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IS Militants Kill US Navy Seal In Northern Iraq

A US Navy Seal who was advising Kurdish Peshmerga forces in northern Iraq has been killed by Islamic State (IS) militants, US defence officials say.

The special warfare operator was named as Charlie Keating, aged 31, from the state of Arizona.

Peshmerga officials said the militants breached the frontline north of the IS-held city of Mosul on Tuesday morning. The American was the third to be killed in combat since the US-led coalition campaign against IS began in 2014.

Although Iraqi pro-government forces have gradually pushed back IS since then with the help of US-led coalition air strikes and military advisers, the jihadist group still controls large parts of the country’s north and west.

The Navy Seal’s death was announced by US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter, who said only that a serviceman had died as a result of enemy fire near Irbil, the capital of Iraq’s Kurdistan Region. «It is a combat death, of course, and a very sad loss,» he told reporters in Germany. A US military official in Iraq subsequently said he was killed by «direct fire» at a Peshmerga position about 3km to 5km (2-3 miles) behind the frontline after it was penetrated by IS militants.

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Brent Cross Shopping Centre Jewellery Raid

A jewellery shop has been raided at a north London shopping centre, with sledge hammers and pick-axes recovered afterwards.

Five men have been arrested after the store in Brent Cross shopping centre was targeted at 02:30 BST. Scotland Yard said at least 12 suspects had smashed windows and stolen items from Goldsmiths Jewellers.

The area was searched by officers with the help of police dogs and a helicopter.

The group also attempted to steal items from Ernest Jones jewellers before escaping on foot and bicycles, police said.
Five men in their 20s and 30s have been arrested on suspicion of robbery. Some jewellery and watches were recovered, as well as the weapons, but the Metropolitan Police said they were still looking for the remaining suspects and property.

Ransoms Of Up To £273,000 Paid To Pirate Gangs Off Nigerian Coast

Ransoms of up to $400,000 (£273,000) have been paid to gangs which hijacked ships in the Gulf of Guinea in 2015, a maritime report says.

The region was the most dangerous in the world for seafarers, with pirates becoming more violent, it added. A total of 32 seafarers had been kidnapped so far this year compared with 15 in 2015, the report said. Kidnapping for ransom took place mainly in the oil-producing areas off Nigeria’s coast, it added.

The spike in kidnappings appeared to be linked to political developments in Nigeria, the report by the US-based group Oceans Beyond Piracy group said. There had also been a sharp drop in oil theft last year, which the report put down to improved patrolling of Nigeria’s waters, and the fall in oil prices making it less profitable.

One of the most high-profile cases was that of the Malta-flagged MT Kalamo, an oil super tanker, which was attacked in February 2015. The tanker’s abducted crew was freed after the $400,00 ransom was paid, the State of Maritime Piracy 2015 report said. It did not say who had paid the ransom. «In most kidnapping incidents the pirates board the vessel after firing at the bridge to suppress any opposition and intimidate the crew, and then proceed to isolate the ranking officers and engineers, who net the highest ransoms,» the report said. «Time permitting, the pirates loot the vessel as well, sometimes spending a few hours aboard. They then escape with the three or four crew members who will be held onshore during negotiations.»

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Australia: Somali Asylum Seeker Sets Herself On Fire As A Protest

A Somali woman seeking asylum in Australia has set herself on fire in protest at her detention at a centre on the Pacific island of Nauru.

The 21-year-old suffered critical injuries after covering herself in fuel and setting herself alight.

Last week, a 23-year-old Iranian died after setting himself alight at the same facility.Nauru is one of several off-shore detention centres for asylum seekers operated by Australia.Human rights groups have strongly criticised Australia’s policies towards asylum seekers.

Papua New Guinea last week announced it was closing a similar detention centre, at Manus Island, after its Supreme Court ruled it was illegal.

The young Somali woman is believed to have recently returned to Nauru, having been treated in Australia for injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident on the island, Refugee Action Coalition spokesman Ian Rintoul said.She is reportedly being treated on the island for burn injuries, and a request for a transfer to Australia for medical treatment has been made.
Mr Rintoul was quoted by the Sydney Morning Herald as saying there was «an epidemic of self-harm at Nauru».

A 23-year-old man known as Omid died in a Brisbane hospital on Friday, four days after setting himself alight in what the Nauru authorities said was a «political protest».

Australia’s Immigration Minister Peter Dutton has admitted there have been incidents of self-harm on the small Pacific island.»What we’ve been very clear about is that if people come to Australia for medical assistance they’ll be returning back to Nauru once that medical assistance has been provided,» he said. He has also suggested that some of the 850 detainees at Manus Island may be moved to Nauru. They will not be allowed to come to Australia, he has said.

Australia And Asylum

The number of asylum seekers travelling to Australia by boat rose sharply in 2012 and early 2013. Scores of people have died making the journey. To stop the influx, the government adopted tough measures intended as a deterrent. Everyone who arrives is detained. Under the policy, asylum seekers are processed offshore at centres on Nauru and Manus Island in Papua New Guinea.

The government has also adopted a policy of tow-backs, or turning boats around.