Israeli jets have launched a substantial strike on targets in Syria, killing at least 25 people, according to an opposition war monitor that said it was one of the most violent such attacks in years.

The main target appeared to be a military research centre in Masyaf associated with Syria’s chemical and ballistic missiles programme, but explosions were also heard in Damascus, Homs and Tartus. Syrian state media had put the death toll at 16 with 40 wounded.

The attack on Sunday night struck targets associated with pro-Iranian militias as well as the “scientific research facility” near Hama, reportedly run by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards.

The facility was one of several the International Atomic Energy Agency reportedly asked for access to following the 2007 destruction in airstrikes of Syria’s suspected al-Kibar nuclear reactor on the Euphrates. Israel confirmed in 2018 its forces had been responsible.

The Syrian foreign ministry condemned the attacks as an act of blatant aggression but there was no immediate comment from the Israeli military. Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes on targets inside government-controlled parts of war-torn Syria in recent years, but it rarely acknowledges or discusses the operations. The strikes often target Syrian forces or Iranian-backed groups.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor, described the Sunday night strike as “one of the most violent Israeli attacks” in Syria in years and said it was carried out with 14 missiles. It said among the people killed were “five civilians, four soldiers and intelligence personnel and 13 Syrians working with pro-Iran groups”.

The Israeli strikes, it said, “targeted the scientific research area in Masyaf […] destroying buildings and military centres” and sites “where pro-Iran groups and weapons development experts are stationed”.

The observatory’s head, Rami Abdel Rahman, said Iranian experts “developing arms including precision missiles and drones” worked in Masyaf. At least four of those who were killed were reported to be civilians.

Israel has vowed to stop Iranian entrenchment in Syria, particularly since Syria is a key route for Iran to send weapons to the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah that has been clashing with Israel over its northern border for the past 11 months against the backdrop of the Gaza war.

Israeli raids on Iranian-backed militia targets in Syria surged after 7 October attacks by Hamas on Israeli civilians and soldiers that triggered the Gaza conflict, then eased somewhat after a strike on 1 April blamed on Israel hit the Iranian consular building in Damascus. That attack, the most high-profile attack on Syria since the war in Gaza began, killed seven military advisers, including three senior commanders, according to Iran.

Israel has also struck Syrian army air defences and some Syrian forces.

A Syrian military source confirmed the Sunday night attack to the Sana news agency. “At around 23:20 on Sunday evening, the Israeli enemy launched an air aggression from the direction of north-western Lebanon, targeting a number of military sites in the central region [of Syria],” the source said.

“Our air defence systems confronted the aggression’s missiles and shot down some of them,” the source added, without providing further details.

Syria’s state media also reported that the strikes caused two fires, which firefighters were working to extinguish.

Condemning the attack, Nasser Kanani, spokesperson for the Iranian foreign ministry, told a media briefing: “We strongly condemn this criminal attack by the Zionist regime on Syrian soil.”

Syria has sought to stay out of the Israel-Hamas conflict that has raised fears of a broader regional war across the Middle East.

Masyaf was also targeted by Israel in 2017 amid repeated claims that it was used to store short-range surface-to-surface missiles and chemical munitions.

Donald Trump’s campaign is most concerned going into the debate against Kamala Harris with the former president’s mood, afraid that the mercurial Trump could engage in the kind of self-sabotage that turned off voters in the 2020 presidential election, according to people familiar with the situation.

The campaign’s internal refrain is whether they get “happy Trump” or “angry Trump”, the people said, as they count down the days to perhaps the final presidential debate this cycle.

Tuesday night’s televised debate is widely seen as a crux moment in the rebooted 2024 campaign. Since Joe Biden dropped out of the race after a campaign-killing debate performance crystalized fears over his age and mental acuity, Harris has turned the race on its head.

But Harris’s upward trajectory appears to have crested and Trump’s advisers have been looking at the debate as their best chance to retake the momentum after weeks of being humped out of the news cycle. Their hope, the people said, is to get the Trump who was fast on his feet during the debate against Biden.

Their concern is getting angry Trump. If Trump becomes frustrated on the stage, it could bring out his worst instincts to make ad hominem insults in the vein of recent attacks on Harris that have turned increasingly personal and extreme to the extent that is has exasperated some of his own supporters.

Trump has struggled historically with Black women in positions of power, and the campaign is bracing for him not to repeat recent comments that questioned Harris’s race or openly misogynistic comments, and more broadly, if he launches into lengthy and rambling diatribes that have become a feature of his rallies.

The anxiety over Trump’s mood on the day reflects the reality that the campaign has been looking at the debate as the best opportunity for Trump to try and reset the race after playing defense against Harris for weeks – and the risks of doing so.

Trump’s senior advisers continue to insist that they are pursuing multiple strategies against Harris, but the true picture that has emerged is that their game plan currently consists of hoping Trump wins the debate to gain back momentum.

That campaign strategy – or lackthereof – betrays the serious predicament for Trump and his campaign as he struggles to find ways to land effective attacks against Harris less than two months before the election.

What has happened internally in the Trump campaign in recent weeks is the realization that nothing they did in the period up to the debate cut through in a significant way that blunted Harris’s gains that have her level in key swing state polls, the Guardian has previously reported.

Trump has had some success in cutting through the news cycle in recent weeks, including when he took over headlines after the Democratic national convention when Robert F Kennedy Jr gave his endorsement to the Republican nominee.

But the reality is that good news for Trump has mostly been in short supply and his own vice-presidental pick, Ohio senator JD Vance, has done little but create negative headlines. Meanwhile, Harris’s pick of Minnesota governor Tim Walz has been warmly received by Democrats and cemented the idea that Harris now leads a united and rejuvenated Democratic party.

With Trump struggling to frame the narrative against Harris, the general posture inside campaign leadership is to write off the regular programming that won’t change the race – and look to a debate that might.

The pivot to praying Trump does well at the debate could work. Trump can be a tough opponent, and has knocked opponents back in 2016 and 2020 with an avalanche of disorientating false claims.

The campaign also feels that Trump can use the debate as an opportunity to get across to a national primetime audience his messaging points criticizing Harris on policy – accusing Harris of allowing waves of illegal immigrants and not cracking down on crime – that have so far not broken through.

As the reasoning goes, even if the television networks decline to air Trump’s rallies or remarks criticizing Harris day-to-day, they will be forced to air Trump and his attack lines when he has the floor.

Trump’s advisers have also been buoyed by the fact that microphones will be muted when it is not a candidate’s turn to speak, believing it defangs Harris in being able to fact-check him in real time and in her ability to make quips of her own.

The Princess of Wales has said she is doing what she can to “stay cancer free” after completing chemotherapy treatment and is planning to return to limited public engagements in the coming months.

In a video message released by Kensington Palace on Monday, Catherine said she was relieved that her course of preventive chemotherapy was over after an “incredibly tough” and “scary” nine months for her and her family.

“Doing what I can to stay cancer free is now my focus,” she said.

The princess added that her “path to healing and full recovery is long and I must continue to take each day as it comes”. She referred to “stormy waters” and an unknown road ahead.

Catherine had begun working from home on some projects and would return to a “light programme of external engagements for the remainder of the year”, the palace said.

The princess’s statement said: “As the summer comes to an end, I cannot tell you what a relief it is to have finally completed my chemotherapy treatment.

“The last nine months have been incredibly tough for us as a family. Life as you know it can change in an instant and we have had to find a way to navigate the stormy waters and road unknown.

“The cancer journey is complex, scary and unpredictable for everyone, especially those closest to you. With humility, it also brings you face to face with your own vulnerabilities in a way you have never considered before, and with that, a new perspective on everything.

“This time has above all reminded William and me to reflect and be grateful for the simple yet important things in life, which so many of us often take for granted. Of simply loving and being loved.

“Doing what I can to stay cancer free is now my focus. Although I have finished chemotherapy, my path to healing and full recovery is long and I must continue to take each day as it comes.

“I am, however, looking forward to being back at work and undertaking a few more public engagements in the coming months when I can.

“Despite all that has gone before, I enter this new phase of recovery with a renewed sense of hope and appreciation of life. William and I are so grateful for the support we have received and have drawn great strength from all those who are helping us at this time.

“Everyone’s kindness, empathy and compassion has been truly humbling.

“To all those who are continuing their own cancer journey – I remain with you, side by side, hand in hand. Out of darkness, can come light, so let that light shine bright.”

The palace released a three-minute video featuring William and the couple’s three children taking walks and playing games. It was filmed last month on a beach in Norfolk, according to a Kensington Palace spokesperson.

Catherine revealed in March that she had been diagnosed with cancer, in a video message to the nation. Her news came shortly after her father-in-law, King Charles, had disclosed that he was also being treated for cancer. The king has since resumed some public engagements.

On Monday, Kensington Palace declined to give further details about the princess’s illness and treatment, citing her right to medical privacy.

The palace will not provide advance information about Catherine’s public engagements, but she is expected to undertake a handful as part of a gradual return to public duties.

She is likely to be supporting the Prince of Wales at the Cenotaph on Remembrance Sunday in November. She is also working on a carol service to take place in December.

Decisions about the princess’s public engagements next year are expected to be taken in line with medical advice.

The princess’s openness about her diagnosis and treatment, and her frankness about the emotional challenges she, her husband and children have faced, have been praised by experts in the cancer field.

It was the talk of the town. After the authorities sought to break a long-running heatwave in Chongqing by using cloud-seeding missiles to artificially bring rain, the Chinese megacity was blasted by an unusual weather event – an underwear storm.

Termed “the 9/2 Chongqing underwear crisis”, an unexpected windstorm on Monday brought gusts of up to 76mph (122km/h), scattering people’s laundry from balconies on the city’s high-rises. Douyin, China’s sister app to TikTok, was filled with videos of pants and bras flying through the skies, landing in the street and snagging on trees.

“I just went out and it suddenly started to rain heavily and underwear fell from the sky,” one resident, Ethele, posted on the social media platform Weibo.

“Who’s going to compensate me for my emotional damage?” joked one person who lost their brand new Calvin Klein set.

Another countered: “It’s actually quite romantic. You might even pick up your crush’s underwear while taking a walk on the street.”

One man bereft of his underwear said he was “laughing like crazy” but the rain storm in Chongqing had now turned him into a “lifelong introvert”.

Chongqing and the surrounding region had been sweltering for more than a week in extreme temperatures that had already delayed the return of schools and universities. In an effort to bring down the temperatures and ease drought conditions, last week the authorities turned to cloud-seeding technology, sending almost 200 rockets into the sky. The authorities said it worked, and rain soon arrived. But on Monday, the sudden windstorm hit without warning, and residents linked the two – though this was rejected by the authorities.

Tens of thousands of comments were posted to Weibo, where more than 7 million people viewed the “underwear crisis” hashtag, which became Wednesday’s 11th most popular across China. Another 18 million engaged with a hashtag suggesting “if you think you messed up at work, just think of the Chongqing Meteorological Bureau”.

Zhang Yixuan, the deputy director of the Chongqing Weather Modification Office, defended the government’s work at a press conference on Wednesday. Zhang said the winds, which had also brought down billboards and trees, were a naturally occurring convection, and not caused by the cloud seeding.

“There are definitely strong winds, but this is caused by natural conditions. Artificial rainfall will not cause extreme weather,” Zhang said.

Regardless, the incident has now linked bad weather with flying boxer shorts in the minds of Chongqing residents. Heavy rain was predicted again late last week, with residents warning one another to bring in their laundry to stop a repeat of the underwear crisis.

“The people of Chongqing will never forget this heavy day,” said one.

An employee at a central Chongqing lingerie store told the Guardian that people were not yet rushing in to buy replacements but that it was coincidentally “the season to buy new underwear” so he expected sales to increase anyway.

“[Chongqing people] laugh about it,” he said, “because life is fun.”

A young golden eagle has been killed after reportedly attacking and wounding at least four people – including a 20-month-old toddler – in a large area of central and southern Norway.

The public broadcaster NRK said that in the most recent attack on Saturday the bird swooped on the girl, who was was playing in her family’s farmyard in the central Trøndelag region, despite being beaten away by her mother and a neighbour.

“It came out of nowhere and grabbed our youngest daughter,” the toddler’s father, whose name was not disclosed, told the broadcaster. “Her mother jumped up and grabbed hold of it, but had to fight to get it to let go. A neighbour also had to help.”

He said the two adults eventually managed to get the eagle off the girl, who needed stitches and was left with scratchmarks on her face, including under her eye, “but it kept coming back” even though “the neighbour chased it away with a stick”.

Golden eagles, which have a wingspan of up to 2m (about 6ft 7in) and are common across much of Scandinavia, generally eat smaller mammals, foxes and sheep. This one “likely had a behavioural disorder”, said Alv Ottar Folkestad, an eagle expert with BirdLife Norge.

Folkestad told the Associated Press that the bird’s behaviour was “radically different from normal”, adding that the series of attacks, which happened over a vast area over the course of the past week, appeared all to have been by the same bird.

“Details in the plumage make me believe it is the same bird,” Folkestad said. Strong high-altitude winds in recent days would have made it relatively easy for the eagle, a female born this year, to fly long distances, he said.

Francis Ari Sture, 31, a bicycle courier, told AP he was attacked at least six times by the bird while he was out hiking last Thursday, despite using his backpack as a shield and pushing the eagle down to his feet so he could kick it away from him.

Sture said he was afraid he would slip because if he fell unconscious, the eagle might “start to eat me”. Doctors at the nearest hospital who treated him for deep gouges to the face said his sunglasses and long-sleeved shirt saved him from worse injuries.

Mariann Myrvang, who was attacked the previous day, told NRK she “cried out for help” when “something big and heavy landed on my shoulders”. She said she was forced to “go down on my knees, because I simply couldn’t stand up”.

Myrvang’s husband grabbed a fallen tree branch and beat the eagle away, she said, but its claws penetrated deep into her flesh and, like the bird’s other targets, she was given penicillin, a tetanus injection and stitches in hospital.

Per Kåre Vinterdal, a game warden in Orkdal, told VG newspaper he had arrived on the scene shortly after the attacks on the toddler on Saturday afternoon and was able to “euthanise” the bird. He did not say how it was killed.

A young golden eagle has been killed after reportedly attacking and wounding at least four people – including a 20-month-old toddler – in a large area of central and southern Norway.

The public broadcaster NRK said that in the most recent attack on Saturday the bird swooped on the girl, who was was playing in her family’s farmyard in the central Trøndelag region, despite being beaten away by her mother and a neighbour.

“It came out of nowhere and grabbed our youngest daughter,” the toddler’s father, whose name was not disclosed, told the broadcaster. “Her mother jumped up and grabbed hold of it, but had to fight to get it to let go. A neighbour also had to help.”

He said the two adults eventually managed to get the eagle off the girl, who needed stitches and was left with scratchmarks on her face, including under her eye, “but it kept coming back” even though “the neighbour chased it away with a stick”.

Golden eagles, which have a wingspan of up to 2m (about 6ft 7in) and are common across much of Scandinavia, generally eat smaller mammals, foxes and sheep. This one “likely had a behavioural disorder”, said Alv Ottar Folkestad, an eagle expert with BirdLife Norge.

Folkestad told the Associated Press that the bird’s behaviour was “radically different from normal”, adding that the series of attacks, which happened over a vast area over the course of the past week, appeared all to have been by the same bird.

“Details in the plumage make me believe it is the same bird,” Folkestad said. Strong high-altitude winds in recent days would have made it relatively easy for the eagle, a female born this year, to fly long distances, he said.

Francis Ari Sture, 31, a bicycle courier, told AP he was attacked at least six times by the bird while he was out hiking last Thursday, despite using his backpack as a shield and pushing the eagle down to his feet so he could kick it away from him.

Sture said he was afraid he would slip because if he fell unconscious, the eagle might “start to eat me”. Doctors at the nearest hospital who treated him for deep gouges to the face said his sunglasses and long-sleeved shirt saved him from worse injuries.

Mariann Myrvang, who was attacked the previous day, told NRK she “cried out for help” when “something big and heavy landed on my shoulders”. She said she was forced to “go down on my knees, because I simply couldn’t stand up”.

Myrvang’s husband grabbed a fallen tree branch and beat the eagle away, she said, but its claws penetrated deep into her flesh and, like the bird’s other targets, she was given penicillin, a tetanus injection and stitches in hospital.

Per Kåre Vinterdal, a game warden in Orkdal, told VG newspaper he had arrived on the scene shortly after the attacks on the toddler on Saturday afternoon and was able to “euthanise” the bird. He did not say how it was killed.

Former Canadian fashion mogul Peter Nygard has been sentenced to 11 years in prison after being convicted of four counts of sexual assault in attacks on women in his Toronto office building that in some cases date back for decades.

The 11-year sentence is reduced to take into account time he has already spent behind bars. Nygard has about 6.7 years left to serve and will be eligible for full parole after one-third of that.

Nygard, 83, was found guilty by a Toronto jury on four counts of sexual assault last November. He was acquitted of a fifth count of sexual assault and one count of forcible confinement.

During the six-week trial, the Ontario superior court heard testimony from five complainants who said during a period between the late 1980s to around 2005 Nygard had attacked them in a private bedroom suite on the top floor of the building.

Canadian police arrested Nygard in late 2020 at the request of the United States, where he was accused of using his businesses to lure women and girls to sexually gratify himself and his associates.

Toronto police laid their own charges against him about a year later. Nygard also faces charges of sexual assault and forcible confinement in Manitoba and Quebec.

He is fighting extradition to the US, where he faces federal charges in New York for nine offences including conspiracy to commit racketeering, transportation of a minor for purpose of prostitution, and sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion.

Born in Finland, Nygard grew up in the Canadian province of Manitoba, eventually running his namesake clothing company and becoming one of the wealthiest people in the country.

“Peter Nygard is a sexual predator. He is also a Canadian success story gone very wrong,” Justice Robert Goldstein said Monday.

“He used his wealth and his power to commit four sexual assaults.“

The man who allegedly poured scalding coffee on a nine-month-old baby escaped overseas less than a day before he was identified by detectives, Queensland police say.

A warrant has been issued for the arrest of a 33-year-old foreign national accused of the alleged attack at Hanlon Park in Stones Corner on 27 August, with Australian Federal Police assisting in the investigation.

Det Insp Paul Dalton from the South Brisbane district Child Protection Investigation Unit, said the man was now believed to be overseas after flying out of Sydney airport on 31 August.

Dalton said the man was identified by Queensland police on 1 September – just 12 hours later.

“This is probably one of the most complex and sometimes frustrating investigations that I’ve had to be involved in and lead,” he said.

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Dalton said the police were initially given the wrong name for the alleged assailant.

“It soon became apparent to us that this person was aware of police methodologies, was certainly conducting counter-surveillance activities, which made the investigation quite complex,” he said.

“It wasn’t until the first of September that we were able to put a name to the face and the CCTV. Even at that stage, we probably didn’t have enough evidence to obtain a warrant.”

Outside the Queensland Children’s hospital, where her son has undergone skin graft surgeries to treat significant burns, the boy’s mother said she was “devastated” to learn the “heartbreaking” news that the alleged assailant had just managed to escape the country.

“It sounds like they were very, very close in catching him,” she said.

“I just want to know why, why he [allegedly] did this? These are questions that may always be unanswered.”

The baby’s physical healing would take “years”, she said, but the family might never fully recover from the mental scars.

“For me, personally, I’ve been living in fear, anxiety, stress,” she said.

“I had no idea where this person was. I didn’t want to leave this hospital because it became our safe space.

“Returning home, I had panic attacks, and still continue to do so … I will always have fear and anxiety being out in public with my son – it’s affected my mental health for the rest of my life.

“It should be a happy, joyful time, I’m a first time mum.

“Honestly, I cry every single day.”

The motive for the alleged attack was still unknown.

But the boy’s mother told press she had since seen a photo of the accused man without his hat, glasses and “outfit” and would not have recognised him.

The man was an itinerant worker who had been coming and going from Australia since about 2019, and had addresses in New South Wales and Victoria, Dalton said.

He was not known to police and had no charges against his name.

Dalton said the police could not identify to the public which country the man had fled to, but investigators were in contact with authorities from the foreign country.

“The QPS are fully committed to do everything we possibly can lawfully to get this person back here to face justice,” Dalton said.

The infant underwent his third round of surgery on 3 September after the “cowardly” and random alleged attack in a Brisbane park.

The family said the little boy had been incredibly resilient despite the “traumatic and difficult” time. “He’s up and about, walking and causing chaos,” his mother said. “He is such a strong little boy and we are so, so proud of him.”

But the family is still seeking justice as the police investigation enters its third week.

“This horrific event should have never happened,” the mother said. “Hopefully one day justice will be served.”

Police previously described the alleged attack as deliberate and unprovoked.

“It is callous and cowardly,” Det Insp Paul Dalton said. “In 35 years of being a police officer, I’ve never come across a job where a child this young in these circumstances has been attacked.”

The man was wearing glasses, a blue shirt, cargo shorts and a black hat. He is believed to be aged between 30 and 40.

A GoFundMe page for the infant has so far raised more than $150,000.

The boy’s father thanked the public for the outpouring of financial and emotional support.

“We have felt the love,” he said.

The battle between Rupert Murdoch and his children over the future of his media empire begins this week as observers attempt to force the court to make the secretive dispute public.

Murdoch wants to change the structure of his family trust to give all voting power to his oldest son, Lachlan. If successful, Murdoch’s other adult children, Prudence, James and Elisabeth, will lose their voting power.

Of the children, Lachlan is the most politically aligned with his father while his younger siblings have expressed reservations about the direction of the companies, particularly during Donald Trump’s presidency.

Both sides have hired high-profile lawyers to oversee the case. Murdoch is working with the former US attorney general William Barr, who is helping him rewrite the trust, and Adam Streisand, a trial lawyer who has worked on the estate cases of Michael Jackson and Britney Spears.

Though the trial will have enormous consequences for Murdoch’s holdings, including Fox News and the Wall Street Journal, Murdoch is fighting to ensure it will largely take place away from the public eye.

The only information available to the public are the key dates of the trial, which is being held in Reno, Nevada, listed on the court’s website. The trial is slated to have a status conference on 9 September followed by a series of evidentiary hearings starting 16 September.

A coalition of six national news outlets – the Associated Press, CNN, NPR, the New York, Reuters and the Washington Post – have filed requests to access proceedings and unseal court records.

“The fate of the Murdoch Family’s enormous fortune and vast media empire is a matter of immense public interest, and the public also has an interest in ensuring that the public courts administer justice in a proper, impartial manner,” the requests said, according to NBC News.

On its website, the court said that while it “has received numerous media inquiries” related to the trial, “the court file on this matter is confidential and sealed as to all matters”.

“In addition, all court hearings on this matter are closed to the public,” the website said. “No other public information related to this matter is available through the court.”

As the trial is set to start, a prominent News Corp investor, the hedge fund Starboard Value, is trying to send a message to Murdoch that his family has too much power over the company. News Corp is the parent company of dozens of media companies including the Wall Street Journal, the Times of London and the book publisher HarperCollins.

Jeffrey Smith, an activist shareholder and founder of Starboard Value, is spearheading efforts to decrease Murdoch’s voting power over the company. Murdoch currently has a 14% stake in News Corp but has 41% of votes over the company through dual-class shares.

A shareholder proposal from Starboard Value argues that Murdoch should get rid of his dual-class shares, which would eventually be passed down to his children, as the political disagreement in the family “could be paralyzing to the strategic direction” of New Corp.

“We are not sure why their perspectives should carry greater weight than the views of other shareholders,” Smith wrote in the proposal, according to the New York Times.

Even if approved, the company’s board can decide not to agree to the proposal. But Smith said that it would “send a clear and direct message” to the board over concerns of the Murdoch family’s power over the company.

A beluga whale that rose to fame in Norway after its unusual harness prompted suspicions that the creature was trained by Russia as a spy died after a stick became stuck in its mouth, police have said.

The lifeless body of the whale, named Hvaldimir – a combination of the Norwegian word for whale and the first name of the Russian president, Vladimir Putin – was found floating in the sea on 31 August by a father and son fishing in Risavika Bay, southern Norway.

The animal became the subject of media attention when it was discovered off Norway’s Arctic coast in 2019 wearing a harness fitted with what appeared to be a mount for a small camera.

Norway and Russia share a maritime border in the Arctic, leading to jokes that the whale was a Russian spy.

Norwegian police had opened an investigation after two animal rights groups filed a complaint into the death of the animal, alleging it had been shot.

However, police for the south-west district said on Monday that an autopsy had pointed to a different cause of death. A stick measuring 35cm (14in) in length and 3cm in width had become stuck in the whale’s mouth, they said.

Police added: “The autopsy showed that its stomach was empty. In addition, most organs had broken down. There is nothing in the investigations that have been carried out to establish that it is human activity that has directly led to Hvaldimir’s death.”

As a result, police would not investigate further, they added.

The animal rights groups had alleged the whale had been shot dead. On Monday, police said Hvaldimir had sustained some injuries but they were “completely superficial”, adding “there was no evidence suggesting that Hvaldimir was shot”.

A full report would be ready in two weeks, it said.

Tens of thousands of artefacts have been looted from a Sudanese museum regarded as one of the most important in Africa, an official at the institution has said.

The official at the National Museum in Khartoum said satellite images taken last year showed trucks loaded with artefacts leaving the museum and heading for Sudan’s borders, including that with South Sudan.

The official, who asked to remain anonymous, did not attribute blame for the looting. Earlier this month, Sudan’s national broadcaster reported that the museum had been targeted by “a large-scale looting and smuggling operation”.

The museum is located in an area controlled by the Rapid Support Forces, the paramilitary group battling the regular army in Sudan’s civil war. The RSF has been approached for comment. It has previously denied that its fighters have looted institutions.

The National Museum is regarded by experts as one of the most important such institutions in Africa. Its collection of more than 100,000 items includes embalmed mummies dating from 2,500BC, making them among the oldest and archaeologically most important in the world, as well as statues, pottery and ancient murals, with artefacts from the stone age through to the Christian and Islamic eras.

Looting has also been reported at two other major Sudanese museums: Khalifa House in the city of Omdurman and the Nyala museum in South Darfur state.

“When we learned about the looting, we didn’t sleep for three or four days,” the National Museum official said. “These artefacts are our identity, the identity of the Sudanese people. Can you imagine what it feels like to lose your identity? You lose your existence in this world.”

The official said that attempts were being made to talk to regional governments about returning the works. “Under normal circumstances it’s not even allowed to move the artefacts from one place to another inside the museum unless police are present,” they said.

Dr Julien Cooper, an archaeologist with Macquarie University in Sydney, told Australia’s ABC radio: “The museum has a huge collection of artefacts from across history, time and culture. It’s something we should really treasure.

“No one is really sure about the objects that have gone missing,” added Cooper, an egyptologist and Sudan specialist who has spent time at the museum. “Because the museum has been in the fog of war since the conflict started, it’s been very difficult to get reports on what’s been happening inside.”

In June last year a video clip circulated on social media that appeared to show fighters from the RSF entering the bioarchaeology lab of the National Museum and opening storage containers containing mummies and other remains. The RSF have denied anything was stolen.

Staff had been forced to abandon the site shortly after fighting erupted between the RSF and the army in April last year. Thousands of people have been killed since the war began, 8 million have been displaced internally, and a further 2 million have fled to neighbouring countries.