Global News

The Nigerian military and the “bandit” gangs it is fighting killed around 100 civilians Sunday in one of the bloodiest single days of the country’s conflict against armed groups, sources across the country have told AFP. The Nigerian military killed at least 72 people, many of them civilians, in an airstrike on a crowded market in the northwestern state of Zamfara, a community leader told AFP, with some bodies “blown beyond recognition”. Amnesty International’s Nigeria chapter said “at least 100 civilians” were killed in the attack on the market, reportedly controlled by criminal gangs, while a resident of a nearby village put the toll at 117. The strike came the same day that another attack by the Nigerian air force targeting bandits killed 13 civilians, in central Niger state, the victims’ families told AFP. News of attacks from both the Nigerian military and the various armed groups it is fighting often takes days...

By Niniek Karmini And Edna Tarigan, The Associated Press Rescuers on Indonesia ’s remote island of Halmahera found the bodies of two Singaporean hikers on Sunday, two days after they were caught in a volcanic eruption on Mount Dukono, officials said. The bodies of the men, aged 30 and 27, were located a few meters (yards) from where the first victim, an  Indonesian female hiker , was found dead on Saturday, Abdul Muhari, the National Disaster Management Agency’s spokesperson, said. All three had been about 50 meters (165 feet) from the rim of the main crater. The men’s bodies were covered by thick layers of volcanic material, Muhari said, adding that the densely packed material had complicated evacuation efforts and significantly slowed progress. “The bodies were buried under deep, densely packed volcanic material that is difficult to dig through,” Muhari said, “Rescue teams must proceed cautiously to ensure safety.” The trio were among 20 hikers who set ...

By Saud Mehsud and Mushtaq Ali Reuters A car bombing at a police post in northwestern Pakistan followed ‌by an ambush on police personnel rushing to the scene has ‌killed at least 21 officers, police said on Sunday. Images from after the attack on Saturday showed ​the structure had been reduced to rubble, with bricks, charred wreckage and mangled vehicles scattered around the area. Police official Sajjad Khan said in a statement that the bodies of 14 officers had been recovered from the collapsed outpost and three other personnel ‌were found alive and ⁠rushed to hospital. A police official who asked not to be identified because he is not authorised to speak to the media ⁠said militants first rammed into the post with an explosive-filled car and then entered the premises and began firing on any remaining officers. “Other law enforcement personnel were sent ​to help ​the police, but the terrorists ambushed them ​and caused some casualties,” he ‌said. ...

Russian President Vladimir Putin has voiced confidence of victory in Ukraine as he oversaw a military parade on Red Square commemorating the defeat of Nazi Germany in the Second World War. Speaking in front of hundreds of military personnel and flanked by a few world leaders, the Russian president said he was fighting a “just” war as he identified Ukraine an “aggressive force” that is being “armed and supported by the whole bloc of NATO”. Security was tight in Moscow as Mr Putin and several foreign leaders attended the parade, even as a US-brokered three-day ceasefire eased concerns about possible Ukrainian attempts to disrupt the festivities. Mr Putin, in power for more than a quarter of a century, has used Victory Day, Russia’s most important secular holiday, to showcase the country’s military might and rally support for his military action in Ukraine. Malaysia’s King Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar, Lao President Thongloun Sisouli...

Russia and Ukraine launched major attacks on each other Friday, with a two-day unilateral ceasefire that Moscow had declared around its World War II commemorations appearing to be in tatters. Ukraine never said it would abide by Moscow’s call to halt strikes and lambasted Russian leader Vladimir Putin for only wanting to pause fighting so he could stage a grand parade on Red Square on Saturday. Kyiv said Moscow ignored a Ukrainian call to halt fighting earlier this week — a counter-proposal for a short-term ceasefire that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky cast as a test of whether the Kremlin was serious about providing a brief respite in the four-year war. Russia has threatened a massive strike on the heart of Kyiv if Ukraine disrupts the Victory Day parade on Saturday, repeatedly urging foreign diplomats to evacuate the Ukrainian capital ahead of time. “On the Russian side, there was not even a token attempt to cease fire on the front,” Ze...

By Amel Emric and Daria Sito-Sucic Reuters A new silver, lead and barite mine offered hope to the small town of Vares, in mountainous central Bosnia, when it opened in 2024. After decades of economic decline, new roads and houses were built, cafes and restaurants filled up, and the long-dwindling population ‌swelled with workers and new residents. In recent months, however, blood tests have revealed exposure to lead in more than 300 residents living near the mine, some at elevated ‌levels, alarming locals and throwing the town’s future into doubt. On Wednesday, four Bosnian environmental agencies filed criminal charges against Dundee Precious Metals, the Canadian mining company that took over the mine in September when it acquired the previous owner, UK-based ​Adriatic Metals, with the Zenica-Doboj cantonal prosecutors’ office. “We think that the situation is ripe to declare an emergency situation,” Miroslav Pejcinovic, the president of Opstanak...