Texas flooding 2013 kills 2

Flooding caused by heavy rains across Central Texas has claimed lives of at least two people.

Fatalities are from Onion Creek and  Dale, south of Austin.

The Texas Department of Public Safety has warned to be prepared for continued rising water and flooding for those out for Halloween fun.

The Red Cross has send two relief trucks from Fort Worth to Austin to aid flood victims, AFP reported.

According to the National Weather Service, more than a foot of rain has fallen across Texas' midsection.

Photo below shows a man on top of a home on Buttonbush Drive in Southeast Austin, Texas (AP Photo/The Austin American-Statesman, Deborah Cannon).

Flash floods hit Bedok and Chai Chee, Singapore

Heavy showers triggered flash flooding in Chai Chee, Bedok, Siglap and Marine Parade of eastern Singapore Wednesday afternoon.

Floods made traffic impassable at the junction of New Upper Changi Road and Chai Chee Road at around 12.45 pm.

Photo below shows flash floods at the junction of Chai Chee Road and New Upper Changi Road (Twitter: Bryan Huang).

The 1978 Singapore flood claimed seven lives. The worst flood in S'pore history since the Hari Raya floods in December 1969 caused the flood damage of S$10 million..

Suicide bombings claim more lives in Iraq

Explosions and gunfire claimed at least 31 more lives between Tuesday night and early Wednesday in the latest spasms of violence in Iraq.

In one incident in al-Tarmiya, about 70 kilometers (43.5 miles) north of Baghdad, two suicide bombers attacked the house of a Sunni leader during a Tuesday night banquet to honor Iraqi security forces, killing 22 people and wounding 15 others, police in Tikrit said.

In another incident on Wednesday, attackers targeting security forces staged a coordinated assault on a police checkpoint west of Mosul, Iraq, killing at least nine people and wounding 25 others.

According to Mosul police, a suicide bomber detonated a car bomb at a checkpoint manned by police and military forces about in al-Mowali, a predominantly Shiite district 55 kilometers (34 miles) west of Mosul.

Gunmen then opened fire on an ambulance carrying security forces wounded in the blast.
Among the dead were four security officers and four women, police said.

Violence has been on the upswing in Iraq since spring as tensions have grown between the country's Shiite majority and its Sunni minority. More than 6,000 people have been killed this year, including more than 350 this month.

Flash News - 40 feared killed in fire on bus travelling from Bangalore to Hyderabad, INDIA

Hyderabad: At least 40 people are feared dead in a deadly fire early this morning on a luxury bus traveling from Bangalore to Hyderabad.

Most of the passengers on the air-conditioned luxury bus were sleeping when the driver attempted to overtake another vehicle at high speed, hitting the fuel tank on a culvert at around 5 am on Wednesday, the police said. The tank burst, causing the fire.

According to the Press Trust of India, the driver along with cleaner and five other passengers managed to escape from the bus the fire engulfed it completely.

A senior district official said the bodies were charred beyond recognition and authorities were trying to ascertain the number of those dead by obtaining the list of the passengers travelling in the bus.

The police say 49 passengers are believed to have been traveling on the bus, which had started from Bangalore late last evening and was driving through Mahbubnagar in Andhra Pradesh, 150 km from Hyderabad, when the accident occurred. Many of the passengers were going home for the Diwali festival.

The bus belonged to Jabbar Travels, a well-known tour operator, with offices in Bangalore, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Pune.

State Transport Minister Botsa Satyanarayana told PTI that an inquiry would be conducted into the accident.

Wild weather lashes New South Wales, 6 injured

At least six people have been injured as wild weather hit New South Wales, Australia, Tuesday afternoon.

Trees and power lines fell on three people at Engadine in Sydney's south, The Guardian reported.

They were immediately taken to St George hospital in a stable condition.

Around 280 calls have been received by the State Emergency Service for assistance.

A severe weather warning is currently in place for parts of the greater Newcastle, Cessnock and Maitland areas.

Wild weather lashes New South Wales, 6 injured

At least six people have been injured as wild weather hit New South Wales, Australia, Tuesday afternoon.

Trees and power lines fell on three people at Engadine in Sydney's south, The Guardian reported.

They were immediately taken to St George hospital in a stable condition.

Around 280 calls have been received by the State Emergency Service for assistance.

A severe weather warning is currently in place for parts of the greater Newcastle, Cessnock and Maitland areas.

Wild weather lashes New South Wales, 6 injured

At least six people have been injured as wild weather hit New South Wales, Australia, Tuesday afternoon.

Trees and power lines fell on three people at Engadine in Sydney's south, The Guardian reported.

They were immediately taken to St George hospital in a stable condition.

Around 280 calls have been received by the State Emergency Service for assistance.

A severe weather warning is currently in place for parts of the greater Newcastle, Cessnock and Maitland areas.

St Jude storm kills 13 in Germany, Britain, Netherlands and Denmark

St Jude storm, the severe European windstorm has claimed lives of at least 13 people.

Out of 13, six death have been reported from Germany, five in Britain and one each in Netherlands and Denmark.

The mother and her child died when a tree fell on their car near Gelsenkirchen in North Rhine-Westphalia. Similarly, a sailor died near Cologne, Germany when his boat capsized on a lake.

In Hounslow, west London, one man died in house collapse following a suspected gas explosion.

Three houses collapsed and two others were damaged following the explosion this morning, London Fire Brigade said in its website. Similarly a sleeping teenage girl died when a tree fell on a caravan in Edenbridge, Kent.

Winds of up to 100mph has swept through the southern UK, The Guardian reported in its live reporting section.

Heathrow Airport has cancelled more than 130 flights and express trains between central London and Gatwick have been cancelled.

A nuclear power station in Kent, southern England has shut its two reactors.

Several bridges have been closed in Denmark as the storm hit the west coast of Jutland. Similarly, Sweden has cancelled all passenger trains in the south of the country.

The St Jude storm is also known as Carmen, Cyclone Christian and Simone in several European countries.

Dust storm in Arizona kills 3

Dust storm in Arizona has claimed lives of at least three people and injured more than a dozen.

Dust storm caused multiple crashes on Interstate 10 north of Picacho Peak, Arizona Department of Public Safety said.

At least 19 vehicles piled up in the multiple collisions.

Visibility as low as 10 feet have been reported in the area, KNXV-TV, Phoenix, reported.

UK Storm 2013: St Jude storm in Britain kills 4

Update 15:55 UTC

-Death toll from storm in UK has risen to four. London Fire Brigade has confirmed another fatality from a gas explosion on Bath Road in Hounslow. Altogether storm has claimed lives of five people in UK (4) and Netherlands (1).

-Several bridges have been closed in Denmark as the storm hit the west coast of Jutland.

-Sweden has cancelled all passenger trains in the south of the country.

St Jude storm in Britain has claimed lives of at least three people and left hundreds of thousands of homes without power.

In Hounslow, west London, one man died in house collapse following a suspected gas explosion. Three houses collapsed and two others were damaged following the explosion this morning, London Fire Brigade said in its website. Similarly a sleeping teenage girl died when a tree fell on a caravan in Edenbridge, Kent.

Winds of up to 100mph has swept through the southern UK, The Guardian reported in its live reporting section.

Heathrow Airport has cancelled more than 130 flights and express trains between central London and Gatwick have been cancelled.

According to the Energy Networks Association, some 300,000 homes are currently having power cuts..

Around 12 flood warnings are in place across the South West, the Midlands and the East of England, the Environment Agency said.

St. Jude storm is currently battering the UK, the Netherlands, and France. A tree fallen by heavy winds have killed a woman in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Photo below shows a car crushed under a fallen tree in London (Source: Rex Features, The Guardian).

 

Car bomb blasts buildings in Benghazi

Tripoli, Libya  -- A car bomb detonated in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi on Saturday, causing material damage but no casualties, local officials said.

The Benghazi Local Council said in a statement that the rigged car detonated in al-Majuri district outside a school used as a training center for local municipal elections.

The blast damaged vehicles and nearby buildings, according to the council.

The Benghazi Local Council said it holds the government and the Interior Ministry responsible for what it described as the "dire situation" that has "plagued" the city for a while with the lack of security highlighted by killings and bombings.

In recent weeks there has been an uptick in violence in the city, most notably in an assassination campaign that has primarily targeted members of the security forces, most of whom held positions under the former regime

Over the past week at least four senior members of the security forces, including the head of the country's military police, have been assassinated in Benghazi.

In a report released by Human Rights Watch in August, the watchdog reported the death of more than 50 people in what it said was a "broadening wave of political assassinations" focused mostly in the eastern cities of Derna and Benghazi.

But in its report, Human Rights Watch said the number of those killed "is probably higher."

No group has claimed responsibility for these attacks, and there has been public outrage in the city over what activists and residents say is a lack of accountability.

So far no one has been brought to justice in the escalating violence in Benghazi.

This week Libyans marked the second anniversary of the fall of the Moammar Gadhafi regime, but many Libyans are concerned about the deteriorating security and the increasing power of the hundreds of militias with different regional and political loyalties that continue to operate freely in the country.

Following last year's attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi that left four Americans dead, including Ambassador Chris Stevens, and a series of attacks targeting foreign diplomatic missions, there has been concern about the growing presence and activity of Islamist militant groups, some with ties to al Qaeda, mostly in the eastern part of the country.

The weakness of Libya's central government and its inability to build an army and police force was underscored this month with the kidnapping of the country's prime minister by a militia force that seized him for a few hours before releasing him.

Amid the growing concerns about the situation in the north African nation, NATO on Monday said it had agreed to Libya's request for the alliance to provide advice on defense institution building.
NATO said it will create a "a small advisory team to conduct this effort."

Many Libyans welcomed the move, but said this was something Western powers should have done two years ago following their military campaign that led to the overthrow of the regime.

Wedding-bound minibus bombed in Afghanistan; 20 dead

Kabul, Afghanistan -- At least 20 people on their way to a wedding were killed on Sunday in a roadside bombing in eastern Afghanistan, a local official told.

The incident occurred in the Andar district of Ghazni province. Fourteen women and a child were among the dead and five other people were injured.

Nabi Jan, spokesman for the Ghazni provincial governor, said the bomb struck a minibus carrying people to the wedding. Jan accused Taliban militants of the bombing. No one has claimed responsibility.

Iraq car bombs rattle Baghdad, Mosul; 44 dead

At least 35 people died and more than 100 were wounded when a spate of car bombs rocked Baghdad on Sunday, police in the Iraqi capital said.

In one incident, a car bomb killed five people and wounded 11 others when it exploded at a marketplace in the predominantly Shiite neighborhood of Al-Hurriya in northwestern Baghdad, state-run TV said.

Other explosions also appeared to target Shiites, but there were no further details about them.
The United States said it was appalled by the attacks.

"We condemn this cowardly and reprehensible violence. We extend our condolences to the victims and their families, and hope for the swift recovery of those who were injured," the U.S. Embassy in Iraq said in a written statement.

Also Sunday, in the predominantly Sunni city of Mosul in northern Iraq, at least nine people were killed and 14 were wounded when a bomb in a parked car exploded on a commercial street outside the al-Rafidain Bank.

The blast detonated just as Iraqi soldiers were lined up to get their monthly paychecks. Soldiers were among the dead and wounded.

Iraq has seen a sharp increase in tension between its Shiite and Sunni populations since April, when security forces raided a site used by Sunni protesters to demonstrate against the Shiite-led government.

Sunnis, who represent a minority of Iraqis, have felt politically marginalized since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein in 2003. Shiites make up a majority of Iraqis.

So far in 2013, more than 6,000 people have been killed in Iraq. More than 350 of those deaths came this month, and almost 1,000 happened in September.

Floods kill dozens in eastern India

Flash floods swept Saturday through the eastern Indian states of Odisha, where at least 21 people were killed, and Andhra Pradesh, where another 26 were killed.

"The flood water entered our village suddenly," one rescued villager told Reuters. "We tried to save our belongings but could not. At last we ran away to a safe place. Now the problem is we don't have food to eat and are staying under open sky."

But a local Puri government official, Madhusudhan Das, said help was under way.

"We have arranged for dry fruits and have also taken efforts for evacuation," he said. "We have arranged free kitchen for them. Tickets will be provided to them. We will give them house damage assistance. Houses have been damaged on a large scale. We are trying our level best to finish the huge amount of work within a week and we'll also provide them assistance for house damage."

In all, 13 districts in Odisha were affected, P.K. Mohapatra, special relief commissioner, said in a telephone interview.

Most affected was the Ganjam District, where 85,000 people were evacuated, he said.

"The situation is very grim as the entire Delta area is completely inundated," Guntur district Collector S Suresh Kumar told CNN's sister network. "Drains and tanks are overflowing and there is a threat of breaches occurring at some places because of the nonstop rain."

26 houses flooded in Gua Musang, Malaysia

Heavy rainfall has flooded at least 26 houses in Gua Musang district of Pahang, Malaysia, The Star Online reported.

Several of the 100 residents have been forced to leave their homes in Kampung Batu Papan, Kampung Kundur and Kampung Pulai villages of Gua Musang.

Mount Etna volcano eruption in Italy closes airspace

Mount Etna volcano eruption in Italy has briefly closed airspace nearby, Catania Airport said.

Plume of ashes was visible from much of eastern Sicily.

Photo below shows Mount Etna volcano eruption as seen from the village of Viagrande, near the Sicilian town of Catania, Italy, Saturday

The nearby airport was shortly closed due to the Etna eruption in April 2013.

Mount Etna is one of the most active volcanoes in the world on the east coast of Sicily, Italy. Mount Etna's largest eruption was in 1669. The deadliest Mount Etna eruption in 1669 claimed 15,000 lives in Sicily.

Massive landslide in Denali National Park, Alaska – Could take 10 days to clear

Massive landslide has blocked Denali National Park road in Alaska at Mile 37 where the road leads up to Sable Pass.

According to the USA Today, about 30,000 yards of rock and soil fell from a point 500 feet above the road piling the debris in depths of up to 35 feet.

It could take as long as 10 days to make the road passable again, News Miner reported quoting deputy park superintendent Elwood Lynn.

The road is currently closed to traffic. No causalities have been reported.

Photo below released by the National Park Service on October 24, 2013 shows a large landslide in Denali National Park, Alaska (NATIONAL PARK SERVICE — AP).

Denali is located 180 miles north of Anchorage.

Recent research has estimated that landslides claim more than 4,500 lives of people around the world every year.
 

Government: Nigerian troops kill over 90 Boko Haram members

Abuja, Nigeria -- More than 70 members of the Islamist extremist group Boko Haram have been killed during a Nigerian military operation in the northeastern state of Borno, an Army spokesman told CNN on Friday.

The military "remains on the offensive," according to Brig. Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru, who said the operation started Thursday and continued into the next day.

Who are the world's 10 most dangerous terrorists?

This wasn't the only clash between Boko Haram and Nigerian troops of late.

Suspected members of the extremist group around 5:30 p.m. Wednesday (12:30 p.m. ET) attacked a military checkpoint in Damaturu, Nigeria's Joint Task Force reported in a statement. Also in northern Nigeria, Damaturu is the capital of Yobe state.

Special operations troops responded, waging "a fierce encounter with the terrorists in various parts of Damaturu ... for several hours," according to the Joint Task Force.

By the time that fighting was over, 21 suspected Boko Haram fighters were dead, the government group reported. Three vehicles were recovered, as were assault rifles, a rocket-propelled grenade, improvised explosive devices and 709 rounds of ammunition.

The military did not provide any information on its casualties.

"Law abiding citizens are enjoined to remain calm as the 3 Division Special Operation Battalion is on top of the situation," the Joint Task Force said, noting a 24-hour curfew was imposed throughout the state. "Any credible information should be passed promptly to security agencies for necessary action."

Last May, President Goodluck Jonathan put three states in the region under a state of emergency, giving Nigerian forces wide latitude in fighting the group, which human rights organizations say has killed more than 3,000 people since 2009.

Boko Haram, which means "Western education is sacrilege" in the Hausa-Fulani language, seeks to impose a strict version of Sharia law across northeastern Nigeria, if not the entire country.

The group has attacked various targets in the West African nation since its formation in the late 1990s, according to the U.S. National Counterterrorism Center, including killing and kidnapping Westerners, and bombing schools and churches.

Hundreds of its members, including its leader Mohammed Yusuf, died in July 2009 clashes with government forces. But the group did not stay down for long, and has remained an active and violent force in Nigeria.

In August, its militants allegedly went into a mosque in Borno state and killed 44 worshipers. The group released a video boasting that it was growing stronger.

Young man linked to 79 killings in Mexico

The most shocking thing about the arrest of a man linked to 79 killings may be that authorities don't find it shocking.

At 20 years old, Juan Pablo Vazquez is accused of killing rivals, a policeman, a stripper and other innocent bystanders.

But you won't find authorities in the northern economic hub of Monterrey, Mexico, using any superlatives to describe the alleged killer. Not the worst they've ever seen, not the most ruthless, not the youngest or most prolific.

That's because Monterrey and its surroundings are an area disputed by rival drug cartels. From 2010 to the present, an average of 108 people have been killed each month in the state of Nuevo Leon, according to official statistics. Monterrey, the capital, has recorded 223 homicides so far this year.

Vazquez's arrest, then, merited a press conference, but no celebration as if an alleged serial killer had been brought down.

"We are witnessing a very severe crisis because of the war between cartels," one Mexican official said.

Vazquez was caught on October 8, but the arrest was not announced until Thursday.

He was arrested together with a woman, Nancy Ortiz, who police said was selling drugs with Vazquez. The pair was caught with 35 baggies of weed and 22 packets of cocaine, the state's security secretariat said.

The young man confessed to 45 killings, security officials said, and has been implicated in 34 other slayings between 2011 and this year.

Fear of reprisals from the warring cartels means that officials keep details to a minimum, not even revealing what gang a suspect belongs to.

The Mexican official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told CNN that Vazquez is a member of the Gulf cartel.

The Gulf cartel is fighting with the Zetas cartel for lucrative smuggling routes to the United States.

The official scoffed at the idea that Vazquez was any more dangerous or deadly than other alleged cartel hit men. He described Vazquez simply as the latest member of a large cell of assassins to be caught.

Vazquez was not necessarily the shooter in all the cases, but was a witness or otherwise involved in the killings, the official said. Sometimes he was just one of several shooters who aimed at their targets. Cartel members who were arrested before him fingered him in connection with the 34 killings he did not confess to, the official said.

And if the thought of a 20-year-old having a hand in 79 deaths sounds like an exaggeration, authorities released a list of dates and victims' names.

Among the killings he is accused of:

-- A transit officer who pulled him over on March 13.

-- An exotic dancer who had been kidnapped from a strip club on July 30.

-- A woman who happened to be accompanying a member of a rival cartel on January 16.

-- A group of eight rivals who were at a bar on August 13.

The list goes on and on. It is just a small fraction of the number of homicides committed in Nuevo Leon, the official said.

M 7.3 Japan earthquake creates Tsunami

Update 2013/10/26; 01:35 UTC

-Tsunamis of up to 40 centimetres were reported at four areas along the coast.

-Workers at the Fukushima power station were told to leave waterfront areas for higher ground.

-An evacuation order was also issued in some municipalities in Iwate Prefecture and Miyagi Prefectures. But no damage or injuries have been reported.

Update 18:05 UTC

The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) has extended the reach of the Tsunami waves along almost the full North Eastern Honshu shoreline. The agency has issued a "yellow" advisory for Fukushima and the prefectures of Iwate, Miyagi, Ibaraki and parts of Chiba.

M 7.3 massive earthquake hits Off the east coast of Honshu, Japan  today, the U.S. Geological Survey reported.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the quake's epicenter was located 325 km ESE of Ishinomaki. It was 6.2 miles deep.

Tsunami advisory has been issued for Fukushima prefecture by Japan Meteorological Agency. Tsunamis are predicted in Iwaki-Shi Onahama and Soma region. But the U.S. Pacific Tsunami Warning Center has not posted warnings for the rest of the Pacific.

Tremors were even felt in South Korea and North Korea.

Karnataka tops south in communal clashes, INDIA

BANGALORE: Karnataka's image of a peace-loving state has taken a beating because of a series of church attacks and other communal incidents in the recent past. Statistics with the ministry of home affairs (MHA) seem to validate that.

With 222 incidents of communal violence over the past three years, Karnataka is fourth in India and tops in south India. Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra precede Karnataka. Information collected by MHA shows reveals that between January 2010 and March 2013, the state Karnataka recorded 222 communal incidents.

It recorded close to 10% of the country's total of 2,120 cases. Figures in UP, MP and Maharashtra stand at 347, 299 and 326, respectively.

Among south Indian states, Karnataka is followed by Kerala (126), Andhra Pradesh (114) and Tamil Nadu (86). The state reported 71 incidents in 2010, 70 in 2011, 69 in 2012 and 12 in the first three months of this year as against the all-India figures of 701, 580, 668 and 171 in the said period.

Sources, while unable to point to actual figures, however, say most incidents were reported in coastal Karnataka. Clifton Rozario of the Alternative Law Forum, which has taken up several such cases, said: "Mere registering of cases does not guarantee conviction. Take the previous government. Scores of cases against organizations like RSS, VHP or Sri Rama Sene were withdrawn."

"What governments need to do is to create an environment free from communal sentiments that result in such incidents. While the government's initiatives to economically uplift certain communities are welcome, we need to have a state that is secular, which I believe has not happened in Karnataka. For a few years now, several parts of the state have seen dangerous communal sentiments influence people. This needs to be addressed," he said.

KL Ashok, general secretary, Karnataka Communal Harmony Force, feels that the numbers are under-reported and that several cases go unreported daily.

"I am not exaggerating when I say there are at least 10 incidents every day. But only one or two get reported in a month. The government should put in place systems that ensure a secular environment, not just indulge in actions that have no long-term solution."

Senior police officials in Karnataka claim that the statistics only reflect the efficiency of the department. "Because other states have fewer cases registered does not mean fewer cases occur there. We have been able to register more cases, which is reflecting in the documents you have," one of them said.

Speaking to TOI, Lalrokhuma Pachau, DG&IGP, said: "I can only tell you that we have been working very efficiently. We take up cases on priority and see that action is taken every time such an incident occurs."

He also said that the department is vigilant and does a lot of preventive work based on intelligence. "We did a good job during Dasara, Bakrid and other important occasions. We also use intelligence provided by central agencies and have been able to prevent many cases," he said.

Indonesia's Mount Sinabung volcano eruption prompts evacuation of 3,300

Indonesia's Mount Sinabung volcano eruption Thursday has prompted evacuation of more than 3,300 people, weather.com reported quoting National Mitigation Agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho.

Most of the evacuated people are from two villages within 3 kilometers of the mountain in Karo district.

The powerful explosion at Mount Sinabung spewed black ash 3 kilometers into the air. No damage or injuries have been reported.

Last month, Mount Sinabung volcano eruption forced thousands to flee. Mount Sinabung is among more than 120 active volcanoes located in North Sumatra province of Indonesia. Mount Sinabung volcano eruption in 2010 had claimed life of one person.

Heavy rain forecast for Andhra Pradesh, Odisha

Thiruvananthapuram: Coastal Andhra Pradesh and Rayalaseema bore the brunt as a rain-generating low-pressure area lay anchored half over land and half into the sea off South Andhra Pradesh coast on Wednesday.

Elsewhere, the North-East Monsoon was active over south interior Karnataka and Kerala during the 24 hours ending in the morning.

WESTWARD TRACK

The low-pressure area will track slowly west-north-west across the rest of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka and enter the Arabian Sea by Friday, an India Meteorological Department (IMD) update said.

The Climate Prediction Centre of the US National Weather Services too noted “a low-pressure system tracking west from the Bay of Bengal”.

Above-average rainfall is favoured along the westward track of this system as it crosses south-central India, the US agency said.

“It should be noted that a low chance for tropical cyclone development exists across the north-east Arabian Sea when this system moves offshore from the west coast of India,” the US agency said.

An IMD warning said that heavy to very heavy rainfall would lash Coastal Andhra Pradesh and Rayalaseema until Thursday morning. Heavy rainfall would also occur at isolated places over Odisha, Telangana, coastal Karnataka, north interior and south interior Karnataka.

Forecast valid until Friday morning said that the heavy rain belt will stand pat over Coastal Andhra Pradesh and Rayalaseema but associated rain bands will extend to Telangana and the whole of Karnataka.

Almost similar weather pattern is likely to pan out during the 24 hours that ends on Saturday morning as well.

NORTHWEST OUTLOOK

Meanwhile, Odisha and Gangetic West Bengal to the north-east also witnessed overnight rains until Wednesday morning.

The Climate Prediction Centre of the US National Weather Services said that the east and west coasts will receive varying amounts of rainfall during the week ending October 29.

Above-normal rainfall has been indicated for Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha.

But north coastal Tamil Nadu and entire Andhra Pradesh may experience below normal rainfall during the subsequent week (October 30 to November 5).

This period may also see the north-west Rajasthan and Punjab receive its first wave of showers of the rabi season, says the US agency.

At least 20 killed during wave of violence in Iraq

At least 20 people were killed across Iraq in shootings and explosions on Wednesday, police officials in Baghdad and Mosul told.

The deadliest attack occurred in western Baghdad when a roadside bomb exploded on a busy road, killing four people and wounding 11 others.

Earlier in the day, a separate suicide attack near a police checkpoint in al-Rutba in Anbar province toppled a bridge, killing four police officers and three truck drivers. The attacker also died, authorities said.

This came after attacks on security checkpoints in the same town on Tuesday left at least 12 police officers dead and 24 wounded, police said.

Al-Rutba is a predominantly Sunni Muslim community that for a few years was an al Qaeda stronghold after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of the country.

Sunnis, who represent a minority of Iraqis, have felt politically marginalized since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein in 2003 by Shiites, who outnumber them.

Six people died Wednesday in violence in Mosul. Details on the other deaths were not released.
Attacks in western Iraq kill 7 police officers

2 dead, 1 missing as river floods in Malaysia

Water released from a dam caused Bertam River to flood the Cameron Highlands claiming lives of two foreigners with another missing.

Rescuers have found dead bodies of an Indonesian woman and a Bangladeshi man.

River also flooded 80 squatter homes nearby, AFP reported.

Area is famous for tea plantations as well as vegetable and fruit farms where most of workers are from Indonesia, Bangladesh and Nepal.

Clashes in Tunisia; 8 dead

Six Tunisian national guard officers and two militants were killed Wednesday in clashes between government forces and an "armed terrorist group" in the turbulent North African nation, a state-run news outlet reported.

The violence happened in a village near the city of Sidi Bouzid, where the December 2010 suicide by self-immolation of fruit seller Mohamed Bouazizi sparked the first protests of the Arab Spring.

Political turmoil recently has beset the North African country, which had been seen as a model of stability after the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings.

Tornadoes in Bandung and Pandeglang, Indonesia injure 7

Tornadoes in Bandung and Pandeglang region of Indonesia have injured seven people and damaged 350 houses, the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) said.

A tornado first hit the Bandung sub districts of Ciparay and Cimenyan at around 4 p.m. on Tuesday seriously injuring one person.

Another tornado hit Pandeglang sub district of Banjar, the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) added.

According to The Jakarta Globe, the tornado damage is being assessed.

An official report has shown that numbers of tornadoes in Indonesia have increased by 28 times since 2002.

Graph below shows incidence of tornadoes in Indonesia from 2002-2010 (Source: National disaster data).

 

Australia's bushfires inflame climate change debate

Australia's bushfires have such a long and destructive history there's almost no day of the week that hasn't been dubbed "black" or "ash" to mark a major conflagration.

There was Black Thursday in Victoria in 1851, which destroyed five million hectares and claimed 12 lives -- the first large-scale bushfire in the history of white settlement in Australia.

Since then there's been Red Tuesday in 1898 in Victoria, which consumed 2,000 buildings, Black Friday in Victoria in 1938 that killed 71 and destroyed 3,700 buildings, and Ash Wednesday in the early 1980s that left 71 dead in the state of South Australia.

Most recently in 2009, Black Saturday claimed 173 lives in the state of Victoria in southern Australia -- many of the victims unable to even get the distance of their own driveways before they succumbed to the intense radiant heat generated by a bushfire.

Many argue that Australia's catastrophic bushfires are simply a fact of life on a continent where its flora, heavy with combustible eucalyptus oil, constitute something of a seasonal time bomb.

Others say more sinister man-made factors are at work.

Changing climate

Australia has had a troubled relationship with climate change -- its confused policies on a controversial carbon tax are credited with felling the Labor Party at the last election, while the new government controversially disbanded the country's Climate Commission -- but scientists say the latest bushfire season may turn up the heat on the climate-change skeptics.

While the jury is still out on whether climate change is making conditions perfect for large-scale bushfires, scientists agree that bushfire seasons -- a regular occurrence on the Australian seasonal calendar -- are getting longer and the fires more intense.

According to David Bowman, professor of forest ecology at the University of Tasmania, who has studied bushfires for more than 30 years, bushfire behavior is showing signs of change.

"The problem with Australia is that the records are pretty shallow, which makes it really difficult to talk conclusively about any of the fire activity. But when you piece everything together there's some very convincing evidence.

Attacks in western Iraq kill 7 police officers

Baghdad -- Seven police officers were killed and nine were injured Tuesday in a series of attacks at security checkpoints in the western Iraqi province of Anbar, police said.

The attacks happened in the town of al-Rutba, a predominantly Sunni Muslim community that for a few years was an al Qaeda stronghold after the 2003 U.S-led invasion of the country.

In Tuesday's first attack, a suicide car bombing at a police checkpoint in northern al-Rutba killed four police officers and injured three others, said police officials in Ramadi, the provincial capital.

Gunmen later attacked several security checkpoints in the town, killing three police officers and wounding six, police said.

Information about the attackers' casualties, beyond the suicide bomber, wasn't available. Al-Rutba is about 435 kilometers (270 miles) west of the country's capital, Baghdad.

Also Tuesday, a car bomb exploded near a busy market in the central Iraqi town of Musayyib in Babil province, killing one person and injured 11, police in Baghdad said.

Musayyib, a largely Shiite town, is about 70 kilometers (43 miles) south of Baghdad.

Iraq has seen a sharp increase in tension between its Shiite and Sunni populations since April, when security forces raided a site used by Sunni protesters to demonstrate against the Shiite-led government.

Sunnis, who represent a minority of Iraqis, have felt politically marginalized since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein in 2003. Shiites make up a majority of Iraqis.

So far in 2013, more than 6,000 people have been killed in Iraq. More than 350 of those deaths came this month, and almost 1,000 happened in September.

Blasts kill at least 7 passengers on Pakistan train

Explosions targeting a passenger train carrying hundreds of passengers traveling after Eid holidays killed at least seven passengers and wounded 16 others in Pakistan's southern Balochistan province on Monday, authorities said.

Three improvised explosive devices went off in a coordinated manner as the train approached an area in the Naseerabad district of the province, said Muhammad Azhar, a local police official.

The train, the Jaffar Express, had come from Pakistan's most populous province, Punjab, Azhar said.

The explosions damaged the train and the rail tracks, he said, and authorities suspended the train service after the attack.

There has been no claim of responsibility for the attack.

Baloch separatists have been targeting security forces and infrastructure in the region for more than a decade.

Tornado in France today kills 1, injures 2

Tornado in France today has claimed life of a person and injured two others, local medias reported.

Tornado caused heavy damages in Steent'je, near the French northern city of Bailleul.

Photo below shows an inhabitant looking after tornado damage in Steent'je (Source: PHILIPPE HUGUEN/AFP/Getty Images).

Tornado in France in July 2012 (French tornado) had claimed lives of four people.
 

Nevada school shooting: Teacher killed, two students wounded

A student opening fire with a handgun he took from his parents. Screaming students running for cover. A teacher, trying to help, shot dead. Two students wounded. The terror lasted just a few brutal minutes.

As authorities investigated, details were still trickling out hours after a deadly shooting Monday at a Nevada middle school.

One official described the scene at Sparks Middle School with one word: chaos.

Students described how they ran into the school screaming and crying when they realized the pops they heard were gunshots just before the morning bell welcomed them back from fall break.

The shooter took a handgun from his parents, a federal law enforcement source who was briefed on the situation told.

The gunman eventually shot and killed himself with the semiautomatic gun, Sparks Deputy Chief Tom Miller said Monday evening at a news conference.

Authorities said the shooter's motive was unclear.

"It's too early to say whether he was targeting specific people or just going on an indiscriminate shooting spree," said Tom Robinson, deputy chief of the Reno Police Department.

Teacher loved his kids, brother says

Mike Landsberry, a popular math teacher at the school, was killed in the shooting, Sparks Mayor Geno Martini told.

In addition to his work as a teacher, Landsberry also had served in the Marines and served several tours in Afghanistan as a member of the Nevada Air National Guard, his brother, Reggie, told "Anderson Cooper 360."

"He was the kind of person that if someone needed help he would be there," Reggie Landsberry said.

"He loved teaching. He loved the kids. He loved coaching them. ... He was just a good all-around individual."

Reggie Landsberry said his brother was probably trying to "talk the kid down and protect whoever he could. That sounds like Mike."

One student told "Pier Morgan Live" that she knew the student who shot Landsberry and wounded two 12-year-old schoolmates.

Gunmen attack motorists in Nigeria, kill 4

Gunmen suspected of being members of the Islamist group Boko Haram attacked motorists in northeastern Nigeria on Sunday, killing four, authorities said.

Who are the world's most dangerous terrorists?

Nigerian Army spokesman Brigadier Genera Ibrahim Attahiru said the men, dressed in military clothing, launched the attack on a remote road in between Ikwa and Gamboru-Ngala in Borno State, close to the border of Cameroon.

"The military responded in hot pursuit of the terrorists and killed several of them," he said.
Opinion: Should U.S. fear Boko Haram?

Attahiru was not able to confirm how many Boko Haram members were killed.

Borno is one of three states placed under a state of emergency by Nigeria's president Goodluck Jonathan in May.

The attack is the latest round of violence by Boko Haram, whose name means "Western Education is sacrilege."

According to human rights groups, the group has killed more than 3,000 people in a campaign to impose strict Sharia law in northeastern Nigeria.

Hurricane Raymond forms off Mexico's Pacific coast

Tropical Storm Raymond strengthened into a hurricane Sunday off Mexico's Pacific Coast, threatening to dump heavy rains.

A hurricane watch and tropical storm warning were in effect from Acapulco to Tecpan de Galeana, according to the National Hurricane Center. A hurricane warning was issued for Tecpan de Galeana to Lazaro Cardenas.

As of Sunday night, Raymond was 155 miles west-southwest of Acapulco. It had maximum sustained winds of 100 mph, with higher gusts, and was moving north at 6 mph.

Raymond strengthened rapidly and was expected to continue to strengthen.

The storm is forecast to near the coast within the hurricane warning area late Monday or Tuesday. It is predicted it will take a sharp turn west before it has a chance to reach land, the hurricane center said.

Raymond is forecast to dump heavy rain along the south-central coast of Mexico, with between 2 to 4 inches and up to 8 over the state of Guerrero. The area was hit hard by another storm in September.

The previous storm, Manuel, triggered deadly mudslides and left about 40,000 tourists stranded in Acapulco, a popular tourist destination.

Tornado in Hayling Island, England injures 100

At least 100 people have been injured in tornado in Hayling Island in Hampshire.

Tornado has damaged properties in Blackthorn Road and Ilex Walk, BBC Weather reported.

 A major tornado cleanup operation is underway.

Below is a photo of tornado damage in Hayling Island in Hampshire (Source ITV website).

 

New series of attacks in Iraq kills 43

At least 43 people were killed and dozens more injured in the latest round of attacks Sunday in Iraq's Anbar and Baghdad provinces, local police said.

In a Sunday evening attack, at least 37 people were killed and 42 others wounded in Baghdad province. A suicide bomber wearing an explosives-laden vest blew himself up in a crowded coffee shop in the predominantly Shiite al-Amel neighborhood in southwest Baghdad, according to police officials.

Many of the victims were young men gathering to drink tea, smoke hookah and play games, officials said.

Some buildings nearby were also damaged in the attack. Iraq's security force has since sealed off the area and started a security operation searching houses and buildings close by.

Earlier, three attacks in Anbar province targeted a checkpoint, a mayor's office in a government complex and a police station, killing at least six people and wounding 19 others, according to police in the provincial capital of Ramadi. The attacks occurred in the predominantly Sunni town of Rawa.

The first Anbar suicide attack targeted a joint security checkpoint manned by Iraqi soldiers outside the offices of Rawa's mayor. A suicide bomber also attacked inside the municipal building where the mayor's office is. A car bomb targeted a police station in the third attack.

The attacks come as internal conflicts tear through the country.

At least 50 people died and 170 were wounded on Thursday in a series of car-bomb and roadside explosions across Baghdad, police officials said. At least 10 car bombs and three roadside bombs exploded in several Baghdad neighborhoods. The attacks were primarily targeting amusement parks where families and children typically go to celebrate the Islamic holiday of Eid Al-Adha, according to police.

At least 350 people have been killed in October during the violence in Iraq, based on reporting.

37 killed in Syrian car bombing as fighting rages nearby

At least 37 people, including 26 civilians and some Syrian soldiers, were killed in a car bombing Sunday at a checkpoint on the outskirts of Hama, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and state media said.

SANA, a Syrian-run news agency, said the death toll could rise because at least 10 more people were seriously wounded.

A suicide bomber detonated more than a ton of explosives in a truck on a busy street near a farm machinery company, SANA said. More than 20 vehicles and some homes and stores were damaged, it reported.

Meanwhile, clashes between the Syrian military and rebel brigades continue to rage on the eastern outskirts of the government-held city, the London-based Syrian opposition group said.

Lebanese hostages released after 17 months

Another opposition group, the Local Coordination Committees in Syria, reported at least 15 killings in other parts of the country. Eight people were killed in Damascus and its suburbs, six in Aleppo province and one in Homs province.

According to the United Nations, well over 100,000 people have died in the Syrian conflict, which began in March 2011 when government forces cracked down on peaceful protesters.

Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Elaraby said Sunday in Cairo that peace talks were scheduled for November 23 in Geneva, Switzerland, but the date is not firm.

"There are many arrangements to be made and many difficulties which must be overcome to make this conference possible," he said.

The proposed conference between Syrian government officials and opposition leaders, intended to broker an end to the country's civil war, has been delayed several times.

Syria's deputy prime minister said Thursday that the "presumed dates" had been agreed to during a conference in the Russian Foreign Ministry.

U.N. envoy Lakhdar Brahimi said Sunday that he plans to meet with Russian and U.S. officials as well other representatives of the U.N. Security Council to finalize details.

He also stressed that no meeting could be held without a "convincing opposition that represents Syria's opposition population."

The U.N. humanitarian chief called on Saturday for a cease-fire in Moadamiyeh in the rural Damascus region so aid workers could evacuate thousands of civilians trapped in the conflict.

"The humanitarian community has stressed time and time again that people must not be denied life-saving help and that the fighting has to stop," Valerie Amos, under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs, said in a statement.

Aid groups have been barred from Moadamiyeh for months, she said.

Suicide bomber strikes in Somalia

Mogadishu, Somalia -- Soldiers were among the casualties in a suicide attack at a cafe in Somalia early Saturday, authorities told.

The incident occurred in the town of Beledweyne in the central part of the African nation and it drew sharp condemnation from the Somali prime minister.

Authorities continue to sort out the casualty figures. Police officers said the death toll is as high as 20, but the country's prime minister's office reported at least 13 dead. A few dozen injuries were reported.

"I condemn the attack in the strongest terms and send my condolences to the families of all the innocent civilians who were killed and wounded," Prime Minister Abdi Farah Shirdon said.

"The motive of these attacks are to frighten Somali people, these acts of terrorism will not derail the progress made across Somalia."

Mohamed Ibrahim Ali, a Hirran deputy governor, said seven government soldiers died and top Somali military commanders were injured and hospitalized. He said at least 33 people were injured
Al-Shabaab, the militant Islamist group, issued a claim of responsibility on its website and said it killed Somali and Ethiopian troops, who have been fighting Al-Shabaab.

A terror group with ties to al Qaeda, Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for last month's four-day siege at the Westgate Mall in Nairobi, Kenya, where at least 67 people died.

Beledweyne is the capital of Hirran province, and the attack took place near the administrative office of the region. The city, more than 200 miles north of Mogadishu and near the Ethiopian border, is a commercial hub linking southern and northern Somalia.

"A process of establishing a regional administration in the area has been under way in the past couple of days," the prime minister's office said.

In June 2009, a suicide bomber detonated an explosives-laden vehicle at the front gate of the Medina Hotel in Beledweyne. Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for that assault, which killed 35 people, including several Somalia diplomats.

Dozens hurt in Buenos Aires train wreck

At least 80 people were injured Saturday morning when a train crashed in a Buenos Aires station, Argentina's Security Secretary Sergio Berni told state news agency Telam.

Five of the injured sustained fractures, Berni said. The cause of the crash was not immediately known.

Saturday's crash comes four months after two commuter trains collided near the Argentine capital, killing at least three people and injuring hundreds more.

"In addition to solidarity and pain, I feel anger and impotence," President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner said in June. "Because the truth is, we are putting everything (into the train system), not just economic resources and investment, but also time and human resources. When things like this happen, it hurts all of us."

And in February 2012, a commuter train on the same rail line crashed into a barrier at a station in Buenos Aires, killing 50 people and injuring hundreds.

That crash sparked a criminal investigation. More than two dozen suspects, including former government officials, were accused of mismanagement and defrauding the public.

Now, a government consortium oversees the train line, rather than a private company.

In 1970, 200 people died when two trains crashed north of Buenos Aires.

Eight years later, 56 people were killed when a train hit a truck in Argentina's Santa Fe province, the state news agency reported.

Activists: 16 soldiers die in blast in Syria

At least 16 Syrian soldiers were killed Saturday after a suicide attack at a military post near the nation's capital, activists said.

The deaths came as clashes between rebels and government forces continued, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said in statement.

The incident occurred Saturday morning in the suburb of Damascus, the group said.

SANA, Syria's state run news agency, did confirm that a suicide attack occurred near Damascus but did not detail the casualties.

According to the United Nations, more than 100,000 people have died in the Syrian conflict, which began in March 2011 when government forces cracked down on peaceful protesters.

Australia wildfires kill 1, destroy 80 homes

Nearly 100 wildfires across Australia have claimed life of a person and destroyed at least 80 houses.

A 63-year-old man died from a heart attack from a fire at Lake Munmorah, north of Sydney, The Sydney Morning Herald reported.

According to the NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS), nearly 100 fires are still burning in New South Wales state in Australia's east and more than 30 of those fires are not contained.

Emergency warnings remained in place for fires in the Blue Mountains and the Central Coast, just north of Sydney.

Below is a photo of a burnt car in front of a house destroyed by bushfires in Winmalee in Sydney's Blue Mountains (AFP).

Roads and schools in the worst-hit areas have been closed and fire assessment teams and police are searching the survivors and victims.

More than 1500 firefighters are struggling to control the wildfire in 91,000 hectares of land.

Hail, lightning and high winds hit Southeast Queensland

Hail, lightning and high winds hit Southeast Queensland, Australia leaving a trail of destruction.

A freak lightning strike on a tree in Sunnybank caused extensive damage to nearby homes, news.com.au reported.

Wind gusts of 124km/h with 2cm hail stones have been recorded in Oakey.

Below is a photo of storm damage seen at Sunnybank (Source: Channel 7 via news.com.au).

Suspected al Qaeda attack in Yemen kills 7 soldiers, security officials say

Sanaa, Yemen -- Dozens of al Qaeda fighters attacked a military base Friday, killing seven soldiers in southern Yemen, three local security officials said.

Seven more suffered injuries in the assault in Abyan province and were taken to a hospital.

The militants attacked the compound from three sides, drove a bomb-laden vehicle inside and detonated it. The compound's main building was heavily damaged, the officials said.

Militants and soldiers exchanged gunfire for more than an hour.

The attack may have caught soldiers who were celebrating the high Muslim holiday of Eid off guard, an official said. But it had warned them in brochures ahead of time not to defend Yemen's government, which it accuses of being aligned with the United States.

Abyan province was considered a hub for al Qaeda militants throughout Yemen's political turmoil in 2011. After coming to power in February of 2012, President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi launched offensives against the Islamist extremists, uprooting its strongholds in southern Yemen.

Militants fled but left behind many sleeper cells.

"It's very difficult to fight al Qaeda in Abyan because they live within the society there," said AbdulSalam Mohammed, President of the Sanaa-based Abaad Research Center.

On Thursday, at least four soldiers were killed when al Qaeda militants attacked a large security base in the southwestern province of al-Baitha. Militants drove soldiers out and seized heavy artillery and armored vehicles.

Australia bush fires menace New South Wales homes

Firefighters fought scores of bush fires blazing in Australia's New South Wales early Friday.

Some are burning in the Blue Mountains, a World Heritage area to the west of Sydney, sending thick plumes of smoke into the air.

Firefighters were battling 98 fires across New South Wales as of late Thursday, according to the state's Rural Fire Service. Earlier Thursday, the fire service tweeted that 34 blazes were still out of control.

More than 100 firefighters were battling flames in Heatherbrae, where one fire has so far destroyed 3,500 hectares (8,649 acres), the service said.

New South Wales Premier Barry O'Farrell warned at a news conference Thursday that hundreds of homes could be destroyed by the time the crisis is over.

He paid tribute to the efforts of the emergency responders battling the flames.

"Today's conditions, both the hot, dry conditions but also the wind conditions, have contributed to the difficulties faced by firefighters and communities on the ground," he said.

"This difficult, damaging and dangerous day and these conditions are not going to be over quickly," he said. "Weather conditions are changing. It will take some days to see the end of these fires, and I suspect if we get through that without the loss of life, we should thank God for miracles."

Footage broadcast by CNN affiliate Seven Network showed flames consuming homes.

The New South Wales Rural Fire Service has issued emergency warnings for the most risky situations.

They include the State Mine Fire, a large bush fire moving from Lithgow toward Bilpin, in the Blue Mountains, which has burned more than 20,000 hectares (more than 49,000 acres) of bushland, firefighters said.

Another blaze threatens homes in the Springwood area of the Blue Mountains.

Dozens killed in Iraqi violence in capital and in north

Baghdad -- Dozens have died in Iraq in explosions primarily targeting amusement parks where families and children typically go to celebrate the Islamic holiday of Eid Al-Adha, according to police.

At least 34 people died and 122 were wounded Monday in the series of car-bomb and roadside explosions across Baghdad, police officials said. At least 10 car bombs and three roadside bombs exploded in several Baghdad neighborhoods

In the northern town of Muwafakiya, a car bomb killed 17 people and wounded at least 66 in a refugee compound, police said.

The explosion caused buildings to collapse, trapping victims under rubble. The town is 20 miles east of Mosul.

Seven children were among the dead, police said.

The compound was home to displaced members of an ethnic Shiite minority and is near a Shiite mosque. Sunni extremist groups such al Qaeda have been targeting the minority in Nineveh province in recent months, police said.

Iraq has seen a sharp increase in tension between its Shiite and Sunni populations since April, when security forces raided a site used by Sunni protesters to demonstrate against the Shiite-led government.

Minor earthquake shakes Kinneret, Israel

M 3.5 minor earthquake shakes Kinneret, Israel Thursday night, the Geophysical Institute of Israel said.

According to the Geophysical Institute of Israel, the quake's epicenter was in Lake Kinneret. Tremor was felt at around 9:20 pm.

The earthquake was also felt in Nazareth Illit, the YNetNews reported. No damage or injuries have been reported.

Earthquake alert system in Israel is expected to be activated in 2016.

Mudslide traps 20 in Cross Rivers, Nigeria

A mudslide at Obudu Mountain Resort in Obanliku Local Government Area of Cross River State has trapped at least 20 people, local medias reported.

Team of NEMA, SEMA and the Nigerian Air Force have been involved in rescue opertations. The Nigerian Air Force Augusta 109 from 305 Flying Training School Enugu, Super Puma, and MI 24 helicopters have also joined the rescue operations, Channel TV reported.

Typhoon Nari kills 11 in Vietnam

Typhoon Nari has left 11 dead and 5 missing in Vietnam. Floods have inundated more than 34,000 homes.

Typhoon Nari hit Vietnam's central coast early Tuesday after crossing the Philippines over the weekend, killing 13 people there, AFP reported.

The poor weather from the remnants of Typhoon Nari has been cited as a probable cause for the crash of Lao Airlines Flight 301 yesterday in Laos.

Amnesty International report: Hundreds die in Nigerian custody

Nearly 1,000 people, mostly members of the Islamist extremist group Boko Haram, have died this year while in Nigerian custody, Amnesty International said in a report.

Nigerian officials strongly denied the accusations in the report, which was released Tuesday.

According to Amnesty, the human rights group has received credible information about deplorable conditions in detention centers, where prisoners are said to die daily.

The report focuses on three detention centers where suspected militants are sent.

Overcrowding results in suffocation and starvation, Amnesty said. Others have died after suffering beatings or being shot and left to bleed to death, according to former detainees interviewed by the group.

Nigerian officials dismissed the report as a fabrication.

"There is no way our government officials will take the lives of others," Interior Minister Abba Moro told CNN.

The facilities in question are run by Nigeria's Joint Task Force.

"These claims are false," said Eli Lazarus, spokesman for the task force. "We will conduct a thorough investigation if necessary and release a statement."

Amnesty called on the government to conduct an investigation "as a matter of urgency."

The two facilities were a majority of the deaths are said to have happened are the Giwa military barracks in Borno state and two centers known as Sector Alpha and Presidential Lodge in Yobe state.

Boko Haram has waged an insurgency in the nation for years. The militant group has attacked various targets in the nation since 2009, murdering and kidnapping Westerners, and bombing schools and churches.

Blasts claim lives in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria on Muslim holy day of Eid al-Adha

For Muslims around the world, Eid al-Adha is a time of celebration, marked by visits from far-flung relatives, gift-giving and elaborate feasts.

But this year, the joyous occasion Tuesday was marred by bomb blasts and deaths in violence-plagued Afghanistan and Iraq, and in civil war-wracked Syria.

In southern Afghanistan, a member of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force died Tuesday after an attack by enemy forces, ISAF reported. ISAF did not identify the service member or the member's nationality.

Later Tuesday, the United Kingdom's Defence Ministry said that enemy fire killed a British soldier who was on patrol Tuesday in southern Afghanistan's Helmand province, northeast of the provincial capital of Lashkar Gah. It wasn't immediately clear whether this was the death that ISAF reported.

In the country's east, a bomb placed under a stage killed the governor of Logar province as he was delivering an Eid al-Adha speech inside a mosque Tuesday morning.

In addition to Gov. Mohammad Arsala Jamal, the blast killed four others and injured 15 more, the head of the provincial council, Abdul Wakil, told reporters.

Jamal, who also had Canadian citizenship, was an outspoken critic of insurgents in Afghanistan. Before he served in Logar, he had been governor of eastern Afghanistan's Khost province.

In Iraq, at least 11 people were killed and 26 others wounded when a bomb exploded outside a mosque in central Kirkuk, Iraqi officials said.

The bomb went off as worshippers were leaving the mosque, police said.

And in Syria, where a bloody civil war continues to claim lives daily, three children were killed in an explosion that anti-government activists blamed on President Bashar al-Assad's regime.

Dozens dead as magnitude-7.1 earthquake hits the Philippines

A magnitude-7.1 earthquake struck the central Philippines on Tuesday, leaving at least 99 people dead and 276 more injured, and rattling many who were celebrating a religious holiday.

The quake, which struck early in the morning, crumbled a number of buildings and sent panicked people streaming into the streets, witnesses said.

The bulk of the casualties -- 90 deaths and 166 injuries -- came in Bohol province. At least nine were killed in Cebu province and one died in the province of Siquijor, the Philippines News Agency reported, citing the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.

Most of those killed were hit by falling rubble, the agency reported. So far, nearly 2.9 million people from 560,000 families have been affected.

Dozens of people were missing, and authorities were checking into reports of people trapped in collapsed buildings in Cebu and Bohol, the agency reported.

Landslides were reported in Cebu, according to the disaster council, which also reported stampedes at two venues in that province, as well as damage to a port terminal, an airport tower, a fish port, a public market, schools, churches, hospitals, bridges, roads, government buildings and residences across Bohol, Cebu and outlying areas.

Power was restored to most affected areas, except Bohol province, the city of Cadiz and part of the city of Iloilo.

The quake was centered about 620 kilometers (385 miles) south-southeast of Manila, near Catigbian, and its depth was 20 kilometers (12 miles), according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The Philippines disaster council gave the temblor a slightly higher rating, 7.2 magnitude, than the USGS.

Official: 31 dead, 200 rescued after ship capsizes near Lampedusa

Rome  -- The death toll from a ship that capsized Friday in international waters near the Italian island of Lampedusa climbed to 31, according to the Maltese military.

More than 200 survivors were pulled from the water, but the search continued for more than a dozen people still believed missing after the ship carrying hundreds of migrants sank, the Rescue Center of Malta, a branch of the Armed Forces of Malta, told.

"We are trying to save as many people as we can," said Maltese military spokesman Keith Caruana.
Italian and Maltese military forces using helicopters and boats pulled 206 of the 250 people believed to be on board the ship, authorities said.

The shipwreck occurred in international waters about 60 nautical miles south of Lampedusa, an island south of Sicily, Italian navy spokesman Alessandro Busonero said.

According to a statement released by the Armed Forces of Malta, the ship was being followed at about 4 p.m. local time by military chase planes when it "appeared unstable."

"A few minutes later, the aircraft reported that the boat had capsized and that numerous persons were in the water. Initial assistance was provided by the aircraft, which dropped a life raft in close proximity of the persons in distress," according to the statement posted on the agency's Facebook page.

A significant number of the survivors were rescued from the life raft, Maltese authorities said
The Italian navy sent helicopters and two boats to the scene. Its sailors have rescued at least 50 people, Busonero said.

An Italian navy patrol vessel, the Libra, rescued 56 people, including nine children, the Maltese authorities said. Another 150, including 17 children, were rescued by the Maltese navy patrol vessel, P61, the Maltese military said.

It was not immediately known where the ship began its journey, and the Italian and Maltese military have not released the identities of the migrants.

Island a destination for refugees

Lampedusa, not far from Sicily and the closest Italian island to Africa, has become a destination for tens of thousands of refugees seeking to enter European Union countries -- and such deadly shipwrecks are all too common.

On October 3, a boat carrying more than 500 African migrants sank off the coast of Lampedusa, killing 309 people in what Lampedusa Mayor Giusi Nicolini called "the biggest sea tragedy in the Mediterranean Sea since World War II."

That ship originated in Libya, caught fire off the Italian coast and sank.

Survivors, many of them from Eritrea, told CNN they used bodies to keep themselves afloat until they were rescued.

The incident sparked calls for efforts to reform migration policies in the region.

A week ago Friday, the United Nations' human rights office urged the European Union to work to prevent another such incident.

The agency called on authorities to work to reduce migrant trafficking and address economic and security issues that have driven thousands of African residents to make the risky voyage to Europe in search of a better life.

Just under 115 kilometers (70 miles) from Tunisia, Lampedusa has been the first point of entry to Europe for more than 200,000 refugees and irregular migrants who have passed through the island since 1999.

In recent years, the Italian coast guard says it has been involved in the rescue of more than 30,000 refugees around the island.

Syria civil war: Car bomb kills 20 after Red Cross workers kidnapped

 

The bombs can explode anywhere, at any time. But after two years of civil war, Syria's unpredictable violence can still horrify.

At least 20 people were killed, including a child, when a car bomb exploded Monday in northwestern Syria, opposition activists said.

The blast rocked the Idlib province town of Darkush, on the border with Turkey, the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

The death toll is expected to rise because dozens are wounded, including some in critical condition, the opposition group said.

Red Cross: Seven aid workers kidnapped; four released

Even humanitarian workers aren't safe in the country.

On Sunday, gunmen kidnapped seven aid workers in northwestern Syria, officials said. Four of them -- three from the Red Cross and one from the Syrian Red Crescent -- were released "safe and sound" Monday, said Ewan Watson, a spokesman for the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Watson said he'd have no details about the freed workers' identities or current location until the other three workers are freed.

All seven were snatched in Idlib province, where they were trying to deliver medical supplies.
The state-run Syrian Arab News Agency said a terrorist group opened fire on the workers' vehicle and then abducted them.

ICRC spokesman Simon Schorno said his agency has been in contact with various armed groups to try to find the kidnapped workers, but it's still unclear who might have them.

"It's very difficult to say precisely at this point," Schorno said Monday. "There are lots of rumors flying around, and we don't really want to speculate."

But the kidnappings won't deter the Red Cross from continuing its work in the war-torn country.
"There is no intention for the Red Cross to stop its action in Syria," Schorno said. "In fact, the needs are just humongous in this country."

Magnitude-7.1 earthquake hits the Philippines

A magnitude-7.1 earthquake struck in the central Philippines on Tuesday, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

The quake was centered about 385 miles (619 kilometers) south-southeast of Manila, near Catigbian, and its depth was 12 miles (20 kilometers), according to the USGS.

Maryann Zamora said it seemed like a dream at first, then everyone started running through the building she was in and things started to fall.

Zamora, a communications specialist with the charity World Vision, said there was glass and concrete in the streets of Cebu City, which is about 37 miles (60 kilometers) north of the epicenter.

"Right now we are in the streets because it is unsafe to be inside," she said by phone, her voice shaking as one of more than 10 aftershocks hit. "Tell everyone to pray for us."

She said it is a national holiday -- Eidul Adha -- and many people were relaxing when the earthquake rattled the country just after 8 a.m.

There was no widespread threat of a tsunami, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said, but it warned that earthquakes this large can sometimes cause tsunamis within 61 miles (100 kilometers) of the epicenter.

Catigbian, which has a population of 23,000, is in the province of Bohol.

Dozens killed in wave of bombings across Iraq

A string of car and roadside bombings across Iraq on Sunday killed at least 44 people and wounded more than 140 others, police officials told.

The deadliest attack occurred in Kut when two car bombs exploded in a busy commercial street.

Seventeen people were killed and 49 others wounded, according to police officials in the city, which is about 100 miles south of Baghdad.

Among the other worst attacks:

-- In the Sunni neighborhood al-Amriya in Baghdad, two bombs exploded at shops killing nine people and wounding 21 others. Other deadly attacks were also carried out in other parts of Baghdad.

-- In the Shiite city of Diwaniya, two car bombs exploded in an outdoor market, killing eight people and wounding 17 others. Diwaniya is about 118 miles south of Baghdad

-- In Samara, a Sunni town north of Baghdad, two bombs exploded in a busy market, leaving four dead and 11 others wounded.

Other attacks were carried out throughout Iraq, including the southern city of Basra near the Persian Gulf.

So far in 2013, more than 6,000 people have been killed in Iraq. Almost 1,000 of those deaths came in September.

Iraq has seen a sharp increase in friction between its Shiite and Sunni populations since April, when Iraqi security forces raided a site used by Sunni protesters to demonstrate against the Shiite-led government. The raid killed dozens and wounded more than 200.