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Surveillance Plane Crashes After Take Off At Malta Airport
Three French defence officials and two other people died when a surveillance plane crashed shortly after take-off at Malta International Airport.
The light aircraft was setting off on a mission over the Mediterranean around 07:20 (05:20 GMT) when it nose-dived and disintegrated in a ball of flames. There was no explosion prior to the crash, according to eyewitnesses.
Malta said the flight had been part of a French operation to track illicit trafficking of people and drugs. An investigation into the causes of the crash is to be conducted by the French defence ministry.
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Home Webcams Recalled In The US After Websites Hijacked
Home webcams that were hijacked to help knock popular websites offline last week are being recalled in the US.
Chinese electronics firm Hangzhou Xiongmai issued the recall soon after its cameras were identified as aiding the massive web attacks. They made access to popular websites, such as Reddit, Twitter, Spotify and many other sites, intermittent. Security experts said easy-to-guess default passwords, used on Xiongmai webcams, aided the hijacking.
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IS Kills At Least 19 People In And Around The Iraq City Of Kirkuk
Islamic State (IS) militants have mounted a ferocious counter-attack in north Iraq, killing at least 19 people in and around the city of Kirkuk.
They attacked government buildings, killing at least six police officers, and a power station under construction, where 13 employees died, officials say. Twelve IS fighters also reportedly died and fighting seems to be continuing.
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Ransom Demanded For Kidnapped Australian In Yemen
An Australian football coach who was kidnapped in Yemen has appeared in a video saying his captors demand the Australian government pay a ransom to secure his release.
In the footage released online, 56-year-old Craig Bruce McAllister said he was kidnapped by an unnamed group.
Australia said on Wednesday it was aware one of its nationals had been kidnapped in the country. It has previously said it does not pay ransom money.
Yemen is engulfed in a war between forces backing President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi and Houthi rebels.
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Counter Terrorism Police Make Arrest At Holloway Road
A 19-year old man has been arrested by counter terrorism police after a suspicious device was blown up in a controlled explosion at North Greenwich Tube station on Thursday.
Officers discharged tasers during the arrest on Holloway Road, north London, but no firearms were discharged. The man has been taken to a London police station, where he remains in custody.
The Met Police said the device had been sent off to be forensically examined.
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Russian Flotilla Shadowed By Royal Navy Warships
Two British warships have been sent to shadow a Russian aircraft carrier and other Russian naval ships heading towards the UK.
The carrier Admiral Kuznetsov and its task force is sailing south from the Norwegian Sea on its way to Syria. It is not clear if it will pass the British Isles via the English Channel or west of Ireland.
British Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said the ships would be "man-marked" every step of the way. "We will be watching as part of our steadfast commitment to keep Britain safe," he said. It comes amid heightened tension between Russia and Nato.
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German Special Forces Officer Dies After Raid
A German 32-year-old special forces officer has died of his wounds after being shot during a raid on the home of a man linked to a far-right movement.
Four police were wounded as they tried to arrest a man in the Bavarian town of Georgensgmuend, south of Nuremberg.
The suspect, described as a member of the extremist Reichsbuerger movement, opened fire on the officers before he was eventually detained. Officials said a permit had been revoked for the 31 guns he owned.
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Thousands Of Civilians Leave Mosul Ahead Of Battle
Thousands of people have fled the Mosul area and more are expected as Iraqi troops move on the city to liberate it from the so-called Islamic State (IS).
Some 5,000 people have crossed the border into Syria in the last 10 days, about 900 of them since the military began in areas around Mosul on Monday. They have arrived at the al-Hol refugee camp where conditions, aid workers say, are already filthy and overcrowded.
Up to 1.5 million are thought to be in Mosul, with up to 5,000 IS fighters.
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Prisoner Dies After Stabbing In HMP Pentonville
A prisoner has died and two others were critically injured in a stabbing at HMP Pentonville, leading to claims the prison system is in a "dark place".
The man in his 20s died at the London prison on Tuesday. The injured were taken to hospital with knife wounds. Two prisoners, aged 34 and 26, have been arrested on suspicion of murder.
The Prison Governors Association (PGA) said inmates were living in "squalid and brutal conditions". The government said it is trying to reduce violence.
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ELN Rebel Killed By Colombian Army Ahead Of Peace Talks
The Colombian army says it has killed a rebel from the National Liberation Army, or ELN, and arrested four others in the northern province of Casanare.
The attack was launched 10 days before the beginning of peace talks between the government and the Marxist rebels. There is no indication that either side will declare a ceasefire until considerable progress has been made.
During talks with another rebel group, the Farc, the government refused to stop fighting until a deal was done.
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