Global News

By Ahmed Eljechtimi Reuters A heavy security presence on Monday evening thwarted for a straight third day youth-led protests across several Moroccan cities, where demonstrators have sought to rally for improvements to the public health and education systems. The protests were organized online by a loosely formed anonymous youth group calling itself “GenZ 212,” using platforms including TikTok, Instagram and gaming application Discord. The government and judicial authorities have not yet communicated on the incidents and arrests and the interior ministry did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. On Monday evening, dozens were arrested as authorities prevented the group from holding protests in cities including Rabat, Casablanca, Agadir, Tangier and Oujda. In Rabat, a Reuters witness saw plainclothes officers arresting young protesters as they tried to chant slogans or speak to the press. The president of a child protection association, Najat Anouar, was arreste...

Madagascar’s President Andry Rajoelina on Monday sacked his government following days of deadly unrest which the United Nations said has left at least 22 people dead. Thousands have poured onto the streets of the Indian Ocean nation to protest against repeated water and electricity outages. Police have responded with a heavy hand, firing teargas and rubber bullets to disperse the crowds, called to action on social media through a movement called “Gen Z”. The days-long protest, led mostly by young demonstrators, has left at least 22 people dead and more than 100 injured, according to a United Nations tally rejected by the government as unverified and “based on rumours”. “I have decided to terminate the functions of the Prime Minister and the government. Pending the formation of the new government, those in office will act as interim ministers,” Rajoelina said in a televised national address. Applications for a new premier will be received over the next three days before a new gover...

By Marco Aquino and Alexander Villegas Reuters Peru’s youth are rallying for another round of protests against President Dina Boluarte on Saturday, a week after demonstrations in the capital led to clashes with police, leaving over a dozen police officers, protesters and journalists injured. The protests erupted on September 20 following reforms to the country’s pension system that required all Peruvians above the age of 18 to join a pension provider, but were also fueled by longstanding anger against Boluarte and Congress. “There’s been a low, simmering level of discontent in Peru and it’s been that way for actually quite some time,” said Jo-Marie Burt, a visiting professor at Princeton University’s program in Latin American studies who has researched Peruvian politics for decades. The discontent, Burt said, has been fueled by corruption scandals, economic insecurity, rising crime and anger over a lack of accountability over dozens of protesters who were killed by security forces ...

By Ahmed Kingimi MAIDUGURI (Reuters) -At least 100 people are feared dead following the collapse of a gold mining pit in Nigeria’s Zamfara State, survivors and residents said on Friday. The pit at the Kadauri mining site in the Maru local government area caved in on Thursday while scores of artisanal miners were working underground, witnesses told Reuters. Rescue operations continued into Friday. Sanusi Auwal, a local resident involved in rescue efforts, said at least 13 bodies had been retrieved from the rubble, including that of his cousin. “Over 100 miners were involved during the collapse,” Auwal told Reuters by phone. “We are lucky to be rescued alive. Out of more than 100 people, only 15 of us were rescued,” said Isa Sani, who is currently receiving treatment for injuries. Muhammadu Isa of the Zamfara State miners association confirmed the incident, adding that some rescuers also suffocated while trying to dig out victims. Zamfara police spokesperson Yazid Abubakar did not ...

By Nidal al-Mughrabi and Steven Scheer Reuters Israeli forces advanced deeper into Gaza City on Thursday as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu headed to New York to address the United Nations General Assembly, with U.S. President Donald Trump pursuing a deal to end the Gaza war. Israeli strikes killed at least 19 people across the Palestinian enclave on Thursday, local health authorities said. They included 11 people from two families in Zawayda town in the central Gaza Strip, where planes hit a residential building. Israel’s military did not comment on the incident but said it had struck 170 targets across Gaza in the past 24 hours and attacked “terror infrastructure” used by militant groups to attack soldiers. Its forces were deep in Gaza City, it said. U.S. ENVOY HOPES FOR A BREAKTHROUGH Tanks have entered Gaza City as part of an offensive that Israel says is intended to eliminate Hamas following its deadly attack on Israel in October 2023 but which has caused extensive destruct...

By Joseph Campbell, Fabian Hamacher and Ann Wang Reuters Rescue workers in Taiwan battled through thick mud on Friday, looking for 11 people still missing after Super Typhoon Ragasa this week sent a wall of water into a small town on the east coast. The flooding’s death toll held steady at 14. The heavy rains in Hualien county caused a so-called barrier lake in the mountains to overflow on Tuesday and release a thick sludge of water and mud on the town of Guangfu. While the flood waters have receded, the dark grey mud continues to blanket large parts of the area, creating problems for residents and rescuers alike. Rescue workers, sometimes wading in mud up to their waists, have been cutting holes in the roofs of buildings to check for missing people. A man who gave his family name as Hwang said he was still looking for his elder sister’s body. “She died in the house because it was completely filled with mud and there was no way to get her out,” he said. Many of the deaths occur...

By GREGORY GONDWE ,Associated Press Former President Peter Mutharika was declared the winner of Malawi’s election Wednesday, ousting incumbent Lazarus Chakwera to return as leader of one of Africa’s poorest countries. Chakwera conceded defeat in a speech on national television hours before the final results were announced, and supporters of Mutharika and his Democratic Progressive Party had already gathered in the streets of the commercial capital, Blantyre, to celebrate. The 85-year-old Mutharika, who was president from 2014-2020, won 56% of the vote, according to the Malawi Electoral Commission. Chakwera was second with 33%. The winning candidate needed to receive more than 50% of the vote to avoid a runoff. “This outcome is a reflection of your collective will to have a change of government, and so it is only right that I concede defeat out of respect for your will as citizens and out of respect for the constitution,” Chakwera said in his earlier address to Malawians conced...

By KANIS LEUNG, Associated Press Typhoon Ragasa, one of the strongest in years, whipped waves taller than lampposts onto Hong Kong promenades and turned seas rough on the southern Chinese coast on Wednesday after leaving deadly destruction in Taiwan and the Philippines. In Taiwan, 14 people died in a flooded township, and 10 deaths were reported in the Philippines. Nearly 1.9 million people were relocated across Guangdong province, the southern Chinese economic powerhouse. A weather station in Chuandao town recorded maximum gusts of 241 kph (about 150 mph) at noon, a high in Jiangmen city since record-keeping began. Huge waves battered Zhuhai city’s coastline and strong winds buffered trees under intense rain. Fallen branches were scattered on the streets. The national weather agency forecast the severe typhoon would make landfall between the cities of Yangjiang and Zhanjiang on Wednesday evening. Schools, factories and transportation services were suspended in about a dozen cities...

By John Irish and Parisa Hafezi Reuters Iran and European powers remained at loggerheads on Tuesday to strike a last-ditch deal to avert the reimposition of U.N. sanctions before a September 27 deadline, but both sides left the door open for further talks. The foreign ministers of France, Britain and Germany – the so-called E3 – along with the EU’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas held talks with their Iranian counterpart on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly. “Diplomacy has a chance. The deadlines are running, and let’s see. We need to see some real action also on the Iranian side,” Kallas told reporters. On August 28, the E3 launched a 30-day process to reimpose U.N. sanctions, which ends on September 27, accusing Tehran of failing to abide by a 2015 deal with world powers aimed at preventing it from developing a nuclear weapon. The European powers have offered to delay reinstating sanctions for up to six months to allow space for talks on a long-term deal if Iran restor...

The military-led West African countries Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger have announced their withdrawal from the International Criminal Court, denouncing it as “a tool of neocolonial repression.” The announcement, in a joint statement published on Monday, is the latest example of diplomatic upheaval in West Africa’s Sahel region following eight coups between 2020 and 2023. The three countries, which are ruled by military officers, have already split from the West African regional bloc ECOWAS and formed a body known as the Alliance of Sahel States. They have also curbed defence cooperation with Western powers and sought closer ties with Russia. Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger have been members of the ICC, located in The Hague, for more than two decades. But their statement said they viewed the court as incapable of prosecuting war crimes, crimes against humanity, crimes of aggression and genocide. It did not specify examples of where the countries believed the ICC had fallen short. The th...

By JIM GOMEZ Associated Press Thousands of people were evacuated from northern Philippine villages and schools and offices were closed Monday in the archipelago and neighboring Taiwan as one of the strongest typhoons this year threatened to cause flooding and landslides on its way to southeastern China. Super Typhoon Ragasa had sustained winds of 215 kilometers (134 miles) per hour and gusts of up to 265 kph (165 mph) and was centered east of the island town of Calayan off Cagayan province, Philippine forecasters said. It was heading west at 20 kph (12 mph) and may pass close or make landfall over Cagayan’s Babuyan islands by midday or early afternoon Monday. The Philippines’ weather agency warned of coastal inundation, saying “there is a high risk of life-threatening storm surge with peak heights exceeding 3 meters (nearly 10 feet) within the next 24 hours over the low-lying or exposed coastal localities” of the northern provinces of Cagayan, Batanes, Ilocos Norte and Ilocos Sur. ...

Guinea holds a long-awaited referendum on Sunday on a new constitution that could permit coup leader Mamady Doumbouya to run for president if he chose to, something he vowed not to do when he seized power in 2021. The military-led government in Guinea, which is home to the world’s largest reserves of bauxite, already missed a December 31, 2024 deadline it had set itself for a return to civilian rule. Its presidential election is currently expected to take place in December. Critics fear the constitutional referendum is the latest attempt by a military-run government to legitimise its rule in West and Central Africa, where eight coups between 2020 and 2023 reshaped the regional political landscape. While the referendum is seen as a step towards elections and the return to civilian rule in Guinea, Doumbouya’s opponents have criticised it as a power grab by him. Doumbouya has not said yet whether he intends to run for office. A transition charter adopted by his government after it too...

By NICOLAS GARRIGA, THOMAS ADAMSON and SYLVIE CORBET ,Associated Press Marching with thousands of other protesters in Paris, hospital nurse Aya Touré put her finger on the pulse of many who took to streets across France on Thursday against the government of President Emmanuel Macron. “Fed up. Really, really fed up,” she said. “Those people governing us, they have no clue about real-life issues. We are paying the price.” Strikes that hobbled the Paris Metro and disrupted other services, coupled with nationwide demonstrations that saw sporadic clashes with police who fired volleys of tear gas, gave loud voice to widespread complaints that eight years of leadership by France’s business-friendly president have benefited too few people and hurt too many. The day of upheaval for the European Union’s second-largest economy aimed to turn up the heat on new Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu and his boss, Macron. They’re engaged in an intensifying battle both in parliament and on the stre...

Thai police fired tear gas and rubber bullets at Cambodian civilians in a disputed border area on Wednesday, authorities in both countries said, the most significant escalation since they declared a ceasefire to end a deadly five-day conflict in July. At least 23 Cambodians were injured in the incident, according to Cambodian authorities, while Thailand’s military said an unspecified number of Thai officials had also sustained injuries. The clash took place at a disputed frontier settlement, which Thailand says is part of its Ban Nong Ya Kaew village in Sa Kaeo province, but Cambodia says is part of Prey Chan village in Bantheay Meanchey province. Thai authorities erected barbed wire fences in the area last month and for weeks there have been protests by civilians from both sides of the border. Thailand and Cambodia have for more than a century contested sovereignty at various undemarcated points along their 817 km (508 miles) land border, which was first mapped by France in 1907 w...

Peru has evacuated around 1,600 tourists from a train station that serves the Inca citadel of Machu Picchu after a local protest escalated into clashes with police. A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1983, the ancient fortified complex receives around 4,500 visitors a day, many of them foreigners, according to the tourism ministry. Visitors travel some 110 kilometers (68 miles) by train from the city of Cusco — the Inca empire’s ancient capital — to the Aguas Calientes train station, then take a bus to the entrance of Machu Picchu. Residents placed logs and rocks on the tracks Monday to demand that their interests be represented in the bidding process for the new bus operator, after the previous firm’s 30-year concession expired. Authorities on Tuesday evening evacuated 156 visitors, adding to the approximately 1,400 that were brought out before. A police statement said 14 officers were injured in clashes with protesters during Monday night’s temporary unblocking of the tracks...

By Samia Nakhoul and Timour Azhari Reuters Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa has won major diplomatic victories since seizing power nine months ago, but he risks losing the battle that matters most: to hold his deeply divided country together. In Syria’s northeast, Kurdish forces are resisting integration into the state after 14 years of civil war, and are demanding a new constitution to recognize their rights. In the southeast, members of the Druze community are openly calling for independence after violent clashes with government forces. And, in Syria’s northwest, a leader of the Alawite community says Sharaa’s administration threatens its survival after Sunni militants affiliated to the government massacred hundreds of civilians there in March. Reuters travelled through the heartlands of Syria’s Alawite, Christian and Druze minorities last month and spoke to dozens of residents and community leaders who voiced anger at Sharaa’s Islamist administration following outbreaks of secta...

By Adam Schrader UPI Ukraine launched large airstrikes late Saturday and into Sunday that hit a chemical plant and an oil refinery inside of Russia, authorities confirmed, as Russia tested a new hypersonic cruise missile during a joint exercise with Belarus. Dmitry Makhonin, the governor of Russia’s Perm Krai territory,  said in a statement  Saturday that a Ukrainian drone flew into an industrial building in Gubakha. He said that no casualties were reported and that the chemical plant was operating normally. “I appeal to all residents of the region — refrain from publishing photos and videos of the drone,” he said. “By posting such information on social networks, you are helping the enemy, who has made another pathetic attempt to intimidate us. They will not succeed. Victory will be ours.” But a Ukrainian military intelligence source  told The Kyiv Independent  newspaper in Ukraine that equipment for urea production has been damaged. Urea is a nitrogen fertilizer...

The permanent mission of North Korea to the United Nations said the country’s position as a nuclear weapons state was irreversible, denouncing U.S. “anachronistic” claims for denuclearisation, state media KCNA reported on Monday. “The position of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea as a nuclear weapons state which has been permanently specified in the supreme and basic law of the state has become irreversible,” the DPRK permanent mission to the UN Office and international organizations in Vienna was quoted as saying. DPRK is short for the North’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. While criticising the U.S. push for denuclearisation as a “provocative act” of interfering in its internal affairs, Pyongyang defended its nuclear weapons as an “inevitable option” of defending the country from U.S. nuclear threats. SOURCE: REUTERS AND AGENCIES from The Times Of Earth https://ift.tt/xQoVBYs

Polish and allied aircraft were deployed to protect Polish airspace on Saturday because of a threat of drone strikes in neighbouring Ukraine, and the airport in the eastern Polish city of Lublin was closed, Polish authorities said. The Operational Command of the Polish armed forces said the planes took part in an operation near the border with Ukraine “to ensure the security of our airspace”, three days after Poland shot down Russian drones in its airspace with the backing of military aircraft from its NATO allies. “These actions are preventative in nature and aimed at securing airspace and protecting citizens, especially in areas adjacent to the threatened area,” the Command said in the statement. There was no mention of any violations of Polish airspace in the statement. Poland said its airspace was violated by Russian drones overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday as Russia struck Ukraine, where it has been waging war since February 2022. Russia said it had not been targeting Poland...

By Paavan MATHEMA AFP Nepal’s former chief justice Sushila Karki was sworn in Friday as the country’s prime minister to lead a six-month transition to elections, after deadly anti-corruption protests ousted the government. The previous prime minister quit Tuesday as parliament was set ablaze. “I, Sushila Karki… take an oath in the name of the country and the people to fulfil my duty as the prime minister,” the 73-year-old Karki, Nepal’s first woman chief justice, said as she was sworn into office by President Ram Chandra Paudel. “Congratulations! We wish you success, wish the country success,” Paudel said to Karki after the small ceremony in the presidential palace, attended by diplomats and some former leaders. Parliament was later dissolved, and elections were set for March 5, 2026. The Himalayan nation of 30 million people was plunged into chaos this week after security forces tried to crush rallies by young anti-corruption protesters. At least 51 people were ki...

Watching the price tick higher as he filled up his car, Russian pensioner Oleg railed against the recent surge in petrol prices, pushed higher by Ukrainian strikes on Russia’s oil infrastructure. Kyiv has been targeting Russian refineries for months, calling the attacks fair retribution for Moscow’s own barrages and an attempt to cut off energy revenues that fund Russia’s army. Over the summer, a wave of strikes hit processing capacity at several key facilities, pushing fuel prices higher and leading to shortages. “Little-by-little, but very frequently, the price of fuel is going up. Everybody has noticed,” Oleg, 62, told AFP. Since ordering troops into Ukraine in February 2022, the Kremlin has tried to shelter Russians from the economic fallout of its offensive. Sanctions have failed to deliver the killer blow the West had hoped. But in one of the world’s top oil producers, where consumers are used to paying much less for fuel than in Europe, price increases have many worried. ...

By Nafisa Eltahir Reuters More than a dozen long-range kamikaze drones seen near an airport controlled by Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces during a major air assault on army territory in May indicate the paramilitaries have new weapons that could alter the course of the war. The conflict between the RSF and Sudan’s army has created the world’s worst humanitarian crisis over the past two-and-a-half years, drawing in myriad foreign interests, and threatening to fragment the strategic Red Sea country, a major gold producer. Images and analyses shared by the Yale Humanitarian Research Lab and verified by Reuters showed 13 “delta-wing” drones alongside launching gear near Nyala airport in Sudan’s western Darfur region on May 6 this year. Such drones, which are designed to crash into their targets, typically have a range of about 2,000 km (1,200 miles), a range that would reach anywhere in Sudan and far further than any other models the RSF was previously known to possess. Yale assessed it ...

BY HANNAH SCHOENBAUM, ALANNA DURKIN RICHER, MARK SHERMAN and ERIC TUCKER AP Charlie Kirk, a conservative activist  and close ally of  President Donald Trump  who played an influential role in rallying young Republican voters, was shot and killed at a Utah college event in what the governor called a political assassination. Authorities say Kirk was killed with a single shot from a rooftop on Wednesday. Whoever fired the gun then slipped away amid the chaos of screams and students fleeing the Utah Valley University campus. Federal, state and local authorities were still searching for an unidentified shooter early Thursday and working what they called “multiple active crime scenes.” “This is a dark day for our state. It’s a tragic day for our nation,” said  Utah Gov. Spencer Cox . “I want to be very clear this is a political assassination.” Two people were detained Wednesday but neither was determined to be connected to the shooting and both were released, Utah publ...

By Claudia Ciobanu and Illia Novikov, Associated Press Poland said early Wednesday that it and its NATO allies had shot down Russian drones that violated Polish airspace in what it called an “act of aggression” as Russia launched aerial attacks on Ukraine. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk wrote on social media that “Last night the Polish airspace was violated by a huge number of Russian drones. Those drones that posed a direct threat were shot down.” Poland’s armed forces were on a heightened state of alert overnight Tuesday and early Wednesday because of what they described as “further massive airstrikes against targets located in Ukraine.” Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz wrote on X that “more than 10 objects” crossed into Polish air space and those that constituted a risk to Poland’s security were neutralized. He thanked NATO Air Command and The Royal Netherlands Air and Space Force for supporting the action with F-35 fighter jets. The Polish armed forces said Wednes...

BY Jurgen HECKER AFP France’s new Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu was to take office on Wednesday facing a day of protests disrupting transport, education and other services in a show of grassroots anger against President Emmanuel Macron. The protests, led by a loose left-wing collective called “Block Everything”, are a baptism of fire for Lecornu, 39, a close ally of Macron who has served the last three years as defence minister. Demonstrators gathered across the country from the early hours, with 80,000 police deployed to keep the peace. Groups of demonstrators, many masked, built barricades with dumpsters and pelted police with rubbish on the outskirts of Paris, according to AFP journalists. In the southeastern city of Lyon, protesters blocked a highway running through the city and set bins on fire, while in the western city of Nantes police used teargas to disperse protesters. Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau warned demonstrators that there would be “zero tolerance” concer...