(LONDON) — The global number of children forcibly displaced from their homes reached a record 43.3 million by the end of 2022, fueled by conflicts such as the war in Ukraine, according to estimates released Wednesday by the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund.
That figure has doubled in the last decade, UNICEF said, despite efforts to integrate and protect displaced children. Of the 43.3 million children living in forced displacement by the end of last year, 25.8 million — almost 60% — were internally displaced by conflict and violence. Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine forced more than two million Ukrainian children to flee the country and displaced over one million children inside Ukraine, according to the estimates.
Moreover, extreme weather events around the world, including the catastrophic drought in the Horn of Africa and the unprecedented floods in Pakistan, led to another 12 million displacements of children over the course of 2022. The worldwide number of refugee and asylum-seeking children also hit a new high of 17.5 million by the end of last year, according to UNICEF estimates.
“For more than a decade, the number of children forced to flee their homes has risen at an alarming rate, and our global capacity to respond remains under serious strain,” UNICEF executive director Catherine Russell said in a statement Wednesday. “The increase is in step with the consistent onslaught of conflict, crises and climate disasters around the world. But it also highlights many governments’ underwhelming response to ensure every refugee and internally displaced child can keep learning, stay healthy and develop to their full potential.”
Most of these children will spend their entire childhoods in displacement, according to UNICEF. Refugee and internally displaced children are among the most vulnerable, with many denied access to education and health care.
The estimates came as the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees announced Wednesday that the global number of people living in forced displacement has climbed to a record 110 million, spurred by Sudan’s eight-week-old conflict.
“Greater political will is required to address the drivers of displacement and provide long-term solutions for children on the move,” Russell added. “A record number of refugee, migrant and displaced children — a global population that rivals that of Algeria, Argentina or even Spain — demands a commensurate response.”
(ATHENS, Greece) — Rescue efforts are underway after a fishing vessel carrying migrants capsized in the Mediterranean Sea, about 54 miles off the coast of Pylos, Greece.
At least 104 people have been rescued, the Greek Coast Guard said. Early estimates put as many as 700 migrants on board when the boat capsized and began to sink, officials said.
The boat had been launched from Tobruk, Libya, and was headed for Italy, officials said.
The Greek Coast Guard is in charge of the rescue operation.
(TOKYO) — Two people in central Japan are dead after a military recruit allegedly opened fire on his colleagues.
The incident occurred Wednesday at a Ground Self Defense Force-run indoor shooting range during routine, live-fire drills.
The Ground Self-Defense Force at Moriyama Garrison told ABC News that the live-fire pistol and rifle training held at the indoor range were routine and not out of the ordinary. They confirmed the suspect in custody was a candidate participating in the live-fire drill early Wednesday morning local Japan time.
Military authorities at the garrison have confirmed that the men killed were aged 25 and 52, both serving members. Additionally, another victim, a 25-year-old belonging to the same garrison, is currently in serious condition.
The 18-year-old new recruit has admitted to the shooting, police in Gifu, the central Japanese city where the shooting took place, told ABC News.
“Whether or not there was intent or motive is still being investigated. But there was admission of shooting,” they said.
Self-Defense Force candidates are required to take a three-month education and training course before being admitted.
Confessions from suspects in Japan are not uncommon. The rarity of gun violence, however, cannot be overstated owing to the strict control and limited access to firearms for the general populace.
(NEW YORK) — A 51-year-old American living in Moscow was arrested on reported drug trafficking charges last week, according to Russian media. Michael Travis Leake, accused of selling narcotics, appeared on Russian TV in a courtroom cage.
“I am not admitting to any guilt,” Leake said in a video posted on social media by Russian media.
Leake was formally charged with narcotics dealing and placed in pretrial detention for three months, according to Russian news agencies. If convicted, he could face up to 12 years in prison.
Leake’s mother confirmed to ABC News that her son appears in a video that Russian media say shows his arrest. Leake briefly served in the Air Force as a teenager and has lived in Moscow for much of the past decade working as a musician with two Russian rock bands and teaching English, his mother said. She also said she hasn’t heard from her son since Mother’s Day and is concerned for his well-being.
Leake’s reported arrest comes amid a series of detentions of other Americans in Russia on what the U.S. calls “false charges,” including Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former Marine Paul Whelan. The State Department said it’s aware of reports of an American detained in Moscow, but has declined comment otherwise.
Start Here podcast host Brad Mielke spoke to ABC News foreign correspondent Patrick Reevell about the detention and fears about other Americans living in Russia.
BRAD MIELKE: Just a few weeks ago, Brittney Griner played in her first WNBA game back on home soil. Remember, she had been imprisoned over marijuana possession charges in Russia. She pleaded not guilty, but was convicted and sent to a Russian penal colony. The only reason she didn’t serve her full nine-year sentence was because the U.S. made a deal. We got back Griner; they got back a notorious arms trafficker.
At the time, people said this feels like kind of a yucky trade. It was welcome news to Griner and her family, but will Russia try to ransom back more Americans to us?
Well guess what? As Griner is back home, another American has now been arrested on drug charges in Moscow.
ABC’s foreign correspondent Patrick Reevell spent years based there. Patrick, who is this American citizen?
PATRICK REEVELL: Yeah, Hi Brad. So over the weekend, we were monitoring the news and we suddenly saw that an American citizen had been arrested in Moscow. And his name is Michael Travis Leake, and he’s charged with selling drugs. And the first that we learned of it was that he was brought to court, and Russian media showed him in a cage in a court, with the allegations that he had been selling drugs.
And he was not someone who was known to us. He is not a well-known person. He’s not a famous person. He is ultimately an ordinary American, but who has spent a long time living in Russia. He’s been there now since 2010 and has spent most of the past decade, on and off, living in Moscow. And I think one of the main distinguishing features of Travis Leake is that he really loves Russian rock music. In 2014, he appeared in an episode with Anthony Bourdain on his CNN show “Parts Unknown.”
Travis Leake speaks pretty bluntly [in the episode] about his views of how Russia already was and how difficult it was for bands that might try and be critical of the government.
I spoke with the lead singer of a group called Tarakany!, which means “cockroaches” in Russian, and he had known Travis for about 10 years. This band is one that has actually recently been disbanded because they had spoken out publicly against [Russian President Vladimir] Putin and against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. And he actually now lives in exile, when I spoke to him.
MIELKE: And Patrick, is there kind of a sense that subversive music or a subversive scene is part of this that Russia’s factoring in? Or are the drug charges legit or is something else going on here?
REEVELL: So the first thing to say is that we really don’t know if the drug charges against him could be legitimate. Obviously though, the fear, the immediate fear that people have at the moment – because of what has happened to Brittney Griner and also recently to The Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, and before that to Paul Whalen, the former Marine, and before that to the former Marine Trevor Reid, who was freed in a prisoner exchange – because of all those cases, as soon as an American is arrested, there is suddenly this question of, is it going to be another hostage case? Has Russia taken someone yet again to try and pressure the U.S. and to have trades?
And obviously, each time we approach one of these cases, we have to be open-minded. Of course, there are Americans in Russia who do commit crimes, and we simply, for now, don’t know if it’s true that he could be guilty. But it has to be said, a lot of the signs around the case are already disquieting. They already are worrying and resemble some of the things we’ve seen in other cases. I mean, a pro-Kremlin TV channel put out what really can only be described as a hit piece on him after his arrest. The fact of this existence of this hit piece is worrying. I think it suggests that, yes, he could also be taken now as a possible hostage. We’ll have to wait and see. But certainly, there are a lot of signs around the case that are already quite worrying.
MIELKE: This feels like this continues to put the U.S. government in a tougher and tougher position, right? Because you’re making deals to get back a former Marine or then you’re making a deal to get back like a WNBA star, one of the most famous female basketball players who’s ever lived in this country, who’s a symbol unto herself – she’s Black, she’s gay.
But now you’re talking about maybe ex-pats that live in Russia being taken, even if they’re being taken hostage, does the U.S. start making deals for them? At some point, I’m sure there’s a lot of Americans here being like, just don’t travel to Russia, like, not the time. Is it to the point where people just should not be there because they could be next?
REEVELL: So the U.S. State Department, when the war in Ukraine began, when Russia invaded, told Americans to get out of Russia, now. They said you must leave, you should leave, immediately. And, you know, many Americans, many foreigners and frankly, many Russians who oppose Vladimir Putin, who opposed the war, have left. You know, hundreds of thousands of Russians have fled. But equally, you know, and I know this from my friends, it’s a very difficult choice to have to make.
Ultimately, when you are someone like Travis Leake, who’s lived in Russia for ten years and clearly loved it very much, you’re being forced to say goodbye to your home and all the people you know and a place that you love, for something which, he clearly considered himself not to be a political person. You know, he didn’t have any control over Russia’s policy. He doesn’t have any control over America’s policy. And so, you know, it’s easy to say you should just get out now, and I think many people feel you should. But of course, it is always very difficult for every individual person.
MIELKE: Really a disturbing case at this point. But like you said, Patrick, still a lot more details still to come here. Patrick Reevell in London right now. Thank you so much.
(NEW YORK) — More than a year after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of neighboring Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, the countries are fighting for control of areas in eastern and southern Ukraine. Ukraine has begun its long-awaited counteroffensive against Russia, officials told ABC News.
Multiple reports have said a major battle has begun in southeastern Ukraine, south of the major Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Jun 13, 10:08 AM EDT
Russian missiles strike Zelenskyy’s hometown, killing 11
At least 11 people were killed and 28 were injured in Kryvyi Rih, as Russian missiles targeted the city overnight, Ukrainian officials said.
Missiles hit residential buildings, including a five-story apartment building, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said in a Facebook post early Tuesday morning local time.
“More terrorist missiles, Russian killers continue their war against residential buildings, ordinary cities and people,” President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in Ukrainian on Twitter.
One of the Russian missiles that struck Kryvyi Rih hit a storage facility with bottled water destined for Kherson region. Seven people were killed there, including a 17-year-old boy.
Russia also attacked Kyiv with cruise missiles overnight into Tuesday morning. All of the cruise missiles were shot down, the Kyiv city military administration said on Telegram
Air raid sirens were activated across Ukraine early Tuesday morning.
-ABC News’ Yulia Drozd, Joe Simonetti and Ellie Kaufman
Jun 13, 5:52 AM EDT
Russian missiles strike Zelenskyy’s hometown, killing six
At least six people were killed and 25 were injured in Kryvyi Rih, as Russian missiles targeted the city overnight, Ukrainian officials said.
Missiles hit residential buildings, including a five-story apartment building, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said in a Facebook post early Tuesday morning local time.
“More terrorist missiles, Russian killers continue their war against residential buildings, ordinary cities and people,” President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in Ukrainian on Twitter.
Russia also attacked Kyiv with cruise missiles overnight into Tuesday morning. All of the cruise missiles were shot down, the Kyiv city military administration said on Telegram
Air raid sirens were activated across Ukraine early Tuesday morning.
Jun 12, 11:19 AM EDT
Ukraine makes first small gains in counteroffensive
Ukraine is making its first notable advances since the start of its counteroffensive, in the past two days rapidly compelling Russian forces to pull back from three villages on the southern front line.
Russian and Ukrainian public sources confirm Ukraine has liberated the villages in the area known as the Vremeyevskoe salient, at the border of the Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk regions.
The advances are still small but notable because they show Ukraine beginning to pierce Russia’s defensive line. Since liberating the villages, Ukraine is continuing to push south toward another village, according to Russian pro-war bloggers linked to Russia’s military.
Russia’s pro-war military bloggers are sounding the alarm about the Ukrainian advances. Russian units were forced to pull back from two villages, Neskuchnoe and Blagodatnoe, almost without a fight because of the risk of encirclement.
Jun 10, 12:53 PM EDT
Zelenskyy makes first comments on counteroffensive
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made his first public comments on Ukraine’s counteroffensive, which began earlier this week.
“Counteroffensive and defensive actions, accordingly, are taking place in Ukraine, on which stage, I won’t say in detail,” Zelenskyy said.
“I think we should trust our militaries. And I trust them. I am in touch with our commanders of different areas every day: Syrskyi, Tarnavskyi, Moskaliov, Nayev, Zaluzhnyi. Everyone is optimistic. Pass this to [Russian President Vladimir] Putin,” he added.
Jun 09, 9:50 AM EDT
Putin says tactical nukes to be deployed to Belarus after July 7 or 8
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russia will deploy tactical nuclear weapons after July 7 or 8, when storage sites are ready, according to Russian news service Interfax.
“Everything is going to plan in the most sensitive matters you and I have agreed on. As you know, preparations of the relevant facilities will be finalized on July 7-8, and we will start taking measures towards the deployment of respective types of weapons in your territory as soon as that happens,” Putin said at a meeting with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.
“Everything is going to plan, all is stable,” he said.
Jun 09, 9:36 AM EDT
Putin says tactical nukes to be deployed to Belarus July 7-8
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russia will deploy tactical nuclear weapons after July 7 or 8, when storage sites are ready, according to Russian news service Interfax.
“Everything is going to plan in the most sensitive matters you and I have agreed on. As you know, preparations of the relevant facilities will be finalized on July 7-8, and we will start taking measures towards the deployment of respective types of weapons in your territory as soon as that happens,” Putin said at a meeting with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.
“Everything is going to plan, all is stable,” he said.
-ABC News’ Anastasia Bagaeva
Jun 09, 9:19 AM EDT
Counteroffensive begins in southeastern Ukraine, south of Zaporizhzhia
Arguably, Ukraine’s counteroffensive was getting going a few days ago, and the Institute for the Study of War said as much on Monday, saying on Twitter that “Russian and Ukrainian officials are signaling the start of the Ukrainian counteroffensive.”
However, there were significant developments on Thursday. Multiple reports said a major battle has begun in southeastern Ukraine, south of the major Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia.
Well-placed unofficial pro-Ukrainian sources said the southeastern front is becoming more active and there are unconfirmed images and reports that Ukraine’s new modern German-made Leopard 2 tanks are involved in the offensive.
“The events that are happening now on the front line signal the start of the offensive and Ukraine will intensify its efforts,” the head of Russia’s Wagner mercenary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said Thursday morning.
Jun 09, 9:19 AM EDT
Ukraine begins counteroffensive against Russia
Ukraine began its long-awaited counteroffensive against Russia on Thursday, officials told ABC News.
Well-trained Ukrainian troops had been near the front lines in recent days, Western officials said last week.
Two Ukrainian officials, including a source close to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, confirmed to ABC News that an active phase of the Ukrainian counteroffensive is underway.
(LONDON) — A 31-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder after three people were killed in the English city of Nottingham and a van attempted to run over more people early Tuesday morning, police said.
Police were called to Ilkeston Road in the center of the city shortly after 4 a.m. local time and discovered two people dead in the street. Authorities have not disclosed how those individuals were killed.
Shortly after, police officers were called to another incident a short distance away on Milton Street to reports that a van had attempted to run over three people. Those three people were taken to a hospital and are being treated for their injuries though authorities have not released any details on their condition.
Another man was found dead a few blocks away on Magdala Road but no cause of death was given for the third victim.
“This is an horrific and tragic incident which has claimed the lives of three people. We believe these three incidents are all linked and we have a man in custody,” said Chief Constable Kate Meynell in a statement following the incident.
“This investigation is at its early stages and a team of detectives is working to establish exactly what has happened, she continued. “We ask the public to be patient while inquiries continue. At this time, a number of roads in the city will remain closed as this investigation progresses.”
Alex Norris, Labour MP for Nottingham North, said in a statement posted to social media that “our community’s thoughts and prayers are with all those affected. Our gratitude is with our blue light responders for their work today also.”
Police have shut down six roads in the area while police investigate the ongoing issue and the Nottingham Express Transit tram network has also suspended all of its services.
(NEW YORK) — More than a year after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of neighboring Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, the countries are fighting for control of areas in eastern and southern Ukraine. Ukraine has begun its long-awaited counteroffensive against Russia, officials told ABC News.
Multiple reports have said a major battle has begun in southeastern Ukraine, south of the major Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Jun 13, 5:52 AM EDT
Russian missiles strike Zelenskyy’s hometown, killing six
At least six people were killed and 25 were injured in Kryvyi Rih, as Russian missiles targeted the city overnight, Ukrainian officials said.
Missiles hit residential buildings, including a five-story apartment building, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said in a Facebook post early Tuesday morning local time.
“More terrorist missiles, Russian killers continue their war against residential buildings, ordinary cities and people,” President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in Ukrainian on Twitter.
Russia also attacked Kyiv with cruise missiles overnight into Tuesday morning. All of the cruise missiles were shot down, the Kyiv city military administration said on Telegram
Air raid sirens were activated across Ukraine early Tuesday morning.
Jun 12, 11:19 AM EDT
Ukraine makes first small gains in counteroffensive
Ukraine is making its first notable advances since the start of its counteroffensive, in the past two days rapidly compelling Russian forces to pull back from three villages on the southern front line.
Russian and Ukrainian public sources confirm Ukraine has liberated the villages in the area known as the Vremeyevskoe salient, at the border of the Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk regions.
The advances are still small but notable because they show Ukraine beginning to pierce Russia’s defensive line. Since liberating the villages, Ukraine is continuing to push south toward another village, according to Russian pro-war bloggers linked to Russia’s military.
Russia’s pro-war military bloggers are sounding the alarm about the Ukrainian advances. Russian units were forced to pull back from two villages, Neskuchnoe and Blagodatnoe, almost without a fight because of the risk of encirclement.
Jun 10, 12:53 PM EDT
Zelenskyy makes first comments on counteroffensive
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made his first public comments on Ukraine’s counteroffensive, which began earlier this week.
“Counteroffensive and defensive actions, accordingly, are taking place in Ukraine, on which stage, I won’t say in detail,” Zelenskyy said.
“I think we should trust our militaries. And I trust them. I am in touch with our commanders of different areas every day: Syrskyi, Tarnavskyi, Moskaliov, Nayev, Zaluzhnyi. Everyone is optimistic. Pass this to [Russian President Vladimir] Putin,” he added.
Jun 09, 9:50 AM EDT
Putin says tactical nukes to be deployed to Belarus after July 7 or 8
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russia will deploy tactical nuclear weapons after July 7 or 8, when storage sites are ready, according to Russian news service Interfax.
“Everything is going to plan in the most sensitive matters you and I have agreed on. As you know, preparations of the relevant facilities will be finalized on July 7-8, and we will start taking measures towards the deployment of respective types of weapons in your territory as soon as that happens,” Putin said at a meeting with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.
“Everything is going to plan, all is stable,” he said.
Jun 09, 9:36 AM EDT
Putin says tactical nukes to be deployed to Belarus July 7-8
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russia will deploy tactical nuclear weapons after July 7 or 8, when storage sites are ready, according to Russian news service Interfax.
“Everything is going to plan in the most sensitive matters you and I have agreed on. As you know, preparations of the relevant facilities will be finalized on July 7-8, and we will start taking measures towards the deployment of respective types of weapons in your territory as soon as that happens,” Putin said at a meeting with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.
“Everything is going to plan, all is stable,” he said.
-ABC News’ Anastasia Bagaeva
Jun 09, 9:19 AM EDT
Counteroffensive begins in southeastern Ukraine, south of Zaporizhzhia
Arguably, Ukraine’s counteroffensive was getting going a few days ago, and the Institute for the Study of War said as much on Monday, saying on Twitter that “Russian and Ukrainian officials are signaling the start of the Ukrainian counteroffensive.”
However, there were significant developments on Thursday. Multiple reports said a major battle has begun in southeastern Ukraine, south of the major Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia.
Well-placed unofficial pro-Ukrainian sources said the southeastern front is becoming more active and there are unconfirmed images and reports that Ukraine’s new modern German-made Leopard 2 tanks are involved in the offensive.
“The events that are happening now on the front line signal the start of the offensive and Ukraine will intensify its efforts,” the head of Russia’s Wagner mercenary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said Thursday morning.
Jun 09, 9:19 AM EDT
Ukraine begins counteroffensive against Russia
Ukraine began its long-awaited counteroffensive against Russia on Thursday, officials told ABC News.
Well-trained Ukrainian troops had been near the front lines in recent days, Western officials said last week.
Two Ukrainian officials, including a source close to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, confirmed to ABC News that an active phase of the Ukrainian counteroffensive is underway.
(ROME) — Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has died in Milan at 86, Italian media reported.
The three-time premier and former leader of the Forza Italia party had suffered with a series of medical ailments over the past several years.
The billionaire media tycoon — worth approximately $7 billion — has had a pacemaker since he was 70-years-old but, more recently, underwent heart surgery in 2016 to replace an aortic valve and has also survived a bout with prostate cancer.
“The end of an era,” Guido Crosetto, Italy’s defense minister, said in Italian. “I loved him very much. Goodbye Silvio.”
His death was first reported Monday by ANSA, the Italian newswire. Berlusconi’s brother, Paolo, along with his children, arrived at the hospital within moments of his death on Monday, ANSA reported.
Berlusconi sat until his death in the upper house of the Italian parliament, the Senate, but does not have a government role in Georgia Meloni’s conservative coalition that currently governs the country.
Berlusconi was born in Milan in 1936 and entered into the media world in the early 1970s before turning to politics in the 90s. He was first elected to the Chamber of Deputies and appointed as prime minister of Italy in the 1994 general election his party, Forza Italia, gained a relative majority only three months after the party was launched.
Berlusconi was no stranger to legal troubles during his career and a court only recently acquitted him in February regarding allegations of paying off witnesses to lie in an underage prostitution case that had been under litigation for more than a decade.
Berlusconi is survived by his 33-year-old partner, Marta Fascina — a member of the Chamber of Deputies representing Forza Italia since 2018 — as well as his five children from previous relationships.
Matteo Salvini, deputy prime minister, called on Monday for a moment of silence for his former colleague. On Twitter, he praised Berlusconi’s generosity and respect.
(BIRMINGHAM, Ala.) — Joran van der Sloot, the main suspect in the unsolved 2005 disappearance of American teenager Natalee Holloway, appeared in court in Birmingham, Alabama, on Friday, pleading not guilty to federal extortion and wire fraud charges.
Holloway’s mom, Beth Holloway, looked on as van der Sloot, who is accused of trying to extort her, walked into the courtroom.
Van der Sloot, a Dutch citizen, chose not to use an interpreter in court, saying, “My English is perfect.”
Van der Sloot was flown to the U.S. on Thursday from Peru, where he had been serving a 28-year sentence for the 2010 murder of 21-year-old Stephany Flores. Plans for his extradition were announced last month.
“For 18 years, I have lived with the unbearable pain of Natalee’s loss,” Beth Holloway said in a statement Thursday. “Each day has been filled with unanswered questions and a longing for justice that has eluded us at every turn. But today, with her perpetrator’s extradition to the United States, I am hopeful that some small semblance of justice may finally be realized, even though no act of justice will heal the pain we’ve endured.”
Mark White, attorney for Holloway’s father, Dave Holloway, called the extortion and wire fraud case “some form of accountability,” but “not accountability for the ultimate transgression of what a lot of people think this person did to their child.”
White told ABC News on Thursday that he feels “more than 100%” certain that van der Sloot knows where Natalee Holloway’s body is located.
“Beth and Dave Holloway, they have been living every parent’s worst nightmare,” he said. “We all hope … that somehow the truth will come out.”
Holloway, an 18-year-old from Alabama, went missing in May 2005 on a high school graduation trip in Aruba. She was last seen with a group of young men, including van der Sloot, then 17.
Van der Sloot, who was detained as a suspect in Holloway’s disappearance and later released, was indicted by an Alabama federal grand jury in 2010 for allegedly trying to extort Holloway’s family.
Federal prosecutors alleged that in March 2010 van der Sloot contacted Beth Holloway through her lawyer and claimed he would reveal the location of the teen’s body in exchange for $250,000, with $25,000 paid upfront. During a recorded sting operation, Beth Holloway’s attorney, John Q. Kelly, met with van der Sloot at an Aruba hotel, giving him $10,000 in cash as Beth Holloway wired $15,000 to van der Sloot’s bank account, according to prosecutors.
Then, van der Sloot allegedly changed his story about the night he was with Natalee Holloway, prosecutors said. Van der Sloot claimed he had picked Natalee Holloway up, but she demanded to be put down, so he threw her to the ground. Van der Sloot said her head hit a rock and he claimed she died instantly from the impact, according to prosecutors.
Van der Sloot then took Kelly to a house and claimed that his father, who had since died, buried Natalee Holloway in the building’s foundation, prosecutors said.
Kelly later emailed van der Sloot, saying the information he had provided was “worthless,” according to prosecutors. Within days, van der Sloot left Aruba for Peru.
Van der Sloot will be held in U.S. Marshals custody until trial.
(NEW YORK) — More than a year after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of neighboring Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, the countries are fighting for control of areas in eastern and southern Ukraine. Ukraine has begun its long-awaited counteroffensive against Russia, officials told ABC News.
Multiple reports have said a major battle has begun in southeastern Ukraine, south of the major Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Jun 09, 9:36 AM EDT
Putin says tactical nukes to be deployed to Belarus July 7-8
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russia will deploy tactical nuclear weapons after July 7 or 8, when storage sites are ready, according to Russian news service Interfax.
“Everything is going to plan in the most sensitive matters you and I have agreed on. As you know, preparations of the relevant facilities will be finalized on July 7-8, and we will start taking measures towards the deployment of respective types of weapons in your territory as soon as that happens,” Putin said at a meeting with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.
“Everything is going to plan, all is stable,” he said.
-ABC News’ Anastasia Bagaeva
Jun 09, 9:19 AM EDT
Counteroffensive begins in southeastern Ukraine, south of Zaporizhzhia
Arguably, Ukraine’s counteroffensive was getting going a few days ago, and the Institute for the Study of War said as much on Monday, saying on Twitter that “Russian and Ukrainian officials are signaling the start of the Ukrainian counteroffensive.”
However, there were significant developments on Thursday. Multiple reports said a major battle has begun in southeastern Ukraine, south of the major Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia.
Well-placed unofficial pro-Ukrainian sources said the southeastern front is becoming more active and there are unconfirmed images and reports that Ukraine’s new modern German-made Leopard 2 tanks are involved in the offensive.
“The events that are happening now on the front line signal the start of the offensive and Ukraine will intensify its efforts,” the head of Russia’s Wagner mercenary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said Thursday morning.
Jun 09, 9:19 AM EDT
Ukraine begins counteroffensive against Russia
Ukraine began its long-awaited counteroffensive against Russia on Thursday, officials told ABC News.
Well-trained Ukrainian troops had been near the front lines in recent days, Western officials said last week.
Two Ukrainian officials, including a source close to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, confirmed to ABC News that an active phase of the Ukrainian counteroffensive is underway.
