78 killed in Yemen clashes

Nearly 80 Yemen rebels and pro-government troops have been killed as fighting intensifies for the northern city of Marib, officials said yesterday, nearly seven years into a war that has triggered a major humanitarian crisis. Scores of rebels were killed in airstrikes after they renewed their attempt to capture the strategic city, the internationally recognised government's last outpost in the north, according to loyalists. "Sixty Huthi rebels were killed  in the last 24 hours  while 18 pro-government troops were killed and dozens injured in clashes over the past 48 hours," a government military official said.

Indonesia jail fire kills 41

A fire tore through an overcrowded Indonesian prison in the early hours of yesterday when most inmates were asleep, killing 41 people and injuring dozens of others, an official said. Firefighters extinguished the blaze -- which was mostly contained within one block that housed prisoners jailed on drug charges -- at around 3:00 am and evacuated the victims. Authorities were still investigating the cause of the incident at Tangerang Penitentiary, just outside the capital Jakarta, but suspected an electrical fault may have been to blame. The penitentiary department's website showed the jail had just over 2,000 inmates, more than three times as many prisoners than it was designed to hold.

Major Mexico quake kills 1

A 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck Mexico on Tuesday near the Pacific resort city of Acapulco, leaving at least one person dead and shaking buildings in the capital several hundred kilometers away. The epicenter was 11 kilometers southeast of Acapulco in Guerrero state, the National Seismological Service reported. A man was killed when a utility pole fell on him in the nearby city of Coyuca de Benite.  Local media said there were no reports of significant destruction.

Russia minister dies during Arctic drills to save man

A Russian government minister, who once served in President Vladimir Putin's security detail, died during exercises in the Arctic yesterday while trying to save the life of a documentary film director, his ministry said. Yevgeny Zinichev, 55, who headed the high-profile emergencies ministry since 2018, was in the remote city of Norilsk to oversee large-scale drills in the region. The ministry said in a statement he died while trying to save Alexander Melnik who had travelled to Norilsk to make a documentary about the Arctic and the Northern Sea Route. It said Melnik had slipped on a wet rock and fallen. "Yevgeny tried to grab Alexander and jumped after him, but unfortunately, they both died after falling from a high cliff into a mountainous river," it said.