At least five others wounded in one of deadliest attacks against Egyptian security forces in recent years
At least 11 troops, including an officer, have been killed in a militant attack in the restive northern part of the Sinai peninsula, Egypt’s military said on Saturday.
It said in a statement that the militants attacked a water pumping station east of the Suez canal. It did not give further details on the location.
Continue reading...John Lee is the only candidate in the running to succeed Carrie Lam as chief executive
At the height of Hong Kong’s protests in the summer of 2019, angry pro-democracy legislators shouted in the Chinese territory’s legislative council: “down with John Lee!”, as the veteran security chief defended his force’s treatment of the protesters and journalists.
“I hope people will understand the chaotic situation and the pressure faced by each and every one at the scene on that day,” Lee said, unapologetically. “I hope members of the public will not vent their dissatisfaction of the government on police officers, because they are only discharging their duties.”
Continue reading...Book reveals fate of EOKA guerrilla fighters at the hands of the army during the dying days of empire on the Mediterranean island
At least 14 Cypriots were tortured then murdered by UK forces during an armed uprising in the late 1950s, according to newly unearthed evidence that raises fresh questions over another shocking chapter of Britain’s colonial history.
Testimony from British veterans and Cypriot rebel fighters, along with postmortem and morgue records, as well as previously undisclosed material from Cypriot archives, suggest that the victims died after being interrogated by UK officers. The dead, all men aged between 17 and 37, were arrested on suspicion of being part of the National Organisation of Cypriot Fighters, a paramilitary organisation known as EOKA, which orchestrated a guerrilla campaign to overthrow British control in Cyprus.
Continue reading...Decree forces male relatives to police law by making them liable to fines or prison for breaches
The Taliban have ordered all women to cover their faces in public in Afghanistan, the latest sweeping restriction by a government that has taken away women’s right to travel long distances alone, work outside healthcare or education, and receive a secondary education.
In a cruel twist, the decree makes women’s relatives and employers the enforcers. If their faces are seen in public, their male “guardian” will be fined, then jailed. If the woman who goes out uncovered or her relative work for the government, they must be fired.
Continue reading...French president promises inclusive education system, accessible health service and stronger military at Elysée Palace ceremony
Emmanuel Macron said that his reelection marked a “fundamental democratic renaissance” as he was sworn in for a second term of office as president of France at a ceremony at the Elysée Palace.
Macron, who defeated his far right rival, Marine Le Pen, in the second round vote two weeks ago, entered on Saturday to the strains of Handel played by the Garde Républicaine’s string quartet and listened as the official results were read.
Continue reading...DUP will refuse to join new administration until UK government addresses post-Brexit trade border deal
Sinn Féin was celebrating a historic victory in the Stormont assembly election on Saturday despite warnings from the Democratic Unionist party that it would block the formation of a new power-sharing executive until the Northern Ireland protocol was changed.
As counting resumed ahead of the allocation of final seats, it was clear that Sinn Féin, with 29% first preference votes, had overtaken the DUP, which won 21.3%. It meant the all-Ireland republican party would be entitled to nominate its deputy leader, Michelle O’Neill, as the Northern Ireland’s first nationalist first minister.
Continue reading...The 52-year-old man collapsed in the final stages of climbing the world’s third highest mountain
An Indian climber died has during a summit push on Mount Kanchenjunga, the world’s third highest mountain, an official said.
The death is the third to be reported on Nepal Himalayas during the current climbing season which started in March.
Continue reading...CIA veterans advise successors against ‘unwise’ intelligence boasts that could trigger escalation from Russia
Former US intelligence officers are advising their successors currently in office to shut up and stop boasting about their role in Ukraine’s military successes.
Two stories surfaced in as many days in the American press this week, citing unnamed officials as saying that US intelligence was instrumental in the targeting of Russian generals on the battlefield and in the sinking of the Moskva flagship cruiser on the Black Sea.
Continue reading...Analysis: As the heatwave in India and Pakistan starts to intensify again, Thailand and China are recording strangely cold May days
The final days of April saw further unbearable temperatures recorded in India and Pakistan. Temperatures peaked at 49C in Jacobabad, Pakistan on 30 April, with a high of 47.2C observed in Banda, India. The Indian Meteorological Department confirmed that average temperatures in April were the highest for northern and central parts of the country since records began over 100 years ago.
Heatwaves are a common occurrence at this time of year in India and Pakistan, but scientists believe the intensity, duration and arrival time of the conditions witnessed so far this year are caused by rising global temperatures. Despite a slight respite in the extreme heat over the past few days, temperatures are set to intensify once more this weekend and into next week with maximum temperatures expected to approach 50C in parts of north-west India and Pakistan.
Continue reading...Climate analysts are astounded by such a high reading during the rainy season, and is the third monthly record this year
Deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon surged to record levels for the month of April, nearly doubling the area of forest removed in that month last year – the previous April record – preliminary government data has shown, alarming environmental campaigners.
In the first 29 days of April, deforestation in the region totalled 1,012.5 square km (390 square miles), according to data from national space research agency Inpe on Friday. The agency, which has compiled the monthly data series since 2015/2016, will report data for the final day of April next week.
Continue reading...Secretary of state Brad Raffensperger accepts judge’s findings and says far-right congresswoman, a Trump ally, is eligible to run
The Georgia secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger, has accepted a judge’s findings and said the far-right Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene is qualified to run for re-election.
A group of voters filed a challenge saying Greene should be barred under a seldom-invoked provision of the 14th amendment concerning insurrection, over her links to the January 6 attack on the US Capitol by supporters of Donald Trump.
Continue reading...Cuban president Miguel Díaz-Canel says explosion at Hotel Saratoga appears to have been caused by a gas leak
At least 26 people have been killed and a further 74 have been treated in hospital after a powerful explosion tore the façade from a hotel in the Cuban capital, sending plumes of dust into the air and leaving rubble strewn across the street in the historic centre of Havana.
Speaking at the scene soon afterwards, the Cuban president, Miguel Díaz-Canel, ruled out a bomb and said the blast at the Hotel Saratoga appeared to have been caused by a gas leak.
Continue reading...Russian foreign ministry says it will continue to react ‘harshly and decisively’ to all sanctions imposed by London
The British ambassador to Moscow, Deborah Bronnert, has been summoned to the Russian foreign ministry to be warned over new UK sanctions imposed on Russian media outlets, in a move seen as likely to presage reprisals on British press operations in Russia.
In a statement late on Friday, the ministry said Russia would continue react “harshly and decisively” to all sanctions imposed by London.
Continue reading...Evacuees share horror of months in Avozstal steelworks bunker; why Putin’s shift to the east could lengthen the war; and tattoos of Ukraine resistance
Every week we wrap up the must-reads from our coverage of the Ukraine war, from news and features to analysis, visual guides and opinion.
Continue reading...This blog has now closed. You can find our latest coverage of the Russia-Ukraine war in our new live blog
Russia’s defence ministry said that its missiles destroyed a large ammunition depot in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk.
Reuters reports it also said its air defences shot down two Ukrainian warplanes, an Su-25 and a MiG-29, in the eastern Luhansk region.
Aaron Mostofsky sentenced to eight months in prison and a year under federal supervision with 200 hours of community service
A New York state judge’s son who dressed like a caveman and helped a pro-Donald Trump mob storm the US Capitol has received a prison sentence for his role in the 6 January 2021 attack.
Aaron Mostofsky, 35, must spend eight months in prison – and after his release, he must spend a year under federal supervision while also performing 200 hours of community service, a US district court judge in Washington DC ruled Friday.
Continue reading...Police disperse students with teargas and water cannon as national strike over economic crisis takes place
Sri Lanka’s president has declared a state of emergency for the second time in five weeks, giving security forces sweeping powers as a nationwide strike demanding his resignation brought the country to standstill.
A spokesperson for Gotabaya Rajapaksa said he invoked the tough laws to “ensure public order” after shops closed and public transport was halted on Friday by unions blaming him for the unprecedented economic crisis, which has ignited weeks of unrest.
Continue reading...Andrew Wilhoite, 40, of Lebanon, Indiana, accused of killing Nikki Wilhoite with flower pot and dumping her body in nearby creek
A central Indiana man accused of murdering his wife and dumping her body in a creek in March has won a Republican primary election for township board in the state – from jail.
Andrew Wilhoite, 40, of Lebanon received 60 of the 276 total votes on Tuesday for Republicans for three positions on the Clinton township board, Boone county election results showed.
Continue reading...Satellite imagery ‘illustrates spectre of rising food prices and hunger’ due to invasion of world’s sixth-largest wheat exporter
Wheat production in Ukraine is likely to be at least a third lower than in normal years, according to analysis of satellite images of the country.
Ukraine is one of the world’s biggest exporters of wheat, but the war is taking a toll on the country’s agriculture and food supplies, sparking fears of shortages or higher prices around the world.
Continue reading...Robert O’Brien told top general shortly before 2020 election that Trump wanted to kill unnamed official, according to Esper memoir
Shortly before the 2020 election, Donald Trump’s national security adviser, Robert O’Brien, “stunned” the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff by saying the president wanted to kill a senior Iranian military officer operating outside the Islamic Republic.
“This was a really bad idea with very big consequences,” Mark Esper, Trump’s second and last secretary of defense, writes in his new memoir, adding that Gen Mark Milley suspected O’Brien saw the strike purely in terms of Trump’s political interests.
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