Category Archives: World News

Solingen stabbing attack: suspect shares Islamic State ideology, say prosecutors

Posted on by

Issa Al H, a 26-year-old Syrian, appears before a judge in Karlsruhe after attack in which three people died

Solingen stabbings: what we know so far

Prosecutors have said the suspect arrested over a stabbing rampage in the western German city of Solingen shares the ideology of the Islamic State group and was acting on those beliefs when he attacked.

The 26-year-old Syrian, who had turned himself in, was identified by federal prosecutors as Issa Al H, with his last name omitted in line with German privacy laws.

Continue reading...

Attorney general intervenes in Foreign Office review of weapons sales to Israel

Posted on by

Exclusive: Richard Hermer tells officials he can’t approve decision to ban arms without knowing if their use would breach international law

Keir Starmer’s most senior legal adviser has intervened in the contentious decision over whether to ban UK arms sales to Israel, the Guardian has learned, as officials struggle to distinguish between “offensive” and “defensive” weapons.

Sources say Richard Hermer, the attorney general, has told Foreign Office officials he will not approve a decision to ban some weapons sales until they can say for sure which could be used to break international humanitarian law.

Continue reading...

Israel and Hezbollah have good reason to avoid war – but it remains possible

Posted on by

Neither side seems prepared for realities of land warfare, but a small mistake may have deadly consequences

If Israel and Hezbollah wanted an all-out war it would have happened a long time ago. Each side would welcome the destruction of the other, but the time has not been right so far for either of them to plunge into a full-scale conflict.

The intense exchange of hostilities across the Israel-Lebanese border on Sunday morning once more took the parties to brink of such a war, but once again they paused and pulled back.

Continue reading...

Telegram app founder Pavel Durov to appear in court after arrest in Paris

Posted on by

Russian-born billionaire said to have ‘miscalculated’ by visiting France during inquiry into crime on his platform

The Russian-born founder of Telegram, Pavel Durov, is due to appear in a French court in the coming days after his arrest at a Paris airport over alleged offences related to the messaging app.

Sources told the AFP news agency that the Franco-Russian tech billionaire would appear in court after being detained by police at Le Bourget airport. French investigators had issued a warrant for Durov’s arrest as part of an inquiry into allegations of fraud, drug trafficking, organised crime, promotion of terrorism and cyberbullying.

Continue reading...

EU top diplomat to call for sanctions against far-right Israeli ministers

Posted on by

Inflammatory statements of Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich have drawn widespread condemnation

Europe’s most senior diplomat will call for sanctions on two far-right Israeli ministers, as the EU battles to rescue its credibility on the Middle East.

At a meeting of the EU’s 27 foreign ministers on Thursday, Josep Borrell will make the case for sanctions against Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, two far-right government ministers, whose inflammatory statements and behaviour have drawn international condemnation.

Continue reading...

Mike Lynch’s court-appointed guard praises tycoon’s ‘loving and caring heart’

Posted on by

Protection agent says it was impossible to keep a professional distance from ‘genuine and loving’ family

The armed guard assigned to Mike Lynch while he faced fraud charges has described how close he became to the “loving” tech entrepreneur and his family.

Appointed by the court, Rolo Igno, said he was supposed to stay distant but that the professional relationship “quickly dissolved” when Lynch invited him to spend time with his family.

Continue reading...

Historian hails Trinidad plan to remove Columbus ships from coat of arms

Posted on by

PM’s proposal to replace ships with steelpan wins applause from his party but some in capital voice opposing views

The government of Trinidad and Tobago wants to remove a depiction of three ships used by Christopher Columbus from its coat of arms, in a move hailed by a historian as important in addressing historical inaccuracies and shrugging off colonial identities.

The Caribbean country’s prime minister, Keith Rowley, announced a plan on 18 August to replace the ships with a representation of Trinidad and Tobago’s national instrument, the steelpan.

Continue reading...

Israel and Hezbollah trade strikes as Hamas plays down talk of imminent ceasefire deal in Gaza – as it happened

Posted on by

IDF launches waves of what it calls ‘pre-emptive’ strikes into Lebanon as Hezbollah fires hundreds of rockets in major escalation of tensions

Circling back to Lloyd Austin and Yoav Gallant speaking, the Pentagon said the US defence secretary reaffirmed Washington’s commitment to Israel’s defence.

Reuters reports that a Pentagon readout of the call said Austin spoke with the Israeli defence minister “to discuss Israel’s defence against Lebanese [Hezbollah] attacks”.

Secretary Austin reaffirmed the United States’ ironclad commitment to Israel’s defence against any attacks by Iran and its regional partners and proxies.

Continue reading...

Africa to finally receive first batch of vaccines for deadly mpox virus

Posted on by

The continent will belatedly get 10,000 shots amid criticism of delays to the process caused by WHO red tape

Africa’s first batch of mpox vaccines will this week finally reach the continent, weeks after they have been made available in other parts of the world.

The 10,000 shots, donated by the US, will be used to tackle a dangerous new variant of the virus, formerly known as monkeypox, after a 2022 outbreak triggered global alarm.

Continue reading...

Killer asks to return to UK to help find victim’s body 55 years after murder

Posted on by

Nizamodeen Hosein was deported following 20 years in prison for 1969 murder of Muriel McKay

The chilling words of a convicted murderer will soon be heard, peeling back the decades to a winter’s night in 1969, in a revelatory new recorded interview with one of the two brothers who kidnapped and killed Muriel McKay. “Maybe the only solution is to get on the spot. To be there again, I’ll have to retrace my steps,” Nizamodeen Hosein will say.

The notorious killer at the centre of a police hunt that dominated the news 55 years ago has suggested that a trip back from Trinidad and Tobago, where he was deported in 1990 after 20 years in prison, might jog his fading memory about the location of the body of the 55-year-old woman he abducted from her Wimbledon home in an extraordinary case of misidentification.

Continue reading...

Man suspected of attempted arson against synagogue arrested in France

Posted on by

Ministers call for more security around Jewish schools and places of worship after incident in La Grande-Motte

French police have arrested a man suspected of attempted arson against a synagogue in the southern France city of La Grande-Motte, acting interior minister Gérald Darmanin said on X.

The incident in the Mediterranean resort east of Montpellier is being investigated by France’s specialist antiterrorism prosecutor.

Continue reading...

Israeli airstrikes kill at least 36 Palestinians in southern Gaza

Posted on by

Deaths reported by Gaza health workers come as delegations gather in Egypt for ceasefire talks

Multiple Israeli airstrikes killed at least three dozen Palestinians in southern Gaza, health workers said Saturday, as officials including a Hamas delegation gathered for ceasefire talks in Egypt.

Among the dead were 11 members of a family, including two children, after an airstrike hit their home in Khan Younis, according to Nasser hospital.

Continue reading...

‘Decadent and passive’: China cracks down on ‘throwing eggs’ card game

Posted on by

Craze for the four-player game known as guandan may lead to the formation of cliques, Communist party warns

As recently as last year, Chinese state media was hailing guandan as the card game that “can get you a promotion in China”.

The country was holding open tournaments, and workers were encouraged to use it as a social and professional networking tool.

Continue reading...

Solingen stabbing comes amid steep rise in knife crime in Germany

Posted on by

Politicans have long been calling for stricter weapons laws while others say social issues need to be addressed, after three killed at festival on Friday

Germany has experienced a steep rise in knife violence in recent years, and the mass fatal stabbing in the western city of Solingen will compound the pressure on the government to crack down on the problem, officials and analysts said.

Security authorities say attacks with knives are particularly concentrated in city centres and at railway stations, leading the country’s interior minister, Nancy Faeser, this month to call for restrictions on the weapons in public spaces, days before the assault that claimed the lives of three people at a festival in Solingen.

Continue reading...

Hamas sends delegation to Cairo peace talks but rules out direct participation

Posted on by

Negotiations stall over Benjamin Netanyahu’s demand for an Israeli presence on Egypt-Gaza border

Hamas has sent a delegation to Cairo to be briefed on progress in peace talks, but an official from the group said it would not participate directly in the negotiations it had been boycotting for the past 10 days.

Hamas representatives were expected on Saturday in the Egyptian capital, where negotiators from Israel, the US, Egypt and Qatar have been holding talks on a elusive deal that would involve the release of Israeli hostages, the freeing of Palestinian detainees and a ceasefire.

Continue reading...

Bangladeshis taking refuge in emergency shelters after heavy flooding

Posted on by

Nearly 300,000 people forced to flee after monsoon rains, which have killed 42 people in India and Bangladesh

Nearly 300,000 Bangladeshis are taking refuge in emergency shelters from floods that inundated vast areas of the country, disaster officials said.

The floods were triggered by heavy monsoon rains and have killed at least 42 people in Bangladesh and India since the start of the week, many in landslides.

Continue reading...

Starmer pledges UK support to Ukraine amid anniversary of independence

Posted on by

PM sends message of solidarity as Ukrainians celebrate anniversary of exit from USSR

Keir Starmer has told Ukrainians that the UK will back them “today and always” as Kyiv marks 33 years since it declared independence from the Soviet Union.

The prime minister described his message to frontline fighters and people who have sought refuge in Britain as “crystal clear” as community groups, councils and parishes around the UK plan to mark the anniversary on Saturday.

Continue reading...

Germany mass stabbing: police hunt suspect after three killed at festival in Solingen

Posted on by

Police in western city of Solingen search for unknown assailant after attack during festival attended by thousands that also seriously injured five

Police in Germany are searching for an unknown suspect behind a mass stabbing at a festival on Friday night that killed three and injured eight, five of them seriously.

The knife attack took place as thousands of people gathered at the central square in the city of Solingen in the country’s west during celebrations to mark its 650th anniversary, billed as a festival of diversity.

Continue reading...

Resorts on Spain’s Costa Brava struggle with invasion of jellyfish as seas warm

Posted on by

Stings needing medical attention surge by 41% as rising sea temperatures due to the climate crisis boost reproduction

Costa Brava resorts in Spain’s north-east are struggling to cope with an influx of jellyfish as rising sea temperatures facilitate reproduction and drive species farther north.

Between May and August almost 7,500 people on the Catalan coast sought medical attention for jellyfish stings – a 41% increase on last year. The stings are painful and can have unpleasant consequences for anyone with compromised immunity.

Continue reading...

Alain Delon buried in ‘strictest privacy’ in grounds of his estate

Posted on by

French actor, who died aged 88 last Sunday, had expressed wish to be buried like ‘anyone else’

Alain Delon had expressed the wish to be buried just like “anyone else”.

But as a crowd of journalists, television crews and fans gathered outside the wrought iron gates of his country home on Saturday, it was clear this was not the funeral of just anyone.

Continue reading...