News in Brief (30-1-2019)

FE Team | Published: January 29, 2019 21:40:30

Dengue claims two lives in Sri Lanka
COLOMBO, Jan 29: Two people have died and over 3,700 affected by the dengue virus across Sri Lanka within the first three weeks of January, the Epidemiology Unit said here on Tuesday. Till Friday, 3,743 dengue cases were reported from across the country with the highest number reported from capital Colombo, followed by Jaffna in the north and Gampaha on the outskirts of the Colombo district. — Xinhua
30,000 flee Nigerian town amid Boko Haram threat
GENEVA, Jan 29: Over 30,000 people fled the Nigerian town of Rann and across the border to Cameroon over the weekend amid fears of renewed attacks by Boko Haram militants, the UN said on Tuesday. "All the population seems to be panicking and they are on the run as a preemptive measure to save their lives," UN refugee agency spokesman Babar Baloch told reporters in Geneva. — AFP
UN expert to present Khashoggi report in May
ISTANBUL, Jan 29: A UN judicial expert tasked with investigating the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi said on Tuesday she would present her report by the end of May. Agnes Callamard, the UN special rapporteur on extra-judicial, summary or arbitrary executions, carried out an inspection outside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. Khashoggi, a regime critic, was killed on October 2 at the consulate by a Saudi hit squad. — AFP
Australia drought kills ‘hundreds of thousands’ of fish
SYDNEY, Jan 29: "Hundreds of thousands" of fish have died in drought-stricken Australia in the last few days and more mass deaths are likely to occur, the authorities warned on Tuesday. Locals around the Darling River were confronted with a sea of white, as dead fish carpeted the waters near the southeastern Outback town of Menindee. — AFP
China executes man for killing 15 people
BEIJING, Jan 29: Chinese authorities on Tuesday executed a man who killed 15 people after ramming a car into a crowded square in central Hunan province last year. Last September, Yang Zanyun ploughed a Land Rover into pedestrians at a public square in Hengdong city before slashing at people with a shovel and dagger. — AFP
Turkey hunts 51 police officers for failed coup
ISTANBUL, Jan 29: Turkish prosecutors on Tuesday issued detention warrants for at least 51 police officers over their alleged links to a group blamed for a coup bid in 2016. The Haberturk daily said simultaneous operations were launched in 26 provinces across the country to catch the suspects on the orders of the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office. In a separate operation in the capital city of Ankara, police are hunting for at least 12 suspects working with public and private enterprises. — Xinhua
German parties compromise in abortion dispute
BERLIN, Jan 29: Germany's governing coalition has agreed to let doctors and hospitals state that they perform abortions, despite a long-running ban on advertising the procedure. Chancellor Angela Merkel's junior governing partners, the center-left Social Democrats, wanted to remove the ban from Germany's criminal code. — AP