MOSCOW (AP) — A Russian military cargo plane crashed Friday, killing at least four crewmembers and leaving several others injured, officials said. The heavylift Il-76 cargo plane went down in the southwestern Ryazan region. The Russian Defense Ministry said that the plane suffered an engine problem that forced the crew to crash-land it on the ground. The regional administration said that four of its crew were killed and a further five were injured when the plane slammed into a field just outside the city of Ryazan. Officials said that those injured were hospitalized in grave condition.

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LONDON (Reuters) - Fifteen children have drowned in flash floods that swept through Bangladesh with another 3.5 million urgently needing clean drinking water as the risk of waterborne diseases grows, UNICEF’s country representative said on Friday. “That’s a staggering number of children and an increase over the last couple of days. Huge areas are fully underwater and are disconnected from safe drinking water and food supplies. Children need help right now,” Sheldon Yett said. ***
TUNISIA (AFP) - Tunisian police on Thursday arrested former prime minister Hamadi Jebali, who is also a former senior member in the Ennahda party, on suspicion of money laundering, his lawyer told Reuters. Police in the city of Sousse seized Jebali’s phone and his wife’s phone and took him to an unknown location, according to a statement by his family on Facebook. Jebali’s arrest raises opposition concerns over human rights since President Kais Saied seized control of executive power last year, in a move his opponents called a coup. The interior ministry declined to comment on Jebali’s arrest. The ministry called a press conference for Friday, without giving any details.

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MADRID (AP) — Dozens of migrants tried to breach the border between Morocco and the Spanish city of Melilla on Friday, the first such incursion since Spain and Morocco mended diplomatic relations last month. A spokesperson for the Spanish government’s office in Melilla said about 400 people attempted to enter the North African city but many were stopped by Spanish Civil Guard police and Moroccan forces on the other side of a border fence. Those who succeeded in crossing went to a local migrant center, where authorities were evaluating their circumstances.

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QUITO (AFP) - Police in Ecuador’s capital fired tear gas Thursday to disperse Indigenous protesters who tried to storm congress on the 11th day of demonstrations over fuel prices and living costs. Protesters had earlier won a concession from the Ecuadoran government when President Guillermo Lasso, isolating because of a COVID-19 infection, granted them access to a cultural centre emblematic of the Indigenous struggle that was commandeered by police over the weekend. However, later in the day, a group of Indigenous protesters, led by women, headed towards congress only to be pushed back by police as violent clashes broke out.