The body of a newlywed pharmacist who was found beaten to death in the bathroom of a luxury honeymoon bungalow in Fiji was so badly injured that it could not be embalmed and had to be cremated before her parents could take her home to the United States.
Memphis woman Christe Chen, 36, was found dead on July 9 at the secluded $3,500-a-night Turtle Island Resort. She and her husband, Bradley Robert Dawson, 38 - who she married in February - had only checked into the resort two days earlier.
The couple married after a whirlwind romance in February - three months after they first met - and her parents paid for their honeymoon.
DailyMail.com revealed that Chen was found bloodied on the bathroom floor of the couple's luxury bungalow. She had suffered multiple traumatic injuries to her body, and blunt force trauma to the head, according to a post-mortem exam report.
Dawson appeared at the Lautoka High Court on Tuesday evening (ET), clutching a small blue suitcase in anticipation of a bail hearing. However, the date was rescheduled to August 18. He has maintained Chen's death was an accident.
Ronald Gordon, a lawyer representing Chen's estate and her parents, told DailyMail.com that they will take civil action against Dawson if he is not held criminally liable for her death and have not ruled out legal action against Turtle Island Resort. He added that he will also oppose any bail application.
'The family will follow the proceedings to ensure justice is served for Christe given the horrific injuries she endured,' he told DailyMail.com on Tuesday.
'The deceased was unable to be taken back to her home because of the nature of her injuries … so she had to be cremated here in Fiji and her ashes were taken back.
Memphis woman Christe Chen, 36, was found dead on July 9 at the secluded $3,500-a-night Turtle Island Resort. She and her husband, Bradley Robert Dawson, 38 - who she married in February - had only checked into the resort two days earlier
U.S. officials say they have little fear that China would attack Nancy Pelosi’s plane if she flies to Taiwan. But the U.S. House speaker would be entering one of the world’s hottest spots where a mishap, misstep or misunderstanding could endanger her safety. So the Pentagon is developing plans for any contingency.
Officials told The Associated Press that if Pelosi goes to Taiwan — still an uncertainty — the military would increase its movement of forces and assets in the Indo-Pacific region. They declined to provide details, but said that fighter jets, ships, surveillance assets and other military systems would likely be used to provide overlapping rings of protection for her flight to Taiwan and any time on the ground there.
Any foreign travel by a senior U.S. leader requires additional security. But officials said this week that a visit to Taiwan by Pelosi — she would be the highest-ranking U.S. elected official to visit Taiwan since 1997 — would go beyond the usual safety precautions for trips to less risky destinations.
Asked about planned military steps to protect Pelosi in the event of a visit, U.S. Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Wednesday that discussion of any specific travel is premature. But, he added, “if there’s a decision made that Speaker Pelosi or anyone else is going to travel and they asked for military support, we will do what is necessary to ensure a safe conduct of their visit. And I’ll just leave it at that.”
China considers self-ruling Taiwan its own territory and has raised the prospect of annexing it by force. The U.S. maintains informal relations and defense ties with Taiwan even as it recognizes Beijing as the government of China.
The trip is being considered at a time when China has escalated what the U.S. and its allies in the Pacific describe as risky one-on-one confrontations with other militaries to assert its sweeping territorial claims. The incidents have included dangerously close fly-bys that force other pilots to swerve to avoid collisions, or harassment or obstruction of air and ship crews, including with blinding lasers or water cannon.
Dozens of such maneuvers have occurred this year alone, Ely Ratner, U.S. assistant defense secretary, said Tuesday at a South China Sea forum by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. China denies the incidents.
The U.S. officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive security issues, described the need to create buffer zones around the speaker and her plane. The U.S. already has substantial forces spread across the region, so any increased security could largely be handled by assets already in place.
The military would also have to be prepared for any incident — even an accident either in the air or on the ground. They said the U.S. would need to have rescue capabilities nearby and suggested that could include helicopters on ships already in the area.
Pelosi, D-Calif., has not publicly confirmed any new plans for a trip to Taiwan. She was going to go in April, but she postponed the trip after testing positive for COVID-19.
The White House on Monday declined to weigh in directly on the matter, noting she had not confirmed the trip. But President Joe Biden last week raised concerns about it, telling reporters that the military thinks her trip is “not a good idea right now.”
A Pelosi trip may well loom over a call planned for Thursday between Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping, their first conversation in four months. A U.S. official confirmed plans for the call to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity ahead of the formal announcement.
U.S. officials have said the administration doubts that China would take direct action against Pelosi herself or try to sabotage the visit. But they don’t rule out the possibility that China could escalate provocative overflights of military aircraft in or near Taiwanese airspace and naval patrols in the Taiwan Strait should the trip take place. And they don’t preclude Chinese actions elsewhere in the region as a show of strength.
Security analysts were divided Tuesday about the extent of any threat during a trip and the need for any additional military protection.
The biggest risk during Pelosi’s trip is of some Chinese show of force “gone awry, or some type of accident that comes out of a demonstration of provocative action,” said Mark Cozad, acting associate director of the International Security and Defense Policy Center at the Rand Corp. “So it could be an air collision. It could be some sort of missile test, and, again, when you’re doing those types of things, you know, there is always the possibility that something could go wrong.”
The United States and its allies should certainly continue providing Ukraine with the matériel it needs, but they should also — in close consultation with Kyiv — begin opening channels of communication with Russia. An eventual cease-fire should be the goal, even as the path to it remains uncertain.
Starting talks while the fighting rages would be politically risky and would require significant diplomatic efforts, particularly with Ukraine — and success is anything but guaranteed. But talking can reveal the possible space for compromise and identify a way out of the spiral. Otherwise, this war could eventually bring Russia and NATO into direct conflict.
The current U.S. approach assumes that would happen only if the Ukrainians are given particular systems or capabilities that cross a Russian red line. So when President Biden recently announced his decision to provide Ukraine with the multiple-launch rocket system that Kyiv says it desperately needs, he deliberately withheld the longest-range munitions that could strike Russia. The premise of the decision was that Moscow will escalate — i.e., launch an attack against NATO — only if certain types of weapons are provided or if they are used to target Russian territory. The goal is to be careful to stop short of that line while giving the Ukrainians what they need to “defend their territory from Russian advances,” as Mr.
The new constitution, analysts note, weakens checks and balances in the political system and states that the president “cannot be questioned” about his actions during the discharge of his duties. It also gives the president extensive authority over the judiciary and government, allows him to dissolve parliament and issue laws by decree in its absence. He can remain as president beyond the two terms allowed by the constitution if he believes the country is in danger. “This is the start of a dictatorial era,” said Afaf Daoud, a leader of the Takatol opposition party, one of several groups that had called for a boycott of the referendum. “Under his constitution, there is no counterweight to him because he has marginalised parliament. The charter makes the president completely unaccountable.” Saied has been quoted as saying the next step would be a new electoral law. Such legislation, his opponents warn, will be entirely shaped by the president who has been ruling by decree since September after he shut parliament and seized all powers in July 2021. Until Saied’s power grab, Tunisia was seen as the only example of a successful democratic transition in Arab countries which rose up against dictatorial rule in 2011. The country’s 2014 constitution, the result of extensive open debate, was internationally hailed as a democratic achievement and a milestone in a region where dictatorship is the norm.
view of the environment surrounding the officer during a weekslong field test. Called the Nexx360, the officer’s collar holds four wide-angle cameras. Instead of capturing footage of a narrow field of view in front of the officer, this system gives an all-around view. “This has the potential for being a game-changer,” said Sheriff John Shearon. “There are times when we don’t get good footage of an encounter. The officer may be moving to protect themselves or others; the other person may be moving. An officer doesn’t need to think about where they need to be to get the best body camera footage. This solves that problem.” The cameras serve as a “dispassionate observer,” said Terry Luck, a longtime defense attorney whose practice is in Montgomery. The technology also allows dispatchers – and supervisors – to get real-time images of what’s happening. That’s a huge advantage in rural counties, where help in the form of backup can be 20 minutes or more away, Shearon said.
Alaska
Juneau: Republican U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski said she recently tested positive for the coronavirus. In a statement on social media, Murkowski said she recently tested positive after experiencing flulike symptoms. The statement did not specify the timing of the test. Her campaign posted photos of events that Murkowski participated in Friday and Saturday in Fairbanks. “I will be following guidance and advice from doctors and will be quarantining at home in Alaska while continuing my work remotely,” Murkowski’s statement said. Karina Borger, a spokesperson in Murkowski’s Senate office, said by email that Murkowski is “vaccinated and boosted.” Borger said she had nothing more to share beyond the social media post.
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