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Miami (AFP) – At least five people were killed when an Amazon cargo plane overshot a runway after it landed Sunday at Miami International Airport, crashed into vehicles and caught fire, officials said.

Miami-Dade County fire chief Ray Jadallah told reporters that in addition to five fatalities, three people were transported to trauma centers "in critical condition" and two more were treated at a local hospital.

"The airplane did strike a couple of vehicles," which left "a couple of victims that were actually trapped in the vehicles," Jadallah said.

"A complex extrication with our technical rescue team" was needed, "including a search and rescue of the pilot and co-pilot that were trapped in this aircraft."

Jadallah did not clarify whether the pilot or co-pilot survived, and officials declined to answer questions after brief statements were made.

Video showed thick smoke billowing from the blue and white Boeing 767 after it arrived at 1:58 pm (1758 GMT) from Puerto Rico, as fire trucks raced to the scene.

The plane operating as Prime Air Flight 7598 caught fire as a result of the "crash," fire officials said.

"A total of 60 fire apparatuses arrived, just short, just shy of 200 men and women from Miami-Dade Fire Rescue, to begin the actual search and rescue and firefighting," Jadallah said.

"The actual cause of the incident will be determined by the FAA and the NTSB," he added, referring to the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board.

In a statement posted to X Sunday evening, fire officials said they used foam to extinguish a fire in the engine compartment.

"One person was trapped under one of the involved vehicles and had to be extricated by specialized technical rescue personnel. Specialized hazardous materials (HazMat) units safely shut down the aircraft's engine and worked to control a fuel leak," the statement said.

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Seoul (AFP) – Leader Kim Jong Un vowed to build North Korea's navy into a nuclear-armed force, state media reported Monday as US allies' maritime drills kicked off.

This week's manoeuvres involving Japan, South Korea and the United States were established in 2023 in what officials called an effort to deter Pyongyang's missile and nuclear threats.

Kim's comments came at the commissioning of the Kang Kon -- a warship that partially capsized when launched in May 2025 -- in the port city of Wonsan on Sunday, the official Korean Central News Agency reported.

"We should make sure that the diversified and effective operation of nuclear combat systems is conducted for an actual war through developing our navy into a nuclear armed force," Kim reportedly told the ceremony.

"Once ordered anytime, the new-generation destroyer should deal a deadly retaliatory blow at the enemies as it is a force involved in the state nuclear counteraction system," he said.

Photos released of Kim showed him accompanied by his daughter, Ju Ae, who is reportedly designated as a successor to her father.

Kim oversaw in July a test of the Kang Kon -- one of two 5,000-tonne class warships launched last year -- just over a year after it was damaged during its launch.

Kim's reference to a "nuclear-armed navy" suggests the vessels could serve as launch platforms for tactical nuclear-capable cruise missiles, said Lim Eul-chul, a professor at Kyungnam University.

Kim also said North Korea was carrying out an "important plan" to strengthen its navy that would be demonstrated to the world "in eight months".

That could foreshadow the unveiling of a major strategic asset, such as a new submarine capable of carrying submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs), Lim said.

By deploying the Kang Kon in the East Sea, Pyongyang is also seeking to keep the joint maritime exercises and deployments of nuclear assets "directly and within range", Lim said.

This week's US allies' drills, dubbed Freedom Edge, are set to run to Friday in international waters east and south of South Korea's Jeju Island.

The manoeuvres have pushed ahead despite President Donald Trump curtailling another set of drills with South Korea as the US leader aims to reopen diplomacy with Pyongyang about its nuclear programme.

Despite Trump's overtures, North Korea has shown little sign of reciprocating, firing missiles and condemning the downsized drills as well as Washington's approval of arms sales to South Korea and plans to fund programmes documenting human rights abuses in the North.

Sydney (AFP) – Australians could be given the option of opting out of powerful social media algorithms under new legislation cracking down on big tech, a minister said Monday.

The draft law requiring a "digital duty of care" is expected to be introduced to Australia's parliament this week.

It would require firms like Meta to give users the option of turning off algorithms that tailor recommendations to their personal taste.

"A lot of Australians appreciate the algorithm, both for the enjoyment they get out of it or the utility they get out of it," Communications Minister Anika Wells told national broadcaster ABC.

"A lot of Australians will want to choose the algorithm -- but we think that big tech should offer them the choice in the first place, and they should respect that choice."

"We should give Australians more choice over what they should see on their feeds," she said.

Social media firms have long faced scrutiny over their use of allegedly addictive algorithms and stand accused of directing users to sensational or extreme content to keep them scrolling.

Australia implemented legislation barring children from social media platforms in December, part of a world-first crackdown designed to protect children from online bullying and "predatory algorithms".

The UK, France and others have followed suit.

Data last month found that under-16s in Australia were increasing their use of social media apps such as Instagram and TikTok despite the ban.

Qamishli (Syria) (AFP) – At his shop in northeast Syria, Ayaz Ibrahim wiped the dust off bottles of alcohol he said had become too pricey for customers following new regulations from the Islamist authorities.

Residents of the region, which is home to many Kurds, have been feeling the pinch since Damascus took control of the nearby Semalka border crossing with Iraq in April under a deal to integrate Kurdish military and civilian institutions into the state.

Syria's new Islamist leaders -- who toppled longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in 2024 -- have not officially prohibited importing alcohol but have imposed hefty new taxes and stricter rules on its consumption.

As a result, the entry of alcohol via the crossing with Iraqi Kurdistan has become more restricted, "and now only smuggled alcohol reaches us", said Ibrahim, 30, from the Kurdish-majority city of Qamishli.

"Anything smuggled has a much higher price, plus transport costs... so it's gone up a lot," he told AFP.

While Islam prohibits the consumption of alcohol, Syria's Muslim-majority Kurdish community is considered relatively liberal on the matter, though some still avoid drinking in public.

This year, Syrian media outlets circulated a finance ministry decision to increase taxes on alcoholic beverages, requiring importers and producers to foot the bill.

Finance Minister Mohammed Barnieh later justified the move on social media, saying it aimed to "limit the consumption of products that are damaging to health".

He added that the measure was also meant to bring in tax revenue for "programmes supporting the health sector and social security", and to encourage Syrian exports.

But the move has not gone over well with drinkers, according to Ibrahim.

"Our customers are very disgruntled. Before, they would buy half a litre of whisky for $7, but now it's $12," he told AFP.

"Many of our shelves are now empty" because of a lack of new stock, he said, adding that locally produced alcohol was not an attractive enough alternative for drinkers.

"If the situation stays like this, everyone will close their shops because Syrian goods are barely profitable -- they aren't enough to cover the high costs," Ibrahim said.

At a nearly empty bar in Qamishli, Karl Hussein, 25, said the higher prices "have really affected us".

"We used to go out every Thursday night and whenever we had the chance, but now we go out once a month."

Authorities have also stopped people from bringing in alcohol via the airport, one arriving traveller told AFP.

In Qamishli, bar worker Shuaib Hamdi, 28, complained about the lack of business following restrictions from authorities that were "predominantly Islamic in character".

"These new authorities initially banned the sale of alcoholic beverages in many areas and restricted their sale to specific parts of Damascus and other areas," he said.

In March, the authorities had limited sales in the capital to a number of Christian districts.

"Apart from our regulars, we might only get one or two other customers a month because of the high prices," Hamdi said.

Now when he makes cocktails, he said he tries to cut back on some ingredients.

But "this affects the quality of the taste and the service", he said.

"The customers tell me it was better before."

Jakarta (AFP) – An orangutan mother and her baby, threatened by encroaching wildfires to their habitat in Indonesia, were rescued earlier this week, authorities said in a statement Saturday.

The vast Southeast Asian archipelago has for weeks been fighting wildfires blanketing parts of Borneo and Sumatra with smog, with haze also contributing to air pollution in Malaysia, Singapore, and the Philippines.

The orangutan pair had been under observation since July after being spotted in a plantation area near a forest in West Kalimantan, a local natural resources conservation agency said in a statement.

But authorities decided to evacuate them to a rescue center managed by the wildlife foundation Yayasan Inisiasi Alam Rehabilitasi Indonesia (YIARI) on Thursday as fire spread near their habitat.

Their health is being closely monitored by veterinarians, but a preliminary check found no burn injuries on the two great apes.

"Exposure to smoke over a period of time... can affect the orangutan's respiratory system, especially when smoke concentrations in the habitat are very high," YIARI's veterinarian Komara, who like many Indonesians uses only one name, said in a statement.

"Both individuals will continue to be monitored while they are at the rescue and rehabilitation center."

The latest rescue means nine orangutans have been evacuated because of threats from wildfires in less than a month in the Ketapang district of West Kalimantan province, YIARI operational director Argitoe Ranting said.

"This shows that fires not only destroy forests but also deprive animals of shelter and food," Argitoe said.

Most animals "do not have many options" to relocate as their habitat burns, he added.

One orangutan died after being rescued last week, with a necropsy result pointing to smoke exposure as the cause of death, the West Kalimantan natural resources conservation agency said in a statement.

Viacha (Bolivia) (AFP) – Two explosions at an army barracks in Bolivia killed at least two people and wounded 81 on Friday, authorities said.

Defense Minister Ernesto Justiniano said "pyrotechnic material" was stored at the base in Viacha, southwest of Bolivia's administrative capital La Paz.

The exact cause of the blasts, which happened at around 2:30 pm (1830 GMT), was under investigation, he said in a statement.

Footage circulated by local media showed a thick column of black smoke rising from the city center.

Houses in the area were damaged by the blasts, with footage showing shattered windows, broken ceilings and scattered debris.

Justiniano said two people were confirmed dead and seven people were missing.

The wounded, including two people in "serious condition," were taken to medical centers, he added.

The dead and missing were soldiers serving at the base, the defense ministry said.

An earlier police report said 59 people were wounded, at least 52 of them civilians.

Firefighters rushed to the base following the blasts, and residents were evacuated to a temporary shelter.

The power supply was cut off in the area, where dozens of police officers had been deployed, an AFP journalist observed.

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Jakarta (AFP) – Thick smog has blanketed parts of Indonesia as the vast archipelago for weeks battles to contain fires that have burned large swathes of Borneo and Sumatra.

The hazardous smoke has led to an increase in respiratory problems, forced schools to close and has been drifting to neighbouring countries including Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines.

Here's what to know:

Where are the fires?

Most of the fires are concentrated on Borneo island, home to vast tropical jungle that Indonesia shares with Brunei and Malaysia, as well as Sumatra.

So far this year, nearly 300,000 hectares of land have burned in Indonesia, according to an independent estimate from the Nusantara Atlas portal.

Indonesia saw an uptick in carbon emissions since late July, and by the end of last month the levels were comparable to previous El Nino years of 2015 and 2019, Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) senior scientist Mark Parrington told AFP.

"We're seeing already now... really extreme fire emissions comparable to those previous strong El Nino years, and also the extent of the smoke and the haze and the air quality impacts," Parrington said.

Fires in the archipelago have released more than 23 million metric tons of carbon emissions between August 28 and September 3, according to the CAMS Fire Emissions Watch portal.

It was higher than 20.7 million metric tons of emissions from fires over the same period in 2015, which was a strong El Nino year.

What causes the fires?

Analysts said that the El Nino weather phenomenon, which the United Nations said this week could turn out to be the strongest in four decades, has contributed to creating drier conditions in Indonesia and made it easier for fires to spread.

But slash-and-burn land-clearing practices also contributed to the damage, said David Gaveau, founder of the Nusantara Atlas.

"El Nino does not ignite fires. It creates the dry conditions that allow human-started fires to escape and become very large," he told AFP.

The fires are difficult to extinguish because many occurred on peatlands, a wetland ecosystem with layers of partially decomposed organic materials that become flammable when dry.

Between January and August this year, more than 210,000 hotspots were detected in peatland areas across the country, according to NGO Pantau Gambut.

"Peat is a naturally wet ecosystem and stores large amounts of organic material. When peat is drained, this organic material is converted into fuel," Pantau Gambut spokesman Wahyu Perdana said.

What is the impact?

More than five million people across Borneo and Sumatra are directly exposed to the health risks from haze, deputy health minister Dante Saksono Harbuwono said last month.

Over 1.4 million students were attending classes remotely, with many schools closed due to worsening air quality, an education ministry official said this week.

In Malaysia, soaring pollution levels prompted the government on Friday to declare an emergency in a region of the Sarawak state in Borneo, with nearly 650 schools closed next week.

In the Philippines, air quality was slowly returning to normal after a week of reaching "very unhealthy" and "severely unhealthy" PM 2.5 levels that saw officials shutter schools in cities and provinces, citing the drifting haze.

The haze also drove air quality in Singapore's central region to an "unhealthy" level on Friday, the country's National Environment Agency data showed.

Indonesia is in communication with other countries in the region in relation to the transboundary haze, foreign ministry spokesman Vahd Nabyl Achmad Mulachela said in a statement on Saturday.

He said that regular meetings between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) members to discuss the haze and follow-up measures "continue to be held".

United Nations (United States) (AFP) – The United Nations General Assembly voted Friday to adopt a new world map that makes the African continent bigger while shrinking North America and Europe, drawing ire from Washington.

Aimed at "a more accurate representation" of continental landmasses, the resolution was supported by 164 countries while the United States voted against it and six other states abstained.

The new map -- known as the Equal Earth cartographic projection -- improves "the accuracy of the cartographic representation of the world," the resolution said.

It urges member states to use the new map in place of the traditional Mercator projection, which was designed for maritime navigation by Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator in 1569.

Foreign Minister Robert Dussey of Togo, which sponsored the resolution, said maps "guide education, nourish the imagination, and influence collective perceptions."

"They are therefore never neutral; when they present a distorted image of our planet, they risk perpetuating inaccurate representation that is passed down through generations."

The United States however slammed the resolution, saying such moves are "the reason this institution is losing its credibility."

"Instead of focusing on genuine problems... this body is debating map projects from the 16th century and their role in promoting reparations and cognitive justice," US representative Yaryna Ferencevych said ahead of the vote.

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Washington (United States) (AFP) – US President Donald Trump said Friday that he was sending envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff to Moscow and Kyiv with a proposal to end the four-year-old Ukraine war.

"They're bringing with them a proposal to end the war," Trump told reporters when asked about this weekend's trip by his son-in-law Kushner and businessman friend Witkoff.

Trump would not say whether the plan involved Ukraine ceding territory as he has previously suggested but added: "We have an idea for peace."

It will be the first time that Kushner and Witkoff have visited war-torn Kyiv since Trump returned to office last year with a vow to end the Ukraine war. Both US envoys have previously visited Moscow.

"I sent Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, two great negotiators. They've done a great job, and we sent them over to see whether or not we can get something done. And there may be a good chance that we'll do it," he said.

The US leader blamed the war that began with Russia invading Ukraine in February 2022 on a "personality problem" between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Zelensky earlier said he had proposed observing a ceasefire with Russia while the US envoys visit Moscow and Kyiv.

"There will be no airstrikes on our part, and Russia must reciprocally ensure a ceasefire -- without its own airstrikes -- for the duration needed to conduct these talks," Zelensky said in his evening address.

Trump meanwhile played down Germany's move earlier this week to blame Russia for an attempted drone attack on an airport.

"I speak to him. I know him very well. Putin's not looking to attack NATO territory," Trump said in the Oval Office when an AFP reporter asked him about the German allegation.

Sanaa (AFP) – A major offensive by Yemen's Houthis to seize control of the gateway to the Red Sea has left more than 120 people dead, sources told AFP Friday, the country's deadliest clashes in years.

Fighting erupted on Thursday, after the Iran-backed Houthis launched a ground assault along with rocket and drone attacks near coastal areas, vying for control of the narrow Bab al-Mandab strait at the Red Sea's southern entrance.

Yemen, embroiled in more than a decade of civil conflict, in July became the latest country to be drawn into the Middle East war as the Houthis upended a 2022 truce with the Saudi-backed government.

Since then, the Houthis have imposed a maritime blockade of Saudi Arabia and repeatedly attacked its ships in the Red Sea -- a vital alternative route for oil exports after Iran all but halted Gulf shipments by blockading the Strait of Hormuz.

The rebels are now trying to tighten their hold over the Red Sea, one of the world's busiest shipping lanes, which they have disrupted with attacks on passing vessels since the Gaza war broke out in 2023.

The Houthi offensive aims to cut off the government-held port city of Mokha, under fire for weeks, and advance towards areas bordering the Bab al-Mandab, military sources told AFP.

The rebels have seized elevated sites overlooking government positions near the Red Sea and the city of Taiz further inland, a military source and a Taiz official told AFP, requesting anonymity.

The Houthis could target ships from these elevated positions, they said.

The toll rose to 129 on Friday, according to an AFP tally compiled from several sources, up from an earlier count of 81.

A Yemeni military official speaking on condition of anonymity told AFP that 66 of his men had been killed, while medical and military sources close to the Houthis said at least 62 militants had died.

Another medical source said a civilian had also been killed.

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Copenhagen (AFP) – Five EU countries are seeking a deal with a country outside the bloc to host a "return hub" for migrants whose asylum applications have been rejected, with a targeted start date of January 1, a Danish minister said Friday.

Denmark, Greece, Austria, Germany, and the Netherlands agreed to the initiative as Copenhagen hosted talks on the creation of migrant detention centres outside Europe.

"Around New Year, we expect to have a common understanding with a partner country outside of the European Union," said Danish Migrations Minister Morten Bodskov, without naming the nation.

He said the countries were "transforming EU asylum and migration policy".

The partner country or countries have not been disclosed, but Uganda and Rwanda in particular are seen as possibilities.

Greek Migration and Asylum Minister Thanos Plevris said the goal was to have "the return hub operational in a country outside the European Union by 2027", adding that discussions were at an "advanced" stage.

Earlier Friday, Denmark said it was ready to send rejected asylum seekers to such hubs by the end of 2027, not the start.

"We do not accept that foreigners staying illegally in Denmark should be rewarded because of our difficulties in returning them," Bodskov said in the earlier statement.

In June, the European Parliament approved tougher migration rules granting authorities much broader detention powers, and allowing for the creation of "return hubs".

The idea has been severely criticised by rights groups.

Britain abandoned a scheme to deport undocumented migrants to Rwanda, while Italian-run facilities to process migrants in Albania have faced legal challenges and a slow uptake.

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Amsterdam (AFP) – The head of Memorial, Russia's Nobel Peace Prize-winning rights group, has told AFP she fears a fresh crackdown after September's legislative elections, with more people arrested and sent to fight in Ukraine.

Speaking in an exclusive interview in Amsterdam, Elena Zhemkova also vowed to keep up the fight for human rights in Russia, despite her group being declared illegal and herself forced into exile.

"Unfortunately, I think that now everything is getting worse, but not so fast," the 65-year-old said. "But after the elections, there will be a very sharp deterioration."

Last month, Russia's Supreme Court banned the only anti-war party, Yabloko, from running in the elections, where opposition to President Vladimir Putin will be minimal.

"More people will be arrested for insignificant things and sent to prison. They are interested in sending people to prison. For them prison is a way to the front (line in the war against Ukraine)," she said.

"The situation at the front is very fragile."

Memorial was founded in the late 1980s to document victims of Soviet-era political repression during which millions of people perished in the Gulag penal system.

Earlier this year, a court labelled the group "extremist", making its supporters subject to prosecution and effectively outlawing any cooperation with it.

Memorial group received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022 -- months after Russia launched its offensive on Ukraine -- alongside jailed Belarusian activist Ales Bialiatski and Ukraine's Centre for Civil Liberties.

Zhemkova herself has fled the country and keeps the organisation running from Berlin where she acts as executive director.

"The more they try to silence or erase the name of Memorial in Russia, the louder it will sound outside Russia," she promised.

Zhemkova was speaking on the sidelines of an exhibition entitled "Artists Against the Kremlin: Memory Remains", at the De Balie cultural centre in Amsterdam.

The exhibition features work from artists forced into exile, silenced or persecuted and Zhemkova said it was a good example of Memorial's work outside Russia.

"If we don't understand and take lessons from the past, we will repeat mistakes and our present and future will be terrible," she said.

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