Global News

By DENG MACHOL AP | Posted by TOE Armed men ambushed a patrol traveling to a remote area of  South Sudan  on Monday, killing two U.N. peacekeepers, the United Nations Mission in South Sudan said. Though  violence is rampant  in the African country, attacks against peacekeepers are rare. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. Seven others were wounded — three peacekeepers, two members of the South Sudanese police and two civilian staffers, the mission known as UNMISS said in a statement. The two peacekeepers killed and three injured were from Ethiopia, U.N. spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said. The mission said it had deployed a “Quick Reaction Force” to secure the area and support the emergency response after the attack. The patrol was going to the area of Pajut in the state of Jonglei when it came under attack. “Such deadly violence targeting UNMISS personnel who are serving to support peace in South Sudan is un...

By Reuters | Posted by TOE Iran has issued a warning that vessels violating its ‌arrangements for transiting the Strait ‌of Hormuz could face restrictions, including fines, detention, ​or confiscation, the Persian Gulf Strait Authority wrote in a post on X. The warning heightens risks for the charterers and ‌shipowners whose ⁠vessels transit through the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for ⁠the world’s energy shipments. The PGSA, a new body Iran has established with ​the aim ​of managing the ​strait, has said ‌cargo owners should refer to an updated list of vessels deemed non-compliant for voyages relating to the Persian Gulf. Vessels engaging in operations including ship-to-ship transfers or ‌transshipment with non-compliant vessels ​will also be ​added to the ​restricted list, it said. Ships ‌seeking the removal of their ​names from ​the non-compliant vessels’ list must submit a request with relevant explanations ​to Iran’s ‌maritime authorities,...

By Associated Press | Posted by TOE A mountainous heap of refuse collapsed at the largest landfill in Guinea ‘s capital of Conakry early on Sunday, killing 30 people, according to the central government. Authorities said that heavy rains, which started at around 2 a.m., washed over the refuse at Dar Es Salam — the largest landfill in Conakry — and triggered a landslide that buried nearby shacks. A search and rescue operation was underway to find survivors. Six people were seriously injured and several homes were destroyed. The site, an open-air waste dump which is the largest in the city, had been designated for closure on Sunday, according to Lt. Col. Baldé Mamadou Bailo, the sanitation officer for the military engineering battalion. Locals living around the landfill had been given eviction notices, which forced many to leave the area, but many others were still around at the time of the disaster, according to authorities. “We will ensure that the remaining famili...

By Reuters, Posted by TOE KINMEN, Taiwan — Peace can only be secured through strength and not even an inch of territory can be sacrificed, Taiwan President Lai Ching-te said on ⁠Sunday, visiting a sensitive frontline island to mark a key battle with Chinese forces almost seven decades ago. Taiwan has controlled the Kinmen and Matsu islands, which lie just off the Chinese coast, since the Republic of China government fled to Taipei in 1949 after losing a civil war with Mao Zedong’s communists. No peace ⁠treaty or armistice has ever been signed. In heavy rain, ​Lai ⁠laid a wreath and bowed at a memorial park for the 68th anniversary of the 1958 clash with Chinese forces, known as the start of the second Taiwan ⁠Strait crisis — the last time Taiwanese and Chinese forces battled on a large scale. Addressing veterans later, ​Lai ⁠expressed gratitude to those who “stood united and ‌fought a bloody battle to repel Communist totalitarian aggression”. “Our resolve to unite ...

 By Reuters | Posted by TOE At least 16 people were killed and more than 130 wounded on Friday when several Russian drones ‌struck a shopping centre in central Ukraine, authorities said, with President ‌Volodymyr Zelenskiy promising a response to what he called an “act of barbarism.” Regional governor Oleksandr Hanzha said ​that 22 children were among the wounded in the daytime attack on the city of Kryvyi Rih, which is Zelenskiy’s hometown. “There are 29 people in serious condition, including five children,” Hanzha said. He posted a photo of black ‌smoke billowing from a large ⁠industrial building. In an update early on Saturday, Hanzha said nine people were preliminarily considered missing, including two children, and ⁠that rescuers were continuing to clear the rubble of the shopping centre. Zelenskiy called the attack “absolutely cynical and despicable”, saying that a second Russian drone hit the shopping ​centre ​half an...

By JEAN FERNAND KOENA AP | Posted by TOE The death toll from  a gold mine collapse  in a western part of Central African Republic has risen to more than 100, a Red Cross volunteer involved in relief efforts and a local official said Wednesday. The low-tech, artisanal gold mine collapsed Tuesday morning in the village of Zamboye, in the Nana-Mambere prefecture, near the border with Cameroon. In addition to the dead, several survivors were critically injured, said Gervais Ganagoroh, a local Red Cross volunteer involved in relief efforts. The death toll is likely to rise since several people were still missing and others were trapped under the rubble, said Bertrand Be Yangué, a member of the Zamboye youth council. “Finding them alive would be a miracle,” Yangué said. “We are saddened and heartbroken to see young men and women perish after coming to the mines to save their families from despair.” An investigation has been opened to determine the cause of t...