Suspect in Michigan synagogue attack had lost family in Israeli strike on Lebanon

Ayman Mohamad Ghazali, who was born in Lebanon and became a naturalized US citizen, lost two brothers, a niece and a nephew in the airstrike

The armed suspect who drove a vehicle into the hallway of a large Michigan synagogue complex that includes a school had lost four family members in an Israeli airstrike in his native Lebanon just last week, an official said on Friday.

A potential mass-casualty event was averted when security guards already in place at Temple Israel in West Bloomfield Township on the outskirts of Detroit killed the driver before any harm could come to the synagogue’s staff, teachers and 140 children at the early childhood center there on Thursday afternoon.

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France returns sacred talking drum looted from Côte d’Ivoire over 100 years ago

Djidji Ayôkwé was handed to Ivorian officials in Paris earlier this month

A sacred artefact looted by French colonial authorities more than a century ago has been returned to Côte d’Ivoire in one of the most significant cultural restitutions to a former French colony in years.

The Djidji Ayôkwé, a talking drum confiscated in 1916 by French administrators, landed at 8.45am on Friday at the airport in Port Bouët on the outskirts of the economic capital, Abidjan. It was handed over to Ivorian officials in Paris earlier this month after being removed from the Quai Branly – Jacques Chirac Museum.

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‘I don’t give a shit about Iran. I don’t want to pay higher gas’: Motor City motorists feel pinch as gas prices surge

Drivers in Detroit are unhappy with the spike in gas prices, even if reactions are mixed to the US-Israel war on Iran

On a rainy Detroit afternoon at a gas station off Interstate 75, Victor Rodriguez watched the pump tally tick up as he filled up his F-250 diesel pickup truck for $4.19 per gallon. It totaled $110. “Ridiculous,” he said.

The US-Israel war on Iran has crippled major portions of the oil supply chain, sending gas prices soaring as the conflict enters its third week. Rodriguez said he supports “getting rid of this thug”, referring to Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed by the US, but the cost is too high.

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Israeli-backed Palestinian militias step up operations against Hamas in Gaza

Armed groups appear to have increased their firepower as they carry out raids deep in Hamas-controlled territory

Pro-Israel Palestinian militia have launched repeated raids, clandestine assassination and abduction operations deep inside parts of Gaza controlled by Hamas in recent months, with new operations launched recently despite the outbreak of conflict with Iran.

The militia, which are all based in eastern parts of Gaza that are under Israeli control after a ceasefire came into effect in October, have received significant logistic support from Israel since last year but appear to have increased their firepower, allowing new and more aggressive attacks in recent weeks.

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Who are the key figures in the sewage crisis, and where are they now?

With anger stoked by Channel 4’s drama Dirty Business, we look at what has happened to some of the main players

Water companies have been in the public eye for the wrong reasons again recently. South West Water was in the dock pleading guilty to supplying water unfit for human consumption, while the regulator fined South East Water £22.5m for repeated supply failures that affected more than 280,000 people over three years.

As the full scale of the sewage pollution scandal has been revealed to the public over the past six years, key figures working for the regulators and the privatised companies have been heavily criticised. Channel 4’s drama Dirty Business has focused attention on individuals at the heart of the scandal.

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One family’s harrowing escape to the US – and the Trump government’s relentless efforts to deport them back

Oscar, Ana and their children fled violence for safety in the US. Now Oscar, afraid and alone, is back in Honduras – ‘at the mercy of God and his will’

As soon as Oscar’s deportation flight landed at the La Lima airport in Honduras, he put on his baseball cap. On the airport shuttle toward the terminal, he pulled his cap even lower – trying to obscure his face at various police checkpoints.

His parents picked him up in a car, and drove him to a lodging they had arranged for him – miles away from his family home. He has hardly stepped outside since. “Because I can’t trust anyone – not the authorities, not the government, not a police officer,” he said. He has visited his mother a handful of times since the US deported him three weeks ago, and only under the cover of night. “They will kill anyone here. There is death everywhere.”

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‘A minefield’: taoiseach prepares for St Patrick’s Day visit to Washington

Traditionally jovial affair poses potential debacle for Irish leader at odds with US over foreign policy, tax and immigration

For Ireland’s leaders, it has long been the highlight of the political calendar: a love-fest in Washington with hosts who sport shamrocks and toast Saint Patrick.

Irish delegations are traditionally received on Capitol Hill and at the White House in a blaze of goodwill and backslapping that has them wishing every day was 17 March.

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Romania’s Eurovision song criticised for ‘glamorising sexual strangulation’

Calls for Alexandra Căpitănescu’s Choke Me to be banned as campaigners say lyrics are ‘dangerous’ and ‘reckless’

Romania’s Eurovision entry Choke Me has been labelled “dangerous” and “reckless” for appearing to glamorise sexual strangulation, an unsafe practice that can lead to brain injury and death.

Campaigners against sexual violence said the entry, in which the words “choke me” are repeated 30 times during the three-minute song, was “playing fast and loose with young women’s lives”.

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Bailiffs board Ryanair plane after airline refuses to pay delayed flight compensation

Austrian officials took action after airline ignored court order to pay €890 to unnamed women

Bailiffs have boarded a Ryanair aircraft after the airline refused to pay compensation to a passenger whose flight was delayed.

Austrian officials took action after the budget carrier ignored a court order to pay the unnamed woman €890 (£742) in legal costs and compensation for a delayed flight two years ago.

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Patients face long journeys for medicines as pharmacies cut weekend hours

More than 20% of weekend availability lost in England since 2022, forcing some to turn to A&E, says national association

People who need to obtain medication at the weekend are having to undertake long trips because more pharmacies are cutting their opening hours on Saturdays and Sundays.

One in six pharmacies in England have reduced their hours at weekends since 2022, with some shutting altogether, as a result of “unsustainable” pressures on their budgets.

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Iranian attacks escalate across Middle East as container ship struck near Dubai – Fox News

  1. Iranian attacks escalate across Middle East as container ship struck near Dubai  Fox News
  2. Tracking Iranian attacks on civilian ships in the Gulf  Reuters
  3. Thailand’s Precious Shipping Falls To One-Month Low After Cargo Vessel Struck In Strait Of Hormuz  Forbes
  4. Strike on Thai tanker in Strait of Hormuz may be message to the U.S., analyst says  CBS News
  5. Tracking the wave of ship attacks that has choked off Strait of Hormuz  BBC
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‘We’re living in an Orwellian nightmare’: Grace Tame calls Anthony Albanese a ‘coward’ in scathing critique

In an essay for Crikey, the former Australian of the Year says the PM is a ‘turncoat’ who is ‘capitulating to foreign powers’ amid the US-Israel war on Iran

Grace Tame has said “we’re living in an Orwellian nightmare” in a scathing critique of the prime minister and his government’s position on the war in the Middle East.

In an essay published in Crikey on Friday, the advocate for sexual abuse survivors and human rights activist accused Anthony Albanese of being a “coward” and a “turncoat” for refusing to condemn the US-Israel strikes on Iran.

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Everything is a political weapon since Trump’s re-election, says Germany’s ex-economy minister

Robert Habeck says world has moved on from weaponising energy to using tariffs, technology and more to inflict harm

The weaponisation of energy when Russia invaded Ukraine has given way to “weaponising everything” since Donald Trump returned to the White House, Germany’s former economy minister has said.

Robert Habeck, the Green politician responsible for keeping the lights on during the last energy crisis, said the belief gas “would never be a political weapon” led successive German governments blindly into Putin’s trap by building the Nord Stream pipelines and selling strategic reserves to Gazprom, which Russia emptied before the invasion.

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Trump threatens Iran following new wave of attacks on Gulf states and Israel – AP News

  1. Trump threatens Iran following new wave of attacks on Gulf states and Israel  AP News
  2. Trump revels in killing of Iran's leaders as war nears two-week mark  Reuters
  3. Iran war disrupts energy supplies as Iran’s new leader resolves to keep fighting  AP News
  4. Trump vows to end war soon as Iran hits ships, threatens banks, and toll on U.S. forces emerges  CBS News
  5. Trump Warns Iran to ‘Watch What Happens’ Today  Bloomberg.com
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French soldier killed, others wounded in attack in Iraq, Macron says – Al Jazeera

  1. French soldier killed, others wounded in attack in Iraq, Macron says  Al Jazeera
  2. Several French soldiers wounded, one officer dead in Iraq after drone attack  Reuters
  3. French president says a French soldier has been killed in attack in Iraq  Politico
  4. French soldier killed and several wounded in attack in Iraq's Kurdistan region, confirms Macron  Le Monde.fr
  5. French soldier killed in drone attack in Iraq’s Kurdish region, Macron says  France 24
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Killing of Modi’s Invited Iranian Guests Strains US-India Ties – Bloomberg.com

  1. Killing of Modi’s Invited Iranian Guests Strains US-India Ties  Bloomberg.com
  2. Iran’s Frantic Attempt to Save Its Ships Before Torpedo Attack  The New York Times
  3. Australian submariners have a brush with Iran war  Defense News
  4. The Final Days of an Iranian Navy Crew Before the U.S. Torpedoed Their Ship  WSJ
  5. Armed or unarmed? US and Iran spar over status of Iranian warship sunk by a submarine  AP News
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Former Iranian diplomat was granted asylum in Australia after defecting

Mohammad Pournajaf, Tehran’s former charge d’affaires in Canberra, sought protection in 2023, government source confirms

One of Iran’s former top diplomats in Australia has defected from the theocratic regime, with the revelations only coming to light this week after six members of the Iranian women’s football squad were granted protection.

London-based news outlet Iran International, which is not tied to the Islamic Republic’s regime, reported on Friday that Mohammad Pournajaf, Tehran’s charge d’affaires in Canberra until at least 2023, had applied for asylum. Another Iranian diplomat had applied for asylum in Denmark, the outlet reported.

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Nepal ex-rapper’s party wins election in landslide after Gen Z protests – Reuters

  1. Nepal ex-rapper's party wins election in landslide after Gen Z protests  Reuters
  2. Nepal election: Balen Shah's RSP wins a huge mandate and country steps into unknown  BBC
  3. Ex-rapper Balendra Shah sweeps to power in Nepal landslide election victory  Al Jazeera
  4. Nepal’s new prime minister is a 35-year-old former rapper  The Economist
  5. Former rapper’s fledgling political party sweeps Nepal’s first post-revolt election  AP News
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