One person dead, 5 others injured in Kara bridge accident

The explosion, in the capital, Freetown, happened as large crowds gathered to collect leaking fuel. The oil tanker was damaged earlier in an accident with a bus.

Here are a few reasons to pick up a copy of The Guardian on Wednesday. Find these stories and much more when you grab a copy of The Guardian on Wednesday.⁣⁣⁣

Nine people are dead and two others missing after floods in Sri Lanka and parts of southern India caused by more than a week of pounding rains. Nearly half of Sri Lanka's 25 districts have been hit by the deluge, with the worst affected areas in and around the island's tea-growing Central Highlands.

Security forces have reportedly used live ammunition on pro-democracy protesters, killing four. Another person died after suffocating from tear gas.

Religious and political leaders branded the march in the central city of Kalisz a vehicle for hate that did not add to the patriotism of the celebration. Israel called for its organizers to be brought to justice.

Five persons have lost their lives while a number of persons yet to be ascertained injured in a gas explosion at Odekunle Street, Papa Ajao, Mushin, Lagos, on Tuesday morning.⁣⁣ The fire incident was said to have been caused by a woman frying bean cake (Akara) close to a gas cylinder.⁣ Officials of the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service are currently at the scene of the explosion.⁣⁣

Security forces shot dead at least 15 people and wounded dozens as thousands of Sudanese took to the streets on Wednesday on the deadliest day in a month of demonstrations against military rule, medics said. The protesters, marching against an October 25 coup across the capital Khartoum and in the cities of Bahri and Omdurman, demanded a full handover to civilian authorities and for the leaders of the October 25 coup to be put on trial. Security forces fired live rounds and tear gas to prevent gatherings in all three cities, and mobile phone communications were cut, witnesses said. State television said there were injuries among protesters and police.

A fourth wave of COVID infections has seen case numbers reach record levels in Germany. The health minister has said a lockdown "can't be ruled out."

Israeli police said the incident took place near a contested flashpoint shrine known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary.

Five people were killed and more than 40 injured after an SUV sped through a Christmas parade in Waukesha, Wisconsin, on Sunday, knocking down dozens of people, including youngsters waving pompoms and a group of "Dancing Grannies."

Germany follows many other countries in marking a sad threshold. According to figures from the country's Robert Koch Institute, 100,000 people have now died of COVID-19. Behind every number is a name, and a person.

American-born entertainer-turned-resistance fighter and civil rights activist Josephine Baker is the latest to get the ultimate recognition from the French state: entombment in the Pantheon. That begs the questions: what does it take to be a national hero in France?