Armoured & Luxury
Chauffeur Driven Cars

A suicide bomber has killed at least 27 people in a suicide attack inside a Shia Muslim mosque in the Afghan capital, Kabul, police say.

Another 35 were wounded in the blast at the Baqir ul Olum mosque. The attacker was on foot and blew himself up among crowds inside the building, officials said. There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

Afghanistan has largely been spared levels of sectarian violence seen by Pakistan and Iraq. But Shia, who make up about 15% of the population in Afghanistan, have been attacked several times in recent months, including a gun attack on a shrine in Kabul in October.

Militants from so-called Islamic State have claimed similar attacks, including one in July at a Shia protest march in the capital which left 80 dead.

Taliban militants, who are seeking to reimpose Islamic rule in Afghanistan, were quick to distance themselves from the attack. «We condemn this blast,» Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said. «This act cannot be our work and has nothing to do with us.»

Many sons have difficulty deciphering their father, but few more than Mark Colvin.

As a boy in the 1950s and 1960s, Colvin knew his dad as a dedicated British diplomat whose job took their family all over the globe. The pair had a strong bond, but there were unexplained questions. John Colvin worked long hours, shared few details about his job and sometimes kept his family at arm’s length.

Colvin and his sister, Zoe, sometimes joked their father might be a spy. Only years later, in 1976-77, did they learn he worked for MI6.

A Double Life

John Colvin was posted to Malaysia in 1957 after diplomatic postings in Norway and Austria, where his real mission had been to undermine Soviet imperialism. With a young family in tow, he began running counter-insurgency troops during the Malayan Emergency. «When we went to live in Kuala Lumpur, I believed he was straight-out diplomat,» Mark Colvin said. «I went out into the jungle one time with him and reviewed a troupe of jungle fighters — hill tribesmen — but I thought that was part of his normal work. I thought he was a colonial diplomat. I didn’t realise that was essentially part of his intelligence work.»

Family life ran parallel with espionage as the Cold War continued. But the stresses of the job eventually contributed to the breakdown of John’s marriage to Mark’s mother, Anne Manifold. In time it also strained the relationship with his children, who remained in the dark about his work.

Read More

So-called Islamic State (IS) shot dead 40 civilians on Tuesday in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul after accusing them of treason, the United Nations says.

Their bodies were then hung from electricity poles in several districts, the office of the UN Human Rights Commissioner said, citing sources.

A man was also reportedly shot dead in public in central Mosul for ignoring an IS ban on using mobile phones. Iraqi security forces are continuing their push to take Mosul back from IS.

The killings of the civilians appeared to have been carried out on the orders of self-appointed «courts», according to the UN report. The 40 civilians were accused of «treason and collaboration» and dressed in orange clothes marked in red with the words «traitors and agents of the ISF» (Iraqi Security Forces).

The UN says 20 civilians were also shot dead on Wednesday evening at the Ghabat military base in northern Mosul, supposedly for leaking information. The UN also expressed concern at IS’s deployment of teenagers and young boys. Children are apparently seen in an IS video issued on Wednesday shooting dead four people for spying. IS also announced on 6 November that it had beheaded seven militants for deserting the battlefield in the Kokjali district of eastern Mosul, the UN says.

Read More

A two-minute silence has been observed across the UK to remember the nation’s war dead for Armistice Day.

Prince Harry has laid a wreath at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire for the commemorations.

Silence fell at 11:00 GMT to remember servicemen and women killed in battle.

England and Scotland footballers are expected to risk breaking Fifa rules forbidding «political statements» when they wear poppy armbands at their World Cup qualifying match at Wembley later. People gathered at war memorials and in schools, offices and other public places across the UK to pause for two minutes to commemorate the moment the guns fell silent for peace at the end of World War One, on 11 November 1918.

Hundreds of people attended the Royal British Legion’s Silence in the Square event in Trafalgar Square, where poppies were laid in the fountains and music was performed by a range of artists including Russell Watson. A service of remembrance was also held at the Cenotaph, where singer Cerys Matthews read the poem In Memoriam by Ewart Alan Mackintosh.

Read More

One of two men who escaped from London’s Pentonville prison on Monday has been recaptured, police have said.

Matthew Baker, 28, was arrested at an address in Ilford, north-east London, on Wednesday night and is being held in police custody. A 21-year-old woman and a man aged 33 were also arrested.

Baker was awaiting sentencing for attempted murder when he broke through cell bars at the north London prison with fellow inmate, James Whitlock, 31.

Police have renewed an appeal for information about Whitlock, who remains at large. He had been on remand charged with conspiracy to steal from 19 cash machines across south-east England between last December and August. He is described as of a slim build and has the name «Tracy» tattooed on his torso. Police advised the public not to approach him.

The man and woman arrested with Baker were taken to a police station in east London, where they remain in police custody, the Met said.

Read More