- Record-breaking Root, Brook both pass 200 as England pile up 658-3
- Football mourns Greek defender George Baldock's shock death at 31
- Uniqlo owner reports record annual earnings
- Hong Kong, Shanghai rally as markets track Wall St record
- Indonesia biomass drive threatens key forests: report
- Home is far away for Madagascar in AFCON qualifying
- Two months on, Donbas soldiers begin to question Kursk offensive
- Rugby Australia to counter-sue in dispute with Melbourne Rebels
- Mumbai mourns Indian industrialist Ratan Tata
- Philippines challenges China over South China Sea at ASEAN meet
- Mets advance on Lindor blast, Dodgers stay alive in MLB playoffs
- Injury-ravaged Krygios aiming to return at Australian Open
- Greek international Baldock, dead at 31: family
- EU talks deportation hubs to stem migration
- Deaths and repression sideline Suu Kyi's party ahead of Myanmar vote
- S. Africa offers a lesson on how not to shut down a coal plant
- China opens $71 bn 'swap facility' to boost markets
- Mets advance on Lindor grand slam, Yankees and Tigers win
- Taiwan President Lai vows to 'resist annexation' of island
- China's solar goes from supremacy to oversupply
- Asian markets track Wall St record as Hong Kong, Shanghai stabilise
- 'Denying my potential': women at Japan's top university call out gender imbalance
- China's central bank says opens up $70.6 bn in liquidity to boost market
- Zelensky on whirlwind tour of Europe ahead of US vote
- Youth facing unprecedented wave of violence, UN envoy warns
- 'A casino in every kitchen': Brazil's online gambling craze
- Nobel chemistry winner sees engineered proteins solving tough problems
- Lindor powers Mets past Phillies into NL Championship Series
- Wildlife populations plunge 73% since 1970: WWF
- 'Sleeper agent' bots on X fuel US election misinformation, study says
- Death toll rises to 109 after Haiti gang attack, official says
- Tigers beat Guardians and on brink of advancing in MLB playoffs
- Argentina MPs back Milei's veto of university funding
- Man City sink Barca in Women's Champions League as Bayern outgun Arsenal
- Greek international Baldock, 31, found dead in pool: state agency
- Florida seaside haven a ghost town as hurricane nears
- Pharrell Williams to co-chair Met Gala exploring Black dandyism
- Wall Street indices hit fresh records as Chinese shares tumble
- Taiwan's president to deliver key speech for National Day
- Sea row on the menu as ASEAN leaders meet China's Li
- Injured Kane won't start England's Nations League clash with Greece
- Discord seen as online home for renegades
- US forecasts severe solar storm starting Thursday
- Mozambique starts tallying votes in tense election
- Zelensky moves to court European leaders in drive for military aid
- Ratan Tata: Indian mogul who built a global powerhouse
- Rodgers rejects 'false' suggestions of role in Saleh dismissal
- One dead as storm Kirk tears through Spain, Portugal, France
- Indian business titan Ratan Tata dead at 86
- Lebanon facing 'catastrophic' situation as 600,000 displaced: UN
Dozens dead in Papua New Guinea tribal violence
Dozens of bloodied bodies have been found along a remote stretch of road in Papua New Guinea's highlands, police said Monday, a gruesome escalation of long-running violence between warring clans.
Police said as many as 64 tribal fighters had been killed in an ambush by a rival group in the early hours of Sunday, although officials later said the number was still unclear.
The incident occurred near the village of Wapenamanda, about 600 kilometres (370 miles) northwest of the capital Port Moresby.
The rugged and lawless area has been the scene of tit-for-tat mass killings between rival Sikin, Ambulin, Kaekin and other tribesmen for years -- with each retaliatory attack fuelling a fresh round of atrocities.
Graphic police images from the scene showed dozens of stripped and bloodied bodies lying by the side of the road and piled up on the back of a flatbed truck.
Some men had limbs hacked and were left naked by the road with beer bottles or cans placed on their chests.
Police reported gunfights were ongoing in nearby valleys and bodies were still being recovered, leading to confusion about the number of people killed.
Senior police and cabinet officials said the toll was between 49 and 64 tribesmen.
"The total number of dead and injured is still being assessed as police recover further remains from dense scrubland," Police Commissioner David Manning said late Monday.
Describing the incident as a "disgraceful act of barbarity", Manning said additional security personnel had been deployed to the area to restore order.
"These personnel have clear instructions that are to use any level of force required to prevent further violence and payback," he said.
"This includes the use of up to deadly force when the lives of civilians or security personnel are threatened."
- Mass killings -
Clans have fought each other in Papua New Guinea's highlands for centuries, but an influx of mercenaries and automatic weapons has made clashes more deadly and escalated the cycle of violence.
Police said the gunmen had used a veritable armoury, including SLR, AK-47, M4, AR15 and M16 rifles, as well as pump-action shotguns and home-made firearms.
The province's acting police commander Patrick Peka said many of the dead were believed to be mercenaries -- men who roam the countryside offering to help tribes settle scores with their rivals.
"The police and government cannot do much when leaders and educated elites supply arms, ammunitions and engage the services of gunmen from other parts of the province," Peka said.
Papua New Guinea's government has for years tried suppression, mediation, gun amnesties and a range of other strategies to control the violence, with little success.
The military had deployed to the area but their impact has been limited and the security services remain outnumbered and outgunned.
Police privately complain that they do not have the resources to do the job, with officers so badly paid that some of the weapons that end up in the hands of the attackers have come from the police force.
- 'Very disturbing' -
The murders are often extremely violent, with victims hacked with machetes, burned, mutilated or tortured.
Civilians, including pregnant women and children, have been targeted in the past in a cycle of retaliatory violence that has stretched over years.
Local member of parliament Miki Kaeok called for a state of emergency to be declared.
"Hundreds of lives have been lost. Properties worth millions... have been ransacked and destroyed. I don't want this to continue. It must stop now," he said.
The killings come at a difficult time for Prime Minister James Marape following deadly January riots in the capital Port Moresby and the city of Lae that prompted opponents to launch a motion of no confidence in his leadership.
Papua New Guinea's population has more than doubled since 1980, placing increasing strain on land and resources and deepening tribal rivalries.
Anthony Albanese, the prime minister of neighbouring Australia, described the incident as "very disturbing" and said on Monday Canberra would "provide whatever support we can."
L.Miller--AMWN