Security forces in Mexico have discovered an underground tunnel leading to the United States.
The unfinished tunnel, in the border city of Tijuana, is believed to have been built by the Sinaloa cartel with the aim of smuggling drugs into America.
Al-Qaeda Leader Pledges Allegiance To Taliban
Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri has pledged allegiance to the new Afghan Taliban chief in an audio message posted online.
The pledge to Mullah Akhtar Mansour was issued by al-Qaeda’s media arm al-Sahab and was Zawahiri’s first message since September last year.
There had been speculation about whether Zawahiri was himself dead since the death of former Taliban head Mullah Omar was confirmed last month. Zawahiri offered his condolences.
Al-Qaeda and Zawahiri considered Mullah Omar to be the leader of the global jihadist movement. This was however contested by al-Qaeda’s rival, the Islamic State (IS) militant group, which announced the establishment of a caliphate last year.
In the recording, released on jihadist websites and accompanied by a still image of Zawahiri, he said: “As emir of al-Qaeda, I pledge to you our allegiance, following the path of Sheikh (Osama) bin Laden and his martyred brothers in their allegiance to Mullah Omar.” The death of Mullah Omar has been exploited by IS to try to drive defections from al-Qaeda, analysts say.
IS has been steadily expanding into al-Qaeda’s turf.
Mullah Mansour’s appointment as Taliban leader had been questioned by some senior members of the movement, leading to reports of divisions.
Al-Zawahiri’s message – while impossible to independently verify – will be seen as significant. Pledges of allegiance are key to a Taliban leader’s legitimacy, as breaking an oath is viewed as a sin, experts say.
Two Day Ceasefire Begins In Syrian Conflict
Forty-eight-hour ceasefires between Syrian rebels and pro-government forces have reportedly begun in three towns.
The truces will allow food and medical supplies to be delivered to the rebel stronghold of Zabadani, on the border with Lebanon, and to government-held Fuaa and Kafraya in the north-west.
They were agreed by the rebel group Ahrar al-Sham and Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement, an ally of Syria’s president. Meanwhile, dozens of people have been killed in fighting around Damascus. Rebel fighters fired dozens of rockets at several central districts of the capital on Wednesday morning, killing four civilians and a soldier, officials said.
Activists said the government had responded by carrying out air strikes on the suburbs of Douma, Kafr Batna, Saqba, Hamouriya in the Eastern Ghouta agricultural belt, killing at least 31 civilians and wounding more than 120 others.
It comes after Amnesty International alleged in a new report that the government had committed war crimes against the 163,000 people living under siege in the Eastern Ghouta, with relentless aerial bombardment and shelling magnifying their suffering.
Between January and June 2015, Syrian government forces carried out at least 60 aerial attacks on Eastern Ghouta, killing some 500 civilians, the report says. Many others are believed to have died from starvation or lack of access to adequate medical care.
61 People Die In Egypt Heatwave
A heatwave in Egypt has killed at least 61 people in three days, the health ministry says, as temperatures soared to 47C (116F).
Forty died after suffering heatstroke on Sunday and Monday, and another 21 died on Tuesday, state media reported.
Another 581 people have been admitted to hospital with heat exhaustion.
Most of the victims were elderly, but local media reports said that they also included several detainees and patients at a psychiatric hospital.
Egyptian detention facilities are notoriously overcrowded, while one newspaper said the deaths at the psychiatric hospital were the result of “negligence”.
The electricity ministry also blamed the weather for a widespread power outage for several hours on Tuesday in several districts of Cairo, bringing the capital’s metro system to a halt.The Middle East has been hit by a heatwave since late July, with a high atmospheric pressure ridge hovering above much of the region.
Auctioned Oscar Statuette Can Be Reclaimed For $10 Judge Rules
An Oscar statuette that changed hands last year for $79,200 (£50,726) can be reclaimed by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for just $10 (£6.40), a Los Angeles judge has ruled.
The ruling was made after an agreement was reached between the Academy and Nate D Sanders, an auction house that specialises in movie memorabilia.
The golden statuette in question was awarded in 1942 to Joseph C Wright for his colour art direction on My Gal Sal.
His heirs sold the Oscar in June 2014.
The Academy tried to prevent the sale, claiming it breached a rule, instituted in 1951, that Oscar winners and their heirs cannot sell statuettes without first offering it to the organisation for $10.
The Academy’s lawyers argued that Nate D Sanders was aware of the requirement when it bought the Oscar at a sale organised by Rhode Island firm Briarbrook Auctions. Nate B Sanders previously handled the auction of 15 Oscar statues, a collection whose sale fetched more than $3m (£1.9m), in 2012.
“The Oscar is perhaps the world’s most distinctive and prestigious award for achievement in the arts,” said Gary E Gans, the lawyer who represented the Academy in the protracted litigation. “This case established that the Academy can maintain the dignity and value of such an award by keeping it from becoming a commodity.”
Last year the Academy took legal action against the heirs of another Oscar winner – cinematographer Robert Surtees – after they allegedly sold one of his awards on eBay.