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Putin Holds Talks with Erdogan in Astana

Russian President Vladimir Putin met Turkish leader Tayyip Erdogan on the sidelines of a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Astana - Reuters
Russian President Vladimir Putin met Turkish leader Tayyip Erdogan on the sidelines of a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Astana - Reuters
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Putin Holds Talks with Erdogan in Astana

Russian President Vladimir Putin met Turkish leader Tayyip Erdogan on the sidelines of a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Astana - Reuters
Russian President Vladimir Putin met Turkish leader Tayyip Erdogan on the sidelines of a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Astana - Reuters

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday met Turkish leader Tayyip Erdogan on the sidelines of a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, Reuters reported.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan told Russia's Vladimir Putin on Wednesday that Ankara could help establish a basis to end the Ukraine-Russia war and that a fair peace suiting both sides was possible, the Turkish presidency said.

They two leaders also discussed the war in Gaza and ways to end the conflict in Syria, the Turkish presidency said in a statement after Erdogan and Putin held talks.

 

 

 

 

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12 Schoolchildren Killed in South Africa Crash

File photo: A general view of the scene of a bus accident in Ekurhuleni on March 11, 2025. (AFP)
File photo: A general view of the scene of a bus accident in Ekurhuleni on March 11, 2025. (AFP)
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12 Schoolchildren Killed in South Africa Crash

File photo: A general view of the scene of a bus accident in Ekurhuleni on March 11, 2025. (AFP)
File photo: A general view of the scene of a bus accident in Ekurhuleni on March 11, 2025. (AFP)

A minibus carrying school students collided with a truck south of Johannesburg on Monday, killing 12 pupils, police said.

It was the latest in a string of deadly crashes in a country whose modern road network is undermined by rampant speeding, reckless driving and poorly maintained vehicles.

The crash happened near the industrial city of Vanderbijlpark, about 60 kilometers (40 miles) south of Johannesburg.

Police said the driver of the minibus appeared to have lost control while attempting to overtake other vehicles.

Eleven students died at the scene and another in hospital, provincial education minister Matome Chiloane told reporters at the scene.

He did not know the ages of the children involved but said they were from primary schools, where pupils are aged from six years, and also high schools.

Images on social media showed the crushed minibus on the roadside with distraught parents gathered behind the police tape. Some broke down in wails when they were allowed to see the bodies.

"It is a terrible scene," Gauteng premier Panyaza Lesufi said.

More than 11,400 lives were lost on South African roads in 2025, according to the latest data from the transport ministry.

Many South African parents have to rely on private minibuses to get their children to school.

In October, 18 children were badly hurt when their minibus lost control and overturned on a highway in KwaZulu-Natal.

At least five students were killed and eight others injured in September when a school minibus ploughed into a creche in a KwaZulu-Natal township.

World

Glitch Delays Restart of World's Biggest Nuclear Plant in Japan

Local Japanese authorities have approved the restart of the world's biggest nuclear power facility, the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant, for the first time since the 2011 Fukushima disaster. STR / JIJI Press/AFP
Local Japanese authorities have approved the restart of the world's biggest nuclear power facility, the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant, for the first time since the 2011 Fukushima disaster. STR / JIJI Press/AFP
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Glitch Delays Restart of World's Biggest Nuclear Plant in Japan

Local Japanese authorities have approved the restart of the world's biggest nuclear power facility, the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant, for the first time since the 2011 Fukushima disaster. STR / JIJI Press/AFP
Local Japanese authorities have approved the restart of the world's biggest nuclear power facility, the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant, for the first time since the 2011 Fukushima disaster. STR / JIJI Press/AFP

A technical glitch pushed back the restart of the world's biggest nuclear reactor in Japan, its operator said on Monday, a day before local media reported it would go online.

Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) said it would need another day of two to check the equipment at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant, which media reports said was set to restart on Tuesday.

The plant was taken offline when Japan pulled the plug on nuclear power after a colossal earthquake and tsunami sent three reactors at the Fukushima plant into meltdown in 2011.

The Kashiwazaki-Kariwa facility would be the first nuclear plant that Fukushima operator TEPCO restarts since the disaster.

The company has never publicly announced a date to switch on the plant.

TEPCO has decided to run more checks after detecting a technical issue on Saturday related to an alarm linked to one of the reactors at Kashiwazaki-Kariwa, company spokesman Isao Ito told AFP.

The alarm issue had been fixed by Sunday, he added.

After the final checks, the utility will explain to nuclear authorities what had happened and proceed to restart the plant, the spokesman said, without providing an exact timeline.

More than a decade since the Fukushima accident, Japan now wants to revive atomic energy to reduce its dependence on fossil fuels, achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 and meet growing energy needs from artificial intelligence.

But it is a divisive issue, with many residents worried about nuclear safety.

About 50 people gathered Monday outside TEPCO's headquarters in the capital Tokyo, chanting "No to the restart of Kashiwazaki-Kariwa!"

"TEPCO only mentions a possible delay. But that's not enough," said Takeshi Sakagami, president of the Citizens' Nuclear Regulatory Watchdog Group.

"A full investigation is needed, and if a major flaw is confirmed, the reactor should be permanently shut down," he said at the rally.

The reactor has cleared the nation's nuclear safety standard.

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has voiced her support for the use of nuclear power.

Japan is the world's fifth-largest single-country emitter of carbon dioxide, and is heavily dependent on imported fossil fuels.

World

Trump Says 'World Is Not Secure' Unless US Controls Greenland

Danish soldiers walk in front of Joint Arctic Command in Nuuk, Greenland, January 16, 2026. REUTERS/Marko Djurica
Danish soldiers walk in front of Joint Arctic Command in Nuuk, Greenland, January 16, 2026. REUTERS/Marko Djurica
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Trump Says 'World Is Not Secure' Unless US Controls Greenland

Danish soldiers walk in front of Joint Arctic Command in Nuuk, Greenland, January 16, 2026. REUTERS/Marko Djurica
Danish soldiers walk in front of Joint Arctic Command in Nuuk, Greenland, January 16, 2026. REUTERS/Marko Djurica

President Donald Trump told the Norwegian prime minister in a message published Monday that the world would not be secure unless the US controlled the Danish autonomous territory of Greenland.

"The World is not secure unless we have Complete and Total Control of Greenland," Trump said in the message to Jonas Gahr Store.

The authenticity of the message was confirmed to AFP by Store's office.