International

Volcano refugees start returning to DR Congo from Rwanda

AFP/Editor

More than a thousand refugees left a camp in Rwanda to return to the Democratic of Congo on Saturday, officials said, after escaping over the border fearing Mount Nyiragongo could erupt again.

Africa’s most active volcano roared back to life a week ago, sending terrified people in the nearby city of Goma running for their lives as rivers of lava destroyed homes and claimed nearly three dozen lives.

The eruption stopped, but warnings in recent days that it could blow again sent nearly 400,000 people rushing from Goma, with thousands crossing into Rwanda at a nearby border point.

Around 3,000 people sought refuge at a temporary camp in Rugerero, about ten kilometres (six miles) from the border.

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But on Saturday an estimated 1,200 had left for Goma, a Rwanda government official at Rugerero told AFP on condition of anonymity. Military trucks were seen transporting refugees to the border.

William Byukusenge, a construction worker, said he felt the danger had passed.

“My house is in good shape, I have a wife and two kids. If it erupts again, we will come back to Rwanda,” the 21-year-old Congolese evacuee told AFP.

But another evacuee, Marie Claire Uwineza, said she had nowhere left to go.

“My house was burned, and I have nothing left,” said the 39-year-old, who fled with two of her children.

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She was being sent to another camp at Busasamana, around 35 kilometres from the border, along with other evacuees unwilling or unable to return home yet.

At the camp, aid workers hastily erected tents and toilet facilities to meet growing demand.

Boubacar Bamba, the UN refugee agency’s deputy representative for operations in Rwanda, told AFP the camp’s population had swollen in recent days from around 800 evacuees to closer to 2000.

“There is no time to plan. We plan and execute at the same time, because we are caught short by events,” he said.

“This site is designed for a maximum of 3,000 people. The likelihood of receiving more people depends on the activity of the volcano, we do not control that. We are preparing for all eventualities, even if our resources are not sufficient,” he added.

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DR Congo’s government said Saturday that the eruption of a second, nearby volcano it had announced hours earlier was a “false alarm”.

Nearly 3,500 metres (11,500 feet) high, Nyiragongo straddles the East African Rift tectonic divide.

Its last major eruption, in 2002, claimed around 100 lives and the deadliest eruption on record killed more than 600 people in 1977.

Volcanologists say the worst-case scenario is an eruption under nearby Lake Kivu — a so-called “limnic eruption” when lava combines with a deep lake and spews out lethal, suffocating gas across a potentially large area.

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International

Man arrested after deliberately driving into seven children in Osaka

Japanese police arrested a man on Thursday after he rammed his car into a group of seven schoolchildren in an apparent deliberate attack in the city of Osaka.

The children, who were on their way home from school, sustained injuries and were taken to the hospital. All seven remained conscious, according to local authorities.

An Osaka police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the suspect is a 28-year-old man from Tokyo. The officer shared statements the man made after his arrest: “I was fed up with everything, so I decided to kill people by driving into several elementary school children,” the suspect reportedly said.

The man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.

The injured children, aged between seven and eight, included a seven-year-old girl who suffered a fractured jaw. The six other children—all boys—suffered minor injuries such as bruises and scratches and were undergoing medical evaluation.

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Witnesses described the car as “zigzagging” before hitting the children. One witness told Nippon TV that a girl was “covered in blood” and the others appeared to have scratches.

Another witness said the driver, who was wearing a face mask, looked to be in shock when school staff pulled him from the vehicle.

Violent crimes are rare in Japan, though serious incidents do occur from time to time. In 2008, Tomohiro Kato drove a two-ton truck into pedestrians in Tokyo’s Akihabara district, then fatally stabbed several victims. Seven people were killed in that attack.

Internacionales

Clashes erupt during may day protests across France amid calls for better wages

May Day protests in France were marked by a heavy police presence and clashes between demonstrators and law enforcement in several cities.

In Paris, Lyon, and Nantes, thousands took to the streets to demand better wages, fairer working conditions, and to voice their dissatisfaction with President Emmanuel Macron’s government.

While the majority of the demonstrations remained peaceful, isolated confrontations broke out in some areas. Protesters threw objects at the police, prompting the use of tear gas and resulting in several arrests.

Videos showing police crackdowns circulated widely on social media, drawing criticism from labor unions and human rights advocates, who denounced the authorities’ response to the protests.

International

Kristi Noem credits Trump for mass migrant deportations by mexican president

U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem claimed that Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has deported “more than half a million” migrants due to pressure from former President Donald Trump.

During a cabinet meeting highlighting the “achievements” of Trump’s administration in its first 100 days, Noem asserted that under the Republican leader’s influence, “Mexico has finally come to the table” to negotiate on migration and fentanyl trafficking.

“The president of Mexico told me she has returned just over half a million people before they reached our border,” Noem stated, criticizing media reports that suggest the Biden administration deported more migrants than Trump’s.

“I wish those deportations were counted,” Noem added, “because those people never made it to our border—she sent them back because you made her.” She went on to thank Trump: “They never made it here because they got the message—because you were so aggressive.”

Noem has made controversial claims about Sheinbaum in the past, prompting the Mexican leader to refute them.

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On April 1, Sheinbaum responded to one such statement by declaring, “The president answers to only one authority, and that is the people of Mexico,” after Noem said on Fox News that she gave Sheinbaum “a list of things Trump would like to see” and that Mexico’s actions would determine whether Trump granted tariff relief.