FRANKFURT (AP) – Police warned people in Hamburg, Germany, to close their windows early Sunday after a large fire that engulfed several warehouses sent black, chemical-laden smoke drifting over the city. German news agency DPA said the fire broke out around 4:30 am in the Rothenburgsort district, located in the eastern part of Germany’s second-largest city. The smoke drifted from there toward the city center, halting long-distance trains between Hamburg and Berlin and other cities. A public safety alert conveyed through a mobile phone app advised people in Hamburg to close windows, turn off ventilation and air conditioning, and to avoid the area. No injuries were reported. Public broadcaster NDR said the fire involved containers with hydrogen sulfide, a toxic and foul-smelling substance, forcing firefighters and police officers in the area to wear breathing apparatus.

 

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DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — At least 44 people were killed by extremists in multiple attacks in northern Burkina Faso, the government said Saturday. The militants attacked Kourakou and Tondobi villages in Seno province, said Lt. Col. P.F Rodolphe Sorgho, governor of the Sahel region in a statement. Sorgho called the attacks on Thursday and Friday “despicable and barbaric” and said the government was stabilizing the area. He called on people to remain calm. The West African nation has been overrun by violence linked to Al-Qaeda and the Daesh terrorist group that’s killed thousands and displaced 2 million people over six years. Fighting has frustrated and divided a once peaceful population, leading to two military coups last year with each junta leader vowing to stem the attacks. But the violence is intensifying and spreading as militants blockade villages, preventing hundreds of thousands of people from moving freely. In February, the Daesh terrorist group claimed responsibility for killing more than 70 soldiers, wounding dozens and taking five hostage, in an ambush on a military convoy in the north. A few weeks before that, militants killed at least 32 people, including soldiers and civilians, in multiple attacks across the country. The violence has created the worst humanitarian crisis in the country’s history, forcing one in five citizens —some 4.7 million people — to be in need of humanitarian assistance, according to the United Nations.

 

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PARIS (Reuters) – As many as 10 people were thought to be under the rubble after an explosion that caused two residential buildings to collapse in the southern French city of Marseille on Sunday, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said. The cause of the explosion was not yet known. The collapse caused a fire that complicated rescue efforts and that Darmanin said could take hours to put out. He said authorities estimated there were between four and 10 people under the rubble. Five people were taken to hospital with serious but not life threatening injuries and a sixth person was being treated for shock, he added. A third building has partially collapsed and people have been evacuated from some 30 buildings in the area. The buildings that collapsed on the Rue de Tivoli were not known to have any structural problems, Darmanin said.

 

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PARIS (AFP) – French President Emmanuel Macron said in an interview published Sunday that Europe must not be a “follower” of either the U.S. or China on Taiwan, saying that the bloc risks entanglement in “crises that aren’t ours”. His comments risk riling Washington and highlight divisions in the European Union over how to approach China, as the U.S. steps up confrontation with its closest rival and Beijing draws closer to Russia in the wake of the Ukraine war. “The worst thing would be to think that we Europeans must be followers and adapt ourselves to the American rhythm and a Chinese overreaction,” Macron told media including French business daily Les Echos and Politico as he returned Friday from a three-day state visit to Beijing. Citing his prized ideal of EU “strategic autonomy”, the French leader said that “we must be clear where our views overlap with the U.S., but whether it’s about Ukraine, relations to China or sanctions, we have a European strategy.” “We don’t want to get into a bloc versus bloc logic,” he added, saying Europe “should not be caught up in a disordering of the world and crises that aren’t ours”.

 

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NEW YORK (Anadolu) – The United Nations has voiced concern over the current tense situation in Sudan following a delay in the signing of a final agreement to resolve the country’s months-long political crisis. In a statement, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk called on Sudan’s rivals to work to overcome obstacles to civilian transition. The rights chief appealed to all parties “to set aside entrenched positions and personal interests, to focus on the common interests of the Sudanese people by redoubling efforts towards restoration of a civilian-led government.” “Much work has been done and many positive steps taken towards the signature of a final agreement – all efforts must now go to get the political transition back on the right path,” he added. Türk also urged “all sides to work together to overcome obstacles on security sector reform and avoid any further delays in the signing of the political agreement.” He also called on all Sudanese sides to de-escalate tensions and refrain from violence.