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ROSTHERN, Saskatchewan: The final suspect in a stabbing rampage that killed 10 people in and around a Canadian Indigenous reserve died of self-inflicted wounds after his car was run off the road by police Wednesday following a three-day manhunt, officials said. Myles Sanderson, 32, was found near the town of Rosthern as officers responded to a report of a stolen vehicle being driven by a man armed with a knife, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said. Officers rammed Sanderson’s vehicle off the road, said an official who was familiar with the matter, speaking on condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to talk publicly. The official said the fugitive’s injuries were self-inflicted, but he didn’t have further details on when the injuries were inflicted or when he died. Video and photos from the scene showed a white SUV off to the side of the road with police cars all around. Air bags had deployed in the SUV. Myles Sanderson’s death comes two days after the body of his brother, 30-year-old Damien Sanderson, was found in a field near the scene of their rampage, which also wounded 18 people. Police are investigating whether Myles Sanderson killed his brother. Some family members of the victims arrived at the scene Wednesday, including Brian Burns, whose wife and son were killed. “Now we can start to heal. The healing begins today, now,” he said. Another of Burns’ sons was wounded and “hopefully can sleep at night now knowing he’s behind bars,” Burns said. The stabbing rampage raised questions of why Myles Sanderson — an ex-con with 59 convictions and a long history of shocking violence — was out on the streets in the first place. He was released by a parole board in February while serving a sentence of over four years on charges that included assault and robbery. But he had been wanted by police since May, apparently for violating the terms of his release, though the details were not immediately clear. His long and lurid rap sheet also showed that seven years ago, he attacked and stabbed one of the victims killed in the weekend rampage, according to court records. Canadian Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino said there will be an investigation into the parole board’s assessment of Sanderson. “I want to know the reasons behind the decision” to release him, Mendicino said. “I’m extremely concerned with what occurred here. A community has been left reeling.” Investigators have not given a motive for the bloodshed. The Saskatchewan Coroner’s Service said nine of those killed were from the James Smith Cree Nation: Thomas Burns, 23; Carol Burns, 46; Gregory Burns, 28; Lydia Gloria Burns, 61; Bonnie Burns, 48; Earl Burns, 66; Lana Head, 49; Christian Head, 54; and Robert Sanderson, 49, One was from Weldon, 78-year-old Wesley Patterson. Authorities would not say how the victims might be related. Mark Arcand said his half sister Bonnie and her son Gregory were killed. “Her son was lying there already deceased. My sister went out and tried to help her son, and she was stabbed two times, and she died right beside him,” he said. “Right outside of her home she was killed by senseless acts. She was protecting her son. She was protecting three little boys. This is why she is a hero.” Arcand rushed to the reserve the morning of the rampage. After that, he said, “I woke up in the middle of the night just screaming and yelling. What I saw that day I can’t get out of my head.” As for what set off the violence, Arcand said: “We’re all looking for those same answers. We don’t know what happened. Maybe we’ll never know. That’s the hardest part of this.” Court documents said Sanderson attacked his in-laws Earl Burns and Joyce Burns in 2015, knifing Earl Jones repeatedly and wounding Joyce Burns. He later pleaded guilty to assault and threatening Earl Burns’ life. Many of Sanderson’s crimes were committed when he was intoxicated, according to court records. He told parole officials at one point that substance use made him out of his mind. Records showed he repeatedly violated court orders barring him from drinking or using drugs. Many of Canada’s Indigenous communities are plagued by drugs and alcohol. “The drug problem and the alcohol problem on these reserves is way out of hand,” said Ivor Wayne Burns, whose sister was killed in the weekend attacks. “We have dead people, and we asked before for something to be done.” Myles Sanderson’s childhood was marked by violence, neglect and substance abuse, court records show. Sanderson, who is Indigenous and was raised on the Cree reserve, population 1,900, started drinking and smoking marijuana at around 12, and cocaine followed soon after. In 2017, he barged into his ex-girlfriend’s home, punched a hole in the door of a bathroom while his two children were hiding in a bathtub and threw a cement block at a vehicle parked outside, according to parole documents. He got into a fight a few days later at a store, threatening to kill an employee and burn down his parents’ home, documents said. That November he threatened an accomplice into robbing a fast-food restaurant by clubbing him with a gun and stomping on his head. He then stood watch during the holdup. In 2018, he stabbed two men with a fork while drinking and beat someone unconscious. When he was released in February, the parole board set conditions on his contact with his partner and children and also said he should not enter into relationships with women without written permission from his parole officer. In granting Sanderson “statutory release,” parole authorities said: “It is the Board’s opinion that you will not present an undue risk to society.” Canadian law grants prisoners statutory release after they serve two-thirds of their sentence. But the parole board can impose conditions on that freedom, and inmates who violate them — as Sanderson did more than once — can be ordered back to prison. Sharna Sugarman, who was organizing a GoFundMe for the victims, questioned the parole board for releasing him and wondered why Sanderson was still on the loose so many months after he was deemed “unlawfully at large.” “That’s just egregious to me,” said Sugarman, a counselor who counted one of the stabbing victims as a client. “If they claim that they’ve been looking for him, well, you weren’t looking that hard.” Ten of the wounded were still hospitalized as of Tuesday afternoon, seven in stable condition and three critical, health authorities said. Myles Sanderson had been wanted as a fugitive since May when he stopped meeting his parole officer after serving time for assault, robbery and other offenses, CBC News reported. It said he had amassed a criminal record of 59 convictions over two decades. Minister of Public Safety Marco Mendicino said the board will investigate the decision to release Sanderson on parole.
WASHINGTON: Russia’s invasion caused over $97 billion in direct damages to Ukraine through June 1, but it could cost nearly $350 billion to rebuild the country, a report released Friday by the World Bank, Ukrainian government and European Commission shows. It said Ukraine had also suffered $252 billion in losses through disruptions to its economic flows and production, as well as extra expenses linked to the war, while the displacement of one-third of all Ukrainians was expected to jack up its poverty rate to 21 percent from just 2 percent before the war. Overall, the report estimated Ukraine’s reconstruction needs would reach $349 billion, as of June 1, or about 1.6 times the country’s $200 billion gross domestic product in 2021. Of that amount, $105 billion was needed in the short term to address urgent priorities, such as rebuilding thousands of damaged or destroyed schools and over 500 hospitals. It was also imperative to prepare for the upcoming, likely brutal winter by repairing homes and restoring heating, and purchasing gas. All the numbers were preliminary and would likely rise as the war continued, the report noted. “The impact of the invasion will be felt for generations, with families displaced and separated, disruptions to human development, destruction of intrinsic cultural heritage and reversal of a positive economic and poverty trajectory,” it said. Arup Banerji, World Bank regional country director for Eastern Europe, said the findings were based on a “very strong” internationally accepted methodology, and should underpin a Group of Seven recovery conference planned in Berlin on Oct. 25. He said Ukraine’s initial estimates that it would cost $750 billion to rebuild its economy were likely extrapolations from the damage and economic losses, but it was unclear what exact methodology had been used to arrive at that estimate, he said. The report offered the first comprehensive damage assessment of the war’s impact on Ukraine and laid the groundwork for funding its recovery plan, Ukraine’s Prime Minister Denys Shmygal said in a posting on Telegram. Oleg Ustenko, a senior economic adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, said Ukraine needed commitments from donor countries that they would continue to provide $5 billion in funding each month throughout next year. Banerji agreed that Ukraine would need external support through 2023, unless there was a some “really drastic change in the course of the war.” He said the economy was doing “slightly better” than feared, and its gross domestic product was now seen shrinking by 30-35 percent in 2022 instead of the 45 percent contraction forecast initially. Banerji said the report had factored in the investments needed to “build back better” and help Ukraine modernize its Soviet-era infrastructure. He cautioned that the pace of reconstruction would depend to a large extent on the course of the war, and the ability of the Ukrainian public and private sector to absorb the funding. “If you think of the enormous cost of housing, this will actually take many years, realistically, to be rebuilt and repaired,” he said.
BRUSEELS: The European Commission on Friday urged EU member states to reassess the terms on which they grant visas to Russian travelers and to root out applicants that pose a security threat. “We should not be naive, Putin’s aim is to destroy the EU and he would like to attack us where we are weakest,” warned EU home affairs commissioner Ylva Johansson. She told a news conference in Nuijamaa near Finland’s border with Russia, that Moscow was responsible for an unprovoked war in Ukraine and warned that civilians could act as spies, saboteurs or provocateurs. She alleged that some Russian travelers had sought to harass and humiliate Ukrainian refugees, who have been granted protected status within the EU. “We can not exclude that people are coming with the aim to provoke, to try to get some social unrest, or to provoke violence or riots or things like that or to try to use propaganda,” she said. On Friday, the EU formally suspended a 2007 visa facilitation pact that had made it easier and cheaper for Russians to travel to Europe, but stopped short of the full travel ban demanded by some member states. Johansson said the new rules would still allow passage to vetted dissidents, journalists and humanitarian cases, but that applications for simple tourist and business visas should be “reassessed.” The Baltic states of Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania — which border Russia — have already toughened their own visa rules, but Johansson said she expected them to follow the EU guidelines. Just under a million Russians already hold visas for the EU’s Schengen travel area, and the commissioner said member states should also reassess these existing travel documents.
LONDON: The sultan of Brunei is now the world’s longest-serving monarch following the death on Thursday of Elizabeth II, who was the queen of the UK and 15 other Commonwealth realms. Hassanal Bolkiah, who ascended to the throne in 1967, has reigned for 54 years and 339 days. His reign is four years longer than that of Danish Queen Margrethe II, who is now the world’s second-longest reigning monarch. Before her sudden passing on Thursday, Queen Elizabeth II was the longest-serving monarch in the world. Her platinum jubilee — marking 70 years since her coronation — was celebrated in June. Bolkiah was reportedly good friends with the queen, with the sultanate and Britain enjoying a close relationship marked by several ceremonial associations. Members of the Brunei royal family hold several honorary positions in the British Armed Forces. Bolkiah was knighted by the queen, an honor that was also bestowed upon his father, and the pair met on serval occasions in both London and Brunei’s capital Bandar Seri Begawan.
DUBAI: Germany’s difficulties in getting European partners to sign bilateral agreements on sharing gas in case of an emergency predate the current situation, the economy ministry said on Friday in response to a report outlining the problems. “There has been an obligation to conclude solidarity contracts since 2018,” a ministry spokesperson said. “The negotiations and willingness to conclude them was very difficult” even before Germany’s current coalition government took power in December 2021, the spokesperson told Reuters. With Russia reducing its gas exports to Europe’s biggest economy, Germany has already agreed such pacts with Denmark, Czech Republic and Austria, aiming to avoid panic if a supply crisis strikes and reduce the risk countries would hoard fuel. In July, the economy ministry said Germany had been working intensively and for a long time on further agreements with other nearby states such as Poland and Italy. Welt newspaper reported on Thursday, citing an economy ministry report to German lawmakers, that these talks were proving to be more difficult than expected, Welt reported. “Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Poland are evading the constructive negotiations and conclusion of the bilateral solidarity agreements with us,” the report said. European Union members agreed in July to free up fuel to share around in a supply crisis, but it was up to individual countries to sort out how that sharing will happen in practice. The ministry said the Italian government could only re-engage in talks after the parliamentary election due at the end of September. It was not foreseeable when Berlin could sign a trilateral agreement with Switzerland and Italy, the report said. According to the report, Germany’s neighbors were reluctant to sign due to disagreements over compensation Berlin would have to pay to its companies for expropriating their gas to offer to neighbors.
NEW DELHI: New Delhi is seeking to enhance its strategic partnership with Riyadh and cooperation on international platforms, the Indian government said on Friday, ahead of External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar’s first official trip to Saudi Arabia.
Jaishankar is scheduled to arrive in the Kingdom on Saturday for a three-day visit, during which he will co-chair with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan the inaugural ministerial meeting of the Committee on Political, Security, Social and Cultural Cooperation under the framework of the India-Saudi Arabia Strategic Partnership Council.
The Indian Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement that the ministers would “undertake a comprehensive review” of the bilateral relationship.
“During the visit, EAM will also meet other Saudi dignitaries, as well as Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council H.E. Dr. Nayef Falah Mubarak Al-Hajjraf. Both sides will review the bilateral relations and discuss ways to enhance them,” the ministry said.
“Both sides will also discuss regional and international issues of mutual interest including their cooperation at the UN, G20 and GCC.”
Jaishankar will meet representatives of the 3.5 million Indian expats living and working in the Kingdom.
Saudi-Indian ties reached new highs when Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman visited New Delhi in February 2019. In October that year, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Riyadh at the invitation of King Salman, and the Strategic Partnership Council was established.
The India-Saudi strategic partnership is focused on four areas: Political issues, security, socio-cultural relations and defense corporation.
“India and Saudi Arabia in the last few years exponentially strengthened their bilateral relations in various fields — be it political contacts, cooperation in the fight against COVID-19, at multilateral forums as well, whether it is the United Nations or the G20, which Saudi Arabia was heading in 2020,” Muddassir Quamar, a fellow at the Institute of Defense Studies and Analyzes in New Delhi, told Arab News.
Jaishankar’s visit is likely to further strengthen ties.
“Given the kind of regional and international developments we are witnessing today and given the fact that both India and Saudi Arabia are very important actors — regional and international actors — this is a very important visit from all these perspectives,” Qamar said.
The trip is also expected to help the leaderships of the two countries establish ways to proceed with investment projects.
“We have a strategic partnership between India and Saudi Arabia and there is a council also, and this council supervises various committees — economic, political, cultural. It supervises bilateral relations in various arenas: Investment, economic partnerships, counterterrorism, and also many other fields,” Prof. Zikrur Rahman, founding director of the India-Arab Cultural Center, who as a diplomat had served in several Middle Eastern countries, told Arab News.
“This is an important visit which will give an idea to the leadership of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as well as the leadership of India, about how to proceed further regarding big investments and also opportunities for the new projects, which are being launched by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.”