Bangladesh slum fire kills at least 8
CHITTAGONG, February 17 (Reuters): A fire gutted more than 200 slum houses in the Bangladeshi port of Chittagong on Sunday, killing at least eight people and injuring more than 50, police and fire fighters said. A fire official said the fire may have been caused by a short circuit. Bangladesh is an impoverished country where safety regulations are rarely followed and accidents kill hundreds every year. In 2013, the Rana Plaza factory collapse killed more than 1,100 garment workers.
Afghan forces kill 20 militants, overrun Taliban base
Kabul, February 17 (IANS): Afghan government forces have killed 20 militants and overrun a Taliban base in Sari Pul province, an official said on Sunday. Confirming the operation, a provincial government spokesman told Xinhua news agency that several villages in Sayad district were also recaptured from the militants. One security personnel was killed while another sustained injuries, the spokesman said, adding that the operation, launched on February 12, will continue until the district and its vicinity were cleared of the insurgents.
Over 100 students, teachers abducted in Cameroon
Yaounde, February 17 (IANS): More than 100 students and teachers of a private college in Cameroon have been kidnapped, according to authorities. Earlier, the authorities told Xinhua news agency that only 11 students and three teachers had been kidnapped on Saturday in Northwest, one of the two war-torn English-speaking regions of the country. “We now know after further investigations that more than 100 students and teachers were kidnapped. The teachers are not many but the majority of those kidnapped are girls. In fact, all the students and teachers who were on campus have been kidnapped,” a senior administrator of the college told Xinhua. “We do not know where they are. We are still waiting for the kidnappers to call.” Armed separatists fighting for the “independence” of the two Anglophone regions of Northwest and Southwest in Cameroon have been clashing with government forces since November 2017. The separatists have ordered the closure of schools in the regions.
