The world in brief: 18 migrants killed at Moroccan border

Riot police officers cordon off the area after migrants arrive on Spanish soil and cross the fences separating the Spanish enclave of Melilla from Morocco on Friday in Melilla, Spain.
(AP/Javier Bernardo)
Riot police officers cordon off the area after migrants arrive on Spanish soil and cross the fences separating the Spanish enclave of Melilla from Morocco on Friday in Melilla, Spain. (AP/Javier Bernardo)


18 migrants killed at Moroccan border

RABAT, Morocco — Eighteen Africans seeking to cross into Spain were killed and scores of migrants and police were injured in what Moroccan authorities called a “stampede” of people surging across Morocco’s border fence with the Spanish North African enclave of Melilla on Friday.

A total of 133 migrants breached the border between the Moroccan city of Nador and Melilla on Friday. A spokesperson for the Spanish government’s office in Melilla said about 2,000 people attempted to cross, but many were stopped by Spanish Civil Guard police and Moroccan forces.

Morocco’s Interior Ministry said in a statement that the casualties occurred when people tried to climb the iron fence. It said five migrants were killed and 76 injured, and 140 Moroccan security officers were injured. Spanish officials said 49 Civil Guards sustained minor injuries.

Thirteen of the injured migrants later died in the hospital, raising the death toll to 18, according to Morocco's official news agency MAP, which cited local authorities. The Moroccan Human Rights Association reported 27 dead but the figure could immediately be confirmed.

Those who succeeded in crossing went to a local migrant center, where authorities were evaluating their circumstances.

French needle attacks lead to charges

PARIS -- Several suspects around France have been detained or given preliminary charges in recent days after people were pricked with a needle in nightclubs or at concerts.

Since January, 1,004 people have filed formal complaints with French authorities about such needle punctures, the French Interior Ministry official told The Associated Press.

In the cases so far that resulted in charges, medical tests did not reveal any signs of harmful substances, authorities said. The suspects have denied all allegations.

Authorities in Toulon arrested a 20-year-old man suspected of jabbing three women with a needle on the night of June 3-4, during the recording of a concert for TV. He was the first suspect given preliminary charges, for "aggravated violence with a weapon [a syringe] with premeditation."

The prosecutor, Samuel Finielz, told The Associated Press that "the suspect denies all allegations and is still presumed innocent." He remains in custody.

Later in in Six-Four-Les-Plages, police arrested two suspects who received preliminary charges for the suspected administration of a harmful substance on the night of June 10-11, the prosecutor said.

Syringes and injectable, prescription drugs were found in the apartment of one suspect. The man denied all allegations, arguing that the syringes and drugs belonged to his wife, who is a nurse, according to the prosecutor.

Another eight people were arrested on World Music Day after individuals reported being pricked with needles, according to the Interior Ministry. Some were later released.

At least one, in Nancy in eastern France, has been given preliminary charges on accusations that he jabbed at least two people.

The suspect, a homeless man identified as Damien J., had syringes in his belongings, Nancy Prosecutor Francois Perain said in a statement. He denied wrongdoing and told investigators the syringes were for his personal drug use, Perain said.

Germany to start charging for virus test

BERLIN -- Germany will start charging for rapid covid-19 tests that were previously free, though vulnerable groups will be exempt from the fee.

Health Minister Karl Lauterbach said Friday that starting July 1 the rapid tests widely available at centers across Germany will cost citizens $3.16 each, with the rest subsidized by the government.

The tests will remain free for people who can prove they belong to vulnerable groups, for visitors of care homes and hospitals, and for small children.

Lauterbach said the government has calculated that subsidies for the tests will cost some $2.9 billion in the second half of the year.

Germany on Friday recorded over 108,000 newly confirmed covid-19 cases in 24 hours, and 90 deaths.

Brazilians mourn for Indigenous expert

RECIFE, Brazil -- Members of Brazilian Indigenous groups, friends and family members gathered Friday to mourn Bruno Pereira, an expert on Indigenous peoples who was killed with a British journalist during a trip to the heart of the Amazon rainforest.

His body was to be cremated after the ceremony.

Pereira, who was on leave from Brazilian government agency for Indigenous affairs, and reporter Dom Phillips were allegedly killed by a fisherman on June 5.

Police investigators said last week the bodies of the two men were found in deep into the forest. Police have arrested three people in connection with the crime.

Pereira had been trying to help Indigenous groups of the Javari Valley create a 220-mile trail marking the southwestern border of their territory to help protect it from encroachment by ranchers and other outsiders.

He was helping Phillips during a reporting trip to the region when they were attacked. The journalist, whose funeral was scheduled for Sunday in in Rio de Janeiro, was writing a book on Amazon preservation.


  photo  Migrants run on Spanish soil after crossing the fences separating the Spanish enclave of Melilla from Morocco in Melilla, Spain, Friday, June 24, 2022. Dozens of migrants stormed the border crossing between Morocco and the Spanish enclave city of Melilla on Friday in what is the first such incursion since Spain and Morocco mended diplomatic relations last month. (AP Photo/Javier Bernardo)
 
 
  photo  A migrant runs on Spanish soil after crossing the fences separating the Spanish enclave of Melilla from Morocco in Melilla, Spain, Friday, June 24, 2022. Dozens of migrants stormed the border crossing between Morocco and the Spanish enclave city of Melilla on Friday in what is the first such incursion since Spain and Morocco mended diplomatic relations last month. (AP Photo/Javier Bernardo)
 
 
  photo  Riot police officers, left, cordon off the area after migrants arrive on Spanish soil and crossing the fences separating the Spanish enclave of Melilla from Morocco in Melilla, Spain, Friday, June 24, 2022. Dozens of migrants stormed the border crossing between Morocco and the Spanish enclave city of Melilla on Friday in what is the first such incursion since Spain and Morocco mended diplomatic relations last month. (AP Photo/Javier Bernardo)
 
 
  photo  A migrant is detained by police officers on Spanish soil after crossing the fences separating the Spanish enclave of Melilla from Morocco in Melilla, Spain, Friday, June 24, 2022. Dozens of migrants stormed the border crossing between Morocco and the Spanish enclave city of Melilla on Friday in what is the first such incursion since Spain and Morocco mended diplomatic relations last month. (AP Photo/Javier Bernardo)
 
 
  photo  Migrants climb the fences separating the Spanish enclave of Melilla from Morocco in Melilla, Spain, Friday, June 24, 2022. Dozens of migrants stormed the border crossing between Morocco and the Spanish enclave city of Melilla on Friday in what is the first such incursion since Spain and Morocco mended diplomatic relations last month. (AP Photo/Javier Bernardo)
 
 
  photo  Riot police officers cordon off the area after migrants arrive on Spanish soil and crossing the fences separating the Spanish enclave of Melilla from Morocco in Melilla, Spain, Friday, June 24, 2022. Dozens of migrants stormed the border crossing between Morocco and the Spanish enclave city of Melilla on Friday in what is the first such incursion since Spain and Morocco mended diplomatic relations last month. (AP Photo/Javier Bernardo)
 
 
  photo  Migrants run on Spanish soil after crossing the fences separating the Spanish enclave of Melilla from Morocco in Melilla, Spain, Friday, June 24, 2022. Dozens of migrants stormed the border crossing between Morocco and the Spanish enclave city of Melilla on Friday in what is the first such incursion since Spain and Morocco mended diplomatic relations last month. (AP Photo/Javier Bernardo)
 
 


  photo  Indigenous people attend the funeral of Indigenous expert Bruno Pereira on Friday at the Morada da Paz cemetery in Recife, Pernambuco state, Brazil. (AP/Teresa Maia)
 
 


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