World in Brief: August 25, 2024

FRANCE: Telegram CEO Pavel Durov has been arrested at Le Bourget airport in Paris, French media reported today.

Mr Durov is accused of using his encrypted platform for money laundering, drug trafficking and sharing content related to the sexual exploitation of minors.

INDONESIA: Heavy rains have caused flash flooding on the eastern Indonesian island of Ternate, wiping out residential areas and killing 13 people on Sunday, authorities said.

The flood closed the main road and access to the village of Rua in North Maluku province, the worst-hit area, and buried dozens of houses and buildings under mud.

CHINA: Coast Guard officials said today they had to take action against a Philippine vessel that ignored warnings and caused a minor collision with its ship in the South China Sea.

Coast Guard spokesman Gan Yu said the Philippine vessel entered the waters around Sabina Shoal in the Xianbin Reef in the Nansha Islands, ignored warnings and “unprofessionally” and “dangerously” approached the coast guard vessel, causing the two vessels to graze each other.

FRANCE: Police have arrested a suspect in an arson attack on a synagogue in the seaside resort of La Grande Motte, near Montpellier, in which a police officer was injured, the country’s acting interior minister said today.

Two cars parked at the Beth Yaacov synagogue complex in the southwestern city were set on fire Saturday morning. Firefighters discovered additional fires at two entrances to the synagogue.

A police officer who arrived at the scene was injured after a propane tank located next to the burning vehicles exploded.

Rescue workers and villagers search for missing people after a flash flood killed several people in Rua