News in Brief

Date: 20 June 2022 - 21:27

News ID: ۱۰۳۸۹۴

WASHINGTON (AFP) -- A 15-year-old boy was killed and three other people, including a police officer, were wounded in a shooting after a concert in Washington Sunday night, the local police chief said. The shooting was preceded by two other incidents which caused panic at the unpermitted “Moechella” concert celebrating Juneteenth, with several people injured while running away, DC police chief Robert Contee told reporters. Police then shut down the sidewalk concert on safety grounds but shortly afterwards, despite a heavy police presence, the shooting occurred nearby in which the boy was killed, Contee said. The United States is in the midst of a particularly gruesome chapter in its epidemic of gun violence. The most fatal incident in this stretch was a shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas that left 19 children and two teachers dead on May 24. Since the start of the year more than 20,000 people have died from firearm violence in the United States, according to an NGO called the Gun Violence Archive. This includes deaths by suicide.

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SEVILLE, Spain (AFP) -- Spain’s main opposition Popular Party secured a landslide win in a regional election in Andalusia, dealing a blow to Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez ahead of a national vote expected at the end of 2023. The conservative Popular Party (PP) won 58 seats in the 109-seat Andalusian regional parliament, which will allow it to govern alone in Spain’s most populous region, near final results showed. The Socialists captured 30 seats, its worst ever result in the region which is home to some 8.5 million people -- almost a fifth of Spain’s population. Losing in Andalusia would be a “severe blow” for the Socialists and would mean “Sanchez might face an uphill battle to get re-elected” next year, Antonio Barroso, an analyst at political consultancy Teneo, said before of the election.

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ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) -- An attack by gunmen in Ethiopia’s western Oromiya region left at least 260 civilians dead on Saturday, according to two residents who gave detailed accounts on Monday of how they had taken part in burying corpses in mass graves. One resident gave a figure of 260 dead, the other said 320. They declined to give their names because of fears for their safety. Earlier on Monday, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed had condemned what he described as “horrific acts” in Oromiya, without giving details. On Sunday, the head of Ethiopia’s state-appointed human rights commission had said a group called the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) was responsible for “deadly attack and destruction” in Oromiya, without giving details. The OLA denied this and said forces aligned with the government were responsible.

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GUWAHATI, India (AFP) -- At least 26 more people have died in monsoon flooding and lightning strikes in India, as millions remained marooned in the country and neighboring Bangladesh, authorities said Monday. Floods are a regular menace in India and Bangladesh, but experts say climate change is increasing their frequency, ferocity and unpredictability for the two countries’ 1.6 billion people. Monsoon storms have also unleashed devastating floods in Bangladesh that have left millions stranded and killed dozens so far. On Monday, flood water was gradually receding from the northeastern district of Sylhet, though millions are still marooned, said Mosharraf Hussain, the chief administrator of the district.

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COLOMBO (Reuters) -- An International Monetary Fund (IMF) team began bailout talks in Sri Lanka on Monday, with police called to escort a top government official to the negotiations after protesters angry about the economic crisis blockaded the finance ministry. Economic mismanagement and the COVID-19 pandemic have left Sri Lanka battling its worst financial problems in seven decades, and a lack of foreign exchange has stalled imports of essentials including fuel, food and medicines. The island nation of 22 million people is scrambling to get fuel shipments in the next three days, the energy minister told Reuters, as public disaffection grows because of a persistent shortage of diesel and petrol. Sri Lanka suspended payment on $12 billion of foreign debt in April and sought IMF support to put its messy public finances on track and access bridge financing.

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QUITO (Reuters) -- Hundreds of indigenous people entered Ecuador’s capital Quito, following almost a week of protests against the economic and social policies of President Guillermo Lasso, who has not been able to lift road blocks and violence across the country. Indigenous protesters arrived in trucks, cars, and on foot amid a state of exception declared by Lasso in three provinces - including that of Quito - in a bit to curb protests that have at times seen violence, with police captured, and attacks on oil industry and flower farms. Protests began last Monday with a list of 10 demands, including a fuel price cut, preventing further expansion of Ecuador’s oil and mining industry, and more time for small and medium sized farmers to pay their debts.