BIG Wrap

(BBC News) A total of 518 people died in Tanzania from "unnatural causes", including 197 who were shot dead, in the widespread protests that followed last year's general election, the commission of inquiry set up to investigate the violence has announced. However, commission chairman Mohamed Chande Othman did not say who was responsible for the deaths, recommending further investigations. This is the first time the authorities have said how many people died. Opposition parties and human rights...

(Al Jazeera Media Network) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said a pipeline carrying Russian oil to Europe is ready to resume operations after being damaged during Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Zelenskyy said on Tuesday he expected the completed “repair work” on the Soviet-era Druzhba pipeline running through his country would lead to the release of a much-needed 90-million-euro ($106-million) European Union loan hitherto blocked by Hungary, which depends on the Russian oil. Ukraine says the pipeline was damaged...

(BBC News) Japan has relaxed decades-old restrictions on its arms exports, clearing the way for it to sell weapons to more than a dozen countries. The announcement on Tuesday marks a milestone in Tokyo's shift away from the pacifism that has characterised its post-war defence policy. It comes at a time of heightened tensions in the region. Restrictions that limit arms exports to just five categories – rescue, transport, warning, surveillance and minesweeping – will be...

(Al Jazeera Media Network) A gunman has fatally shot ⁠a Canadian woman and injured six ⁠others at Mexico’s Teotihuacan pyramids, a ‌popular tourist and archaeological site outside of Mexico City, authorities say. The perpetrator later died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound on Monday, local officials said. The State of Mexico said four of the injured ⁠victims were shot and two others suffered from falls. “Care is being provided to the people who were affected, and the presence...

(Al Jazeera Media Network) US President Donald Trump has said United States forces have seized an Iranian-flagged cargo ship that tried to get past his country’s naval blockade near the Strait of Hormuz. There was no immediate comment from Iran. In a social media post on Sunday, Trump said the ship, named Touska, was warned by a US Navy guided missile destroyer in the Gulf of Oman to stop, but its “crew refused to listen”. He added...

(BBC News) The head of Ukraine's patrol police, Yevhen Zhukov, has resigned after two of his officers faced criticism for allegedly fleeing a deadly mass shooting in the capital, Kyiv. Six people died and 14 others were injured on Saturday after a man opened fire on people in the street in Kyiv's southern Holosiivskyi district before taking others hostage in a nearby supermarket. He was later killed in a shootout with police. Footage has since been...

(BBC News) Iran says it is closing the Strait of Hormuz again to commercial vessels and that any ship that approaches it will be targeted. The closure came as reports emerged of vessels in or near the strait, including a tanker, were targeted by Tehran on Saturday. The Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) blamed a continuing US blockade for its decision, which comes a day after Iran's foreign minister announced the key global shipping channel had...

(BBC News) Oil prices have plummeted after Iran said the Strait of Hormuz would be "completely open" to commercial ships for the remainder of the ceasefire in the US-Israel war with Iran. The cost of a barrel of Brent crude fell to $88 per barrel after the announcement, having been above $98 earlier on Friday. The Strait of Hormuz is a narrow strip of water south of Iran through which a fifth of the world's oil...

(Al Jazeera Media Network) Ukraine has damaged or destroyed so much Russian oil and gas infrastructure in the past two weeks that it has prompted Russia to issue a warning to European countries and industries against funding its long-range drone production. The warning came after Ukraine reached a new series of agreements with European defence companies this week. “We consider this decision to be a deliberate step leading to a sharp escalation of the military and...

(BBC News) Several armed men robbed a bank in broad daylight in Naples, holding 25 people hostage before making their escape via a tunnel. Police surrounded a branch of Crédit Agricole in the southern Italian city shortly after the robbery began around midday local time (10:00 GMT). Local outlets reported that they negotiated with the robbers before the hostages could be released, about two hours into the robbery. Firemen could be seen smashing in a window with...