14 killed in South Sudan plane crash near capital Juba
NewsFeed A passenger plane crashed southwest of South Sudan’s capital Juba, killing all 14 people on board. The aircraft was flying from Yei when it went down, reportedly due to low visibility. Published On 28 Apr 202628 Apr 2026 Click here to share on social media share-nodes Share googleAdd Al Jazeera on Googleinfo Adblock test (Why?)
Italy extradites alleged Chinese cyber-espionage suspect to US
US prosecutors say 34-year-old Xu Zewei hacked into universities to steal vaccine research during COVID-19 pandemic. Published On 28 Apr 202628 Apr 2026 Italy has extradited an accused Chinese hacker wanted in the United States for allegedly stealing vaccine research at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Italian authorities handed over the “dangerous foreign hacker” to the US following his arrest in Milan last July on suspicion of conducting cyberattacks against universities and other institutions engaged in COVID-related research, the Italian National Police said in a statement on Monday. Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list The suspect and his co-conspirators allegedly exploited cybersecurity flaws in email software to target thousands of computers in a Chinese state-sponsored cyber-espionage campaign dubbed “Hafnium”, Italian police said. The US Department of Justice said the suspect, 34-year-old Xu Zewei, had targeted universities, immunologists, and virologists under the direction of China’s Ministry of State Security while employed at the “enabling” company Shanghai Powerock Network. Prosecutors said the targeted institutions included a university in southern Texas and a law firm with offices in Washington, DC, and worldwide. Xu appeared in the US District Court in Houston, Texas, on Monday to face nine criminal counts, including wire fraud and conspiracy to obtain information by unauthorised access to protected computers, according to US prosecutors. “The United States is committed to pursuing hackers who steal information from US businesses and universities and threaten our cybersecurity,” Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A Eisenberg said in a statement. Advertisement “I commend the prosecutors and investigators who have worked hard and sought justice for years in this investigation, and we look forward to proving our case in court,” Eisenberg said. The Chinese Embassy in Washington, DC, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Beijing has previously denied conducting hacking operations in the US and elsewhere around the world, branding such claims as “groundless accusations” and “smears”. Xu’s lawyers in Italy and the US, Simona Candido and Dan Cogdell, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. If convicted, Xu could face up to 20 years in prison for each count of the most serious charges against him. Adblock test (Why?)
Suspect in press gala shooting charged with attempting to kill Trump
NewsFeed Cole Tomas Allen was officially charged with trying to assassinate US President Donald Trump in what is considered the third attempt on his life since 2024. Published On 28 Apr 202628 Apr 2026 Click here to share on social media share-nodes Share googleAdd Al Jazeera on Googleinfo Adblock test (Why?)
Timeline: How Mali went from democracy beacon to instability
Mali’s security crisis has worsened since rival armed groups have allied and launched coordinated attacks across the country. Al-Qaeda-linked Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) has claimed responsibility for attacks by gunmen that began on Saturday. They were carried out in Kati near Bamako as well as the capital’s airport and other locations farther north, including Kidal, Mopti, Sevare and Gao. Tuareg rebels claimed participation in the assaults. Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list Defence Minister Sadio Camara was killed in the attacks. The attacks have exposed security vulnerabilities in the country, which once was a beacon of democracy in the region but has been reeling from political and security crises since 2012. Here’s a timeline of how the security situation has deteriorated in Mali: 1960: Mali gains independence The former French colony became independent on September 22, 1960, and Modibo Keita was elected the country’s first president. Keita was a staunch proponent of African socialism. But his rule of the country through socialist policies of nationalisation failed to yield economic benefits. The country also experienced severe droughts, which led to poor harvests under his leadership. In November 1968, Keita was overthrown in a bloody military coup led by Lieutenant Moussa Traore. 1968-1991: Military dictatorship After leading the coup, Traore established himself as president for the next 23 years. According to the Africa Center for Strategic Studies, Traore established “a highly repressive regime that routinely opened fire on protesters and eliminated rivals or those that dared to voice dissent”. Advertisement In a 2020 report, the centre noted that Traore’s government was likely responsible for the killing of thousands of Malians while economic growth was “anaemic”. Corruption was also rampant during his rule, the report said. In March 1991 after mass student-led protests, Lieutenant Colonel Amadou Toumani Toure led a coup to overthrow Traore. “After his ouster, Traore was tried and convicted for the killing of at least 200 protesters in March 1991. He was later pardoned for his crimes by President Alpha Oumar Konare in 2002,” the report added. 1992-2012: Democracy prevails After the 1991 coup, Toure served as interim head of state during a transition that led to a new constitution and multiparty elections. While the northern part of the country was still unstable with Tuareg rebels seeking to secure their own independent region, the country held municipal, parliamentary and presidential elections in 1992. Alpha Oumar Konare was elected president. Konare served two terms from 1992 to 2002 during which, according to the Africa Center for Strategic Studies, there was steady economic growth and citizens enjoyed civil liberties and political rights. During this time, Mali also became a founding member of the intergovernmental Community of Democracies in 2000. In 2002, elections were held again, and Toure, who led the 1991 coup, was elected president. During his two terms, which lasted until 2012, corruption was rife in government institutions and the economy shrank. Interim President Dioncounda Traore lays a wreath at a monument in Bamako in 2013 on Martyrs’ Day, which commemorates the day when General Moussa Traore was overthrown on March 26, 1991 [File: Adama Diarra/Reuters] 2012-2020: Military coup and security deterioration In March 2012, Captain Amadou Haya Sanogo led a coup weeks before elections and forced Toure to resign. He established a military government, and Dioncounda Traore was made interim civilian president until elections could be organised. During this period, ethnic Tuareg separatists, allied with fighters from an al-Qaeda offshoot, launched a rebellion that took control of northern Mali. The instability in the north led leaders from neighbouring African countries to suggest that members of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) fight alongside the Malian military against the Tuareg rebels. Sanogo, however, refused the deployment of foreign forces and asked for logistical support only. Fighters from another armed group, Ansar Dine, swiftly pushed out the Tuareg rebels and seized key northern cities. This triggered French military intervention in early 2013 at the request of the government. Ansar Dine later merged with several other groups to form the JNIM. Advertisement In September 2013, the country held elections, and Ibrahim Boubacar Keita was elected president. His fragile democratic rule ended in 2020 in yet another military coup. During his time in power, the United Nations brokered a peace deal between his government and northern Tuareg groups fighting for an independent Azawad in 2015. 2020: Another military coup Colonel Assimi Goita led the coup that deposed Ibrahim Boubacar Keita in August 2020 after months of mass protests over severe economic problems and the renewed advance of armed groups in the north. In September that year, Bah Ndaw, a retired colonel, was sworn in as interim president with Goita as vice president. Russian President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with interim Malian President Assimi Goita at the Kremlin in Moscow on June 23, 2025 [Pavel Bednyakov/Pool via Reuters] 2021-2026 – Yet another military coup and Goita’s rule In May 2021, Goita seized power in a second coup. Mali is currently ruled by Goita’s military government. Initially, it pledged to return Mali to civilian rule by March 2024, but it has not kept this promise. Goita invited Russian mercenaries to support the military administration in its fight against armed groups in December 2021 after asking French troops, who had been helping to hold off rebels in the north, to leave the country. France and other supporting European Union nations eventually withdrew in 2023, leaving a security vacuum in Mali. During Goita’s rule, Mali along with Burkina Faso and Niger withdrew from ECOWAS in January 2025. Together, the three nations formed the Alliance of Sahel States (AES). Last week, Malian Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop attended a security forum in Senegal, where he said the withdrawal from ECOWAS was “final” but AES would maintain a constructive dialogue with the bloc on freedom of movement and preserving a common market. In January 2024, Mali’s rulers terminated the UN-brokered 2015 peace deal with Tuareg rebels in the north, accusing them of not complying with
Plane crashes near South Sudan’s Juba, killing all 14 on board
Preliminary reports indicate Cessna aircraft may have crashed due to bad weather conditions that caused low visibility. By AP and Reuters Published On 27 Apr 202627 Apr 2026 A plane has crashed on the outskirts of South Sudan’s capital, Juba, killing all 13 passengers and the pilot. The country’s civil aviation authority said on Monday that initial reports indicate the aircraft may have crashed due to bad weather conditions that caused low visibility. The Cessna 208 Caravan, which was operated by CityLink Aviation, lost communication while flying from Yei to Juba International Airport, it added in a statement. Among those onboard were two Kenyan nationals, while the rest were South Sudanese. A team has been sent to the site to gather information and support emergency services, the aviation authority said. Videos of the crash site, located some 20km (12 miles) outside of Juba, showed the remains of the aircraft in flames. Adblock test (Why?)
Germany’s Merz says US has no strategy in Iran war
NewsFeed German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the US has no clear exit strategy with their war on Iran, warning “an entire nation is being humiliated by the Iranian leadership”. Published On 27 Apr 202627 Apr 2026 Click here to share on social media share-nodes Share googleAdd Al Jazeera on Googleinfo Adblock test (Why?)
Oil prices rise amid stalled US-Iran peace talks
Brent crude rises more than 2 percent after Washington and Tehran fail to hold second round of talks in Pakistan. Published On 27 Apr 202627 Apr 2026 Oil prices have climbed higher amid stalled peace talks between the United States and Iran. Brent crude rose more than 2 percent on Sunday after hopes for a second round of ceasefire negotiations between Washington and Tehran unravelled over the weekend. Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list After easing slightly, Brent, the primary benchmark for global prices, stood at $106.99 as of 1:30 GMT. Stock markets in Asia shrugged off the impasse to open higher on Monday, with Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 and South Korea’s KOSPI gaining 0.9 percent and 1.5 percent, respectively, in morning trading. US President Donald Trump on Saturday cancelled a planned trip to Pakistan by his envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, after Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs Abbas Araghchi departed Islamabad before any direct engagement could take place between the sides. Araghchi arrived in Russia’s Saint Petersburg on Monday for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin and other officials as Tehran seeks a way out of the diplomatic impasse. Araghchi’s trip, which follows a whistle-stop visit to Oman on Sunday, comes as uncertainty hangs over the fragile ceasefire between Washington and Tehran. Trump announced an extension to their two-week truce last week, without specifying a deadline for reaching a deal to end the war. As US and Iranian negotiators struggle to break the deadlock, Tehran’s threats against commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz have reduced traffic to a trickle, paralysing a large portion of the world’s supply of oil and natural gas. Advertisement On Saturday, 19 commercial vessels transited the strait, which normally carries about one-fifth of global oil and natural gas supplies, according to maritime intelligence platform Windward. Before the US and Israel launched their war on Iran in late February, the waterway saw an average of 129 daily transits, according to the United Nations Trade and Development. Adblock test (Why?)
Iran war live: Araghchi to meet Putin; Trump says Tehran can call for talks
blinking-dotLive updatesLive updates, Iran’s foreign minister heads to Russia as Trump says Iranian leaders can call on the phone if they want to talk. Published On 27 Apr 202627 Apr 2026 Click here to share on social media share-nodes Share googleAdd Al Jazeera on Googleinfo Adblock test (Why?)
Satellite images show scale of Israeli destruction of south Lebanon towns
NewsFeed Satellite images taken on April 16 reveal the massive scale of damage to the towns of al-Qozah and Beit Lif in south Lebanon, following the Israeli military’s ground invasion and sustained attacks on the south. Published On 27 Apr 202627 Apr 2026 Click here to share on social media share-nodes Share googleAdd Al Jazeera on Googleinfo Adblock test (Why?)
Will Yamal, Salah and Ekitike miss the World Cup 2026 due to injury?
Mohamed Salah has become the latest player to sustain an injury weeks ahead of the World Cup, adding to his team’s and supporters’ woes as Egypt return to the tournament after missing out on the previous edition. Salah suffered a hamstring injury during Liverpool’s 3-1 win over Crystal Palace in the English Premier League on Saturday, with a top Egyptian football official confirming the forward will miss the rest of his club’s season. Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list The Egyptian talisman is not the only player to have suffered a blow ahead of the global tournament, and joins an increasing list of major players spending the rest of the club football season on the sidelines. With the World Cup kicking off in less than two months in Canada, Mexico and the United States, several players find themselves in a race against time to overcome injuries and prove their fitness. Title contenders and former champions Spain, Brazil and Germany will be among those hoping some of their key players recover in time for the tournament, which begins on June 11. Here are some of the big names who have sustained injuries ahead of the World Cup: Mohamed Salah: Egypt The Egyptian and Liverpool forward was in pain as he limped off the field and held his hamstring after being substituted in the league game. While his club manager Arne Slot refused to say whether Salah would miss the rest of Liverpool’s season, his national team’s director confirmed that the 33-year-old will be out for four weeks. “We have to wait and see how his injury is and if he is able to return to play,” Slot told reporters after the match. Advertisement “What I do know about Mo is that throughout all of these years, he has taken such good care of his body that he will have the minimum time required to recover from an injury,” he added. However, Egyptian football official Ibrahim Hassan confirmed that Salah’s club season was over. “He has suffered a hamstring tear and will require four weeks of treatment,” Hassan told the Reuters news agency. Hassan said Salah would be fit for the World Cup, where Egypt face Belgium, New Zealand and Iran in Group G. Salah is no stranger to pre-World Cup blows, having injured his shoulder before the 2018 edition in the Champions League final. He missed the Pharaohs’ opening game, but recovered for the remaining two group matches and scored two goals in a campaign that ended at the group stage. Egypt at World Cup 2026: Belgium (June 15), New Zealand (June 21), Iran (June 26) Lamine Yamal: Spain All eyes will be on the award-winning football prodigy, but his World Cup debut has been thrown into doubt after a hamstring injury in his left leg (biceps femoris muscle). Barcelona announced that Lamine Yamal’s domestic season in Spain is over, but the international forward should be fit to represent Spain at this summer’s World Cup. The 18-year-old’s participation is still doubtful since it could take four to six weeks to recover as he follows a “conservative treatment plan”. Yamal was an integral part of the Spain side that lifted the Euro 2024 title with their 2-1 win against England. Then just 16 years of age, he showed speed and guile on the ball that marked him as one of the hottest properties in global football. Spain at World Cup 2026: Cape Verde (June 15), Saudi Arabia (June 21), Uruguay (June 27) Marc-Andre ter Stegen and Serge Gnabry: Germany The 33-year-old first-choice goalkeeper for Germany has spent more time recovering than playing this year after a severe hamstring injury in February sent him into rehabilitation. German national team coach Julian Nagelsmann told Marc-Andre ter Stegen in March that his chances of playing for the national side were “very slim” and that he had to speed up his recovery to be fit for the tournament in June. The four-time champions could rely on Oliver Baumann in Stegen’s absence. Meanwhile, Germany’s Serge Gnabry took to social media this week to announce he would be “supporting the boys from home”. The 30-year-old suffered a torn adductor muscle in his right thigh that also ruled him out of Bayern Munich’s remaining Bundesliga season. Germany at World Cup 2026: Curacao (June 14), Ivory Coast (June 20), Ecuador (June 25) [Al Jazeera] Estevao, Rodrygo and Eder Militao: Brazil Brazil and Chelsea forward Estevao has also been ruled out of the remaining Premier League season after suffering a hamstring injury that left the teen in tears as he was taken off the pitch. Advertisement Chelsea’s interim coach Calum McFarlane expressed his hope for the 19-year-old to make it to the Brazilian squad, though he cautioned there was no guarantee yet. Estevao joined Chelsea from Palmeiras last year and has scored eight goals this season. He was expected to be part of Carlo Ancelotti’s squad for the World Cup after scoring five times in his last six international appearances. Unlike Estevao, Brazil forward Rodrygo has been decisively ruled out of the World Cup squad due to a torn meniscus and anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his right knee. “One of the worst days of my life, how much I always feared this injury,” the 25-year-old wrote in a social media post after the setback in March. Rodrygo made five appearances for Brazil at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Yet another blow to Brazil comes from a hamstring injury sustained by Eder Militao during Real Madrid’s 2–1 win over Deportivo Alaves. The 28-year-old defender is set to undergo surgery, and according to reports, will not be available for Brazil’s World Cup campaign as previously expected. Brazil at World Cup 2026: Morocco (June 13), Haiti (June 19), Scotland (June 24) Hugo Ekitike: France France striker Hugo Ekitike has also been ruled out of the World Cup entirely after tearing his Achilles tendon in April during the Champions League defeat to Paris Saint-Germain. He recently underwent surgery, which Liverpool