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Ukrainian suspect hunted by police after Monaco bomb attack was ‘disguised as a man’
A Ukrainian woman identified as the main suspect for a parcel bombing in Monaco was “disguised as a man”, according to the city-state’s deputy prosecutor.
Anastasiia Berezovska, 39, is suspected of leaving a package in the entrance hall of an apartment building, before fleeing the scene on foot and then driving to Germany.
A sanctioned Ukrainian multi-millionaire, his partner and 13-year-old son are the reported victims of the attack, which left them seriously injured.
An Interpol Red Notice has been issued for Berezovska, who speaks German and is wanted for attempted murder, placing an explosive device on a public road with criminal intent, and criminal conspiracy.
A package was left at the property just before 21:00 local time (20:00 BST) on Monday, followed by an explosion shortly afterwards.
Monaco’s deputy prosecutor Morgan Raymond said investigators were also looking for possible accomplices as they continue to search for the suspect.
The explosion happened just as the three residents were entering the building on Monday evening.
Authorities in Monaco have not confirmed the victims’ identifies but according to local reports, the attack targeted Vadym Yermolaiev, his partner and his son. Yermolaiev, 58, is a wealthy real estate developer, who has been living in Monaco.
Officials believe Berezovska had spent some days casing out the residence.
Raymond said the suspect, pictured on CCTV cameras wearing a dark bucket hat, left the scene on foot after depositing the parcel but is then believed to have picked up a hire car and driven to Italy and on to Germany.
Photos of Berezovska released by Interpol show a woman with dark shoulder-length hair. She has a tattoo on her right arm which “possibly” depicts a snake, according to officers.
Interpol is not a police force itself, but helps forces across the world to co-operate. A Red Notice is an alert to all of its 196 member countries, asking them to locate and arrest a person.
Monaco’s public prosecutor Stephane Thibault thanked police from Monaco and France for their co-operation which made it possible “to identify, in a particularly short time, the person suspected of having carried out the attack”.
Meanwhile police in the state of Hesse, Germany, confirmed in a statement that special forces had searched the rented apartment of a 39-year-old Ukrainian woman in the Main-Taunus district on Thursday.
A vehicle she used was also searched and seized.
“Evidence has been secured and will be handed over to the Monegasque authorities. The Hessian security authorities are supporting the Monegasque authorities in their investigations and are in close contact with them,” the statement said.
“The woman being sought is currently on the run. An international arrest warrant has been issued.”
Prince Albert II of Monaco has described the incident as a “heinous crime”.
Authorities in Monaco have confirmed the three victims were treated in hospital. The adults were seriously wounded and taken to the Nice University Hospital (CHU), while the child, who suffered minor injuries, was admitted in a non-critical condition to the Lenval children’s hospital in Nice.
On Wednesday, the man was no longer in a life-or-death situation, but the woman’s condition had not yet stabilised, AFP news agency reported.
Yermolaiev, widely believed to be the presumed target of the blast, is a Cypriot citizen after renouncing his Ukrainian citizenship in 2019.
He has big interests in the wine and alcohol business in Russian-annexed Crimea, and since 2023 has been the subject of sanctions imposed by the government in Kyiv.
He was named the 39th richest Ukrainian by Forbes magazine in 2020, with a fortune of $230m (£173.8m).
[BBC]
Iran says it launched missiles at two US bases in Jordan following a US attack on Larak Island in southern Iran earlier on Sunday.
In a statement reported by Iranian news agencies on Sunday, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said the combined missile and drone operation, which it called “Punishment of the Aggressor”, hit the King Hussein and Al Azraq bases in Jordan.
The exchange of attacks is the first flare-up in violence between the two sides since late July.
The IRGC said the strikes “destroyed the technical and repair infrastructure, as well as the enemy fighter deployment sites”, inflicting significant damage.
Jordan reported intercepting eight missiles soon after the IRGC announced the attack.
“Air defence systems intercepted eight missiles that breached the Kingdom’s airspace at dawn today, Monday,” the Jordanian military said in a statement.
No injuries were reported at either base.
“Aggression and crimes will not solve the enemy’s desperation in attempting to weaken the Islamic Republic’s control over the Strait of Hormuz, and every attack will be met with even more devastating responses,” the IRGC statement said.
Tehran had promised to retaliate for Sunday’s US attack on Larak Island.
The strikes risk renewing the military confrontation as Washington shifts from its bombing campaign to a financial pressure strategy on Tehran, and as the US-Israel war on Iran enters its seventh month.
On Monday, the US military denied that its Sunday attacks were an “act of aggression”.
[Aljazeera]
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Sun directly overhead Neriyakulam, Punewa, Kebithigollewa, Pankulam and Sinhapura at about 12.10 noon today (31)
The sun is going to be directly over the latitudes of Sri Lanka from 28th of August to 07th of September due to its apparent southward relative motion.
The nearest places of Sri Lanka over which the sun is overhead today (31) are Neriyakulam, Punewa, Kebithigollewa, Pankulam and Sinhapura about 12.10 noon.
The United States has struck Larak Island in southern Iran in the first attack against the country since late July, a US official has confirmed to Al Jazeera.
Tehran vowed to retaliate for Sunday’s attack. The strikes risk renewing the military confrontation as the US shifts from the bombing campaign to a financial pressure strategy as the US-Israel war on Iran enters its seventh month
The US official said the strikes targeted launchers that were set to fire rockets carrying mines towards the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran’s Fars News Agency had reported that explosions were heard near the island. Later on Sunday, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) confirmed the attack by the “American-Zionist enemy”, saying that it resulted in the killing and injuring of several soldiers.
“This act will be responded to by the sons of Islamic Iran and will result in punishment of the aggressor,” the IRGC said in a statement.
In a statement shared by the news agency, IRGC spokesperson Sardar Mohebi accused the US of making “a strategic and fatal mistake”, for which it will pay consequences “in both the economic and military arenas”.
In recent weeks, the US has been claiming control over the strategic waterway, saying that it is managing to get millions of barrels of oil through the strait under its military protection even as Iran blockades the waterway.
Still, attacks on ships in Hormuz have been reported almost daily, and Iran has maintained that the strait is closed.
Sunday’s strikes show that the US is still willing to use military force despite the focus on sanctions to pressure Iran to make concessions over its nuclear programme and claims of control over Hormuz
(Aljazeera)
Iran attacks US bases in Jordan after US strikes Larak Island
Showers will occur in the Western, North-western and Sabaragamuwa provinces and in Galle, Matara, Kandy and Nuwara-Eliya districts.
Sun directly overhead Neriyakulam, Punewa, Kebithigollewa, Pankulam and Sinhapura at about 12.10 noon today (31)
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