NEWS OF THE DAY

From Around the World

_1 Sudan sanctions: The U.N. Security Council approved a resolution extending for a year an arms embargo on South Sudan and a travel ban and financial sanctions for targeted individuals, with Russia, China and South Africa abstaining. The U.S.drafted resolution welcomes “encouraging developments in South Sudan’s peace process,” including the beginning of the formation of a transitional government. But it also expresses “deep concern at continued fighting in South Sudan” and condemns violations of the peace deal and cessation of hostilities agreement. The world’s youngest nation slid into ethnic violence in December 2013, when forces loyal to President Salva Kiir, a Dinka, started battling those loyal to Riek Machar, his former vice president who belongs to the Nuer people. The civil war has killed nearly 400,000 people and displaced millions.

_2 Uber Italy: A court in Milan has ordered the appointment of a judicial administrator to oversee Uber Italy for one year after determining the company’s food delivery service exploited workers, according to Italian news reports. The decision on Friday came amid an ongoing investigation into Uber’s activities in Italy. Italian news agency ANSA quoted the court saying that Uber’s treatment of delivery workers was similar to the “caporalato” system used by organized crime groups to pay desperate migrants a pittance to do farm or construction work off the books.

_3 Sea trials: China’s Defense Ministry said the navy’s only entirely homebuilt aircraft is carrying out sea trials to test weapons and equipment and enhance training of the crew. The Shandong’s commissioning last year by Chinese President Xi Jinping underscored the country’s rise as a regional naval power at a time of tensions with the U.S. and others over trade, Taiwan and the South China Sea. It is the second Chinese aircraft carrier to enter service after the Liaoning, which was originally purchased as a hulk from Ukraine and entirely refurbished.

_4 Afghan bombing: A bus belonging to a local TV station was hit by a roadside bomb Saturday in the capital Kabul, killing two employees, said the Interior Ministry. Four other employees were wounded in the attack. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the violence. Both the Taliban and an Islamic State affiliate are active in Kabul but Islamic State has claimed responsibility for recent attacks in the capital. Afghanistan is among the most dangerous countries in the world for reporters. In January, the Afghan Journalists Safety Committee reported five journalists were killed in 2019. The year before, 17 journalist and media workers were killed in Afghanistan, when a total of 121 cases of violence against journalists and media workers were reported.

_5 Burkina Faso attack: Islamic extremists killed at least 15 people, including children, in an attack on a group of traders traveling between towns in northern Burkina Faso, the government said Saturday. The victims of Friday’s attack in Loroum province were being escorted by a local defense group that was likely the target, according to a security report. A government spokesman said the attack was in response to increased efforts by the army to stem growing violence across the once peaceful West African country. Nearly 2,000 people were killed last year as local defense groups and the military sought to stem the violence by militants linked to al Qaeda and the Islamic State. Deaths have increased more than 40% this year, according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project.