Briefly

COLOMBIA

Death toll in guerrilla violence rises to 60

The death toll from attacks in guerrilla violence in Colombia has risen to 60 in the country's Catatumbo region, officials said on Saturday. Rival groups have for years been fighting in the region over control of the cocaine trade. Around 60 people have been killed across Catatumbo, Colombia's Ombudsman Office said late on Saturday, while some residents were "taking refuge in the mountains" to escape the violence. The ombudsman's office posted on social media that about 60 people have died violently, 32 were kidnapped and hundreds were displaced due to conflict in recent days between the National Liberation Army and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia.

IRAN

2 senior judges killed in shooting attack

Two senior judges were killed on Saturday in a shooting attack at the Supreme Court of Iran in Teheran, the Mizan news agency of the Iranian judiciary reported. Mizan said that the two judges were Ali Razini, head of Branch 39, and Mohammad Moghiseh, head of Branch 53, of the Supreme Court, and that the assailant committed suicide soon after the attack. Calling the attack a "premeditated act of terror" carried out by an "armed infiltrator", Mizan said investigations were underway to identify and arrest those behind the "terrorist" action. Meanwhile, the semiofficial Fars news agency, citing an informed source at Teheran's police, reported that the attacker was among the service personnel of the Supreme Court.

UNITED STATES

Starship grounded after midair blast

The United States on Friday grounded SpaceX's Starship and ordered Elon Musk's company to investigate why the spaceship disintegrated in a fiery cascade over the Caribbean during its test mission. Authorities in the Turks and Caicos Islands confirmed they diverted all flights from their airspace during the incident and urged residents not to touch fallen debris, warning it could be hazardous. Under established procedures, SpaceX will now be required to carry out a "mishap investigation", including the identification of any corrective actions, which the Federal Aviation Administration will review before determining if the launch vehicle can return to flight.

Agencies - Xinhua