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Police relied on showing photo of Paulo Alberto da Silva Costa, wrongly jailed for years, to victims to identify him as an alleged perpetratorPaulo Alberto da Silva Costa was having a regular day at work as a doorman in Rio de Janeiro when he was arrested in 2020. It was only then that he learned he was a suspect in 62 crimes: almost all were thefts, but there were also two homicide charges. Costa spent three years behind bars before Brazil’s supreme court recognised that it had all been a mistake.There was one common element: every case relied solely on the fact that a witness or victim had been shown a photograph of Costa, and identified him as the alleged perpetrator. Continue reading...

The director of the U.N. World Food Program says that some governments are hesitant to boost funding for urgent humanitarian needs in Syria under the country's new interim rulers after the fall of former President Bashar Assad

A town in Poland is encouraging Elon Musk to buy its vast 13th-century castle and turn it into his European headquarters

A well-known Moroccan activist who led protests decrying the government’s earthquake response was sentenced to prison in a case that human rights advocates condemned as politically motivated

Spain is planning a raft of measures to address its brewing housing crisis, including an up to 100% tax on properties that non-European Union residents buy

In today’s newsletter: Kyiv’s interrogation footage of captured North Korean soldiers leads to questions about what it might do with the soldiers – and what the PoWs might do for themGood morning. In a grinding war where significant changes at the front are hard to discern, a video released by Ukraine on Sunday is a rare point of focus: it featured two North Korean soldiers, answering questions from their Ukrainian captors, and weighing the circumstances of their presence in a conflict thousands of miles from home.The video is, perhaps, not militarily significant. But it is a unique insight into one of the more extraordinary aspects of a conflict that has drawn in actors from all over the world, and is a crucible in which every participant is learning how modern wars are fought.Economy | Rachel Reeves will remain as chancellor until the next general election, Keir Starmer has insisted, as he warned the Treasury would be “ruthless” over public spending cuts to help meet the government’s fiscal rules.Gaza | Joe Biden has said his administration is on the brink of sealing a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas that could pause the war after more than 14 months of fighting. Biden administration officials have said they believe the deal may be concluded before Donald Trump’s inauguration next week.US politics | Donald Trump would have been convicted of crimes over his failed attempt to cling to power in 2020 if he had not won the presidential election in 2024, according to the special counsel who investigated him. Jack Smith’s report detailing his team’s findings about Trump’s efforts to subvert democracy was released early on Tuesday.UK news | A man accused of driving a young mother to suicide through domestic violence has been found guilty of assault and prolonged controlling behaviour but cleared of her manslaughter. Ryan Wellings, 30, was blamed from “beyond the grave” for the death of his partner, Kiena Dawes. Read more about the case.‘Forever chemicals’ | The cost of cleaning up toxic forever chemical pollution could reach more than £1.6tn across the UK and Europe over a 20-year period, an annual bill of £84bn, research has found. PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are used in everything from cosmetics to nonstick pans but are almost indestructible without human intervention.[It is] unclear if North Korea will even claim the two captured soldiers as their own, given Moscow and Pyongyang’s refusal to officially admit that North Korean forces have been deployed to Russia. At the same time, Russia could claim them as their own and hand them over to North Korea after they are traded with Ukrainian PoWs. Continue reading...

First of five hearings into martial law declaration lasts only minutes, while Yoon Suk Yeol remains holed up inside his presidential compoundThe first hearing in the impeachment trial of South Korea’s suspended president, Yoon Suk Yeol, ended after just a few minutes on Tuesday as Yoon failed to appear at the constitutional court.The court’s justices have about five months to decide whether to strip Yoon of his presidential duties over his short-lived declaration of martial law on 3 December or return him to office. Continue reading...

Rescuers have sent a cage-like structure into one of South Africa’s deepest gold mines to bring out survivors among hundreds of illegal miners trapped for months in an abandoned shaft