United News of Bangladesh

China on Saturday criticized the latest U.S. decision to tighten export controls that would make it harder for China to obtain and manufacture advanced computing chips, calling it a violation of international economic and trade rules that will “isolate and backfire” on the U.S. “Out of the need to maintain its sci-tech hegemony, the U.S. abuses export control measures to maliciously block and suppress Chinese companies,” said Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning. “It will not only damage the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies, but also affect American companies’ interests,” she said. Mao also said that the U.S. “weaponization and politicization” of science and technology as well as economic and trade issues will not stop China’s progress. She was speaking after the U.S. on Friday updated export controls that included adding certain advanced, high-performance computing chips and semiconductor manufacturing equipment to its list, as well as new license requirements for items that would be used in a supercomputer or for semiconductor development in China. The U.S. said that the export controls were added as part of ongoing efforts to protect U.S. national security and foreign policy interests. U.S.-China relations have deteriorated in recent years over technology and security issues. The U.S. has implemented a raft of measures and restrictions designed to prevent China from obtaining chip technology, while China has earmarked billions for investment into the production of semiconductors. The tensions have impacted semiconductor companies in the U.S. and globally which either export chips or manufacture chips in China. Semiconductor companies such as Nvidia and AMD has seen a 40% decline in stock price over the past year. “We understand the goal of ensuring national security and urge the U.S. government to implement the rules in a targeted way—and in collaboration with international partners—to help level the playing field and mitigate unintended harm to U.S. innovation,” the Semiconductor Industry Association, which represents U.S. semiconductor industry, said in a statement.  

India's billionaire businessman Mukesh Ambani is reportedly setting up a family office in Singapore, joining the rush of the world's ultra-rich opening such entities in the Asian city-state to manage their wealth. Ambani, the owner of India's oil-to-telecom conglomerate Reliance Industries, has even hired a manager to recruit other staff for the family office in Singapore, media reports said, quoting sources close to the family. This comes barely three months after Ambani -- the second-richest person in Asia-- kickstarted a dynastic succession, handing over the reins of Reliance's telecom arm Jio to his eldest son Akash. A family office is basically a private investment entity designed to oversee the wealth of rich individuals, aimed at growing and transferring assets on to their future generations. Already, many of the world's ultra-rich have opened their family offices in Singapore -- Google co-founder Sergey Brin and British entrepreneur James Dyson to name a few -- taking advantage of its low-tax regime. Last year, Ambani bought a grand 300-acre property in an ultra-upscale locality on the outskirts of London. Ambani had earlier indicated his plan to split his USD 200 billion business empire among his three children -- Akash, Isha and Anant. Over the past two years, Reliance went on an aggressive fundraising spree to make the conglomerate debt-free, a step to trim its dependence on the flagship oil sector to diversify into telecom and e-commerce.

Relatives wailed and some collapsed as they grieved Friday over the small coffins carrying children slain by a fired police offer who stormed a day care center in rural Thailand during naptime. The entire country reeled in the wake of Thursday's grisly knife and gun attack in a small town nestled among rice paddies in one of the nation's poorest regions. At least 24 of the 36 people killed in the assault, Thailand’s deadliest mass killing, were children. “I cried until I had no more tears coming out of my eyes. They are running through my heart," said Seksan Sriraj, 28, who lost his pregnant wife due to give birth this month in the attack at the Young Children’s Development Center in Uthai Sawan. “My wife and my child have gone to a peaceful place. I am alive and will have to live. If I can’t go on, my wife and my child will be worried about me, and they won’t be reborn in the next life," he said. A stream of people, including Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, other government representatives and relatives themselves, have left flowers at the day care center. By afternoon, bouquets of white roses and carnations lined the wall outside, along with five tiny juice boxes, bags of corn chips and a stuffed animal. A faded Thai flag flew at half-staff above the single-story building. Later, relatives received the bodies at the local Buddhist temple. As the small, white coffins were opened, some screamed, while others fainted. Paramedics revived them with smelling salts. “It was just too much. I can’t accept this,” said Oy Yodkhao, 51, sitting on a bamboo mat outside in the oppressive heat as relatives gave her water and gently mopped her brow. Her 4-year-old grandson Tawatchai Sriphu was killed, and she said she worried for the child's siblings. King Maha Vajiralongkorn and Queen Suthida were expected later in the day to go to hospitals, where seven of the 10 people wounded remain. A vigil was planned in a central park in Bangkok, the nation's capital. Police identified the attacker as Panya Kamrap, 34, a former police sergeant fired earlier this year because of a drug charge involving methamphetamine. He had been due to appear in court Friday. An employee told a Thai TV station that Panya's son had attended the day care but hadn't been there for about a month. Witnesses said the attacker shot a man and child in front of the center before walking toward it. Teachers locked the glass front door, but the gunman shot and kicked his way through it. The children, mainly preschoolers, had been taking an afternoon nap, and photos taken by first responders showed their tiny bodies still lying on blankets. In some images, slashes to the victims’ faces and gunshots to their heads could be seen. Panya took his own life after killing his wife and child at home. When asked whether he thought the center was secure enough, Seksan, who lost his wife, noted the attacker had been a police officer. “He came to do what he had in his mind and was determined to do it. I think everyone did the best they could.” In an interview with Amarin TV, Satita Boonsom, who worked at the day care center, said staff locked the door to the building after seeing the assailant shoot a child and his father out front. But the attacker broke the glass and went on to attack the children and workers with his knife and firearm. Satita said she and three other teachers climbed the center's fence to escape and call police and seek help. By the time she returned, the children were dead. She said one child who was covered by a blanket survived the attack, apparently because the assailant assumed he was dead. She said the center usually has around 70 to 80 children, but there were fewer at the time of the attack because the semester had ended for older children and rain prevented a school bus from operating. “They wouldn’t have survived,” she said. Satita added that the attacker's son hadn't been to the day care center recently because he was sick. One of the youngest survivors is a 3-year-old boy who was riding a tricycle close to his mother and grandmother when the assailant began slashing them with the knife. The mother died from her wounds, and the boy and grandmother were being treated at hospitals, according to local media. Mass shootings are rare but not unheard of in Thailand, which has one of the highest civilian gun ownership rates in Asia, with 15.1 weapons per 100 people compared to only 0.3 in Singapore and 0.25 in Japan. That’s still far lower than the U.S. rate of 120.5 per 100 people, according to a 2017 survey by Australia’s GunPolicy.org nonprofit organization. Support and condolences poured in from around the world. "All Australians send their love and condolences," Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese tweeted. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called the violence “senseless and heartbreaking.” Pope Francis offered prayers for all those affected by such “unspeakable violence.” “I’m profoundly saddened by the heinous shooting at a childcare centre in Thailand,” U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres tweeted. Thailand's previous worst mass killing involved a disgruntled soldier who opened fire in and around a mall in the northeastern city of Nakhon Ratchasima in 2020, killing 29 people and holding off security forces for some 16 hours before eventually being killed by them. Nearly 60 others were wounded in that attack. Its death toll surpassed that of the previously worst attack on civilians, a 2015 bombing at a shrine in Bangkok that killed 20 people. It was allegedly carried out by human traffickers in retaliation for a crackdown on their network. Last month, a clerk shot co-workers at Thailand’s Army War College in Bangkok, killing two and wounding another before he was arrested.  

A former police officer facing a drug charge burst into a day care center Thursday in Thailand, killing dozens of preschoolers and teachers and then shooting more people as he fled. At least 36 people were slain in the deadliest rampage in the nation’s history. The assailant, who was fired earlier this year, took his own life after killing his wife and child at home. Photos taken by first responders showed the school’s floor littered with the tiny bodies of children still on their blankets, where they had been taking an afternoon nap. The images showed slashes to their faces and gunshots to their heads and pools of blood. A teacher told public broadcaster Thai PBS that the assailant got out of a car and immediately shot a man eating lunch outside, then fired more shots. When the attacker paused to reload, the teacher had an opportunity to run inside. “I ran to the back, the children were asleep,” said the young woman, who did not give her name, choking back her words. “The children were two or three years old.” Another witness said staff at the day care center had locked the door, but the gunman shot his way in. “The teacher who died, she had a child in her arms,” the witness, whose name wasn’t given, told Thailand’s Kom Chad Luek television. “I didn’t think he would kill children, but he shot at the door and shot right through it.” At least 10 people were wounded, including six critically, police spokesman Archayon Kraithong said. The attack took place in the rural town of Uthai Sawan in Thailand’s northeastern province of Nongbua Lamphu, one of the country’s poorest regions. A video taken by a first responder arriving at the scene showed rescuers rushing into the single-story building past a shattered glass front door, with drops of blood visible on the ground in the entryway. In footage posted online after the attack, frantic family members could be heard weeping outside the building. One image showed the floor smeared with blood where sleeping mats were scattered around the room. Pictures of the alphabet and other colorful decorations adorned the walls. Police identified the attacker as 34-year-old former police officer Panya Kamrap. Police Maj. Gen. Paisal Luesomboon told PPTV in an interview that he was fired from the force earlier this year because of the drug charge. In a Facebook posting, Thai police chief Gen. Dumrongsak Kittiprapas said the man, who had been a sergeant, was due in court Friday for a hearing in the case involving methamphetamine, and speculated that he may have chosen the day care center because it was close to his home. Earlier, Dumrongsak told reporters that the main weapon used was a 9mm pistol that the man had purchased himself. Paisal said he also had a shotgun and a knife. Thailand Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, who planned to travel to the scene on Friday, told reporters that initial reports were that the former officer was having personal problems. “This shouldn’t happen,” he said. “I feel deep sadness toward the victims and their relatives.” Police have not given a full breakdown of the death toll, but they have said at least 22 children and two adults were killed at the day care. At least two more children were killed elsewhere. Some family members of those killed in the attack were still at the scene of the rampage late into the evening. Mental health workers sat with them, trying to bring comfort, according to Thai TBS television. Firearm-related deaths in Thailand are much lower than in countries such as the United States and Brazil, but higher than in Japan and Singapore, which have strict gun-control laws. The rate of firearms related deaths in 2019 was about 4 per 100,000, compared with about 11 per 100,000 in the U.S. and nearly 23 per 100,000 in Brazil. Mass shootings are rare but not unheard of in Thailand, which has one of the highest civilian gun ownership rates in Asia, with 15.1 weapons per 100 population compared to only 0.3 in Singapore and 0.25 in Japan. That’s still far lower than the U.S. rate of 120.5 per 100 people, according to a 2017 survey by Australia’s GunPolicy.org nonprofit organization. The country’s previous worst mass shooting involved a disgruntled soldier who opened fire in and around a mall in the northeastern city of Nakhon Ratchasima in 2020, killing 29 people and holding off security forces for some 16 hours before eventually being killed by them. Nearly 60 others were wounded in that attack. Its death toll surpassed that of the previously worst attack on civilians, a 2015 bombing at a shrine in Bangkok that killed 20 people. It was allegedly carried out by human traffickers in retaliation for a crackdown on their network. Last month, a clerk shot co-workers at Thailand’s Army War College in Bangkok, killing two and wounding another before he was arrested.

At least nine people, including five students, have been killed and more than 38 others injured in a head-on collision between two buses in the southern Indian state of Kerala. The tragedy occurred in the state's Palakkad district when one of the two buses attempted to overtake a private car, according to a top government Minister. "Nine people, including five students and a teacher, were killed in the accident,” Road Transport Minister Antony Raju told the local media on Thursday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to Twitter to offer his condolences to the families of those killed in the accident. "PM @narendramodi has expressed grief on the loss of lives due to an accident in Kerala’s Palakkad district. He extends condolences to the bereaved families and prays for a quick recovery of the injured," the Prime Minister's Office tweeted. A probe has been ordered into the accident, the Road Transport Minister said. Road accidents are common in India, with one taking place every four minutes. These accidents are often blamed on poor roads, rash driving and scant regard for traffic laws. The Indian government's implementation of stricter traffic laws in recent years has failed to rein in accidents, which claim over 100,000 lives every year.

At least 24 children and 11 adults were killed Thursday in an attack that began at a childcare center in northeastern Thailand, authorities said. The gunman then fled the scene, shooting from his car as he drove home, where he killed his wife and child before taking his own life, police said. The initial attack came at about 12:30 p.m. when the man, identified as a former police officer, entered the childcare center in the town of Nongbua Lamphu, authorities said. Nineteen boys, three girls and two adults were killed in the building before the assailant fled, according to a police statement.   Photos and videos of the scene posted online showed sleeping mats scattered in a preschool room, its floor smeared with blood, with alphabet pictures and other colorful wall decorations. Videos carried the sound of wails as frantic family members wept and watched outside the nursery school building. Ambulances stood by as police and medical workers walked in the schoolyard. According to Thai media reports, the gunman also used knives in the attack. After the suspect fled, he continued to shoot from his car, hitting several people, police Maj. Gen. Paisal Luesomboon told The Associated Press. After arriving home, he killed his wife and child before killing himself, according to the Daily News newspaper. Police said a total of two children and 10 adults died outside the childcare center, including the suspect, his wife and his son. Firearm-related deaths in Thailand are much lower than in countries like the United States and Brazil, but higher than in countries like Japan and Singapore that have strict gun control laws. The rate of firearms related deaths in 2019 was about 4 per 100,000, compared with about 11 per 100,000 in the U.S. and nearly 23 per 100,000 in Brazil. Last month, a clerk shot co-workers at Thailand's Army War College in Bangkok, killing two and wounding another before he was arrested. The country's previous worst mass shooting involved a disgruntled soldier who opened fire in and around a mall in the northeastern city of Nakhon Ratchasima in 2020, killing 29 people and holding off security forces for some 16 hours before eventually being killed by them.

A malfunctioning South Korean ballistic missile blew up as it plowed into the ground Wednesday during a live-fire drill with the United States that was a reprisal for North Korea’s successful launch a day earlier of a weapon that flew over Japan and has the range to strike the U.S. territory of Guam. The explosion and subsequent fire panicked and confused residents of the coastal city of Gangneung, who were already uneasy over the increasingly provocative weapons tests by rival North Korea. Their concern that it could be a North Korean attack only grew as the military and government officials provided no explanation about the explosion for hours. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said no injuries have been reported from the explosion, which involved a short-range Hyumoo-2 missile that crashed inside an air force base in the outskirts of the city. It said the crash didn’t affect any civilian facilities. Kwon Seong-dong, a ruling party lawmaker representing Gangneung, wrote on Facebook that a “weapons system operated by our blood-like taxpayer money ended up threatening our own people” and called for the military to thoroughly investigate the missile failure. He also criticized the military for not issuing a notice about the failure while maintaining a media embargo on the joint drills. “It was an irresponsible response,” Kwon wrote. “They don’t even have an official press release yet.” South Korea’s military acknowledged the malfunction hours after internet users raised alarm about the blast and posted social media videos showing an orange ball of flames emerging from an area they described as near the air force base. It said it was investigating what caused the “abnormal flight” of the missile. Officials at Gangneung’s fire department and city hall said emergency workers were dispatched to the air force base and a nearby army base in response to calls about a possible explosion but were sent back by military officials. The U.S. and South Korean militaries are conducting the joint exercises to show their ability to deter a North Korean attack on the South. During Tuesday’s drills, they conducted bombing runs by F-15 strike jets using precision munitions and launched two missiles each that are part of the Army Tactical Missile System. Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the U.S. aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan was scheduled to return to waters east of South Korea on Wednesday to demonstrate the allies’ “firm will” to counter North’s continued provocations and threats. The carrier was part of drills last week with South Korea and Japan. The homegrown Hyumoo-2 is key to South Korea’s preemptive and retaliatory strike strategies against the North. Some versions of the missile are similar to Russian-designed Iskander missiles, which are part of North Korea’s arsenal. North Korea’s successful launch of a nuclear-capable ballistic missile hours before the drills was the country’s most provocative weapons demonstration since 2017 and was its fifth round of weapons tests in 10 days. That missile has a range capable of striking Guam, which is home to one of the largest military facilities maintained by the U.S. in Asia. North Korea in 2017 also tested missiles capable of hitting the continental United States. North Korea has fired nearly 40 ballistic missiles over about 20 different launch events this year, exploiting Russia’s war on Ukraine and the resulting deep divide in the U.N. Security Council to accelerate its arms development without risking further sanctions. Its aim is to develop a fully fledged nuclear arsenal capable of threatening the U.S. mainland and its allies while gaining recognition as a nuclear state and wresting concessions from those countries. The United States, Britain, France, Albania, Norway and Ireland called for an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council over the latest North Korean launch. The open meeting was scheduled for 3 p.m. Wednesday.

At least 25 people were killed and 21 others injured after a bus veered off the road and rolled down a gorge in the Indian hilly state of Uttarakhand late on Tuesday night.   The accident occurred near Simdi village in Uttarakhand's Pauri Garwhal district when a group of some 50 people were returning home from a wedding.   "Some 25 people were found dead in the Pauri Garwhal bus accident. Police and the State Disaster Relief Force rescued 21 people overnight; the injured have been admitted to nearby hospitals," state police chief Ashok Kumar told the local media on Wednesday morning.    Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to Twitter to offer his condolences to the families of those killed in the "heart-rending" accident.   "The bus accident in Pauri, Uttarakhand, is heart-rending. In this tragic hour my thoughts are with the bereaved families. I hope those who have been injured recover at the earliest. Rescue operations are underway," the PM's office tweeted.   A probe has been ordered into the accident, the police chief said.   Road accidents are common in India, with one taking place every four minutes. These accidents are often blamed on poor roads, rash driving and scant regard for traffic laws.   The Indian government's implementation of stricter traffic laws in recent years has failed to rein in accidents, which claim over 100,000 lives every year.

North Korea on Tuesday fired a ballistic missile over Japan for the first time in five years, forcing Japan to issue evacuation notices and suspend trains during the flight of the nuclear-capable weapon that could reach the U.S. territory of Guam and possibly beyond. The launch was the most provocative weapons demonstration by North Korea this year as it ramps up missile tests to build a full-fledged nuclear arsenal that viably threatens U.S. allies and the American homeland with the goal of wresting outside concessions, some experts say. The missile’s estimated 4,500 kilometer (2,800 mile) flight was the longest by any North Korean missile, though the North has previously launched other potentially longer-range weapons at high angles to avoid neighboring countries. The United States strongly condemned North Korea’s “dangerous and reckless decision” to launch what it described as a “long-range ballistic missile” over Japan. “The United States will continue its efforts to limit (North Korea’s) ability to advance its prohibited ballistic missile and weapons of mass destruction programs, including with allies and U.N. partners,” National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said in a statement. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol earlier said the missile had an intermediate range, while Japanese Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada said it was believed to have an intermediate range or longer. If Tuesday’s launch involves a long-range missile, that could be a test of a weapon targeting the U.S. homeland, some experts say. Japanese authorities alerted residents in northeastern regions to evacuate to shelters, in the first “J-alert” since 2017 when North Korea fired an intermediate-range Hwasong-12 missile twice over Japan in a span of weeks during its previous torrid run of weapons tests. Trains were suspended in the Hokkaido and Aomori regions until the government issued a subsequent notice that the North Korean missile appeared to have landed in the Pacific. In Sapporo city, the prefectural capital of Japan’s northernmost main island of Hokkaido, subways were also temporarily suspended, with stations packed with morning commuters. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters the latest firing “is a reckless act and I strongly condemn it.” South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the missile was fired from the inland north in North Korea. It warned the North’s repeated missile launches would only deepen its international isolation and prompt Seoul and Washington to bolster their deterrence capacities. Yoon said the North’s “reckless nuclear provocations” would meet the stern response of the South and the broader international community. According to South Korean and Japanese estimates, the missile traveled about 4,500-4,600 kilometers (2,800-2,860 miles) at a maximum altitude of 970-1,000 kilometers (600-620 miles). Hamada said it landed in the Pacific, about 3,200 kilometers (1,990 miles) off the northern Japanese coast and that there have been no reports of damage to Japanese aircraft and ships. South Korea’s Defense Ministry said the missile flew farther than any other weapon fired by North Korea. Before Tuesday’s launch, the 3,700-kilometer (2,300 miles)-long flight of Hwasong-12 in 2017 was North Korea's longest. It has previously tested intercontinental ballistic missiles at steep angles so they flew shorter. The U.S. said national security adviser Jake Sullivan had consulted with his South Korean and Japanese counterparts on their appropriate and robust responses. Both South Korea and Japan separately convened their own emergency national security council meetings. The missile’s flight distance shows it has enough range to hit the U.S. Pacific territory of Guam, home to U.S. military bases that sent advanced warplanes to the Korean Peninsula in shows of force in past tensions with North Korea. In 2017, North Korea threatened to make “an enveloping fire” near Guam with Hwasong-12 missiles amid rising animosities with the then-Trump administration. North Korea last test-fired a Hwasong-12 missile in January. At the time, the North said the launch was meant to verify the overall accuracy of the weapon, which it said was launched on a lofted angle to prevent it from flying over other countries. Hamada said the missile on Tuesday could have been another Hwasong-12. Kim Dong-yub, a professor at Seoul’s University of North Korean Studies, said North Korea could have tested the Hwasong-12 again or even an intercontinental ballistic missile, closer to what would be a normal ballistic trajectory but shorter than its full range. If it was an ICBM, the purpose of the launch would be to test whether the warhead could survive the harsh conditions of atmospheric reentry, Kim said. Tuesday’s launch is the fifth round of weapons tests by North Korea in the past 10 days in what was seen as an apparent response to military drills between South Korea and the United States and other training among the allies including Japan last week. North Korea views them as an invasion rehearsal. The missiles fired during the past four rounds of launches were short-range and fell in the waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan. Those missiles are capable of hitting targets in South Korea. North Korea has test-fired about 40 missiles over about 20 different launch events this year as its leader Kim Jong Un pushes to perfect his country's weapons technologies and refuses to return to nuclear diplomacy with the United States. Last month, North Korea adopted a new law authorizing the preemptive use of nuclear weapons in some cases, a move that showed its increasingly aggressive nuclear doctrine. Last Saturday, Yoon warned of an “overwhelming response” from South Korean and U.S. militaries if North Korea uses nuclear weapons. Some foreign experts say North Korea needs to master a few remaining technologies to acquire functioning nuclear missiles. Each new test pushes them closer to being able to reach the U.S. mainland and its allies with a host of nuclear-tipped missiles of varying range. Some experts say Kim eventually will return to diplomacy and use his enlarged arsenal to pressure Washington to accept his country as a nuclear state, a recognition that he thinks is necessary to win the lifting of international sanctions and other concessions.

An Indonesian police chief and nine elite officers were removed from their posts Monday and 18 others were being investigated for responsibility in the firing of tear gas inside a soccer stadium that set off a stampede, killing at least 125 people, officials said. Distraught family members were struggling to comprehend the loss of their loved ones, including 17 children, at the match in East Java’s Malang city that was attended only by hometown Arema FC fans. The organizer had banned supporters of the visiting team, Persebaya Surabaya, because of Indonesia’s history of violent soccer rivalries. The disaster Saturday night was among the deadliest ever at a sporting event. Arema players and officials laid wreaths Monday in front of the stadium.  “We came here as a team asking forgiveness from the families impacted by this tragedy, those who lost their loves ones or the ones still being treated in the hospital,” head coach Javier Roca said. On Monday night, about a thousand soccer fans dressed in black shirts held a candlelight vigil at a soccer stadium in Jakarta’s satellite city of Bekasi to pray for the victims of the disaster. Witnesses said some of the 42,000 Arema fans ran onto the pitch in anger on Saturday after the team was defeated 3-2, its first loss at home against Persebaya in 23 years. Some threw bottles and other objects at players and soccer officials. At least five police vehicles were toppled and set ablaze outside the stadium. But most of the deaths occurred when riot police, trying to stop the violence, fired tear gas, including in the stands, triggering a disastrous stampede of fans making a panicked, chaotic run for the exits. Most of the 125 people who died were trampled or suffocated. The victims included two police officers. At least 17 children were among the dead and seven were being treated in hospitals, the Ministry of Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection said. Police said 323 people were injured in the crush, with some still in critical condition. National Police spokesperson Dedy Prasetyo said Malang police chief Ferli Hidayat had been removed along with nine members of an elite police mobile brigade and face possible dismissal in a police ethics trial. He said 18 officers responsible for firing the tear gas, ranging from middle- to high-ranking, were being investigated. Police are questioning witnesses and analyzing video from 32 security cameras inside and outside the stadium and nine cellphones owned by the victims as part of an investigation that will also identify suspected vandals, he said. The parents and other relatives of Faiqotul Hikmah, 22, wailed Monday when an ambulance arrived at their home with her body wrapped in white cloth and a black blanket. She died while fleeing to exit 12 at Kanjuruhan Stadium. A dozen friends had traveled with her to see the match, but Hikmah was one of only four who were able to enter the stadium because tickets were sold out, her friend, Abdul Mukid, said Monday. He later bought a ticket from a broker after hearing of the chaos inside the stadium in order to search for Hikman. “I have to find her, save her," Mukid recalled thinking. Mukid found Hikmah's body laid at a building in the stadium compound, with broken ribs and bluish bruises on her face. He learned that a second friend had also died from other friends who called him while he was in an ambulance taking Hikmah’s body to a hospital. “I can’t put into words how much my sorrow is to lose my sister,” said Nur Laila, Hikmah’s older sibling. “She was just a big Arema fan who wanted to watch her favorite team play. She shouldn’t die just for that,” she said, wiping away tears. President Joko Widodo ordered the premier soccer league suspended until safety is reevaluated and security tightened. Indonesia’s soccer association also banned Arema from hosting soccer matches for the rest of the season. Arema FC President Gilang Widya Pramana expressed his sadness and deepest apologies to the victims and the Indonesian people, and said he is ready to take full responsibility for the tragedy at his team’s stadium. He said the management, coach and players were in shock and speechless. “I am ready to provide assistance, even though it will not be able to return the victims’ lives,” Pramana said at a news conference Monday at Arema’s headquarters in Malang. “This incident was beyond prediction, beyond reason ... in a match watched only by our fans, not a single rival supporter,” he said, sobbing. “How can that match kill more than 100 people?” He said Arema FC is ready to accept any sanctions from Indonesia’s Soccer Association and the government, and “hopefully, it will be a very valuable lesson.” Security Minister Mohammad Mahfud said he will lead an inquiry that will examine law violations in the disaster and provide recommendations to the president to improve soccer safety. The investigation is to be completed in three weeks. Mahfud instructed the national police and military chiefs to punish those who committed crimes and actions that triggered the stampede. “The government urged the national police to evaluate their security procedures,” Mahfud said at a news conference. Rights group Amnesty International urged Indonesia to investigate the use of tear gas and ensure that those found responsible are tried in open court. While FIFA has no control over domestic games, it has advised against the use of tear gas at soccer stadiums. Despite Indonesia’s lack of international prominence in the sport, hooliganism is rife in the soccer-obsessed country where fanaticism often ends in violence. Data from Indonesia’s soccer watchdog, Save Our Soccer, showed 78 people have died in game-related incidents over the past 28 years.   Saturday’s game was among the world’s worst crowd disasters in sports, including a 1996 World Cup qualifier between Guatemala and Costa Rica in Guatemala City in which over 80 died and more than 100 were injured. In April 2001, more than 40 people were crushed to death during a soccer match at Ellis Park in Johannesburg, South Africa. In February 2012, 74 people were killed and more than 500 injured after a match between rivals al-Masry and al-Ahly when thousands of al-Masry fans invaded the field and attacked visiting supporters. The Egyptian league was suspended for two years as a result.