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Suspected arsonist appears in court over Melbourne synagogue fire that shocked the nation

Suspected arsonist appears in court over Melbourne synagogue fire that shocked the nation
Giovanni Laulu appeared in the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Thursday after his arrest Wednesday. (AP)
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Updated 31 July 2025

Suspected arsonist appears in court over Melbourne synagogue fire that shocked the nation

Suspected arsonist appears in court over Melbourne synagogue fire that shocked the nation
  • The federal government has committed $20 million to rebuild the synagogue
  • Giovanni Laulu appeared in the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Thursday after his arrest Wednesday

MELBOURNE: A suspected arsonist accused of destroying a Melbourne synagogue appeared in court seven months after the crime shocked the nation and triggered a large-scale investigation.
Giovanni Laulu, 21, appeared in the Melbourne Magistrates Court Thursday after his arrest at a Melbourne home on Wednesday.
Police allege Laulu is one of three masked men who spread a liquid accelerant around the interior of the Adass Israel Synagogue then set it alight before dawn on Dec. 6. A worshipper preparing for morning prayers suffered minor burns.
Laulu is the first suspect to be caught, but police have foreshadowed more arrests. Police suspect there are also accomplices who planned the attack from overseas.
Laulu was charged with arson, reckless conduct endangering life and car theft.
Laulu confirmed his name but otherwise remained silent during the brief court appearance. He did not enter pleas or apply to be released on bail.
His lawyer told Magistrate Brett Sonnett this was not Laulu’s first time in prison. Laulu was then remanded in custody and will appear in court next on Aug. 6.
Prosecutors sought 12 weeks to gather evidence against Laulu and said 11 cell phones need to be analyzed. Sonnett gave the prosecution until Oct. 22 to present their case to Laulu’s lawyers.
Federal and state police, plus Australia’s main domestic spy agency, have been investigating the crime, which is suspected to be politically motivated. Police say more than 220 law enforcement officers have devoted more than 50,000 hours to the investigation.
State Chief Commissioner Mike Bush said Victoria Police would be relentless in pursuing and holding those involved in the synagogue arson to account.
“Victoria Police has seen first-hand the impact this incident has had in the Victorian community — the fear and distress a crime like this can cause,” Bush said in a statement.
“People deserve to be safe and feel safe, particularly when it comes to their places of worship. This is not negotiable in any way. We remain committed to identifying all those who seek to cause this kind of fear and harm, and ensuring they are brought to justice,” he added.
A wave of antisemitic attacks has roiled Australia since the Oct. 7, 2023. The synagogue attack is the only incident that has been classified as an act of terrorism, a designation that increases the resources available to the investigation.
The federal government has committed 30 million Australian dollars ($20 million) to rebuild the synagogue.


Bolivia elects center-right president, ending two decades of socialism

Bolivia elects center-right president, ending two decades of socialism
Updated 7 sec ago

Bolivia elects center-right president, ending two decades of socialism

Bolivia elects center-right president, ending two decades of socialism
  • Weary voters snubbed the Movement Toward Socialism party founded by former president Evo Morales 
  • Winning candidate Rodrigo Paz has vowed a “capitalism for all” approach to economic reform amid the country's worst crisis 

LA PAZ: Bolivians on Sunday elected a pro-business center-right senator as their new president, ending two decades of socialist rule that have left the South American nation deep in economic crisis.
With 97 percent of ballots counted, Rodrigo Paz had 54.5 percent of the vote compared to 45.4 percent for his rival, right-wing former interim president Jorge “Tuto” Quiroga, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) said.
Paz, the 58-year-old son of a former president, has vowed a “capitalism for all” approach to economic reform, with decentralization, lower taxes and fiscal discipline mixed with continued social spending.
With dollars and fuel in short supply and annual inflation at more than 20 percent, weary voters snubbed the Movement Toward Socialism party founded by former president Evo Morales in a first electoral round in August.
Bolivia is enduring its worst economic crisis in decades, with long queues now a common sight at gas stations.
“We hope the country improves,” homemaker Maria Eugenia Penaranda, 56, said, bundled up against the cold as she cast her vote in La Paz, about 3,600 meters (11,800 feet) above sea level.
“We cannot make ends meet. There is a lot of suffering. Too much,” she told AFP.
Sunday’s election closes out an economic experiment marked by initial prosperity funded by Morales’s nationalization of gas reserves.
The boom was followed by bust, notably critical shortages of fuel and foreign currency under outgoing leader Luis Arce.
Successive governments under-invested in the country’s hydrocarbons sector, once the backbone of the economy.
Production plummeted and Bolivia almost depleted its dollar reserves to sustain a universal subsidy for fuel that it also cannot afford to import.

Patience ‘running out’ 

Analyst Daniela Osorio of the German Institute for Global and Area Studies told AFP that Bolivians’ patience was running out.
Once the election is over, she warned, “if the winner does not take measures to help the most vulnerable, this could lead to a social uprising.”
Paz faces an uphill task, inheriting an economy in recession, according to the World Bank.
He had promised to maintain social programs while stabilizing the economy, but economists have said the two things are not possible at the same time.
Like Quiroga, Paz also proposed cutting the universal fuel subsidy, keeping it only for public transportation.

‘Difficult to heal’ 

“If the people of Bolivia grant me the opportunity to be president,” Paz said as he voted Sunday, “my format will be that of consensus.”
Paz will not have a party majority in Congress, meaning he will need to make concessions to get laws passed.
Outside of Congress, the new president will also face stiff opposition from Morales, who remains popular especially among Indigenous Bolivians, but was constitutionally barred from seeking another term.
On Sunday, Morales told reporters the two candidates each represent only “a handful of people in Bolivia, they do not represent the popular movement, much less the Indigenous movement.”
Morales is the target of an arrest warrant for human trafficking over an alleged sexual relationship with a minor — an accusation he denies.
Arce is due to leave office on November 8 after serving a single presidential term that began in 2020.
Bolivia’s constitution allows for two terms, but he did not seek reelection.
Polling stations opened at 8:00 am (1200 GMT) and closed eight hours later. Nearly eight million people were eligible to cast ballots and voting is mandatory.
 


It took only 4 minutes for thieves to steal crown jewels from Louvre Museum in Paris, say officials

It took only 4 minutes for thieves to steal crown jewels from Louvre Museum in Paris, say officials
Updated 20 October 2025

It took only 4 minutes for thieves to steal crown jewels from Louvre Museum in Paris, say officials

It took only 4 minutes for thieves to steal crown jewels from Louvre Museum in Paris, say officials
  • Thieves bypassed security by using a basket lift via the riverfront facade, forcing a window open, and opening glass display cases using power tools
  • The daylight heist about 30 minutes after opening, with visitors already inside, was among the highest-profile museum thefts in living memory

PARIS: In a minutes-long strike Sunday inside the world’s most-visited museum, thieves rode a basket lift up the Louvre‘s facade, forced a window, smashed display cases and fled with priceless Napoleonic jewels, officials said.
The daylight heist about 30 minutes after opening, with visitors already inside, was among the highest-profile museum thefts in living memory and comes as staff complained that crowding and thin staffing are straining security.
The theft unfolded just 250 meters (270 yards) from the Mona Lisa, in what Culture Minister Rachida Dati described as a professional “four-minute operation.”
One object, the emerald-set imperial crown of Napoleon III’s wife, Empress Eugénie, containing more than 1,300 diamonds, was later found outside the museum, French authorities said. It was reportedly recovered broken.
Images from the scene showed confused tourists being steered out of the glass pyramid and adjoining courtyards as officers closed nearby streets along the Seine.
A lift — which officials say the thieves brought and which was later removed — stood against the Seine-facing façade, their entry route and, observers said, a revealing weakness: that such machinery could be brought to a palace-museum unchecked.
 

French police officers stand next to a furniture elevator used by robbers to enter the Louvre Museum, on Quai Francois Mitterrand, in Paris on October 19, 2025. (AFP)

A museum already under strain
Around 9:30 a.m., several intruders forced a window, cut panes with a disc cutter and went straight for the glass display cases, officials said. Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said the crew entered from outside using a basket lift via the riverfront facade to reach the hall with the 23-item royal collection.
Their target was the gilded Apollon Gallery, where the Crown Diamonds are displayed, including the Regent, the Sancy and the Hortensia.
The thieves smashed two display cases and fled on motorbikes, Nunez said. No one was hurt. Alarms brought Louvre agents to the room, forcing the intruders to bolt, but the theft was already done.
Eight objects were taken, according to officials: a sapphire diadem, necklace and single earring from a matching set linked to 19th-century French queens Marie-Amélie and Hortense; an emerald necklace and earrings from the matching set of Empress Marie-Louise, Napoleon Bonaparte’s second wife; a reliquary brooch; Empress Eugénie’s diadem; and her large corsage-bow brooch — a prized 19th-century imperial ensemble.
“It’s a major robbery,” Nunez said, noting that security measures at the Louvre had been strengthened in recent years and would be reinforced further as part of the museum’s upcoming overhaul plan. Officials said security upgrades include new-generation cameras, perimeter detection, and a new security control room. But critics say the measures come far too late.

The Louvre closed for the rest of Sunday for the forensic investigation to begin as police sealed gates, cleared courtyards and shut nearby streets along the Seine.
Daylight robberies during public hours are rare. Pulling one off inside the Louvre with visitors present ranks among Europe’s most audacious in recent history, and at least since Dresden’s Green Vault museum in 2019.
It also collides with a deeper tension the Louvre has struggled to resolve: swelling crowds and stretched staff. The museum delayed opening during a June staff walkout over overcrowding and chronic understaffing. Unions say mass tourism leaves too few eyes on too many rooms and creates pressure points where construction zones, freight routes and visitor flows meet.
Security around marquee works remains tight — the Mona Lisa sits behind bulletproof glass in a climate-controlled case — but Sunday’s theft also underscored that protections are not uniformly as robust across the museum’s more than 33,000 objects.

This picture shows the "Gallerie d'Apollon" ("Apollo's Gallery") on January 14, 2020 at the Louvre museum in Paris after the reopening of the Gallery following ten months of renovations. (AFP)

The theft is a fresh embarrassment for a museum already under scrutiny.
“How can they ride a lift to a window and take jewels in the middle of the day?” said Magali Cunel, a French teacher from near Lyon. “It’s just unbelievable that a museum this famous can have such obvious security gaps.”
The Louvre has a long history of thefts and attempted robberies. The most famous came in 1911, when the Mona Lisa vanished from its frame, stolen by Vincenzo Peruggia and recovered two years later in Florence. Another notorious episode came in 1956, when a visitor hurled a stone at her world-famous smile, chipping paint near her left elbow and hastening the move to display the work behind protective glass.
Today the former royal palace holds a roll call of civilization: Leonardo’s Mona Lisa; the armless serenity of the Venus de Milo; the Winged Victory of Samothrace, wind-lashed on the Daru staircase; the Code of Hammurabi’s carved laws; Delacroix’s Liberty Leading the People; Géricault’s The Raft of the Medusa. The objects — from Mesopotamia, Egypt and the classical world to Europe’s masters — draw a daily tide of up to 30,000 visitors even as investigators now begin to sweep those gilded corridors for clues.
 

This photograph shows the "parure de la reine Marie-Amelie et de la Reine Hortense" (set of jewelry of Queen Marie-Amelie and Queen Hortense) displayed at Apollon's Gallery on January 14, 2020 at the Louvre museum in Paris. (AFP)

Politics at the door
The heist spilled instantly into politics. Far-right leader Jordan Bardella used it to attack President Emmanuel Macron, weakened at home and facing a fractured parliament.
“The Louvre is a global symbol of our culture,” Bardella wrote on X. “This robbery, which allowed thieves to steal jewels from the French Crown, is an unbearable humiliation for our country. How far will the decay of the state go?”
The criticism lands as Macron touts a decade-long “Louvre New Renaissance” plan — about €700 million ($760 million) to modernize infrastructure, ease crowding and give the Mona Lisa a dedicated gallery by 2031. For workers on the floor, the relief has felt slower than the pressure.
What we know — and don’t
Forensic teams are examining the site of the crime and adjoining access points while a full inventory is taken, authorities said. Officials have described the haul as of “inestimable” historical value.
Recovery may prove difficult. “It’s unlikely these jewels will ever be seen again,” said Tobias Kormind, managing director of 77 Diamonds. “Professional crews often break down and re-cut large, recognizable stones to evade detection, effectively erasing their provenance.”
Key questions still unanswered are how many people took part in the theft and whether they had inside assistance, authorities said. According to French media, there were four perpetrators: two dressed as construction workers in yellow safety vests on the lift, and two each on a scooter. French authorities did not immediately comment on this.
Investigators are reviewing CCTV from the Denon wing and the riverfront, inspecting the basket lift used to reach the gallery and interviewing staff who were on site when the museum opened, authorities said.


Russia attacks Ukraine coal mine, second energy site, companies say

Russia attacks Ukraine coal mine, second energy site, companies say
Updated 19 October 2025

Russia attacks Ukraine coal mine, second energy site, companies say

Russia attacks Ukraine coal mine, second energy site, companies say
  • Russian forces launched an attack on a colliery in Dnipropetrovsk region
  • It is the fourth Russian assault in two months on coal mining operations in Ukraine

Russian forces on Sunday attacked a coal mine in southeastern Ukraine and an unidentified energy site in the north near the Russian border, the operators of the sites said, adding to a series of recent assaults on Ukraine’s energy network.
Private Ukrainian energy firm DTEK said Russian forces launched an attack on a colliery in Dnipropetrovsk region. The company said 192 miners were safely brought to the surface, with no injuries.
The company said it was the fourth Russian assault in two months on coal mining operations in Ukraine.
The regional energy company in the northern border region of Chernihiv, Chernihivoblenergo, said an attack there caused extensive damage and cut off electricity to 55,000 users. Emergency crews would restore power in the area once it was safe to do so, it said.
Russian attacks in recent weeks have focused on Ukraine’s power grid and other energy sites.
Power cuts were imposed in many areas in the past week in the aftermath of an attack earlier this month that cut electricity to more than one million consumers.


Bangladesh probes cause of airport fire

Bangladesh probes cause of airport fire
Updated 19 October 2025

Bangladesh probes cause of airport fire

Bangladesh probes cause of airport fire
  • The National Board of Revenue said it had begun assessing the damage, with business groups warning that direct losses and subsequent impacts on trade could run into the millions of dollars

DHAKA: Bangladeshi traders on Sunday assessed heavy losses after a devastating fire tore through the cargo complex of the country’s main international airport, as the government opened an investigation into possible arson.
Firefighters had brought the blaze under control and flight operations resumed late Saturday, airport executive director S. M. Ragib Samad told AFP, after thick black smoke swept across the runway, forcing authorities to briefly suspend flights.
But Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport’s cargo complex — which stores fabrics, garment accessories, pharmaceuticals, chemicals and other imports — was left in ruins.
The National Board of Revenue said it had begun assessing the damage, with business groups warning that direct losses and subsequent impacts on trade could run into the millions of dollars.
Bangladesh is the world’s second-biggest garment manufacturer, and textile and garment production accounts for about 80 percent of exports.
“We have started our assessment,” NBR official Moshiur Rahman told AFP.
The fire was intense, with 37 firefighting units and security forces battling the flames for hours. Smoke was still rising from the charred remains on Sunday.
“The fire spread to every corner — I don’t know if any consignment could escape,” said one exhausted firefighter, whose uniform was greyed and hands blackened. 
“We were supposed to deliver the consignments to our clients today. All burnt to ashes, I guess,” said importer Anand Kumar Ghosh, who said he had lost 52 consignments.
Moinul Ahsan, a senior official at the Directorate of Health, said four people had been taken to hospital with minor injuries. 
The cause of the blaze was not immediately known.
But the government said it was aware of growing public concern following a string of major fires in recent days -- including in Chittagong’s export processing zone and a chemical and garment factory in Dhaka, where 16 people were killed.

 


Northern Irish minister faces legal challenge over stance on trade with Israel

Northern Irish minister faces legal challenge over stance on trade with Israel
Updated 19 October 2025

Northern Irish minister faces legal challenge over stance on trade with Israel

Northern Irish minister faces legal challenge over stance on trade with Israel
  • Pre-action protocol letter, sent by pro-Union think tank Unionist Voice Policy Studies, claims Sinn Fein minister acted beyond her powers

LONDON: Northern Ireland’s Economy Minister Caoimhe Archibald is facing a legal challenge over her decision to exclude the region from UK trade talks with Israel and instruct officials not to assist companies supplying arms to the country, it was reported on Saturday.

The pre-action protocol letter, sent by pro-Union think tank Unionist Voice Policy Studies (UVPS), claims the Sinn Fein minister acted beyond her powers, as international trade policy is not a devolved matter, .

Archibald made the announcement in a written statement to the Assembly on Thursday, saying Invest NI had confirmed it “does not support projects that manufacture arms or their components for supply to Israel.”

She outlined a series of new measures aimed at “eliminating any risk of public funds being used to support the manufacture of arms or components that are used for genocide.” 

These included a commitment that her department “will not engage in the British Government’s trade talks with Israel while it continues to illegally occupy and impose apartheid on Palestine.”

The DUP has called for the issue to be referred to the wider Stormont Executive, while TUV leader Jim Allister has requested an urgent debate in Westminster. 

Under power-sharing rules, ministers must refer “significant and controversial” matters to the Executive for collective decision-making.

In a statement, UVPS director Jamie Bryson said: “The decision of the Minister for Economy to purport to exclude Northern Ireland from the sovereign Government’s trade talks with Israel is plainly unlawful. It is significant and controversial, and therefore should have been referred to the Executive. The minister is purporting to act in a non-devolved area, far beyond her lawful powers.”

He added that Archibald’s direction to Invest NI “amounts to clear discrimination on the ground of political opinion against any business who supports Israel.”

Bryson’s group said it has “consistently challenged unlawful acts of Executive ministers,” calling the decision “the latest example of a Sinn Féin minister acting far beyond their lawful powers.”

The Department for the Economy was approached for comment by The Independent.