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A groom in Thailand shot four people dead at his own wedding – including the bride – before turning the gun on himself. 

Former soldier and para-athlete Chaturong Suksuk, 29, killed his wife Kanchana Pachunthuek, 44, hours after they were married.

He abruptly left the wedding party late on Saturday and returned with a gun, according to reports by local media.

He shot dead the bride’s mother and younger sister, along with a wedding guest. Another guest was seriously injured, according to the Bangkok Post.

Guests noticed the groom did not look happy at the party, local media reported.

Chaturong “was quite intoxicated at the time”, police told the BBC, saying his motive remained unclear.

He had bought the gun and ammunition legally last year, they added.

It was also reported Chaturong felt insecure about the 15-year age gap between him and his wife, but police told the BBC this was still speculation.

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Officers told the Bangkok Post eleven bullets were found at the scene of the shooting, which took place in Wang Nam Khieo district.

Chaturong was a former soldier who became disabled after one of his legs was run over by a train and cut off, according to police.

He won a silver medal in swimming at the Asean Para Games in Indonesia last year.

He was also on the list of athletes competing in the World Abilitysport Games in Thailand next month, local media reported.

Gujarat is not unfamiliar with rain-related calamities but big rainstorms are not expected in the state during winter months.

Twenty-four people have died by lightning strikes and about 23 injured in rain-related incidents in the western Indian state of Gujarat over the past two days, government officials say, with rains continuing on Monday morning.

The state was hit by heavy rainfall accompanied by thunderstorms and hailstorms on Sunday and Monday, with some places receiving up to 144mm (5.7 inches) of rain in the 24 hours ending Monday morning, according to state government data.

The rains caused damage to houses and loss of cattle across the state. At least 40 animals were also killed.

“We will begin a survey soon to assess the loss suffered,” Gujarat Agriculture Minister Raghavji Patel said on Monday, adding that compensation will be paid to victims on the basis of the survey’s results.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast rainfall to continue in parts of the state on Monday.

Federal Home Minister Amit Shah, who along with Prime Minister Narendra Modi hails from Gujarat, said he was “deeply saddened” by the deaths, in a post on social media platform X.

Gujarat is not unfamiliar with rain-related calamities, but such big rainstorms are not expected in the state during winter months, and fierce downpours caught many off guard.

In August 2020, 14 people died in the state over just two days in various incidents related to heavy rains and flooding. A year previously, in August 2019, 31 people died in the state in rain-related incidents.

While flash floods and lightning kill dozens of people in India each year, scientists warn that rising global temperatures are unleashing a cascade of extreme weather events.

More than 100 climate change activists have been arrested in Australia after a two-day blockade of the world’s largest coal port.

Climate activist group Rising Tide, which organised the action at the Port of Newcastle on Australia’s east coast, said around 1,500 people were at the protest.

Hundreds of them swam in the water or were in kayaks as they carried out a 30-hour blockade which ran until 4pm local time on Sunday (5am UK time).

Around 300 of the protesters were in the shipping channel at the port.

A Port of Newcastle spokesperson said on Saturday: “At present, due to the number of people currently in the shipping channel, all shipping movements have ceased due to safety concerns, irrespective of the cargo they are carrying or intend to load.”

Rising Tide called the blockade the “biggest act of civil disobedience for climate in Australia’s history”.

New South Wales Police said officers arrested 109 people after 4pm on Sunday when a “Form 1 relating to an authorised assembly in the Port of Newcastle expired”.

The force said in a statement: “Police will allege in court that a number of protesters purposely entered the harbour channel after this time despite appropriate warnings and directions by police.”

Police said 49 men and 60 women were arrested, with five juveniles among those detained.

Following the action after 4pm on Sunday, Rising Tide organiser Alexa Stuart had said more than 100 people, with the youngest being 15 and the oldest 97, were still on the water and risking arrest.

It is not clear if the 97-year-old, Revered Alan Stuart, was among those arrested.

He said of the blockade: “I am doing this for my grandchildren and future generations because I don’t want to leave them a world full of increasingly severe and frequent climate disasters.

“I am so sorry that they will have to suffer the consequences of our inaction. So, I think it is my duty to do what I can and to stand up for what I know is right.”

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Ms Stuart has said Rising Tide wants the Australian government of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to “say no to new coal projects” and agree to “tax coal exports at 75% to fund the transition” to cleaner fuel sources.

She added in a statement: “If the government will not take action on climate change the people will use civil disobedience. We wish we did not have to do this, but the Albanese government needs to understand we are serious.”

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Climate change is a divisive issue in Australia, the world’s biggest exporter of thermal coal behind Indonesia, and the top
exporter of coking coal, used to make steel.https://news.sky.com/topic/australia-4608

The Port of Newcastle, 105 miles (some 170 km) from New South Wales state capital Sydney, is the largest bulk shipping port on the east coast and Australia’s largest terminal for coal exports, according to the state government.

Russia has put the communications director of social media company Meta on a wanted list, it has been revealed, amid Moscow’s announcement of new media restrictions ahead of next year’s presidential election.

Andy Stone, a spokesperson of US tech giant Meta Platforms Inc, the parent company of Instagram and Facebook, is wanted on unspecified criminal charges, Russian news wires reported late on Sunday, referring to an Interior Ministry database.

Russia added Meta to its list of “terrorists and extremist” organisations last year. The list includes right-wing nationalist groups; foreign “terrorist organisations,” including the Taliban; and Russian opposition groups. The classification means Russians using Facebook and Instagram could face possible criminal charges.

According to Mediazona, an independent news website that covers Russia’s opposition and prison system, Stone was put on the wanted list in February 2022, but authorities made no related statements at the time and no news media reported on the matter until this week.

In April 2022, Russia also formally barred Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg from entering the country.

Ban over insults

Russia’s row with Meta started with its invasion of Ukraine, as users from both sides of the war voiced their unfiltered emotions on the platforms.

Stone, at that time, announced temporary changes to Meta’s hate speech policy to allow for “forms of political expression that would normally violate [its] rules, like violent speech such as ‘death to the Russian invaders’”.

In the same statement, Stone added that “credible calls for violence against Russian civilians” would remain banned.

In late March, Russia banned Facebook and Instagram for “carrying out extremist activities” after authorities accused Meta of tolerating “Russophobia”.

Facebook and Instagram have been inaccessible in Russia since, but many Russians resorted to using VPNs to keep using the social media networks.

Instagram is particularly popular in Russia and is an important platform for advertisement and sales.

Earlier this month, Russian President Vladimir Putin approved changes to a law that will curtail media coverage of next year’s presidential election, according to local news agencies.

To enforce this ban, the Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media also reportedly plans to block certain virtual private networks (VPNs) that Russians widely use to bypass internet restrictions.