The Star Online: World Updates
The Star Online: World Updates |
- Philippines, leftist rebels declare truces in disaster areas
- Bomb kills provincial Afghan police chief
- China suspends eight officials for deadly mine accident - report
| Philippines, leftist rebels declare truces in disaster areas Posted: 09 Dec 2012 09:10 PM PST DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Reuters) - The Philippine government and Maoist rebels have declared truces in two southern provinces devastated by a typhoon last week as the army concentrates on relief and many rebels recover from the disaster, a commander said on Monday.
Typhoon Bopha killed 647 people and caused crop damage worth 8.5 billion pesos ($210 million). The most intense storm to hit the Philippines this year wiped out about 90 percent of three coastal towns in Davao Oriental province and buried an entire town in neighbouring Compostela Valley province under mud. Communist New People's Army (NPA) guerrillas are active in those two worst-hit provinces, which are on Mindano island. Major-General Ariel Bernardo, an army division commander, said he had ordered troops to shift from combat to relief operations, and to help deliver food and rebuild communities. "We heard the rebels had declared an informal ceasefire, we welcome that because we can all concentrate on helping typhoon victims," Bernardo told Reuters. "I believe many of these rebels were also affected and could be in the shelter areas." The death toll stood at 647 on Monday, with nearly 800 missing and more than 1,000 injured, the national disaster agency said in its latest tally. About 100 fishermen were feared lost between Mindanao and Indonesia's Sulawesi island. The Philippines' social welfare department and the United Nations are appealing for help as humanitarian agencies bring in food, water, medicines and shelter material for more than 5.4 million people affected by the storm. NPA guerrillas have been battling government forces in various parts of the Philippines for decades. The government signed a peace deal with the country's biggest Muslim rebel group, which also operates in the south, in October. Bernardo said troops had cleared roads of debris and mud and restored links to cut-off communities to allow in food and other supplies. Television pictures showed entire coastal areas in Davao Oriental levelled to the ground. About 20 typhoons hit the Philippines every year, often causing death and destruction. Almost exactly a year ago, typhoon Washi killed nearly 1,500 people in Mindanao, but most storms make landfall further north. (Additional Reporting By Manuel Mogato in MANILA; Editing by Robert Birsel) Copyright © 2012 Reuters | ||
| Bomb kills provincial Afghan police chief Posted: 09 Dec 2012 09:05 PM PST HERAT, Afghanistan (Reuters) - A roadside bomb killed the police chief of Afghanistan's western Nimroz province on Monday, a police official said. General Mohammad Musa Rasoli was heading home from his office when his vehicle was struck by the bomb, the official said. (Reporting by Sharafuddin Sharafyar; Writing by Michael Georgy; Editing by Ron Popeski) Copyright © 2012 Reuters | ||
| China suspends eight officials for deadly mine accident - report Posted: 09 Dec 2012 07:15 PM PST SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China suspended eight officials and arrested two others over a coal mine accident this week that killed 17 people in southwest China's Yunnan province, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Saturday. The eight suspended officials include Fuyuan county's coal industry bureau chief and the bureau's deputy director, Xinhua said, quoting Fuyuan's publicity office. China's mines are the deadliest in the world because of lax enforcement of safety standards and a rush to feed demand from a robust economy. But the death toll from accidents has been falling, government statistics show. On Wednesday, 17 miners were killed when an explosive device was set off, triggering a blast in the gas-filled mine located in the Huangnihe township in Fuyuan. Police have arrested two people over the mine blast. The families of the 17 dead will receive compensation of 990,000 yuan ($158,900), Xinhua said. In August, a similar mine explosion in Sichuan province killed 26 miners, marking it as one of the biggest coal mine disasters of the year. (Reporting by Melanie Lee; Editing by Paul Tait) Copyright © 2012 Reuters |
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