Congo and Rwanda plan to sign a peace deal on June 27

Congo and Rwanda will sign a peace agreement in Washington on June 27 that aims to ending fighting in eastern Congo, the two countries and the U.S. State Department said.

Congo has accused Rwanda of backing M23 rebels in its mineral-rich eastern region across the border with Rwanda. U.N. experts say the rebels are supported by about 4,000 troops from Rwanda, which has denied backing M23.

The decades-long conflict escalated in January, when the M23 rebels advanced and seized the strategic Congolese city of Goma, followed by the town of Bukavu in February.

The draft agreement includes “provisions on respect for territorial integrity and a prohibition of hostilities; disengagement, disarmament, and conditional integration of non-state armed groups,” the joint statement said Wednesday. The agreement also includes a commitment to respecting territorial integrity and the conditional integration of non-state armed groups.

SpaceX rocket being tested explodes; no injuries reported

A SpaceX rocket being tested in Texas exploded Wednesday night, sending a dramatic fireball high into the sky.

The company said the Starship “experienced a major anomaly” at about 11 p.m. while on the test stand preparing for the tenth flight test at Starbase, SpaceX’s launch site at the southern tip of Texas.

“A safety clear area around the site was maintained throughout the operation and all personnel are safe and accounted for,” SpaceX said in a statement on the social platform X.

SpaceX said Wednesday night’s explosion posed no hazards to nearby communities. It asked people not to try to approach the site.

Hackers say they wiped out $90 million from Iran

Hackers with possible links to Israel have drained more than $90 million from Nobitex, Iran’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, according to blockchain analytics firms.

The group that claimed responsibility for the hack leaked on Thursday what it said was the company’s full source code. “ASSETS LEFT IN NOBITEX ARE NOW ENTIRELY OUT IN THE OPEN,” the group wrote on its Telegram account.

The stolen funds were transferred to addresses bearing messages that criticized Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, Blockchain analytics firm Elliptic wrote in a blog post. It said the attack likely was not financially motivated as the wallets the hackers had poured the money into “effectively burned the funds in order to send Nobitex a political message.”

Nicaraguan opposition figure is shot to death

A retired Nicaraguan military officer turned outspoken critic of President Daniel Ortega was shot to death Thursday at his home in Costa Rica, authorities said.

Roberto Samcam, 67, had been living in exile since July 2018 when paramilitaries assaulted his home in Nicaragua.

Police say a man entered the condominium complex where Samcam lived northeast of the Costa Rican capital of San Jose and went directly to the retired major’s home around 7:30 a.m.

Without saying a word, the man shot Samcam multiple times with a 9mm pistol, according to Costa Rica’s Judicial Investigation Organization. The shooter escaped.

Greenpeace warns of potential disaster after incident

A collision between two oil tankers just east of the world’s most critical oil choke point, the Strait of Hormuz, could bring about a potential environmental disaster, Greenpeace said on Thursday.

The two giant tankers, ADALYNN and Front Eagle, crashed Tuesday in the Gulf of Oman and caught fire before the Emirati national guard intervened to evacuate crew members. No injuries were reported, according to Emirati authorities.

Satellite data from NASA’s Fire Information for Resource Management System showed heat signatures in the area early Tuesday morning.

Greenpeace said it had reviewed satellite imagery that showed a plume of oil stretching up to about 1,500 hectares (3,700 acres) from the crash site. The 23-year-old tanker ADALYNN belonged to a so-called Russian “shadow fleet” — known to operate older ships below basic security standards — and may have been carrying around 70,000 tons of crude oil, the group said.

New Zealand has suspended millions to the Cook Islands

New Zealand has suspended millions of dollars in funding to the Cook Islands over the “breadth and content” of agreements the smaller Pacific nation has made with China, officials said Thursday.

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, who is on his first official visit to China, said the Cook Islands had not been transparent and open about its comprehensive strategic partnership with China.

Relations between the smaller Pacific island nations and their regional backers Australia and New Zealand have stumbled in recent years as Beijing vies to increase its sway in the region. The latest move by New Zealand was striking because it reflects growing friction between two countries with strong constitutional ties over their diverging approaches to managing relations with Beijing. Cook Islands is self-governing but shares a military and passports with New Zealand.

Finland’s lawmakers vote to leave land mine treaty

Finland’s parliament voted overwhelmingly to pull out of a major international treaty on antipersonnel land mines Thursday as the Nordic country seeks to boost its defenses against an increasingly assertive Russia next door.

Finland shares a 830-mile land border with Russia and joined NATO in 2023. Finland says land mines could be used to defend its vast and rugged terrain in the event of an attack. Finnish lawmakers voted 157-18 to move forward on a proposal to leave the Ottawa Convention.

The Nordics and Baltics have been sounding the alarm on a potential Russian incursion since it launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

— Denver Post wire services