Russian snipers kill Islamist hostage-takers to end prison siege

Russia’s security services shot dead four inmates on Friday who had taken hostages at a penal colony, fatally stabbed four of its staff and posted online videos describing themselves as Islamic State militants, officials said. “Snipers of the special forces of the Russian National Guard in the Volgograd region, with four precise shots, neutralised four…

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Knife-wielding Russian convicts take prison staff hostage and kill one guard

A group of prisoners identifying themselves as Islamic State militants seized hostages in a maximum security jail in Russia’s southern Volgograd region and killed at least one member of staff, the country’s prison service said. “During a session of a disciplinary commission, convicts took staff of the penal institution as hostages,” the prison service said in a…

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Germany investigates drone flights over industrial park

Investigators in northern Germany confirmed on Thursday that they were investigating suspicious drone activity over an industrial park in Brunsbüttel, following media reports about the case. “The Flensburg public prosecutor’s office confirms the launching of an investigation due to the suspicion of espionage activity for sabotage purposes, in connection with repeated drone flights over critical…

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NATO air base in Germany raises security level due to ‘potential threat’

The NATO air base in the German town of Geilenkirchen has raised its security level “based on intelligence information indicating a potential threat,” it said late on Thursday. A spokesperson for the base in Geilenkirchen said the threat level had been raised to Charlie, the second-highest of four states of alert, which is defined as…

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The Middle East’s bizarre waiting game: ceasefire or Armageddon?

It was hard not to detect a note of desperation from Antony Blinken. The American secretary of state is making his ninth visit to the Middle East since war in Gaza began over ten months ago. The latest round of indirect talks between Israel and Hamas is, he insisted, “a decisive moment” that is “probably…

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Germany: Climate activists block four airports

Germany’s Cologne/Bonn airport announced on Thursday morning that it was temporarily suspending operations after an “unauthorized intrusion.” Police said that a hole had been cut in the perimeter fence. The airport is one of Germany’s busiest passenger hubs. Later on Thursday, Nuremberg also confirmed it was pausing operations due to a protest. Letzte Generation or…

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