News in Brief -(23-04-2019)

April 23, 2019 00:00:00

Mudslide kills 19 in Colombia

BOGOTA, Apr 22: At least 19 people were killed and 14 others were missing after a mudslide that buried eight houses early Sunday in southwestern Colombia, authorities said. A search was underway for any others who might be trapped under rubble. The injured were being treated at hospitals near the scene of the disaster in Rosas, in the department of Cauca, the national risk management agency said. — AFP

Pope urges Libya peace, return of refugees to Syria

VATICAN CITY, Apr 22: Pope Francis on Sunday urged world leaders to try again to bring peace to Libya and in Syria where millions of refugees and people displaced by conflict should be helped to return home. In his traditional Easter Sunday address to the faithful at the Vatican, where some 70,000 were gathered in Saint Peter's square, the pope also expressed his "sadness" at news of the deadly bomb attacks on churches and hotels in Sri Lanka. — AFP

Gorillas pose for selfie with DR Congo anti-poaching unit

DR CONGO, Apr 22: Two gorillas have been photographed posing for a relaxed selfie with the rangers who rescued them as babies. The image was taken at a gorilla orphanage in Virunga National Park, DR Congo, where the animals were raised after poachers killed their parents. The park's deputy director told BBC Newsday that they had learned to imitate their carers, who have looked after them since they were found. The gorillas, he added, think of the rangers as their parents. Innocent Mburanumwe, deputy director of Virunga, told the BBC that that the gorillas' mothers were both killed in July 2007. The gorillas were just two and four months old at the time. — BBC

Police arrest five Algerian billionaires for graft

ALGIERS, Apr 22: Five Algerian billionaires have been arrested as part of an anti-graft investigation, Algerian state TV said on Monday. The five are Issad Rebrab, considered the richest businessman in the energy-rich north African nation, and four brothers from the Kouninef family said to be close to ex-president Abdelaziz Bouteflika, it said. — Reuters