Burkina Faso: At least 132 killed by gunmen in 'barbaric' attack on village, government says - Sky News

At least 132 people have been killed by gunmen in a "barbaric" attack on a village in Burkina Faso, the country's deadliest in years, authorities have said.

The local market and several homes in Solhan - a northern village in Yagha province bordering Niger, in the Sahel region of Africa - were also burned down, government spokesman Ousseni Tamboura said in a statement.

He blamed jihadists for the attack, which took place during the night on Friday.

Image: Roch Marc Christian Kabore, the country's president, pictured in 2019

President Roch Marc Christian Kabore described the assault as "barbaric".

Heni Nsaibia, senior researcher at the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project, said it was the deadliest attack recorded in Burkina Faso since the West African country was overrun by jihadists linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State about five years ago.

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"It is clear that militant groups have shifted up gears to aggravate the situation in Burkina Faso, and moved their efforts to areas outside the immediate reach of the French-led counter-terrorism coalition fighting them in the tri-state border region," he said.

Jihadist violence is increasing in the Sahel, despite the presence of more than 5,000 French troops, particularly in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger.

In March, attackers killed 137 people in coordinated raids on villages in southwestern Niger.

In April, more than 50 people, including two Spanish journalists and an Irish conservationist, were killed in Burkina Faso in the space of a week.

More than one million people in the country have been internally displaced and it is also hosting some 20,000 refugees from neighbouring Mali.

The government has declared 72 hours of mourning following the latest attack.

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2021-06-05 16:27:09Z
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Girl, 4, mauled to death by leopard after being snatched from outside home - Metro.co.uk

Little Adha Shakil’s body was found in woodland the morning after she went missing (Picture: SWNS)

A four-year-old girl was mauled to death by a leopard after going missing outside her family home.

The youngster, named by relatives as Adha Shakil, had been playing out in the garden when she was snatched by the big cat on Thursday.

Worried relatives reported her missing and a search was launched in the Budgam district of Jammu and Kashmir, India.

Police officers, supported by wildlife experts and Army troops, worked through the night to find Adha and eventually found her mutilated body in woodland the following morning.

Her heartbroken grandfather Ghulam Hassan Mir paid tribute to the ‘apple of [his] eye’ and ‘princess’ on Friday.

He said: ‘She was an apple of my eye. She was our princess, she was your daughter. We’re doomed.

‘Adha was incredible.’

He added: ‘We repeatedly stressed to the government (about the wild animals). This is a very sorry state. I plead to the authorities that in the future the security of the locals should be ensured.’

Adha had been playing outside when she vanished on Thursday (Picture: SWNS)

Angry locals claim sightings of leopards ‘on the prowl’ had been reported to wildlife officials but nothing had been acted on.

Syed Khalid told India Today: ‘We have been pleading with the wildlife officials for long to do something about it.

‘This nursery has become so dense now and they need to take steps to ensure such gruesome incidents don’t take place.’

Another neighbour, Mushtaq Ahmed, added: ‘The latest attack has spread panic in the area. We’re all restless after losing a precious soul.’

According to official records, 49 people were killed and 829 injured in animal attacks in the province between 2014 and 2018, The Hindu reports.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

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2021-06-05 12:39:00Z
CAIiEIHY9rLJQyc_qhEXI8NVMmMqGQgEKhAIACoHCAowzc-JCzDQ5psDML_9oQY

Donald Trump Facebook ban: ex-president 'unlikely' to change behaviour, says White House - The Telegraph

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2021-06-05 08:43:35Z
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Turkey plagued by largest outbreak of 'sea snot' on record as mucus hits Sea of Marmara coastline - Sky News

A thick layer of "sea snot" thought to be the largest on record has hit the Turkish coast, endangering marine life and fishing trade.

The marine mucilage is a slimy layer of grey sludge that forms when algae is overloaded with nutrients as a result of hot weather and water pollution.

It was first found in Turkey in 2007 but has also been discovered in the Aegean Sea near Greece.

Turkey's recent outbreak along its Sea of Marmara coast is believed to be the biggest in history and is causing chaos for local communities.

Image: Underwater images show how the 'snot' forms

Studies show that the slime stretches up to 100ft (30m) deep, threatening to poison mussels, crabs and other shellfish.

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Experts blame pollution from household waste, the neighbouring Black Sea and Danube River, as well as higher-than-usual water temperatures caused by climate change.

Local filmmaker Tahsin Ceylan is making a documentary about the sea snot.

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"The Sea of Marmara's plight is the outcome of what humans did. This is the outcome of household waste and pollution," he said.

"The only thing to do is not to throw your waste into the sea. I think nature does not deserve this."

Ferries and other boats that travel along the Sea of Marmara, which stretches between the Bosporus and the Aegean, have to navigate the grey sludge.

Image: The snot overwhelms a harbour south of Istanbul

The coastline, south of Istanbul, is densely populated and home to several industrial sites that are also adversely affected.

Turkish environment minister Murat Kurum has acknowledged the issue and sent a team of 300 people to assess the damage.

But opposition leaders claim President Recep Erdogan is not taking the issue seriously enough and are urging him to approve the Paris Climate Agreement to facilitate changes.

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2021-06-05 07:57:20Z
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Microsoft blames 'accidental human error' for Tank Man censorship on Tiananmen Square anniversary - Sky News

Microsoft has blamed "accidental human error" for its search engine Bing failing to produce any results for 'Tank Man' on the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square protests.

Users in the UK, US, Germany and Singapore were met with the message "There are no results for tank man" when they searched for it on Friday - the 32nd anniversary of the demonstrations.

'Tank Man' refers to an image of a lone protester standing in the path of an oncoming tank during the suppression of student-led protests in Beijing's Tiananmen Square in June 1989.

Although the man was never identified, it has become the defining image of the military crackdown, which many refer to as the Tiananmen Square Massacre, and killed between hundreds and thousands of people.

It's one thing for Microsoft's Bing search engine to censor material inside China on Beijing's orders, but it is a whole new level of censorship for Bing to censor this iconic image of "tank man" in Tiananmen Square for searches conducted overseas. It did. https://t.co/STv3hU8OoK pic.twitter.com/dU4zLghg3M

— Kenneth Roth (@KenRoth) June 5, 2021

Microsoft has been accused of censoring the image and co-operating with China, which refers to the suppression as the 'June 4 incident' and bans any discussion of it.

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Although China applies censorship to search engines operating in its jurisdiction, it has no power to ban content beyond its borders.

A large number of Microsoft employees who work on Bing are located in China.

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Image: Tiananmen Gate in Beijing is pictured on 4 June. Pic: AP

Kenneth Roth, of Human Rights Watch, tweeted to say the "inadvertent error" was "hard to believe". "Outrageous," he posted.

David Greene, civil liberties director at the Electronic Frontier Foundation said that content moderation often poses challenges for search engines and "egregious mistakes are made all the time".

But he added: "At worst, this was a purposeful suppression at the request of a powerful state."

Image: Protesters in Hong Kong still gathered despite restrictions. Pic: AP

Chinese communities across the world gathered in solidarity to remember those lost in the protests, who were fighting against rapid socio-economic change in the post-Mao era.

In Hong Kong, where China passed national security laws earlier this year, protests were less busy than usual after authorities banned them. People wore masks and held up their smartphones in lieu of the usual candlelit vigil.

The organiser barrister Chow Hang Tung, 36, was arrested hours before it took place.

Microsoft said in a statement that the issue was "due to an accidental human error" and the site was "actively working to resolve this".

The 'Tank Man' images had returned to the search engine in the UK early on Saturday.

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2021-06-05 06:50:21Z
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Vladimir Putin warns head of MI6: 'Just live your life and don't try to spoil Russian-British relations further' - Sky News

Vladimir Putin has shrugged off criticism from the head of MI6, saying the UK spy boss will "probably revisit his assessments" of Russia.

The president said that Richard Moore is "new" to the role, following Mr Moore's description of Russia as an "objectively declining power economically and demographically".

Mr Moore moved into the top job at MI6 in October.

During a recent interview with Times Radio, he voiced frustration with Russia's behaviour, including the novichok attack in Salisbury, allegations that Russia's military intelligence agency was behind a blast at a Czech arms factory in 2014, and the country's actions in Ukraine.

Mr Moore said: "When you get that pattern of reckless behaviour, of course you then look at what is happening around Ukraine and of course it worries us.

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"It is why we have coordinated so closely with our allies to make sure we are getting firm messages back to President Putin.

"It is an extremely challenged place.

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"And clearly the treatment of Alexei Navalny as we saw with the thousands of protesters on the streets of well - not just Moscow - of a number of cities shows that there is a deal of disaffection with Mr Putin."

Image: Richard Moore is head of Britain's spy agency MI6

Mr Putin was asked about the comments during a news conference.

He responded: "You said that the new head of MI6 has given these assessments, so he is new and I think he is going to get some experience and he will probably revisit his assessments (on) if Russia is a declining power.

"So why bother? Why be concerned? Just live your life and don't try to spoil the Russian-British relations further."

Mr Putin noted the two countries had seen increased trade last year, adding: "So if you don't try to interfere into this process then everything is going to be good".

The relationship between London and Moscow has been tense since the novichok attack in 2018, which is believed to have been conducted by two Russian agents aiming to kill Sergei Skripal, a former Russian spy turned double agent for MI6.

Mr Skripal and his daughter Yulia survived but Dawn Sturgess, 44, died after she sprayed herself with the chemical, thinking it was perfume. Her partner was seriously ill.

British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab recently said Russia played a part in the forced diversion of a Ryanair flight to Belarus, which allowed authorities there to arrest a journalist and his girlfriend.

Mr Raab said it was "very difficult to believe" the incident had happened "without at least the acquiescence of the authorities in Moscow".

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2021-06-05 04:49:08Z
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Vladimir Putin refuses to rule out hijacking passenger planes with Kremlin foes onboard after Belarus... - The Sun

VLADIMIR Putin has refused to rule out using a warplane to force a flight from London carrying an opponent to land in Russia. 

The Kremlin strongman was quizzed about Belarus dictator Alexander Lukashenko using a fighter to bring down a Ryanair plane so he could detain his political foe Roman Protasevich.

Putin was asked if he would force down a plane carrying an opponentCredit: SPIEF

Roman Protasevich has appeared on TV sobbingCredit: Reuters

The plane was diverted just two minutes before it was due to cross into Lithuanian airspace, so that armed guards could arrest the 26-year-old journalist.

He later appeared on television to confess to playing a role in organising mass disturbances last year, at the end of which he began crying and covered his face with his hands.

During a TV interview, Putin was asked at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum: “Russia has its own list of wanted criminals. 

“Would Russia land a plane - let’s take London to Thailand, for example - if a wanted person was on board?  The plane from London to Thailand flies over Russia.”

Putin thought momentarily and answered: “I won’t say.”

His answer provoked laughter and applause from his audience and the interviewer, Russian presenter Stas Natanzon.

The Ryanair plane at Minsk airport after being forced to land

Putin was also quizzed on whether Russia had played any part in the Ryanair incident to which he replied: “Of course not.

“Some Roman Protasevich, I have no clue who he is, and don’t want to know. Let him do whatever he wants, to fight Lukashenko’s regime.”

Later on RT’s Talk Show, Natanzon explained how he interpreted Putin’s answer.

“This is the signal to those residents of London, which reads ‘worry’. Do worry, guys. 

“Do fly, but fly with sweaty hands. In an ideal world this is a signal not to steal - and do not to escape to London, but live by the law. 

“But if they’ve already done that, then fly with sweaty hands.”

Earlier this year it was reported Putin has drawn up a kill list with six of the targets living in the UK.

He is said to be planning a post-pandemic assassination campaign, saying “no scum can hide from us”, a Russian intelligence officer warned one of the targets.

Lukashenko has been condemned with sanctions imposed by the West for the act of “state piracy” in forcing down the tourist flight from Athens to Vilnius, as it overflew Belarus. 

Protasevich and his girlfriend Sofia Sapega, 23, are now held in a jail notorious for torturing political prisoners. 

He has annoyed "Europe's last dictator", Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, for daring to speak out against him.

Outside the pandemic, British Airways and Thai Airways are two airlines that normally fly direct between London and Thailand, overflying Russian airspace. 

Dissident Belarusian journalist Roman Protasevich appears to praise Alexander Lukashenko saying he has 'balls of steel' in interview on state TV

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2021-06-04 22:30:00Z
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