Washington: The United States is offering a reward of $1 million for information about Austin Tice, an American journalist missing in Syria since 2012.
The FBI announced the reward this week, without any explanation on the timing.
“The timing of this reward is unrelated to any specific event,” an FBI spokeswoman said.
Tice, 36, is believed to the only American journalist currently held in Syria, one of the most dangerous countries for the news media in recent years.
A freelance journalist working for McClatchy News, the Washington Post, CBS, AFP and other news organizations, Tice was abducted in August 2012 near Damascus.
Tice’s family has launched several appeals for information about his whereabouts, saying they believe he is still alive.
In 2016, a #FreeAustinTice banner was attached to the facade of the Newseum, a museum focused on news media and located on the street linking the US Capitol and the White House.
An FBI statement on its website said it would offer the reward “for information leading directly to the safe location, recovery, and return” of Tice.
The agency created an email address [email protected] and said anyone with information could also use the website tips.fbi.gov or contact any US consulate.
US offers $1m reward to locate journalist missing in Syria
US offers $1m reward to locate journalist missing in Syria
- The FBI announced the $1m reward this week.
- Tice, 36, is believed to the only American journalist currently held in Syria, one of the most dangerous countries for the news media in recent years.
Pro-Palestine protest planned in Sydney against Israeli President Herzog’s visit
- Herzog is visiting Australia this week following an invitation from Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in the aftermath of the deadly shooting at Bondi Beach
SYDNEY: Pro-Palestine demonstrators plan to rally in Sydney on Monday to protest the visit by Israeli President Isaac Herzog, as authorities declared his visit a major event and deployed thousands of police to manage the crowds.
Police have urged the protesters to gather at a central Sydney park for public safety reasons, but protest organizers said they plan to rally at the city’s historic Town Hall instead.
Police have been authorized to use rarely invoked powers during the visit, including the ability to separate and move crowds, restrict their entry to certain areas, direct people to leave and search vehicles.
“We’re hoping we won’t have to use any powers, because we’ve been liaising very closely with the protest organizers,” New South Wales Police Assistant Commissioner Peter McKenna told Nine News on Monday.
“Overall, it is all of the community that we want to keep safe ... we’ll be there in significant numbers just to make sure that the community is safe.”
About 3,000 police personnel will be deployed across Sydney, Australia’s largest city.
Herzog is visiting Australia this week following an invitation from Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in the aftermath of the deadly shooting at Bondi Beach.
He is expected to meet survivors and the families of 15 people killed in the December 14 shooting during a Jewish Hanukkah celebration at Sydney’s Bondi Beach.
In a statement, the Executive Council of Australian Jewry Co-Chief Executive Alex Ryvchin said Herzog’s visit “will lift the spirits of a pained community.”
Herzog’s visit has drawn opposition from pro-Palestine groups, with protests planned in major cities across Australia, and the Palestine Action Group has launched a legal challenge in a Sydney court against restrictions placed on the expected protests.
“A national day of protest will be held today, calling for the arrest and investigation of Isaac Herzog, who has been found by the UN Commission of Inquiry to have incited genocide in Gaza,” the Palestine Action Group said in a statement.
The Jewish Council of Australia, a vocal critic of the Israeli government, released an open letter on Monday signed by over 1,000 Jewish Australian academics and community leaders, urging Albanese to rescind Herzog’s invitation.
