82 killed in Myanmar protest crackdown | World

YANGON, Myanmar – According to reports from independent local media and an organization that has been keeping an eye on the victims since the military came to power in February, at least 82 people were killed in one day during a crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Myanmar.

The Friday death toll in Bago was the largest single-day number for a single city since March 14, when just over 100 people were killed in Yangon, the country’s largest city. Bago is about 60 miles northeast of Yangon. The Associated Press cannot independently verify the number of deaths.

The death toll of 82 was a preliminary number compiled by the Relief Society for Political Prisoners, which recorded daily casualties and arrests in the aftermath of the February 1 coup that overthrew the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi, released.

Earthquake kills 8, injures 23 on Java

A powerful earthquake killed at least eight people, injured 23 others and damaged more than 300 buildings on Indonesia’s main island of Java and was also felt at Bali’s tourist hotspot, officials said on Saturday. No tsunami warnings were issued.

The US Geological Survey said the 6.0 magnitude quake occurred off the island’s south coast at 2 p.m. local time. This marked the second fatal disaster in Indonesia this week after tropical cyclone Seroja caused a heavy downpour on Sunday that left at least 174 people dead and 48 still missing.

In January, a 6.2 magnitude earthquake killed at least 105 people and injured nearly 6,500 while more than 92,000 people were displaced after striking Mamuju and Majene districts in West Sulawesi province.

Ashes and the smell of sulfur hit St. Vincent

Ash rained down on the eastern Caribbean island of St. Vincent on Saturday, and a day after a violent explosion at La Soufriere volcano, the lives of thousands of people who were evacuating their homes on government orders were surrounded by a strong smell of sulfur.

Lush green Caribbean villages turned into gloomy, gray versions of Alpine villages under a blanket of fine soot that also hung in the air, darkening the sun and creeping into houses, cars and noses. Some ash fell as far as Barbados, about 120 miles east of St. Vincent.

Some people taped their doors and windows and repeatedly swept in front of their homes while looking for another volcano eruption.

Iran begins testing an atomic centrifuge

Iran said Saturday it had started mechanical tests on its newest advanced nuclear centrifuge, despite the five world powers remaining in a perished 2015 nuclear deal with Iran attempting to re-enlist the US in the deal.

When the Iranian IR-9 centrifuge is in operation, uranium isotopes can be separated faster than the centrifuges currently in use, thereby enriching uranium more quickly. The announcement on state television came on Iran’s 15th annual “Nuclear Day”.

Since January, Iran has started enriching uranium up to 20% purity, a technical step away from weapon quality, despite the Iranian leadership insisting that the country has no desire to develop a nuclear weapon.

Prince Charles honors “dear papa”

Britain’s Prince Charles warmly paid tribute to his “dear papa” on Saturday when Buckingham Palace laid the groundwork for a royal funeral that the family will attend and the world will broadcast.

As Queen Elizabeth II and other relatives mourned, Charles offered a deeply personal video message saying the royal family were “deeply grateful” for the support they received following the death of his 99-year-old father, Prince Philip Friday received.

The heir to the throne said he was touched by the number of people around the world who have shared his family’s loss and grief.

Philip’s royal funeral will be held at Windsor Castle on April 17th – a stripped down service amid the COVID-19 pandemic that will be completely closed to the public.

Prosecutor rejects kidnapping trial

An Italian public prosecutor told a court in Sicily on Saturday that there is no reason to bring right-wing leader Matteo Salvini to justice for alleged kidnapping for keeping rescued migrants aboard a coast guard ship for days in the summer of 2019.

Prosecutor Andrea Bonomo, at a preliminary hearing in Catania, recommended that Salvini follow government policy when he held 116 migrants aboard the Italian coast guard ship Gregoretti off the coast of Sicily for five days.

At the time, Salvini was Italy’s interior minister in a government led by Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte. He insisted that other European Union nations must accept migrants brought to Italian coasts after being rescued from unseaworthy boats by traffickers in the Mediterranean and not leave Italy alone to deal with them.

The UAE announce new astronauts

The United Arab Emirates named the next two astronauts in their space program on Saturday, including the country’s first female astronaut.

In a government video, Noura al-Matroushi, born in 1993, was described as an engineer at the National Petroleum Construction Co. in Abu Dhabi. Her male counterpart Mohammed al-Mulla, born in 1988, serves as a pilot with the Dubai police and heads their police training department, the government said.

The two were selected from more than 4,000 applicants. The two are trained at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.

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