Six people were killed in mounting violence ahead of local elections in Kashmir as Indian authorities imposed a curfew and suspended mobile internet services in the disputed territory on Thursday. There were at least four separate shootings in the restive Himalayan region, where an armed insurgency against Indian rule has raged for three decades, costing tens of thousands of lives. ...

Police in the Netherlands have arrested seven men over an alleged plot to carry out what they describe as a major terrorist attack involving guns and explosives.   Police say the men were trying to source AK47s, hand grenades and bomb materials to carry out their attack.  The men, aged between 21 and 34, were arrested on Thursday.   Three ...

Canada lawmakers have unanimously passed a motion to strip Aung San Suu Kyi of her honorary Canadian citizenship.   More and more Canadian politicians have been calling on Ottawa to revoke the honour bestowed on the de facto Myanmar leader in 2007 over her complicity in the brutal crackdown of the Rohingya people.  A United Nations fact-finding mission recently found ...

An Indian coffee shop chain rhyming with Starbucks and with a similar logo has agreed to change its name after being sued by the US giant, the Indian firm said Friday.   Starbucks, which entered the vast Indian market in 2012 and now has 125 outlets, began legal proceedings against “SardarBuksh”, which has 25 shops in New Delhi, in July.  ...

Japan’s space agency (Jaxa) has released new images from the robot rovers it has deployed to the surface of an asteroid. The photos reveal new details of the surface of the space rock, which is known as Ryugu.   On 21 September, the rovers were released on to the surface by the “mothership”, Hayabusa 2.   Hayabusa 2 reached Ryugu ...

John Biggs, Mayor of Tower Hamlets, held a violent crime summit on 21 September at the Osmani Centre, E1 with police officers, industry experts and community groups to consider the best way to tackle drug dealing and violence on the streets. The move builds on successful partnership work between the council and police, which has already resulted in the imprisonment of 160 ...

The UN Human Rights Council voted Thursday to set up a panel to prepare criminal indictments over atrocities committed in Myanmar, amid allegations of genocide against the Rohingya minority.   The top UN rights body voted to “establish an ongoing independent mechanism to collect, consolidate, preserve and analyse evidence of the most serious international crimes and violations of international law ...

Dany Cotton says fire was as unexpected as ‘space shuttle landing on Shard’, even though brigade knew of cladding risks The London fire brigade commissioner, Dany Cotton, has claimed the ferocity of the Grenfell Tower fire was so unexpected that it was like “the space shuttle landing on the Shard”, even though she conceded that the brigade knew about the ...

John Biggs, Mayor of Tower Hamlets, has announced that schools can pilot trials where streets around them are closed to cars for a few hours if  parents are concerned about their children’s health. Play Streets, where some roads are closed off at weekends where there is demand, are also being proposed as part of the council’s campaign to improve air ...

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is heading to Germany for a visit aimed at reducing tensions between the two NATO allies at a time when Turkey’s economic troubles are causing growing concerns and Europe needs Ankara’s support in reducing the flow of migrants. The trip, which runs Thursday to Saturday, is Erdogan’s first formal state visit to Germany, where the ...