International

Four dead, 70 hurt in Bolivian university stampede

AFP

A stampede at a university in Bolivia Monday left four students dead and more than 70 injured when a tear gas grenade was detonated during an assembly, the institution and police said.

Five of the injured were in intensive care, said Roxana Choque, public prosecutor of the Potosi region in Bolivia’s southeast where the Tomas Frias university is based.

Hundreds of students had gathered in an enclosed sports arena of the university for student council elections, rector Pedro Lopez told reporters.

A heated debate ensued, and at least one student detonated a tear gas cannister, provoking the stampede, according to regional police chief Bernardo Isnado.

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The institution, Lopez added, was “in mourning.”

Two suspects have been arrested, said police official Nelson Pacheco. One is a student leader involved in convening the assembly and the other is suspected of actually setting off the tear gas grenade, he said.

Choque said many of the wounded had suffered multiple injuries, including broken bones, and the deceased had died of asphyxiation.

The public hospital of the city of some 270,000 inhabitants was overrun with wounded and relatives seeking information on missing students.

A woman, who did not give her name, sobbed as she told local media her daughter was in intensive care.

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“Are they going to give me my daughter alive?” she asked through tears.

“Please be patient. The hospital is overrun. There is no space,” an official of the institution urged dozens of family members jostling for space and news.

The government has announced an investigation into the events.

Fights between students in Bolivia are not uncommon, and tear gas had been deployed in previous confrontations.

In March last year, 12 students died at a different university when a railing collapsed during another assembly confrontation.

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International

Two killed in shooting at restaurant near Frankfurt Airport

Two people were shot dead early Tuesday at a restaurant in Raunheim, near Frankfurt Airport, according to local police.

Preliminary findings indicate that an armed individual entered the establishment at around 03:45 local time (02:45 GMT) and opened fire on the victims, who died at the scene from their injuries.

The suspect fled and remains at large, while the motive behind the shooting is still unclear, German media reported. Authorities have launched a large-scale search operation.

International

U.S. counterterrorism chief resigns over opposition to war in Iran

Joe Kent, director of the National Counterterrorism Center, announced Tuesday that he has resigned from his post, citing his opposition to the ongoing war in Iran.

In a post on X, Kent said he could not, “in good conscience,” support the conflict, arguing that Iran did not pose an imminent threat to the United States. He also claimed that the war was driven by pressure from Israel and its lobbying influence in Washington.

In a resignation letter addressed to Donald Trump, Kent alleged that at the start of the current administration, senior Israeli officials and influential figures in U.S. media carried out a disinformation campaign that undermined the “America First” platform and fostered pro-war sentiment aimed at triggering a conflict with Iran.

Kent further stated that he could not support sending a new generation of Americans to “fight and die in a war that provides no benefit to the American people and does not justify the cost in American lives.”

Since the United States and Israel launched attacks against Iran on February 28, at least 13 U.S. service members have been killed, while 10 others have been seriously wounded and around 200 have sustained minor injuries, according to a report published by The Wall Street Journal.

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International

German president warns Iran war could spread and disrupt Strait of Hormuz

The president of Germany, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, warned Monday that the war involving Iran could expand and further disrupt shipping through the strategic Strait of Hormuz. He urged a swift end to hostilities between Iran, United States and Israel.

Speaking in Panama City during a joint appearance with Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino, Steinmeier said available information suggests Iran has significant capacity to disrupt maritime traffic through the key oil route.

“Iran has considerable potential to interfere with shipping through the Strait of Hormuz,” Steinmeier said through an interpreter. “We should therefore reach an end to the hostilities as soon as possible and call on all parties involved to make that happen.”

The remarks came during Steinmeier’s visit to Panama, the first by a German president to the Central American nation.

The German leader described the possibility of the conflict spreading as “very dangerous,” saying recent developments indicate that such a scenario cannot be ruled out.

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Over the weekend, U.S. President Donald Trump urged allied nations to help ensure safe passage for ships through the Strait of Hormuz after Iran moved to block the waterway in response to U.S. strikes. However, several allies—particularly in Europe—have shown little support for the proposal.

“Some are very enthusiastic, others are not, and some are countries we have helped for many years,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “We have protected them from terrible external threats, and they’re not that enthusiastic. And the level of enthusiasm is important to me.”

Meanwhile, Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s top diplomat, said the Strait of Hormuz falls “outside NATO’s scope” and stressed that “the war involving Iran is not Europe’s war.”