17 killed in Indonesia landslides
Jakarta, Jan 21: Indonesian rescuers recovered the bodies of at least 17 people who were swept away in flash floods or buried under tons of mud and rocks that hit hilly villages on the country’s main island of Java, officials said Tuesday. Eight people were missing. Torrential rains on Monday caused rivers to burst their banks, tearing through nine villages in Pekalongan regency of Central Java province, as mud, rocks and trees tumbled down on mountainside hamlets, said Bergas Catursasi, who heads the local Disaster Management Agency. He said rescue workers by Tuesday had pulled out at least 17 bodies in the worst-hit village of Petungkriyono, and rescuers are searching for eight villagers who are reportedly still missing. Eleven injured people managed to escape and were rushed to nearby hospitals, Catursari said. (AP)
15 killed in bus- truck collision
Abidjan, Jan 21: A crash involving a freight truck and a passenger bus in Ivory Coast on Tuesday killed at least 15 people and injured 23 more, authorities said. The two vehicles collided in Ponan-Ouinlo, a village in the west of the country, the National Office for Civil Protection said in a post on Facebook without giving any details as to the cause. The passenger bus was carrying 70 people. Photos from the scene posted by the emergency services showed the damaged bus, its roof completely caved in. (AP)
Israeli troops kill 6, wound 35
Ramallah, Jan 21: Israel launched a large military operation in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin on Tuesday that the Palestinian Health Ministry said had killed at least six people and wounded 35. Israel announced a “significant and broad military operation” against Palestinian militants in the city. Jenin has seen repeated Israeli incursions and gunbattles with militants in recent years, even before Hamas’ October 7, 2023 attack ignited the war in Gaza. The latest operation came just days into a fragile ceasefire with Hamas in Gaza that is supposed to last for six weeks and see 33 militant-held hostages released in return for hundreds of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. (AP)
Pak lawmakers impose ban on kite fliers
Lahore, Jan 21: Lawmakers in Pakistan’s most populous Punjab province on Tuesday passed a law permanently banning kite flying. The measure, which includes enhanced prison terms and heavy fines on kite fliers and kite manufacturers, comes ahead of the decades-old festival of Basant. A ban on kite flying was initially imposed in 2005 in Lahore, the capital of the province, when at least 11 bystanders were fatally cut by wire or string made from metal or coated with glass during competitions. (PTI)