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I'm VOA's Joe Ramsey with your worldwide news update.
Officials in Nigeria's northern Jigawa state say a fuel tanker overturned and exploded late Tuesday, killing at least 147 people and wounding dozens more. Reuters correspondent Alex Cohen has more. Police and state emergency services said Wednesday the driver lost control of the vehicle, leading to a fuel spill which exploded. The accident is one of the worst in recent times in Africa's most populous nation, which is battling with widespread security threats and a cost of living crisis. A mass burial was held for the dead on Wednesday. Many roads in Nigeria are poorly maintained and riven with potholes, causing accidents that claim dozens of lives every year. Last month, at least 48 people were killed in north-central Nigeria when a fuel tanker exploded after colliding with another truck carrying travelers and cattle, trapping other vehicles as well in the blaze. Reuters correspondent Alex Cohen. The top U.N. humanitarian official is accusing Israel of blocking the delivery of desperately needed aid to Gaza, saying there is barely any food left in the north where an Israeli offensive is underway. Acting humanitarian chief Joyce Msuya told an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council Wednesday that no food entered northern Gaza from October 2 to October 15. "The level of suffering in Gaza defies our ability to capture it in words or even to comprehend it, to comprehend its scale. Reality is brutal in Gaza and it gets worse every day." Msuya urged all Security Council members to ensure that international humanitarian law is respected. This is VOA News. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy unveiled the details of his victory plan on Wednesday. For VOA, Anna Chernikova reports from Kyiv. After closed-door presentations to a number of Western leaders, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy finally presented his victory plan to the public. On Wednesday, he spoke at the Ukrainian Parliament and announced a list of measures that, according to him, would turn the tide of the war with Russia in favor of Kyiv. During his speech, Zelenskyy said that in the future he sees Ukraine will be a strong part of the global world, be on an equal footing with all the leading countries and be in the European Union as well as NATO. Zelenskyy emphasized that if Ukraine and its partners begin to implement this victory plan now, then in 2025 the war may be over. Political analyst Vitaly Portnikov notes that this plan is essentially a proposal to Ukraine's Western allies to support Ukraine during the term in office of the new U.S. president. Anna Chernikova, VOA News, Kyiv. Officials in the U.S. state of Georgia said voters turned out in record numbers Tuesday, the first day of early voting for the November 5 presidential election between Democrat Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump. Reuters correspondent Freddie Joyner reports. Georgia's number two election official Gabriel Sterling said the number of voters who cast ballots on the first day of early voting was nearly double what the state recorded in 2020. With 8.2 million registered voters, Georgia is crucial in the neck and-neck-race between Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris and her Republican rival Donald Trump. Early voting, either in person or by mail, has become increasingly popular with U.S. voters. According to the University of Florida's election lab, nearly one in seven voters cast their ballots ahead of election day in 2020. Reuters correspondent Freddie Joyner. Buenos Aires police say a former member of a popular British boy band died Wednesday at age 31 after falling from a hotel balcony. AP correspondent Haya Panjwani reports. Local officials in Argentina confirmed that former One Direction singer Liam Payne has been found dead after falling from a third-floor hotel balcony in Buenos Aires. The head of the state emergency medical system said that Payne fell into a courtyard of the Casa Sur hotel in the trendy Palermo neighborhood of Argentina's capital. The official declined to answer further questions about the incident, including whether Payne jumped from the balcony or fell by accident. I'm Haya Panjwani. That wraps up this update, but the world and news never stop. For additional updates, visit our website. I'm Joe Ramsey, VOA News. |