19/06/2026

FRIDAY | JUNE 19, 2026

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Cuba imposes restrictions on public transport

Man charged with raising funds for Hamas NEW YORK: US federal prosecutors announced terrorism charges on Wednesday against a California man for allegedly raising hundreds of thousands of dollars through a fake charity to fund Hamas. Reda Mazen Rida Sabassi will face “terrorism, sanctions-evasion, wire fraud, money laundering and false statement charges in connection with his efforts to divert funds raised through purported charitable campaigns to Hamas and for personal use“, said the US attorney for the Southern District of New York. The 38-year-old San Diego resident is accused of using social media accounts and crowdfunding websites to raise money while falsely promising to send humanitarian aid to people in Gaza, prosecutors said. Reda is also accused of “publicly supporting Hamas online“ and creating “an hour-long propaganda video” to inspire donations in the wake of the attacks against Israel by the Palestinian Islamist group in 2023. In the span of a few months following the attacks, Reda “raised a total of about $600,000 (RM2.45 million) through online fundraising campaigns“, of which prosecutors said about $116,000 was sent “to a Hamas member”. In addition, he attempted to transmit another $382,000 in cryptocurrency to Hamas, prosecutors allege. Reda was arrested on Tuesday in San Diego and faced a federal judge in California. If convicted on all charges, he faces up to 85 years in prison. The 35-page complaint alleges that Reda is “a naturalised US citizen fluent in Arabic” and the profile photo for one of his X accounts “appears to be a photo of (Yahya) Sinwar, the former leader of Hamas who was killed on or about Oct 16, 2024” by Israel’s military. According to the unsealed five-count complaint, prosecutors noted that Reda’s search history included the phrases “Hamas crypto” and “Do crypto wallets track your IP address”. – AFP NEW YORK: An 18-year-old youth died on Wednesday after he fell from a horse-drawn carriage in New York City’s Central Park, authorities confirmed to AFP. New York police said the victim suffered “serious injuries after falling from the carriage” and was taken to the hospital, where he was later pronounced dead. The exact circumstances of the incident are “under investigation“, law enforcement said. Video taken by local news media showed a white carriage tipping over as it appeared to collide with another, with the outlets reporting that the carriage’s horse had bolted after the driver got off the carriage. The presence of horse-drawn carriages in Central Park, a popular tourist attraction, has long drawn criticism from animal rights activists. New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani has said he supports removing the carriages from the park. – AFP LOS ANGELES: Flames swept the roof of a massive warehouse in downtown Los Angeles on Wednesday, quickly spreading across the building’s solar panels, belching thick clouds of smoke and ammonia gas that prompted a shelter-in-place order for nearby residents. The blaze erupted at 2.30pm (2130 GMT) at a Lineage company warehouse in the city’s Boyle Heights neighbourhood, according to Los Angeles Fire Department chief Jaime Moore. The burning building and adjacent structures were safely evacuated, and no injuries were reported, he said, adding that the smoke and ammonia gas were not considered toxic to individuals “unless they have respiratory issues or direct contact with it”. – Reuters TEEN KILLED IN NEW YORK CARRIAGE CRASH WAREHOUSE FIRE TRIGGERS SHELTER-IN-PLACE ORDER

HAVANA: on cross-country travel took effect yesterday in cash-strapped Cuba, with spaces on ever scarcer trains and buses now reserved for the sick, people traveling for funerals and other emergencies. Cuba has been running on empty since the United States in January cut off its fuel imports as part of a pressure campaign aimed at forcing changes to the communist island’s economic model, if not its leaders in Havana. Transport across the island, which was already reeling from the worst economic crisis in memory, has screeched to a near halt as petrol pumps run dry. From yesterday, trains from the capital Havana to cities in the east will only run every 16 days, compared with around three times a o No permits needed for travel but priority system to be enforced, says minister Drastic restrictions

“otherwise he cannot receive treatment”. A few meters away, 60-year-old Jose Manuel Garcia, who is blind in one eye and undergoing treatment for retinal detachment to save the other, was seeking passage home to the city of Santiago de Cuba. He said he fears having to suspend treatment, which is available only in Havana, if getting there proves “so difficult” each time. In Havana, municipal buses have virtually disappeared, leaving most with no option but to walk to work or school in near 40°C heat. With fuel trading hands at around US$8 (RM32) per liter on the black market, even a short taxi ride could swallow most of a civil servant’s wages. “With prices so high, people are staying home,” said Julio Cesar Padron, a 30-year-old driver of a truck that he has repurposed as a 40-seater bus. Alexi Martinez, a 56-year-old public health worker, spends almost all her salary on truck tickets to visit her elderly diabetic mother in Havana. “I have to do it because I am an only child.” – AFP

week previously. Public buses, which used to run at least once daily to provincial cities, will only operate between one and three times a week. Transport Deputy Minister Luis Ladron de Guevara said no permits are needed to travel but a “priority system” would operate. Passengers are required to apply seven days in advance for passage. Cuba has vowed to resist US pressure while announcing reforms to attract investment and compensate for the flight of foreign capital. The restrictions on inter-city transport affect state-run transport, on which most Cubans depend. While small numbers of private taxis and buses continue to serve other cities, they are prohibitively expensive, up to 200 times the price of the state alternative. Outside a state-run bus office in Havana, 51-year-old Madelaine Montero was waiting on Wednesday for a ticket to take her father, an 80-year-old cancer patient, home to Granma, some 750km away in the east. She said he needed to be home 20 days before his next checkup to undergo tests,

BR I E F S

Protest against far-right activist at Oxford Union OXFORD: Several hundred protesters demonstrated in central Oxford on Wednesday after Britain’s far-right figurehead Tommy Robinson arrived to speak at the prestigious Oxford Union society in a debate on Islam. The activist, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, spoke in favour of the motion “The West is right to be suspicious of Islam”. The debate, which also featured former actor and far-right activist Laurence Fox, had been due to happen in May but was postponed over security concerns. Some signs referred to Robinson’s recent visit to Russia, saying: “How many rubles do you cost, Tommy?” and “Putin’s poster boy”. “The Oxford Union should never have invited him,“ said Green Party local councillor Chris Jarvis, who was taking part in the protest. “Everyone is entitled to free speech. What they are not entitled to is a platform and the Oxford Union has chosen to platform far-right figures,“ he said. Oxford City Council head Susan Brown said this week she was “deeply concerned” by the Union’s decision to host Robinson. supporters, including children. Some demonstrators linked arms to block access to the street where the Oxford Union is located to stop ticket holders attending. Police led away two men after scuffles near one of the blocked entrances. Cherwell , a student newspaper, posted a video of the chamber almost empty and reported that the debate started around one and a half hours late. One of the protest organisers, Teige from Oxford Stand Up to Racism, who also asked that his surname be withheld, said it appeared “only a handful of people could get in”. ‘A section of the protesting crowd holding up placards before the start of the debate at the Oxford Union premises.– REUTERSPIC

Previous speakers at the Oxford Union include Malcolm X, the Dalai Lama and Queen Elizabeth II. Protesters, some wearing masks, chanted “Oxford is anti-fascist” and “racist scum off our streets”, carrying placards with slogans including “Don’t debate racism, reject it” and “So much for Union”.

Phoebe, 30, who works in publishing and asked that her surname not be used, said: “I think the legitimisation of these viewpoints is incredibly dangerous.” Police blocked a central shopping street to form a barrier between those protesting the debate and a much smaller group of Robinson

He said he was “delighted” that protests “made it impossible for the audience to get into a racist debate”. In a post on X, Robinson criticised “far-left degenerates blocking anyone wanting to learn or share ideas”. – AFP