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.
A fire caused by a burst gas pipe yesterday spread to several homes and sent a fireball soaring into the sky outside Malaysia’s largest city, injuring more than 100 people. The towering inferno near a gas station in Putra Heights outside Kuala Lumpur was visible for kilometers and lasted for several hours. It happened during a public holiday as Muslims, who are the majority in Malaysia, celebrate the second day of Eid al-Fitr. National oil company Petronas said the fire started at one of its gas pipelines at 8:10am and the affected pipeline was later isolated. Disaster management officials said shutting the
DITCH TACTICS: Kenyan officers were on their way to rescue Haitian police stuck in a ditch suspected to have been deliberately dug by Haitian gang members A Kenyan policeman deployed in Haiti has gone missing after violent gangs attacked a group of officers on a rescue mission, a UN-backed multinational security mission said in a statement yesterday. The Kenyan officers on Tuesday were on their way to rescue Haitian police stuck in a ditch “suspected to have been deliberately dug by gangs,” the statement said, adding that “specialized teams have been deployed” to search for the missing officer. Local media outlets in Haiti reported that the officer had been killed and videos of a lifeless man clothed in Kenyan uniform were shared on social media. Gang violence has left
US Vice President J.D. Vance on Friday accused Denmark of not having done enough to protect Greenland, when he visited the strategically placed and resource-rich Danish territory coveted by US President Donald Trump. Vance made his comment during a trip to the Pituffik Space Base in northwestern Greenland, a visit viewed by Copenhagen and Nuuk as a provocation. “Our message to Denmark is very simple: You have not done a good job by the people of Greenland,” Vance told a news conference. “You have under-invested in the people of Greenland, and you have under-invested in the security architecture of this
Japan unveiled a plan on Thursday to evacuate around 120,000 residents and tourists from its southern islets near Taiwan within six days in the event of an “emergency”. The plan was put together as “the security situation surrounding our nation grows severe” and with an “emergency” in mind, the government’s crisis management office said. Exactly what that emergency might be was left unspecified in the plan but it envisages the evacuation of around 120,000 people in five Japanese islets close to Taiwan. China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has stepped up military pressure in recent years, including
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