Pete Smith dead – Lord of the Rings actor dies aged 63 following kidney disease battle

Pete Smith has died at the age of 63 following a battle with kidney disease, outlet Stuff has revealed.

The Māori actor was known for starring in critically acclaimed films like The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Once Were Warriors and The Piano.

The actor's son Poumau Papali'i-Smith told the publication of the news, explaining that his father passed away on Sunday 30 January.

His son shared that Pete had been suffering from kidney disease for a long time and had been diagnosed with dementia in recent years.

"For the last seven years, he'd been on dialysis which took its toll on him over the years. Within the last two years he was also diagnosed with dementia," he explained.

https://www.ok.co.uk/celebrity-news/breaking-pete-smith-dead-lotr-26092339

Suspects arrested after two German police officers shot dead at routine traffic stop

GERMAN POLICE HAVE arrested two suspects in a major manhunt triggered by the fatal shooting of two police officers during a routine traffic stop.

A 38-year-old suspect was taken into custody in the western state of Saarland shortly after police issued a wanted notice and shared his photo with the media.

He was arrested by special forces in the town of Sulzbach, Saarland police said in a statement.

A 32-year-old man was separately detained “without resisting arrest” during police searches of several premises, they added.

The shooting happened at around 4.20am on a rural road in the Kusel district of neighbouring Rhineland-Palatinate state.

A 24-year-old female police officer and her 29-year-old male colleague were killed.

The officers were able to report that they had pulled over a car and that shots were being fired before radio contact broke off.

The shooting, for which the motive remains unclear, sent shockwaves through Germany.

Interior Minister Nancy Faeser likened the crime to an “execution” and said it showed “that police officers risk their lives every day for our security”.

The crime triggered a major search operation, with police initially saying they neither had a description of the vehicle in question nor knew in which direction it had sped off.

In an update with the Kaiserslautern prosecution’s office this afternoon, police announced they had identified a 38-year-old man as a suspect.

The suspect was said to hail from Saarland, which borders Luxembourg and France.

German police closed off roads and deployed helicopters and sniffer dogs in the manhunt.

They also urged residents in the Kusel area to avoid picking up hitchhikers.

Saarland police said the twin arrests were the result of “intensive, undercover search methods” carried out jointly with Rhineland-Palatinate police.

Still in training

The early morning shooting occurred on a country road surrounded by forest and fields.

The two officers were both in uniform but were patrolling in an unmarked car.

https://www.thejournal.ie/germany-arrests-two-suspects-after-police-shot-dead-5669714-Jan2022/

Ukraine crisis: Russia dismisses US war warnings as “hysteria”.

Ukraine crisis: Russia dismisses US war warnings as “hysteria”.Ukraine crisis: Russia dismisses US war warnings as “hysteria”.

The United States and Russia exchange blows in the UN Security Council over the Ukraine conflict.

The West wants war, claims Moscow’s UN ambassador.

His US colleague holds against it.

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Russia has dismissed warnings from the United States about the deployment of troops on the Ukrainian border in the UN Security Council as war hysteria. At the first public confrontation between the two sides before the most powerful UN body, US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield spoke on Monday in New York of the “largest mobilization of troops in Europe in decades”. Russia’s representative Wassili Nebensya replied: “The discussions about the imminent danger of war are provocative in and of themselves. They almost call for it. They want it to happen.”

The Russian diplomat pointed out that his country strictly rejects all allegations of planning an invasion. “And I will now (also) do that.” The West spreads propaganda and operates “megaphone diplomacy”. The US requested the meeting because the West feared a Russian invasion of Ukraine, a former Soviet republic. Russia – like the United States, has always been a UN veto power – could not prevent the session.

Washington is demanding the withdrawal of around 100,000 Russian soldiers from the border into the interior. Western diplomats had said beforehand that a renewed and clear Russian refusal to invade the Security Council would have a more official character than previous statements from Moscow. This could be used as a bargaining chip in the conflict.

US denies allegations

US Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield dismissed the accusations made by her Russian colleague: “Threats of aggression on the Ukrainian border – yes, on the border – are provocative. Our acknowledgment of the facts on the ground is not provocative.” These are combat units “ready to carry out offensive actions in Ukraine.”

Moscow, on the other hand, emphasizes that all the soldiers are on its sovereign territory and that the West is therefore interfering in Russia’s internal affairs. Nebensya denied that 100,000 soldiers had actually been massed at the border. He made no concessions to ease the situation. In a side swipe, the Russian diplomat alluded to an appearance by the recently deceased ex-US Secretary of State Colin Powell, who had campaigned before the Council in 2003 for approval of the Iraq war with intelligence findings that later turned out to be untrue.

https://news.in-24.com/world/542202.html