Parents in southern Mexico say they are being threatened by a gang after their children’s nursery won 20m pesos ($950,000; £710,0000) in a lottery. The nursery has just over two dozen pupils and their parents were put in charge of administering the prize. Soon after their win was made public, they received threats from an armed group, which demanded that they use the money to buy weapons for the gang. The families say they had to flee their village and have been living rough. Gang violence is rife in Mexico and armed groups often try to recruit locals in their fight with rivals for control of territory. A number of the 500-peso tickets in Mexico’s much-publicised “plane lottery” were bought by anonymous benefactors and donated to poor schools and nurseries across the country. The Mexican state organised the lottery after a previous plan to raffle off the presidential plane to raise funds for hospital supplies had been shelved because it was deemed impractical.(BBC)…[+]

Two people among a group of 17 US and Canadian missionaries kidnapped by an armed gang in Haiti last month have been released, aid officials say. Christian Aid Ministries said on Sunday that the two individuals were “safe, in good spirits, and being cared for”. “We cannot provide or confirm the names of those released,” the ministry said, giving no further details. The abduction of the missionaries and their family members, including children, was reported on 16 October. They were returning from a visit to an orphanage when the bus they were travelling in was seized by gang members on a main road in the town of Ganthier, east of the capital, Port-au-Prince. All of those abducted at the time – five men, seven women and five children – are US citizens, except one who is a Canadian national.(BBC)…[+]

The fiancee of murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi has called on Justin Bieber to cancel his upcoming concert in Saudi Arabia next month. The Canadian singer is among the stars set to perform at the kingdom’s first Formula One Grand Prix in Jeddah. But Hatice Cengiz wrote an open letter to Bieber urging him to “send a powerful message” by pulling out. Khashoggi, a prominent critic of the Saudi regime, was murdered at its consulate in Istanbul in October 2018. He had gone there to pick up documents for the couple’s wedding. The journalist’s body was dismembered as Ms Cengiz waited outside. “Do not sing for the murderers of my beloved Jamal,” Ms Cengiz wrote in the letter, published in the Washington Post.(BBC)…[+]

Women have been banned from appearing in television dramas in Afghanistan under new rules imposed by the Taliban government. Female journalists and presenters have also been ordered to wear headscarves on screen, although the guidelines do not say which type of covering to use. Reporters say some of the rules are vague and subject to interpretation. The Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in mid-August and many fear they are gradually imposing harsh restrictions. The militant Islamist group, which took control following the departure of US and allied forces, almost immediately instructed girls and young women to stay home from school. During their previous rule in the 1990s, women were barred from education and the workplace. The latest set of Taliban guidelines, which have been issued to Afghan television channels, features eight new rules. They include the banning of films considered against the principles of Sharia – or Islamic – law and Afghan values, while footage of men exposing intimate parts of the body is prohibited. Comedy and entertainment shows that insult religion or may be considered offensive to Afghans are also forbidden. The Taliban have insisted that foreign films promoting foreign cultural values should not be broadcast.(BBC)…[+]

Days after Austria imposed a lockdown on the unvaccinated, it has announced a full national Covid-19 lockdown starting on Monday. Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg said it would last a maximum of 20 days and there would be a legal requirement to get vaccinated from 1 February 2022. He was responding to record case numbers and one of the lowest vaccination levels in Western Europe. Many other European countries are imposing restrictions as cases rise. “We don’t want a fifth wave,” said Mr Schallenberg after meeting the governors of Austria’s nine provinces at a resort in the west of the country. For a long time, there had been a consensus over avoiding mandatory vaccinations, the chancellor said.(BBC)…[+]

The US House of Representatives has passed US President Joe Biden’s $1.9tn (£1.4tn) Build Back Better Act after facing fierce opposition from Republicans. The sweeping social spending and climate package is considered a key pillar of Mr Biden’s agenda. The vote came after a record-long speech from House minority leader Kevin McCarthy to delay the vote. The legislation now faces significant hurdles as it heads to the US Senate. The Build Back Better Act would expand Medicare, lower prescription drug costs and includes funding for universal pre-kindergarten and subsidies for childcare. It also includes hundreds of millions of dollars to combat climate change and includes a provision that would allow the government to give work permits and deportation protection to millions of undocumented immigrants.(BBC)…[+]

Companies owned by family and friends of former Democratic Republic of Congo President Joseph Kabila had millions of dollars of public funds funnelled through their bank accounts, according to Africa’s biggest data leak. The money was transferred to the companies’ accounts at the Congolese arm of the BGFI bank. Millions of dollars in cash were then taken out of the accounts. Mr Kabila was president at the time of the bank transfers. He has declined to respond to our questions over the transfers. The leak included more than three million documents and information on millions of transactions from the BGFI (Banque Gabonaise et Française Internationale) bank, which works in several African countries and France. Online French investigative journal Mediapart and the NGO Platform to Protect Whistleblowers in Africa (PPLAAF) obtained the information.(BBC)…[+]

A lawsuit against Alec Baldwin alleges that a film script did not require him to fire a gun when he fatally shot cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. Script supervisor Mamie Mitchell – who called police after the shooting on the New Mexico film set – filed the suit. Her lawyer accused the actor of “playing Russian roulette” when he fired the gun without checking it. Mr Baldwin and the film’s producers, who were also named in the lawsuit, have not yet commented. The Hollywood actor has previously shared comments from a crew member rejecting suggestions that the film set was unsafe. Authorities are still investigating the 21 October shooting that took place on the set of the Western film Rust. No criminal charges have been brought against anyone. Ms Mitchell’s lawsuit claims that the script called for three tight camera shots – one of Mr Baldwin’s eyes, another of a bloodstain on his shoulder and a third of his torso “as he reached his hand down to the holster and removed the gun“.(BBC)…[+]

Hundreds of students walked out of school on Wednesday in a final attempt to persuade the governor of the US state of Oklahoma to grant clemency to a death-row inmate who is scheduled to be executed on Thursday. In 2002, Julius Jones was sentenced to death for killing Paul Howell during a carjacking three years earlier. Mr Jones, 41, maintains his innocence. His case has attracted the support of celebrities and anti-death penalty activists. Mr Jones’s execution by lethal injection is scheduled for 4 pm local time (2200 GMT) at the state penitentiary in McAlester. His last hope for clemency rests with Republican Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt.(BBC)…[+]

A group of Afghan girl footballers have flown into the UK, the culmination of an extraordinary rescue effort that began after the Taliban seized power. The costly operation brought together an unlikely cast of characters, from Muslim sports-people to spies, philanthropists, and a Hasidic rabbi. The girls – aged between 13 and 19 – arrived from Pakistan overnight. Their flight was chartered by a Jewish aid organisation and was paid for by the US star, Kim Kardashian-West. “It’s Mission Accomplished,” said Khalida Popal, former manager of Afghanistan’s national women’s team, who co-ordinated their rescue from Denmark. “I’m so happy and so proud of these girls. They were traumatised. They’ve been through so much and managed to stay strong. Now they can start a new life and breathe freedom.”(BBC)…[+]