Headline
Over 600 Pilgrims Hospitalised After Chlorine Gas Leaked In Iraq
Published
3 weeks agoon
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Editor
More than 600 pilgrims in Iraq were briefly hospitalised with respiratory problems after inhaling chlorine as the result of a leak at a water treatment station, authorities said on Sunday.
The incident took place overnight on the route between the two Shiite holy cities of Najaf and Karbala, located in the centre and south of Iraq, respectively.
This year, several million Shiite Muslim pilgrims are expected to make their way to Karbala, which houses the shrines of the revered Imam Hussein and his brother Abbas.
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There, they will mark the Arbaeen — the 40-day period of mourning during which Shiites commemorate the death of Hussein, grandson of the Prophet Mohammed.
In a brief statement, Iraq’s health ministry said, “621 cases of asphyxia have been recorded following a chlorine gas leak in Karbala”.
“All have received the necessary care and left the hospital in good health,” it said.
READ ALSO:Fire Guts Nigerian Pilgrims’ Hotel In Makkah
Security forces charged with protecting pilgrims, meanwhile, said the incident had been caused by “a chlorine leak from a water station on the Karbala-Najaf road”.
Much of Iraq’s infrastructure is in disrepair due to decades of conflict and corruption, with adherence to safety standards often lax.
In July, a massive fire at a shopping mall in the eastern city of Kut killed more than 60 people, many of whom suffocated in the toilets, according to authorities.
AFP
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Headline
Syrian Ex-leader Assad Faces War Crime Charges For Killing Journalists
Published
22 hours agoon
September 2, 2025By
Editor
French judicial authorities have issued arrest warrants for ousted Syrian president Bashar al-Assad and six other top former officials over the bombardment of a rebel-held city in 2012 that killed two journalists, lawyers said Tuesday.
Marie Colvin, 56, an American working for The Sunday Times of Britain, and French photographer Remi Ochlik, 28, were killed on February 22, 2012, by the explosion in the eastern city of Homs, which is being investigated by the French judiciary as a potential crime against humanity as well as a war crime.
British photographer Paul Conroy, French reporter Edith Bouvier, and Syrian translator Wael Omar were wounded in the attack on the informal press centre where they had been working.
READ ALSO:France’s Top Court Annuls Arrest Warrant Against Syria’s Ex-president al-Assad
Assad escaped with his family to Russia after being ousted by Islamist rebels at the end of 2024, although his precise whereabouts have not been confirmed.
Other than Assad, the warrants notably target his brother Maher al-Assad, who was the de facto head of the 4th Syrian armoured division at the time, intelligence chief Ali Mamlouk, and then-army chief of staff Ali Ayoub.
“The issuing of the seven arrest warrants is a decisive step that paves the way for a trial in France for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by Bashar al-Assad’s regime,” said Clemence Bectarte, lawyer for the Paris-based International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and Ochlik’s parents.
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The FIDH said the journalists had clandestinely entered the besieged city to “document the crimes committed by Bashar al-Assad’s regime” and were victims of a “targeted bombing”.
“The investigation clearly established that the attack on the informal press centre was part of the Syrian regime’s explicit intention to target foreign journalists to limit media coverage of its crimes and force them to leave the city and the country,” said Mazen Darwish, lawyer and director of the Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression (SCM).
Colvin was known for her fearless reporting and signature black eye patch, which she wore after losing sight in one eye in an explosion during Sri Lanka’s civil war. Her career was celebrated in a Golden Globe-nominated film, “A Private War”.
AFP
Headline
Ghana’s President Sacks Chief Justice Over Corruption Allegations
Published
2 days agoon
September 1, 2025By
Editor
President John Dramani Mahama has dismissed the Chief Justice of Ghana following the outcome of a high-level investigation into allegations of falsifying judicial records and misusing public funds.
A five-member commission, chaired by a Supreme Court judge and set up by Mahama, concluded that the allegations against the country’s top judicial officer were substantiated and recommended her removal.
“After considering the petition and the evidence, the Committee found that the grounds of stated misbehaviour under Article 146(1) had been established and recommended her removal from office,” said the spokesperson to the President, Felix Ofosu, in a statement on Monday.
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“President John Dramani Mahama has accordingly removed the Chief Justice from office with immediate effect.”
The dismissal marks the first time a sitting Chief Justice in Ghana has been investigated and dismissed from office.
While Mahama, who took office in January, has repeatedly pledged to intensify the fight against corruption, it remains unclear whether the embattled Chief Justice, Gertrude Torkonoo, will face criminal prosecution.
Headline
Danish Court Sentences Ex-minister To Prison For Child Abuse Material
Published
2 days agoon
September 1, 2025By
Editor
A former Danish government minister was jailed for four months on Monday for possession of thousands of images of child sexual abuse.
Henrik Sass Larsen, once a senior Social Democrat who served as industry minister, admitted to having more than 6,000 photographs and 2,000 videos on his computer depicting sexual abuse of children.
He had denied the charges, saying he had the material because he was trying to find out who had abused him as a child.
Prosecutor Maria Cingari said she was “satisfied” with the verdict but added that it was sad that someone “who managed to make the most out of their life despite a bad start finds himself in such a situation.”
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“You should never be in possession of child pornography, no matter the reason,” Cingari added.
During his trial, the 59-year-old told the court he had received a link in 2018 to a 50-year-old video showing him being sexually abused when he was three years old.
He testified that he received another video clip in 2020, in which a three-year-old girl was raped in his presence when he was around the same age.
The two videos disappeared after he viewed them, he said.
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He told the court he regretted not having contacted the police when he received the videos.
Sass Larsen was also accused of being in possession of a child sex doll, but the court did not find him guilty on that charge.
His lawyer, Berit Ernst, told reporters that “we’ll see if it is a definitive end or if we will appeal.”
The scandal came to light last March and led to his expulsion from the Social Democratic Party.
At the time, Social Democratic Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen expressed her shock over the case.
AFP
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