Gangs using Airbnb-type rentals as drug stash houses, top Belgian official says

Flexible short-term bookings used to store and pack drugs and stash weapons and cash, says Ine Van Wymersch

Airbnb-type short-term rentals are being used as stash houses by criminal gangs for money, drugs, weapons and people, Belgium’s lead official in charge of countering drugs has said.

The booming e-commerce sector is helping “enormously” to facilitate organised crime, Belgium’s national drug commissioner, Ine Van Wymersch, said.

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Australia adds optional gender identity and sexual orientation questions to census – AP News

  1. Australia adds optional gender identity and sexual orientation questions to census  AP News
  2. What happens if you do not complete your census form?  ABC News & Headlines – Australian Broadcasting Corporation
  3. The census will ask about your sexual orientation. What should you write?  The Conversation
  4. Ghost of census past: The number haunting millions of Aussies  realestate.com.au
  5. Australia Census  Bluefield Daily Telegraph
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Trump reportedly hid in catering container to board secret flight in Turkey amid Iran threat

Elaborate ruse was used to transport president to military flight from Air Force One in July

Donald Trump departed on a secret military flight from Turkey to Britain last month when the White House said he was flying aboard ⁠Air Force One, in an extraordinary ruse – prompted by an Iranian assassination threat – that involved hiding the president in an airport catering container, according to reporting from the Washington Post and the New York Times.

The operation took place when Trump was in Ankara for a Nato summit with world leaders, according to the Post. The president reportedly boarded the old Air Force One jumbo jet in view of television cameras, and then was secretly shuttled minutes later to a smaller plane via an airport catering truck typically used to load meals and other supplies preflight, a US official told the Post.

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Photos show flooding and storm damage in the Philippines – AP News

  1. Photos show flooding and storm damage in the Philippines  AP News
  2. Enhanced habagat may still affect Luzon until Wednesday afternoon  Inquirer.net
  3. Days of heavy rain leave at least 16 dead in Philippines  channelnewsasia.com
  4. Floods and landslides kill 15 as Philippines hit by nine days of incessant rain  The Independent
  5. Habagat dumps weeks’ worth of rain in several areas; Luzon dams record gains  ABS-CBN
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Yemen’s Houthis launch ballistic missile attacks on al-Makha and Marib – Al Jazeera

  1. Yemen’s Houthis launch ballistic missile attacks on al-Makha and Marib  Al Jazeera
  2. Yemen Teeters on Civil War as Regional Stability Hangs in the Balance  The New York Times
  3. Yemeni military says Houthi attack on Mocha kills 7, wounds 30  Reuters
  4. A blocked Iranian flight to Yemen set off Houthis’ latest spiral with Saudi Arabia  AP News
  5. Why is there fighting in Yemen and what does it mean for the Iran war?  CNN
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China missile test deepens Pacific divide over growing militarisation – Reuters

  1. China missile test deepens Pacific divide over growing militarisation  Reuters
  2. US Criticizes China Over Nuclear Missile Test in Pacific Ocean  Bloomberg.com
  3. U.S. National Statement on Notifications of Ballistic Missile Launches  U.S. Mission to International Organizations in Geneva (.gov)
  4. After China’s missile test, US and allies demand 24-hour warning next time  South China Morning Post
  5. Pacific ministers fail to agree on China missile response  Reuters
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Another Wildberries Warehouse Goes Up in Flames After Ukrainian Drone Strike in Russia’s Voronezh – Kyiv Post

  1. Another Wildberries Warehouse Goes Up in Flames After Ukrainian Drone Strike in Russia’s Voronezh  Kyiv Post
  2. Breakingviews - Bombing of Russian Amazon puts Putin in a bind  Reuters
  3. Ukraine's drones torch oil refineries, giant warehouse deep in Russia  Yahoo
  4. Kazakhs Weigh Hosting Russian Retailers Against Ukraine Neutrality  Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
  5. Ukraine assault on Russian retail giant Wildberries brings war home to consumers and retailers  The Conversation
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Russia’s Supreme Court bars last anti-war party from elections – The Washington Post

  1. Russia’s Supreme Court bars last anti-war party from elections  The Washington Post
  2. Yabloko, Russian Antiwar Party, Is Banned From Parliament Elections  The New York Times
  3. Ukraine war briefing: Russia bans voting against the war  The Guardian
  4. Russian anti-war party’s election ban dismays some voters  Reuters
  5. The Kremlin let Russia’s only anti-war party, Yabloko, onto the ballot to bleed protest votes. But when it started polling at 6%, the Supreme Court stepped in.  Meduza
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Russia’s lockdown of Odessa ports could be a grim turning point in war – responsiblestatecraft.org

  1. Russia's lockdown of Odessa ports could be a grim turning point in war  responsiblestatecraft.org
  2. EXCLUSIVE: Ukraine cuts grain export forecast due to Russia attack on seaports  Reuters
  3. Record-Low Danube Strains Vital Route for Black Sea Grain  Bloomberg.com
  4. Farmers in the occupied territories cannot transport grain because carriers refuse to do so - CNS  unn.ua
  5. Ukraine warns of 11 million tonne grain storage shortfall this autumn  thecattlesite.com
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Typhoon Dolphin floods central China, puts Beijing on alert for heavy rain – Reuters

  1. Typhoon Dolphin floods central China, puts Beijing on alert for heavy rain  Reuters
  2. Typhoon Dolphin threatens central China as Beijing braces for one-third of its annual rainfall in the next 24 hours  NBC News
  3. Hundreds more flights are canceled as Tropical Storm Dolphin causes flooding in eastern China  AP News
  4. Beijing braces for one-third of its annual rainfall over next 24 hours  Reuters
  5. Typhoon Dolphin Barrels Into China, Prompting Mass Evacuations  The New York Times
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