Celaya, Mexico | AFP | Sunday 4/16/2023 Gunmen stormed a water park in central Mexico on Saturday and killed six adults and a child, unleashing panic among those present, local authorities said. Police “arrived at the scene where they found… three dead women, three men and a seven-year-old minor, in addition to one person seriously wounded,” said a statement from City Hall in Cortazar, the municipality where the attack took place. © Agence France-Presse
International
Deadly fighting between army, paramilitaries in Sudan capital
Fighting in the Sudanese capital raged into the night after a day of deadly battles between paramilitaries and the regular army that left at least three civilians dead on Saturday and sparked international alarm. Explosions and gunfire rang out on the deserted streets of Khartoum, according to witnesses, after the paramilitaries said they were in control of the presidential place, Khartoum airport and other vital facilities. The army denied the claims, and in a late […]
Blinken arrives in Hanoi seeking upgrade in US-Vietnam ties
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Vietnam Friday looking to expand diplomatic ties with Hanoi, days after a flare-up in tensions with China over Taiwan. Blinken — who is passing through Hanoi on his way to a Group of Seven (G7) foreign ministers meeting in Japan — will meet top Vietnamese leaders on Saturday to pave the way for a potential diplomatic upgrade with the country. The two countries have increasingly close trade […]
Fighting rocks Sudan capital as regular army battles paramilitaries
Explosions rocked the Sudanese capital Saturday as paramilitaries and the regular army traded attacks on each other’s bases, days after the army warned the country was at a “dangerous” turning point. The eruption of violence came after weeks of deepening tensions between military leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his number two, paramilitary commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, over the planned integration of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) into the regular army. Witnesses reported “confrontations” and […]
Europe’s JUICE mission blasts off towards Jupiter’s icy moons
by Juliette COLLEN The European Space Agency’s JUICE space probe successfully took off on Friday for a mission to discover whether Jupiter’s icy moons are capable of hosting extra-terrestrial life in their vast, hidden oceans. The launch on an Ariane 5 rocket from Europe’s spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, came after a previous attempt on Thursday was called off due to the risk of lightning. Despite cloudy skies, the rocket lifted off as planned at […]
DEVELOPING STORY: Sudan paramilitaries say in control of Khartoum presidential palace
Sudan’s paramilitaries said they were in control of several key sites following fighting with the regular army Saturday, including the presidential palace in central Khartoum. In a statement, the Rapid Support Forces said it had taken “full control” of the presidential palace as well as the airports in Khartoum and Merowe in the north of the country. It said the moves came in response to attacks by the regular army on RSF bases in […]
Who is US leaks suspect Jack Teixeira?
New York, United States | AFP | by Peter HUTCHISON Described as a patriot by friends and coming from a family boasting decades of military service, Jack Teixeira seems an unlikely trigger for the largest US espionage scandal in decades. But the low-ranking national guardsman who possessed top secret security clearance at a young age is accused of being just that, and faces years in prison if convicted of leaking dozens of classified documents. The […]
Airman charged as US vows to send message over documents leak
Boston, United States | AFP | Saturday 4/15/2023 by Joseph Prezioso with Peter Hutchison in New York A young national guardsman was charged Friday with orchestrating the most damaging leak of US classified documents in a decade, as the government signaled it intends to make an example of the 21-year-old. Jack Teixeira was arrested Thursday following a week-long probe into the leak of documents — which unveiled US concern over Ukraine’s ability to fend off […]
Kenyan sect leader arrested after four followers die
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Saturday 4/15/2023 Kenyan police said Saturday they have arrested a local cult leader after the death of four followers he reportedly told to starve themselves in order to “meet Jesus”. Eleven other followers of the Good News International Church led by Makenzie Nthenge were taken to hospital, three of them in critical condition, after being rescued Friday in the Shakahola forest near the town of Malindi. Police said they feared […]
How to decommission a nuclear power plant
Frankfurt, Germany | AFP | Saturday 4/15/2023 by Jean-Philippe LACOUR Germany’s last three nuclear power plants will stop generating electricity from Saturday but the arduous and decades-long process of decommissioning the sites is only just beginning. Here’s a look at what happens after the plants are taken offline. – Gradual shutdown – On the day of the shutdown, plant operators will gradually decrease electricity output. From 10:00 pm (2000 GMT), “we will lower the facility’s […]
Germany ends nuclear era as last reactors power down
Berlin, Germany | AFP | Saturday 4/15/2023 by Sebastien ASH Germany will switch off its last three nuclear reactors on Saturday, exiting atomic power even as it seeks to wean itself off fossil fuels and manage an energy crisis caused by the war in Ukraine. While many Western countries are upping their investments in atomic energy to reduce their emissions, Germany is bringing an early end to its nuclear age. Europe’s largest economy has been […]
DEVELOPING STORY: Sudan paramilitaries say they took control of Khartoum airport
Khartoum, Sudan | AFP | Saturday 4/15/2023 Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Force said it had taken control of Khartoum airport Saturday in response to army attacks on its bases. “The Rapid Support Forces defended themselves in response to the hostile forces inflicting heavy losses” on the regular army, the RSF statement said. It said its fighters “were able to take control of Merowe airport” north of Khartoum, “expelled attackers on bases in Soba” and “took […]
