World news in brief
Arson investigation after fire at historic cathedral
An arson investigation has been launched after a major fire broke out in a historic French cathedral. The blaze blew out stained glass windows and destroyed the grand organ in the 15th-century building in the city of Nantes, officials said. Yesterday’s incident is being treated as a criminal act, a prosecutor said at the scene. Pierre Sennes said three fires had been started at the site. Images show smoke billowing from the cathedral, while a blaze lights up the building. Residents and tourists watched aghast, and emergency workers cordoned off the area around the St Peter and St Paul Cathedral, which sits in the historic centre of the city in western France. Dozens of firefighters brought the blaze under control after several hours.
The fire broke out inside the cathedral behind the grand organ, which was completely destroyed, local fire chief Laurent Ferlay said. Stained glassed windows at the front of the cathedral were blown out. Mr Ferlay told reporters yesterday that more than 100 firefighters were still at the site to ensure the blaze was
completely under control. However, the damage was not as bad as initially feared. “We are not in a Notre Dame de Paris scenario. The roof has not been touched,” Mr Ferlay said.
US tells torture victim he cannot sue Egyptian official
The State Department has declared that a former Egyptian leader now serving on the executive board of the International Monetary Fund should be immune from a federal lawsuit brought by a US citizen seeking to hold him liable for torture, according to court filings on Friday. The decision followed allegations of a diplomatic pressure campaign by the government of Egyptian president Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi to block the lawsuit against former interim prime minister Hazem el-Beblawi, who was named to the IMF board in 2014.
Several US lawmakers and human rights groups have accused Egypt of blackmailing the Trump administration by threatening to weaken their strategic partnership in the Middle East unless Washington intervenes to dismiss a lawsuit from Mohamed Soltan. Since the suit was filed by Mr Soltan, a Washingtonbased human rights advocate who was imprisoned for 21 months in Cairo, Egyptian authorities have imprisoned several of his Egyptian relatives, in what human rights groups say is a bid to silence him. Washington Post
Boy, 5, ‘raped by three children on Australian beach’
A five-year-old boy has been gang raped by three other children on a remote Australian beach, police say. The tot was injured so badly during the attack – carried out by youngsters aged between 10 and 13 – that he needed airlifting to hospital for emergency treatment afterwards. The incident occurred in the isolated town of Napranum, a community of 1,000 mainly indigenous people some 500 miles from the nearest major city of Cairns. Queensland Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll called the crime an “absolute tragedy”. She said: “Sadly, yes, we did investigate that. It's being dealt with, we're working with the community. It shouldn't happen and it's tragic.” She said that the trio of suspects had been removed from the town.
Japanese police try to stop yakuza Halloween parties
It is one of the world’s largest underworld organisations, explicitly involved with extortion, arms dealing, drug trafficking, extreme violence and online pornography. But police in Japan say the country’s 100-yearold Yamaguchi-gumi gang has now gone too far – after branching out into throwing annual Halloween parties for children. The deadly yakuza gang has hosted the yearly extravaganza close to its fortified headquarters in the city of Kobe since 2013. Youngsters who arrive in costume are given sweets, gifts and money. But worried police have now submitted a bill to the region’s Hyogo Prefectural Assembly proposing members of Yamaguchi-gumi be banned from showering such presents on anyone under the age of 18. City officials have become increasingly concerned the October parties are being used as a way to both falsely soften the image of the ruthless mob and attract young members into its 9,000-strong ranks.