Sea of migrants reach Croatia as police lower border obstacles, face Slovenia bottleneck next
BERKASOVO, Serbia (AP) — Thousands of people trying to reach the heart of Europe surged across Serbia’s border into Croatia on Monday after authorities eased restrictions that had left them stranded for days in ankle-deep mud and rain.
The miserable wave of humanity left behind a field scattered with soaked blankets, mud-caked clothing and water-logged tents as they headed for Slovenia, the next obstacle to their quest to reach richer European Union nations via the Balkans.
Monday’s surprise move allowed an estimated 3,000 more migrants to enter Croatia bound for its small Alpine neighbor, which also has been struggling to slow the flow of humanity across its frontiers — and faced another wave of trekkers seeking to reach Austria and Germany to the north.
“Without any announcement, the borders opened. When the borders opened, everybody rushed,” said Melita Sunjic, a spokeswoman for the U.N. refugee agency, who was stationed at the Serb-Croat border.
Many had discarded their mud-soaked socks and walked only in sandals or slippers through the ankle-deep muck in a driving rain, frigid winds and fog. Some who had lost limbs during the civil war in Syria were aided by friends pushing their wheelchairs down a country lane that, since Saturday, had been blocked by Croat police.
Fatal beating of Eritrean migrant prompts soul-searching in Israel amid wave of violence
JERUSALEM (AP) — The death of an Eritrean migrant who was shot and beaten by a mob that mistakenly believed he was a Palestinian attacker set off a round of soul-searching Monday amid the jittery atmosphere sweeping Israel in a wave of unrest.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the vigilantism. Some critics accused Israel’s leaders of fostering the charged climate, while others called for the swift prosecution of the crazed mob.
“It is a disgrace to Israeli society, and those that carried out this lynching need to be found and brought to justice,” said Yaakov Amidror, Netanyahu’s former national security adviser.
“Even if it was the terrorist himself, by the way, after he was shot, after he was neutralized and lying on the floor, you need to be an animal to torment him,” he told Israel Radio.
Nine Israelis have been killed in the past month in the attacks, mostly stabbings, on city streets. At least 41 Palestinians have been killed — including 20 identified by Israeli authorities as attackers; the rest were slain in clashes with Israeli forces.
Amazon sues to stop phony product reviews; some reviewers haven’t even used the product
NEW YORK (AP) — Internet users increasingly rely on online customer reviews when making spending decisions, whether they’re buying an iPhone case on Amazon or hiring an Uber ride in their hometown. But just how much can you trust those reviews?
A new lawsuit in which Amazon accuses more than 1,000 people of offering to post bogus glowing write-ups for as little as $5 apiece might give you pause.
The case, filed in Washington state court Friday by the nation’s biggest online retailer, casts light on what appears to be a burgeoning practice: the commissioning of paid, fake reviews that masquerade as testimonials from ordinary people.
Fake reviews are nothing new to online retailing, and Amazon is far from the only big company affected. Yelp’s restaurant reviews and TripAdvisor’s hotel ratings have long been a target of critics who claim that merchants can easily post positive reviews of their own businesses.
Amazon’s legal counteroffensive, however, appears to be one of the most aggressive attempts yet by a major U.S. e-commerce company to fight back.
Public defender has no comment in case of man accused in girl’s 1982 disappearance
MILWAUKEE (AP) — The attorney who appeared with Jose Ferreira in court Saturday won’t be representing him against a second-degree murder charge in the death of a 13-year-old Milwaukee girl decades ago.
Melissa Nepomiachi says via email that another lawyer in the public defender’s office will handle the case. She didn’t elaborate.
