U.N. warns civilians, including kids, facing "unspeakable horror" in ISIS siege on Mozambique town
CBSN
Johannesburg, South Africa — As ISIS militants laid siege to Mozambique's coastal city of Palma over the weekend, nearly 200 foreign workers holed up in a local hotel faced a terrifying choice: Stay put and hope to be rescued, or attempt to flee across rebel lines. Meryl Knox, a South African whose husband and two sons were among those trapped, said worrying about her family, "wondering whether they they're all going to be coming home in boxes," was a harrowing ordeal.
They tried to escape from the hotel and Palma, which the insurgents seized over the course of about three days, in a convoy of 17 cars. Only seven of the vehicles made it out of militant-held territory in the embattled Cabo Delgado region. Among those killed was Knox's eldest son, Adrian Nel. Her husband and her other son had to hide in bushes overnight with his body. Dozens of residents were also killed in the coordinated attacks, and reports suggest ISIS took as many as 40 foreign nationals hostage. The charity Save the Children said on Tuesday that the conflict in Cabo Delgado has left at least 2,658 people dead, including 1,341 civilians, since it started in 2017.Noumea — France's president held a flurry of meetings with local representatives in the restive Pacific territory of New Caledonia on Thursday, urging calm after deadly rioting, and vowing thousands of military reinforcements will stay in place to quell what he called an "unprecedented insurrection."
Kathmandu — Nepali climber Phunjo Lama on Thursday reached Mount Everest's summit in 14 hours and 31 minutes, smashing the record for the world's fastest ascent of the mountain by a woman. Climbers usually take days to reach the top of the 29,032-foot mountain, spending nights on its different camps to rest and acclimatize.
New Delhi — Indian justice officials have changed course amid outrage over the bail terms set for a teenager accused of killing two people while driving a Porsche at high speed while drunk and without a license. The 17-year-old son of a wealthy businessman had been ordered to write a 300-word essay and work with the local traffic police for 15 days to be granted bail — a decision that was made within 15 hours of his arrest.
Zurich — A woman jogger was killed by a naked man who was screaming and attacking people in a lakeside park in Switzerland, police said Wednesday. The attack happened Tuesday evening in Mannedorf on Lake Zurich, around 12 miles southeast of Switzerland's biggest city, the Zurich cantonal police said.