‘Wedding bomb’ murderer gets life sentence in India

Figures from the Office for National Statistics show that shoplifting offences recorded by police in England and Wales rose 20% last year to 516,971. But the number of thefts recorded by retailers themselves is even higher. Figures from the British Retail Consortium suggest there were 20.4 million thefts in the year to last September, up 3.7 million on…

A controversial new aid distribution group backed by the US and Israel has begun working in Gaza. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) said lorry loads of food had been delivered to secure sites and that it had begun distribution to people. It did not say where or how much aid had been handed out. The…

US President Donald Trump’s administration has ordered US embassies around the world to stop scheduling appointments for student visas as it prepares to expand social media vetting of such applicants. An official memo said social media vetting would be stepped up for student and foreign exchange visas, which would have “significant implications” for embassies and…

Brazilian prosecutors are suing Chinese electric vehicle (EV) giant BYD and two of its contractors, saying they were responsible for human trafficking and conditions “analogous to slavery” at a factory construction site in the country. The Public Labour Prosecutor’s Office (MPT) in the state of Bahia says 220 Chinese workers were rescued after it began…

Thames Water has been fined £122.7m for breaching of rules relating to its sewage operations and shareholder payouts. It is the biggest ever penalty issued by the water regulator Ofwat. The regulator said the fines followed its “biggest and most complex investigation” and confirmed it would be paid by the company and its investors, not…

North Korea has criticised the US’s plan for a futuristic “Golden Dome” missile shield, saying it could “turn outer space into a potential nuclear war field”. The defence system, which President Donald Trump plans to unveil by the end of his term, is aimed at countering “next-generation” aerial threats to the US, including ballistic and cruise…