分类： world

A shocking death investigation is underway in Athens, Greece, after the remains of a 38-year-old Scottish national, Elisabeth-Jane Ross, were discovered hidden inside a suitcase in an abandoned downtown structure. The grim find was made on July 18 by a homeless person navigating the Kypseli district, a busy central neighborhood popular with international travelers, young expats, and packed with short-term Airbnb rentals.

Authorities have confirmed Ross arrived in Greece from Cyprus roughly two weeks before her body was located. Preliminary estimates place her time of death between five and seven days prior to the discovery, and an initial physical examination of her remains failed to pinpoint a clear cause of death or rule out criminal intervention. A Greek police spokesperson told the BBC that official investigations are currently pending results from toxicology testing, which will help investigators confirm how Ross died and whether any third-party foul play contributed to her death.

Further details emerging from the investigation suggest suspicious activity following Ross’s death: according to The Guardian’s Athens correspondent Helena Smith, someone maintained control of Ross’s mobile phone after she passed away, sending outbound messages to mislead loved ones and authorities who were attempting to locate her. Smith also added that Ross had family based in Edinburgh, pre-existing connections to Greece, and had been staying with a friend in Athens before she went missing.

Scottish and UK authorities have moved quickly to support Ross’s grieving family. Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney confirmed that the Scottish Government and the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office will provide full support to Ross’s next of kin. Swinney called the case deeply appalling, saying he shares profound concern over the tragic incident.

The UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office confirmed Wednesday that it is providing consular assistance to the family and maintaining close coordination with Greek law enforcement. A spokesperson for Police Scotland added that the force is aware of the incident, is in regular contact with Greek investigating authorities, and has assigned officers to support Ross’s family members who remain in Scotland. Interpol has declined to issue any comment on the ongoing investigation, citing its policy against discussing open individual cases.

After months of legal challenges, suspected Irish transnational crime cartel leader Daniel Kinahan has lost his battle against extradition, and is now set to be returned to Ireland to face criminal charges within weeks, senior law enforcement sources have confirmed to BBC News NI.

Kinahan was first taken into custody in Dubai this past April under an international arrest warrant issued by Irish judicial authorities, but immediately launched formal appeals to block his transfer. Those appeals have now been fully exhausted, clearing the final legal hurdle for his extradition. Irish national police, known as An Garda Síochána, anticipate that United Arab Emirates officials will imminently sign the formal extradition paperwork to officially initiate the transfer process.

Once the extradition is approved, moving Kinahan back to Irish territory will require a large-scale coordinated security operation involving both Gardaí and the Irish Defence Forces, given the high-profile nature of the case and Kinahan’s alleged criminal connections.

The case against Kinahan stretches back years, and has drawn international attention. In April 2022, the United States government imposed formal economic sanctions on Kinahan and his close family members after U.S. authorities formally named them as the core leadership of the Kinahan Organised Crime Cartel, a transnational network focused primarily on international drug trafficking.

Kinahan also built high-profile connections to the global sports industry through MTK Global, his former boxing management firm that at its peak represented more than 100 professional fighters, including heavyweight champion Tyson Fury and former two-division world titleholder Carl Frampton. The company has since ceased operations.

The long-running criminal feud between Kinahan’s network and rival Hutch crime gang has been one of the bloodiest in modern Irish criminal history, claiming 18 lives to date. The feud made global headlines in 2016, when gunmen aligned with the Hutch gang opened fire at a boxing weigh-in event at Dublin’s Regency Hotel in an attempted assassination of Kinahan. Kinahan escaped unharmed, but associate David Byrne was killed, and two other people were wounded in the attack. Byrne’s 2016 funeral is the event where the above image of Kinahan was originally captured.

Kinahan is not the first senior figure from his organization to be extradited from the UAE to Ireland. Earlier this year, Sean McGovern, described by prosecutors as a “senior lieutenant” in the cartel, was extradited under the same bilateral agreement between the two nations. Just last month, McGovern was convicted of directing a criminal organization and sentenced to 24 years in prison.

In an official statement provided to BBC News NI, An Garda Síochána confirmed it was aware of Kinahan’s ongoing detention in the UAE, and noted that all procedural questions related to his arrest remain under the purview of Emirati authorities at this stage. The force reaffirmed its longstanding commitment to pursuing high-level organized crime suspects regardless of where they flee. “An Garda Síochána has been steadfast in our determination that we would pursue those allegedly involved in serious organised criminal activity, wherever they go,” the statement said. “An Garda Síochána has developed many major international partnerships in our efforts to target transnational organised crime groups.”

PARIS – French authorities confirmed Thursday that four people have lost their lives in two distinct dangerous small-vessel journeys attempting to cross the English Channel, a route that has become one of the deadliest migration corridors in Western Europe in recent years.

The first fatal incident unfolded early Thursday morning, after authorities received an emergency alert regarding a distressed boat approximately 6 a.m. local time. The maritime prefecture responsible for overseeing the English Channel and North Sea quickly deployed search and rescue teams to the area near the coastal city of Dunkirk. First responders successfully pulled all three people from the disabled vessel and brought them to shore, but medics could only confirm that the three had already died after reaching land.

A second, unrelated tragedy occurred the previous evening off the coast of Hardelot, a small coastal town in France’s northwestern Pas-de-Calais region. According to local prefecture officials, the small migrant boat capsized in rough channel conditions late Wednesday. “The provisional death toll stands at one man, estimated to be between 30 and 40 years old,” the prefecture stated in an official release. Six additional people on board, including a one-year-old toddler, suffered only minor injuries and have already received medical attention from emergency response teams.

French judicial authorities have launched formal investigations into both incidents to establish the exact cause of death and identify any individuals responsible for organizing the dangerous unauthorized crossings. The English Channel has seen a surge in irregular migration attempts over the past decade, with thousands of people risking their lives each year in often overcrowded, unseaworthy vessels organized by people-smuggling networks. This latest string of deaths brings renewed attention to the ongoing political and humanitarian challenges surrounding migration across the narrow body of water separating France and the United Kingdom.

Associated Press has full ongoing coverage of global migration developments available on its dedicated news hub.

A devastating wave of Russian missile and drone strikes across Ukraine has claimed eight civilian lives, including three children, local Ukrainian authorities confirmed this week. The assault, which involved hundreds of unmanned aerial vehicles launched against targets across the country, also brought new violence close to President Volodymyr Zelensky’s central Ukrainian hometown of Kryvyi Rih, where regional officials reported strike activity in surrounding areas.

Local emergency services responded quickly to the aftermath of the attacks, working to extinguish fires, clear rubble from damaged residential and infrastructure sites, and rescue any civilians trapped in affected buildings. The three child victims — two boys and one girl — were among those killed in the coordinated assault, a detail that has underscored the ongoing human cost of Russia’s full-scale invasion, now in its third year.

The large-scale drone offensive is the latest in a months-long pattern of Russian strikes targeting Ukrainian population centers and critical infrastructure, particularly as Ukraine works to shore up its air defense capabilities with support from Western allies. Ukrainian officials have repeatedly warned that Russia regularly stockpiles missile and drone components to carry out mass attacks ahead of expected Ukrainian counteroffensive operations and during key seasonal periods, such as the winter energy season.

As of the latest updates, additional details on the full scope of infrastructure damage and the number of injured civilians are still being compiled by regional authorities. The strike near Zelensky’s hometown comes amid ongoing diplomatic efforts to secure additional military aid for Ukraine from Western partners, with negotiations over long-term support packages still ongoing in the United States and European Union.

In an incident that has escalated cross-border tensions amid Russia’s ongoing military campaign in Ukraine, a presumed Russian missile crashed into a rural field in eastern Poland early Thursday, leaving a sizable crater deep within Polish territory, official statements confirmed.

The crash site, located a short distance from the small village of Tarnawa Kolonia, sits roughly 100 kilometers (62 miles) from Poland’s border with Ukraine. The impact left a crater stretching 10 meters (33 feet) across, and the incident unfolded concurrently with a massive Russian air assault targeting the western Ukrainian city of Lviv.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced preliminary findings during an emergency gathering of government officials in Lublin, noting that all available evidence points to the object being a Russian Kh-101 missile. “All the indications are that it was a Russian Kh-101 missile, but we want to be 100% certain about the type of missile and who launched it,” Tusk said, emphasizing the need for a definitive, evidence-based conclusion before formal attribution.

Ukraine’s acting Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha had previously characterized the incident as an incursion of NATO airspace, confirming his assessment that a Russian Kh-101 cruise missile had strayed into Polish territory during Russia’s large-scale strike on Ukrainian infrastructure.

Polish Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz added context to the overnight activity, revealing that around 20 airborne objects were detected near Polish airspace during the overnight hours. Specialized pyrotechnical experts are currently conducting detailed forensic analysis to confirm the exact identity and origin of the object that impacted near Tarnawa Kolonia.

Military records show that Poland’s armed forces first detected the rogue object at approximately 03:40 local time Thursday (01:40 GMT). An F-16 fighter jet was immediately scrambled to intercept the object, but it disappeared from Polish radar systems just minutes after detection.

Prime Minister Tusk confirmed that, despite the destructive impact, no casualties have been reported from the incident. Even so, Polish authorities are treating the incursion and crash as a high-priority serious event, given its implications for regional security and NATO’s collective defense commitments.

The incident comes just hours after Tusk held a bilateral meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Lublin Wednesday evening, during Zelensky’s return trip to Ukraine from high-level talks with former U.S. President Donald Trump.

This is a developing breaking news story, with official investigations still ongoing. Additional details will be released as forensic analysis is completed and more information becomes available to authorities.

A wave of coordinated Russian missile and drone strikes targeting multiple regions across Ukraine overnight Wednesday into Thursday has left at least eight civilians dead and dozens more injured, marking the latest escalation in Moscow’s nearly weekly large-scale bombardment campaign that gained intensity over the summer months.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed the breadth of the assault, noting targets stretched from the capital Kyiv and its surrounding suburbs to eastern cities including Dnipro and Kharkiv, and across western Ukraine including Lviv. In total, Russia launched more than 70 missiles—many of which were short-range ballistic missiles, which are difficult to intercept—and over 280 attack drones in the single overnight operation. Ukrainian air defense forces successfully intercepted more than 260 of the drones, a feat Zelenskyy called extraordinary given the persistent shortage of advanced air defense systems and missiles supplied by international partners.

“Our warriors are accomplishing truly incredible things, demonstrating a very high level of professionalism,” Zelenskyy stated. “This Russian terror once again proves that protection against the Russian missile threat is the most important task when it comes to saving the lives of our people.”

The deadliest single attack unfolded in the eastern Dnipropetrovsk region, where regional military administration head Oleksandr Hanzha confirmed six civilians were killed and 10 more injured. Among the fatalities were three children: a 6-year-old girl, an 11-year-old boy, and a 17-year-old boy, all killed in an attack on a residential neighborhood in Kryvyi Rih. Zelenskyy later confirmed the children’s parents were also killed in the same strike, while two additional children were pulled alive from the rubble of their destroyed home.

“It was an ordinary home, blown into smithereens by a ballistic missile,” Zelenskyy said. He added that delays and shortages in deliveries of anti-ballistic missile defense systems from international allies directly enabled the level of destruction and loss of life seen in the attack, reiterating that accelerating defense support is critical to protecting Ukrainian civilians.

Adjacent to Dnipropetrovsk, in the central Poltava region, a drone strike targeting private sector warehouses killed one civilian, regional governor Vitalii Diakivnych reported. A separate attack on a delivery hub sparked a large fire that was quickly contained by emergency response teams, with no additional casualties reported at that site.

In western Ukraine’s Lviv region, which has increasingly become a target of Russian strikes in recent months, rescue operations continued through Thursday morning after an early morning strike around 4:45 a.m. Local military administration head Maksym Kozytskyi reported the number of injured rose to 30, while Lviv Mayor Andrii Sadovyi confirmed two multi-story residential buildings were heavily damaged. More than 20 additional homes, a local school, and two kindergartens also suffered damage, and multiple children were among the wounded, with one child hospitalized for serious injuries.

In the capital Kyiv, a 31-year-old civilian was killed and two more injured when Russian ballistic missiles struck residential areas, Ukrainian national police confirmed. The attack damaged multiple apartment buildings, a local market, vehicle storage garages, and private cars. Just outside the capital, in the Kyiv region’s Brovary district, acting regional governor Ruslan Oliinyk reported five additional injuries, including a child and two women.

In Moscow, Russia’s Defense Ministry issued its standard statement framing the strikes as a targeted attack on Ukrainian military infrastructure, claiming the operation hit air bases, arms production facilities, military telecommunications nodes, and logistics hubs across the regions attacked. The ministry also claimed Russian forces hit a military cargo ship in Ukraine’s Pivdennyi port and two additional vessels near Odesa, and that Russian air defenses downed 258 Ukrainian drones launched overnight in cross-border strikes.

Cross-border attacks on Russian territory were confirmed by local officials, who reported fires at two warehouses operated by Wildberries, Russia’s largest domestic online retailer. Penza Governor Oleg Melnichenko said a Wildberries depot in his region caught fire, leaving one person injured and forcing the evacuation of more than 200 employees. A second Wildberries warehouse in Sarapul, located in the Udmurtia republic roughly 600 miles east of Moscow, was also struck by a Ukrainian drone and caught fire, with all employees evacuated safely. The strikes mark the latest in a string of attacks on Wildberries facilities across Russia that have caused hundreds of millions of dollars in damage.