Police in Germany have raided the home of a teenage boy suspected of making and storing ricin, a highly toxic and deadly biological warfare agent.

The 16-year-old is accused of producing “several vials” containing a mixture of ricin and aconitine, another potent plant toxin, in a makeshift laboratory in the attic of his family home in Zeithain, a municipality in the eastern state of Saxony, police said.

The Saxony State Criminal Police Office has launched an investigation in conjunction with the Dresden Public Prosecutor’s Office into the possible violation of Germany’s Weapons of War Act, which regulates the production and trade of materials considered weapons of war.

Officers have been searching the suspect’s home since the early hours of Thursday morning, according to the Saxony police statement. They are seeking to “secure all toxic substances and other evidence,” the statement said.

Investigators have so far not uncovered any evidence regarding the suspect’s intentions for the toxic substance, police said.

An arrest warrant has not been issued. Based on the current status of the investigation, there are no grounds for detention under Germany’s Code of Criminal procedure, particularly considering the Juvenile Justice Act, the statement said.

Ricin is a natural, highly toxic compound that is a byproduct of processing castor beans. It is potentially lethal when inhaled, ingested or injected. Less than a pinpoint of ricin can kill a person within 36 to 48 hours due to the failure of the respiratory and circulatory systems.

If ingested, it causes nausea, vomiting and internal bleeding of the stomach and intestines, followed by failure of the liver, spleen and kidneys, and finally death by collapse of the circulatory system.

If injected, ricin causes the immediate death of the muscles and lymph nodes near the site of the injection. Failure of major organs and death usually follows.

Four people were killed and one severely injured when their cable car plunged into a ravine in Italy on Thursday, local authorities said.

The accident happened after a cable on the Monte Faito cableway near Sorrento snapped in severe weather, according to Vincenzo De Luca, the president of the Campania region in southern Italy.

Witnesses on the ground said the cable car plummeted into the valley below, hitting a pylon on the way down. It also reportedly hit a crane on a construction site.

De Luca said the car that fell had two couples and one worker from the cableway aboard.

One person survived the fall, according to Italy’s fire brigade, but was severely injured and air-lifted to a hospital in Naples.

The cableway, which reopened on April 10 after renovations, runs from Castellammare di Stabia between Naples and Sorrento some 1,092 meters to Monte Faito overlooking the bay of Naples and Mt. Vesuvius volcano.

There were no cable cars above the break, the fire brigade said.Strong winds hampered the rescue effort and it took first responders with helicopters working in extremely foggy conditions more than 90 minutes to locate the wreckage.

Foreign tourists and workers were among those rescued, De Luca said. An investigation into the incident has been opened by the local prosecutor’s office.

Italy’s President of the Senate Ignazio La Russa posted his condolences on social media. “I learn with deep sorrow of the tragedy that occurred on the Monte Faito cable car. I express my deepest condolences to the families of the victims and I address a thought of gratitude to all the rescuers involved.”

Local rail stations that connect Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast to Naples were closed.

Thousands of Jewish worshippers visited a Jerusalem holy site during the holiday of Passover as far-right Israeli lawmaker Zvi Sukkot boasted, “Arabs aren’t allowed to come near us.”

Sukkot, a member of the Religious Zionism party, visited the al-Aqsa compound in the Old City of Jerusalem on Thursday morning, prostrating himself on the ground and praying in violation of the delicate status quo agreement that governs the site.

“Jews are bowing, praying, holding minyanim here,” said Sukkot, referencing a quorum of ten men required for certain Jewish worship. “Arabs aren’t allowed to come near us at all,” the lawmaker added, with Israeli security forces walking amongst the worshippers around him.

While anyone can visit the al-Aqsa compound, only Muslims are allowed to pray there, according to the status quo agreement, which has existed since Israel captured the Old City of Jerusalem in 1967. The site, which is known to Jews as the Temple Mount, is the holiest place in Judaism. It is known to Muslims as the Haram al-Sharif, and it is the third holiest site in Islam.

But the status quo agreement has increasingly been tested and, in some cases, deliberately challenged. Far-right lawmakers in Israel have made repeated visits to the holy site, encouraging other Jewish worshippers to do the same. Some of these visits have sparked protests, as well as diplomatic fallout across the region.

Video from the scene on Thursday showed Sukkot surrounded by a group of Jewish men openly praying while an Israeli police officer walked around in the background, not disturbing or interrupting the prayer session. Sukkot said it was far different to his last visit to the site 14 years ago.

“Back then, they used to watch you closely – if they saw you whisper a prayer, they’d jump on you. What’s happening now is an incredible miracle,” he said.

Sukkot’s visit comes amid a surge of Jewish worshippers going to the holy site to pray, according to the Temple Mount Administration, which said 6,315 worshippers had so far attended prayer sessions since Passover began last weekend.

The organization, which filmed the video of Sukkot at the compound, added that a daily record was set on Thursday, with 2,106 attending. Despite the moniker, the Temple Mount Administration is not a government agency.

Instead, it is a right-wing organization working to organize and promote Jewish prayer at the holy site. They described the number of visitors as “historic records,” saying it was a 37% increase from last year.

Far-right Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir, who leads the Jewish Power party, praised Sukkot’s visit. “What wasn’t done in 30 years is being done on my watch, and I’m grateful to have been granted, by God’s grace, the privilege of leading this tremendous change,” he said on social media.

Ben Gvir has frequently visited the holy site, making clear his intentions to allow and promote Jewish worship, despite the prohibition. Following a visit in December, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office was forced to put out a statement saying, “The status quo at Temple Mount has not changed.”

Russia’s Supreme Court on Thursday lifted a ban on Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban, a group that was designated as a terrorist organization more than two decades ago.

The Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in August 2021 as US and NATO troops were in the final weeks of withdrawing from the country after two decades of war.

The Russian court’s move was a diplomatic victory for the Taliban, who were put on Moscow’s list of terrorist organizations in 2003, making any contact with them punishable under Russian law.

At the same time, Taliban delegations have attended various forums hosted by Russia as Moscow has sought to position itself as a regional power broker.

The court’s ruling on a request by the Prosecutor General’s Office followed last year’s adoption of a law stipulating that the official designation as a terrorist organization could be suspended by a court.

The former Soviet Union fought a 10-year war in Afghanistan that ended with Moscow withdrawing its troops in 1989.

Russian officials have recently been emphasizing the need to engage with the Taliban to help stabilize Afghanistan.

In recent years, the Central Asian nations of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan have removed the Taliban from their lists of terrorist groups.

The Taliban initially promised a more moderate rule than during their first stint in power from 1996 to 2001, but started to enforce restrictions on women and girls soon after the 2021 takeover. Women are barred from most jobs and public places, including parks, baths and gyms, while girls are banned from education beyond sixth grade.

Such measures have isolated the Taliban on the world stage, although their government has established diplomatic ties with countries including China and the United Arab Emirates.

The UN this year renewed its call for the Taliban to lift the bans.

The group’s decrees limiting the participation of girls and women have affected foreign aid to the country. The Taliban also have brought back their strict interpretation of Islamic law, or Shariah, including public executions.

Some Taliban want greater engagement with the international community and want to scrap harsher policies to attract more outside support. In recent months, there has been increased engagement between the Taliban and the US under President Donald Trump, mostly because of prisoner exchanges and releases.

Ibraheem Bahiss, a senior analyst with Crisis Group’s Asia Program, said the Taliban’s listing as a terrorist group was a legal impairment for trade and political ties with Kabul and its lifting reflected Moscow’s desire to improve relations.

“However, beyond making it easier for individuals and businesses to engage with Afghanistan, I am not sure what other major benefit this will have,” he said.

South Asia analyst Michael Kugelman said the Russian move was not ground-breaking because many countries had never formally designated the Taliban as a terrorist organization. At the same time, he called the decision a “win-win” for bilateral relations.

For Russia, he said it would serve as a confidence-building measure helping pave the way for more engagement and enabling Moscow to better protect its interests in Afghanistan, particularly concerns about anti-Russia terror groups like Islamic State-Khorasan.

“Meanwhile, for the Taliban, the court decision is a legitimacy-boosting outcome they can leverage to point to international acceptance of their rule,” Kugelman observed.

Hamas has rejected the Israeli ceasefire offer presented earlier this week, according to a senior Hamas official, instead calling for a “comprehensive” proposal to end the war.

The rejection prompted far-right Israeli lawmakers to issue calls for an immediate escalation in Gaza, urging Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to unleash “hell” and pursue “complete victory.”

The Israeli ceasefire proposal did not guarantee an end to the war and called for a disarmament of Gaza, both of which have been red lines for Hamas. The militant organization refuses to give up its weapons and demands that any proposal includes a permanent end to the war.

“We want a comprehensive package,” the official said.

The Israeli plan called for a 45-day truce, during which the two sides would aim to negotiate a permanent ceasefire.

Under the proposal, the remaining 59 hostages would be released in stages, starting with American-Israeli Edan Alexander on the first day of the truce as a “special gesture” to the United States. A further nine Israeli hostages would be released in two stages in exchange for 120 Palestinian prisoners serving life sentences and more than 1,100 detainees held without charge since October 7, 2023.

Israel’s proposal also demands that Hamas provide information about the remaining living Israeli hostages held by the group, “in exchange for information about the Palestinian detainees,” and the release of the bodies of 16 deceased Israeli hostages for the remains of 160 deceased Palestinians held by Israel.

Hamas studied the proposal for several days before responding. But from the beginning, the proposal stood little chance of success. Hamas had repeatedly made clear that it demanded an end to the war as part of any hostage release, and it refused calls for a complete disarmament. Hamas also called for a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, whereas the Israeli proposal only included a temporary redeployment of the military.

In a televised statement from Qatar on Thursday night, Khalil Al-Hayya, the head of the negotiating delegation, said, “The resistance and its weaponry are linked to the existence of the (Israeli) occupation, and it is a natural right for our people and all peoples under occupation.”

Al-Hayya insisted that Hamas is “immediately” ready to begin negotiations for a comprehensive agreement that would see the release of the remaining hostages for an “agreed-upon number” of Palestinian prisoners. Such an agreement would include the beginning of Gaza’s reconstruction and an end to the blockade of Gaza.

Far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said that Israel would continue its bombardment of Gaza. “The state of Israel shall not surrender to Hamas and won’t end the war without the complete victory and fulfillment of all its objectives, including eliminating Hamas and returning all the hostages,” he said in a statement.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir echoed Smotrich, writing on Telegram: “No deal, no ceasefire, and no aid – only the continuation of fighting until the surrender of the Nazis from Gaza. Activate all force and might until Hamas begs on its knees.”

The Hope Forum, a right-wing group representing hostages’ families, tweeted: “Only massive military pressure, a total blockade, and capturing territory will force Hamas to beg for a deal. What are you waiting for?!”

Israel shut off humanitarian aid and supplies going into the coastal enclave in early-March, igniting a humanitarian crisis that UN officials says is the worst since the war began. Israel’s renewed assault on Gaza has displaced more than 500,000 Palestinians in less than a month, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza says that the attacks on Gaza have killed nearly 1,700 Palestinians since March 18.

Israel has argued that the humanitarian blockade has pressured Hamas into agreeing to a ceasefire. On Wednesday, Defense Minister Israel Katz said, “The pressure on Hamas to carry out the deal is heavy and the tension between it and the local population is increasing.”

But that pressure has failed to force Hamas into accepting the latest proposal.

UN warns of humanitarian catastrophe

The United Nations issued a dire warning over the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza, saying lifesaving supplies were nearing “total depletion” due to Israel’s block on aid.

More than 2 million people remain trapped in the besieged enclave, with mental health needs skyrocketing, critical infrastructure in ruins, and essential services on the brink of collapse, Stéphane Dujarric, spokesman for the UN Secretary-General, told a press briefing.

Dujarric said that nearly 90% of water infrastructure – including wells, pumping stations, and sewage plants – had been destroyed or damaged by hostilities, exacerbating disease risks and forcing families to rely on unsafe sources.

“Stress levels, particularly among children, are surging as violence and deprivation persist,” Dujarric said, emphasizing that Israel, as the occupying power, bears legal obligations under international law to ensure access to food, medical care, and public health services. The UN reiterated demands for urgent humanitarian access, warning that delays risk mass preventable deaths.

Israel launched its war on Hamas in Gaza in October 2023, following the militant group’s surprise attack on southern Israel that killed 1,200 people and saw 251 taken hostage, according to Israeli authorities.

More than 51,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the health ministry in the enclave.

A US citizen hijacked a small Tropic Air plane in Belize on Thursday at knifepoint, injuring three others before being shot and killed, police said.

The assailant pulled a knife while the plane was in air, demanding the domestic flight take him out of the country, Police Commissioner Chester Williams told journalists.

The hijacker was identified as US citizen Akinyela Sawa Taylor, Williams said, adding that it appeared Taylor was a military veteran.

The plane circled the airspace between northern Belize and capital Belize City as the hijacking was underway, and began to run dangerously low on fuel, the police commissioner said.

Taylor stabbed three people on board, according to Williams, including the pilot and a passenger who shot Taylor with a licensed firearm as the plane landed outside Belize City.

That passenger was rushed to the hospital, as was Taylor, who died from the gunshot wound.

Williams said that it was unclear how Taylor boarded the plane with a knife, though he acknowledged that the country’s smaller airstrips lacked security to fully search passengers.

The attacker had been denied entry to the country over the weekend, according to police. The plane had been due to fly the short route from Corozal near the Mexican border to San Pedro, off the coast. Police said it was unclear how Taylor reached Corozal.

Belizean authorities have reached out to the US embassy in the country for aid in investigating the incident. Luke Martin, public affairs officer for the embassy, told journalists that it had no details on Taylor’s background or motivation so far.

According to information released by the airport, Taylor was a teacher in the United States. He was listed online as previously being a football coach at the McCluer North High School in Florissant, Missouri.

An employee at the school told Reuters that Taylor did not currently work there.

A striking portrait of a young Palestinian boy who lost both arms in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City has been named Press Photo of the Year.

Photographer Samar Abu Elouf, who is also from Gaza, met nine-year-old Mahmoud Ajjour three months after an explosion severed one of his arms and mutilated the other. Ajjour and his family were evacuated to Doha, Qatar, where Abu Elouf is based, to receive medical treatment.

“One of the most difficult things Mahmoud’s mother explained to me was how, when Mahmoud first came to the realization that his arms were amputated, the first sentence he said to her was, ‘How will I be able to hug you?’” Abu Elouf wrote in her accompanying notes on the image, which was taken for and published in The New York Times.

The photo is a stark reminder of the long-term costs of the war in Gaza, which has killed tens of thousands and led to widespread destruction and displacement of its residents. The UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs estimates about half of those killed are women and children. Israel’s ongoing assault on Gaza was triggered by the deadly October 7 rampage by Hamas militants.

“This is a quiet photo that speaks loudly. It tells the story of one boy, but also of a wider war that will have an impact for generations,” said Joumana El Zein Khoury, executive director of World Press Photo, in a press statement.

The jury observed three central themes — conflict, migration, and climate change — in the entries this year, says Lucy Conticello, director of photography for Le Monde’s M magazine and one of the judges.

“Another way of seeing them is as stories of resilience, family, and community,” Conticello said in a press statement.

The contrast in the winning photo — light and dark, beauty and pain — captured the attention of the judges, she added.

The winning photo was selected from nearly 60,000 entries submitted by 3,778 photographers across more than 140 countries.

Two other works were selected as runners-up: an otherworldly image of Chinese migrants warming themselves by a fire after crossing the US-Mexico border, and a haunting image of a young man walking to his village, once accessible by boat, along a desert-like riverbed in the Amazon.

Winners were also selected for regional categories, including an ethereal image of a stranded Boeing jet surrounded by floodwaters at Salgado Filho International Airport in Brazil, and a groom at his wedding in Sudan.

The winning images are currently on display in a traveling exhibition, which opens today (April 18) in Amsterdam at De Nieuwe Kerk, followed by shows around the globe, including in London, Jakarta, Sydney and Mexico City.