Around 70 tourists on a river boat in Peru have been detained by an indigenous group as part of a protest against a recent oil spill. The UK Foreign Office says a “very small number” of British nationals – believed to be three – are on the boat. Peruvian, Swiss, American, Spanish and French nationals are also believed to be on board. One British passenger, Charlotte Wiltshire, said the group was starting to run out of food and water. “Conditions are starting to deteriorate,” she said in a message sent to the BBC. She has asked for an “intervention to get us out of here”, saying there were pregnant, diabetic, elderly and sick people on the boat. The tourists are not thought to have been harmed. They have been held since Thursday morning. Activists from the Cuninico community released a statement earlier in the week saying that from midnight on 1 November, no boats or vessels would be able to pass. “We demand that the government talks to the Cuninico community or face consequences – the ultimate responsibility lies with the President of the Republic [Pedro del Castillo]”, the statement read. Speaking to a local TV station, Prime Minister Anibal Torres appeared to blame the Cuninico community itself for cutting the pipeline.(BBC)…[+]

The death of a cyclist in Berlin has prompted leaders of Germany’s Green party to accuse climate change protesters of endangering the lives of others. The woman was run over and trapped under a concrete mixer lorry on Monday. The fire service says a specialist rescue vehicle was delayed by traffic because of a climate protest held by a group called “Last Generation”. News of the 44-year-old woman’s death emerged on Friday. There was a robust response from Robert Habeck, vice-chancellor and a senior figure in the Greens, who are part of the governing coalition government. “Anyone who risks the health and life of others loses all legitimacy and also harms the climate movement itself,” he said. “Some protests by some groups are now doing just that.” Deputy government spokesman Wolfgang Büchner did not blame the protesters for the woman’s death, but stressed their actions should not break the law.(BBC)…[+]

Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin has been cleared of misconduct after video in August showed her partying. The 36-year-old defended herself after being seen dancing with friends and celebrities in the leaked footage. Dozens of complaints are understood to have been filed, alleging Ms Marin’s behaviour undermined Finland’s “reputation and security”. But Chancellor of Justice Tuomas Poysti concluded that Ms Marin had not neglected her duties as prime minister. There was “no reason to suspect the prime minister of unlawful conduct in the performance of her duties or of neglect of her official duties”, he said after an official inquiry. Ms Marin took a drug test “to clear up any doubts”, after some suggested comments heard on the video referred to narcotics. The test came back negative. At the time, the prime minister said that the video had been filmed on “private premises” and that she had spent “an evening with friends”. When asked about the video, she told reporters: “I am human. And I too sometimes long for joy, light and fun amidst these dark clouds.”(BBC)…[+]

Actress Lena Horne has become the first black woman to have a Broadway theatre named in her honour. The theatre, on West 47th Street, was built in 1926 and is currently hosting the hit British musical Six. It comes a couple of weeks after another Broadway theatre was named after Star wars actor James Earl Jones. Horne, who died in 2010, battled racial segregation to win a major Hollywood film contract and later found international fame as a singer. She later became the first black woman to be nominated for a Tony Award, Broadway theatre’s highest honour, for her starring role in the 1957 calypso musical Jamaica. In 1981, she received a special Tony Award for Lena Horne: The Lady and Her Music, a one-woman Broadway show in which she sang and discussed the ups and downs of her life.(BBC)…[+]

Glaciers across the globe – including the last ones in Africa – will be unavoidably lost by 2050 due to climate change, the UN says in a report. Glaciers in a third of UN World Heritage sites will melt within three decades, a UNESCO report found. Mount Kilimanjaro’s last glaciers will vanish as will glaciers in the Alps and Yosemite National Park in the US. They will melt regardless of the world’s actions to combat climate change, the authors say. The report, which makes projections based on satellite data, comes as world leaders prepare to meet in Egypt for next week’s COP27 climate change conference. About 18,600 glaciers have been identified across 50 UN World Heritage sites. They represent almost 10% of the Earth’s glacierised area and include renowned tourist spots and places sacred to local populations. The retreat and disappearance of glaciers was “among the most dramatic evidence that Earth’s climate is warming”, the report said. “We hope we might be wrong, but this is the hard science,” said UNESCO project officer Tales Carvalho Resende, one of the authors. “Glaciers are one of the valuable indicators of climate change, because they’re visible. This is something we can really see happening.”(BBC)…[+]

Iranian security forces have opened fire on crowds near Tehran marking the 40th day of mourning for a woman shot dead while protesting, witnesses say. Authorities shut a cemetery and blocked roads to stop people reaching the grave of Hadis Najafi, who has become a symbol of the unrest engulfing Iran. Videos showed thousands walking along a highway to reach the cemetery in Karaj and shouting anti-government slogans. Security personnel responded by firing live rounds, witnesses told the BBC. Officers in plainclothes also attacked people with machetes, they added. A gunshot could also be heard in a video from the area near the cemetery that has been verified by BBC Persian.(BBC)…[+]

Migos rapper Takeoff was killed by a “stray bullet”, his record company has claimed in a statement. The 28-year-old, Grammy-nominated musician died on Tuesday in a shooting at a bowling alley in Houston, Texas. Paying tribute, his record label said in a statement: “Senseless violence and a stray bullet has taken another life from this world and we are devastated.” Houston Police Chief Troy Finner said he did not want to speculate on whether Takeoff was the target. He added: “Based on what people say about him, he’s well respected, non-violent. “I would not expect him to be involved but I do want to wait on the investigation – but we have no reason to believe that he was involved in anything criminal at the time, just as people describe him as very peaceful, loving, a great entertainer.” He pleaded with witnesses at the scene to come forward. “Please step up, get the information to us so we can bring some closure to this family who’s hurting right now,” he said at a press conference on Tuesday afternoon.(BBC)…[+]

Five lions have sparked a brief emergency at an Australian zoo after escaping from their enclosure. The animals – one adult and four cubs – were spotted outside their exhibit at Sydney’s Taronga Zoo about 6:30 local time on Wednesday (22:30 GMT Tuesday). The zoo was put in lockdown and one cub had to be tranquillised but all lions were secured within minutes, a spokesman said. No-one was injured. An explanation for the escape has not been given. But zoo executive director Simon Duffy called it a “significant incident” that would be investigated. He told local media the lions had entered a small area “adjacent” to their exhibit – about 100m from where guests were staying at the zoo overnight. The main zoo was closed at the time. “At no time did the lions exit that [adjacent] area or exit Taronga Zoo,” he said. Mr Duffy added the small area was protected by a six-foot fence usually used to keep people at a safe distance, and the entire zoo was surrounded by a perimeter fence.(BBC)…[+]

The first emergency call about trouble at Itaewon came in the early evening of 29 October. “It’s so chilling right now,” the woman said, as she described a chaotic scene on the narrow streets of the Seoul nightlife district. In total, there were 11 calls made to South Korea’s 112 emergency police hotline begging them to control the crowds gathering for Halloween before the fatal crush happened. As calls for accountability have mounted, South Korean police have launched an investigation. Officers on Wednesday raided the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, as well as police stations, fire stations and emergency call sites, to look into whether officers who took the calls fulfilled their duty and took proper measures. Police have also taken the unusual step of releasing transcripts of the calls. From anxious warnings to screams of terror, the transcripts have painted a horrifying picture of how the situation escalated. At least 156 people were killed in the crush – another 172 were injured, 33 seriously.(BBC)…[+]

Ukraine says power and water supplies across the country have been badly hit after Russia launched more than 50 missiles targeting critical facilities. In the capital Kyiv, 40% of residents are without water, according to the latest update from the mayor, and 270,000 apartments have no electricity.  Energy facilities were also hit in the north-eastern city of Kharkiv. Thirteen people were injured across the country. Russia said it targeted Ukraine’s military command and energy systems. The country’s defence ministry added that all “designated objects were hit” by long-range high-precision weaponry. Ukraine’s military said its air defences had shot down 44 cruise missiles launched from the area of Russia’s Rostov region and the Caspian Sea. The strikes come after Russia blamed Ukraine for a drone attack on its Black Sea Fleet in the annexed Crimea.(BBC)…[+]