manila University men’s basketball team. “We requested one from the Department of Justice to prevent certain persons of

DoE probes orange smoke emissions in Pasir Gudang

The department says the air quality readings at two nearby schools remained normal following the incident.

Pentagon partially locked down after 'hazardous materials incident'

Pentagon under partial lockdown due to 'hazardous materials incident'

Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said a “shelter-in-place order” had been issued.

États-Unis : le Pentagone placé en confinement après un « incident lié à des substances dangereuses »

Partial lockdown at Pentagon after 'hazardous materials incident' reported

The Arlington County Fire Department said it is currently operating at the Pentagon.

États-Unis : des parties du Pentagone bouclées et évacuées en raison d’un «incident impliquant des matières dangereuses»

Un problème de qualité de l’air nécessitant des mesures de précaution a été détecté dans cet édifice qui abrite, à Washington, le quartier général du département de la Défense.

Pentagon floors on lockdown after 'hazardous materials' incident

The building's systems detected an "air quality issue", a Pentagon spokesperson said, prompting a response from hazmat teams.

Pentagon "hazardous materials incident" prompts response from hazmat crews

Hazmat crews deployed to the Pentagon on Thursday and a shelter-in-place was in effect for what authorities described as a "hazardous materials incident."

Ateneo coaches, players subpoenaed over drowning incident — DILG

MANILA, Philippines — The coaches and players of the Ateneo de Manila University men’s basketball team present during the drowning incident at a supposed training activity have been subpoenaed, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) announced. “Subpoenas have been issued to the coaches and players present during the activity as part of

Pentagon evacuation live updates: Hazmat crews respond to ‘air quality incident’ with some floors still on lockdown

The Pentagon’s systems detected an ‘air quality issue’

Novo Nordisk hit by cyber incident, probes data breach

Hazmat crews respond to ‘hazardous materials incident’ at the Pentagon

Virginia emergency crews deployed to the Pentagon on Thursday morning for what authorities described as a “hazardous materials incident.”Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell confirmed that “sophisticated systems” had “detected an air quality issue necessitating precautionary measures until we determine its significance.”“The Department is executing standard protection protocols, including a shelter-in-place order for the affected area,” Parnell added, referring to the Defense Departme

SC sets aside order closing Imran’s right to defence in Rs10bn defamation suit by PM Shehbaz

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court, by a majority of two to one, on Thursday set aside its Dec 29, 2022 order endorsing the closure of the right to defence of PTI founder Imran Khan in the Rs10 billion defamation suit filed by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. In April, the apex court had resumed hearing a review petition filed by PTI founder and former premier against the closure of his right to defence in the Rs10 billion defamation case. Headed by Justice Ayesha A. Malik, a three-judge SC bench also comprising Justice Muhammad Hashim Khan Kakar and Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim took up a set of review petitions filed by Imran Khan, also a former prime minister. Justice Kakar, however, dissented from the majority judgment. Overturning the earlier judgments of the LHC as well as the trial court, the SC remanded the matter back to the trial court with the direction to provide the petitioner (Imran Khan) a reasonable opportunity to file his reply to the interrogatories and to proceed with the suit in accordance with law. Authored by Justice Ibrahim, the majority judgment on Thursday recalled that Imran’s challenge to the earlier judgment was primarily anchored on two pivotal legal infirmities: first, the illegitimacy of relying on past conduct as a retrospective basis for a penal sanction; and second, the absence of a formal application as a mandatory jurisdictional prerequisite for the invocation of Order XI, Rule 21 of the Civil Procedure Code (CPC). Justice Ibrahim observed that Order XI, Rule 21 of the CPC was not a routine tool of case management; it was the “death knell” of a party’s defence, as its nature was strictly penal. “The law does not favour the forfeiture of a substantive right of defence on a technicality unless the conduct of the party is proved to be contumacious, obstinate and stubbornly defiant.” When a court contemplates a measure that deprives a person of their fundamental right of defence, a right that is anchored in the constitutional guarantee of a fair trial under Article 10A, it must exhibit the utmost judicial restraint and proceed with absolute caution, Justice Ibrahim emphasised. He also observed that the trial court, in its orders of November 8 and 17, had explicitly acknowledged and accepted Imran’s inability to respond to interrogatories due to a critical injury sustained in a widely reported shooting incident that happened on Nov 3, 2022. Once the trial court accepted the factum of the shooting incident on Nov 8, 2022, the element of “wilfulness” was legally extinguished, the judgment said, while noting, “But on Nov 24, 2022, the trial court abruptly shifted its stance, striking out petitioner’s defence despite continued existence of the same medical incapacity.” “When a party is hospitalised due to gunshot wounds, the failure to sign an affidavit or consult with counsel is a physical impossibility and not a contumacious act,” Justice Ibrahim observed. “The law does not compel a man to do what he cannot possibly perform; thus a default occasioned by a physical catastrophe or force majeure that includes circumstances entirely beyond a party’s control, cannot be characterised as wilful or contumacious as was the case at hand.,” stated the judgement. Justice Ibrahim further observed that the trial court had acted “mechanically” in imposing this penalty upon the petitioner and that the earlier majority judgment erred in the analysis of this fact. The judgment conceded that the former prime minister indeed sought numerous adjournments since the inception of the proceedings, as rightly pointed out by the earlier majority judgment. However, it was pertinent to note that the trial court saw fit to grant them without ever resorting to the lesser penalties available in the judicial quiver. “Had the court truly determined that the petitioner was employing strategic delay tactics, it was empowered to ensure the expeditiousness of justice through the imposition of high costs or peremptory orders with realistic timeframes.” “Instead, the trial court remained dormant in its disciplinary capacity for years, only to jump to the most extreme penalty on Nov 24, 2022, less than a month after the documented firing incident. Such an approach ignores the principle of proportionality as the judiciary’s duty to ensure expeditious justice does not grant a license to commit summary injustice,” Justice Ibrahim observed. Thus, the judgment said that the earlier majority judgment suffers from errors apparent on the face of the record, which have resulted in a manifest miscarriage of justice, adding that the “judgment erred fundamentally in validating the invocation of Order XI, Rule 21 of the CPC based upon a retrospective evaluation of petitioner’s past conduct, while ignoring the immediate and compelling medical incapacity resulting from the assassination attempt”. Meanwhile, Justice Malik, in her additional note, observed that in a case plagued by adjournments since 2017, the trial court should weigh the “balance between a fair trial and the legitimate grounds for the latest request for adjournment”. “The courts are entrusted with the responsibility to dispense justice, for which they are under a duty to ensure a timely trial, which duty may have been overlooked in some of the previous instances of adjournment where requests were granted mechanically and without due consideration,” she maintained. However, Justice Malick said the petitioner’s public shooting and injury at a political rally justified the grant of an adjournment for a reasonable time under the circumstances. “The right to defence cannot be struck out without considering all relevant factors, and the court must weigh the balance between a fair trial and the circumstances at hand,” Justice Malik said. Justice Kakar, in his dissenting note, observed that the case at hand was a classic case of delay on the part of the petitioner and of the trial court’s inability to conclude the lis within a reasonable time. “Record reveals that the suit was instituted in the year 2017, whereas the written statement was filed after a delay of about four years,” Justice Kakar observed, adding the interrogatories were made on March 16, 2022, and despite availing of 5 to 6 opportunities, the petitioner failed to respond to the same. “As per order sheet of April 26, 2022, answers to the interrogatories was ready and the draft was only required to be signed by the senior counsel, however, on next date of hearing, instead of answering the interrogatories in compliance of the trial court directions and previous under taking, once again objections were filed just to delay the proceedings,” he wrote, while pointing that “Such conduct on the part of petitioner was apparently wilful disobedient, Justice Kakar observed. The trial court, through its order of October 20, 2022, dismissed the petitioner’s objections to the interrogatories of the respondent and directed him to submit answers to those interrogatories. Later, through a subsequent order dated Nov 24, 2022, the trial court struck off the petitioner’s right of defence due to non-submission of answers to the interrogatories. In his suit filed in 2017, PM Shehbaz said Imran levelled baseless allegations against him. He sought a decree for the recovery of Rs10bn as compensation from the defendant for the publication of defamatory content. The defamation suit said Imran wrongly accused PM Shehbaz of offering Rs10bn to the latter through a common friend in exchange for withdrawing the Panama Papers case.

3 Indian sailors confirmed dead in US strike on oil tanker

Three Indian mariners were killed on board a tanker struck by U.S. forces earlier this week over allegedly violating Washington’s blockade on the Strait of Hormuz, according to New Delhi. Indian Ports, Shipping and Waterways Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said the three people were killed in the “tragic incident” aboard the Palau-flagged MT Settebello. The seafarers...

Pentagon on lockdown, HAZMAT crews rush in over ‘hazardous materials incident’

The Pentagon is on lockdown Thursday as emergency workers respond to the Department of War’s headquarters for a “hazardous materials incident,” Arlington County Fire and EMS said in a post to X. “ACFD units, including our Hazardous Materials Team, are currently operating at the Pentagon in support of PFPA’s Hazmat Team during a hazardous materials...

Brad Lander found not guilty of charges in incident at immigration detention center in New York

A New York judge ruled Thursday that congressional hopeful Brad Lander is not guilty of misdemeanor charges against him related to a September inspection attempt at an immigration holding facility in Manhattan.“In a loss for the fascists, a federal judge ruled that Brad Lander is NOT guilty in the trial resulting from his arrest by ICE last year at 26 Federal Plaza,” Lander wrote in a social media statement.