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page 49 AFGHANISTAN Fuel tanker crash kills 73 in Ghazni province At least 73 people have been killed and dozens of others injured after two buses and an oil tanker burst into flames following a head-on collision in eastern Afghanistan. Many of the dead, including children, were burned beyond recognition as a result of in […]
page 49
AFGHANISTAN
Fuel tanker crash kills 73 in Ghazni province
At least 73 people have been killed and dozens of others injured after two buses and an oil tanker burst into flames following a head-on collision in eastern Afghanistan.
Many of the dead, including children, were burned beyond recognition as a result of in Sunday’s accident in Ghazni province, near the Afghan capital Kabul.
Jawid Salangi, a spokesman for the governor of Ghazni, said the two buses, carrying about 125 passengers from Kabul to Kandahar, collided with the tanker, setting off a fire that quickly engulfed all three vehicles.
Afghan army units were rushed to the scene of the accident in Moqor district and managed to save some passengers, but many of the injured were in a critical condition, he said.
In a separate development, six Taliban fighters were hanged at the Pul-e-Charkhi Prison in Kabul on Sunday.
The executions came only days after the Kabul government vowed to punish people convicted of terror charges.
EGYPT
Gunmen kill eight police in Cairo suburb
Eight plainclothes policemen in Egypt have been shot dead on the outskirts of the capital, Cairo, officials say.
Their white police van was ambushed in the early hours of Sunday morning in the southern district of Helwan.
Four gunmen in a truck sprayed the vehicle with bullets from automatic weapons, the interior ministry said.
Militants affiliated to so-called Islamic State (IS), who usually operate in the Sinai Peninsula, say they carried out the attack.
Known as Sinai Province, the IS faction has killed hundreds of security personnel in the Sinai region since the military overthrew Islamist President Mohammed Morsi in July 2013.
The insurgents have recently conducted hit-and-run attacks on police in Cairo and been behind small-scale bombings in the city.
The group posted pictures online, showing several bodies of the policemen riddled with bullets.
KENYA
Death toll in building collapse rises to 49
Kenyan authorities said on Sunday the number of people killed when a multi-storey residential building collapsed in the capital Nairobi more than a week ago had risen to 49 after more bodies were pulled out of the rubble.
The six-storey building in Huruma, a poor neighborhood in the city, was constructed near a river and had been condemned by the authorities but it is unclear why it remained occupied.
It tumbled down in a heavy downpour on the night of April 29.
“Seven more bodies were retrieved at the collapsed building over the weekend, bringing the death toll to 49,” Japheth Koome, Nairobi police commander, said.
He said the number of those rescued now stood at 140 and that a rescue operation continued at the site.
N/KOREA
N/Korea ‘will not use nuclear weapons’ unless threatened
The leader of North Korea has said the country will not use nuclear weapons unless its sovereignty is threatened, state media report.
North Korea first tested nuclear weapons in 2006, after withdrawing from an international treaty. It has made repeated threats of nuclear strikes against South Korea and the US.
But Kim Jong-un reportedly told the Workers’ Party Congress in Pyongyang that he is willing to normalise ties with previously hostile countries.
It was reported that Mr Kim tends to send mixed messages and movement observed at the country’s nuclear site is consistent with preparations for another nuclear test.
State media quoted Mr Kim as saying there should be more talks with South Korea to build trust and understanding.
He said the country would “faithfully fulfil its obligation for non-proliferation and strive for global denuclearisation”.
MEXICO
Drug lord ‘El Chapo’ moved to jail near US border
Mexico has transferred the convicted drug lord, Joaquin Guzman, to a prison close to the border with the US.
Known as “El Chapo”, he was taken to a prison near Ciudad Juarez, across the border from El Paso in Texas, as part of a normal rotation of prisoners for security reasons, officials said.
The head of the Sinaloa drug cartel, Guzman was re-captured in January, six months after he escaped from prison.
Guzman is wanted in the US on charges of smuggling drugs into the country.
Mexican officials said Guzman’s transfer to Ciudad Juarez was not a precursor to extradition.
Mexico’s National Security Commission said it was in line with security protocols, and it had rotated more than 7,400 inmates as part of new security strategy.
The authorities said that Guzman was moved to a new prison “because of works taking place to reinforce security” in Altiplano – his old prison near Mexico City.
SPAIN
Journalists held in Syria for 10 months return to Spain
Three Spanish freelance journalists who were kidnapped in Syria last year arrived in Madrid on Sunday in apparent good health after nearly 10 months in captivity.
The three men – Antonio Pampliega, Jose Manuel Lopez and Angel Sastre – went missing last July a few days after crossing into Syria from Turkey. They had gone to the northern city of Aleppo to report on fighting there.
The journalists were greeted by their families and officials as they walked off their plane under driving rain at the Torrejon de Ardoz air base on the outskirts of Madrid. TV footage distributed by the government showed one of the men breaking down in tears as he hugged a relative.
They were flown in from southern Turkey after news of their release broke late on Saturday.
El Pais newspaper said the journalists were kidnapped and held by the Nusra Front, al Qaeda’s Syrian wing and a group which is designated by the United Nations and the United States as a terrorist organization.
GREECE
Protests ahead of vote on pension and tax change
Protesters have gathered outside parliament in Greece ahead of a vote on further austerity measures in return for more international bailout money.
The rally coincides with a three-day general strike against the introduction of tax and pension changes.
Greece has been unable to unlock the next loan instalment of €5bn (£4bn) after clashing with its creditors over the need for more reforms.
The protests come amid fears of another crisis in the Eurozone. An extraordinary meeting of the Eurogroup is being held on Monday.
Greece agreed to a third rescue package worth €86bn (£60bn; $94bn) last year.
CANADA
Wildfire threatens new province
A huge wildfire raging in the Canadian province of Alberta is growing further and could spill into neighbouring Saskatchewan, officials say.
Hot, dry and windy conditions are hampering efforts by hundreds of firefighters to tackle the blaze.
Officials say it is not uncommon for such fires to go on for months.
The flames have already caused the evacuation of 80,000 people from the oil city of Fort McMurray, and thousands are still stuck to the north.
The wildfire now covers an area of more than 700 sq miles (2,000 sq km), which includes areas still ablaze and areas already burnt.
CHINA
Rescue operation as Fujian landslide buries 35
Rescuers are trying to reach 35 construction workers who have been buried under rocks and mud in China, state media report.
The landslide hit a workers’ dormitory at the site where a hydropower project was being built.
An office building was also hit by the landslide in Taining county, Fujian province in the early hours of Sunday, Xinhua news agency said.
The authorities said the cause of the landslide was not yet clear. They added, however, that there had recently been heavy rain in the region.
Separately, Xinhua reported on Saturday that 1,000 people had to leave their homes after rainstorms in Guangxi province.
PAKISTAN
Activist murdered in Karachi
A prominent Pakistani journalist and human rights activist, Khurram Zaki, has been shot dead in Karachi.
Mr Zaki was dining in a restaurant in the city’s north when suspects opened fire from motorbikes, reports say.
He was an editor of the website Let us Build Pakistan, which condemns sectarianism and is seen as promoting democratic and progressive values.
The spokesman for a splinter group of the Pakistani Taliban has said they were behind the shooting.
He said they killed him because of his recent campaign against a cleric of the Red Mosque in Islamabad.