������Ƶ

RIO DE JANEIRO: Two teenagers, aged 16 and 17, were shot dead Thursday after gunmen opened fire on a school parking lot in northeastern Brazil, the state government said in a statement.
Another three teens, one aged 16 and two aged 17, were wounded in the incident in the town of Sobral in northern Ceara state.
“The suspects fired the gunshots from the school sidewalk, hitting the victims in the school’s parking lot,” read the statement.
Authorities have not provided details on a possible motive, and the suspects are still on the run.
“During the incident, a certain amount of drugs, a precision scale, and packaging were seized from one of the victims,” said the statement.
One of the injured teenagers, aged 16, was known to police and is “facing charges of homicide, robbery and illegal possession of a firearm.”
A police source told AFP that the gunmen were on motorcycles.
Ceara Governor Elmano de Freitas expressed his “deep sorrow” on X at the “intolerable” violence, adding he had ordered police forces boosted throughout the region to “capture the criminals.”
“It is time to unite and work together to preserve schools as sacred places of peace and welcome,” Education Minister Camilo Santana wrote on the social media platform.
Brazil is battling increased violence linked to rivalries between drug trafficking gangs, which have expanded rapidly into the poor northeastern region of the country in recent years.

THE HAGUE: The Netherlands and Uganda signed a letter of intent Thursday to set up a return center in the east African country for rejected asylum seekers.
The move comes ahead of an election in October caused by the collapse of Dutch government when far-right leader Geert Wilders pulled his party from the ruling coalition in a row over asylum rules.
“We need to start focusing more on what can be done, rather than on what cannot,” Dutch Migration Minister David Van Weel said in a statement after meeting Ugandan Foreign Minister Odongo Jeje Abubakhar on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.
“That is why we are taking this step with Uganda to get migration under control.”
The plan targets people from countries near Uganda who must leave the Netherlands but cannot be returned directly or voluntarily, the statement said.
The individuals concerned will be accommodated in Uganda temporarily at a reception location.
From there they will be expected to return to their country of origin.
“The ministers have made clear that the arrangements concerning the transit hub must comply with national, European and international law,” the statement said, assuring the human rights of those affected will be “safeguarded.”
The initiative drew criticism when first announced in 2024, with opposition parties calling it unrealistic.
Wilders has demanded sweeping asylum restrictions, including a freeze on applications, limits on family reunification and halting the construction of new reception centers.
In the United Kingdom, a plan to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda was struck down after a series of court challenges.
The scheme was formally scrapped in 2024 without a single transfer taking place.