United News of Bangladesh

At least 27 people were killed in two separate mass shootings in townships near Johannesburg and Cape Town, South African police said Sunday. In the first incident, 17 people were killed when eight armed men opened fire at a bar in Wedela township, southwest of Johannesburg, on Saturday night, according to the South African Police Service. The attackers were armed with AK-47 rifles and pistols, police said. At least 15 other people were wounded in the shooting. In a separate incident, 10 people were killed and 11 others injured when gunmen opened fire at a store in Lwandle, near Cape Town, around 1am Sunday. Police said they were looking for several suspects in connection with the Lwandle shooting but did not provide an exact number. No arrests had been made in either case, police said. The latest attacks came only days after another mass shooting near Durban, where three gunmen opened fire at a house party, killing 11 people, including a pregnant woman. South Africa has long faced high levels of violent crime, but the spate of mass shootings in recent days has caused particular alarm in a country accustomed to some of the world's highest rates of violent crime.

Kenyan President William Ruto was a special guest at the Atlanta Dream’s victory over the New York Liberty on Wednesday night, attending the game to watch Kenyan player Madina Okot. Ruto, who is in New York this week for the United Nations General Assembly, sat courtside to watch Okot play. “That was a very good honor, I appreciate him showing up,” Okot told The Associated Press after Atlanta’s 83-65 victory on Wednesday night. “I’m the only Kenyan over here and it just shows how much he supports sports at home. I hope that this opens up opportunities for other girls. I’m so much blessed to get support from him.” Ruto watched the game with his wife, Rachel, NBA Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum and members of NBA Africa. The Kenyan president also took a selfie with the first lady and Okot as they spoke on the court. “I got to talk some Swahili today,” a smiling Okot said. “So happy I spoke Swahili to my president and the first lady.” Ruto celebrated Okot being selected No. 13 overall by the Atlanta Dream in April. Okot scored two points and grabbed two rebounds in Atlanta’s win over New York.

Moroccans are voting for a new parliament Wednesday in an election marked by growing frustration among young people over unemployment, public services and the rising cost of living despite the country's economic growth. Polling stations across Morocco are open from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., with nearly 16 million registered voters eligible to elect members of the 395-seat House of Representatives. The election is the first since deadly youth-led protests nearly a year ago and a mass attempt by migrants to cross the country's northern border into Spain's Ceuta, where dozens of people died. The vote will determine the next prime minister and the composition of the government, which will operate alongside the powerful monarchy that retains broad authority over strategic affairs. Election results are expected Thursday. The new government will oversee billions of dollars in investment as Morocco prepares to co-host the 2030 FIFA World Cup. It will also face pressure to address concerns over jobs, wages, housing, healthcare and education. Many young Moroccans remain skeptical that political participation can improve their lives, with some choosing street protests, considering emigration or staying away from the polls. A total of 7,288 candidates from 27 political parties are contesting the election. Under the constitution, the king appoints the head of government from the party winning the most seats. As no party is expected to secure an outright majority, coalition talks are likely. Some groups, including the far-left Democratic Path, have called for a boycott, saying the election lacks basic democratic conditions. The banned but tolerated Islamist association Al-Adl Wal Ihsane has also made similar claims. Moroccans living abroad have the constitutional right to vote but cannot cast ballots by mail or at Moroccan consulates. They must travel to Morocco or authorize a registered family member or acquaintance to vote on their behalf. The number of registered voters has fallen 9.7% since the 2021 election despite population growth, with analysts expecting low turnout. In Casablanca and Rabat, voters formed small but steady lines at polling stations despite Wednesday being a working day. Jamal Aamar, a 63-year-old retired banker voting for the Federation of the Democratic Left, said taking part in the election gives citizens a chance to make their voices heard. “If you boycott, you will leave others an empty seat,” he said.

A gold mine shaft collapsed in northeastern Sudan, killing at least 11 miners and injuring 30, a state official said Sunday, while a search continued for the missing under the debris. It was the second collapse of an informal gold mine in Sudan in a week. The mines are among thousands of small-scale and informal mines scattered across Sudan, which has been engulfed in a war that has at times pushed parts of the country into famine. Last Sunday, at least 82 people were killed when a series of mine shafts in another gold mine collapsed in the country's west, in an area controlled by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces that have been fighting the Sudanese military for over three years. Abdalhay Kharif Abakar, who worked in the area, said the collapse in Oni, a remote area in the northeastern Red Sea state, began Saturday night. An official from the state-owned Sudanese Mineral Resources Co. said 11 bodies had been recovered by Sunday and 30 were rescued. The search for the missing continued, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media. In a statement, the company expressed condolences for lives lost in the mine collapse, but didn't give details about the casualties. Deadly mine collapses in Sudan, a gold producing country, aren’t uncommon where safety standards aren’t widely applied. Sudan plunged into an all-out war in April 2023 as fighting erupted between the RSF and the Sudanese military in the country. The conflict has killed at least 59,000 people, according to Armed Conflict Location & Event Data, a monitoring group. Aid organizations say that the figure is an undercount, and the true number could be many times higher. Large quantities of gold have been smuggled out of the country to finance the RSF, which controls gold-producing areas in the Darfur and Kordofan regions, according to experts commissioned by the United Nations.  

Nigerian industrialist Aliko Dangote on Monday opened his refinery to public ownership, seeking to raise $1.6 billion from retail investors across Africa through what is being described as the continent's largest initial public offering (IPO). Dangote, Africa's richest man, described the offering as an IPO "for the people," saying he wants everyone to have an opportunity to own a stake in the refinery. Shares of the sprawling Lagos-based refinery are being offered at 5,250 naira ($4) each, with investors required to purchase at least 10 shares. Dangote will retain an 87% stake in the refinery, the largest in Africa. The refinery's huge scale and prospects for returns have fueled enthusiasm among retail investors, particularly as global oil prices have risen following the U.S.-Iran war. "I will be a fool not to partake in it and see how it goes. I am placing a lot of emphasis on his name and on the refinery being the biggest in Africa," Abuja-based operations manager Titi Adetoye told The Associated Press, saying she hopes to purchase as many as 1,000 shares. Nigerian digital investment platform Bamboo said users were experiencing difficulties accessing its platform because of "higher than expected traffic trying to get into the Dangote IPO." For decades, Nigeria has depended heavily on foreign refineries to process its crude oil because of poorly maintained state-owned refineries, many of which have operated below capacity or remained idle for years. The launch of the $19 billion Dangote refinery in 2024 changed that dynamic, turning the energy-rich country of more than 210 million people from an importer of refined petroleum products into an exporter. "It is going to be a game-changing IPO for Nigeria's markets," said Mohammed Saidu, head of research and investment analysis at Lagos-based TrustBanc. He predicted that the offering could bring millions of new investors into the market. However, the IPO has also prompted questions over Dangote's decision to retain such a large stake and the refinery's valuation following the offering. At $49 billion, the valuation is more than twice the refinery's construction cost. Officials of the refinery have rejected suggestions that the valuation is inflated. "It is not something someone can classify as people-driven if you still own 87% of the refinery and there are many ways that narrative breaks down," said Joachim McEbong, a senior West Africa analyst at Control Risks. Some investors have also expressed reservations about the IPO. Abdulkabeer Tijani, a Lagos-based researcher and regular investor in Nigerian stocks, said the shares might already be overpriced at 525 naira ($0.40) each. "(The share price) puts a bigger duty on the refinery, which suggests that to justify an even higher valuation from the roughly 47 trillion naira ($49 billion), the refinery needs to generate very substantial profits and cash flow consistently," Tijani said. The Dangote refinery reached its full production capacity of 650,000 barrels per day earlier this year. Dangote announced plans last year to raise the refinery's capacity to 1.4 million barrels per day. Company officials say the expansion would make it the world's largest refinery, surpassing India's Jamnagar refinery. Dangote is also seeking to expand his refining business into East Africa and has proposed constructing a refinery in Kenya by 2030.

At least 21 people were killed in a road accident in the Western Cape province of South Africa, local media reported on Monday. The accident occurred at around 11:30 p.m. (2130 GMT) on Sunday night on the N1 highway between Prince Albert and Leeu-Gamka in the province, involving two minibus taxis and a station wagon, according to media reports. The cause of the accident is still under investigation.  

Eight people, including two minors, were killed in a head-on collision in South Africa's northeastern Mpumalanga Province early Sunday morning, local authorities said. The crash, involving a Toyota sedan and a Volkswagen sedan, occurred at about 1:30 a.m. local time (2330 Saturday GMT) on the N17 toll road between Ermelo and Davel, near the Ermelo Toll Plaza, the Mpumalanga Department of Community Safety, Security and Liaison said. It said that seven of those killed were traveling in the Volkswagen, while the eighth victim was the driver and sole occupant of the Toyota, and no other injuries were reported. The cause of the accident remains under investigation. Authorities said reckless or negligent driving had not been ruled out as a possible factor.

At least 22 people were killed and several others injured in a fire that broke out early Saturday at a wedding venue in Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), a local official said. The fire erupted in a building housing a reception hall on the premises in Lingwala commune while a wedding ceremony was underway, Norbert Mushinga, head of the commune, told reporters at the scene. "The provisional death toll stands at 22 and could rise," Mushinga said, adding that property inside the building was also destroyed by the blaze. Several injured people were taken to hospitals across Kinshasa for treatment, he said. The cause of the fire remains unknown. Mushinga said authorities are investigating possible factors, including electrical faults and decorations at the venue. 

Schools reopened across the Democratic Republic of Congo on Tuesday for the new academic year, even as parents and teachers expressed concerns over the continued spread of Ebola in Ituri province, the epicenter of the outbreak. The reopening comes as the deadly virus continues to spread rapidly. Government figures showed that 2,950 people had died from Ebola among 6,100 confirmed cases as of Tuesday. The teachers’ union in Ituri had urged authorities to postpone the reopening of schools over health concerns. However, the government went ahead with the academic calendar. UNICEF said it is working with authorities to strengthen measures aimed at preventing Ebola transmission in schools. Several schools in Ituri, particularly government-run institutions, saw low attendance on the first day. A number of parents chose to keep their children at home. Aimerance Vahweka, a parent in Bunia, the provincial capital, said she was surprised by the decision to reopen schools and decided not to send her child back yet. “I do not really see an increase in prevention measures,” she said. Education officials said schools were being provided with noncontact infrared thermometers, hand sanitizers and hand-washing facilities as part of preventive measures. Teachers are also educating students about hygiene practices, including frequent handwashing and the proper use of hand sanitizer, said Etienne Ndjabu, a teacher at a private school in Bunia. Health and education experts, however, warned that significant challenges remain, particularly because many schools do not have reliable access to clean water and funding for the response remains insufficient. “There are also significant logistical challenges, particularly in remote areas, where the delivery of equipment and learning materials may be delayed,” said Greg Ramm, director of Save the Children in Congo. Children aged four and below have been particularly vulnerable, with the highest case-fatality rate among all age groups at 60%, according to available health data. Dounia Dekhili, UNICEF emergency coordinator in DRC, said authorities need to balance the protection of students, teachers and communities with children's right to education. The current outbreak, caused by the rare Bundibugyo virus, is reportedly the fastest-spreading Ebola outbreak in history and has reached more than 60 health zones. Authorities believe the virus had been circulating undetected in communities since at least February. The World Health Organization has warned that the outbreak could surpass the scale of the West African Ebola epidemic of 2014-2016. The response has also been affected by repeated strikes by health workers over delays in salary payments. Efforts to control the outbreak have been further complicated by the absence of an approved vaccine or specific treatment. Congolese authorities have begun administering thousands of doses of the Ervebo vaccine, which the WHO says may offer some protection. Ongoing conflict between government forces and rebel groups in eastern Congo, attacks targeting health workers and large-scale population movements have also made containment efforts more difficult.

Voters in Guinea-Bissau went to the polls Sunday in a referendum on a proposed new constitution that would expand presidential powers and reduce parliamentary representation ahead of the country’s December general election. The referendum is being held as the West African nation seeks to return to democratic rule following a military takeover last November after a disputed presidential election in which former President Umaro Sissoco Embaló and opposition candidate Fernando Dias both claimed victory. The proposed constitution, drafted by the military-backed National Transitional Council, would strengthen the president’s authority over the prime minister and reduce the number of parliamentary seats from 102 to 65. The authorities argue that a smaller parliament would facilitate more effective debate, while clearer presidential powers would help resolve longstanding tensions between the president and prime minister, which they blame for political instability. Gen. Tomás Djassi, head of the armed forces, said the constitutional changes were intended to prevent recurring conflicts between the two top executive offices and clarify the president’s role as the country’s national symbol. Opposition parties, however, have urged voters to boycott the referendum, arguing that the proposed constitution would concentrate power in the hands of the military leadership and weaken parliament, the prime minister and political parties. Muniro Conté, spokesperson for the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde, said the proposed charter could deepen political and social divisions and undermine the will of voters. The military takeover last year further deepened concerns over democratic governance in West Africa, where several countries have come under military rule in recent years. Guinea-Bissau, which gained independence from Portugal in 1973, has experienced repeated coups and attempted coups. A failed coup attempt was reported just one month before last year’s military takeover. The country, home to about 2.2 million people, has significant natural resources but more than half of its population lives in poverty. It is also considered a major transit point for drug trafficking between Latin America and Europe, which analysts say contributes to its political instability. Nearly 915,000 voters are registered for Sunday’s referendum. However, many citizens say they are unfamiliar with the proposed constitution. Some residents have decided to boycott the vote, while others plan to vote against the proposal. Political analysts have also questioned whether the military government has the legitimacy to amend the constitution, amid growing public discontent. Guinean political analyst Paulino Quadé questioned who drafted the proposed constitution, whose interests it serves and who would ultimately benefit from the changes.