Amazon and Google are under investigation over concerns fake five star reviews on their websites could be misleading shoppers. The Competition and Markets Authority is also worried that “law-abiding businesses” who sell over Amazon and Google may be losing out to firms using false recommendations. Amazon and Google could face court action for breaking consumer law. Both firms say they have resources and policies in place to stop fake reviews. The CMA has launched the formal probe after an initial investigation last year examined whether online companies were doing enough to protect consumers. Online shopping has soared during the Covid pandemic as retailers deemed as “non-essential” have been forced to close physical shops during periods of lockdown.(BBC)…[+]

Israel has reintroduced a requirement to wear masks indoors amid a rise in coronavirus cases, just days after it lifted the measure. Concern has grown after the country recorded more than 100 new daily cases in successive days after registering zero earlier this month. Most of the cases have been linked to the Delta variant from abroad. Israel has been one of the most successful countries in the world in tackling the pandemic. It implemented the fastest vaccination programme, under which well over half the population of 9.3m has been partially or fully immunised. But on Thursday, 10 days after the mandate was lifted, Israel’s coronavirus response chief Nachman Ash said people would once again need to wear masks indoors to try to stem the rise in cases. “We are seeing a doubling every few days,” Mr Ash told public radio. “Another thing that’s worrying is that the infections are spreading.” The requirement to wear masks had been the last remaining restriction after all other measures, imposed during lockdown earlier this year, had been gradually dropped.(BBC)…[+]

A Palestinian activist who was a well-known critic of the Palestinian Authority’s leadership has died after being arrested by its security forces. Palestinian officers detained Nizar Banat at his home near the occupied West Bank city of Hebron overnight. Mr Banat’s family have alleged that he was badly beaten during the raid. Hebron Governor Jamil al-Bakri said the public prosecution had issued a summons for Mr Banat and that “during the arrest his health deteriorated”. “He was immediately transferred to the Hebron Government Hospital. After he was examined by doctors, he was pronounced dead,” he added, without commenting on the family’s allegations. Human rights groups have accused the Palestinian security forces, which receive international funding, of routinely arresting and torturing peaceful critics and opponents to crush dissent. However, deaths in custody are rare. The PA governs parts of the West Bank that are not under full Israeli control.(BBC)…[+]

A US military linguist has been jailed for 23 years for passing classified information to a foreign national linked to the Lebanese Islamist militant group Hezbollah. Mariam Thompson, 62, admitted sharing the names of US informants in Iraq to a man she was romantically linked with. She said she had been “desperate” for “someone to love me in my old age” and did not set out to harm anyone. Prosecutors said she knew she was putting US sources and troops at risk. “Thompson’s sentence reflects the seriousness of her violation of the trust of the American people, of the human sources she jeopardised and of the troops who worked at her side as friends and colleagues,” John Demers, head of the Justice Department’s national security division, said on Wednesday.(BBC)…[+]

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has warned that Europe is “on thin ice” as the Delta variant of Covid spreads on the continent. Her warning came as EU health officials said the variant would account for 90% of the bloc’s cases by late August. The spread could disrupt plans for lifting restrictions during the summer.

The Alpha variant, first discovered in the UK, hit Europe hard early this year and Delta, now dominant in the UK, is thought 40%-60% more transmissible. Andrea Ammon, the director of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), said on Wednesday that the spread of the Delta variant showed the importance of speeding up vaccinations in Europe, as “preliminary data shows that it can also infect individuals that have received only one dose of the currently available vaccines”. Two doses offered “high protection” against the Delta (B.1.617.2) variant, she added.(BBC)…[+]

A child who went missing in Italy has been found by a reporter sent to cover his disappearance, several kilometres from the boy’s home. The 21-month-old toddler was last seen in his bedroom on Monday night and was reported missing by his parents the next day. Journalist Gi useppe Di Tommaso heard noises from a gorge near the road while on his way to their home on Wednesday. The child has been taken to hospital and is said to be in good health. It is believed the toddler,  identified as Nicola Tanturli, woke up in the middle of the night and walked out of the house. A helicopter and about 1,000 people – including police, fire and alpine rescuers – had joined the search for the toddler after he was reported missing in Palazzuolo sul Senio, near Florence, according to the local mayor.(BBC)…[+]

Dozens of people have reportedly been killed or injured after Ethiopia’s air force bombed a market in the northern region of Tigray. Eyewitnesses told the BBC the Ethiopian air force struck the town of Togoga on Tuesday, 25 km (15 miles) from the region’s capital, Mekelle. The Ethiopian military denied targeting civilians, saying it carried out the strikes to neutralise “terrorists”. Tigrayan rebel forces are said to have made advances in recent days. However, this has been denied by the Ethiopian government. Thousands of people have been killed and millions displaced after conflict erupted almost eight months ago. Doctors at the main hospital in Mekelle say they are treating dozens of people, including a two-year-old child left injured by the air strike. Medical personnel told Reuters the Ethiopian military blocked them from reaching the site of the attack to help others left behind.(BBC)…[+]

Britain has denied Russian reports that its military fired warning shots at a UK destroyer in the Black Sea. Moscow’s defence ministry was quoted as saying that HMS Defender entered Russian territorial waters near Crimea while a patrol ship fired warning shots and a jet dropped bombs in its path.  But Britain’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) said no bombs were dropped, or warning shots fired at HMS Defender. It added that the ship was sailing in Ukrainian waters. “HMS Defender was taking the most direct and internationally recognised route between Ukraine and Georgia,” a Downing Street spokesman said. He added that Russia had given pre-warning to the UK that it was carrying out gunnery exercises in the Black Sea near to where HMS Defender was sailing. British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said in a statement that HMS Defender was carrying out a “routine transit” when it entered the internationally recognised traffic corridor.(BBC)…[+]

A Singaporean woman found guilty of starving, torturing and killing her domestic worker from Myanmar, has been sentenced to 30 years in prison. Piang Ngaih Don reportedly weighed only 24kg (53lb) when she died from her injuries in 2016. Prosecutors have called the actions of Gaiyathiri Murugayan, the wife of a policeman “evil and utterly inhumane”. It is among a series of high-profile maid abuse cases in the wealthy city-state in recent years. Ms Murugayan, 40, had pleaded guilty to a number of charges including culpable homicide against Ms Piang. The judge said the prosecution had painted a “shocking” picture of how the 24-year old woman was tortured, humiliated, starved and ultimately killed.(BBC)…[+]

The US military has said it could slow down its withdrawal from Afghanistan in light of recent battlefield victories by the Taliban. Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said the deadline for a full withdrawal by 11 September was still in place, but the pace may change. Pentagon officials said last week that the withdrawal is about half-way done. Afghanistan has seen increasing violence as the US and Nato prepare to pull out their remaining troops. Over the last month, the Taliban have intensified their attacks and gained control of more than 30 districts. The hardline Islamist group has also seized large quantities of military equipment, according to local media, and killed, wounded or captured dozens of troops. Afghan government spokespeople have denied that the districts have fallen to the Taliban, saying they were evacuated in a “tactical withdrawal”. It is unclear how many Taliban have been killed or wounded.(BBC)…[+]