- Penrith Panthers win fourth straight NRL title after downing Storm
- Weary Sinner happy for day off after battling into Shanghai last 16
- Pakistan's Masood warns England still a force without Stokes
- Madrid's Carvajal to miss several months after serious knee injury
- Israel pounds Lebanon ahead of Hamas attack anniversary
- Two elephants die in flash flooding in northern Thailand
- Sabalenka targets world number one and Wuhan hat-trick
- Toddler among 4 dead in migrant Channel crossings
- Tunisia votes with Saied set for re-election
- Bagnaia sets 'example' with Japan MotoGP win to cut gap on Martin
- Intense Israeli bombing rocks Beirut ahead of war anniversary
- Mozambique vote: no suspense but some disillusion
- Austrian rapper channels anti-racist rage in Romani hip-hop songs
- Ohtani magic powers Dodgers over Padres in MLB playoff thriller
- Five of the best: Pakistan-England Test thrillers
- Man sets arm on fire as marches across US mark Gaza war anniversary
- Vietnam's young coffee entrepreneurs brew up a revolution
- Trump rallies at site of failed assassination: 'Never quit'
- Too hot by day, Dubai's floodlit beaches are packed at night
- Is music finally reckoning with #MeToo?
- Fans hail Trump's 'guts' as he returns to site of rally shooting
- Lebanon state media says 'very violent' Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Guardians maul Tigers, miracle Mets rally in MLB series openers
- Lebanon state media says Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Miami on track for MLS record points after win in Toronto
- Madrid beat Villarreal but Carvajal suffers knee injury
- Madrid beat Villarreal to move level with Liga leaders Barcelona
- Monaco take top spot in Ligue 1 with win at Rennes
- French rugby player on rape charge whistled but 'serene' on return
- Madrid beat Villarreal to level Liga leaders Barca
- Thuram treble fires Inter past Torino and up to second
- 'Fight': defiant Trump jets in to site of rally shooting
- Toddler among 3 dead in migrant Channel crossings
- Mexico City's new mayor sworn in with pledges on water, housing
- Israel on alert ahead of Hamas attack anniversary
- Guardians maul Tigers in MLB playoff series opener
- Macron criticises Israel on Gaza, Lebanon operations
- French rugby player whistled but 'serene' on return amid ongoing rape case
- Kovacic stars as Man City sink Fulham to get title bid back on track
- Retegui hat-trick fires five-star Atalanta to hammering of Genoa
- Heavyweights Australia, England off to World Cup winning starts
- Visiting UN refugee agency chief decries 'terrible crisis' in Lebanon
- Spinners come to party as England defeat Bangladesh at T20 World Cup
- Search continues for missing in deadly Bosnia floods
- Man City sink Fulham to get title bid back on track
- France's Auradou whistled on Pau return in Perpignan loss amid ongoing rape case
- A 'forgotten' valley in storm-hit North Carolina, desperate for help
- Arsenal hit back in style after Southampton scare
- Thousands march for Palestinians ahead of Oct 7 anniversary
- Hezbollah heir apparent Safieddine out of contact after strikes
Hostage in Amsterdam drama hailed as 'hero'
Police hailed a hostage held by a gunman in an Apple store in Amsterdam as a hero Wednesday after he helped end the tense, hours-long ordeal that gripped the Dutch city.
A 27-year-old man carrying a handgun and a semi-automatic weapon entered the store late Tuesday, taking a Bulgarian man hostage and demanding 200 million euros ($230 million) in cryptocurrency.
Police were called to the building at 5:30 pm after the camouflage-wearing suspect entered the store in the popular Leidseplein neighbourhood, prompting a chaotic exodus from the building.
Around 70 people fled the building and four people hid in a closet, apparently unknown to the suspect.
Five hours later, the suspect asked for water.
Footage showed the hostage bending down as the water was delivered, before running out of the building followed closely by the suspect.
The suspect was then hit by a police car before a robot checked him for explosives as he lay on the road, lit up with lasers from police snipers.
"A car from the special forces reacted very adequately and alertly," police chief Frank Paauw said in an overnight press conference, hailing the hostage's bravery.
"The hostage has played a hero role. In a few split seconds he escaped this hostage situation, otherwise it would have been an even longer night and nasty night."
- 'Seriously injured' -
Police later confirmed that the suspect was wearing an explosive device, but "that it was not primed" during the incident.
He was taken to hospital "seriously injured", police said, adding that a "wide-ranging" investigation had been launched.
"All options are open over a possible motive," they added, saying at least two homes around the Dutch capital had been searched.
The suspect aimed an automatic weapon at police, Paauw said, as special police units arrived at the scene Tuesday and cordoned off the area around the shop.
All Apple stores across the Netherlands were closed Wednesday, and the site of Tuesday's hostage taking will remain closed Thursday, the company said.
Leidseplein is popular with tourists and known for its lively bars and cafes. The area was quickly closed and the restaurants, bars and theatres were shut after the hostage taking.
The incident happened close to where well-known Dutch crime reporter Peter R. de Vries was gunned down in broad daylight last year.
"Just when the city was about to reopen and return to normal life, violence is again emerging in the heart of Amsterdam," deputy mayor Rutger Groot Wassink said late on Tuesday.
"Their controlled and decisive action deserves nothing but compliments," she said in a tweet.
"It prevented worse," the minister added.
M.Thompson--AMWN