Kurdish support for Erdogan’s opponent and world news were not on the front page

Military uniforms kill at least 60 people in Burkina Faso

At least 60 people were killed by men wearing national army uniforms in northern Burkina Faso. The murders were committed last week, but this news has only now been made public by the authorities of the country that initiated the investigation. The country’s prosecutor avoided blaming Burkina Faso’s armed forces directly, but said it had launched an investigation, in latest chronological order, to confirm whether they had committed human rights abuses. The country, a landlocked country of 20 million people in West Africa, has faced jihadist attacks since 2015 that have displaced two million people, killed thousands and pushed more than half of the country out of government control. The military junta, which came to power in a coup in September, has been accused of violence and willful killing, despite promising to restore security.

ISIS leader responsible for massacre at Kabul airport in 2021 killed

The Taliban killed the leader of the Islamic State cell responsible for a suicide attack at Kabul airport in Afghanistan in August 2021 that killed 13 US soldiers and approximately 170 civilians. Analysts concluded with “high confidence” that the main perpetrator of the airport attack was killed, based on classified US intelligence reports – most likely information from informants, electronic wiretaps or Allied intelligence services. John Kirby, spokesman for the US National Security Council, said the ISIS cell was “another one in a series of high-profile casualties” suffered this year. Isis-K and the Taliban have been fighting since the US withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021. Isis-K is believed to be a major threat to the Taliban’s ability to run the country.

China removes Covid PCR test requirement for arriving passengers

China said on Tuesday that it will no longer require travelers entering the country to show a negative PCR test for coronavirus; this is another step towards reopening after a long period of pandemic isolation. From yesterday, people traveling to China can “pass” an antigen test to “replace” the pre-mandatory PCR within 48 hours before boarding the plane. Airlines will not check test results before boarding, but others, such as immigration officers, can. Chinese embassies abroad have announced that travelers to China will still need to fill out a health declaration form, and customs officials will conduct indefinite spot checks.

Singapore hangs a man who tried to smuggle a kilo of marijuana

In Singapore, a man found guilty of conspiring to smuggle nearly a pound of marijuana was executed Wednesday. A 46-year-old Singaporean, Tangaraju Suppiah, was convicted in 2018 of coordinating with two other men in 2013 to import cannabis. It was ruled that he had contacted other people through his two phone numbers. Singapore’s drug laws are among the strictest in the world and include the death penalty for some drug trafficking offences.

Iran’s key Ayatollah killed in ambush

A top Iranian cleric and member of a powerful government committee was shot dead by a security guard at a bank in the northern province of Mazandaran on Wednesday. CCTV footage shows cleric Ayatollah Abbas Ali Soleimani sitting in a chair in the bank, the security guard casually approaching from behind, pointing a rifle at his head and firing. The attack has shaken Iran’s clerics, who have faced months of protests and public anger calling for an end to their rule. President Ibrahim Raisi called for an immediate investigation into the motives of the murderer and the possible existence of accomplices. Ayatollah Soleimani was a member of the powerful Assembly of Experts, an 88-member clergy body that oversaw the country’s supreme leader and appoints his successor if necessary. For 17 years, he served as the appointed representative of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in the provinces of Sistan and Balochistan and the imam of Friday prayers in various cities.

Kurds in Turkey side with anti-Erdogan candidate

Turkey’s pro-Kurdish party and its left-wing allies have asked their voters to support President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s main rival in the May 14 presidential election. Friday’s announcement pushes one of Turkey’s largest electoral blocs behind Republican People’s Party leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, further complicating Erdogan’s path to a new era. Last month, the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), the third largest party in the Turkish parliament, decided not to nominate a presidential candidate and implied that it would support Kılıçdaroğlu but not officially. However, both the party’s co-leader and the leftist electoral alliance issued statements on Friday urging citizens to rally around Erdogan’s main rival.

Brazilian President Lula Continues Creation of Indigenous Reserves President of Brazil

Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has announced the official recognition of six new indigenous reserves, fulfilling the campaign promise of his far-right predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro, to reverse his policy. Friday’s reserves were the first to be effectively recognized by the government since 2016. Indigenous leaders have called for speeding up the recognition of 300 regions that have been mapped but have been waiting for years for official recognition. Backed by Brazil’s agriculture sector and its powerful lobby, Bolsonaro had vowed never to give “one inch” of land to reserves again, saying the indigenous people had too much land for too few people. About 300 indigenous groups live in 730 territories they consider their ancestral lands, mostly in the Amazon rainforest, but only 434 of these territories have been officially recognized.

15 students of Nigeria’s top university arrested for beating their classmates

More than 15 students from Nigeria’s top universities have been arrested in connection with the death of a man who was attacked by a crowd on campus. Okoli Ahinze, a senior civil engineering student at Obafemi Awolowo University, was found dead on April 11. Ahinze, in his 20s, was accused of stealing another student’s phone. Eyewitnesses said that he was beaten by a group of students in the hostel where he lived, who practiced a form of punishment known as Scientific Maximum Shishi (SMS). The SMS, which is understood to be unique to the university in the ancient city of Ile-Ife in Osun Province, is intended for students who are found guilty of committing crimes on campus. Victims are often beaten and publicly displayed around campus buildings and living quarters. The news of Ahinze’s death sparked student protests, whose representative associations demanded action to stop messaging on campus. The university set up a commission to investigate the matter.

Venezuelan opposition leader deported from Colombia to the United States

Venezuela’s best-known opposition leader, Juan Guaidó, has landed in the United States after being expelled from Colombia while trying to crash a high-profile summit on his homeland’s political future. Guaidó came to the fore in early 2019 and for a short time looked poised to overthrow Venezuela’s leader Nicolás Maduro, with the support of dozens of foreign governments, including the US, UK and Brazil. But four years later, the 39-year-old actor’s star faded after Hugo Chávez failed to overthrow his political heir. Maduro survived the street protests and consolidated his power. Most of the international community has abandoned Guaidó’s parallel “presidency” and “interim government”. Major regional powers such as Colombia and Brazil have elected left-wing leaders who have rekindled ties with the Maduro administration and condemned Guaidó’s attempt to overthrow him using outside pressure to ignite a military uprising.

Gangs kill two journalists in Haiti

Two more journalists were killed in Haiti last month, due to gang violence in and around the capital, Port-au-Prince. Ricot Jean, who works for Radio-Tele Evolution Inter, was found dead Tuesday, a day after he was abducted by men in police uniforms. Jean was a prominent cultural activist in the Haitian capital and hosted a weekly radio show. Meanwhile, the Committee to Protect Journalists broke the news by making a statement that radio reporter Dumesky Kersaint was fatally shot in mid-April. It was claimed that Kersaint was killed by a stray bullet “between the evening of 15 April and the morning of 16 April” in Mahotiere 83 district of Carrefour municipality.