(BBC News) When one top defence official is arrested in Russia, that is interesting.
When five senior defence figures are handcuffed in less than a month, that is a purge.
The latest senior military man to be locked up is Lt Gen Vadim Shamarin, deputy chief of the army’s general staff and head of the Main Communications Directorate of the Russian Armed Forces.
Accused of large-scale bribe-taking, he’s been placed in pre-trial detention for two months.
Hours later...
(Al Jazeera Media Network) China has started military drills surrounding the self-governing island of Taiwan, according to Chinese state media.
The state-run Xinhua news agency said the Eastern Theatre Command of the People’s Liberation Army started the drills at 7:45 am (23:45 GMT) on Thursday in the Taiwan Strait, the north, south, and east of Taiwan, as well as areas around the islands of Kinmen, Matsu, Wuqiu, and Dongyin.
Military spokesman Li Xi said the joint...
(BBC News) Rishi Sunak has vowed to "fight for every vote" as he called an early UK general election for Thursday, July 4.
The PM made the announcement in a rain-soaked speech outside 10 Downing Street, as he bids to win a fifth term in office for the Conservatives.
The surprise move overturned expectations of an autumn poll, which might have given the Tories a better chance of closing the gap with Labour.
Sir Keir Starmer said...
(The Telegraph) A former Royal Marine who was charged with spying on Hong Kong activists in the UK has been found dead in England.
Matthew Trickett, 37, who was awaiting trial, was found dead in Grenfell Park, Maidenhead, on Sunday at 5.15 pm.
Thames Valley police said an investigation was ongoing into his death, which was being treated as unexplained.
It comes after Trickett appeared at Westminster magistrates’ court last Monday alongside co-defendants Chi Leung Wai, 38, and Chung...
(BBC News) Thousands of Iranians gathered on the streets of Tabriz to mourn President Ebrahim Raisi after he was killed in a helicopter crash.
Mourners followed a funeral procession through the city in northwest Iran while waving Iranian flags and portraits of the late president.
Raisi and seven others were killed in a helicopter crash in a mountainous area of Iran on Sunday.
On Tuesday, crowds of mourners followed a lorry carrying the coffins of Raisi and...
(Al Jazeera Media Network) Israeli officials have seized a camera and broadcasting equipment belonging to the Associated Press (AP) news agency in southern Israel, accusing the organization of violating a new media law by providing images to Al Jazeera.
Qatari-owned media network and satellite channel Al Jazeera is among thousands of clients that receive live video feeds from the AP and other news organizations.
“The Associated Press decries in the strongest terms the actions of the...
(Al Jazeera Media Network) Another person has been killed in France’s Pacific Islands territory of New Caledonia as security personnel try to restore order, taking the death toll from nearly a week of unrest and looting to six.
French security forces reported the sixth fatality on Saturday following armed clashes over France’s plan to impose new voting rules that could give tens of thousands of non-Indigenous residents voting rights.
The territory is “on a destructive path,” warned...
(Al Jazeera Media Network) The United Nations human rights chief has expressed horror over the escalating violence in Sudan’s North Darfur region as one official described the worsening situation on the ground as “hell of Earth”.
Hundreds of thousands of displaced people are sheltering in el-Fasher without basic supplies amid fears that nearby fighting will turn into an all-out battle for the city, the last stronghold of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) in the western...
(BBC News) A man has been charged with the attempted murder of Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico after the politician was seriously hurt in a shooting attack.
The alleged assailant has not been formally named, but Slovak reports have widely identified him as a 71-year-old from the town of Levice.
Fico, 59, is in a serious but stable condition after being shot several times in what colleagues described as a politically motivated attack.
Interior Minister Matus Sutaj...
(Al Jazeera Media Network) European Union regulators have opened a formal investigation into Meta for potential breaches of online content rules relating to child safety in its Facebook and Instagram platforms.
The European Commission said on Thursday it was concerned the algorithmic systems used by the popular social media platforms to recommend videos and posts could “exploit the weaknesses and inexperience” of children and stimulate “addictive behaviour.”
Its investigators will also examine whether these systems are...
