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A court in Vietnam has sentenced two brothers to death for their role in the killing of three policemen in a notorious land dispute in January.

The other 27 people on trial were given sentences ranging from life imprisonment to 15 months suspended. Le Dinh Cong and his younger brother Le Dinh Chuc helped mastermind resistance against the police, the court ruled. Their father, retired local official Le Dinh Kinh, 84, was shot dead by police who had entered Dong Tam village.

The authorities had been trying to secure construction of a fence around land officials were trying to seize next to an airfield. The raid and the unexplained circumstances around the death of the popular local leader caused huge public controversy. Land disputes are common in Vietnam, but rarely escalate into such conflict.

The two death sentences and long prison terms have been interpreted by many as a warning by the government against resisting seizures of private land, said Tina Thanh-Ha Vu.

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The US will withdraw more than a third of its troops from Iraq within weeks, its top Middle East commander has said.

Gen Kenneth McKenzie told reporters the troop presence would be reduced from about 5,200 to 3,000 during September. Those remaining will continue to advise and assist Iraqi security forces in “rooting out the final remnants” of the jihadist group Islamic State (IS).

Last month, US President Donald Trump reaffirmed that he planned to pull all troops out of Iraq as soon as possible. He is expected to hail the reduction of forces as progress towards his 2016 election campaign promise to disentangle the US from “endless wars”.

The presence of US troops has also become a major issue in Iraq since the US killed top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani in a drone strike in Baghdad in January.

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China has accused Indian troops of illegally crossing a disputed Himalayan border and firing “provocative” warning shots at patrolling soldiers.

China’s military said its soldiers were “forced to take countermeasures”, though it is not clear what they were. India rejected the allegations and accused Chinese troops of firing in the air during the face-off in the high-altitude Ladakh region. Relations between the countries have steadily deteriorated in recent months.

India said the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) had tried to approach a forward Indian position and “fired a few rounds in the air in an attempt to intimidate own troops”. “At no stage has the Indian army transgressed across the Line of Actual Control (LAC) or resorted to use of any aggressive means, including firing,” the statement from India’s military said. The allegations of firing, if true, would be the first time in 45 years that shots were fired there.

A 1996 agreement between both countries bars the use of guns and explosives from the Line of Actual Control, as the disputed border is known, although soldiers have clashed there before.

According to Chinese state media outlet the Global Times, the Indian troops had “illegally crossed the Line of Actual Control (LAC) into the Shenpao mountain region near the south bank of Pangong Tso Lake”, quoting senior colonel Zhang Shuili, a spokesperson of the PLA.

India’s move “seriously violated related agreements reached by both sides, stirred up tensions in the region… and is very vile in nature”, said Mr Zhang. But India’s statement added that the army was “committed to maintaining peace”, adding that it was also “determined to protect national integrity and sovereignty at all costs”.

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A 15-year-old boy has been seriously injured in a shooting as he made his way to school.

Officers were called just after 08:40 BST to the Grange Farm estate in Kesgrave, Suffolk, where a person was later seen receiving medical treatment.

Kesgrave High School said it had been told the incident involved one of its Year 11 students. The victim was taken to Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge.

Suffolk Police have arrested a teenage boy in connection with the shooting.

An Essex and Herts Air Ambulance landed on a grass area and took off just before 10:00.

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A man has been arrested on suspicion of murder after one person died and seven others were injured in stabbings across Birmingham city centre.

The 27-year-old suspect was arrested at an address in the Selly Oak area of the city at about 04:00 BST, West Midlands Police said. Officers said he was also being held over seven counts of attempted murder.

The attacks happened at four Birmingham locations over a period of 90 minutes in the early hours of Sunday. Forensic officers have been seen conducting searches at an end-of-terrace house in a cul-de-sac in Selly Oak, where neighbours said a police raid took place in the early hours.

Resident John Astley said he was woken by a loud bang during the night and saw a police van parked outside the neighbouring property. He said: “I think there were three people living there. They have only been there a few months, since July or something like that. “I had a look out of the front bedroom window and I just noticed there was a police van. I could hear a lot of noise coming from next door and it sounded like they were doing a search.”
Officers were first called out just after 00:30 on Sunday at Constitution Hill, where a man sustained a superficial injury.

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