-
Bomb Alerts In Russia So Far Proven As Hoaxes
For four days running, towns and cities across Russia have been hit by a wave of bomb alerts.
Dozens of schools, shopping centres, railway stations and public buildings have been evacuated. Tens of thousands of people have been affected.
So far, all of the alerts have proved to be hoaxes and the public has been urged to remain calm.
The source of the threats is unclear but one official suggested they had originated outside Russia. "There's reason to assume this was all organised abroad," the official in Chelyabinsk told Interfax news agency.
Read More -
More Sanctions Imposed On North Korea
The United Nations has imposed a fresh round of sanctions on North Korea after its sixth and largest nuclear test.
The measures restrict oil imports and ban textile exports - an attempt to starve the North of fuel and income for its weapons programmes.
The US had originally proposed harsher sanctions including a total ban on oil imports. The vote was only passed unanimously after Pyongyang allies Russia and China agreed to the reduced measures.
The sanctions, which were passed at a UN Security Council meeting on Monday, were met with anger by North Korea.
Read More -
Two British Soldiers Charged Under Terror Laws
Three men, including two British soldiers, have been charged under terror laws with being members of a banned neo-Nazi group.
Alexander Deakin, 22, Mikko Vehvilainen, 32, and Mark Barrett, 24, have been charged with being members of National Action.
It was the first far-right group to be banned by the Home Office in 2016. They are among five men arrested on 5 September. Two others have since been released without charge.
Read More -
Military Base In Somalia Targeted By Al-Sabab Leaving Eight Dead
Militant Islamists have attacked a Somali military base and police station near the border with Kenya, killing eight soldiers, an official has said.
The al-Shabab militants rammed the base in Beled Hawa town with an explosives-packed vehicle, and then stormed it on foot, Mohamud Hayd Osman added.
Al-Shabab said it had killed 30 soldiers in the hit-and-run attack. It has carried out a spate of attacks in Somalia and Kenya since launching an insurgency more than a decade ago.
The African Union has an 18,000-strong force helping the UN-backed Somali government tackle the militants.
Read More -
Police & Prison Officers Pay Cap To Be Lifted
The government is to lift the 1% public sector pay cap for the first time for both police and prison officers.
Ministers are expected to accept recommendations for higher pay rises this week and also to pave the way for similar increases in other sectors.
Public sector pay was frozen for two years in 2010, except for those earning less than £21,000 a year, and since 2013, rises have been capped at 1% - below the rate of inflation.
Read More -
Netherlands Sending More Troops To St Martin To Stop Looting
The Netherlands is sending more forces to contain "serious" post-storm looting on the island of St Martin as Hurricane Irma leaves a trail of destruction.
Prime Minister Mark Rutte said more soldiers and police would be deployed amid reports of people with guns and machetes roaming the streets.
A French minister said she witnessed looting close up. The island is shared between France and the Netherlands.
At least 17 people across the Caribbean have been killed by Hurricane Harvey.
Read More -
Human Rights Watch Claim Egyptian Political Detainees Are Tortured
Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi has given a "green light" to security forces to routinely torture political detainees, Human Rights Watch says.
Its new report alleges the interior ministry has developed an "assembly line" of abuse to collect information and prepare often fabricated cases. Officers beat suspects and use electrical shocks and stress positions with "almost total impunity", it says.
The government has denied allegations of widespread and systematic torture. It has blamed abuses on individuals and said they are held accountable.
Read More -
Two Men Sentenced To Death For 1993 Mumbai Attack
A court in the Indian city of Mumbai has sentenced two men to death for their role in bomb attacks in 1993.
The blasts, allegedly to avenge the killing of Muslims in riots, targeted a dozen sites and killed 257 people.
Firoz Khan and Tahir Merchant were convicted of criminal conspiracy and murder. Abu Salem, who fled India after the bombings and was extradited from Portugal in 2005, received a life sentence, along with Karimulla Khan. Another man, Riyaz Siddiqui, was sentenced to 10 years in jail.
Read More -
Suspected Hand Grenade Blast Closes Industrial Estate In Hereford
An industrial estate has been evacuated after a blast involving suspected hand grenades.
Excavation work was taking place at Rotherwas Industrial Estate in Hereford before the blast on Wednesday.
West Mercia Police said "suspected phosphorus grenades" were discovered at the site. They were found close to a former World War Two munitions factory.
A 200m cordon was put in place and several homes and businesses evacuated, although no injuries were reported.
Read More -
Syrian Military Base Attacked By Israeli Jets
The Syrian army says Israeli jets have attacked a military base in the west of the country, amid reports of a strike on a suspected chemical weapons site.
A statement said rockets fired from Lebanese airspace hit the site near Masyaf, killing two soldiers. Arab media and a monitoring group reported that a chemical weapons production facility was targeted.
Israel, which has carried out clandestine attacks on weapons sites in Syria before, has not commented. An Israeli military spokeswoman declined to discuss the reports, saying it does not comment on operational matters.
Read More