World news in brief
Sri Lanka seeks help after severe flooding
The number of people known to have been killed in floods and landslides in Sri Lanka rose to 113, officials said yesterday, as the country appealed for international assistance. The state-run disaster management centre said 91 people were still missing after the worst torrential rains since 2003.
The Foreign Ministry said that in coordination with the Disaster Management Ministry, an appeal had been made to the United Nations and neighbouring countries to provide assistance "especially in the areas of search and rescue operations". India is sending three Navy ships with supplies and other aid, the first of which arrived in Colombo last night.
Officials said deaths were reported from the western coastal district of Kalutara, the central southern district of Ratnapura and the southern district of Matara. Sri Lankan military and rescue teams have used boats and helicopters, but officials said access to some areas was very difficult.
The early rainy season downpours have forced many families from their homes and affected over 270,000 people across the nation. Police spokesman Priyantha Jayakody said multiple landslides were reported in Kalutara, Ratnapura and Matara. The wettest time of the year in Sri Lanka's south is usually from May to September. Sri Lankan meteorology officials said Thursday's rains were the worst since 2003 and they
expected more in the coming days. Reuters
Two men trying to stop anti-Muslim rant killed on Oregon train
A man fatally stabbed two people aboard a Portland, Oregon, commuter train when they tried to stop him from harassing two women who appeared to be Muslim, police said. The attack on Friday afternoon unfolded hours before the start of Ramadan, Islam's holy month.
The incident began when the man started shouting ethnic and religious slurs at two women who appeared to be Muslim on a MAX train at the Hollywood Transit Station, the Portland Police Department said in a statement. Three men who intervened were stabbed, two fatally. The attacker, 35-year-old Jeremy Joseph Christian of Portland, was arrested shortly after he left the train, police said.
Christian was booked into jail on two counts of aggravated murder and additional charges of attempted murder, intimidation in the second degree and being a felon in possession of a restricted weapon, police said. He was ordered held without bail.
In a statement responding to Friday's attack, the Council on American-Islamic Relations blamed an increase in anti-Muslim incidents in the United States in part on President Donald Trump's focus on militant Islamist groups and anti-immigrant rhetoric. "President Trump must speak out personally against the rising tide of Islamophobia and other forms of bigotry and racism in our nation that he has provoked through his numerous statements, policies and appointments that have negatively impacted minority communities," said CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad. Reuters
Anti-India protests hit Kashmir after top rebel is killed
One civilian was killed and dozens of others injured yesterday after massive anti-India protests and clashes erupted in Indian-controlled Kashmir following the killing of a prominent rebel commander and his associate in a gunbattle with government forces in the disputed region.
Rebel leader Sabzar Ahmed Bhat and a fellow militant were killed after troops cordoned off the southern Tral area overnight following a tip that rebels were hiding there, police said. The gunbattle ended yesterday and soldiers recovered the bodies of two militants. However, they were searching the area for at least one more body, police said.
As the violence raged, hundreds of angry residents chanting anti-India slogans marched in an attempt to help the trapped rebels escape. Clashes between rock-throwing protesters and government forces erupted in different places in the area, with police and paramilitary soldiers firing shotgun pellets and tear gas to stop the protests. Witnesses said a young man was killed and several other people were injured after government forces fired on the protesters near the site of the gunbattle. Kashmir's police chief, S.P. Vaid, said the man was killed by crossfire.
Last year, similar massive protests followed by clashes roiled Kashmir following the killing of charismatic rebel leader Burhan Wani. His death led to months of protests and a security lockdown during which at least 90 people were killed and thousands injured. Hundreds were blinded or maimed by the firing of government forces. Earlier yesterday, Indian soldiers killed six suspected rebels along the highly militarized de facto border that divides Kashmir between India and Pakistan, the army said. AP