World News

Firoz Cachalia says police not able to defeat gangsters

South Africa's Police Minister Firoz Cachalia has said that the security forces are not yet able to defeat deadly criminal gangs, in a stark admission that underscores the scale of the country's crime crisis. Gang violence, alongside robberies, accounts for many murders in South Africa, which has one of the world's highest homicide rates.Cachalia said gang violence had become increasingly complex, especially in the Eastern Cape and Western Cape provinces, requiring new strategies beyond traditional policing."I do not…

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Three dead in New South Wales shooting

Three people have died after a reported shooting in a small town in New South Wales, Australia, police say.A fourth person has been taken to hospital in a serious but stable condition.Local police are now investigating the reported shooting which took place in Lake Cargelligo at about 16:40 local time (05:40 GMT).Police have also told the public to avoid the area and that local residents should stay inside. Local reports say that the gunman is still at large.A…

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Outrage over Yuvraj Mehta’s death in dug-up pit after begging for help for hours

Outrage over Yuvraj Mehta’s death in dug-up pit after begging for help for hours

BBCYuvraj Mehta's body was recovered hours after he fell into a waterlogged pit in NoidaThe death of a 27-year-old Indian IT professional after his car fell into an unmarked construction pit has raised questions around urban planning and road safety in India.Last Friday, at around midnight, Yuvraj Mehta was driving home in Noida, a suburb of the capital Delhi, through dense winter fog when his car reportedly hit a low boundary wall and plunged into the deep pit…

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Watch: ‘I’m still shaking’ – Tourist recounts running from New Zealand landslide

Several people are missing after a landslide on Thursday at campsite in the New Zealand tourist hotspot of Mount Maunganui.An Australian tourist told local media he is "still shaking" after fleeing the landslide, and that it was the "scariest thing" he's ever experienced. Rescuers are on site working to locate survivors.Follow the story live here. Source link

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US allies won’t forget Trump Greenland crisis

US allies won’t forget Trump Greenland crisis

Paul AdamsDiplomatic correspondentGetty ImagesProtesters have taken to the streets outside the US consulate in Nuuk, Greenland this monthWhat on earth has the last fortnight been all about?In the wake of a successful military operation in Venezuela earlier this month, a buoyed-up Donald Trump started to ratchet up the rhetoric on Greenland.Day after day, the world was treated to claims of ownership, threats of military action and tariffs against traditional allies in Europe.Now, in an apparent puff of smoke,…

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Russian cosmonaut captures stunning aurora over Earth

Cosmonaut Sergey Kud-Sverchkov captured breathtaking views of aurora lights over Earth, seen from the International Space Station. The lights were captured during one of the most powerful solar storms in over 20 years, according to the National Weather Service's Space Weather Prediction Center. The last solar radiation storm of comparable severity was recorded in October 2003. Auroras are caused by solar storms emitting high-speed charged particles colliding with Earth's atmosphere, creating vibrant light displays. Source link

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Austria’s biggest spy trial for decades puts ex-intelligence officer in the dock

Austria’s biggest spy trial for decades puts ex-intelligence officer in the dock

Bethany BellVienna correspondentReutersEgisto Ott is accused of collecting large amounts of data and handing information to Russian intelligenceFormer intelligence official Egisto Ott goes on trial in Vienna on Thursday, accused of spying for Russia in what is being dubbed Austria's biggest spy trial in years.Egisto Ott, 63, is charged with having handed over information to Russian intelligence officers and to Jan Marsalek, the fugitive executive of collapsed German payments firm Wirecard.Ott denies the charges.Jan Marsalek, who is also…

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Trump drops threats of tariffs on Nato allies over Greenland

Bernd Debusmann JrWhite House reporterWatch: The BBC's Faisal Islam on how Trump's Davos speech receivedPresident Donald Trump has said he no longer plans to impose tariffs on European countries that had opposed his ambitions for the US to acquire Greenland. In a social media post, Trump said his decision followed a "very productive meeting" with Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte. "This solution, if consummated, will be a great one for the United States of America, and all Nato…

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Ghislaine Maxwell to testify before Congress in Epstein probe

Ghislaine Maxwell, the jailed associate of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, has agreed to testify under oath before the congressional committee investigating the federal government's handling of the Epstein cases.Committee chairman James Comer, who is leading the investigation, says Maxwell will speak to the committee virtually on 9 February. Maxwell's legal team has previously said she would decline to answer questions under her constitutional right to remain silent unless she is granted legal immunity. Comer, previewing the deposition,…

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US to transfer Islamic State prisoners from Syria to Iraq

US to transfer Islamic State prisoners from Syria to Iraq

Thomas MackintoshandRachel HaganEPASyrian government security forces in front of the al-Hol camp in Hasakeh provinceThe US military has begun the transfer up to 7,000 Islamic State (IS) group detainees from prisons in north-eastern Syria to Iraq, as Syria's new government takes control of areas long run autonomously by Kurdish-led forces.US Central Command (Centcom) said it had already moved 150 IS fighters from Hassakeh province to a "secure location" in Iraq.It said the move aimed to prevent prisoners breaking…

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Trump’s jibes are wearing thin for many of Europe’s leaders

Trump’s jibes are wearing thin for many of Europe’s leaders

Nick BeakeEurope correspondent, DavosAFP via Getty ImagesDonald Trump delivered a wide-ranging speech at the Davos summit in Switzerland"Without us, right now you'd all be speaking German," President Donald Trump told his audience at the World Economic Forum in the Swiss Alps on Wednesday.He may well have forgotten German is the most widely spoken of the four official languages in Switzerland.Many people – from Brussels to Berlin to Paris – will have found his speech to be insulting, overbearing…

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