FRANCE
Police clash with protesters
French police fired tear gas and water cannons on protesters defending migrants in the northern city of Calais as the government prepares to shut down the city’s notorious migrant camp. The demonstrators — including activists from migrant support groups, a far-left presidential candidate and migrants themselves — defied a ban by authorities on Saturday’s protest. The protesters say they are expressing solidarity with the migrants, who face imminent expulsion from the camp. Hundreds of people came in by bus from other cities, and were met by police, who used tear gas to disperse them and keep them from marching into the city center. Five police officers and a journalist sustained light injuries, the Interior Ministry said in a statement.
AFGHANISTAN
Airstrike hits wrong target
Five Afghan soldiers and a police officer were killed in an airstrike carried out by an Afghan military helicopter in western Farah province, Afghanistan’s Ministry of Defense said Saturday. The ministry said the helicopter had used “inaccurate information from ground forces” when it conducted the airstrike late Friday night. It says the forces were being attacked by insurgents in the Bala Buluk district. When they called for air support, the helicopter incorrectly fired a rocket at a checkpoint occupied by Afghan security forces. The incident is being investigated, officials said. It comes after a U.S. airstrike in eastern Nangarhar province early Wednesday killed at least 15 people.
MEXICO
Hundreds flee active volcano
Eruptions at the Colima volcano in western Mexico continued Saturday, forcing authorities to evacuate hundreds of people from three hamlets on the volcano’s slopes. The civil defense office in Jalisco state said glowing-hot rock continued to flow down the volcano’s southern and southeastern slopes, and vapor and ash emissions continued. Also known as the Volcano of Fire, the 12,533-foot volcano is 430 miles west of Mexico City.
CONGO
14 killed in train attack
Republic of Congo police said 14 people were killed in an attack on a train in the country’s southeast. Police officials said Saturday that Friday’s attack took place near the Mindouli train station in the Pool region, 124 miles south of Brazzaville, the capital. Police say another attack Thursday by former Ninjas Nsiloulou militia members killed four soldiers 25 miles south of Brazzaville.
Compiled from wire reports