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Mine collapse in Central African Republic kills 8

BANGUI, Central African Republic (AP) — An artisanal mine collapsed in the Central African Republic on Thursday morning, killing eight people, according to miners who are at the scene.

The collapse, which also injured five other people, happened in a mining town in Nourroum, the capital of Ouham-Péndé prefecture in the northwestern region.

“The victims were deep inside the mine, digging, when the collapse happened. We were speechless and helpless,” Alban Moussa Yakata, a mine operator in Nourroum, told The Associated Press.

The Ministry of Mines and Geology did not respond to a request for comment.

Artisanal mine collapses are common in the Central African Republic, where several thousand people work in small-scale extraction mining. The work is risky as miners do not have enough protection. The government issues licenses to mining cooperatives to run the mines.

Beijing bans 4 New Zealand lawmakers from entering China because they visited Taiwan

By WTOP Staff
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Beijing banned four New Zealand lawmakers from traveling to China for a year and demanded they apologize because they visited Taiwan on a parliamentary trip, according to a message from the Chinese embassy conveyed via parliamentary officials and shown to The Associated Press on Thursday. China has hit lawmakers from other countries with sanctions related to contact with Taiwan before, but it's the first time for New Zealand parliamentarians, the government in Wellington said. Beijing has been increasing pressure in recent years on the democratically governed island that it claims as its own territory. Two lawmakers reached by the AP on Thursday rejected the demand for an apology, while the other two could not be immediately reached. New Zealand's government said it would express concern about the travel bans to Beijing. The elected officials visited Taipei in May, as New Zealand parliamentarians have done “for decades,” a spokesperson for Foreign Minister Winston Peters said in a statement.
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