NEWS OF THE DAY
From Across the Globe
1 Coup arrests: Five generals have been arrested for plotting a failed coup attempt against Burundi President Pierre Nkurunziza, officials said Saturday. Three army generals and two police generals were detained along with three lower-ranking officers and eight soldiers, said presidential spokesman Gervais Abayeho. One of the generals is a former defense minister, he said. The coup attempt came amid Burundi’s turmoil over Nkurunziza’s bid for a third term in office. After weeks of street protests against Nkurunziza’s efforts to stay in power, a general announced the coup on Wednesday. Nkurunziza was in Tanzania last week attending an emergency regional summit to discuss Burundi’s crisis when soldiers loyal to the president stopped the rebellion. The general who announced the coup, former intelligence chief Maj. Gen. Godefroid Niyombare, is in hiding and has not yet been arrested.
2 Train crash: A train struck a trailer being pulled by a farm tractor Saturday at a road crossing in western Germany, killing the train driver and one passenger and injuring at least 20 others, police said. The regional train was heading to the small town of Ibbenbueren from Osnabrueck. Investigators said the trailer became detached from the tractor and came to a stop on the tracks. The train was operated by a private train company, Westfalenbahn, and not by national train operator Deutsche Bahn.
3 Nigeria violence: A teenage suicide bomber blew herself up and killed seven other people Saturday outside a bus station in the northeastern town of Damaturu, witnesses said. The attack is the latest in a string of recent assaults by Nigeria’s home-grown Boko Haram extremists. The attack comes two weeks after Nigeria’s military said it destroyed about 20 insurgent camps and freed 700 kidnapped women and children. Officials have said the main fighting force of the insurgents is trapped inside the vast Sambisa Forest. Thousands have died in the nearly 5-year-old Islamic uprising, and more than 1.5 million people have been driven from their homes.
4 Climate pact: Canada says it plans to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent below 2005 levels by 2030 amid international efforts to create a new framework for addressing climate change. Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s Conservative government said Friday it formally submitted its target to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change ahead of a major conference in Paris in December. The U.S. has committed to a 26 percent to 28 percent cut by 2025 from 2005 levels. The EU has a target of 35 percent below 2005 levels by 2030. 5 Territorial claim: China defended its land reclamation and construction activities on disputed islets in the South China Sea as “fully within the scope” of its national sovereignty Saturday, while U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry urged Beijing to “reduce tensions and increase the prospect of a diplomatic solution.” At a news conference in the Chinese capital, Kerry and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi sought to stress agreement between the two nations on issues such as climate change. But the South China Sea matter stood out as a point of friction. The U.S. and allies including the Philippines fear that China is trying to establish de facto control over parts of the strategic waterway with landfill and construction projects.