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Urgent Reform Needed To Police Helicopter Service
The police helicopter service in England and Wales fails to get air support to thousands of incidents before they have ended and needs "urgent reform", a report says.
The HM Inspector of Constabulary said helicopter flying hours had nearly halved since 2009, and 24,873 missions were cancelled mid-flight in 2016.
The report also said the cost of flight hours had more than doubled since 2009. It said some forces used drones instead of the National Police Air Service.
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War Criminal Drinks Poison Upon Court Verdict
A war crimes appeal hearing in The Hague was cut short dramatically when one defendant drank what he said was poison upon hearing the verdict.
Slobodan Praljak, 72, was one of six former Bosnian Croat political and military leaders up before the court. He was sentenced to 20 years in jail in 2013 for crimes in the city of Mostar. On hearing that his sentence had been upheld, he said: "I have taken poison".
Croatian media report he has died but the UN court says it cannot confirm it.
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Australian Man Arrested On Planned New Years Eve Terror Attack
Australian police have arrested a man they allege was planning to carry out a terror attack during New Year's Eve celebrations in Melbourne.
The 20-year-old man will be charged with terrorism offences that carry a maximum penalty of life in prison, authorities said.
Police allege the man had planned to shoot people with an automatic gun at Federation Square in the city's centre. There is no ongoing threat to the public, police said.
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German Mayor Stabbed In The Neck
A mayor in western Germany has survived a knife attack amid suspicions of a link to his liberal immigration policy.
Andreas Hollstein, conservative mayor of Altena, was stabbed in the neck in a kebab shop and had hospital treatment.
The town in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) is well known for having accepted more than its quota of migrants. "The security authorities believe that there was a political motive," said NRW premier Armin Laschet. The mayor is in Chancellor Angela Merkel's CDU party.
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Many Civilians Killed In Syria After Russian Air Strikes
At least 53 civilians have been killed in Russian air strikes in the east Syrian village of Al-Shafah, a monitoring group says.
The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said 21 of those reportedly killed on Sunday morning were children.
The village is in Deir al-Zour, one of the last provinces where Islamic State still holds territory.
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Six Former Soldiers Imprisoned In India On Weapons Charges To Be Released
Six British former soldiers who have been in prison on weapons charges in India since 2013 are to be released.
They were arrested while working as guards on a ship to combat piracy in the Indian Ocean.
The so-called Chennai Six always denied the charges, which were initially quashed but later reinstated. They were sentenced to five years in 2016.
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Two Men Released Without Charge After Oxford Street Scare
Two men questioned over an altercation that sparked panic in London's Oxford Street on Friday have been released without charge, police have said.
The pair - aged 21 and 40 - were quizzed on Saturday after attending a police station voluntarily.
British Transport Police are investigating after panic erupted inside Oxford Circus Tube station. A number of people were injured, with nine hospitalised, after people fled the station amid reports of shooting.
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Deadly Attack In Egypt Kills More Than 200
Militants have launched a bomb and gun attack on a mosque in Egypt's North Sinai province, killing 235 people, state media say.
Witnesses say the al-Rawda mosque in the town of Bir al-Abed, near al-Arish, was targeted during Friday prayers. It is the deadliest attack of its kind since an Islamist insurgency in the peninsula was stepped up in 2013.
Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi has held emergency talks with security officials to decide how to respond.
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Militant Attack Kills Four In Georgia
Three suspected militants and a special forces soldier have been killed in a siege on an apartment in the Georgian capital Tbilisi, reports say.
Explosions and gunfire rocked a block of flats in the Isani district during the 20-hour stand-off, which officials say has ended.
One of the alleged militants was arrested and four soldiers were wounded, officials said. The suspects were not thought to be Georgian nationals.
Officials believed them to be members of a "terrorist group" and were working to identify which one, state security administration deputy chief Nino Giorgobiani said.
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Luton Man Jailed For Six Years For Plotting Terror Act
A terror plotter who offered to wear a suicide vest and "press the button on the same day" has been jailed.
Mubashir Jamil, 22, was convicted of preparing acts of terrorism after being caught in a covert police operation.
During his trial, the Old Bailey heard he wanted to join so-called Islamic State (IS) to rid himself of "evil spirits".
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