A train hit railway workers in southwest China on Thursday, killing 11, local railway authorities said after the crash in Yunnan province. According to city officials and state agency Xinhua, the train was conducting tests of earthquake-detection equipment when it struck a maintenance team on a curved section of track at Luoyangzhen (Luoyang Town) station, in the capital of Yunnan province. The collision happened during overnight works, with the crew reportedly positioned within the test section when the train entered the curve. Authorities said an emergency response was launched immediately, involving railway units and local government teams, with the two injured workers...
Nigerian Former President Goodluck Jonathan Safely Stuck In Guinea Bissau After Military Take Over
Nigerian Former President Goodluck Jonathan is among African leaders who are currently trapped in Guinea-Bissau following a coup d’état in the country, though confirmed safe. His spokesman could not be reached, but former aide Ima Niboro confirmed he is safe but trapped with other election monitors. Jonathan had earlier shared updates of his observer activities, including polling station visits and a condolence visit to the family of former First Lady Mrs. Isolina Da Fonseca Nhamajo. The former president is one of the 36 high-profile observers on the joint mission of the African Union (AU), the Economic Community of West African...
Peru Sentences Former President Vizcarra To 14 Years In Prison For Corruption
A Peruvian court on Wednesday sentenced former President Martín Vizcarra to 14 years in prison after finding him guilty of taking bribes while serving as governor of a southern state. Vizcarra was sentenced to immediate imprisonment and a nine-year ban from public office. He is expected to appeal the decision. “This is not justice, it is revenge,” Vizcarra said on social media. “But they will not break me.” Vizcarra alleged his sentence was retribution for “standing up” to the right-wing political groups that control Congress, among which the influence of the late former President Alberto Fujimori is particularly prominent. Vizcarra clashed with these groups...
Czech President Ready To Swear In Babiš As Prime Minister If Conflict Of Interest Is Resolved
The Czech president said Wednesday he was ready to swear in populist billionaire Andrej Babiš as prime minister within a week if the businessman clarifies how he plans to avoid a conflict of interest that will arise from his private dealings and his new political status. A law, amended in 2023 and lambasted by Babiš and his supporters, tightened the country’s conflict-of-interest legislation to prevent politicians from combining wealth and power and banned the transfer of ownership to trust funds or relatives as it was possible before. Babiš owns some 200 companies under the Agrofert conglomerate and is heavily invested in the...
Pro-Palestinian Protest Group Goes To Court To Challenge Its Ban By The UK Government
Lawyers for a pro-Palestinian protest group that has been outlawed by the British government went to court Wednesday in a bid to overturn its classification as a terrorist organization. Palestine Action is asking the High Court to rule that the government erred in classing it as a terror group alongside the likes of al-Qaida and Hamas. Raza Husain, a lawyer for Palestine Action co-founder Huda Ammori, said the ban was an “ill-considered, discriminatory, due process-lacking, authoritarian abuse of statutory power.” The government banned Palestine Action after activists broke into a Royal Air Force base in June to protest British military...
Myanmar’s Military Rulers Grant A Mass Amnesty Ahead Of Election
Myanmar ’s military rulers have granted amnesty to more than 3,000 political prisoners locked up for opposing army rule and dropped charges against over 5,500 others ahead of next month’s election, state media reported Wednesday. An official from Yangon’s Insein Prison, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to release information, told the AP on Thursday that prisoner releases would begin that day, but he did not provide the numbers and names of inmates to be freed. In some past amnesties, releases have taken several days. Outside of Insein Prison, which for decades has served as the...
West Virginia Parents Can Cite Religious Beliefs To Opt Out Of School Vaccines, Judge Says
West Virginia officials suspended a school vaccination mandate Wednesday after a judge ruled that parents can cite religious beliefs to opt out of vaccines required for their children to attend classes. In issuing a permanent injunction in a lawsuit filed in June, Raleigh County Circuit Judge Michael Froble on Wednesday said children of families who object to the state’s compulsory vaccination law on religious grounds will be allowed to attend school and participate in extracurricular sports. Froble ruled that a state policy barring parents from seeking religious exemptions violates the Equal Protection for Religion Act signed into law in 2023 by then-Republican...
Mexico Plans To Build Latin America’s Most Powerful Supercomputer
Mexico unveiled plans Wednesday to build what it claims will be Latin America’s most powerful supercomputer — a project the government says will help the country capitalize on the rapidly evolving uses of artificial intelligence and exponentially expand the country’s computing capacity. Dubbed “Coatlicue” for the Mexica goddess considered the earth mother, the supercomputer would be seven times more powerful than the region’s current leader in Brazil, José Merino, head of the Telecommunications and Digital Transformation Agency. President Claudia Sheinbaum said during her morning news briefing that the location for the project had not been decided yet, but construction will begin next year. “We’re very...