Update: Indonesia flood rescuers hunt for missing after 43 killed

JAKARTA, Jan 3 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Indonesian rescuers mounted a desperate search Friday for those missing after flash floods and landslides sparked by torrential rains killed at least 43 people across the Jakarta region, leaving whole districts under water and thousands homeless. Around a dozen people were still unaccounted for after…

Sudan: More than 20 dead, many displaced after violence in West Darfur

KHARTOUM, Jan 3 (NNN-AGENCIES) — At least 24 people were confirmed killed after a camp for internally displaced people was attacked in Sudan’s West Darfur, an international peacekeeping official said, as top officials arrived to try to calm the violence. Krinding Camp, just east of state capital el-Geneina, was raided…

Guinea-Bissau: Former PM Embalo wins presidential election

 BISSAU, Jan 3 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Former Guinea-Bissau Prime Minister Umaro Cissoko Embalo has been elected president after winning a run-off vote against another ex-prime minister. The 47-year-old beat rival Domingos Simoes Pereira by about 54% to 46%, the electoral commission announced. Pereira vowed to contest the result, alleging “electoral fraud”.…

As haze levels in Singapore worsen, the risk of dying increases: Study

SINGAPORE, Jan 3 (NNN-AGENCIES) —Increased haze levels in Singapore are “significantly associated” with a higher risk of dying, a study by researchers from several healthcare institutions has found. The study, published in the academic journal Atmosphere, looked at the relationship between the number of deaths and the daily average Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) in…

US Senate returns amid standoff over impeachment trial

WASHINGTON, Jan 3 (NNN-AGENCIES) — US lawmakers return to Washington Friday with President Donald Trump’s upcoming impeachment trial looming over the first Senate session of 2020, but congressional leaders are locked in stalemate over how to proceed. As Congress braces for a frenetic January, newly uncovered evidence couldbolster Democrats’ demands…

US warns Turkey against ‘interference’ after Libya vote

ANKARA, Jan 3 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Turkey’s parliament has approved thedeployment of troops to Libya aimed at shoring up the UN-backed government in Tripoli, sparking a blunt warning from US President Donald Trump against any “foreign interference” in the war-torn country. Libya has been beset by chaos since a NATO-backed uprising…

UN Council to meet Friday on Syria’s Idlib

UNITED NATIONS, Jan 3 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The UN SecurityCouncil will meet behind closed doors on Friday to discuss an uptick inviolence in the embattled Syrian opposition stronghold of Idlib. The meeting — which will begin at 10 (1500 GMT) — comes at therequest of Britain and France, with the backing…

US Pres Trump ordered killing of Iran Guards commander: Pentagon

WASHINGTON, Jan 3 (NNN-AGENCIES) — US President Donald Trump ordered the killing of Iran Revolutionary Guards commander Qasem Soleimani, who died in Baghdad “in a decisive defensive action to protect US personnel abroad,” the Pentagon said. “General Soleimani was actively developing plans to attack Americandiplomats and service members in Iraq…

Iraqi force says ‘US strike’ killed top Iran, Iraq commanders at Baghdad airport

BAGHDAD, Jan 3 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Top Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani was killed in a US strike on Baghdad’s international airport on Friday, Iraq’s powerful Hashed al-Shaabi paramilitary force has said, in a dramatic escalation of tensions between Washington and Tehran. The Hashed’s deputy chief was also killed in the attack,…

UN agency pinpoints African nations as world’s worst 2020 hunger spots

GENEVA, Jan 3 (NNN-ALLAFRICA) — Zimbabwe, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Central Sahel region dominate the demand for food aid as the world enters 2020, says the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP). In an analysis published on New Year’s Day, the WFP says millions of…