Nigerians killed in oil tanker explosion
LAGOS, Nigeria -- An overturned oil tanker exploded in Nigeria while dozens of people were scooping up the leaking fuel, killing many of them, police and witnesses said Saturday.
Hundreds of people have died in similar accidents in recent years in Nigeria, Africa's top oil producer, as impoverished people risk their lives to collect fuel leaking from pipelines or trucks.
"We have recovered 12 corpses and taken 22 persons with serious burns to hospital," police spokesman Irene Ugbo said. She said the blast occurred Friday evening in Odukpani, an area in Cross River state in the country's south.
But some residents put the death toll closer to 60.
Richard Johnson, a witness, said about 60 people were inside a pit scooping fuel when the explosion occurred. "It is not likely that anyone inside the pit survived as there was a lot of fuel in the pit," Johnson said.
He suggested the blast was caused by an electrical generator that had been taken to the scene to help pump out the fuel for people's containers.
It was not immediately clear what caused the truck to overturn.
Hamas: Israelis aimed to plant spy gear
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip -- Gaza's ruling Hamas movement said Saturday that during a botched mission in November, Israeli undercover forces attempted to install equipment to monitor the Islamic militant group's landline communications network.
The findings of a lengthy investigation were announced by the Hamas military wing, known as the Qassam Brigades, in a pre-recorded TV statement.
Hamas presented surveillance footage, as well as photos of drills, chain saws and two pistols with silencers, to back up its claims.
Hamas thwarted an attempt to "plant spying devices in the Gaza Strip," a Qassam spokesman, identified only as Abu Obeida, said in the statement.
Israel's military has not released details about the operation that went awry Nov. 11, leading to the heaviest round of cross-border fire, including Hamas rockets and Israeli airstrikes, since a 2014 war between the two sides.
Abu Obeida said Israel took equipment and vehicles into Gaza through a commercial crossing point between January and October.
On Nov. 11, the unit was detected by Hamas fighters as it drove near the town of Abassan in southern Gaza. The discovery sparked a firefight, in which a member of the undercover unit and two Hamas gunmen, including a local commander, were killed. Five other militants were killed in airstrikes.
Huawei fires worker in Poland spy case
BEIJING -- The Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei has fired an employee who was arrested in Poland on charges of spying for the Chinese government, saying in a statement late Saturday that the worker had brought "disrepute" to the company.
Huawei said the actions that the employee, Wang Weijing, had been accused of had nothing to do with the company.
"In accordance with the terms and conditions of Huawei's labor contract, we have made this decision because the incident in question has brought Huawei into disrepute," a company spokesman, Joe Kelly, said.
Polish authorities announced the arrests of Wang and a Polish telecommunications worker Friday. The move came at a time of growing concern among the United States and its allies about Chinese technology suppliers, and after the December arrest in Canada of Huawei's chief financial officer, the daughter of the company's founder.
The second person arrested by Polish authorities was an employee of Orange, the French telecommunications company. Polish officials did not offer details about what the two men were accused of but said that they would be held for three months while the investigation continued.
Attacks hit police in 2 Afghan provinces
KABUL, Afghanistan -- At least five Afghan security forces were killed after their checkpoint came under attack by insurgents in the southern province of Kandahar, according to a provincial official.
Aziz Ahmad Azizi, the provincial governor's spokesman, said two other police officers were wounded in Saturday's attack in the Spin Bolduk district. He said seven Taliban insurgents were killed and six others were wounded in the fighting.
Qari Yusouf Ahmadi, a Taliban spokesman, claimed the group's responsibility for the attack.
Elsewhere, a number of gunmen attacked a city police station Saturday evening in western Herat province, killing five people, said Gelani Farhad, the spokesman for the provincial governor.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack in Herat province.
A Section on 01/13/2019