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Police respond to the scene of an attack carried out by a man shot dead by police after he injured multiple people at a shopping mall in Auckland, New Zealand, Sep 3, 2021. (Photo: Stuff Limited/Ricky Wilson via REUTERS) - 

New Zealand has tried for years to deport the knife-wielding militant who wounded seven people at a mall in Auckland last week, the government said after it released more details on the attacker following the lifting of a court suppression order.

Court documents made public on Sunday named the attacker as Ahamed Aathil Mohamed Samsudeen, 32, a Tamil Muslim from Sri Lanka. He had arrived in New Zealand 10 years ago on a student visa seeking refugee status, which was granted in 2013.

Samsudeen came to the attention of the police and security services in 2016 after he expressed sympathy on Facebook for militant attacks, violent war-related videos and comments advocating violent extremism.

It was later discovered that his refugee status was fraudulently obtained, the government said in a statement, adding that the process had begun to cancel his refugee status.

Police shot dead Samsudeen, who had been convicted and imprisoned for about three years before being released in July, moments after he launched his stabbing spree on Friday.

"In July this year I met with officials in person and expressed my concern that the law could allow someone to remain here who obtained their immigration status fraudulently and posed a threat to our national security," Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said.

"This has been a frustrating process." 

The attack by Samsudeen has led to questions about why the he was allowed to remain free if the authorities had decided he needed to be watched so closely.

Ardern vowed on Saturday to pass legislation that would criminalise planning a terror attack and tighten other counter-terrorism laws.

Samsudeen's family issued a statement to the local New Zealand media, describing their shock on the attack.

"We are heartbroken after this terrible event," said the statement released by his brother Aroos, carried by state broadcaster 1NEWS.

"We hope to find out with you all, what happened in Aathil's case and what we all could have done to prevent this," the statement said//CNA

FILE PHOTO: An employee handles vials containing CoronaVac, Sinovac Biotech's vaccine against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), at Butantan biomedical center in Sao Paulo, Brazil January 12, 2021. REUTERS/Amanda Perobelli - 

Brazil's federal health regulator Anvisa on Saturday (Sep 4) suspended the use of more than 12 million doses of a COVID-19 vaccine developed by China's Sinovac Biotech that were produced in an unauthorised plant, it said in a statement.

Anvisa said it was alerted on Friday by Sao Paulo's Butantan institute, a biomedical centre that has partnered with Sinovac to locally fill and finish the vaccines, that 25 batches, or 12.1 million doses, sent to Brazil had been made in the plant.

"The manufacturing unit ... was not inspected and was not approved by Anvisa in the authorisation of emergency use of the mentioned vaccine," the regulator said. The ban was "a precautionary measure to avoid exposing the population to possible imminent risk", it added.

Butantan also told Anvisa that another 17 batches, totalling 9 million doses, had been produced in the same plant, and were on their way to Brazil, the regulator said.

During the 90-day ban, Anvisa will seek to inspect the plant, and find out more about the security of the manufacturing process, it said.

During Brazil's vaccine rollout earlier this year, the vast majority of administered vaccines were from Sinovac. More shots from other manufacturers have since come online.

Brazil on Saturday reported 21,804 new coronavirus cases, and 692 COVID-19 deaths//CNA

FILE PHOTO: Tunisia's presidential candidate Nabil Karoui waits for the start of a televised debate with his opponent Kais Saied (not pictured) ahead of Sunday's second-round runoff electionin Tunis, Tunisia October 11, 2019. REUTERS / Zoubeir Souissi - 

An Algerian court on Saturday (Sep 4) ordered former Tunisian presidential candidate Nabil Karoui to be placed in custody on a charge of illegally crossing a border, a judicial source said.

The court in the eastern city of Constantine also ordered the detention of four Algerians on people-smuggling charges, the source said. They are accused of helping Karoui enter the country and provide a house for him before his arrest on Sunday.

Karoui, the owner of the Nessma television channel and head of the Heart of Tunisia political party, the second largest in parliament, was placed in custody along with his brother Ghazi Karoui.

A court in Tunisia had released Nabil Karoui on Jun 15 after he spent more than six months in custody on money-laundering and tax evasion charges.

Tunisia has been embroiled in a constitutional crisis since President Kais Saied this summer announced emergency measures, which he indefinitely extended last week//CNA

FILE PHOTO: Conservative Party leader Erin O'Toole speaks during an election campaign visit to North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada September 3, 2021. REUTERS/Jennifer Gauthier - 

The head of Canada's opposition Conservative Party, who has a chance of beating Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in an election, on Saturday (Sep 4) pushed back against charges he plans to weaken gun controls, an issue that could prove costly.

Conservative leader Erin O'Toole has been pressed repeatedly this week over his campaign promise to overturn a 2020 ban on weapons such as the AR-15, used by a gunman to kill 26 adults and children in the US 2012 Sandy Hook massacre.

O'Toole declined to answer the questions directly, noting he plans to keep a separate 1977 ban on assault rifles.

"Erin O'Toole is willing to say anything to Canadians to get elected. He lied to Canadians about his plans to scrap the Liberal ban on assault weapons," the Liberals said in a statement on Saturday.

Gun control is a sensitive issue in Canada, especially in the wake of a number of high-profile killings. In April 2020 a man killed 22 people in a rampage in the province of Nova Scotia, shooting 13 of them.

Liberal governments have over the years tightened gun control laws, which are stricter than those in the United States. Some Conservatives complain the measures are too restrictive and needlessly penalise farmers and hunters.

"It's very upsetting to see Mr Trudeau trying to import American-style politics, particularly on an issue of public safety," O'Toole told reporters in Vancouver, saying a big problem was weapons being smuggled in from the United States.

O'Toole is also promising a review of how weapons are classified as dangerous in Canada.

The 2020 ban affected 11 categories of assault rifles and other weapons, including the Ruger Mini-14 rifle, used in a 1989 Montreal mass shooting in which 14 women were killed.

Trudeau called the Sep 20 snap election, two years earlier than scheduled, on the grounds he needed public approval for his plans to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. But amid unhappiness with the call and voter fatigue, he is slipping.

An Ekos poll on Saturday put the Conservatives on 35 per cent public support with the Liberals on 28.8 per cent and the left-leaning New Democrats on 19.6 per cent, enough to give O'Toole a minority administration and end six years of rule by Trudeau//CNA