COLOMBO, Sri Lanka: Helicopters searched for people marooned four days after rain-triggered floods and mudslides inundated Sri Lankan neighborhoods and killed at least 164 people.
With more rain expected Monday, rescuers raced to evacuate people from the most vulnerable areas. Already more than 100,000 have taken shelter in 339 relief camps set up in the south and west.
Army boats skimmed waterlogged village streets, while able-bodied flood victims waded through brackish waters to army trucks carrying relief supplies.
An air force helicopter on relief mission crash landed near Baddegama town in southern Sri Lanka on Monday. All 11 people onboard escaped unhurt. Earlier an airman died after a fall while trying to rescue a marooned person from the air.
“We are displaced and have no place to go,” said Rathana Kumari, who fled her flooded home with her family and took refuge on the Southern Expressway, a major highway linking the commercial capital of Colombo with the cities of Matara and Galle. “Now we are extremely helpless with our little children. ... Today, we didn’t get anything to eat.”
Officials say at least 104 people are still missing since the floods hit on Friday along with cascades of red mud that swallowed village homes.
Special medical teams have been sent to the affected areas, while medicine has been sent by air to hospitals unreachable by road, said Health Minister Dr. Rajitha Senarathna.
Soldiers took advantage of a lull in the rain Sunday to clear roads to reach some affected areas, said Maj. Gen. Sudantha Ranasinghe, who is heading the search and rescue mission.
The United Nations said it had joined the relief efforts and would donate water purification tablets, tents and other supplies for the displaced. India sent two shiploads of goods and some medical staff while the United States and Pakistan also promised relief supplies.
Mudslides have become common during Sri Lanka’s summer monsoons, as forests across the tropical Indian Ocean island nation are cleared for export crops such as tea and rubber.
Another massive landslide a year ago killed more than 100 people in central Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka races to rescue flood victims before rain resumes
Sri Lanka races to rescue flood victims before rain resumes
Palestinian Authority calls on Hungary to arrest Netanyahu
- The governing body of the International Criminal Court voiced regret and concern over Hungary’s announcement that it was leaving the court, saying any departure harmed a “shared quest for justice”
RAMALLAH: The Palestinian Authority has urged Hungary to arrest visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu under an International Criminal Court warrant over alleged war crimes in the Gaza Strip.
“The ministry calls on the Hungarian government ... to comply with the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant by immediately handing Netanyahu over to bring him to justice,” the Ramallah-based Foreign Affairs Ministry said in a statement hours after Hungary announced it would withdraw from the ICC.
The governing body of the International Criminal Court voiced regret and concern over Hungary’s announcement that it was leaving the court, saying any departure harmed a “shared quest for justice.”
“When a state party withdraws from the Rome Statute (that established the ICC), it clouds our shared quest for justice and weakens our resolve to fight impunity,” the presidency of the Assembly of State Parties said in a statement.
The court is “at the center of the global commitment to accountability,” and the international community should “support it without reservation,” the statement added.
“Justice requires our unity.”
The governing body also extended an olive branch to Hungary, which earlier Thursday announced it was starting the one-year process to withdraw from the ICC.
Every court member “has the right to voice its concerns before the Assembly,” it said.
“The presidency strongly encourages Hungary to have a meaningful discussion on this issue.”
In the meantime, the body urged Hungary to “continue to be a resolute party to the Rome Statute.”
Budapest said it was quitting the ICC just as Prime Minister Viktor Orban hosted Netanyahu.
Driver of car in Amsterdam explosion may have been attempting suicide, police say
- Police arrested the man, a 50-year old Dutchman, on suspicion of arson
- Nobody was hurt in the incident except the suspect
AMSTERDAM: Dutch police said they believed the driver of a car that caught fire on Thursday following an explosion in central Amsterdam may have been attempting to commit suicide.
Police arrested the man, a 50-year old Dutchman, on suspicion of arson. Nobody was hurt in the incident except the suspect.
“Police detectives are keeping all scenarios open but have strong suspicions that the man wanted to take his own life,” police said on the social media platform X.
Earlier, police said camera footage had shown the fire was caused by an explosion, which happened among a crowd of people on Amsterdam’s busy Dam Square.
Images on social media show a man with burning clothes close to a small red car with flames billowing from its windows.
Police are seen extinguishing the flames on the man before taking him into custody.
Police sealed off the square while explosives experts investigated the vehicle. It was later removed from the square.
Last week, a man injured five people near Dam Square in a stabbing rampage. Police identified the suspect in that incident as a 30-year-old Ukrainian national from the eastern Donetsk region, who prosecutors said had acted with terrorist intent.
Israeli military says it holds special probe into Gaza aid worker deaths
- The military’s Southern Command had transferred the investigation to a general staff mechanism outside the chain of command
- Israel has not directly addressed the accusation that its forces deliberately killed health workers
JERUSALEM: The Israeli military is conducting an investigation into an incident in Gaza in which a number of emergency and aid workers were killed, a military spokesperson said on Thursday, rejecting a description of the incident as an “execution.”
Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani said the military’s Southern Command had transferred the investigation to a general staff mechanism outside the chain of command to establish what happened and “hold accountable people if we need to.”
Last month, the bodies of 15 workers from the Red Crescent, Palestinian Civil Defense and United Nations were found buried in a shallow grave at the southern end of the Gaza Strip, close to their wrecked vehicles.
Israel has not directly addressed the accusation that its forces deliberately killed health workers but the military has described an incident on March 23, when it said its troops fired on vehicles bearing Red Crescent markings near Rafah, killing nine members of militant groups.
“Our initial investigation found that there were terrorists in these cars, using those Red Crescent cars,” Shoshani told a briefing with journalists.
Asked how the troops knew that there were militants in the cars, he said: “It is based on different ways of intelligence and also based on the information gathered on the ground at the time of the event.”
He said troops later also fired on other unmarked vehicles that approached without emergency lights or prior coordination.
“I can’t go into the reasoning and what they did because this is under investigation,” Shoshani said. “We will investigate this incident and once we have the answers, we’ll put them out clearly and communicate everything we know and everything we’ve found,” he said.
The Palestinian Red Crescent, which said eight of its staff had been killed in the incident, said Israel had targeted the group and called for those responsible to be held accountable.
The medical team had been sent into Rafah as Israeli forces were advancing into the area after resuming operations in Gaza on March 18, following a two month-long truce, UN officials have said.
When the bodies were found, they were still in their medical uniforms and wearing gloves.
UN aid chief Tom Fletcher said the people had been killed by Israeli forces and demanded “answers and justice.”
Shoshani denied reports that some bodies in the grave had been found with hands tied, and rejected the term “execution” to describe what happened during what he called “an operational event.”
“Not an execution,” he said.
Pakistan eyes trade corridors with Belarus to enhance access to Central Asia, Europe
- Communications Minister Abdul Aleem Khan arrives in Minsk on two-day visit to bolster trade, investment ties
- Khan to sign new MoUs during visit, state-run media says amid Islamabad’s push for sustainable economic growth
ISLAMABAD: Communications Minister Abdul Aleem Khan on Thursday stressed the importance of creating trade corridors between Pakistan and Belarus, state media reported, noting that they could be instrumental in helping both countries access markets in Central Asia and Europe.
Pakistan and Belarus have moved closer to foster stronger trade and economic cooperation in recent months. Both countries marked 30 years of diplomatic ties last year. Belarus’s prime minister visited Islamabad in October 2024 to meet key Pakistani civilian and military officials to bolster economic cooperation.
Khan arrived in Minsk on an official two-day visit to the country on Thursday. He met Belarusian Minister of Energy Denis Moroz and the country’s Transport Minister Alexei Lyakhnovich, state-run Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) reported.
“He emphasized the importance of creating trade corridors between the two countries which could play a key role in facilitating access to Central Asian States through routes in Pakistan, China, Afghanistan, or Iran, ultimately opening up pathways to Eastern Europe,” APP reported.
“Abdul Aleem Khan stated that these infrastructure projects would also be a strategic milestone.”
Khan highlighted the potential for “significant improvement” in the communications sector between both countries during his meeting with Belarusian ministers, APP said.
It said the Pakistani minister is being hosted as a state guest in the eastern European country. He will have the opportunity to sign several new memoranda of understanding (MOUs) during his trip, APP said.
Pakistan and Belarus agreed to boost cooperation in industry, media, tourism and other economic sectors during the eighth session of the Pakistan-Belarus Joint Ministerial Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation held in February this year.
Islamabad has aggressively pushed for trade and investment ties with regional allies such as China, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Central Asian countries and others recently in its bid to escape a prolonged macroeconomic crisis.
Pakistan has signed MoUs worth billions of dollars with businesses and entities in China, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Azerbaijan and other countries since last year to ensure sustainable economic growth driven by increasing exports and financial reforms mandated by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Jordan’s King Abdullah meets Bulgarian president in Sofia to discuss Middle East security
- King praised Bulgaria’s contributions to regional stability through its NATO and European Union membership
- Both leaders stressed the urgent need to reinstate a ceasefire in Gaza
LONDON: King Abdullah II of Jordan met with Bulgarian President Rumen Radev in Sofia on Thursday, where the two leaders discussed strengthening relations and addressing key challenges in the Middle East region.
During the expanded meeting at the Presidential Palace, King Abdullah emphasized Bulgaria’s important role in hosting the latest round of the Aqaba Process meetings in partnership with Jordan.
He noted that the discussions were particularly relevant given the current global security landscape, Jordan News Agency reported.
The king praised Bulgaria’s contributions to regional stability through its NATO and European Union membership, highlighting the alignment of views between the two nations on shared geopolitical challenges.
He also underscored the importance of fostering deeper cooperation and understanding between Jordan and Bulgaria.
Radev also stressed the significance of the Aqaba Process meetings in tackling critical security issues such as counterterrorism and radicalization, which are pressing concerns in both the Balkan region and the Middle East.
Reflecting on more than six decades of Jordan-Bulgaria relations, Radev praised the strategic partnership built between the two countries and also acknowledged Jordan’s leading role in advancing peace and stability in the Middle East, emphasizing the shared responsibility of both nations in promoting regional security.
The Bulgarian president lauded Jordan’s efforts to push for an end to the conflict in Gaza, while also continuing humanitarian aid delivery, and advocating for a political resolution.
He reaffirmed Bulgaria’s support for resolving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict through a two-state solution.
Both leaders stressed the urgent need to reinstate a ceasefire, facilitate humanitarian aid, and de-escalate tensions in the West Bank.
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi and Jordan’s ambassador to Bulgaria, Mutaz Khasawneh, also attended the meeting.
Upon his arrival in Sofia, King Abdullah was welcomed with an official ceremony at Alexander Nevsky Square, where he laid a wreath at the Monument to the Unknown Soldier.
