Army rejects assertions by RSF that they have seized palace and airports in Khartoum
Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces says it has gained control of Khartoum international airport, Merowe airport, al-Obeid airport and the presidential palace, after an attack on its military base in south Khartoum at about 9am local time today.
Khartoum airport has shut down, with clips circulated on social media showing the RSF storming the airport.
Continue reading...Nizar Issaoui, 35, died in hospital after protest against ‘police state’ running country, says brother
A professional footballer in Tunisia has died after setting himself alight earlier this week in what he called a protest against the “police state” ruling the country, his brother said.
Nizar Issaoui, 35, suffered third-degree burns from his action in the village of Haffouz in the central region of Kairouan, his brother Ryad said.
Continue reading...UK Ministry of Defence says Kremlin has made it harder for civilians to avoid being drafted into the army
Five Ukrainians from Russian-occupied Melitopol in the Zaporizhzhia oblast will be tried by a Russian court for being part of a “terrorist group”, according to Russian state media.
The five Ukrainians were transported from Melitopol to Crimea, which has been occupied by Russia since 2014, and subsequently transferred to the Lefortovo pre-trial detention centre in Moscow, the Kyiv Independent reports.
Continue reading...Paramilitary group reports seizing control of presidential palace, army chief’s home and Khartoum airport
• Fighting in Sudan’s capital – latest updates
Sudan was plunged into a long-feared violent crisis on Saturday as a bitter struggle for power appeared to break out between the two main factions of the ruling military regime.
At least 25 people were reported to have been killed in clashes in the vast and strategic east African country during heavy fighting between the Sudanese armed forces and the paramilitaries of the Rapid Support Force (RSF), according to the Sudan Doctor’s Committee, a local NGO.
Continue reading...Man detained after what looked like a smoke bomb was thrown at Fumio Kishida just before speech
The Japanese prime minister, Fumio Kishida, has escaped unhurt after he was apparently targeted by an explosive device on Saturday morning. It comes less than a year after the country’s former prime minister, Shinzo Abe, was shot dead while making a campaign speech.
Kishida was safely evacuated after the incident, while a suspect – named by Japanese media as Ryuji Kimura, 24, a resident of Hyogo prefecture – was arrested at the scene, reports said.
Continue reading...Second day of exchange involving nearly 900 detainees comes amid peace talks to end eight-year war
A flight carrying rebel prisoners of war has arrived in Yemen from Saudi Arabia, and Saudi prisoners are due to be released later in the day, the International Committee of the Red Cross has said.
The flights are part of a large-scale, multi-day exchange involving nearly 900 detainees and come amid peace talks which have raised hopes of an end to Yemen’s eight-year war between Iran-backed rebels and a Saudi-led coalition.
Continue reading...Closures, delayed after Russia reduced Europe’s gas supplies, leave conundrum for energy policymakers
Germany’s three remaining nuclear power stations will shut down on Saturday, 12 years after the Fukushima disaster in Japan accelerated the country’s exit from atomic energy.
The closures mark the conclusion of a stop-start approach to atomic energy and a victory for the country’s vociferous anti-nuclear movement.
Continue reading...Nine killed and 21 wounded in Russian missile attack on apartment blocks in Sloviansk; Vladimir Putin signs bill sparking fears of new wave of mobilisation
Continue reading...US president, whose son Beau Biden died of brain cancer in 2015, tearful after chance meeting with Fr Frank O’Grady in Co Mayo
Joe Biden broke down in tears on the final day of his four-day trip to Ireland after a chance meeting with the priest who gave his son Beau the last rites before he died in 2015.
Fr Richard Gibbons, parish priest and rector of Knock Shrine, said Fr Frank O’Grady – the chaplain who was by Beau Biden’s side as he died – had moved to Knock to work there, leading to an unplanned meeting with the president.
Continue reading...Constitutional council’s ruling means government can pass law to increase minimum eligible age as early as next week
France’s highest constitutional court has approved Emmanuel Macron’s proposals to raise the minimum pension age from 62 to 64.
The ruling means the government can pass the French president’s unpopular plans to increase the minimum eligible pension age as early as next week, to be in force by the end of this year.
Continue reading...Scientists calculate 2022 eruption of Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano released 1,000 times more energy than Hiroshima bomb
A huge underwater volcanic event in Tonga last year was of a magnitude comparable with the most powerful nuclear detonation by the US, researchers have revealed.
Scientists have used eye and earwitnesses accounts, along with data from tide gauges, satellites, evidence of broken windows and other sources, to calculate that the eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano, which occurred on 15 January 2022 and was felt around the world, likely involved five blasts. The last of them released energy equivalent to about 15 megatonnes of TNT.
Continue reading...Government to seek 10 years on each of two charges, says prosecutor in Boston court
Jack Teixeira, the air national guardsman arrested on suspicion of leaking hundreds of secret defence documents, has been charged in a Boston court on two counts under the Espionage Act as Washington reeled from the fallout of the worst leaks of US intelligence in at least a decade.
The clean-cut 21-year-old was brought into court in a beige jumpsuit, and his handcuffs were removed by a bailiff. He sat quietly, turning only once to three family members to smile weakly.
Continue reading...US president turned his farewell speech outside St Muredach’s cathedral in Ballina into a celebration of Irish and American values
Joe Biden has concluded his visit to Ireland with a passionate riverside address to tens of thousands of people at his ancestral town in County Mayo.
The US president turned his farewell speech outside St Muredach’s cathedral in Ballina on Friday night into a celebration of Irish and American values that appeared partly aimed at US voters.
Continue reading...International Committee of the Red Cross organises swap between Saudi-led coalition and Houthi rebels as ceasefire talks continue
An “emotional and precious” exchange of nearly 900 prisoners involved in Yemen’s long-running war began on Friday, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has said.
The exchange, the largest since 2020, is likely to be staged over three days, and includes politicians, journalists and soldiers. On Friday, four flights carrying a total of 318 people took place between the rebel-held capital, Sana’a, and government-controlled Aden. A further 500 will be exchanged on Saturday.
Continue reading...Animal rights groups appealing against decision to kill bear after death of Andrea Papi
A court in the north Italian province of Trentino has suspended an order to put down a 17-year-old female bear that killed a man while he was jogging in the woods.
Andrea Papi, who died on 7 April and whose funeral was held on Wednesday, was the first person in Italy in modern times to be killed in a bear attack.
Continue reading...Intercept of Russian intelligence shows Beijing wanted to disguise lethal aid as civilian items, says report
China approved the provision of lethal aid to Russia for its war in Ukraine but wanted any shipments to remain a secret, according to leaked US government documents.
A top-secret intelligence summary dated 23 February states that Beijing had approved the incremental provision of weapons to Moscow, which it would disguise as civilian items, according to a report in the Washington Post.
Continue reading...Package similar to 2005 deal needed as struggling African countries suffer severe funding squeeze, says official
Western countries need to put together a debt relief and aid package to match that of the landmark Gleneagles summit deal in 2005 in order to counter a severe funding squeeze affecting struggling African countries, the International Monetary Fund has said.
Abebe Selassie, the director of the IMF’s African department, said without a scaling up of financial support some of the world’s poorest countries would have no chance of meeting the 2030 UN goals for poverty reduction.
Continue reading...Defence ministry says it cannot rule out ‘cognitive warfare tactics’ after disinformation during Chinese drills
Taiwan’s defence ministry has raised the alarm about disinformation attacks during the recent Chinese military drills and alerted local media to the dangers of helping spread disinformation.
Last week Beijing launched three days of military exercises near Taiwan, in retaliation for President Tsai Ing-wen’s meeting with the US House speaker, Kevin McCarthy, in the US. Taiwan’s military and civilian analysts confirmed that Taiwan was also targeted with information warfare. “Last year’s military exercise and this year’s military exercise both used a combination of information and military actions to affect our morale,” a defence spokesperson said on Wednesday.
Continue reading...Business groups fear cost could damage tourism sector still recovering from effects of pandemic
Indonesia is considering imposing a tax for tourists after a series of incidents in which badly behaved foreigners have violated laws or customs, according to local media.
The tourism and creative economy minister, Sandiaga Uno, told reporters this week that the possibility of a tourism tax was “currently being studied”.
Continue reading...Casino complex to be built in Osaka after ban was lifted despite fears about gambling addiction
Japan has approved a controversial plan to build the country’s first casino, after decades of debate fuelled by fears that an increase in tourist spending could be blighted by a rise in gambling addiction.
The casino complex, which will include restaurants, shops and entertainment facilities as part of an “integrated resort”, will be built in the western port city of Osaka, where senior politicians have pushed for its construction and rejected demands for a local referendum.
Continue reading...