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A man has appeared in court on terror charges including storing a computer operating system in a cufflink.

Samata Ullah, 33, of Rennie St, Cardiff, faces six charges including membership of so-called Islamic State. He is accused of giving terrorist training in the use of encryption programs, possessing a missile guidance book and directing terrorism.

Mr Ullah was remanded in custody by Westminster Magistrates Court until 28 October. He will appear at the Old Bailey on that date.

The court heard the alleged offences took place between 1 December 2015 and 22 September 2016. It is alleged the defendant was responsible for a blog site said to contain information about Islamic State and cyber-security guidance. He was also charged with assisting others to commit acts of terrorism by researching an encryption program, developing an encrypted version of his blog site, and “directing the activities of an organisation which is concerned in the commission of acts of terrorism”.

Mr Ullah was arrested in Cardiff on 22 September.

Two Russian Blackjack bombers were intercepted by fighter jets from four European countries as they flew from the direction of Norway to northern Spain and back, it has emerged.

Norway, the UK, France and Spain all scrambled jets as the TU-160 planes skirted the airspace of each country.

It comes at a time of heightened tension between the West and Russia. Correspondents say the frequency of Russian bombers being intercepted by Nato planes has increased markedly. Spanish media say it is the furthest south such an operation has had to take place.

The incident happened on 22 September but the full extent only came to light recently in a statement by the French ministry of defence (in French). It referred to it as an Air Policing [Baltic support] mission by the four countries involved. It said Norway first detected the two Blackjack bombers to the north and scrambled two F-16 fighters to accompany them towards the north of Scotland. The British RAF then sent Typhoon aircraft from RAF Lossiemouth to intercept the planes as they flew to the west of Shetland. The RAF said at the time that at no point did the Russian jets enter UK air space. British Typhoons were also launched from RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire as a precautionary measure, the RAF added, but did not intercept the bombers.

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At least 30 people have been killed in a suicide bomb attack at a Kurdish wedding in north-eastern Syria.

The bomber blew himself up on Monday night at a hall in Tal Tawil, outside Hassakeh city, reportedly while the bride and groom were exchanging vows. There were conflicting reports about whether the groom was among the dead.

So-called Islamic State said one of its militants had attacked a “large gathering” of Kurdish fighters with a machine-gun and and explosive vest. Kurdish-led forces have driven the jihadist group out of most of Hassakeh province, but they have been unable to prevent deadly bomb attacks.

A man who was at the wedding on Monday told the AFP news agency that as the bride and groom were exchanging their vows, a man passed by him wearing a thick black jacket. “I thought he looked strange and a few seconds later there was an enormous explosion,” he said. “People had fallen on the ground and I saw bodies torn to bits.”

Syria’s official Sana news agency reported that 30 people were killed and 90 others wounded, while the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights put the death toll at 31. The UK-based monitoring group said the groom, Zaradesht Mustafa Fatimi, was among those killed.

One relative disputed the report, saying the groom was only lightly wounded but that his father and brother were both killed. “He and his new wife are staying at a relative’s home. He doesn’t want to see anyone,” the relative told AFP. “They are really shaken up by this.”

Mr Fatimi is reportedly a member of a prominent family involved in the autonomous administration run by Kurdish factions in northern Syria. The Observatory said Mr Fatimi was also a member of the Syrian Democratic Forces, a coalition of Kurdish and Arab fighters that is battling IS with the support of a US-led multinational coalition.

Earlier on Monday, two bombers blew themselves up in a square in the government-controlled western city of Hama, killing three people, Sana reported.

Turkey has suspended almost 13,000 police officers for their alleged links with the US-based Muslim cleric, Fethullah Gulen.

The latest wave adds to the 100,000 or so government workers dismissed or suspended since July’s failed coup. Mr Gulen denies the government’s accusation that he or his supporters orchestrated the coup.

The government in turn rejects claims it is using the coup as an excuse to get rid of its opponents. It insists those without proven links to the coup will be freed.

More than 2,500 officers whose suspensions were announced on Tuesday were police chiefs, said Turkish national police in a statement. It comes hours after the government announced that a state of emergency imposed shortly after the failed putsch would be extended by three months when it expires on 19 October.

The emergency allows the president and cabinet effectively to rule by decree, bypassing parliament when drafting new laws and able to restrict or suspend rights and freedoms. There are fears that under the state of emergency – and in a country where judicial independence has plummeted – opponents are being rounded up with little chance to clear their name. The depth of the purge is staggering, with thousands suspended, dismissed, detained or arrested – from teachers to soldiers, police to judges, aircraft pilots to journalists. In some areas, such as in eastern areas where there are large Kurdish populations, so many teachers have been detained – some accused of supporting the banned Kurdish rebel PKK group – that schools have effectively been forced to shut.

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A Netherlands photojournalist has been shot dead by a sniper apparently belonging to the group known as Islamic State (IS) while reporting on the fighting in the Libyan city of Sirte.

Jeroen Oerlemans, 45, was killed while he was out with a team that clears mines. He was reporting from a part of the city recently freed from IS control.

Oerlemans was abducted and wounded in Syria in 2012 with British photographer John Cantlie, but freed a week later. Mr Cantlie was later abducted again, and is believed to remain in IS captivity.

Oerlemans had previously covered conflicts in Afghanistan, Syria and Libya in addition to writing stories about the journey made by migrants to Europe. He was working in Libya for numerous publications including the Belgian weekly Knack magazine, which confirmed his death.

An announcement on Knack’s website said the reporter was shot while on a reporting assignment and that the publication “wishes his family much strength”.

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