At least 15 worshippers killed at Burkina church
OUAGADOUGOU, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) — At least 15 people were killed on Sunday in an attack on a Catholic church in the village of Essakane in the Sahel region of northern Burkina Faso, a church official said in a statement.
“We bring to your attention the terrorist attack to which the Catholic community of the Essakane village fell victim today, Feb. 25, as they gathered for Sunday prayer,” said Jean-Pierre Sawadogo, vicar of the Catholic Diocese of Dori.
The official added that at least 15 worshippers were killed, including 12 on the spot and three who later died of their wounds. Another two were injured.
Air Force Man Sets Himself On Fire Outside Israeli Embassy In Washington DC
Feb 26 – A man has set himself on fire in front of the Israeli embassy in Washington DC, US emergency services say.
The incident happened at about 13:00 local time (18:00 GMT) on Sunday.
Officers from the US Secret Service extinguished the flames before the man was taken to hospital with critical, life-threatening injuries, the city’s fire department reported.
A US Air Force spokeswoman was later quoted by US media as saying the man was an active-duty airman.
The Washington police department is now investigating alongside the Secret Service and other relevant authorities.
In a statement, police in the US capital said the incident happened at “the 3500 block of International Drive, NW, at approximately 1:00 pm”, and that officers were dispatched to “assist the United States Secret Service after an individual set themselves on fire in front of an embassy in the block”.
The statement added that an “adult male” was then taken to hospital where he remained “in critical condition”.
A video has emerged on social media purportedly showing the man shouting “Free Palestine” as he burned, US media report.
At least 25 Palestinians killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza City
GAZA, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) — At least 26 Palestinians were killed in Israeli attacks in the Gaza City on Sunday, medical sources and eyewitnesses said.
Medical sources told Xinhua that 15 people, including children, were killed and several others were wounded after warplanes hit a residential building in the Zaytoun neighborhood south of the Gaza City
According to local sources and eyewitnesses, the warplanes fired a missile at the three-story house without prior warning.According to Israel’s state-owned Kan TV news, the Israeli army has been conducting operations in the neighborhood since Feb. 20, targeting infrastructures belonging to the Hamas movement. On the same day, 10 Palestinians were killed in Israeli airstrikes on the coastal road west of the Gaza City. Local sources and eyewitnesses reported that Israeli forces launched artillery shells and conducted airstrikes targeting individuals waiting for aid trucks, killing 10 of them and injuring others.
Three people killed by hyenas in almost two months in northern Tanzania
MWANZA, Tanzania, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) — Three people were killed by hyenas between Jan. 1 and Feb. 24 in Sengerema, a district in Mwanza region, northern Tanzania, an official said on Sunday.
The first victim, a 16-year-old boy, was attacked and killed by hyenas on Jan. 15 when he was collecting firewood, Sengerema district wildlife officer Paul Ponsian said. The other two victims were a 70-year-old farmer, who was attacked on Jan. 29 on the way to his farm, and a 16-year-old girl, who was killed by hyenas on Feb. 16 on her way to fetch water for her grandmother, Ponsian said. He urged residents in the Sengerema district to be vigilant against further attacks by hyenas, saying the Tanzania Wildlife Management Authority (TAWA) has started hunting down the animals. Five hyenas have already been killed by TAWA game rangers, Ponsian said.
7 foreign volunteer teachers among 25 killed in Tanzania road accident
ARUSHA, Tanzania, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) — Seven foreign volunteer teachers are among people killed in a road accident in Tanzania’s northern city of Arusha as the death toll from the crash Saturday rose from 15 to 25, police said on Sunday.
The seven foreign volunteer teachers were one each from Kenya, Togo, Madagascar, Burkina Faso, South Africa, Nigeria and the United States, said Abel Paul, a spokesperson for the Tanzania police force.The foreign teachers were attached to a school in Arusha, Paul told Xinhua over the phone.Awadh Juma, police commissioner for operations and training, said the accident occurred Saturday afternoon, when the driver of a truck lost control of the vehicle, which then collided with three other vehicles in Arusha’s Ngaramtoni suburb.He said 21 others were injured in the crash and are receiving treatment in hospitals in Arusha city. Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan sent condolences to the loved ones of the victims and ordered the security agencies to continue to ensure that the law is fully enforced, including regular inspection of vehicles and license control for drivers.
Israeli army presents operational attack plan in Gaza’s Rafah
JERUSALEM, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) — Israel’s army presented the War Cabinet with an operational attack plan and an evacuation plan for civilians in the southern Gazan city of Rafah, a release from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said early Monday.
The announcement came despite international calls for Israel not to launch a ground operation in Rafah, where over a million people are seeking shelter from Israeli bombardments elsewhere.The office noted that the cabinet approved a plan for food trucks to enter northern Gaza directly, aiming to prevent the trucks from being looted by civilians.Currently, humanitarian aid trucks enter Gaza via two crossings located in the southern enclave and encounter difficulties reaching the north due to hungry civilians storming the trucks. At least one in four households in the Gaza Strip, or more than half a million people, are facing catastrophic levels of acute food insecurity, the highest level of warning.
