Atrocity took place during Sunday mass in Essakane village and has been blamed on a jihadi group active in the region
At least 15 people have been killed and two others injured in a “terrorist” attack on a Catholic church during Sunday mass in Burkina Faso, a senior church official has said.
Calling for peace and security in Burkina Faso, the vicar general of the Dori diocese, Jean-Pierre Sawadogo, denounced “those who continue to wreak death and desolation in our country”.
Continue reading...Irish court throws out Kamila Grabska’s case for car crash injuries after she was pictured winning charity competition
A woman’s £650,000 claim for injuries allegedly suffered during a car crash has been thrown out of court in Ireland after she was pictured winning a Christmas tree-throwing competition.
Kamila Grabska, 36, sued an insurance company and said injuries to her back and neck meant she was unable to work for more than five years or play with her children. She claimed she was left with the “disabling” condition after a car she was travelling in was hit from behind in an accident in 2017.
Continue reading...Four ski mountaineers from a nearby club killed and three injured while off piste with a guide
Four people have been killed in an avalanche in the mountainous Auvergne region of central France, local authorities said.
The avalanche took place on Sunday at an altitude of 1,600 metres (5,250 feet) above the village of Mont-Dore in an area known as the Val d’Enfer, the prefecture of the Puy-de-Dôme department said in a statement.
Continue reading...Ukraine president makes announcement during news conference in Kyiv
Ukraine expects to receive $11.8 billion in economic support this year from the United States, its prime minister said on Sunday.
Denys Shmyhal said during a televised conference in Kyiv that he was hopeful that US lawmakers would approve long-awaited economic and military aid.
In the Donetsk direction, units of the Southern grouping of troops improved the situation along the front line and defeated formations of the 22nd, 28th and 92nd mechanised brigades of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the areas of the settlements of Klishchiivka, Dyleyevka and Kurdiumivka.
In the Avdiivka direction, units of the Centre group of forces occupied more advantageous lines and positions, and also defeated manpower and equipment of the 3rd Assault Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the 107th Air Defence Brigade.
Continue reading...US national security adviser says outline in place for proposal for temporary ceasefire in Gaza
Al Jazeera reports that six bodies have been recovered after Israeli bombing near the southern city of Khan Younis. The outlet writes:
The bodies of six people have been recovered from the al-Satr area east of Khan Younis after overnight Israeli bombardment, according to Al Jazeera Arabic.
This follows reports of intense Israeli artillery shelling in and around the southern city, with attack drones.
Continue reading...Canada has one of the highest rates of euthanasia in the world, with 4.1% of deaths aided by doctors, but moves to make it more accessible are being questioned
When Canada’s justice minister announced plans to legalise medically assisted dying nearly a decade ago, she acknowledged the proposed law might prove divisive. “For some, medical assistance in dying will be troubling,” Jody Wilson-Raybould told reporters in 2016. “For others, this legislation will not go far enough.”
A fresh delay in expanding the scope of who can access a medically assisted death has once again put a spotlight on the system, which critics and advocates agree is one of the most liberal in the world. But the two groups remain sharply divided on what that means for improving the quality of life – and death – in the country.
Continue reading...UNRWA chief says humanitarian work in Gaza compromised after donors froze funds over alleged Hamas links
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees has been forced to “stretch every dollar” and juggle its finances in order to continue vital work in Gaza after 18 donor countries suspended funding over allegations of links to Hamas.
The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) is facing a shortfall of $450m from a budget of $880m as it confronts the biggest humanitarian crisis seen in the organisation’s 75-year history.
Continue reading...Result called for Trump almost immediately after polls close as former South Carolina governor suffers stinging home-state loss
Donald Trump defeated Nikki Haley in her home state of South Carolina, a stinging setback that narrows her vanishingly thin path to the nomination.
The Associated Press called the South Carolina primary for Trump right when polls closed at 7pm ET, in a clear indication of his large victory in Haley’s home state. Trump locked in approximately 60% of the vote, with Haley hovering at about 40%.
Continue reading...The Republican contender has exasperated her rival by not dropping out, but she believes not everyone in the party is enamored of Trump
Losing South Carolina is almost always a bad omen for presidential hopefuls and defeat in a candidate’s home state is viewed as irrevocable. But as the last Republican standing between Donald Trump and the Republican party nomination, Nikki Haley thrilled supporters on Saturday by deftly capitalizing on her small but consistent show of support from voters desperate for an alternative.
Trump was declared the winner within one minute of polls closing in the Palmetto State, an unsurprising but nevertheless stinging rebuke for Haley at the hands of the voters who twice elected her governor.
Continue reading...G7 leaders urge additional support after defiant Zelenskiy hosts western leaders; Navalny’s body handed over to his mother
Continue reading...Joint statement says 18 sites across eight locations were targeted, including missile storage facilities
The US and UK carried out strikes against 18 Houthi targets including underground weapons and missile storage facilities in Yemen on Saturday in the latest round of military action against the Iran-linked group that continues to attack shipping in the region.
The strikes were against Houthi targets across eight locations and also included air defence systems, radars, and a helicopter, officials said.
Continue reading...Unbound and unhinged, ex-president vilifies immigrants before devolving into bizarre riffs, including calling himself ‘total genius’
Donald Trump styled himself as a “proud political dissident” and promised “judgment day” for political opponents in an address that offered a chilling vision of a democracy in imminent peril.
In classic carnival barker form, the frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination accused Joe Biden of weaponising the government against him with “Stalinist show trials”. He pledged to crack down on border security and deliver the biggest deportation in US history if he wins the 5 November election.
Continue reading...Ukraine’s president met the prime ministers of Italy, Canada and Belgium in a show of unity after recent battlefield defeats
Volodymyr Zelenskiy welcomed western leaders to Kyiv on Saturday on the second anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, declaring that Vladimir Putin “must lose absolutely everything”.
Ukraine’s president met the prime ministers of Italy, Canada and Belgium – Giorgia Meloni, Justin Trudeau and Alexander De Croo – as well as the European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen.
Continue reading...The sentence, passed in absentia, is part of the country’s crackdown on opponents of president Kais Saied
A court in Tunisia sentenced former president Moncef Marzouki to eight years in prison in absentia as part of the country’s crackdown on opponents of president Kais Saied.
The judgment came as prominent opposition figure Jaouhar Ben Mbarek was sentenced to six months in prison.
Continue reading...French president greeted by whistles from hundreds of demonstrators as some clash with police
Hundreds of protesting farmers clashed with police in Paris as Emmanuel Macron toured the annual agricultural fair on Saturday. The French president had opened the fair as angry farmers blew whistles and shouted insults.
Riot police initially kept the protesters at a safe distance as he toured the fair, tasting honey from Normandy and cheeses from the Alps, and shaking hands with exhibitors. But as he entered the fair’s livestock area, hundreds of demonstrators crashed the gates and clashed with police.
Continue reading...Closed-door negotiations in Paris and UN efforts in New York yield conflicting reports of progress, but city of Rafah remains in Israel’s firing line
A closed-door meeting of spy chiefs, military officials and diplomats has briefly renewed hopes of a potential ceasefire deal amid fierce debates at the United Nations, but observers have warned that time is running out to make progress and prevent a looming Israeli offensive on Gaza’s southernmost city.
The secretive talks at an unknown location in Paris involved David Barnea, the head of Israel’s Mossad intelligence service, conducting separate meetings with Egyptian spy chief Abbas Kamel, head of the CIA William Burns and Qatari prime minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani.
Continue reading...Remains handed to Lyudmila Navalnaya nine days after Putin critic’s death in Arctic prison, say supporters
The body of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has been handed over to his mother nine days after he died in an Arctic prison, his spokesperson announced on Saturday.
In a post on X, Kira Yarmysh thanked “all those who had demanded” the return of his body, but added that she did not know if the authorities would allow a public funeral to be held.
Continue reading...Critics of Ukraine war among dozens who may be at risk in penal system, say campaigners and journalists
Just days after the death of opposition leader Alexei Navalny in a prison colony, human rights activists and journalists are warning that dozens of other political prisoners may be at risk of death from deliberate abuse of ill convicts in the Russian prison system.
Dmitry Muratov, the Nobel-prize winning editor of Novaya Gazeta, told the Observer that Navalny’s death had sent a clarion call for the world to save the Russian political prisoners who could die next.
Continue reading...Spokesperson for the Russian opposition politician, who died in prison last week, said funeral arrangements are still to be determined
King Charles III praises the “determination and strength” of the Ukrainian people in a message marking the second anniversary of Russia’s invasion. The monarch said he was “greatly encouraged” by the UK’s efforts to support Ukraine and commended their “true valour”. He has said:
The determination and strength of the Ukrainian people continues to inspire, as the unprovoked attack on their land, their lives and livelihoods enters a third, tragic, year.
Despite the tremendous hardship and pain inflicted upon them, Ukrainians continue to show the heroism with which the world associates them so closely.
Right now, it looks as though Russia will not take part in a first round of the conference.
We’re in the process of starting off with a very broad alliance consisting of the BRICS countries, countries from the Arab world, as well as from the global south.
Continue reading...Desperation of people searching for food in southern areas is making journeys north unsafe, says UN
The UN agency in charge of Palestinian affairs said it has been forced to pause aid deliveries to northern Gaza – where it is not “possible to conduct proper humanitarian operations” – amid increasing reports of famine among people in the area.
The UN began warning of “pockets of famine” in Gaza last month, with needs particularly acute in the north. Conditions have steadily worsened since, causing a spike in hungry people making fraught attempts to claim aid from passing trucks.
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