A plane has crashed on the outskirts of South Sudan’s capital, Juba, killing all 13 passengers and the pilot.

The country’s civil aviation authority said on Monday that initial reports indicate the aircraft may have crashed due to bad weather conditions that caused low visibility.

The Cessna 208 Caravan, which was operated by CityLink Aviation, ‌lost communication while flying from Yei to Juba International Airport, it added in a statement.

Among those onboard were two Kenyan nationals, while the rest were South Sudanese.

A team has been sent to the site to gather information and support emergency services, the aviation authority said.

Videos of the crash site, located some 20km (12 miles) outside of Juba, showed the remains of the aircraft in flames.

Gunmen have raided an orphanage and kidnapped at least 23 children, authorities in Nigeria report.

The gang took the children late on Sunday from an unregistered facility called the Dahallukitab Group of Schools, located in an “isolated area” in Kogi State’s capital, Lokoja, Kogi Information Commissioner Kingsley Fanwo said in a statement on Monday.

Mass kidnappings have become a common way for gangs and armed groups to make quick money in Africa’s most populous country, especially in rural areas with little government presence.

Fanwo said the “prompt and coordinated response” of security agencies led to the rescue of 15 children but eight are still missing.

The wife of the proprietor of the orphanage was also abducted, according to the statement.

“Intensive operations are ongoing to secure the safe return of the remaining eight victims and apprehend the perpetrators,” the official said.

[Aljazeera]

President Donald Trump cancelled a planned trip by US officials to Pakistan for talks on the Iran war on Saturday, shortly after Tehran’s delegation had left Islamabad.

The US president said special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner would be wasting “too much time”, adding that if Iran wanted to talk “all they have to do is call”.

Earlier, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi held talks with mediator Pakistan, saying afterwards he had shared Iran’s position on ending the war but was yet to see whether the US was “truly serious about diplomacy”.

Diplomatic efforts have stalled despite Trump’s extension of a ceasefire that had been due to expire on 22 April to allow talks to continue.

Both sides have been locked in a standoff over the Strait of Hormuz, with Iran restricting passage through the key shipping route in the wake of the US and Israel commencing strikes in February, as well as over Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.

The US has since increased its naval presence in the strait – through which roughly a fifth of the world’s oil supply passes – to block Iranian oil exports.

The White House had said the Iranians “want to talk” when the trip was announced on Friday, but Iran said there were no plans for a direct meeting.

Trump said the ceasefire would hold on Saturday despite hopes of another round of face-to-face talks fading.

[BBC]