CAMBODIA
Ministry explains explosion
A huge explosion at a military base that killed 20 soldiers and injured many others was an accident caused by a “technical issue” stemming from the old and degraded ammunition that was being moved, the Ministry of Defense said yesterday. The ministry’s statement followed an allegation leveled by an opposition politician-in-exile suggesting that the explosion had been an attack. Opposition leader Sam Rainsy wrote on Facebook that an armed group of anti-government dissidents had caused the blast. The ministry warned that anyone publishing untrue information about the blast could face prosecution.
INDIA
Spice testing ordered
The Food Safety and Standards Authority yesterday said that it had ordered nationwide testing and inspections at all companies making spice mixes as global regulators investigate contamination issues with three spice-blends made by MDH and an Everest spice mix for fish curry. The agency ordered officials to conduct “extensive inspections, sampling and testing at all the manufacturing units” for powdered spices, with a focus on those making curry powders and mixed spice blends for local and foreign sales.
NORWAY
Sex offender seeks ‘right’
A convicted sex offender is asking the Supreme Court to declare social media access to be a human right. The case before the court yesterday involves a man who molested a minor and used the Snapchat messaging app to connect with boys. The unnamed offender was sentenced last year to 13 months in prison and banned from using Snapchat for two years. His lawyers argue that depriving him of his account is unlawful under the European Convention on Human Rights.
FRANCE
Mudslide kills woman
A mudslide killed a 57-year-old woman, local authorities said yesterday. “An intense and highly localized precipitation event triggered ... a mudslide in the village of Courmelles” about 90k northeast of Paris, the local prefecture said in a statement. The mud “plunged into an area with around 10 homes and built up especially in one house,” Courmelles Mayor Arnaud Svrcek said. With about 1.5m of water in the house, “the husband was able to escape with bruises to the head, but the lady was swept away,” he said.
MEXICO
Remains animals, not human
Skeletal remains discovered in an alleged clandestine grave in Mexico City are those of animals, not humans, prosecutors said on Wednesday. “The 14 bone elements found at the site are of animal origin, particularly of the canine species, and none of them correspond to any person,” Mexico City Prosecutor Ulises Lara said in a statement. Cecilia Flores, who leads the Searching Mothers group, posted on social media on Tuesday the discovery of the remains buried in a vacant lot. The group also found photographs and identification, she said. However, as of midday on Wednesday, a woman and a child who some of the documents belonged to were found alive, the first having lost her ID in a robbery and the child having left his in a book that was discarded. Lara said that with a town nearby, it would be difficult to cremate bodies without the townspeople realizing it. “We can categorically affirm that it is neither a crematorium nor a clandestine grave,” he said.
ANGER: A video shared online showed residents in a neighborhood confronting the national security minister, attempting to drag her toward floodwaters Argentina’s port city of Bahia Blanca has been “destroyed” after being pummeled by a year’s worth of rain in a matter of hours, killing 13 and driving hundreds from their homes, authorities said on Saturday. Two young girls — reportedly aged four and one — were missing after possibly being swept away by floodwaters in the wake of Friday’s storm. The deluge left hospital rooms underwater, turned neighborhoods into islands and cut electricity to swaths of the city. Argentine Minister of National Security Patricia Bullrich said Bahia Blanca was “destroyed.” The death toll rose to 13 on Saturday, up from 10 on Friday, authorities
OPTIMISTIC: A Philippine Air Force spokeswoman said the military believed the crew were safe and were hopeful that they and the jet would be recovered A Philippine Air Force FA-50 jet and its two-person crew are missing after flying in support of ground forces fighting communist rebels in the southern Mindanao region, a military official said yesterday. Philippine Air Force spokeswoman Colonel Consuelo Castillo said the jet was flying “over land” on the way to its target area when it went missing during a “tactical night operation in support of our ground troops.” While she declined to provide mission specifics, Philippine Army spokesman Colonel Louie Dema-ala confirmed that the missing FA-50 was part of a squadron sent “to provide air support” to troops fighting communist rebels in
Two daughters of an Argentine mountaineer who died on an icy peak 40 years ago have retrieved his backpack from the spot — finding camera film inside that allowed them a glimpse of some of his final experiences. Guillermo Vieiro was 44 when he died in 1985 — as did his climbing partner — while descending Argentina’s Tupungato lava dome, one of the highest peaks in the Americas. Last year, his backpack was spotted on a slope by mountaineer Gabriela Cavallaro, who examined it and contacted Vieiro’s daughters Guadalupe, 40, and Azul, 44. Last month, the three set out with four other guides
Local officials from Russia’s ruling party have caused controversy by presenting mothers of soldiers killed in Ukraine with gifts of meat grinders, an appliance widely used to describe Russia’s brutal tactics on the front line. The United Russia party in the northern Murmansk region posted photographs on social media showing officials smiling as they visited bereaved mothers with gifts of flowers and boxed meat grinders for International Women’s Day on Saturday, which is widely celebrated in Russia. The post included a message thanking the “dear moms” for their “strength of spirit and the love you put into bringing up your sons.” It
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