Category Archives: World News

Twin brothers named as armed robbers killed in Canada bank heist

Posted on by

Heavily armed 22-year-olds died in shootout that left six police officers injured in Saanich, British Columbia

Police in Canada have identified the heavily armed culprits of a brazen bank robbery last week as twin brothers whose social media posts showed an obsession with guns and fears of government “tyranny”, and an interest in infamous bank heists.

On Saturday, police identified Mathew and Isaac Auchterlonie, 22, as the two men killed after they attempted to rob a bank in the municipality of Saanich, British Columbia.

Continue reading...

Shireen Abu Aqleh: Israeli gunfire probably killed journalist, say US investigators

Posted on by

But forensic analysis of bullet that killed Palestinian-American journalist found to be inconclusive

US investigators believe Israeli army gunfire probably killed the Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Aqleh, although a forensic analysis of the bullet was inconclusive.

A statement released by the State Department spokesperson Ned Price said “detailed forensic analysis, independent, third-party examiners … could not reach a definitive conclusion regarding the origin of the bullet”, which was badly damaged.

Continue reading...

Bolsonaro’s ‘surrender of Amazon to crooks played role in murders of Phillips and Pereira’

Posted on by

Brazilian president’s dismantling of environmental safeguards partly to blame, says politician leading inquiry

Jair Bolsonaro’s demolition of Brazil’s Indigenous and environmental protection services and “surrender of the Amazon to crooks” played a direct role in the murders of Dom Phillips and Bruno Pereira, the politician leading a congressional inquiry into the crime has claimed.

One month after the British journalist and Brazilian Indigenous advocate were killed on the River Itaquaí, three men are in custody: two local fishermen and a third man called Jeferson da Silva Lima.

Continue reading...

Hacker claims to have obtained data on 1 billion Chinese citizens

Posted on by

Personal information allegedly taken from Shanghai police database would be one of biggest data breaches in history

A hacker has claimed to have stolen the personal information of 1 billion Chinese citizens from a Shanghai police database, in what would amount to one of the biggest data breaches in history if found to be true.

The anonymous hacker, identified only as “ChinaDan”, posted on hacker forum Breach Forums last week offering to sell the more than 23 terabytes (TB) of data for 10 bitcoin, equivalent to about $200,000 (£165,000).

Continue reading...

Fears for British Council staff trapped in Afghanistan despite breakthrough

Posted on by

Exclusive: Contractors at ‘high risk’ of Taliban reprisals still have no idea how to get out of country safely

More than 180 British Council contractors left trapped in Afghanistan have been given immediate permission by the UK government to apply online to come to Britain, but no hint of how to get out of the country safely.

The partial breakthrough came after a campaign led by MPs and former colleagues of the staff that had been horrified that they had been left behind, and exposed to retribution by the Taliban for teaching values of diversity and openness.

Continue reading...

Copenhagen shooting: police say no indication of terrorism motive

Posted on by

Gunman acted alone and appears to have selected his victims at random, officials in Denmark say

A shooting at a Copenhagen shopping centre in which three people were killed and four others seriously wounded was not terror-related, Danish police have said.

Søren Thomassen, Copenhagen’s chief police inspector, said the gunman, a 22-year-old Danish man who confessed to the shooting on Sunday night, had apparently picked his victims at random when he opened fire at the Field’s shopping centre on Sunday afternoon.

Continue reading...

Tycoon who disappeared from Hong Kong hotel in 2017 stands trial in China

Posted on by

Canadian-Chinese businessman Xiao Jianhua will finally stand trial in case linked to President Xi’s corruption drive

China has formally put Canadian-Chinese tycoon Xiao Jianhua on trial, more than five years after his alleged abduction in Hong Kong, which rattled the city and sparked fears about residents being forcibly disappeared.

The Canadian embassy in Beijing confirmed on Monday that Xiao’s trial had begun this week. “Canadian consular officials are monitoring this case closely, providing consular services to his family and continue to press for consular access,” it said in a statement, without providing the location of the trial and charges against him.

Continue reading...

Sri Lanka limits fuel to essential services with supplies set to run out in days

Posted on by

Miles-long queues outside petrol stations despite ban on sales for private vehicles for at least a week

Sri Lanka’s energy minister has said the country’s fuel supplies will run out in a few days, forcing nationwide school closures and prolonged power cuts, as the worst economic crisis in its history continues.

Kanchana Wijesekera said fuel stocks were enough to last less than a day under current demand, and petrol and diesel was being limited to essential services such a healthcare and public transport in order to stretch out the remaining supplies for a few more days and ensure the country did not shut down entirely.

Continue reading...

Uzbekistan imposes regional state of emergency after deadly unrest

Posted on by

Government U-turns over plans to curtail autonomy of Karakalpakstan but fears rise tensions may escalate

Eighteen people were killed and 243 wounded during unrest in Uzbekistan’s autonomous province of Karakalpakstan over plans to curtail its autonomy, Uzbek authorities said.

Security forces detained 516 people while dispersing protesters on Friday but have released many of them, the national guard press office told a briefing.

Continue reading...

Several killed in shooting at Copenhagen shopping centre

Posted on by

22-year-old Danish man in custody as police chief says terrorism cannot be ruled out as a motive

Danish police say several people were shot dead and one suspect has been arrested after gunfire rang out at a busy Copenhagen shopping centre, with emergency services rushing to the scene on Sunday evening.

The number or condition of all the people struck by shots was not immediately available amid confusion over what had occurred at one of Scandinavia’s biggest malls.

Continue reading...

Two women killed in shark attacks in Egypt’s Red Sea

Posted on by

A Romanian and an Austrian die within 600 metres of each other south of city of Hurghada

Two women have been killed in shark attacks in Egypt’s Red Sea, south of the city of Hurghada, the Egyptian environment ministry has said.

Two sources told Reuters that the body of a Romanian tourist in her late forties was discovered hours after an attack that left a 68-year-old Austrian woman dead. Both attacks happened within 600 metres of each other, off the coast of Sahl Hasheesh, according to the sources.

Continue reading...

Russia says it has full control of Luhansk region in Ukraine

Posted on by

Ukrainian military command confirms withdrawal of troops from city of Lysychansk to avoid ‘fatal consequences’

Russia has said it is in control of Ukraine’s eastern Luhansk region after taking over Lysychansk, the last Ukrainian-controlled city in the region.

The Russian defence minister, Sergei Shoigu, told Vladimir Putin on Sunday that their forces had established “full control” over Lysychansk and several nearby settlements, the Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reported.

Continue reading...

At least six dead after chunk of glacier breaks loose on Italian mountain

Posted on by

Authorities say another eight hikers injured following fall of ice, snow and rock on popular trail in Dolomites

At least six people have died after a large chunk of Alpine glacier broke loose and slid down a mountainside in Italy.

The collapse on Sunday afternoon sent ice, snow and rock slamming into hikers on a popular trail on the Marmolada peak, killing at least six and injuring eight, authorities said.

Continue reading...

India bars Pulitzer-winning Kashmiri photojournalist from flying to France

Posted on by

Sanna Irshad Mattoo says she was stopped by immigration officials at Delhi airport despite holding valid visa

Indian authorities have blocked a Pulitzer prize-winning Kashmiri photojournalist from taking a flight to Paris where she was to take part in a book launch and photography exhibition displaying her photos from Kashmir.

Sanna Irshad Mattoo, who works with Reuters as a multimedia journalist from Indian-administered Kashmir, was stopped at the Delhi airport by immigration officials on Saturday, despite holding a valid French visa.

Continue reading...

UK Home Office plans second flight to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda

Posted on by

Flight could take off within weeks and before court has ruled on whether scheme is lawful

The Home Office is planning a second flight to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda, which could take off before the courts have ruled on whether the scheme is lawful, the Guardian has learned.

It is understood that a second flight could take off in a matter of weeks despite the fact that the full high court hearing to examine the government’s Rwanda plans does not begin until 19 July.

Continue reading...

‘TurkAegean’ tourism campaign draws angry response from Athens

Posted on by

EU approval of slogan deepens rift between rival Nato members as Greeks claim their culture is being usurped

A Turkish effort to lure tourists with a “TurkAegean” promotional campaign – against a backdrop of historic Greek sites and the sound of the bouzouki – has elicited anger and embarrassment in Athens.

With its western shores that straddle the Aegean, Turkey says the time has come to stop associating the region exclusively with Greece. Last December, it lodged a request with the EU’s intellectual property office to trademark the term TurkAegean.

Continue reading...

UN secretary general urges calm in Libya as protests spread

Posted on by

Tripoli sees biggest rallies in years on weekend of demonstrations over political deadlock and living conditions

The UN secretary general, António Guterres, has appealed for calm as street demonstrations spread across Libya in protest over power cuts and the failure to hold national elections.

Talks between the Libyan factions in Geneva convened by the UN special adviser Stephanie Williams made progress last week but without agreement on a constitution for the elections.

Continue reading...

Judge puts Biden on the spot over immunity for Saudi crown prince

Posted on by

Court invitation to clarify prince’s status comes as president faces criticism for ditching promise to turn Saudi Arabia into a ‘pariah’

A US judge has asked the Biden administration to weigh in on whether Mohammed bin Salman, the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, should be granted sovereign immunity in a civil case brought against him in the US by Hatice Cengiz, the fiancee of Jamal Khashoggi, the journalist who was killed by Saudi agents in 2018.

John Bates, a district court judge, gave the US government until 1 August to declare its interests in the civil case or give the court notice that it has no view on the matter.

Continue reading...

Fresh row as Israel to conduct forensic tests on bullet that killed Shireen Abu Aqleh

Posted on by

Dispute threatens to derail apparent breakthrough in standoff over investigation into Al Jazeera reporter’s death

Israel has said it will conduct forensic tests on the bullet that killed the Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Aqleh, a day after Palestinian officials handed over the evidence to a US security coordinator for examination on what they said was the condition that Israel would not be involved.

The testing will be carried out by Israeli investigators in the presence of US observers, the Israeli military spokesperson Brig-Gen Ran Kochav told Army Radio on Sunday.

Continue reading...

Mob-style killings shock Netherlands into fighting descent into ‘narco state’

Posted on by

Murders, corruption and ‘Mocro Maffia’ prompt Dutch to set up war chest to tackle wave of organised crime sweeping nation

Journalists and lawyers under protection or murdered on the streets, court hearings guarded by the army, witness statements anonymised, and billions in dirty drug money that leaches through society, corrupting as it goes.

This is the Netherlands, where these facts have now inspired a crackdown pitting some €500m a year against a level of organised crime that politicians fear is increasingly “undermining” public order.

Continue reading...