A freight train carrying hazardous materials derailed and caught fire Saturday morning near Rockwood, Maine, officials said. However, none of the hazardous materials aboard caught fire, according to railroad officials and state authorities.
A spokesperson for Canadian Pacific Kansas City Limited (CPKC) told CBS News in a statement that the train derailed at about 8:30 a.m. Eastern time due to a "track washout" in a rural wooded area about 15 miles east of the town of Jackman. A "track washout" often happens after heavy rain and washes away ballast and roadway under the track.
The fire department later posted a photo of the derailment, showing a fire breaking out on multiple cars of the train.
But a spokesperson for Canadian Pacific Kansas City Limited told CBS News that no evacuations were ordered and no threat to public safety existed. They said a fire started on three locomotives and train cars that were carrying lumber, but the cars carrying the hazardous materials were not affected.
A train derailed in Rockwood, Maine. April 15, 2023.
ROCKWOOD FIRE & RESCUE
The spokesperson told the outlet that the derailment happened at around 8:30 a.m. because of a “track washout,” which happens after heavy rain washes away the roadway under the train track. They said it happened in a rural wooded area.
The Hill has reached out to the fire department and the train company for additional comment.
Officials at the scene assessed the derailment and said the "hazardous materials are not at risk of leaking and are not at risk of catching fire," Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry spokesperson Jim Britt said in a statement.
Three railroad employees suffered non-life-threatening injuries in the derailment and are being treated at a nearby hospital, Britt added.
The derailment happened around 8:30 a.m. ET when the train came across a track washout in a rural wooded area, the rail network's spokesperson C. Doniele Carlson said in a statement.
It wasn't immediately clear which freight train carrier was operating the train Saturday.
"An early assessment indicates that the derailment may have been caused by a build-up of melting ice and debris that washed out part of the railroad track," according to the Maine Forest Service.
The three locomotive engines and six rail cars that derailed were carrying lumber and electrical wiring and caught fire causing a small forest fire, according to the Maine Forest Service. The fire is now contained and being monitored by local emergency first responders, the service said.
Maine Governor Janet Mills tweeted she was briefed on the train derailment and stated her office "will continue to closely monitor the situation" but that there was "no threat to public health or safety."
The rail network, which was inaugurated Friday, combines railways from Canada and the US to create "the first single-line railway connecting Canada, the U.S., and Mexico," according to a press release.
"CPKC is the only railway connecting North America and has unrivaled port access on coasts around the continent, from Vancouver to Atlantic Canada to the Gulf of Mexico to Lázaro Cárdenas on Mexico's Pacific coast," the press release states.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will visit several Latin American countries from April 17 through 21, the Russian foreign ministry said on Sunday.
"From April 17 to 21, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will visit several Latin American countries, including Brazil, Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Cuba. The Russian foreign minister will have a rich program, which will include meetings with these countries’ leaders and talks with the foreign ministers," it said.
According to the ministry, the key goal of Lavrov’s tour is to strengthen mutually beneficial cooperation between the countries in the political, trade-and-economic, educational, humanitarian, cultural, and other spheres.
"The talks are planned to focus on issues of strengthening the legal framework of the present-day world, which is based on the United Nations Charter," the ministry said. "Latin America is a friendly region, one of the centers of the formation of a multipolar world and Russian plans to maintain a dynamic dialogue with it, develop constructive cooperation free from any dictation from the outside.".
Russian delegation to visit Brazil, Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua in April, says Lavrov
A Russian delegation will visit Brazil, Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua in the second half of April, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Thursday.
In his article entitled ‘Russia and Latin America: Future-Oriented Partnership and Cooperation’ published on the Russian Foreign Ministry's website, the top Russian diplomat noted that Russia favored strengthening cooperation with Latin American countries "on the basis of mutual support, solidarity and consideration of each other's interests".
"It is in this vein, in the spirit of strategic partnership, that our relations develop with many countries of the region, including Brazil, Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua, which our delegation will visit in the second half of April," the top diplomat noted.
Lavrov also pointed to the readiness of the Russian side "to build up diversified contacts at the level of heads of states and governments, parliaments, diplomatic services, other ministries and departments." "We are open for expanding cooperation on a multilateral basis, especially within the framework of the dialogue between Russia and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States," he added.
In addition, Lavrov drew attention to the expansion of the legal framework between Russia and Latin American countries in recent years. "This concerns, in particular, the creation of a space of mutual visa-free travel. Now it covers 27 states of Latin America and the Caribbean. All of South America and almost all of Central America have become visa-free for our citizens," the top diplomat concluded.
Lavrov's article was translated into Portuguese for the Brazilian newspaper Folha and into Spanish for the Mexican magazine Buzos.
Russia is forging closer ties with Latin America
As part of efforts to temper sanctions imposed after the invasion of Ukraine, Russia is building closer ties with Latin American countries.
Russia's foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov (pictured), will visit Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua, and stay in Brazil on April 17 and 18.
"The rapidly changing geopolitical landscape opens new opportunities for the development of mutually beneficial cooperation between Russia and the states of Latin America. Countries in this region are playing an increasingly important role in a multipolar world order," Lavrov wrote in a column published by Folha de S. Paulo and Mexican magazine Buzos.
"In Russian foreign policy, Latin America and the Caribbean [LAC] occupy a priority position," he added. "Despite the sanctions imposed on Russia by the US and EU, our total exports to LAC countries grew by 3.8% last year. In 2022, Russia increased wheat exports to Latin America and the Caribbean by 48.8%," Lavrov wrote.
Latin America is generally open to initiatives by countries other than the US.
"In historical terms, even due to its geographic proximity, Latin America has always generated a lot of attention from the US, but in the last 10, 20 years, the region has completely ceased to be a priority for the US, opening up room for the increased influence of other countries in the region," Tulio Cariello told, research director of the China-Brazil Business Council.
The Cuban president, Miguel Díaz-Canel, showed Putin his support in his confrontation with the West by visiting Russia in December 2022, and he also condemned the arrest warrant issued against the head of the Kremlin by the International Criminal Court.
Recently, the secretary of the Russian Security Council, Nikolai Patrushev, and the head of the largest Russian oil company, Igor Sechin, traveled to the Island.
At the beginning of the month, Russian President Vladimir Putin invited his Brazilian counterpart, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, to Moscow upon receiving a visit from the special adviser for International Affairs of the Brazilian Presidency, Celso Amorim.
Subsequently, Lula said that during his visit to Beijing he will propose to the Chinese leader, Xi Jinping, to promote dialogue to restore peace between Russia and Ukraine.
The president of Venezuela, Nicolás Madurdo, offered Putin “all my support” since the beginning of the Russian military campaign in Ukraine in February 2022.
On March 14, Russia and Venezuela celebrated the 78th anniversary of their diplomatic relations, ties that were strengthened with the arrival of the so-called Bolivarian revolution in 1999.
At the end of March, the Nicaraguan Foreign Minister, Denis Moncada, met with Lavrov and defended Moscow’s right to guarantee its “integrity and security.”
Lavrov also decorated Laureano Ortega Murillo, son of the Nicaraguan president, Daniel Ortega, with the Order of Friendship.
In the new Russian foreign policy, marked by the growing political, military and economic antagonism toward the West over Ukraine, Latin America is one of the priority regions.
In that sense, Lavrov’s tour is part of Lavrov’s recent trips to twenty countries in Asia, the Middle East and Africa, from the Maghreb to the Sahel and the south.
The Russian Armed Forces hit the command posts of the 125th and 102nd Territorial Defense Brigades in the Donetsk People’s Republic and Zaporozhye Region, Russian Defense Ministry Spokesman Lieutenant-General Igor Konashenkov told a briefing on the special military operation in Ukraine on Sunday.
"The command posts of the 125th and 102nd territorial defense brigades were hit in the areas of the settlements of Yampolovka in the Donetsk People's Republic and Zaliznichnoye in the Zaporozhye region," he said.
Russian forces hit units of 77th Ukrainian Airmobile Brigade in DPR
The southern grouping of Russian troops hit units of the 77th airmobile brigade, which was trying to counterattack the positions of Russian troops in the area of the settlement of Maloilinovka in the Donetsk People's Republic, Russian Defense Ministry Spokesman Lieutenant-General Igor Konashenkov told a briefing on the special military operation in Ukraine on Sunday.
"Operational-tactical aviation, missile forces and artillery from the Southern Group of Forces hit units of the 77th airmobile brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which were trying to counterattack the positions of Russian troops in the area of the settlement of Maloilinovka, as well as the 54th mechanized brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the area of the settlement of Sacco i Vanzetti in the Donetsk People's Republic," he said.
Russian Armed Forces also destroyed more than 45 Ukrainian military personnel, as well as an AN/TPQ-37 radar station in the Yuzhno-Donetsk and Zaporozhye directions. At the same time, losses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine over the past day in the Donetsk direction reached 145 servicemen, Konashenkov added. The losses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Kherson direction over the past day amounted to more than 30 servicemen, he added.
Over the past day, Russian air defense systems intercepted 10 HIMARS and Smerch MLRS, as well as 3 HARM anti-radar missiles, and also shot down 4 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), Russian Defense Ministry Spokesman Lieutenant-General Igor Konashenkov told a briefing on the special military operation in Ukraine on Sunday.
"Over the day, air defense systems intercepted 10 HIMARS and Smerch multiple rocket launchers, as well as 3 HARM anti-radar missiles. In addition, 4 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles were destroyed," he said.
Special operation, 14 April. Main:
▪️The Wagner detachments are conducting high-intensity combat operations in the west of Artemovsk, the Airborne Forces are supported on the flanks, the Russian Defense Ministry said;
▪️The Leopard tanks delivered to Kyiv are already operating in the Kherson direction, one of them was captured by Russian troops and flooded in a swamp, an officer of the Sokol battalion said;
▪️European allies of Ukraine no longer expect a breakthrough from a possible counteroffensive, a 30 km advance is seen as a realistic goal, writes Bloomberg;
▪️Orban said that Ukraine is financially a non-existent country, as soon as the US and Europe stop supporting it, the conflict will end;
▪️The conflict in Ukraine may last for several more years, said Polish Prime Minister Morawiecki;
▪️The Ukrainian TV channel "2+2" showed a film calling for "extrajudicial punishment" of the Russian military, authorities and journalists;
▪️Ex-deputy of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Kiva said that the Russian special services in the fall of 2022 prevented an attempt on his life;
▪️The Ministry of Internal Affairs of the DPR announced the arrest of suspects in the attempt on the life of the head of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Mariupol, whose car was blown up in March;
▪️Four residents were killed, 10 were injured during the shelling of Yasinovataya in the DPR from the MLRS, the representative office of the republic in the JCCC reported.
Special operation, 15 April. Main:
▪️The Russian Armed Forces in the Kupyansk direction destroyed three Ukrainian DRGs and disrupted two rotations of troops, the Ministry of Defense reported;
▪️ Ukrainian troops destroy urban infrastructure and residential buildings in Artyomovsk while retreating to slow down Russian troops, the MoD said;
▪️Ukrainian businessman Akhmetov can hardly count on compensation, as he supported the coup d'état in Kyiv and allocated money to the national battalions, adviser to the acting head of the DPR Gagin told RIA Novosti;
Ukrainian troops are active in the Zaporozhye direction, Russian artillery began to work more, said the crew commander of the Msta-B gun
▪️Kyiv leaves a large number of bodies of its soldiers who died in Artemovsk, not trying to agree on their evacuation, a fighter of the Wagner group told RIA Novosti;
▪️The situation in the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra is calm on Great Saturday, the priests of the UOC held a divine liturgy, local media reported;
The correspondent of RIA Novosti filmed a work on the enemy of the fighters of the Wagner group advancing in Artemovsk in the direction of the railway
▪️A monument to Russian lieutenant general Roman Kutuzov has been unveiled in Mariupol, Pushilin said.
Every day, teachers cross this river to reach Bili High School. This river belongs to Kunar province and is a big river. When the spring season starts, the amount of water increases. We all cross this river using inner tubes, and we face many problems and challenges when crossing the river since it can be quite risky, and it is really hard work
Every morning, the teachers of Bili High School in Afghanistan make their way to the river carrying inner tubes.
They use them to commute to the school they teach at in the country’s eastern Nangarhar province, paddling their rafts across fast-moving water to get to the other side of the 46-meter-wide river.
There are no bridges or boats to make the journey easier and for years, 12 of the 15 staff have used this means of transport, weathering higher water levels after rain.
The school they teach at currently has 1,040 students, including girls attending primary classes. It was opened in 2004, but the education ministry told them just three years later the school complex was too dilapidated for use. There are only three classrooms left now and most of the classes are held outdoors.
“You can see the school building is damaged and all the windows are broken,” said Noor Rahman, who has been teaching the Pashto language at the school for 15 years.
“We don’t have enough textbooks, we don’t have books for Grades 9, 10, 11, and 12,” he said, adding it has been four years since books were last distributed to the province.
Teachers like Rahman have no other way to make a living. The meagre salary of between 6,000 and 8,000 Afghani ($69 to 92) per month is hardly enough to support his family, Rahman says, even though transport to the school is free.
“Life goes on anyway; there is poverty in general,” he says.
After decades of war, Afghanistan remains one of the poorest and least developed countries in the world. Its financial crisis has only worsened since the return of the Taliban to power in mid-August, 2021.
Washington and its allies have already provided Kiev with billions of dollars worth of arms, which Russia says adds to prolonging the Ukraine standoff.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has warned Washington against further instigating the conflict in Ukraine, where Russia continues its special military operation.
He told reporters after his talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing that "the United States needs to stop encouraging war and start talking about peace."
"The European Union needs to start talking about peace so that we can convince [Russian President Vladimir] Putin and [Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr] Zelensky that peace is in the interest of everyone and that war is only interesting, for now, to the two of them," Lula pointed out.
He also revealed that during his sit-down with the Chinese president, they, in particular, discussed forming a group of like-minded leaders to grapple with the Ukraine conflict.
"I have a theory that I have already defended with [French President Emmanuel] Macron, with [Chancellor] Olaf Scholz of Germany, and with [US President Joe] Biden, and yesterday, we discussed at length with Xi Jinping. It is necessary to constitute a group of countries willing to find a way to make peace," Lula emphasized.
He spoke after White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre made it clear that the US will keep on giving military aid to Ukraine. Washington and its allies ramped up their military assistance to Kiev shortly after Russia launched the special operation in Ukraine.
Moscow has repeatedly warned countries who send weapons to Kiev it sees their military shipments as legitimate targets, and that such an aid will add to prolonging the Ukraine conflict. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, for his part, stressed that NATO allies arming and training Ukrainian forces is tantamount to a direct involvement in the standoff.
Kapuspen TNI Laksamana Pertama TNI Julius Widjojono di Mabes TNI, Cilangkap, Jakarta Timur, Minggu (16/4)/RMOL
Upaya penyelamatan Tentara Nasional Indonesia (TNI)2 terhadap Pilot Susi Air Capt Philip Mark Mahrtens mendapat serangan dari kelompok separatis teroris (KST) Papua
Meski mendapat serangan dari kelompok separatis teroris (KST) Papua, TNI tidak akan mundur sejengkal pun untuk menyelamatkan pilot Susi Air Capt Philip Mark Mahrtens yang disandera.
Hal itu ditegaskan Kepala Pusat Penerangan TNI (Kapuspen TNI) Laksamana Pertama (Laksma) TNI Julius Widjojono saat jumpa pers di Mabes TNI, Cilangkap, Jakarta Timur, hari Minggu, 16/04/2023.
"Panglima TNI dengan tegas menyampaikan untuk ambil tindakan jangan ragu-ragu," kata Julius.
Hingga saat ini, TNI mengakui masih kesulitan menjalin komunikasi akibat kondisi cuaca di lokasi yang tidak menentu.
"Untuk itu Panglima TNI secara terus menerus memerintahkan untuk melakukan pencarian dan bantuan tempur dengan kekuatan maksimal," pungkas Kapuspen TNI.
Penembakan gerombolan KST dilakukan terhadap Prajurit TNI dari Satgas Yonif R 321/GT di wilayah Mugi-Mam, Kabupaten Nduga, Provinsi Papua Pegunungan pada hari Sabtu, 15/04/2023, pukul 16.30 WIT.
Serangan ini mengakibatkan satu Prajurit atas nama Pratu Miftahul Arifin tertembak dan jatuh ke jurang sedalam kurang lebih 15 meter. Akibatnya, Pratu Miftahul Arifin meninggal dunia.
"Panglima TNI turut berdukacita atas gugurnya prajurit terbaik TNI Pratu Arifin yang gugur pada 15 April pukul 16.30," kata Kepala Pusat Penerangan TNI (Kapuspen TNI) Laksamana Pertama (Laksma) TNI Julius Widjojono di Mabes TNI, Cilangkap, Jakarta Timur, pada hari Minggu, 16/04/2023.
Julius meluruskan pemberitaan sebelumnya yang menyebut ada enam prajurit yang gugur. Dia pun menegaskan informasi terkait serangan ini akan disampaikan satu pintu melalui Puspen TNI.
"Menindaklanjuti kesimpangsiuran informasi di medsos, saya sarankan awak media merujuk kepada informasi dari Mabes TNI," tegasnya.
Julius juga membeberkan, setelah melakukan penyerangan, gerombolan KST kembali melakukan penembakan kepada personel TNI lainnya yang sedang melaksanakan evakuasi Prajurit korban meninggal sehingga terjadi kontak tembak.
Hingga saat ini, TNI mengakui masih kesulitan melakukan komunikasi akibat kondisi cuaca dan berkabut.
