Search for crew after fishing trawler capsizes

Barents Sea: A Russian fishing trawler has sunk in the northern Barents Sea and 17 of its crew are still missing, emergency officials said.

Two other crew members have been rescued. According to a statement by the Russian Investigative Committee, the vessel with 19 crew members on board capsized and sank yesterday morning. A criminal probe into the incident has been launched and a search operation is under way.

Several vessels and an aircraft have been deployed to look for the missing crew members.

Russia’s Emergency Ministry initially suggested an accumulation of the ice on the trawler could have caused it to sink, but later said the vessel was more likely to have hit trouble while pulling up its fishing nets.

Riyadh: One of Saudi Arabia’s most prominent women’s rights activists has been sentenced to nearly six years in prison under a vague and broadly worded law aimed at combating terrorism, according to state-linked media.

Loujain al-hathloul’s case, and her imprisonment for the past two-and-a-half years, have drawn international criticism from rights groups, members of the US Congress and the European Parliament.

State-linked Saudi news outlet Sabq reported that Ms al-hathloul was found guilty by the kingdom’s anti-terrorism court on charges including agitating for change, pursuing a foreign agenda and using the internet to harm public order. She has 30 days to appeal.

Ms Al-hathloul was among a handful of Saudi women who openly called for the right to drive before it was granted in 2018 and for the removal of male guardianship laws that had stifled women’s freedom of movement and ability to travel abroad.

Khojavend: Azerbaijan’s Defence Ministry has said its army units have been attacked by “an illegal Armenian armed group” in Nagorno-karabakh, killing one Azerbaijani serviceman and wounding another.

The ministry said the attack took place in the Khojavend region on Sunday afternoon and was thwarted, leaving all six attackers dead.

The Nagorno-karabakh military dismissed the statement as “misinformation” and a “propaganda provocation”, saying that the territory’s army was “strictly observing” the ceasefire. The Armenian Defence Ministry also denied media reports of fighting in the south of Nagorno-karabakh.

Borno: Attacks by gunmen suspected to be from Nigeria’s Boko Haram jihadist rebels have killed at least 10 people in Borno state, according to residents.

The attackers hit four villages, according to the state government which confirmed the attacks but put the casualty figure at three dead. However, local residents said at least 10 people were killed.

The first attack was on the town of Azare, where insurgents hit government offices and burned down a police station. Gunfire was heard as soldiers fought the attackers.

A soldier, officer and a local self-defence fighter were killed in Azare.

Another attack was on Shaffa, according to resident Ibrahim Buba, who said he spent the night hiding in the nearby bush area. He said his uncle, a friend, and five others were killed in the attack.