Hamit Coskun, 50, held burning text outside Turkish consulate London, Westminster magistrates court heard
Prosecuting a man for burning the Qur’an is “tantamount to reintroducing a blasphemy law” in Great Britain, a trial has heard.
Hamit Coskun, 50, shouted “fuck Islam”, “Islam is religion of terrorism” and “Qur’an is burning” as he held aloft the burning Islamic text outside the Turkish consulate in London on 13 February, Westminster magistrates court heard.
Continue reading...Kenyan writer’s death announced by his daughter, who wrote: ‘He lived a full life, fought a good fight’
The Kenyan writer Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o, who was censored, imprisoned and forced into exile by the dictator Daniel arap Moi, a perennial contender for the Nobel prize for literature and one of few writers working in an indigenous African language, has died aged 87.
“It is with a heavy heart that we announce the passing of our dad, Ngugi wa Thiong’o, this Wednesday morning,” wrote his daughter Wanjiku wa Ngũgĩ on Facebook. “He lived a full life, fought a good fight.”
Continue reading...The use of IEDs in a war between criminal groups in the Michoacán-Jalisco border region has increased drastically
Eight Mexican soldiers have died after triggering an improvised explosive device (IED) in the state of Michoacán, underlining the rising use of mines by organised crime factions.
The soldiers were on patrol in an armoured vehicle in the municipality of Los Reyes, near the border with the state of Jalisco, when the mine detonated on Wednesday. Six soldiers were killed instantly, while two more later died from their wounds, according to El Universal.
Continue reading...Mark Rowley, Met commissioner, had said plans for England and Wales were made ‘without any analysis of the impact on policing’
The justice secretary, Shabana Mahmood, has hit back at the UK’s most senior police officer in a row over the impact of allowing thousands of criminals to serve their sentences in the community instead of being sent to jail.
The Ministry of Justice insisted on Wednesday that officials “consulted with police” including the Metropolitan police commissioner, Sir Mark Rowley, over proposed changes to sentencing policies introduced to ease prison overcrowding.
Continue reading...Relatives of Israeli hostages accuse Netanyahu of ‘sentencing them to death’ amid calls for resignation
Marking the 600th day of the Israel-Gaza war, thousands of family members of Israeli hostages still held in Gaza have held protests across the country, blocking traffic and calling for a deal securing the release of their loved ones from captivity and an end to the conflict.
“600 days we are without our loved ones, 600 days that Hamas is holding them captive, and the bloody Israeli government is abandoning them to maintain the integrity of their coalition,” the families said in a statement read by Keith Siegel, a former hostage, at a rally in Tel Aviv on Wednesday.
Continue reading...Prosecutors confirm 21 charges, with brothers due to be extradited to the UK after conclusion of Romanian proceedings
UK prosecutors have confirmed they have authorised 21 charges against influencer brothers Andrew and Tristan Tate, including rape, actual bodily harm and human trafficking.
Andrew Tate, 38, faces 10 charges including rape, actual bodily harm, human trafficking and controlling prostitution for gain; charges connected to three alleged victims.
Continue reading...Caleb Followill says shattered heel needed ‘significant emergency surgery’, which would stop him performing
The Kings of Leon frontman, Caleb Followill, has announced that the band have cancelled their UK and European shows this summer after he injured his foot in a “freak accident”.
The singer, who is part of the US rock group with his brothers Nathan and Jared Followill and cousin Matthew Followill, was scheduled to perform at Blackweir Fields, Cardiff and Lancashire’s Lytham festival over the next two months.
Continue reading...Event commemorates estimated 75,000 Herero and Nama people killed under German colonial rule
Namibia has observed its first genocide remembrance day, honouring the estimated 75,000 victims who were massacred by soldiers or forced into concentration camps during German colonial rule.
Between 1904 and 1908, an estimated 65,000 Herero people and 10,000 Nama people were killed when the groups rejected colonial rule. It amounted to 80% and 50% of their respective populations at the time.
Continue reading...Trump officials offer to move 300 birds to Mehmet Oz’s Florida ranch after Canada’s kill order over avian flu fears
Senior officials in the Trump administration have intervened in attempt to save more than 300 ostriches on a farm in British Columbia which the Canadian government had ordered to be killed over fears the flock is infected with avian flu.
Robert F Kennedy Jr, the US health secretary, and Mehmet Oz, a physician and former TV host appointed by Trump as the director of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, have offered to move the birds to Oz’s ranch in Florida – despite the kill order imposed by Canadian health authorities.
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