NEWS OF THE DAY
From Around the World
_1 Iraq attack:
An Iraqi military officer told the Associated Press on Saturday that Islamic State militants launched a gas attack in a newly-liberated area in western Mosul. The officer with the antiterrorism forces said the attack occurred late Thursday in the al-Abar neighborhood, when militants fired a rocket loaded with chlorine. The officer said seven soldiers suffered breathing problems and were treated at a field clinic. The officer spoke on condition of anonymity. U.S.backed Iraqi forces are currently battling militants in the more densely-populated western half of Mosul. The extremists were driven out of the eastern half of Mosul in January.
_2 Garbage collapse:
A massive mound of garbage collapsed in Sri Lanka, killing 19 people, injuring 13 and forcing more than 600 others to flee their homes, officials said Saturday. Soldiers searched the site in Meetotamulla, a town near the capital of Colombo. Four people were rescued from underneath the mound, but it was unclear whether any others were buried, said military spokesman Roshan Seneviratne. Police are investigating whether the collapse Friday night was a natural disaster or a deliberate act of sabotage. The site has been used to dump Colombo’s garbage for the past few years as authorities sought to give the capital a facelift. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said Saturday that the government would soon remove the garbage dump from the area.
_3 Iran flooding:
The death toll in flash floods triggered by heavy rains in Iran’s northwestern province of East Azarbaijan rose to 30 as rescue teams continue to discover bodies, state TV reported Saturday. The report said at least seven people remain missing in the cities of Ajabshir and Azarshahr. The Director General of Crisis Management in East Azarbaijan province, Khalil Saei, said Red Crescent workers, air ambulances, police and army forces have been deployed to assist in search and rescue efforts.
_4 Libya fighting:
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is warning that Libya risks a return to widespread conflict, citing the volatile security situation in Tripoli and fighting in the eastern oil crescent and elsewhere. Guterres expressed alarm in a report to the U.N. Security Council at the renewed military escalation and ongoing political stalemate in the country. The overthrow of longtime dictator Moammar Khadafy in 2011 has spawned chaos in Libya. The power and security vacuum turned the country into a breeding ground for militias and militants, including Islamic State extremists and al Qaeda affiliates. It has also made Libya a gateway for thousands of migrants from Africa and elsewhere seeking to cross the Mediterranean to Italy.
_5 Refugee crisis:
Italian rescue ships have plucked about 2,000 refugees from unseaworthy smugglers’ boats off the coast of Libya, with hundreds of them arriving at southern Italian ports. A rescue ship on Saturday brought 504 migrants and one corpse to Pozzallo, Sicily, while another boat brought about 500 other refugee to Augusta, Sicily. In all, Italy’s coast guard coordinated about 20 separate rescues Friday. The rest of the migrants were due to reach Calabria on the Italian mainland Sunday.
_6 Oldest person dies:
Emma Morano, at 117 the world’s oldest person, died at her home Saturday in northern Italy. Dr. Carlo Bava said Morano’s caretaker called him to say the woman had died while sitting in an armchair in her home in Verbania, a town on Lake Maggiore. Bava said he last paid a call on Morano on Friday. He said “she thanked me and held my hand” as usual. Morano, born on Nov. 29, 1899, was believed to have been the last surviving person in the world who was born in the 1800s.