Reuters, Brazil
Leftist former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva spent the night holed up inside the headquarters of a steel-workers union on Saturday in a standoff with police ordered to arrest him for corruption.
A judge ordered Lula to turn himself in to police on Friday afternoon to start serving a 12-year prison sentence for bribery that will likely end the political career of Brazil’s first working class president and his hopes of returning to power.
India, Singapore to expand cooperation
PTI, Singapore
India and Singapore will explore areas of further cooperation and take stock of progress of their strategic partnership during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Singapore visit in June.
“It would be a good opportunity for both sides to take stock of the progress that we have made in different pillars of our strategic partnership, and explore areas for further cooperation,” Singaporean Minister for Education (Higher Education and Skills) Ong Ye Kung said today.
Peacekeeper shot dead in Mali
AFP, Bamako
A peacekeeper from Niger was shot dead by militants in northern Mali on Friday, the UN’s mission to the country said, the latest in a spate of deadly attacks on “Blue Helmets” in the conflict-torn country.
“Today at 7:00 pm (1900 GMT) two unidentified gunmen opened fire on a MINUSMA vehicle in Gao City,” the mission, known by its acronym MINUSMA, said in the statement.
Afghan air strike kills IS commander
Reuters, Kabul
Afghanistan forces killed an important Islamic State (IS) commander in an air strike, one year after he defected from the Taliban and established a new IS foothold in the country, security officials said.
Qari Hekmat was killed in a drone strike on Thursday afternoon in the Darz Aab district of Afghanistan’s northern Jawzjan province, said Hanif Rezaee, spokesman for the Afghan National Army Air Corps.
Indian Air Force plans big wargames
PTI, New Delhi
The Indian Air Force or IAF is set to hold one of its biggest wargames specifically designed to deal with any simultaneous threat posed by Pakistan and China. The exercises, called Gagan Shakti 2018, are scheduled to take place anytime between the April 11 and 21 and will see the Indian Air Force mobilise 1100 aircraft including fighters, transports and helicopters.
14 killed in Canadian bus crash
AFP, Ottawa
A bus carrying a group of Canadian junior hockey players collided on Friday with a semi-trailer on a rural highway in Saskatchewan, killing 14 people, Canadian media reported citing police.
Fourteen more were injured-including .
three critically-in the accident involving the Humboldt Broncos team bus, which was heading north for a Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League playoff game against the Nipawin Hawks, the Saskatoon StarPhoenix reported.
