Kate Connolly in Berlin

Wed 10 Jul 2019 05.00 BST

A group of more than 100 descendants of Jewish refugees who fled the Nazi regime are challenging the German government’s rejection of their applications to restore their citizenship.

Anyone who was deprived of their German citizenship during the 12 years of Nazi dictatorship on political, racial or religious grounds – as well as their descendants – is potentially eligible for its restoration, according to a clause enshrined in the country’s constitution.

But several hundred applicants, some of whom submitted claims from the UK after the EU referendum, have been turned down, most commonly on the basis that applications are only valid if citizenship has been passed through the father.

AOC to be sued after court rules Trump can’t block people on Twitter

After a federal court ruled Donald Trump could not constitutionally block people on Twitter, Democratic congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was threatened with a lawsuit for allegedly doing the same.

The court found Mr Trump’s blocking infringed on first amendment rights to free speech and that people had a right to see his posts, reply to his tweets, and send him messages.

The 2nd circuit court of appeals stated that because Mr Trump uses a non-private Twitter account to communicate with the public about his administration and its policies, blocking violated a constitutional free speech protection as it was deemed government discrimination against specific viewpoints.

Manila says first Filipino ‘suicide bomber’ behind last month’s attack

Philippine security forces confirmed Wednesday that at least one Filipino “suicide bomber” was behind a deadly attack last month, in a first for the Asian country.

Norman Lasuca and one other yet to be identified suspect blew themselves up outside a military camp on the remote southern island of Jolo on June 28 in an attack that also killed three soldiers and two civilians, the police and military said.

“We can now confirm… the incidence of the first suicide bombing in the Philippines, perpetrated by a Filipino in the person of Norman Lasuca,” military spokesman Brigadier General Edgard Arevalo told a news conference.

UN rapporteur urges US action over Khashoggi report

UN special rapporteur Agnes Callamard and Hatice Cengiz, the fiancee of slain journalist Jamal Khashoggi, have warned that democratic values worldwide would be at risk should Saudi Arabia escape accountability for his murder.

At an event in London on Tuesday evening, they called on the international community to act upon a report published by Callamard on June 19. Her six-month investigation concluded the disappearance of the Saudi journalist was a state killing, carried out by agents of Saudi Arabia using state resources.

High court nixes call to halt nuclear reactors in southwestern Japan

The Fukuoka High Court upheld Wednesday a lower court decision to reject a call by local residents to suspend operation of nuclear reactors in the southwestern Japan prefecture of Saga.

Some 170 residents had appealed the Saga District Court decision in 2017, seeking an injunction to halt the operation of the Nos. 3 and 4 reactors at the Genkai nuclear power plant run by Kyushu Electric Power Co, citing safety concerns.

The plaintiffs argued that the utility underestimates potential effects of seismic ground motion, a key factor in a reactor’s quake-resistance design, while degradation in piping could lead to serious accidents.