Suspected homicide of politician shocks Antigua and Barbuda

Prime minister of Caribbean island expresses ‘deep shock and sadness’ at death of MP Asot Michael

The prime minister of Antigua and Barbuda has expressed “deep shock and sadness” after the suspected homicide of one of the country’s most prominent MPs.

Asot Michael, 54, was found unresponsive with what appeared to be “multiple puncture wounds about his body” at his home just after 8am, according to police on the Caribbean island. The representative for the country’s St Peter constituency was declared dead at the scene.

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Boots says it will ‘draw lessons’ from research into links to slavery

Report looked into donations to Nottingham universities by Jesse Boot, who expanded pharmacy chain

The high-street pharmacy Boots’s links to the transatlantic slave trade have been revealed in new research that shows how the proceeds of enslavement became entangled with British capitalism.

Jesse Boot, the son of the company’s founder, expanded the chemist with the help of banks and premises linked to slavery. He was not identified as involved in the enslavement of people, the trade of enslaved people or trade in goods made by enslaved people.

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Benjamin Netanyahu fires defence minister Yoav Gallant, triggering protests across Israel

Demonstrators in Tel Aviv and outside PM’s home condemn sacking of Gallant, widely seen by Israel’s allies as a brake on far-right elements of Israeli government

The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has fired his defence minister, Yoav Gallant, a figure widely considered by Israel’s international allies to be a brake on the far-right elements of the country’s coalition government, prompting protests around Israel.

Netanyahu said in a video statement late on Tuesday that “significant gaps on handling the battle” in Gaza had emerged.

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Fight on French train involving axe and samurai sword leaves 4 students wounded, including one victim with hand cut off – CBS News

  1. Fight on French train involving axe and samurai sword leaves 4 students wounded, including one victim with hand cut off  CBS News
  2. Axe Attack On Paris Train Leaves 4 Teens Injured  NDTV
  3. Four wounded after axe used in fight on Paris suburban train  The Guardian
  4. At least four wounded by axe in fight on France train  The Independent
  5. Four injured in violent axe attack on train near Paris  Euronews
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Meta to let US national security agencies and defense contractors use Llama AI

Company typically prohibits its use for ‘military, warfare, nuclear industries or applications, [and] espionage’

Meta announced Monday that it would allow US national security agencies and defense contractors to use its open-source artificial intelligence model, Llama. The announcement came days after Reuters reported an older version of Llama had been used by researchers to develop defense applications for the military wing of the Chinese government.

Meta’s policies typically prohibit the use of its open-source large language model for “military, warfare, nuclear industries or applications, [and] espionage”. The company is making an exception for US agencies and contractors as well as similar national security agencies in the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, according to Bloomberg.

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XL bully dog put down after fatal attack on North Yorkshire girl, 10

Savannah Bentham, from the Malton area, killed by family pet in attack police said was out of character

An XL bully dog has been put down after fatally attacking a 10-year-old girl in North Yorkshire last week.

Savannah Bentham, from the Malton area, was fatally attacked by her family’s pet dog at home on Friday. On Tuesday, the dog was identified as an XL bully and was euthanised by a vet, North Yorkshire police said.

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Nearly all of US states are facing droughts, an unprecedented number

More than 150 million people and 318m acres of crops are affected by droughts after summer of record heat

Every US state except Alaska and Kentucky is facing drought, an unprecedented number, according to the US Drought Monitor.

A little more than 45% of the US and Puerto Rico is in drought this week, according to the tracker. About 54% of land in the 48 contiguous US states is affected by droughts.

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Sara Sharif’s father says stepmother was ‘true villain’ as he denies murder

Jury heard that Urfan Sharif tried to call an ambulance for his daughter but was told to ‘leave it'

The father of Sara Sharif denied killing his daughter as he claimed the 10-year-old’s stepmother was the “true villain of the piece”, a court was told.

Urfan Sharif tried to save his “limp” daughter and begged for an ambulance, only to be told: “Leave it; she’s dead,” jurors heard.

Sharif wept as he described Sara as a “beautiful angel” and denied abusing her, saying: “I did slap her; I never beat her … I have lot of flaws. I’m not even an average father. I never beat her any of the time. Never.”

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Shetland man’s bond with otter becomes subject of award-winning film

Documentary about Billy Mail’s connection with orphaned pup Molly airs on National Geographic next week

National Geographic will be streaming a new documentary about an unlikely bond between a man and an otter in Shetland.

Billy Mail met Molly, a starving pup, in 2021 when he saw her jumping off a pontoon into the sea near his Shetland home. Mail wanted to see how close he could get to her before she fled. But it turned out that Molly had no intention of running away.

Billy and Molly: An Otter Love Story will be available from 14 November on Disney+, and will air on 15 November on National Geographic

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Senior Tories urge Kemi Badenoch and Robert Jenrick to settle differences

Leader names rival in shadow cabinet but announcement marred by leaks suggesting Jenrick wanted bigger job

Senior Conservatives have urged Kemi Badenoch and Robert Jenrick to rapidly settle any differences after the unveiling of the full shadow cabinet was marred by briefings and concern over lingering rivalries.

Badenoch, who became leader after defeating Jenrick in a vote of Tory members, held her first shadow cabinet meeting on Tuesday, having named a team including three rival candidates, Jenrick among them, and a series of party centrists.

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Endangered pygmy hippo calf Haggis born at Edinburgh zoo – BBC.com

  1. Endangered pygmy hippo calf Haggis born at Edinburgh zoo  BBC.com
  2. ‘Moo Deng? Who Deng?’ Meet Haggis the Baby Pygmy Hippo.  The New York Times
  3. 2 adorable pygmy hippos pitted against each other in cuteness contest  The Associated Press
  4. Is Haggis, The Pygmy Hippo Born In Scotland, The New Moo Deng?  TODAY
  5. Baby Haggis is the new Moo Deng: A pygmy hippo is born in Edinburgh  NPR
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Mystery cargo-plane fires linked to Russian plot to plant bombs on aircrafts: officials – New York Post

  1. Mystery cargo-plane fires linked to Russian plot to plant bombs on aircrafts: officials  New York Post
  2. Russian Plot Placed Incendiary Devices on Cargo Planes in Europe, Officials Say  The New York Times
  3. Russia suspected of sending incendiary devices on US- and Canada-bound planes, Wall Street Journal reports  CNN
  4. Exploding parcels in Europe part of plot to target US flights, officials say  Reuters
  5. Western officials suspect Russia was behind a plot to put incendiary packages on cargo planes  The Associated Press
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Iran claims German-Iranian dissident died before he could be executed

Top Iranian officials previously referred to an execution when reacting to Jamshid Sharmahd’s death on 28 October

Iran has claimed that an Iranian-German duel national who had been sentenced to death died last week before his execution could be carried out.

“Jamshid Sharmahd was sentenced to death, his execution was imminent, but he died before it could be carried out,” the judiciary spokesman Asghar Jahangir told reporters without elaborating. It is understood Tehran claims he suffered a stroke.

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