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.
Kehinde Sanni spends his days smoothing out dents and repainting scratched bumpers in a modest autobody shop in Lagos. He has never left Nigeria, yet he speaks glowingly of Burkina Faso military leader Ibrahim Traore. “Nigeria needs someone like Ibrahim Traore of Burkina Faso. He is doing well for his country,” Sanni said. His admiration is shaped by a steady stream of viral videos, memes and social media posts — many misleading or outright false — portraying Traore as a fearless reformer who defied Western powers and reclaimed his country’s dignity. The Burkinabe strongman swept into power following a coup in September 2022
‘FRAGMENTING’: British politics have for a long time been dominated by the Labor Party and the Tories, but polls suggest that Reform now poses a significant challenge Hard-right upstarts Reform UK snatched a parliamentary seat from British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labor Party yesterday in local elections that dealt a blow to the UK’s two establishment parties. Reform, led by anti-immigrant firebrand Nigel Farage, won the by-election in Runcorn and Helsby in northwest England by just six votes, as it picked up gains in other localities, including one mayoralty. The group’s strong showing continues momentum it built up at last year’s general election and appears to confirm a trend that the UK is entering an era of multi-party politics. “For the movement, for the party it’s a very, very big
ENTERTAINMENT: Rio officials have a history of organizing massive concerts on Copacabana Beach, with Madonna’s show drawing about 1.6 million fans last year Lady Gaga on Saturday night gave a free concert in front of 2 million fans who poured onto Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro for the biggest show of her career. “Tonight, we’re making history... Thank you for making history with me,” Lady Gaga told a screaming crowd. The Mother Monster, as she is known, started the show at about 10:10pm local time with her 2011 song Bloody Mary. Cries of joy rose from the tightly packed fans who sang and danced shoulder-to-shoulder on the vast stretch of sand. Concert organizers said 2.1 million people attended the show. Lady Gaga
SUPPORT: The Australian prime minister promised to back Kyiv against Russia’s invasion, saying: ‘That’s my government’s position. It was yesterday. It still is’ Left-leaning Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese yesterday basked in his landslide election win, promising a “disciplined, orderly” government to confront cost-of-living pain and tariff turmoil. People clapped as the 62-year-old and his fiancee, Jodie Haydon, who visited his old inner Sydney haunt, Cafe Italia, surrounded by a crowd of jostling photographers and journalists. Albanese’s Labor Party is on course to win at least 83 seats in the 150-member parliament, partial results showed. Opposition leader Peter Dutton’s conservative Liberal-National coalition had just 38 seats, and other parties 12. Another 17 seats were still in doubt. “We will be a disciplined, orderly
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