TOP NEWS PICK

Category: Global

  • Wild fire engulfs Poland’s Biebrza National Park

    WARSAW – A major wildfire has engulfed approximately 400 hectares of Biebrza National Park in northeastern Poland, local authorities confirmed Monday morning.

    The fire, which began Sunday afternoon at the border of Augustow and Monki counties in Podlaskie province, has spread rapidly despite ongoing firefighting efforts.

    Justyna Klusewicz, spokesperson for the Podlaskie Provincial Command of the State Fire Service, told the Polish Press Agency on Monday that roughly 180 firefighters, supported by forest services, park rangers and soldiers, are currently battling the blaze.

    Overnight, drones were deployed to monitor the situation, and on Monday, additional firefighting aircraft, including helicopters, resumed operations to tackle the fire in the remote and hard-to-reach areas.

    The Government Center for Security has issued emergency alerts for residents of the Augustow, Grajewo and Monki regions, advising them to stay clear of the affected areas and follow the guidance of emergency services.

    The cause of the fire is still under investigation. No casualties have been reported.

    Biebrza National Park, renowned for its vast marshes and unique biodiversity, is one of Poland’s most ecologically significant protected areas.

    XINHUA

  • Yemen’s Houthis claim fresh attacks at Israel, U.S. aircraft carriers

    SANAA – Yemen’s Houthi group said on Monday that it had launched fresh attacks at two Israeli targets and two U.S. aircraft carriers, using drones and cruise missiles.

    “We launched a drone attack at a vital target in the city of Ashkelon and another drone attack at a military target in the city of Eilat,” Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said in the statement aired by Houthi-run al-Masirah TV.

    He didn’t identify the names of the targets in both cities in southern Israel.

    “As part of confronting the American aggression … we targeted the aircraft carrier Truman and its escorting warships in the northern Red Sea, using two cruise missiles and two drones,” Sarea said, referring to the USS S. Harry Truman.

    “We also targeted the aircraft carrier Vinson (the USS Carl Vinson) and its escorting warships in the Arabian Sea, using three cruise missiles and four drones,” he said.

    Sarea reaffirmed that the group’s attacks “will continue” against Israel and the U.S. naval forces in the region.

    According to the Houthi television, the attacks against Israel and the U.S. warships were carried out in the past 24 hours.

    The Israeli defense forces have yet to comment on the Houthi claim, nor the U.S. military.

    Meanwhile, the U.S. airstrikes in Yemen have been continuing. Early in the day, the Houthi television said the death toll from U.S. airstrikes on Sunday night against a popular market in the Shu’ub neighborhood in central Yemen’s capital Sanaa rose to 12, with 30 other “civilians” wounded.

    Also on Sunday night, the Houthi television reported other U.S. airstrikes on several Houthi locations in the northern provinces of Al-Mahwit, Saada, and Marib.

    Tensions between the Houthi group and the U.S. military have escalated since Washington resumed airstrikes on Houthi targets in Yemen on March 15 to deter the group from targeting Israel and U.S. warships.

    XINHUA

  • Israel conducts over 200 strikes in Gaza within days, kills Islamic Jihad member

    JERUSALEM – Israel’s military said on Monday that it carried out more than 200 airstrikes across the Gaza Strip over the past three days, killing a member of the Islamic Jihad movement.

    The military said the strikes targeted militant infrastructure, militant cells, rocket launch and sniper positions, weapons depots and command centers.

    It identified the killed fighter as Ahmad Mansour, who it said participated in the Hamas-led surprise attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and later directed rocket fire during the ongoing war.

    In Rafah’s Shabura and Tel al-Sultan neighborhoods, Israeli troops dismantled “terrorist infrastructure” and uncovered a cache of grenades, ammunition and other military gear.

    Along the recently constructed Morag Corridor, which bisects Rafah from Khan Younis and the rest of Gaza, troops located weapons, destroyed Hamas infrastructure and killed several militants, the military said.

    In northern Gaza, soldiers launched an airstrike on a building containing what was described as underground infrastructure and detected multiple militants. The army also reported dismantling Hamas sniper posts that had threatened its ground forces.

    At least eight people were killed in Israeli strikes on Monday and dozens wounded, the Palestinian news agency WAFA reported.

    XINHUA

  • Israel melakukan lebih 200 serangan di Gaza dalam beberapa hari, bunuh ahli Jihad Islam

    BAITULMAQDIS – Tentera Israel berkata pada Isnin, ia melakukan lebih 200 serangan udara di seluruh Semenanjung Gaza sejak tiga hari lalu, membunuh seorang anggota gerakan Jihad Islam.

    Tentera berkata, serangan itu menyasarkan infrastruktur militan, sel militan, pelancaran roket dan kedudukan penembak tepat, depoh senjata dan pusat arahan.

    Ia mengenal pasti pejuang yang terbunuh sebagai Ahmad Mansour, yang dikatakan menyertai serangan mengejut diketuai Hamas ke atas Israel pada 7 Okt 2023, dan kemudiannya mengarahkan tembakan roket semasa perang yang sedang berlangsung.

    Di kawasan kejiranan Shabura dan Tel al-Sultan di Rafah, tentera Israel membongkar “infrastruktur pengganas” dan menemui tembolok bom tangan, peluru dan peralatan ketenteraan yang lain.

    Di sepanjang Koridor Morag yang baru dibina, yang membelah Rafah dari Khan Younis dan seluruh Gaza, tentera menemui senjata, memusnahkan infrastruktur Hamas dan membunuh beberapa militan, kata tentera.

    Di utara Gaza, tentera melancarkan serangan udara ke atas bangunan yang mengandungi apa yang disifatkan sebagai infrastruktur bawah tanah dan mengesan berbilang militan. Tentera juga melaporkan membongkar pos penembak tepat Hamas yang telah mengancam pasukan daratnya.

    Sekurang-kurangnya lapan orang terbunuh dalam serangan Israel pada Isnin dan berpuluh-puluh cedera, lapor agensi berita Palestin WAFA.

    XINHUA

  • Houthi Yaman dakwa serangan baru ke atas Israel, kapal pengangkut pesawat AS

    SANAA – Kumpulan Houthi Yaman berkata pada Isnin, ia melancarkan serangan baru ke atas dua sasaran Israel dan dua kapal pengangkut pesawat AS, menggunakan dron dan peluru berpandu jelajah.

    “Kami melancarkan serangan dron ke sasaran penting di bandar Ashkelon dan satu lagi serangan dron ke sasaran tentera di bandar Eilat,” kata jurucakap tentera Houthi Yahya Sarea dalam kenyataan disiarkan TV al-Masirah kendalian Houthi.

    Dia tidak mengenal pasti nama sasaran di kedua-dua bandar di selatan Israel.

    “Sebagai sebahagian daripada menghadapi pencerobohan Amerika… kami menyasarkan kapal pengangkut pesawat Truman dan kapal perang pengiringnya di utara Laut Merah, menggunakan dua peluru berpandu jelajah dan dua dron,” kata Sarea, merujuk kepada USS S Harry Truman.

    “Kami juga menyasarkan kapal pengangkut pesawat Vinson (USS Carl Vinson) dan kapal perang pengiringnya di Laut Arab, menggunakan tiga peluru berpandu jelajah dan empat dron,” katanya.

    Sarea menegaskan serangan kumpulan itu “akan berterusan” terhadap Israel dan tentera laut AS di rantau ini.

    Menurut televisyen Houthi, serangan terhadap Israel dan kapal perang AS dilakukan dalam tempoh 24 jam lalu.

    Pasukan pertahanan Israel masih belum mengulas mengenai dakwaan Houthi, begitu juga tentera AS.

    Sementara itu, serangan udara AS di Yaman berterusan. Pada awal hari, televisyen Houthi berkata angka kematian akibat serangan udara AS pada malam Ahad terhadap pasar popular di kejiranan Shu’ub di tengah ibu kota Yaman, Sanaa meningkat kepada 12, dengan 30 “orang awam” lain cedera.

    Juga pada malam Ahad, televisyen Houthi melaporkan serangan udara AS yang lain di beberapa lokasi Houthi di wilayah utara Al-Mahwit, Saada, dan Marib.

    Ketegangan antara kumpulan Houthi dan tentera AS semakin memuncak sejak Washington meneruskan serangan udara ke atas sasaran Houthi di Yaman pada 15 Mac untuk menghalang kumpulan itu daripada menyasarkan kapal perang Israel dan AS.

    XINHUA

  • Api liar melanda Taman Negara Biebrza di Poland

    WARSAW – Kebakaran besar melanda kira-kira 400 hektar Taman Negara Biebrza di timur laut Poland, pihak berkuasa tempatan mengesahkan pagi Isnin.

    Kebakaran, yang bermula petang Ahad di sempadan daerah Augustow dan Monki di wilayah Podlaskie, telah merebak dengan cepat walaupun usaha memadam kebakaran berterusan.

    Justyna Klusewicz, jurucakap Perintah Wilayah Podlaskie bagi Perkhidmatan Bomba Negeri, memberitahu Agensi Akhbar Poland pada Isnin, kira-kira 180 anggota bomba, disokong oleh perkhidmatan hutan, renjer taman dan askar, sedang memadamkan kebakaran.

    Semalaman, dron dikerahkan untuk memantau keadaan, dan pada Isnin, pesawat pemadam kebakaran tambahan, termasuk helikopter, meneruskan operasi bagi menangani kebakaran di kawasan terpencil dan sukar dicapai.

    Pusat Keselamatan Kerajaan telah mengeluarkan amaran kecemasan untuk penduduk wilayah Augustow, Grajewo dan Monki, menasihati mereka supaya menjauhi kawasan terjejas dan mengikuti panduan perkhidmatan kecemasan.

    Punca kebakaran masih dalam siasatan. Tiada kemalangan jiwa dilaporkan.

    Taman Negara Biebrza, yang terkenal dengan paya yang luas dan kepelbagaian biologi unik, merupakan salah satu kawasan terlindung paling penting dari segi ekologi di Poland.

    XINHUA

  • Pope Francis meninggal dunia pada 88

    ROME – Pope Francis, paus ke-266 Gereja Roman Katolik, meninggal dunia pada Isnin pada usia 88 tahun, kata Vatican dalam satu kenyataan.

    Dilahirkan sebagai Jorge Mario Bergoglio pada 17 Disember 1936, di Buenos Aires, Francis adalah ketua Gereja Roman Katolik sejak 2013.

    Kematiannya berlaku beberapa minggu selepas pulang ke rumah dari rawatan rapi 38 hari, dan mengikuti jadual Minggu Suci padat yang termasuk penampilan awam.

    Selepas tempoh berkabung, Vatican akan beralih ke persiapan untuk perhimpunan Kolej Kardinal untuk memilih pengganti Francis.

    XINHUA

  • Pope Francis dies at 88

    ROME – Pope Francis, the 266th pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church, died Monday at the age of 88, said the Vatican in a statement.

    Born Jorge Mario Bergoglio on Dec. 17, 1936, in Buenos Aires, Francis was head of the Roman Catholic Church since 2013.

    His death came weeks after returning home from a 38-day stay in intensive care, and followed an intense Holy Week schedule that included public appearances.

    After a period of mourning, the Vatican will turn toward preparations for a gathering of the College of Cardinals to select Francis’ successor.

    XINHUA

  • 3 maut selepas kebakaran melanda rumah sesak di Queens, NY, pada Easter

    Tiga orang maut dan yang keempat cedera parah pada awal Easter Sunday apabila kebakaran memusnahkan rumah yang sesak di Queens, yang tidak menunjukkan pengesan asap berfungsi dan telah menghalang tangga dan pintu keluar, kata pegawai bomba.

    Tembok sementara telah didirikan di rumah Jamaica Estates, termasuk melalui bahagian tengah dapur, kata Ketua Jabatan Bomba New York John Esposito pada sidang akhbar.

    Pegawai juga berkata kord sambungan ditemui di rumah dua tingkat itu. Kord boleh menjadi terlalu panas, terutama apabila dibebankan atau digunakan secara tidak betul, yang membawa kepada kebakaran, menurut Yayasan Keselamatan Elektrik Antarabangsa. Pihak bomba masih mengenal pasti punca kebakaran.

    Anggota bomba tiba dalam tempoh kurang empat minit, namun api pada awal pagi itu merebak dengan cepat ke tingkat atas rumah. Terdapat laporan orang melompat keluar dari tingkap loteng, kata Esposito.

    Orang ramai tinggal di kedua-dua tingkat rumah itu, serta bilik bawah tanah dan lotengnya, kata Esposito.

    “Kami bukan menggalakkan, kami memohon semua warga New York untuk mempunyai penggera asap yang berfungsi di rumah mereka, dan, anda tahu, jika boleh pengesan CO2 juga,” kata Pesuruhjaya Bomba New York City Robert S Tucker semasa sidang akhbar pada Ahad.

    Kira-kira 10 hingga 15 orang tinggal di rumah itu, termasuk tuan rumahnya, penduduk tingkat dua Adham Ammar memberitahu ABC7 Eyewitness News. Ammar tiada di rumah ketika kebakaran berlaku, katanya.

    “Sebahagian daripada ini, ia adalah kerana kecuaian tuan tanah,” katanya. Percubaan AP untuk menghubungi tuan tanah tidak berjaya.

    Tiga anggota bomba mengalami kecederaan ringan.

    AP

  • 3 dead after fire sweeps through crowded home in Queens, NY, on Easter

    Three people died and a fourth was critically injured early Easter Sunday when a fire tore through an overcrowded home in Queens, that had no evidence of a working smoke detector and had blocked stairs and exits, fire officials said.

    Makeshift walls had been erected in the Jamaica Estates home, including through the middle of the kitchen, New York Fire Department Chief John Esposito said at a news conference.

    Officials also said extension cords were found throughout the two story home. The cords can overheat, especially when overloaded or improperly used, leading to fires, according to Electrical Safety Foundation International. The fire department is still determining the fire’s origin.

    Firefighters arrived in less than four minutes, but the blaze in the early morning hours spread quickly to the upper floors of the house. There were reports of people jumping out of the attic window, Esposito said.

    People lived on both floors of the house, as well as its cellar and attic, Esposito said.

    “We are not encouraging, we’re begging all New Yorkers to have a working smoke alarm in their home, and, you know, if possible a CO2 detector as well,” New York City Fire Commissioner Robert S. Tucker said during a Sunday press conference.

    About 10 to 15 people reside in the home, including its landlord, second floor resident Adham Ammar told ABC7 Eyewitness News. Ammar was not in the home when the fire happened, he said.

    “Part of this, it’s because of the negligence of the landlord,” he said. Attempts by the AP to reach the landlord were unsuccessful.

    Three firefighters suffered minor injuries.

    AP

  • Rusia lancar peluru berpandu, dron ketika gencatan senjata Easter Putin tamat, kata Ukraine

    Rusia melancarkan peluru berpandu dan dron menyasarkan Ukraine pada awal Isnin, mengejutkan Kyiv dan separuh timur negara itu, beberapa jam selepas gencatan senjata Easter sehari diisytiharkan Presiden Rusia Vladimir Putin berakhir.

    Tiada laporan segera mengenai kecederaan atau kerosakan besar daripada serangan itu, kata pegawai wilayah Ukraine di media sosial. Skala serangan tidak serta-merta jelas.

    Kedua-dua Kyiv dan Moscow telah menuduh satu sama lain melakukan beribu-ribu serangan melanggar gencatan senjata yang dinyatakan oleh Kremlin pada Ahad tidak akan dilanjutkan.

    Washington berkata ia akan mengalu-alukan pelanjutan gencatan senjata, dan Presiden Volodymyr Zelenskiy mengulangi beberapa kali kesediaan Ukraine untuk menghentikan serangan selama 30 hari dalam perang.

    Tetapi Putin, yang melancarkan pencerobohan Rusia ke atas Ukraine pada Februari 2022 dan yang mengarahkan pada Sabtu menghentikan semua aktiviti ketenteraan di sepanjang barisan hadapan sehingga tengah malam waktu Moscow (2100 GMT) pada Ahad, tidak memberi arahan untuk melanjutkannya.

    “Tiada arahan lain,” agensi berita negara TASS Rusia memetik jurucakap Kremlin Dmitry Peskov sebagai berkata ketika ditanya sama ada gencatan senjata boleh dilanjutkan.

    Walaupun timur Ukraine diletakkan di bawah amaran serbuan udara bermula beberapa minit selepas tengah malam pada Isnin yang masih belum dibatalkan, menurut data dari tentera udara Ukraine, Kyiv dan wilayah tengah diletakkan dalam keadaan berjaga-jaga selama kira-kira sejam, bermula 0140 GMT.

    Tiada laporan mengenai serangan ke atas ibu negara Ukraine, tetapi pegawai di bandar pelabuhan Mykolaiv berkata ia telah dilanda oleh peluru berpandu Rusia. Tiada laporan segera mengenai kerosakan.

    Wilayah Voronezh Rusia yang bersempadan dengan Ukraine juga berada di bawah amaran serangan udara selama dua jam semalaman, dan wilayah sempadan Kursk dan beberapa bahagian Belgorod juga berada di bawah ancaman peluru berpandu, kata pegawai serantau.

    Walaupun tiada amaran serangan udara di Ukraine pada Ahad, tentera Ukraine melaporkan hampir 3,000 pelanggaran gencatan senjata Rusia sendiri dengan serangan dan tembakan paling hebat dilihat di sepanjang bahagian Pokrovsk di barisan hadapan, kata Zelenskiy awal pada Isnin.

    Kementerian pertahanan Rusia berkata pada Ahad, tentera Ukraine telah menembak ke arah kedudukan Rusia sebanyak 444 kali dan berkata ia telah mengira lebih daripada 900 serangan dron Ukraine, mengatakan juga terdapat kematian dan kecederaan dalam kalangan penduduk awam.

    Reuters tidak dapat mengesahkan laporan medan perang secara bebas.

    Presiden AS Donald Trump, berharap untuk mencapai perjanjian damai yang berkekalan, mencatatkan nota optimistik pada Ahad, dengan mengatakan bahawa “mudah-mudahan” kedua-dua pihak akan membuat perjanjian “minggu ini” untuk menamatkan konflik.

    Pada Jumaat, Trump dan Setiausaha Negaranya, Marco Rubio, berkata AS akan meninggalkan usaha damai melainkan terdapat tanda-tanda kemajuan yang jelas tidak lama lagi.

    REUTERS

  • Russia launches missiles, drones as Putin’s Easter ceasefire ends, Ukraine says

    Russia launched missiles and drones targeting Ukraine early on Monday, waking up Kyiv and the eastern half of the country, hours after the one-day Easter ceasefire declared by Russian President Vladimir Putin came to an end.

    There were no immediate reports of injuries or major damages from the attacks, regional Ukrainian officials said on social media. The scale of the attack was not immediately clear.

    Both Kyiv and Moscow had accused each other of thousands of attacks that violated the truce that the Kremlin indicated on Sunday would not be extended.

    Washington said it would welcome an extension of the truce, and President Volodymyr Zelenskiy reiterated several times Ukraine’s willingness to pause strikes for 30 days in the war.

    But Putin, who launched Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and who ordered on Saturday the halt in all military activity along the front line until midnight Moscow time (2100 GMT) on Sunday, did not give orders to extend it.

    “There were no other commands,” Russia’s TASS state news agency cited Kremlin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying when asked whether the ceasefire could be prolonged.

    While eastern Ukraine was placed under air raid alerts starting minutes after midnight on Monday that are yet to be called off, according to data from the Ukrainian air force, Kyiv and the central regions were placed on alert for about an hour, starting at 0140 GMT.

    There were no reports of strikes on the Ukrainian capital, but officials in the port city of Mykolaiv said that it had been hit by Russian missiles. There were no immediate reports of damages.

    Russia’s Voronezh region that borders Ukraine was also under air raid alerts for two hours overnight, and the borders regions of Kursk and parts of Belgorod were briefly under missile threat as well, regional officials said.

    While there were no air raid alerts in Ukraine on Sunday, Ukrainian forces reported nearly 3,000 violations of Russia’s own ceasefire with the heaviest attacks and shelling seen along the Pokrovsk part of the frontline, Zelenskiy said earlier on Monday.

    Russia’s defence ministry said on Sunday that Ukrainian forces had shot at Russian positions 444 times and said it had counted more than 900 Ukrainian drone attacks, saying also that there were deaths and injuries among the civilian population.

    Reuters could not independently verify the battlefield reports.

    U.S. President Donald Trump, hoping to clinch a lasting peace deal, struck an optimistic note Sunday, saying that “hopefully” the two sides would make a deal “this week” to end the conflict.

    On Friday, Trump and his Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, said the U.S. would walk away from peace efforts unless there are clear signs of progress soon.

    REUTERS

  • 1 maut, 11 cedera dalam kejadian disyaki bakar apartmen di ibu negara Korea Selatan

    SEOUL – Seorang maut dan 11 lagi cedera pada pagi Isnin dalam apa yang didakwa sebagai pembakaran pangsapuri di ibu negara Korea Selatan, Seoul, kata agensi berita Yonhap, memetik pihak berkuasa bomba.

    Kebakaran berlaku kira-kira 8:17 pagi waktu tempatan (2317 GMT Ahad) di sebuah bangunan pangsapuri 21 tingkat. Api dipadamkan satu setengah jam kemudian.

    Seorang ditemui mati, dan dua orang dibawa ke hospital selepas terjatuh dari apartmen. Sembilan yang lain mengalami kecederaan ringan seperti terhidu asap dan kesukaran bernafas.

    Polis mengesyaki seorang lelaki memulakan kebakaran dengan sengaja, dan sedang menjejaki suspek yang membakar, menurut Yonhap.

    XINHUA

  • 1 killed, 11 injured in suspected apartment arson in S. Korean capital

    SEOUL – One person was killed and 11 others injured on Monday morning in what was alleged to be an apartment arson in South Korea’s capital Seoul, Yonhap news agency said, citing the fire authorities.

    The fire broke out at about 8:17 a.m. local time (2317 GMT Sunday) in a 21-story apartment building. The flame was extinguished one and a half hours later.

    One person was found dead, and two people were taken to a hospital after falling from the apartment. Nine others suffered minor injuries such as smoke inhalation and difficulty with breathing.

    Police suspect a man started the fire on purpose, and are tracking down the suspected arsonist, according to Yonhap.

    XINHUA

  • Dua maut di Oklahoma ketika cuaca buruk melanda AS Selatan dan Midwest

    WASHINGTON, 20 April – Sekurang-kurangnya dua orang, termasuk seorang kanak-kanak, maut di Oklahoma selepas kenderaan mereka terkandas dalam air banjir, kata polis pada Ahad, ketika cuaca buruk dan banjir melanda beberapa bahagian di Selatan dan Midwest AS semasa hujung minggu cuti Easter.

    “Ini adalah peristiwa cuaca bersejarah yang menjejaskan jalan raya dan menyebabkan berpuluh-puluh insiden air tinggi,” kata polis di Moore, Oklahoma, kira-kira 11 batu di selatan Oklahoma City, dalam satu kenyataan.

    “Satu daripada (kenderaan) meninggalkan jalan raya dan dihanyutkan di bawah jambatan. Ketika kejadian semuanya kecuali dua penumpang berjaya diselamatkan. Amat mendukacitakan kami melaporkan bahawa dua individu iaitu seorang wanita dewasa dan seorang lelaki berusia 12 tahun kemudian dikesan meninggal dunia,” kata mereka.

    Polis di Moore menggesa orang ramai untuk tinggal di rumah dan berkata lewat pada Sabtu mereka menjawab lebih sedozen panggilan daripada penduduk yang kenderaan mereka terperangkap dalam air tinggi.

    Amaran banjir, yang mencadangkan bahawa banjir sedang berlaku atau akan berlaku, telah dilaksanakan di seluruh Oklahoma.

    Perkhidmatan Cuaca Kebangsaan berkata pada Ahad ribut petir teruk dijangka dari timur Texas ke jauh tenggara Iowa dan Illinois manakala puting beliung yang kuat dan potensi angin yang merosakkan akan wujud dari tengah Arkansas ke tengah Missouri.

    Peringatan puting beliung telah dikeluarkan untuk bahagian Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri dan Oklahoma, tambah Perkhidmatan Cuaca Kebangsaan.

    Awal bulan ini, ribut musim bunga yang membawa maut mencetuskan puting beliung dan ribut petir yang membasahi kawasan AS dari Texas ke Ohio, dengan lebih sedozen orang terbunuh di negeri-negeri AS Selatan dan Midwest.

    REUTERS

  • Two dead in Oklahoma as severe weather hits US South and Midwest

    WASHINGTON, April 20 – At least two people, including a child, died in Oklahoma after their vehicle was stranded in flood waters, police said on Sunday, as severe weather and flooding hit parts of the U.S. South and Midwest during the Easter holiday weekend.

    “This was a historical weather event that impacted roads and caused dozens of high-water incidents,” police in Moore, Oklahoma, about 11 miles south of Oklahoma City, said in a statement.

    “One of (the vehicles) left the roadway and was swept under the bridge. At the time of the incident all but two occupants were rescued. It is with great sadness that we report that two individuals, an adult female and a 12-year-old male, were later located deceased,” they said.

    Police in Moore urged people to stay at home and said late on Saturday they responded to over a dozen calls from residents whose vehicles were trapped in high water.

    Flood warnings, which suggest that a flood is occurring or is imminent, were in place across Oklahoma.

    The National Weather Service said on Sunday severe thunderstorms were expected from east Texas into far southeast Iowa and Illinois while a strong tornado and damaging wind potential will exist from central Arkansas into central Missouri.

    A tornado watch was issued for parts of Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, and Oklahoma, the National Weather Service added.

    Earlier this month, a deadly spring storm spawned tornadoes and drenching thunderstorms in a swath of the U.S. stretching from Texas to Ohio, with over a dozen people killed in states of the U.S. South and Midwest.

    REUTERS

  • Rusia berkata Ukraine langgar gencatan senjata lebih seribu kali, lapor orang awam terkorban

    MOSCOW – Kementerian pertahanan Rusia berkata pada Ahad, Ukraine melanggar gencatan senjata Easter diisytiharkan oleh Presiden Rusia Vladimir Putin lebih seribu kali, menyebabkan kerosakan kepada infrastruktur dan kematian orang awam.

    Kementerian itu berkata tentera Ukraine telah menembak ke arah posisi Rusia 444 kali manakala ia telah mengira lebih daripada 900 serangan dron Ukraine.

    Ia berkata daerah sempadan di wilayah Bryansk, Kursk dan Belgorod telah diserang.

    “Akibatnya, terdapat kematian dan kecederaan dalam kalangan penduduk awam, serta kerosakan pada objek awam,” katanya dalam satu kenyataan disiarkan di aplikasi pemesejan Telegram.

    Reuters tidak dapat mengesahkan laporan medan perang.

    Kementerian pertahanan juga berkata tentera Rusia telah menguasai Novomikhailivka di timur Ukraine sebelum pengisytiharan gencatan senjata.

    REUTERS

  • Russia says Ukraine broke ceasefire over a thousand times, reports civilian casualties

    MOSCOW – Russia’s defence ministry said on Sunday that Ukraine had broken the Easter ceasefire declared by Russian President Vladimir Putin more than a thousand times, inflicting damages to infrastructure and causing civilian deaths.

    The ministry said that Ukrainian forces had shot at Russian positions 444 times while it had counted more than 900 Ukrainian drone attacks.

    It said the border districts of the Bryansk, Kursk and Belgorod regions have been attacked.

    “As a result, there were deaths and injuries among the civilian population, as well as damage to civilian objects,” it said in a statement posted on the Telegram messaging app.

    Reuters was not able to verify battlefield reports.

    The defence ministry also said that the Russian military had gained control of Novomikhailivka in eastern Ukraine before the declaration of ceasefire.

    REUTERS

  • Penyelamat Gaza berkata serangan udara Israel membunuh 25 orang

    GAZA – Agensi pertahanan awam Gaza melaporkan serangan udara Israel sejak fajar Ahad membunuh sekurang-kurangnya 25 orang di seluruh Semenanjung Gaza, termasuk wanita dan kanak-kanak.

    Israel menyambung semula serangan udara dan darat ke atas Gaza pada 18 Mac, menghidupkan semula pertempuran selepas gencatan senjata selama dua bulan yang telah menghentikan perang selama lebih 15 bulan di wilayah pantai itu.

    “Sejak fajar hari ini, serangan udara pendudukan telah membunuh 20 orang dan mencederakan berpuluh-puluh lagi, termasuk kanak-kanak dan wanita di seluruh Semenanjung Gaza,” Mahmud Bassal, jurucakap agensi pertahanan awam memberitahu AFP.

    Dalam kenyataan berasingan kemudian, agensi itu melaporkan lima orang terbunuh dalam serangan dron Israel ke atas sekumpulan orang awam di timur Rafah.

    Perdana Menteri Israel Benjamin Netanyahu pada Sabtu berikrar untuk meneruskan perang dan membawa pulang saki-baki tebusan ditahan di Gaza tanpa tunduk kepada tuntutan Hamas.

    “Kami berada di peringkat kritikal kempen, dan pada ketika ini, kami memerlukan kesabaran dan keazaman untuk menang,” kata Netanyahu dalam satu kenyataan, menolak gesaan daripada militan untuk menamatkan perang dan mengundurkan tentera dari Gaza.

    AN-AFP

  • Gaza rescuers say Israeli air strikes kill 25

    GAZA – Gaza’s civil defense agency reported that Israeli air strikes since dawn on Sunday have killed at least 25 people across the Gaza Strip, including women and children.

    Israel resumed its aerial and ground assault on Gaza on March 18, reigniting fighting after a two-month ceasefire that had paused more than 15 months of war in the coastal territory.

    “Since dawn today, the occupation’s air strikes have killed 20 people and injured dozens more, including children and women across the Gaza Strip,” Mahmud Bassal, spokesman for the civil defense agency told AFP.

    In a separate statement later, the agency reported that five people were killed in an Israeli drone strike on a group of civilians in eastern Rafah.

    Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday vowed to continue the war and bring home the remaining hostages held in Gaza without yielding to Hamas’s demands.

    “We are at a critical stage of the campaign, and at this point, we need patience and determination to win,” Netanyahu said in a statement, rejecting calls from the militants to end the war and withdraw troops from Gaza.

    AN-AFP

  • Polis Jerman lancar pemburuan selepas 2 ditembak mati

    BERLIN – Operasi besar polis sedang dijalankan di Jerman pada Ahad untuk mencari seorang atau lebih penembak yang membunuh dua lelaki sehari sebelumnya di tengah negara, kata polis.

    Mayat kedua-dua mangsa, kedua-duanya dengan kesan tembakan, ditemui di hadapan alamat kediaman di Bad Nauheim, sebuah pekan di utara Frankfurt, pada petang Sabtu, kata polis bandar Giessen.

    “Pengerahan pasukan besar” polis dari pasukan beruniform, pakaian biasa dan cawangan pasukan khas telah bertebar, disokong oleh helikopter, untuk mencari pelaku, katanya.

    “Pemahaman semasa ialah tidak ada bahaya untuk penduduk atau orang lain,” kata polis.

    Tiada maklumat lagi mengenai “keadaan, atau motif pelaku,” kata mereka.

    Polis dan pendakwa raya telah membuka siasatan.

    Bad Nauheim terletak 25 kilometer (15 batu) di utara Frankfurt dan mempunyai populasi sekitar 33,000. Ia terkenal kerana tempat Elvis Presley melakukan perkhidmatan ketenteraan AS antara 1958 dan 1960 dan tempat dia bertemu bakal isterinya, Priscilla Presley.

    AN-AFP

  • German police launch manhunt after 2 people shot dead

    BERLIN – A large police operation was under way in Germany on Sunday to find one or more shooters who killed two men the day before in the center of the country, police said.

    The bodies of the two victims, both with gunshot wounds, were found in front of a residential address in Bad Nauheim, a town north of Frankfurt, on Saturday afternoon, Giessen city police said.

    “A big force deployment” of police from uniformed, plain clothes and special forces branches have fanned out, backed by a helicopter, to find the perpetrator or perpetrators, it said.

    “The current understanding is that there is no danger for inhabitants or other people,” police said.

    There was no information yet about the “circumstances, or the motive of the perpetrators,” they said.

    Police and prosecutors have opened an investigation.

    Bad Nauheim is 25 kilometers (15 miles) north of Frankfurt and has a population of around 33,000. It was famous for being where Elvis Presley did US military service between 1958 and 1960 and where he met his future wife, Priscilla Presley.

    AN-AFP

  • Lelaki maut selepas ditikam di tenggara Melbourne

    SYDNEY – Seorang lelaki maut selepas ditikam semasa pergaduhan di Melbourne, Australia.

    Polis berkata, pegawai telah dipanggil untuk laporan mengenai tikaman semasa pertengkaran di daerah hiburan malam yang popular di Prahran, 5 km tenggara pusat Melbourne, kira-kira 1:30 pagi Ahad.

    Mangsa tikam, seorang lelaki yang belum dikenal pasti secara rasmi, dibawa ke hospital oleh perkhidmatan kecemasan dan kemudian meninggal dunia di sana.

    Kenyataan polis mengatakan tiada tangkapan dibuat, dan detektif dari skuad pembunuhan sedang menyiasat kejadian itu.

    Media tempatan melaporkan mangsa berusia dalam lingkungan 20-an.

    Gambar dari tempat kejadian diterbitkan oleh akhbar News Corp Australia menunjukkan jalan besar dikepung pita polis manakala penyiasat forensik memeriksa pakaian berdarah dan kenderaan berdekatan.

    XINHUA

  • Man dead after stabbing in southeast Melbourne

    SYDNEY – A man has died after being stabbed during a fight in Melbourne, Australia.

    Police said that officers were called to reports of a stabbing during an altercation in a popular nightlife district in Prahran, 5 km southeast of central Melbourne, at about 1:30 a.m. on Sunday.

    The stabbing victim, a man who has not been formally identified, was taken to the hospital by emergency services and later died there.

    A police statement said that no arrests were made, and detectives from the homicide squad were investigating the incident.

    Local media reported that the victim was in his 20s.

    Photographs from the scene published by News Corp Australia newspapers showed a large stretch of street cordoned off by police tape while forensic investigators examined bloody items of clothing and nearby vehicles.

    XINHUA