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Interpol says it has detected more than a dozen suspected “foreign terrorist fighters” crossing the Mediterranean Sea during a six-week operation.

The international police organisation carried out more than 1.2 million searches at ports in six countries between 24 July and 8 September.

Operation Neptune II focussed on busy tourist routes between North Africa and southern Europe. It resulted in 31 active investigative leads, Interpol says.

In a separate development, France and Italy called for a new system to automatically redistribute migrants across the EU as the number of people entering Europe surged. The current system, French President Emmanuel Macron said, was particularly unfair on Italy.

Only this week, hundreds of migrants arrived in Italy and Greece, many travelling by boat from Libya and Turkey.

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US gun manufacturer Colt has said it will suspend the production of sporting rifles for consumers.

Those include the AR-15, a semi-automatic rifle that has been used in several recent US mass shootings.

Colt says it remains committed to the right to bear arms, but that the US market is already saturated with similar weapons. It will focus instead on fulfilling contracts for customers in the military and police, it added.

Colt’s decision is unlikely to make it more difficult for people to get hold of semi-automatic weapons, as many other manufacturers make similar rifles, observers say. “The fact of the matter is that over the last few years, the market for modern sporting rifles has experienced significant excess manufacturing capacity,” Colt’s chief executive officer, Dennis Veilleux, said in a written statement.

“Given this level of manufacturing capacity, we believe there is adequate supply for modern sporting rifles for the foreseeable future.”

The AR-15 has been used in several recent mass shootings, including in Newtown, Connecticut, and in Orlando and Parkland, Florida, The New York Times reports. Earlier this month, Walmart announced it would stop the sale of some types of ammunition following recent shootings, including one at one of its stores in Texas that left 22 dead.

A prominent businessman has been abducted in County Fermanagh before being beaten and left at the side of a road in the Republic of Ireland.

Kevin Lunney, 50, a director of Quinn Industrial Holdings, was driving from work to his home in Kinawley when he was attacked at 18:40 BST on Tuesday. He was found 22 miles (35km) away beside a road in County Cavan at about 21:00 and taken to hospital.

Detectives on both sides of the Irish border are investigating the attack. Mr Lunney was badly beaten, suffering a broken leg and “other very severe but non-life-threatening injuries”, said a statement from Quinn Industrial Holdings. His car and another vehicle were found on fire near the Lunney family’s home.

Kevin Lunney was once a close associate of Sean Quinn, and worked with him in his attempts to regain control of the business empire that collapsed in 2012 after Mr Quinn made a disastrous investment in Anglo Irish Bank.

There were a series of attacks in 2014 on property belonging to the new owners, including a fuel tanker which was driven into the headquarters building and set on fire.

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Former US marine Paul Whelan, accused in Russia of espionage, has said he is not a spy and that he was set up by a Russian friend.

Mr Whelan, who is also a citizen of the UK, Canada and Ireland, said a friend had planted a hard drive on him without his knowledge. The 48-year-old’s appeal against detention was denied by a Moscow court.

Prosecutors say he was caught “red-handed” with state secrets last year. The investigation has now ended, and Mr Whelan’s lawyers have begun studying the evidence.

Because it is an espionage case, all the information is classified. The US ambassador in Moscow has called on Russia to stop “playing games” with the case.

In a snatched conversation through the glass of his cage in court, Mr Whelan gave his side of the story for the first time. He said he had been set up, and had not committed any crime.

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Police in Hong Kong have used water cannon and tear gas against protesters throwing petrol bombs and bricks near government offices in the city.

The violence broke out after thousands of pro-democracy demonstrators marched, despite being denied a police permit. Scuffles also broke out later between rival protesters around the city.

Earlier hundreds rallied outside the British Consulate, demanding the UK press China to maintain freedoms guaranteed during the 1997 handover.

The months of unrest were sparked by a proposed extradition bill, which would have made it possible for people in Hong Kong to be extradited to mainland China. Critics said they could have faced human rights abuses. The bill was at first shelved, then the government announced it would withdraw it completely, but that has failed to stem protester anger. They are calling for full democracy and an investigation into allegations of police brutality, among other demands.

Police had denied a permit for the march on Sunday, but thousands of people attended anyway, marching from Causeway Bay and Central, the main business and commercial district.

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