NEWS OF THE DAY From Around the World
_1 Militants attack:
Gunmen killed at least 18 civilians over the weekend in Burkina Faso in an attack on the northern village of Lamdamol in the Sahel region, authorities said Monday. Regional governor Col. Salfo Kabore said a newly appointed chief nurse was among those killed in Saturday’s attack. Security forces are searching for the gunmen. Such attacks have increased in the region as Islamic extremists gain ground in the north and are pushing east. The attack occurred less than a week after 39 people were killed in Silgadji in Soum province. France over the weekend announced it would send 600 more troops to West Africa’s arid Sahel region to combat extremists.
_2 Emergency landing:
An Air Canada Boeing 767 made a safe emergency landing Monday evening in Madrid after it spent almost four hours flying in circles to burn fuel. The Torontobound flight, carrying 128 passengers, departed from the Spanish capital but had to request an emergency return almost immediately after one of its two engines was damaged and a tire ruptured during takeoff. There was no immediate information on what caused the malfunction. The plane flew circles around Madrid in order to burn enough fuel so it would be light enough for landing.
_3 Yemen aid:
A United Nations medical relief flight carrying patients from Yemen’s rebelheld capital took off Monday, the first such aid flight in more than three years. Saudi Arabia controls Yemen’s airspace and has prevented any flights from leaving the capital, Sanaa, since August 2016. Eight patients and their families were flown to Egypt and Jordan to receive “lifesaving specialized care not available in Yemen,” according to the U.N. heath organization. Most were women and children with cancer and brain tumors, while others needed organ transplants or reconstructive surgeries, the U.N. said. Yemen’s capital has been controlled by the Iranbacked Houthi rebel group since 2014. The Houthi health ministry says 32,000 people are in need of urgent medical care.
_4 Europe diplomacy:
French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday called for closer ties with Poland in shaping the European Union without Britain, in European security and relations with Russia. Following talks in Warsaw with Polish President Andrzej Duda, Macron also called for a revival of trilateral ties with Germany, urging a summit meeting in coming weeks following years of hiatus. Macron has previously been critical of Poland’s rightwing government, and its policies of refusing to accept migrants, continuing reliance on coal and trying to bring the judiciary under political control. Macron’s office said the visit is a crucial part of France’s efforts to bolster ties with European partners. Macron said he would like his visit to be a “turning point” in bilateral relations and for any misunderstandings to be cleared up.
_5 Malawi politics:
The Constitutional Court in Malawi on Monday nullified the results of last year’s presidential election, citing “widespread, systematic and grave” irregularities. The two leading opposition candidates had challenged the narrow election win of President Peter Mutharika, alleging that irregularities affected over 1.4 million of the total 5.1 million votes cast. Months of sometimes deadly unrest followed the announcement of the election results. The president and electoral commission acknowledged some irregularities but argued they were insufficient to affect the election’s outcome. Monday’s ruling can be appealed to the Supreme Court. A new vote will be held within 150 days, the court said. Security was tight and people across the country followed the daylong court session.