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Spain’s Sánchez defends Morocco over Ceuta crisis as opponents call for his removal – Europe live

French, German and Polish foreign ministers are meeting in Germany this morning for trilateral talks on the latest security situation in Europe, including Russia’s continued attacks on Ukraine and acts of sabotage in Europe. The ministers endorsed Germany’s actions in response to the attempted Leipzig drone attack last month, including its order to close the Russian consulate in Bonn and the Russian cultural centre in Berlin. In retaliation, Russia told Germany to close branches of its Goethe Institute in Russia. Germany’s Johann Wadephul said Germany has “always been ready to enter into a reasonable dialogue with Russia,” but it’s willingness to engage is based on a precondition of Moscow ending its aggression against Ukraine and attacks against Europe France’s Jean-Noël Barrot stressed that “it is Russia who is the aggressor,” with Ukraine and increasingly European countries facing aggressive actions ordered by Moscow. He added that “it’s not Ukraine, it’s not the Europeans, but it is systematically Vladimir Putin who goes further and further,” and “whenever our states and democracies are hit by attacks, whether hybrid or otherwise, we will respond.” Poland’s Radosław Sikorski said that Poland had summoned the Russian ambassador to Warsaw to express its condemnation of Russia’s actions, which he characterised as “state terrorism”. “We do not consent to the unpunished testing of our borders and hostile acts in our territories. There is no tolerance for arson, attacks on the railways, assassinations, and other provocations.” He continued: “Putin’s Russia remains one of the most serious security threats not just to Europe, but to the entire global order. Its objective is the permanent destruction of the European security architecture, grounding international relations in dominance rather than cooperation. We must counter these imperial ambitions.”

Wife of British man at risk of deportation from Sweden calls on Burnham to intervene

The wife of a British man detained by police in Stockholm on Tuesday ahead of a threatened deportation has pleaded with Andy Burnham to get involved in the Brexit catastrophe unfolding for many British citizens in Sweden. Charles, who does not want to be fully identified, and his Swedish wife, Lily, were summoned to the police station at 10am on Tuesday, where he was told he would be held at a detention centre and deported within the next two weeks. Lily, who is a lawyer, was told to go home and get his passport despite her protests that there was a court process under way appealing the deportation order. “I feel shame,” said Lily, who asked that their family’s surname not be published. “To me, Britain represents freedom for human beings, and then to see this British man in detention just because he wants to be with his wife and live in his house, this is not right. “What kind of country are we living in? Is this civilisation? They don’t care about human rights. This is a European country, but it looks like Sweden is like somewhere like Afghanistan,” she said. Lily met her husband in the UK after starting a law degree in London in 2010. She now works for the local authority in Stockholm and returned to Sweden in 2015, with her soon-to-be husband joining her in 2017, three years before Brexit. A former business consultant, now retired, Charles made an application to remain in the country before the deadline for applications after Brexit. His application was rejected two years later in 2022 and the family have been fighting deportation ever since with “six or seven” appeals, said Lily. “The Migration Agency has hunted us for five years.” During the summer the couple received a text asking them to show up at their local police station on 1 September. “They told us they needed to talk and we should show up at 10am. They didn’t say anything about deportation or to bring passports. “When we arrived they told us that they needed to talk to Charles privately, and after three hours they told me they were taking him to the detention centre and that they would deport him. “I told them that they can’t do this because his case is in court and they have to wait for the outcome, but they told me they were going ahead,” said Lily. She has pleaded with Andy Burnham, the UK prime minister, to intervene. “Why can’t Andy Burnham talk to the Swedish government? How many British families have to suffer in Sweden before Andy Burnham gets involved? How many families have to leave their homes, be forced into selling their houses? “This is not humanity. This is not right. They should threaten the trade agreement,” she added. Charles’s case comes amid growing controversy over Sweden’s approach to the withdrawal agreement, which is supposed to have protected EU citizens in the UK and British citizens settled in the bloc before Brexit. Among those threatened with removal in the past month are 78-year-old British widow Joyce Thomas, who has been in the country for 21 years, and George Mason, a 74-year-old man in dementia care who has been in the country for 24 years. A 34-year-old man revealed this week he was deported from Sweden in January despite having been in the country since he was 10 and being married to a Swedish woman in Gothenburg. Two years ago another British woman, Kathleen Poole, was threatened with deportation because she had not provided financial statements to the Migration Agency while in full-time dementia care. The Swedish migration minister defended the country’s implementation of the withdrawal agreement, saying the Migration Agency was following the rules and had granted a number of residency permits for Britons who had “reasonable grounds” for late applications. However, concerns have been raised formally by the UK government through the EU-UK specialised committee, the official platform to raise issues over the working out of the Brexit deal, over the high number of late applications for post Brexit residency being rejected. Sweden, along with 12 other EU member states, opted for a constitutive system requiring citizens to formally apply to extend their residency rights post Brexit. Others, like Spain, opted for a declaratory system requiring Britons to simply register their presence initially. Lily says she and her husband phoned the authorities and used the correct form for residency and have been fighting ever since. The latest statistics from the 2024 European Commission annual report show that 14,233 applications for post Brexit residency have been decided in Sweden. According to analysis by the UK government, 27.5% (3,918) of applications have been refused, “a refusal rate three times higher than any other member state and considerably higher than the EU average of between 3 and 4%”. Sources added that this “constitutes 12% of all refusals across the EU member states, even though UK nationals in Sweden makes up only 1.55% of the total population of WA beneficiaries in EU member states”. Denmark faced a similar controversy two years ago, but legislation was introduced to give British nationals a second chance to make the residency application.

More than 800 students and teachers in Indonesia suffer food poisoning after eating government free meals

More than 800 Indonesian students and teachers have fallen ill in separate incidents of food poisoning linked to President Prabowo Subianto’s free-meals program this week, with dozens hospitalised after they with struck with nausea, vomiting and stomach aches. The president’s flagship free-meals program was launched last year to tackle malnutrition, with meals distributed to more than 62 million students and pregnant women across the country. But the multi-billion policy has been plagued by controversy, including recurrent cases of food poisonings, alleged corruption, leadership changes, and complaints it is a major lag on the budget. This week 566 students fell ill after eating the government’s free meals in Sidoarjo, East Java, with 88 of them hospitalised. In Nganjuk, also in East Java, 49 students fell ill on Wednesday after eating a free meal of fried rice, chicken and tofu. Another 237 students and teachers in Agam, West Sumatra, also fell ill after their meals on Wednesday, according to local media reports. Eggs were suspected to be the cause. The regional government in Agam has reportedly suspended distributing the meals, pending an evaluation. The kitchen linked to the Sidoarjo case was also suspended on Wednesday. In the past year many Indonesians have complained about the program, writing on social media about maggots in tempeh, shards of glass in rice, and food trays washed in dirty water. Overall, 37,600 people are believed to have suffered food poisoning linked to the free meals as of 8 Aug., according to Network for Education Watch, a non-governmental watchdog. Charles Honoris, a lawmaker and member of the sole political party outside the governing coalition, described the situation as a “failure of the system”. The National Nutrition Agency has blamed previous cases of food poisoning on improper food storage and late delivery of cooked meals. Prabowo has also played down the scale of the problem, saying that of more than a billion meals served, poisoning cases represented just “0.0017% – quite a proud achievement”. He also said the policy had improved school attendance and achievement. In July, a survey by pollster Saiful Mujani Research and Consulting showed only a third of people were satisfied with the scheme, with the reported cases of poisoning cited as a major reason. Despite the mounting criticism, Prabowo told parliament last month the program would be continued, and promised that improvements would be made. “We start with the most fundamental aspect: nutrition. Our children must not study while hungry. No child can learn effectively if they are hungry,” he said. “We cannot accept a situation where one in four Indonesian children suffers from stunting,” he continued, “We cannot accept that.”

Thursday briefing: What life is like in a West Bank village under siege from Israeli settlers

Good morning. In the coming days, Andy Burnham’s new government is expected to announce a ban on trade with Israeli settlements on the West Bank. It’s a move long anticipated by campaigners, and after a summer of escalating violence across the West Bank and the expansion of Israeli settlements that are illegal under international law, the UN was warned last month that the area is “at breaking point”. But this is not just a story about high level diplomacy and global trade. It is a story about people’s homes and gardens – people who simply want to walk around them in peace. One of those people is Loui Abu Ridi, and this morning marks the 26th day that his house in the northern West Bank village of Qusra has been besieged by settlers. First, the headlines. Five big stories UK politics | In his first prime ministers questions, Andy Burnham blames the Conservatives’ legacy for leaving the UK vulnerable to market turmoil. US news | JD Vance has said he is “doing as much of God’s work as possible” and that he is OK “if that leads to the end times”, which he says “are coming”. Tech | The UK government does not know what the country’s datacentres are being used for, despite fears over the growing environmental cost of the AI boom, a freedom of information request has found. Nepal-Tibet | There is a high chance that dozens ⁠of workers may be found alive after a week trapped in an underground chamber at Nepal’s Rasuwagadhi hydropower plant, a ⁠Nepal electricity authority official has said. Defence | A former defence minister has admitted misleading parliament over the existence of crucial medical records relating to nuclear bomb test veterans. In depth: ‘We live hour by hour’ Over the past two years, Loui Abu Ridi and his family have worked hard in their garden, which overlooks the village of Qusra, planting cherry, fig and olive trees, installing solar lights and a path to walk through the saplings. But in recent months, harassment by local settlers has intensified: they smashed windows, ripped out cabling and attacked his brother with rocks. They brought their sheep into Ridi’s yard – the sheep ate the saplings. Then, at the start of August, a group of settlers erected a tent outside his house and encircled two others, trapping the residents and blocking access to food and medical supplies. “When my brother called the police, they sent the military,” Abu Ridi explains, “but instead of helping him, they took selfies with the settlers”. “Now, we live hour by hour,” he tells me. The jeopardy is constant: just before we speak, a group of armed militants was circling his property in an ATV. His 83-year-old mother has run out of medicine, but any supplies must be negotiated via the village mayor and take days to arrive. His neighbour’s children should have gone back to school this week after the summer break. “Those kids, they cannot live their childhood. They cannot even go out in their yard to play.” I don’t speak Arabic, but Ridi speaks fluent English – he’s Palestinian-American, and grew up in Qusra, but left to study in the States, and he now runs a chain of gas stations in Ohio. With the assistance of the US embassy, he returned to the West Bank from midwest America soon after the siege commenced in August to be with his mother, brother and sister. “I was escorted into my house and since then, I have not left.” *** What is the West Bank, and who lives there? It’s nearly 20 years since I last visited the West Bank, and I can still remember the scream of a Palestinian mother as a bulldozer splintered the walls of her two-storey house, smashing bright, woven rugs and framed family photographs into dust and debris. The destruction of Palestinian homes and the expulsion of communities has been continuing for decades on this area of land on the west bank of the river Jordan. Since the Six Day War in 1967, the area, including Gaza, has been under Israeli occupation. The first Israeli settlements were established on the West Bank soon afterwards, backed by politicians across party lines, and have been formally recognised as violating international law ever since, although Israel has long disputed this interpretation. In 2024, the International Court of Justice declared that Israel’s continued occupation of Palestinians land unlawful. The 1995 Oslo peace deal created three administrative areas in the West Bank intended to constitute a future Palestinian state, a prospect consistently undermined by successive Israeli governments and their supporters in the settler movement. That encompasses both hardline right factions who claim historical and religious rights to the West Bank as the ancestral land of the Jewish people and other groups, and politicians on the left, who claim Israel needs to occupy Palestinian land as a security measure. While population counts vary, B’Tselem, the Israeli Information Centre for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories, estimates there are around 700,000 Israelis living illegally in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and more than 3.5 million Palestinians who call it home. *** How has the violence escalated? Since the Hamas atrocities of 7 October, when 1,200 predominantly Jewish people were killed and 251 taken hostage, settler expansion and accompanying violence on the West Bank has sharply escalated. According to UN figures, between 7 October 2023 and 21 June 2026, 1,105 Palestinians – at least 242 of them children – were killed in the West Bank. What is happening is ethnic cleansing. B’Tselem keeps a detailed chronology of violence, demolitions and displacement, estimating just under 5,000 people have been expelled since 2023, and over 60 communities have been wiped off the map. They are clear that this is the continuation of a systemic campaign rather than sporadic acts of violence by a handful of rogue extremists. The Israeli state has given settlers guns and uniforms, as part of locally established reserve units, and other equipment they use to terrorise Palestinians, including all-terrain vehicles. The aim is to push Palestinians into disconnected enclaves while establishing infrastructure for settlers to use, B-Tselem said, and supported by much of the Israeli government, including the far-right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich, a settler himself. Indeed, Orit Strook, Israel’s settlement minister, drew heavy criticism from opposition politicians and families of 7 October victims, when she described the period of rapid expansion of Israeli settler control in the West Bank after the attacks as “a time of miracles”. In the past month alone, B’Tselem identified further escalation, with hundreds of settlers targeting larger Palestinians villages, attacking families, setting fire to houses and cars, and taking over farmland. Examples of Israeli aggression towards foreign visitors have gained more international attention: British activist Finn Joughin was abducted by armed settlers, then deported from Israel, and NBC News correspondent Matt Bradley required medical treatment after his crew was attacked by masked settlers. But, as Abu Ridi describes, settlers are largely acting with impunity. B’Tselem believe they are using the window before Israeli government elections in the autumn to “change the reality” on the West Bank. The Israeli government is moving ahead with the E1 project, a plan to build thousands of homes on occupied land between East Jerusalem and the Ma’ale Adumim settlement on the West Bank, which many international critics argue would cut the West Bank in two and make the creation of a future Palestinian state even harder, if not impossible. *** Will the sanctions make a difference? On Tuesday, foreign secretary Ed Miliband told MPs: “This government will not acquiesce in the destruction of the two-state solution. We will act, and I will set out a comprehensive set of measures in the coming weeks.” And, the new prime minister, Andy Burnham, has previously made it known he wishes to take a more “robust” position on Israel than his predecessor Keir Starmer. However, this has not been welcomed by all quarters of his party, with Labour Friends of Israel warning that a ban on trade with settlements could become a de facto boycott of Israel due to the difficulty of separating out settlement goods from those made within the internationally recognised borders of the country. That in turn would cause significant harm to the UK’s Jewish community, the group say. But, a recent Amnesty briefing argues that the government can use the same enforcement framework already in place for trade sanctions following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which distinguishes between goods originating in occupied Ukrainian territory and those originating in Russia. And within Israel, security chiefs have demanded the government take action to “eradicate Jewish terrorism” on the West Bank. With Israel more isolated internationally than ever, Abu Ridi has tried to use his dual citizenship to draw attention to what is happening across the West Bank. The US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee – usually no ally to the Palestinian cause – recently described the actions of the settlers besieging Abu Ridi’s home as those of “terrorists”. “I am a Palestinian-American. But I’m not the only one living this life. There are hundreds and thousands of Palestinians in the West Bank, being threatened and beaten by Israeli extremists, and forced out of their houses.” At the end of our call, we speak a little more about his garden. Since the beginning of the siege three weeks ago, the settlers have stopped encouraging their sheep on to his property. “I was just talking with my brother about this,” he says. “We’ve started seeing green leaves, so there’s hope for those trees, if the settlers stay away from my yard.” What else we’ve been enjoying We’ve previously covered how big money is distorting politics on First Edition, so it’s very disappointing that Burnham has backtracked on a £500,000 cap. George Monbiot’s column on this is essential reading. Hettie This NYT report on the runway success of Delhi’s sprawling metro system neatly unpicks how it was built from scratch in one of the world’s most densely populated cities (£). Michael Freelancers are being hired to clean up “AI slop”, neatening and retouching content created by machines. It’s soulless work, Aaron Mok finds in this grimly fascinating piece. Hettie I’ve enjoyed so many of Simon Hattenstone’s recent interviews, and his tete-a-tete with Mr T is no exception. Michael When Stephen Buranyi first told me he was investigating the secretive world of restaurant influencers, I couldn’t wait to read what he found. His long read is well worth your time. Hettie Sport Tennis | Katie Boulter was outclassed 6-1, 6-0 in the second round of the US Open in New York, continuing the British No 1’s poor form. Cricket | Brydon Carse has been left out of England’s squad for the final Test of the summer, against Pakistan at Edgbaston next week, with police still investigating allegations of an assault connected with the late-night incident at a Derby bar last month. Football | Manchester City have equalled the British transfer record with a £125m deal to sign Enzo Fernández from Chelsea. The front pages “PM tries to calm bond markets as sell-off threatens first budget”, is the Guardian’s front page today, while the FT says “Burnham seeks to shield steel and farming from ‘Made in Europe’ push”. The Times’ headline is “‘Vibes’ won’t defend UK, Burnham told by Labour”, the Telegraph writes “Tories will cut benefits to hit 3pc on defence”, and the Mail leads with “Kemi: I’ll slash benefits bill to boost defence”. The i Paper’s front page says “Britain’s royals face Russian cyber threat in ‘grey war’”. The Sun splashes “One in the eye for Andy”, the Mirror has “A right whinger”, and the Express says “Voters would punish you if triple lock goes”. Lastly, Metro has “Sad pathetic creeps.co.uk”. Today in Focus: The Latest Iran retaliates after US strikes reportedly kill wedding guests Iran has accused the US of a ‘war crime’ after a missile blast killed at least four people, including a young child, and injured 68 at a wedding at a private house in southern Iran. A month-long uneasy truce between the US and Iran appears to have collapsed again, after US strikes on Saturday on Larak Island in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has responded by launching drones and missiles on US bases across the Middle East, including the Gulf States. Lucy Hough speaks to Middle East correspondent Will Christou. Cartoon of the day | Ben Jennings The Upside A bit of good news to remind you that the world’s not all bad For many people of colour, finding a reliable place to take care of your hair can be a battle. New York thinks it has an answer to that problem. As of this month, a new law means every hairdresser studying cosmetology will be specifically trained to work with all hair types. In time, this will make many salons more accommodating to more hair types. “No New Yorker should ever walk into a salon and be turned away or receive substandard care because of their hair texture,” New York state assembly member and bill sponsor Michaelle Solages said. “Now, with the adoption of this legislation, they won’t have to.” Sign up here for a weekly roundup of The Upside, sent to you every Sunday Bored at work? And finally, the Guardian’s puzzles are here to keep you entertained throughout the day. Until tomorrow. Quick crossword Cryptic crossword Wordiply

Who are the Australians missing in the Nepal floods? What we know so far

The number of Australians missing in the Nepal-Tibet flash flooding disaster fell from 43 on Tuesday morning to 38 on Wednesday, with five unaccounted for people making contact. Of the five Australians confirmed safe on Wednesday, one was found in Nepal, one in Tibet and three outside the crisis-hit area. It comes after Sydney woman Cara Severino, 25, was safely located in Nepal last week. The names of the five Australians confirmed safe on Wednesday have not yet been released. Pilgrims trekking to a holy site in Tibet make up the majority of Australians who have been reported missing after deadly flash floods and landslides tore through valleys on the Nepal-Tibet border on 26 August. Most were travelling with Himalayan Glacier Adventures, Kailash Journeys and the Isha Foundation. Across Nepal and Tibet, more than 4,000 people have been reported missing and Nepali and Chinese authorities have confirmed more than 1,000 have died. Here’s what we know about the Australians who remain missing. This article will be updated as more information becomes available. Venkatraman Balakrishnan and Chitra Venkatraman New South Wales couple Venkatraman Balakrishnan, 52, and Chitra Venkatraman, 46, were among 15 Australians travelling to Mount Kailash on a spiritual trip with the Himalayan Glacier Adventures tour group. Their son, Akash Venkatraman, said his parents had planned to leave their riverside accommodation in Syabrubesi before it was devastated by flood waters. Muralitharan family Shylaja Muralitharan, 42, Chandresekaran Muralitharan, 47 and their children Ashwin, 14, and Aarush, 11, were also taking part in the Himalayan Glacier Adventures spiritual tour to Mount Kailash when the flood hit. The parents and two children had been training together for the long walk, Shylaja’s younger sister Vaishnavi said. She lost contact with the family shortly after their breakfast on the morning of the flood. Iyer family Sreedharan Iyer, 52, and Lakshmi Iyer, 50, and their adult sons Rishab Iyer, 23, and Rudhra Iyer, 20, were taking part in the spiritual pilgrimage to Mount Kailash with Himalayan Glacier Adventures. The Iyer brothers are medical students at the University of Newcastle and members of the West Pennant Hills Cherrybrook Cricket Club in Sydney’s north-west. Karan Bhardwaj, Arpan Mithalal Kothari and Bhavin Raval Karan Bhardwaj, Arpan Mithalal Kothari and Bhavin Raval were travelling together on a Kailash Journey tour of the region. Bhardwaj’s family says the three men have known each other since 2009, when they met at university. Raval’s wife, Bhavinkumar Raval, has told the ABC she believes her husband is still alive and is making plans to travel to Nepal. Bhardwaj is a 40-year-old Brisbane-based member of the Royal Australian Air Force. Bhardwaj’s family member Jen said: “Karan is a dad to my beautiful seven-year-old nephew, as well as a brother, uncle and brother in law. He is so desperately loved by his family and right now we are desperately praying, hoping and believing that Karan is safe, alive and somehow making his way back to us.” Narayan Panthi Narayan Panthi, from Brisbane, has been listed by Nepali police as travelling with operator Kathmandu Holiday Tours and Travel. It is understood Panthi had been carrying out independent volunteer charity work in Kathmandu earlier in the week before travelling towards the border region. Panthi’s cousin, Amrit Bhusal, told Guardian Australia his family were devastated but “holding on to hope and praying for positive news”. “We are still hoping,” Bhusal said. “We are still searching. We are still praying for Narayan to come home safely.” Bhusal said Panthi had been “helping disadvantaged children in Nepal reach their full potential through education”. Bharat Mangwani Bharat Mangwani, 42, was travelling with the Isha Foundation as part of a pilgrimage to Lake Manasarovar when his family lost contact with him on Wednesday morning. He was last seen at Gyirong before the group was set to depart for Kathmandu. “All of us are praying for him and hopefully he comes back to us soon,” close friend Kushagra Tiwari said. Mangwani’s family, including his nine-year-old son and three-year-old daughter, have travelled to India with a family friend, while his wife has flown to Nepal to look for him. Sumi Adhikari Sumi Adhikari, 41, was at the Gyirong Port crossing with the Isha Foundation group when the flood hit. Her husband, Nava Pandey, has travelled to Nepal seeking information about her whereabouts. “We still have no clear or official information about Sumi or the other members of her group,” Pandey said on Saturday morning. Renee Spry A Sunshine Coast disability support worker, Renee Spry has been described as a “deeply spiritual” person who travelled to Nepal on a pilgrimage. “She had two degrees, and she chose to do something that was … a completely selfless vocation. Her priority was always other people,” her sister Clair Spry said. “Every person she touched, they knew her love and kindness. She would be so uncomfortable with all this.” Clair Spry has set up a GoFundMe so her family can travel to Nepal to look for signs of Renee. Suhasini Kandimalla A mother of two from Springfield, near Brisbane, Suhasini Kandimalla was hiking with another Springfield local, according to her sister, Supreethini Kandimalla. While she was a New Zealand citizen, Suhasini had been approved for Australian citizenship, her sister said. She had planned to attend a citizenship ceremony for it to be granted soon after she returned. “I don’t know if it was a religious calling for her to do it,” Supreethini said of the Nepal trip. “But she certainly loved the treks in New Zealand too, and would go on lots of long hikes.” Reshma Patel Newcastle woman Reshma Patel, 46, was in the Isha Foundation group. She didn’t know Sumi Adhikari beforehand, but the pair had become friends on the pilgrimage, Patel’s family friend Chin Valsan says. “They were talking to each other, and they were supposed to come back on the same flight on Thursday,” he says. He describes Patel, who has two children aged 10 and 14 and works casually for Canterbury-Bankstown council, as “full of life” and a “kind soul” who loves her family and friends. Kanagamah Sundrasan The mother of two from Springfield, near Brisbane, was part of the Kailash Journey trek to Mount Kailash. Her daughter, Swaatika Kanniah, said her mother had been excited about the hike. “It was a pilgrimage, she really wanted to go and have that experience.” A photograph of her on the trip shows her smiling with five other members of the tour; all are now missing. “I feel like everyone is trying their best, but yes we don’t know much about what’s going on,” Kanniah said of the recovery efforts. Michael Keats The family of 37-year-old Michael Keats, from Mollymook in NSW, said on social media that he had died. Keats’s partner, Emily Boyd, said on Instagram on Sunday that he had been on a pilgrimage to Mount Kailash, which had been his “dream for many years”. “Mike went on a pilgrimage to Mt Kailash seeking enlightenment,” Boyd said. “There’s a bittersweetness knowing that there was nothing more that Mike wanted [than] to know God, and to merge with the divine. “He was a mystic, a medicine man, a teacher, leader, partner, father, brother, son, uncle and dearly beloved friend. He showed up for so many people in so many ways. A heart of pure gold. We love you forever and always.” On Tuesday, the foreign minister, Penny Wong, said the Australian government “has not yet received official confirmation of Mr Keats’ passing. He does remain unaccounted for in terms of the information we have. But … we respect the rights of the families to make the statements they have”. “Our thoughts go out to his family and to every Australian family who is hoping that the many who are missing can be located,” she said. Luke Costanzo Luke Costanzo, 30, from Perth remains missing, his family has confirmed. He was on a pilgrimage trek with the Isha foundation, and the group was last in contact at the Gyirong port border crossing as they were making their way back to Kathmandu on the final day of their journey, the family said in a statement. “Luke is an extremely strong, compassionate, disciplined and spiritual person. Once he makes a decision he commits to it fully and he was so excited to be visiting Mount Kailash on a pilgrimage trek with the Isha Foundation,” the family said. “We truly appreciate all the love and support from friends and family that we’ve received and ask everyone to keep Luke, and all those affected, in your thoughts and prayers.” The family has asked people who wish to help to donate “to aid the wonderful people on the ground who continue with rescue efforts”. Sandeep Mohapatra and Sidharthi Kumari Sahu Sandeep Mohapatra and Sidharthi Kumari Sahu are members of Melbourne’s Odia community. The couple had taken part in a pilgrimage and were last believed to have been making their way towards the immigration office. Hara Patro, a member of the Melbourne Odia community, travelled to India to speak with their families and has urged Australians to keep the couple in their hearts. “Their families are living through unimaginable uncertainty,” he said. “Every day without news makes the situation harder, but we continue to hope and pray that Sandeep and Sidharthi will be found safe.” The couple’s son is staying with family in India as they wait for news.

Maltese tycoon found not guilty of involvement in Daphne Caruana Galizia murder

One of Malta’s richest men has been found not guilty of involvement in the murder of the anti-corruption journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. The verdict, which is expected to be appealed against by the prosecution, came as a blow not only to the victim’s family, but to the politicians and campaigners who regard the case as a landmark action in the fight to protect press freedom in Europe. Nearly nine years after Caruana Galizia’s death in a car bombing in October 2017, a jury of six women and three men found Yorgen Fenech, 44, not guilty of both counts with which he had been charged: complicity in the voluntary homicide of Caruana Galizia, and association with the intention of committing a crime. Delivered at 7.30pm, the verdict was decisive. To gasps from the gallery and cheers from Fenech’s relatives, the forewoman announced jurors had voted to dismiss both counts by an eight-to-one majority. As Caruana Galizia’s family listened in shock, with some relatives in tears, the judge, Edwina Grima, immediately ordered Fenech’s release from custody. If convicted, he would have faced a life sentence. He left court through the front entrance, without responding to requests for comment. “Everybody is much more at risk now, because this signals you can kill journalists with impunity,” Caruana Galizia’s sister, Corinne Vella, said. “We knew an acquittal was a huge possibility. But it’s like when someone dies, it still shocks you.” In a message on Facebook, the journalist’s eldest son decried a “terrible decision by the jurors that our country may never recover from. They had a great responsibility to deliver justice. And washed their hands of it”. The leader of the opposition Nationalist party, Alex Borg, requested the urgent reopening of parliament, which is currently in recess, to discuss the verdict. “We believe journalism is the backbone of a democracy,” said Borg, speaking to a crowd of demonstrators that had assembled on Wednesday night outside parliament. He described the verdict as a black spot on the Labour government, and said the press should be free to do its work “independently and without undue pressure”. Fenech, an influential businessman and property developer whose family owns two Hilton hotels and has a share in a power station in Malta, had been accused by prosecutors of paying €150,000 (£129,000) via a middleman, Melvin Theuma, to have the journalist killed. The murder of Caruana Galizia, who targeted Fenech and leading political figures in her reporting, triggered the most consequential political scandal in Malta’s postwar history, becoming a rallying point for anti-corruption and press freedom activism. The fallout resulted in Joseph Muscat, the then prime minister of the EU’s smallest member state, being forced out of office along with two of his ministers and his chief of staff. While Muscat left office, the party he led remains in power. In a statement, the government noted the verdict and appealed for prudence in public comments at a delicate moment, insisting: “The government remains committed to seeing justice served by its institutions.” The two-month trial laid bare the extent of Fenech’s network of political contacts, and raised questions about attempts to sabotage and interfere with the police investigation. Key witnesses, and the defendant himself, claimed the prime minister’s chief of staff had repeatedly leaked sensitive information to Fenech. Summing up the case against him, prosecutor Anthony Vella said Fenech believed he could “buy justice”, telling the jury: “You are being asked to decide whether a man who had extensive contacts in politics and among the heads of public entities had enough power to pay for Daphne to be killed.” The defence argued that the chain of command went higher, with suggestions from Fenech and his lawyers that the person who had ordered the killing was Muscat’s former chief of staff Keith Schembri. They said police had not done enough to investigate allegations about his involvement. “All roads lead to Keith, and all bridges to Keith were burned,” the defence lawyer Charles Mercieca said in his summing up. In his testimony, Fenech told the jury: “I never ordered Daphne Caruana Galizia’s murder, or anyone else’s. I had no role in her murder.” He said he had merely acted as a messenger between Schembri and Theuma, and that the taxi-driver had blackmailed him. Schembri, who gave evidence at the trial, denied all wrongdoing, saying he had no involvement in leaks and no knowledge of the murder. Fenech’s defence lawyer, Giannella de Marco, said Schembri and others should have been investigated. She said the prosecution’s chief witness had not been believed. “The jurors did not believe Melvin Theuma. It was an eight-one verdict, which means unanimous … don’t you think jurors saw who the real masterminds were?” she said. The vote was effectively unanimous because juries in Malta rarely convict 9-0, as this would allow the public to know for certain which way individual members voted. Repubblika, a Maltese campaign group, called for a “national reckoning” in which the corruption investigated by Caruana Galizia, who was 59 when she died and one of Malta’s best-known journalists, is prosecuted. “Those politically responsible for the culture of impunity of the Muscat years must not be rehabilitated into public life. The state must sincerely accept its responsibility and apologise to Daphne’s family,” a spokesperson said. Occupy Justice, meanwhile, described the verdict as “deeply painful and disappointing”, saying Malta remained “without full accountability for the person or people who ordered her murder”. An independent public inquiry, for which the family fought, concluded in 2021 that the state had to shoulder responsibility for the killing because it “created an atmosphere of impunity, generated from the highest levels”. It made a number of recommendations, many of which have yet to be implemented. In a statement, the Daphne Foundation said: “Nine years after Daphne’s brutal assassination, the institutional failures that enabled her murder remain unaddressed and unreformed. Lasting justice means no person should ever face the same risks again. Our country failed to protect Daphne’s life. It owes it to her to prevent other lives being lost.” Tom Gibson, the deputy advocacy director of the Committee to Protect Journalists, was in the courtroom for the verdict. In a statement, he said: “This is a heartbreaking verdict for the family after years of waiting for justice. We will continue to stand by them while they seek accountability for all of those involved in the murder.”

Gun found in French lake is analysed by 2012 Alps killings investigators

Experts are examining a gun found by tourists to determine whether it might have been used to kill a British family in the French Alps 14 years ago. In what remains an unsolved murder case, Saad al-Hilli, 50, his wife, Ikbal, 47, and her mother, Suhaila al-Allaf, 74, were shot dead on a road near Annecy, a remote Alpine village in eastern France in September 2012. The couple’s two young daughters, then four and seven, survived but a passing cyclist, 45-year-old Sylvain Mollier, was also killed. The French prosecutor Marie-Céline Lawrysz confirmed that a pistol, thought to be a Luger, was uncovered on 20 August by two tourists swimming in Lake Annecy. The weapon is currently being analysed by ballistics experts in France in connection with the al-Hilli cold case. During the initial investigation, pieces from the butt of the weapon used in the killings, a vintage Luger P06-29 pistol, were found on the ground near the British-registered BMW estate car that the family had been driving at the time of the attack. The gun was identified as a model used by the Swiss army in the 1930s, but its owner has never been traced. In a statement, Lawrysz said a semi-automatic pistol had been found by the tourists, reported to be British, at a depth of about five feet, a few dozen metres away from the shore of Lake Annecy. She said: “They kept the weapon for 24 hours and conducted online research to identify its type. “They subsequently drew a link between the discovered weapon and the one believed to have been used in the Chevaline [near Annecy] killing on September 5, 2012. “On August 21 2026, they handed the weapon over to gendarmes from the local Saint-Jorioz brigade.” Detectives have so far ruled out the possibility of a contract killing, saying a professional killer would not have used such a vintage weapon as the Luger. The discovery of the pistol is the latest in a long line of leads that investigators have followed in an effort to unravel the mystery that has surrounded the four deaths. Suspects previously arrested in connection with the case include an Iraqi prisoner known as Mr S who was claimed to have said he had been offered “a large sum of money” to kill Iraqis living in the UK. Mr al-Hilli’s brother Zaid was also arrested on suspicion of murder in 2013, but was later told he would face no further action after police found there was insufficient evidence to charge him with a crime. In 2022, another suspect was questioned but released without charge. Two years ago, DNA analysis was ordered by detectives in France’s cold case unit on clothes belonging to the victims, as well as on the pieces of the gun and cigarette butts found at the scene. No arrests were made following the tests.