IRAQ
Hospital blaze kills 23
At least 23 people died when a fire broke out yesterday in a COVID-19 intensive care unit in the capital. The fire started with an explosion caused by “a fault in the storage of oxygen cylinders,” medical sources told reporters. It spread quickly, as “the hospital had no fire protection system and false ceilings allowed the flames to spread to highly flammable products,” civil defense officials said. “The majority of the victims died because they had to be moved and were taken off ventilators, while the others were suffocated by the smoke,” they said.
UNITED STATES
Six die in traffic crash
At least six people died and several were hurt in an interstate crash in Georgia that left a passenger van engulfed in flames and rolled on its side, police said. Passersby stopped to pull people from the burning vehicle on Saturday evening along I-85, Gwinnett County police Sergeant Michele Pihera said in a statement. The area is about 56km northeast of downtown Atlanta. Six people were pronounced dead at the scene and several others were taken to Atlanta-area hospitals for treatment. One bystander suffered a minor injury, but declined to be transported, police said. It was unclear how many people were inside the van, but police believe all were adults. Investigators were working to determine the cause of the crash.
ARMENIA
Prime minister resigns
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan yesterday announced his resignation while retaining interim duties, formalizing a parliamentary vote to be held on June 20 in an effort to defuse a political crisis sparked by last year’s war with Azerbaijan. “I am resigning from my post as prime minister today” to hold the vote, he said in an announcement broadcast on Facebook, adding that he would “continue to fulfil all the duties of the prime minister.”
UNITED STATES
Man in body armor shot
Los Angeles police on Saturday said officers shot dead a driver wearing body armor who had reversed into a patrol car in Hollywood. The officers were responding to a call when a car pulled in front of them on Sunset Boulevard, hit the brakes and backed into their vehicle, the Los Angeles Police Department wrote on Twitter. “The driver of the car exited, was wearing body armor, & had his right hand concealed behind him,” it wrote. “He moved toward the [officers] who had exited their patrol car. He counted ‘3, 2, 1’ & began to move his arm to the front of his body, at which time there was an OIS [officer-involved shooting],” it added. The man was hit by gunfire and pronounced dead at the scene, police said.
BELARUS
President hints at dynasty
President Alexander Lukashenko on Saturday said he would change the law on presidential succession so that if he dies while in office, power in the Eastern European nation would be transferred to the National Security Council, where his son plays a prominent role. Many observers have suggested that Lukashenko, who has ruled with an iron fist since 1994, aims to establish a political dynasty, although he denies this. Lukashenko is the head of the council, but his eldest son, Viktor, also has a seat and is regarded as the council’s informal leader. Under the law, the prime minister takes presidential powers if the presidency becomes vacant.
CHAGOS ISLANDS: Recently elected Mauritian Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam told lawmakers that the contents of negotiations are ‘unknown’ to the government Mauritius’ new prime minister ordered an independent review of a deal with the UK involving a strategically important US-UK military base in the Indian Ocean, placing the agreement under fresh scrutiny. Under a pact signed last month, the UK ceded sovereignty of the Chagos archipelago to Mauritius, while retaining control of Diego Garcia — the island where the base is situated. The deal was signed by then-Mauritian prime minister Pravind Jugnauth and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Oct. 3 — a month before elections in Mauritius in which Navin Ramgoolam became premier. “I have asked for an independent review of the
France on Friday showed off to the world the gleaming restored interior of Notre-Dame cathedral, a week before the 850-year-old medieval edifice reopens following painstaking restoration after the devastating 2019 fire. French President Emmanuel Macron conducted an inspection of the restoration, broadcast live on television, saying workers had done the “impossible” by healing a “national wound” after the fire on April 19, 2019. While every effort has been made to remain faithful to the original look of the cathedral, an international team of designers and architects have created a luminous space that has an immediate impact on the visitor. The floor shimmers and
THIRD IN A ROW? An expert said if the report of a probe into the defense official is true, people would naturally ask if it would erode morale in the military Chinese Minister of National Defense Dong Jun (董軍) has been placed under investigation for corruption, a report said yesterday, the latest official implicated in a crackdown on graft in the country’s military. Citing current and former US officials familiar with the situation, British newspaper the Financial Times said that the investigation into Dong was part of a broader probe into military corruption. Neither the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs nor the Chinese embassy in Washington replied to a request for confirmation yesterday. If confirmed, Dong would be the third Chinese defense minister in a row to fall under investigation for corruption. A former navy
‘VIOLATIONS OF DISCIPLINE’: Miao Hua has come up through the political department in the military and he was already fairly senior before Xi Jinping came to power in 2012 A member of China’s powerful Central Military Commission has been suspended and put under investigation, the Chinese Ministry of National Defense said on Thursday. Miao Hua (苗華) was director of the political work department on the commission, which oversees the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), the world’s largest standing military. He was one of five members of the commission in addition to its leader, Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平). Ministry spokesman Colonel Wu Qian (吳謙) said Miao is under investigation for “serious violations of discipline,” which usually alludes to corruption. It is the third recent major shakeup for China’s defense establishment. China in June
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