Coal mine explosion in China kills 90 people

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A gas explosion at a coal mine in China’s northern Shanxi province killed at least 90 people, state media said on Saturday, in the country’s deadliest mining accident in recent years. Official news agency Xinhua said the accident at Changzhi city’s Liushenyu coal mine happened on Friday evening. Around 247 workers were on duty at the time. Nine miners were still unaccounted for as of Saturday afternoon, Xinhua said, and more than 120 people were hospitalized. The cause of the explosion was under investigation, Xinhua reported, and rescue work is pressing on with hundreds of rescuers and medical personnel sent to the site. Among the injured, many were hurt by toxic gas, according to state media CCTV. Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for an all-out effort to rescue the missing, reported Xinhua. Xi also called for the “proper handling of the aftermath of the accident and urged a thorough investigation into its cause, with accountability pursued in accordance wi...
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Heavy security patrols in Uganda’s capital ahead of planned protest

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Authorities in Uganda deployed military and police on Tuesday around parliament and the centre of Kampala, the capital, a Reuters witness said, aiming to deter a protest against the government planned by young people.

Military armoured personnel carriers patrolled the streets around parliament in images broadcast by NTV Uganda television after police banned the protest, citing intelligence showing criminally-minded youth may hijack it to loot and vandalise.

All roads to parliament were blocked off, with security officials permitting access only by lawmakers and other parliamentary staff.

Those with businesses near parliament were experiencing difficulty getting to their premises, the Reuters witness said.

“It’s like a war zone,” Edwin Mugisha, who works in Kampala, told Reuters, describing the patrols around parliament and other roads.

Young people in Uganda have planned a march on parliament to protest what they say are rampant corruption and human rights abuses by the government of President Yoweri Museveni.

On Monday police sealed off the offices of the biggest opposition party, accusing it of mobilising for the protests, and detained some party officials, including its lawmakers.

The party denied it was organising the march, but said it supported it.

Opposition leaders and rights activists who say embezzlement and misuse of government funds are widespread in Uganda have long accused Museveni of failing to prosecute corrupt senior officials who are politically loyal or related to him.Medecins Sans Frontieres said on Monday, during more than a year of war.

Museveni has repeatedly denied condoning corruption and says whenever there is sufficient evidence culprits are prosecuted, for example lawmakers and even ministers.

SOURCE- Reuters, agencies



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