Gunmen kill at least 20 people in gold mining village of Nigeria’s Zamfara state
Gunmen have killed at least 20 people in an attack in a gold mining village in Nigeria’s northwestern Zamfara state, residents and Amnesty International said, Reuters reported
Details on a possible motive for the attack were not immediately known but Zamfara state has grappled with kidnappings for ransom by armed gangs, who also target security forces.
Ismail Hassan, a resident, told Reuters that gunmen in their hundreds opened fire on miners on Thursday afternoon and a firefight ensued with over 20 people dead in the mining village of Gobirawa Chali in the Maru local government area of Zamfara state.
Another resident, Isah Ibrahim, said they had recovered 21 bodies following the attack and that several were injured.
Amnesty International said in a statement the gunmen went house-to-house in Gobirawa Chali, killing over 20 people, according to Reuters.
Spain and Portugal declare states of emergency after massive power outage
Spain and Portugal are reeling from a massive, unexplained power outage that knocked out traffic lights, caused chaos on roads and in airports, and prompted both countries to declare a state of emergency, CNN reported.
Portugal’s grid operator Redes Energéticas Nacionais (REN) said electrical supply was lost across the entire Iberian Peninsula, and in parts of France, shortly after midday. Hours later, Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said authorities were still not sure what caused the blackout.
The outage took out lighting and power sockets, and caused subway systems to suddenly fail. In Madrid, traffic piled up on the roads after the lights went out.
“I was driving and suddenly there was no traffic lights … It was a bit of a jungle,” Luis Ibáñez Jiménez told CNN. “I saw a massive bus coming, and I had to accelerate a lot to go past it.”
The cause of the blackout was unclear, but its impact was dramatic: transport hubs were shuttered and governments in both countries, which share a population of around 60 million people, hastily arranged emergency meetings to co-ordinate a response, according to CNN.
Ronen Bar to step down as Shin Bet Chief
The head of Israel’s domestic intelligence service, Shin Bet, Ronen Bar, announced his resignation on Monday, stating he would step down on June 15, 2025, after 35 years of service. His retirement comes after a turbulent era, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's effort to dismiss him earlier this year, Reuters reported.
Netanyahu had expressed distrust in Bar, especially amid the ongoing war, with Bar's duties including counter-terrorism and security for government leaders. The attempt to remove Bar triggered significant protests, with critics accusing the administration of weakening major government structures. The Israeli Supreme Court intervened and temporarily halted the dismissal.
Bar had already expressed his intent to resign before his term’s official end, taking responsibility for Shin Bet's failure to prevent the October 7 Hamas attack, which triggered the Gaza war, as stated by the Reuters.
The controversy highlights the ongoing tensions between Netanyahu’s government and the Israeli security establishment.
Amazon launches first Kuiper internet satellites, taking on Starlink
The first 27 satellites for Amazon's Kuiper broadband internet constellation were launched into space from Florida on Monday, kicking off the long-delayed deployment of an internet-from-space network that will rival SpaceX's Starlink, Reuters reported.
The satellites are the first of 3,236 that Amazon plans to send into low-Earth orbit for Project Kuiper, a $10 billion effort unveiled in 2019 to beam broadband internet globally for consumers, businesses and governments - customers that SpaceX has courted for years with its powerful Starlink business.
Sitting atop an Atlas V rocket from the Boeingand Lockheed Martinjoint-venture United Launch Alliance, the batch of 27 satellites was lofted into space at 7 p.m. EDT pm from the rocket company's launch pad at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Bad weather scrubbed an initial launch attempt on April 9.
Kuiper is arguably Amazon's biggest bet under way, pitting it against Starlink as well as global telecommunications providers like AT&T and T-Mobile. The company has positioned the service as a boon to rural areas where connectivity is sparse or nonexistent, according to Reuters.