The French justice will investigate the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. A French judge from the war crimes unit will investigate the 2018 assassination of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. The investigation, confirmed on Saturday by the national anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office, “follows the complaints filed in 2022 by several organizations against Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) for torture and enforced disappearance as part of an organized group”, as reported by El País. MBS is accused of ordering the journalist’s execution, a fierce critic of the Saudi regime whose dismembered body was never found. The associations Trial International and Reporters Without Borders (RSF) had filed complaints after MBS’s visit to Paris in 2022, arguing that French law recognizes the principle of universal jurisdiction for cases of torture and enforced disappearance, specified the Spanish newspaper.
Italy: eight people hit by a car in the center of Modena. A car plowed into the crowd on Saturday in the center of Modena (northern Italy), injuring eight people, four of them seriously. “The act appears to have been committed intentionally” but it is not yet clear if it was a terrorist attack, as observed by La Repubblica. The driver, a 31-year-old Italian, tried to flee on foot but was caught by four passersby, whom he threatened with a knife before being arrested by the police. The man, who “did not appear to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol,” was charged with “involuntary homicide and aggravated assault,” according to the newspaper. Authorities stated that the suspect had been treated and observed in 2022 for schizophrenic disorders. Among the injured are a German and a Polish person, while a woman in critical condition had to have both legs amputated.
Tens of thousands of far-right sympathizers march in London. “Tens of thousands of demonstrators” marched in London on Saturday, shouting “Starmer out” and wrapped in British flags, at the call of far-right activist Tommy Robinson, as reported by The Daily Telegraph. “Around 50,000 people, according to estimates, took part in the rally ‘Unite the Kingdom’, while 4,000 police officers were deployed ‘to prevent any confrontation with rival pro-Palestinian marchers also parading in the capital'”, specified the British newspaper. By the end of the day, police had made 43 arrests in both marches. It was the second march organized by Tommy Robinson – real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon – a very popular activist who has been repeatedly convicted by the courts. The first march in September attracted 150,000 people.
Venezuela: Alex Saab, prominent figure in the Maduro era, expelled to the United States. Venezuelan authorities expelled Colombian businessman Alex Saab to the United States on Saturday, delivering one of the many influential figures linked to the socialist regime of Venezuela wanted by American justice for allegations of corruption, drug trafficking, and money laundering, reported the Miami Herald. Close to former Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro, Alex Saab has already experienced American prisons: after his arrest in Cape Verde in 2020, he was extradited to the United States in 2021, where he was accused of diverting food aid and laundering money for Nicolás Maduro. He was allowed to return to Venezuela in December 2023 after being exchanged by the Biden administration for ten Americans and several political prisoners in Venezuela. Shortly after his triumphant return to Caracas, he was appointed Minister of Industry and National Production.
Timmy, the recently rescued humpback whale in Germany, found dead in Denmark. The humpback whale Timmy, whose fate captivated Germans until his rescue in early May, was found dead off a Danish island, confirmed Saturday by the Danish Environmental Protection Agency. The whale had stranded in March on a sandbank on the German Baltic coast. After several unsuccessful rescue attempts, Timmy was finally towed into a barge and released off Denmark on May 2. The operation, widely publicized and financed by private funds, had drawn criticism from several animal welfare associations. After several weeks of being stranded, the mammal was “seriously ill” and his “long-term survival chances were very low”, as reported by Deutsche Welle.
