World

Russian investigators said two women were facing human trafficking charges after a young mother gave away her newborn baby to a complete stranger that she met online. Representatives of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation released video of the child transfer, which took place at an airport in the city of Omsk, according to […]

TOKYO—Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was re-elected as head of his ruling Liberal Democratic Party in a landslide on Sept. 20, paving the way for up to three more years as the nation’s leader and a push toward a constitutional revision. The decisive victory may embolden Abe to pursue his long-sought amendment to Japan’s U.S.-drafted […]

PARIS—France’s interior minister, one of President Emmanuel Macron’s closest allies, has announced plans to quit the government and run for election as mayor of Lyon in 2020, adding to doubts and instability around the young leader’s administration. Gerard Collomb’s announcement in an interview in L’Express magazine follows the abrupt resignations of a popular environment minister, […]

STOCKHOLM—Sweden has among the worst border controls in Europe, according to a report—shared with a newspaper—that may have been suppressed to prevent the findings from influencing recent Swedish elections. Last year, EU inspectors visited Sweden, interviewed border police officers and compiled a report that is still classified, but was shared with reporters from the Kvallsposten […]

Authorities in Venice, Italy, are considering banning people from being able to sit or lie on the ground in the latest attempt to restrict unruly tourists in the city. Mayor Luigi Brugnaro made the suggestion, saying that people breaking the rule could be fined between 50 and 500 euros. It joins a long list of […]

THE HAGUE—A train slammed into an electric cargo bike in the Netherlands on Sept. 20, killing four young children and leaving two other people critically injured, authorities said. Police spokeswoman Dianne van Gameren said the victims were “primary school age” and some of them came from the same family. Their identities were not released. The […]

MANILA—A landslide triggered by heavy rains killed at least 12 people on Sept. 19, in the central Philippines, as security forces and rescue workers raced to uncover dozens more feared trapped, in the latest of a series of deadly incidents in the past week. Twelve people were pulled out alive after boulders and earth loosened […]

COPENHAGEN—Danske Bank faced a new Danish money-laundering inquiry on Sept. 20 as political anger spread over a scandal involving 200 billion euros ($234 billion) in payments, many of which were suspicious, through Estonia. Chief Executive Thomas Borgen resigned on Sept. 19, after an investigation commissioned by Danske Bank exposed control and compliance failings, fuelling calls […]

Firefighters in British Columbia, Canada, were captured on video getting a tug-of-war with a “firenado.” The crews can be seen holding onto the hose before the fiery tornado grabs it. The firenado formed during the Chutanli wildfire, throwing burning logs at firefighters for about 45 minutes, according to Mar Lowsky, the firefighter who posted the clip. […]

The arrival of a soccer legend with a reputation as a troublemaker has thrust a second division Mexican team into the spotlight.

BRUSSELS—The European Commission proposed on Sept. 19 a foreign policy plan to improve transport, energy, and digital infrastructure links with Asia but denied seeking to counter China‘s ambitions that have raised suspicion in Western countries. The plan, which would be backed by additional funds from the EU’s common budget from 2021, private sector loans, and […]

SYDNEY—Australia’s corporate watchdog said on Sept. 20, it was stepping up scrutiny on “misleading” initial coin offerings (ICOs) targeted at retail investors while adding it has already acted against several such proposals. The Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC) said consistent problems with proposed ICOs included the use of “misleading or deceptive” statements in sales […]

The London Metropolitan Police have released a selection of surveillance camera footage showing the movements of Khalid Masood driving a vehicle into pedestrians along Westminster Bridge on March 22, 2017. This footage, shown in court on Sept. 19, as part of an Old Bailey inquest into the deaths of the victims, reveals glimpses of Masood […]

SYDNEY—A 12-year-old girl was attacked by a shark in waters off Australia’s tropical northeast coast on Thursday, an ambulance official said, the second attack in the tourist region in as many days. Rescuers were called to Cid Harbour at Whitsunday Island, near the Great Barrier Reef, on Thursday afternoon and found the girl with bad […]

SYDNEY—Customers of six banks including two of Australia’s largest lenders have had their personal details stolen by fake banking apps on the Google Play store, an internet security firm said. Slovakian-based security software firm ESET said the official-looking apps had been downloaded over a thousand times since they were uploaded to the Google Play store […]

SALZBURG, Austria—The European Union must end the “blame game” on migration and instead focus on working more with foreign countries and further strengthening its border to bring down arrivals, the chairman of the bloc’s leaders said. The 28 EU leaders are meeting in the Austrian city of Salzburg to tackle migration, an issue that has […]

SALZBURG, Austria—EU leaders lined up to tell Theresa May she needs to give guarantees on the Irish border before they will grant her the Brexit deal the prime minister wants to avoid Britain crashing out of the bloc. Arriving for a second day of summitry in Austria, May’s European Union peers rammed home their message […]

Pilots of a Jet Airways flight “forgot” to turn on a cabin pressure switch and had to make an emergency return to the airport after passengers started to bleed from their noses and ears. The Boeing 737 aircraft, which was carrying 166 passengers, landed safely. At least 30 passengers suffered ear and nose bleeds, NDTV reported on […]

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA—It is nothing more than “commercialised trafficking of human remains,” Emmy Pfister, coordinator of a citizens group called Australians Against Bodies Exhibit, said at a press conference on Sept. 16. The citizens group is calling for an investigation into the identities of the real human bodies that have been on display as part of […]

MEXICO CITY–Mexican authorities said on Sept.19 they had fired the top prosecutor in Jalisco state, the second official to lose his job after the discovery of a container truck holding the bodies of hundreds of victims of the country’s drug war. Authorities are struggling to manage the death toll in the western state, which is […]