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A €157 million (£136 million) haul of cocaine was seized when an elite army unit stormed a cargo ship off the Irish coast. It is the largest drugs capture in Ireland’s history, police said. A total of 2,253 kg of cocaine was found on the Panamanian-registered vessel in a major joint agency operation off the south-east coast of Ireland on Tuesday. Members of the highly trained Army Ranger Wing descended from a helicopter onto the MV Matthew as it tried to sail out of Irish waters and evade capture. The elite unit boarded the ship after the Irish Naval Service’s patrol vessel, the LE William Butler Yeats, fired warning shots in its direction after it failed to obey orders. The vessel had been under surveillance since Friday when a multi-agency operation responded to intelligence of a major international drug smuggling operation. Speaking at a media briefing in Dublin on Wednesday, a senior member of the Irish police described the operation as “hugely significant”. Justin Kelly, Assistant Commissioner with An Garda Siochana, said: “I think it’s really important to note this is the largest drug seizure in the history of the state. “This is a hugely significant operation and it shows our unrelenting determination to disrupt and dismantle networks which are determined to bring drugs into our country. “These groups are transnational groups. They are working all across the world and, because of that, we need to work with our international partners.” He added: “This is a huge hit for the people involved in this.” ‘Murderous cartels’ Given the scale of the haul, Irish authorities do not believe the cocaine was solely destined for Ireland. They suspect the drugs were being transported from South America for distribution across Europe. The MV Matthew was escorted to Cork harbour on Tuesday. A fishing trawler that grounded off the coast of County Wicklow late on Sunday was also being monitored as part of the operation, amid suspicions it was en route to rendezvous with the cargo ship. The vessel remains stuck on a sandbank out at sea with poor conditions preventing the authorities from boarding and searching it. It will be treated as a crime scene when it is accessed, police said. Three people, aged 60, 50 and 31, arrested during the course of the operation, remained in custody in police stations in County Wexford on Wednesday. It has emerged that one of those arrested was medically evacuated off the MV Matthew before the military operation to seize it. About 25 remaining crew will be interviewed in Cork and police have said further arrests may follow. The operation involved the Defence Forces, customs officers and the Irish police’s national drugs and organised crime unit. Mr Kelly said the cocaine on the ship originated in South America. “This product was supplied by a South American cartel, one of the murderous cartels that are behind cocaine shipments into Europe,” he said. “A shipment like this into Europe is partly destined for the Irish market. “Obviously, with the size and intelligence we have, we know the organised crime group behind this comprises a number of different elements across Europe.” Asked if those on the cargo ship had tried to dispose of the cocaine by burning it or throwing it overboard, Mr Kelly said more information on this would be provided in the coming days. He said such a large shipment would not have entered the state’s waters without the involvement of an Irish gang. He said there are a number of gangs in Ireland with “direct links to South America”. “There is no large ship like this coming into our waters or our ports or transiting across our country, without an Irish organised criminal group involved in it. “There is an increase in the amount of cocaine available for a number of geopolitical reasons in South America. There is basically a glut of cocaine on the market,” he said. “And when you combine that with the increased consumption across Europe, Europe is now the biggest market for cocaine in the world. “So when you combine those two things together, absolutely, it’s inevitable that we’re going to see organised criminal groups trying to leverage on that, make more money from it, as they always do in situations like this. “It’s inevitable that we’ll see more large shipments.” He said increased large shipments had also been seen in Antwerp and Rotterdam. ‘Great deal of skill’ Commander Tony Geraghty, fleet operations officer of the Irish Naval Service, explained why warning shots were fired at the cargo vessel before the boarding operation. “The merchant ship refused to follow the instructions of our own ship,” he said. “So this was prior to the insertion of the Army Ranger Wing. “There was an escalated use of force used to compel the vessel to follow the instructions of the ship’s captain.” Cdr Geraghty said it had been an extremely complex joint operation involving the Naval Service, the Air Corps, the Army Ranger Wing and Defence Forces headquarters. He said the poor weather made the fast rope aerial boarding more complex. He said there was no evidence of the crew being armed when the Army Rangers boarded and took control of the vessel. “This ship is very large, she’s 190 metres long, with an exceptionally high freeboard. So very difficult to get on,” he added. He said a “great deal of skill” was demonstrated by the Army Ranger Wing and helicopter pilot during high winds. Read More British Airways pilot sacked and banned from cockpit after cocaine binge before flight UK’s first drug consumption room enabling supervised injection approved Teacher arrested after students find meth stash inside hair scrunchie during ‘family fun night’ Cocaine haul worth 157 million euro is biggest drug seizure in Ireland’s history Suspected cocaine worth 157 million euro found in Ireland’s biggest drug seizure ‘Danger to life’ warning activated in Britain - live

By Jan Strupczewski BRUSSELS Euro zone governments will try to bolster their public finances next year by withdrawing

Russia might join China in banning seafood from Japan over the Fukushima water release, a Russian regulatory authority indicated on Tuesday. Russian food safety watchdog Rosselkhoznadzor said that it had discussed the issue of food exports with its Chinese counterparts. “Taking into account the possible risks of radiation contamination of products, Rosselkhoznadzor is considering the possibility of joining with Chinese restrictions on supplies of fish products from Japan,” the watchdog said in a statement. “The final decision will be made after negotiations with the Japanese side.” Last month, Japan started the discharge of water from the Fukushima nuclear plant into the ocean, a move that sparked intense condemnation from China. In response, China implemented a ban on all seafood imports from Japan. Russia, one of the major suppliers of marine products to China, is actively pursuing opportunities to expand its market share in the region. So far this year, Russia has imported 118 tonnes of Japanese seafood, the regulator said. In response to the announcement by Russia, the top Japanese government spokesperson, Hirokazu Matsuno said on Wednesday that Japan will carefully examine the matter. “We strongly ask Russia to act based on scientific evidence,” Mr Matsuno told the media. He added that Russia was a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Fukushima expert team. “In addition to this, we received an IAEA report made with the participation of international experts, including from Russia.” Rosselkhoznadzor has reached out to Japan, urging both nations to start negotiations and requesting information regarding Japan’s radiological testing procedures for exported fish products, which includes assessing tritium levels. They have set a deadline of 16 October for this information to be provided, local media said. Meanwhile, late last week, US ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel accused China of using “economic coercion” against Japan. He said: “Economic coercion is the most persistent and pernicious tool in their economic toolbox. “China is engaged right now in fishing in Japan’s economic waters while they are simultaneously engaged in the unilateral embargo on Japan’s fish,” Mr Emanuel said. Earlier this month, it was reported that fishermen and residents from Fukushima, along with people from five other prefectures along Japan’s northeastern coast, filed a lawsuit seeking an immediate cessation of the ongoing release of treated radioactive wastewater from the damaged Fukushima nuclear plant into the ocean. In the lawsuit, the 151 plaintiffs, two-thirds from Fukushima and the rest from Tokyo and four other prefectures, say the discharge damages the livelihoods of the fishing community and violates residents’ right to live peacefully, their lawyers said. Additional reporting with agencies Read More South Korean court denies arrest warrant for opposition leader Lee in corruption allegations Japan's troubled Toshiba to delist after takeover by Japanese consortium succeeds Nuisance calls, spying and misinformation: How China is ‘harassing’ Japan over Fukushima The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary The harrowing discovery at centre of The Independent’s new documentary

Black Sea fleet commander Viktor Sokolov has appeared in a second video aired on Russian TV, days after Ukraine claimed he was killed in a missile strike on Sevastopol. A TV station run by Russia’s defence ministry showed an interview with the commander on Wednesday saying the fleet was performing successfully, although it was unclear from his comments whether the clip was filmed after Ukraine’s missile strike on 22 September. Ukraine’s special forces said on Monday that Mr Sokolov and 33 other officers were killed in the missile strike carried out on the Black Sea Fleet’s headquarters in Crimea. The new video comes after Russia’s defence ministry released another clip on Tuesday, appearing to show Mr Sokolov on a video conference call with Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu. It also remains unclear when this video was recorded. Ukraine is now saying it is working to “clarify” earlier reports that he had died. Russia has not yet directly confirmed or denied the claims. Read More Viktor Sokolov seen for second time in newly emerged video as he claims Russia’s Black Sea Fleet ‘performing successfully’ New video of ‘dead’ Russian Black Sea fleet commander raises doubts over Ukraine’s claim Hillary Clinton mocks Putin over Nato expansion: ‘Too bad, Vladimir. You brought it on yourself’ Ukrainian forces ‘enjoy success’ near Bakhmut as Putin deploys reserves

A second video of the Black Sea fleet commander and Russian top general, Viktor Sokolov, was shown on Russian TV on Wednesday, raising doubts over Ukraine’s claim that they ‘killed’ him in Sevastopol attack. A television station run by Russia’s defence ministry showed a video interview with Black Sea Fleet commander Viktor Sokolov on Wednesday, days after Ukraine claimed he had been killed in a missile strike on Russian navy headquarters in Crimea. In the video, Sokolov says the Black Sea Fleet is performing successfully. It was unclear from his comments whether the clip was filmed after Ukraine’s missile strike on Sept 22, Reuters reports. Ukraine’s special forces said on Monday that Russian admiral Viktor Sokolov and 33 other officers were killed in a missile strike carried out on the Black Sea Fleet’s headquarters in Sevastopol in Crimea on Friday. The new video comes after Russia’s defence ministry released another video on Tuesday, appearing to show Sokolov on a video conference call with Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu. It remains unclear when the video was recorded. Ukraine now says it is working to “clarify” earlier reports and Russia has not yet directly confirmed or denied the claims. Read More New video of ‘dead’ Russian Black Sea fleet commander raises doubts over Ukraine’s claim Hillary Clinton mocks Putin over Nato expansion: ‘Too bad, Vladimir. You brought it on yourself’ Ukrainian forces ‘enjoy success’ near Bakhmut as Putin deploys reserves A hard-right party gathers strength in Poland, pushing a new, less friendly course on Ukraine

The UK’s controversial Rosebank oil and gas development has received the go-ahead, despite objections from climate groups. Equinor

A top Russian naval officer who Ukraine claimed was killed in a missile strike has been seen in a new video released by Russia, sparking confusion among the war-hit country’s officials. Ukraine’s special forces on Monday had claimed Russian admiral Viktor Sokolov and 33 other officers were killed in a missile strike carried out on the Black Sea Fleet’s headquarters in Sevastopol in Crimea. The video released by Russia’s defence ministry on Tuesday, however, showed Black Sea Fleet commander Sokolov appearing on a video conference call with Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu. It remains unclear when the video was recorded. While it is not clear how Ukraine counted casualties in the Sevastopol operation, Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to Ukraine’s minister of internal affairs, had earlier posted the admiral’s name and photo on social media. Ukraine now says it is working to “clarify” earlier reports. Russia has not issued any direct rebuttal of Ukraine’s claims, which is consistent with its stance of maintaining silence on significant battlefield losses. “As is known, 34 officers were killed as a result of a missile attack on the headquarters of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation. Available sources claim that among the dead was the commander of the Russian Army. Many still have not been identified due to the disparity of body fragments,” Ukraine’s special forces said on their official Telegram channel. “Since the Russians were urgently forced to publish an answer with an apparently alive Sokolov, our units are clarifying the information,” it said. The video from Tuesday showed defence minister Shoigu talking about a drill he claimed Russia’s Pacific fleet had completed a day earlier, as several top officers appeared on a big screen in the room. Admiral Sokolov is also seen in a video screen but in a different location, with only a flag seen in the backdrop behind him. He is also not heard speaking in the video. While this appears to be a signal from Moscow that the admiral is still alive, Russia has not released any details to prove when the video conference took place. In its earlier update on the Sevastopol strike, Ukraine’s special forces said the air force fired 12 missiles on the Black Sea Fleet headquarters as it targeted areas where personnel, military equipment and weapons were concentrated. Two anti-aircraft missile systems and four Russian artillery units were hit, special forces said. It was a rare direct claim of responsibility from Ukraine for an attack on either Russian soil or a target in Crimea, which Russia has occupied since its illegal annexation in 2014. Moscow-installed authorities in Sevastopol are reported to be taking extra defensive measures in the face of Ukraine’s increased attacks on Crimea in recent days. Sevastopol is a critical region providing a platform from which Russia has launched many of its air attacks on Ukraine in the 19-month-long war. Read More Russia remains silent as Ukraine claims Black Sea Fleet commander among 34 officers killed Putin’s Black Sea fleet commander ‘killed in navy attack’ as Ukraine breakthrough triggers ‘panic’ Russia’s Lavrov rubbishes Ukraine peace plan and warns conflict will be resolved on battlefield Ukraine-Russia war – live: Putin planning new ‘assault units’ despite Moscow’s ‘mobilisation issues’

Hillary Clinton mocked Vladimir Putin on Tuesday for his concerns about Nato’s expansion and said the Russian president “brought it on himself” with his invasion of Ukraine. "Defending democracy in Ukraine, expanding Nato – just as an aside, too bad Vladimir, you brought it on yourself," the former US secretary of state said, prompting laughter and applause. Ms Clinton was speaking at the State Department where she unveiled her official portrait and addressed current and former officials in the ornate Benjamin Franklin State Dining room. "We always said, ‘people are not forced to join Nato. People choose and want to join Nato,’" she added. The top leader also took shots at the policies of Republican former president Donald Trump, who defeated her in the 2016 US presidential election. She added that there may have been questions raised on Washington’s ability to gather support for its aid for Ukraine to fend off Russian invasion due to Mr Trump’s legacy of alienating allies. "People might have doubted that because we had burned so many bridges with our allies and our friends," she said. "Reinstating a foreign policy... that actually brings people to us, not pushes them away, would have been thought to be extremely difficult. And indeed it was, but it was accomplished," she said and thanked her successor secretary of state Antony Blinken for "helping to restore America’s standing". Ms Clinton said the current Biden administration pursued many of the priorities of the Obama administration, in which she was the top US diplomat. Talking about the common Biden and Obama priorities, she described the mutual concerns of "expanding Nato, facing down Russian aggression and managing the challenges from China" as she took a dig at the Russian president who has long complained of Nato’s expansion in Europe and blamed it as a motive for his invasion of Ukraine. The top former official joked that it had been a long time since she had seen the portrait, which depicted her gazing into the distance against the backdrop of an enlarged American flag. "Between Covid, between not wanting to finish it during the prior administration," she said with a meaningful glance at the audience, drawing laughter, "it’s been a while. And I am going to be probably as surprised as all of you". Read More Ukraine-Russia war – live: Putin planning new ‘assault units’ despite Moscow’s ‘mobilisation issues’ Ukrainian forces ‘enjoy success’ near Bakhmut as Putin deploys reserves Hillary Clinton makes quip about Trump administration as her portrait is unveiled Donald Trump’s play for union votes leaves the GOP in a confusing spot once again

A senior executive at Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, which owns a larger share of global stocks than any

Ukrainian troops “enjoyed success” in villages near Bakhmut, a key town seized by Russian forces in May after some of the heaviest fighting in the 19-month-old war. Ilia Yevlash, spokesperson for Ukraine’s forces in the east, told national television that Russia trained fire on Ukrainian soldiers 580 times on this front and used aircraft four times. “On the southern flank, we continue the offensive operation. In particular, we have had successes near Zaitseve, Klishchiivka, Odradivka and Ivanivske. There, our defenders continue to knock out the enemy. Under heavy fire, they are holding the defence and consolidating positions,” he said during the 24/7 national forecast. The Ukrainian army killed 141 Russian troops and destroyed several pieces of Russian artillery equipment, the spokesperson said. On the southern front, Russian forces were bringing in reserves as Ukrainian troops dug in and were poised to move on the village of Verbove as part of their advance to the Sea of Azov, said Oleksandr Shtupun, a spokesperson for the troops in the south. "I believe we will soon have good news," the spokesperson said. The battlefield’s “loud” successes were cheered on by president Volodymyr Zelensky in his nightly address who confirmed damage to Russian logistics and headquarters. “The first is the actual situation at the front, our offensive and defensive operations. Important reports on the east and south. On the destruction of logistics and headquarters of the occupiers. There are good details. Loud details. I thank all the Ukrainian warriors who distinguished themselves!” he said on Tuesday evening. While Russian forces aimed their strikes on Ukraine’s grain exporting district, Kyiv’s forces also struck back on Monday and Tuesday with a growing number of attacks inside Russia and Russian-occupied Crimea. The governor of Russia’s Kursk region said power had been cut off to about seven settlements in the latest reported attack. Russia’s defence ministry said a drone had been destroyed over the Kursk region at around 5.30 am local time. Ukraine fired its counteroffensive operations in early June and is gradually progressing with gains in eastern and southern Ukraine where Russian forces have managed to breach the territory. But Ukrainian troops have targeted these regions in its bid to push back Russian soldiers off its territory. After a grinding slow start in June, Ukraine has reported a chain of success in recapturing its settlements and villages in Bakhmut, Zaporizhzhia and southern regions as it continues to move through heavily mined and destroyed towns and cities. Read More Ukraine-Russia war – live: Putin planning new ‘assault units’ despite Moscow’s ‘mobilisation issues’ Destruction in Ukraine’s eastern village of Klishchiivka captured in aerial footage Explosions from Russian drone attack on Odesa region seen from ferry on Danube Russia tries to rejoin UN Human Rights Council

They claim governments' slow action on climate change violates their human rights.

Asian stocks look set to follow Wall Street lower as investors contemplate a protracted period of higher interest