Early Bird: Europe is preparing further harsh sanctions on Russia. The attack on a school in Graz has ten victims
New sanctions completely prohibit financial dealings with Russian banks
The European Union on Tuesday announced a new package of sanctions against Russia, stating that Moscow's deadly daily attacks on Ukraine show that despite recent diplomatic efforts, it is not interested in peace. The new package, already the eighteenth since 2022 when Russia launched a full-scale unprovoked invasion against its neighbor, aims to further focus on the Kremlin's ability to earn from oil and gas extraction.
The proposal includes reducing the price limit for Russian oil exports from 60 to 45 dollars per barrel and imposing a total ban on transactions with Russian banks and financial institutions in third countries, which help Russia to circumvent existing sanctions. The EU has stated that it also proposes a ban on the use of Russian energy infrastructure and prohibits all economic entities in the EU from directly or indirectly participating in any transactions related to Nord Stream pipelines, according to the agency AP.
Shooting in Graz results in ten victims, shooter subsequently committed suicide
A former student started shooting at a school in Austria's second-largest city on Tuesday, fatally injuring ten people and many other individuals before taking his life, according to authorities. No immediate information was provided about the motive of the twenty-one-year-old man, who had no previous police record. He used two guns, which he likely owned legally, the police said.
"Today is a dark day in the history of our country," Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker told journalists in Graz, according to CNN. A three-day national mourning will be declared and the Austrian flag will be lowered to half-mast on official buildings. A minute of silence will be held on Wednesday morning in memory of the victims.
NCOZ is intervening in three regions
The National Headquarters Against Organized Crime is intervening at dozens of locations in the Karlovy Vary, Ústí and Plzeň regions, where it is investigating suspicions of tax fraud and manipulation of public tenders. The names of the specific accused persons will be known next week.
"Criminal proceedings are taking place, which concerns tax crimes. Given that house searches and searches of other premises are taking place today and the case is in its initial stages, I cannot provide further details,"
Kateřina Doušová, deputy of the regional public prosecutor's office in Ústí nad Labem said for ČTK.
Khaby Lame, one of the most popular TikTok personalities in the world with millions of followers, left the USA after being detained in Las Vegas by immigration agents for alleged visa overstay. The Senegalese-Italian influencer, whose legal name is Seringe Khabane Lame, was detained on Friday at the Harry Reid International Airport, but he was allowed to leave the country without a deportation order, confirmed a spokesman for the US immigration and customs office in a statement.
Lame arrived in the USA on April 30 and "overstayed his visa," said the ICE spokesperson. The Associated Press agency sent a request for comment to the email address listed on Lame's Instagram account on Tuesday. Lame did not publicly comment on his arrest.
