MEXICO
At least 18 killed in crash
A fiery crash between a tanker truck carrying fuel and a passenger bus on Saturday killed at least 18 people in the country’s north, authorities said. Prosecutors in the northern border state of Tamaulipas said the crash might have been caused by one of the truck’s two tank trailers coming loose. The collision left both vehicles completely burned. Police photographs showed the bus was reduced to a tangle of smoking, charred metal. Tamaulipas State police initially found nine sets of remains, but by early afternoon prosecutors said nine more had been recovered. The death toll could rise, they said. The crash occurred before dawn on a highway that leads to the northern city of Monterrey.
UNITED STATES
Pastor sues over arrest
A black pastor who was arrested by white police officers while watering the flowers of a neighbor who was out of town filed a federal lawsuit alleging the ordeal violated his constitutional rights, and caused lingering problems including emotional distress and anxiety. Michael Jennings filed the lawsuit on Friday night against three officers and the central Alabama town of Childersburg requesting a jury trial and seeking an unspecified amount of money. Jennings’ lawyers held a news conference outside the Birmingham federal courthouse on Saturday to discuss the lawsuit, and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the nation’s oldest civil rights organization, and other groups held a rally afterward at a downtown park. The suit alleged the actions of officers Christopher Smith and Justin Gable, Sergeant Jeremy Brooks and the city violated rights protecting against unlawful arrest and guaranteeing free speech. He cited multiple continuing problems including post-traumatic stress disorder and humiliation.
ISRAEL
Injured Palestinian dies
A Palestinian succumbed to his wounds yesterday, five days after being shot by the Israeli army during a home demolition in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said. The ministry in a statement confirmed “the death of the young man, Hamad Mustafa Hussein Abu Jelda, 24, after being shot by the Israeli occupation forces in Jenin camp a few days ago.” Security sources in Jenin told reporters that Abu Jelda had been shot during an Israeli army raid on Jenin camp on Tuesday to destroy the home of Raad Hazem, who killed three Israelis in a deadly shooting attack in Tel Aviv. Pictures of Abu Jelda released by local advocates showed him posing with an M16 rifle, although no armed faction has claimed him as a member.
TURKEY
Refugees plan caravan
A group of Syrian refugees in Turkey is planning to form a caravan to reach the EU, organizers said on Saturday. Plans are being drawn up online via a Telegram channel, set up six days earlier and followed by almost 70,000 people. Organizers are calling on people to bring sleeping bags, tents, life jackets, water, canned food and first-aid kits. “We will announce it when it’s time to go,” one organizer, a 46-year-old refugee who wished to remain anonymous, told reporters. Some of the organizers already live in the EU, he added. Organizers say the caravan would be split into groups of up to 50 people, each led by a supervisor. “We have been in Turkey for 10 years,” one message posted on the channel by an administrator read. “We are protected ... but Western countries must share the burden.”
The military is to begin conscripting civilians next year, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet said yesterday, citing rising tensions with Thailand as the reason for activating a long-dormant mandatory enlistment law. The Cambodian parliament in 2006 approved a law that would require all Cambodians aged 18 to 30 to serve in the military for 18 months, although it has never been enforced. Relations with Thailand have been tense since May, when a long-standing territorial dispute boiled over into cross-border clashes, killing one Cambodian soldier. “This episode of confrontation is a lesson for us and is an opportunity for us to review, assess and
The Russian minister of foreign affairs warned the US, South Korea and Japan against forming a security partnership targeting North Korea as he visited the ally country for talks on further solidifying their booming military and other cooperation. Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei Lavrov spoke on Saturday in Wonsan City, North Korea, where he met North Korean Leader Kim Jong-un and conveyed greetings from Russian President Vladimir Putin. Kim during the meeting reaffirmed his government’s commitment to “unconditionally support and encourage all measures” taken by Russia in its conflict with Ukraine. Pyongyang and Moscow share identical views on “all strategic issues in
IDENTITY: A sex extortion scandal involving Thai monks has deeply shaken public trust in the clergy, with 11 monks implicated in financial misconduct Reverence for the saffron-robed Buddhist monkhood is deeply woven into Thai society, but a sex extortion scandal has besmirched the clergy and left the devout questioning their faith. Thai police this week arrested a woman accused of bedding at least 11 monks in breach of their vows of celibacy, before blackmailing them with thousands of secretly taken photos of their trysts. The monks are said to have paid nearly US$12 million, funneled out of their monasteries, funded by donations from laypeople hoping to increase their merit and prospects for reincarnation. The scandal provoked outrage over hypocrisy in the monkhood, concern that their status
‘FALSE NARRATIVE’: China and the Solomon Islands inked a secretive security pact in 2022, which is believed to be a prelude to building a Chinese base, which Beijing denied The Australian government yesterday said it expects China to spy on major military drills it is conducting with the US and other allies. It also renewed a charge — denounced by Beijing as a “false narrative” — that China wants to establish a military base in the South Pacific. The comments by a government minister came as Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese made a six-day visit to China to bolster recently repaired trade ties. More than 30,000 military personnel from 19 nations are set to join in the annual Talisman Sabre exercises from yesterday across Australia and Papua New Guinea. “The Chinese military have
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