Briefly

UNITED NATIONS

8 peacekeepers die when chopper downed

A helicopter of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, or MONUSCO, was shot down Tuesday by rebels of the March 23 Movement, or M23, with eight people on board, said the DRC armed forces, or FARDC. The tragedy took place as several FARDC military positions had been attacked since early Monday by M23 rebels in the Rutshuru territory of the northeastern North Kivu Province, the same area where the MONUSCO helicopter crashed. Guterres expressed his sincere condolences to the bereaved families and the governments of Pakistan, Russia and Serbia, the peacekeepers' home countries. An investigation was underway.

GERMANY

2022 growth forecast slashed to 1.8 percent

The German government's panel of independent economic advisers on Wednesday slashed its 2022 growth forecast for Europe's biggest economy. The group forecast that GDP will expand by only 1.8 percent this year, compared with the 4.6 percent it predicted in November. It said the economy won't return to its pre-pandemic level until the third quarter. Last year, the country's GDP grew by 2.9 percent; in the final quarter of 2021, it shrank by 0.3 percent compared with the previous three-month period. In a separate report on Wednesday, the Federal Statistical Office estimated that Germany's year-on-year inflation rate leapt from 5.1 percent in February to 7.3 percent in March.

CENTRAL AMERICA

Big spike in migrants crossing Darien Gap

The number of people crossing the Darien Gap, one of the most dangerous regions of Latin America, has almost tripled compared to the same period last year, said the United Nations' refugee agency on Tuesday. The Darien Gap, a lawless stretch of mountainous jungle 160 kilometers long and 50 km wide between Colombia and Panama, is one of the main routes taken by migrants and refugees trying to head north to the US. Some 133,000 people made the journey last year－the large majority from Haiti－followed by Cubans, Venezuelans and those from outside Latin America. At least 51 people who entered the Darien Gap last year were reported missing or dead, the UN agency said.

Agencies - Xinhua