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Two Hostages Freed from Bavarian Town Hall

German police have arrested a man who was holding two people hostage at the old town hall in Ingolstadt in Bavaria.

The two captives have been released unharmed following a raid by armed officers. The 24-year-old hostage taker has been injured and taken to hospital.

The building was cordoned off after the siege began at around 09:00 local time (07:00 GMT).

The situation forced German Chancellor Angela Merkel to cancel a planned campaign visit to the town.

A police commando unit stormed the building at 17:50 local time (15:50 GMT), freeing the hostages and shooting their captor.

His injuries are not believed to be severe.

A third hostage – deputy mayor Sepp Misslbeck – had been released earlier, five hours after the siege began.

The assailant, a homeless man with a history of mental health problems, was reported to have been stalking a woman employed at the town hall for the past year, and as a result was banned from the building.

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David Miranda Heathrow detained at Heathrow

No 10 was “kept abreast” of the decision to detain David Miranda, the partner of Guardian journalist Glenn Greenwald, a spokesman has said.

Mr Miranda was held at Heathrow for nine hours on Sunday, while in transit from Germany to Brazil.

He has launched a legal challenge over the police’s use of anti-terror laws to detain him and seize his property.

But Home Secretary Theresa May said the police must act if someone had “highly sensitive stolen information”.

Mr Miranda, a 28-year-old Brazilian national, was held at Heathrow on his way from Berlin to Rio de Janeiro where he lives with Mr Greenwald. The Guardian said he had been carrying “journalistic materials” but was not an employee of the newspaper.

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Pakistani city of Quetta sees 9 killed in gun attack

At least nine people were killed when gunmen opened fire outside a mosque in the second attack in Quetta in south-west Pakistan in as many days.

About 20 others were wounded in the attack, which came as worshippers left the Sunni Muslim mosque after sunrise prayers for the Eid al-Fitr festival.

Bullets hit the car of Ali Madad Jatak, a former Pakistan People’s Party provincial minister, but he was unhurt.

On Thursday dozens of people died in a suicide bomb blast in Quetta.

In the latest attack, four unidentified men opened fire on the former minister as prayers came to a close.

“They fled after killing innocent people,” Mr Jatak said. “I was the target. They could have fired at me. They killed innocent worshippers belonging to different communities. This is against humanity. It is brutality on the level of animals.”

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Diplomats withdrawn from consulate in Pakistan by US

The US has ordered all non-essential government personnel to leave its consulate in the Pakistani city of Lahore.

A senior State Department official said the move was in response to a “credible threat” to the consulate.

US personnel remaining in Lahore should limit non-essential travel within the country, the official said.

On Thursday, the US reiterated a travel warning advising all US citizens to defer non-essential travel to Pakistan.

“We are undertaking this drawdown due to concerns about credible threat information specific to the US Consulate in Lahore,” the official said.

“An updated travel warning has also been issued,” the official said, adding that “US citizens remaining in Lahore… should limit non-essential travel within the country, be aware of their surroundings whether in their residences or moving about, [and] make their own contingency emergency plans.”

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Domenico Rancadore arrested as suspected Mafia Boss

A mafia boss found living in London has been denied bail while Italian authorities seek his extradition.

Domenico Rancadore headed a family involved in extortion, racketeering and drug trafficking, Italian police claim.

The 64-year-old was arrested on Wednesday at a house in Uxbridge under a European Arrest Warrant.

A judge at Westminster Magistrates’ Court denied Rancadore bail and scheduled a full extradition hearing for 25 November.

A new arrest warrant was issued for Rancadore earlier after his lawyers claimed there were “significant deficiencies” in the original warrant.

He was then rearrested and refused bail by District Judge Quentin Purdy who said Rancadore had “actively evaded apprehension for a significant period of time”.

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