NEWS OF THE DAY
From Around the World
1 Deadly bus crashes: A bus plunged from a hill while traveling on Indonesia’s main island of Java on Saturday, killing at least 27 people, police said. The accident happened on a winding slope in Subang district of West Java province. The vehicle’s brakes apparently malfunctioned while going up a hill and rolled down, hitting a motorcyclist before tumbling into a field, police said. And in Hong Kong on Saturday night, a doubledecker bus crashed and tipped over, killing 19 people, authorities said. Local media reports quoted passengers as saying the bus was full and traveling very fast. News channels broadcast footage showing rescue workers cutting open the roof of the bus, operated by the Kowloon Motor Bus Co.
2 Kashmir violence: Two soldiers were killed and three others wounded in Indian-controlled Kashmir on Saturday as troops traded fire with militants who were holed up inside an army camp, officials said. The camp is located on the outskirts of the city of Jammu. The area was cordoned off and schools were closed. It was unclear how many militants were involved in the attack. The Himalayan region of Kashmir is divided between India and archrival Pakistan. Both claim the region in its entirety. Several militant groups have been fighting for Kashmir’s independence from India or its merger with Pakistan since 1989.
3 Afghan attack: At least six police officers were killed in a Taliban attack on their checkpoints in southern Helmand province, officials said Saturday. District police chief Amanullah, who goes by only one name, said eight others were wounded in the Friday night attack in Nawa district. Qari Yusouf Ahmadi, a Taliban spokesman, claimed responsibility for the attack. In a statement sent to media he said fighters overran three checkpoints, killing around 15 local forces.
4 Taiwan quake toll: Search and rescue workers found the bodies of two people believed to be members of a Chinese family trapped in a partially collapsed hotel on Saturday, bringing the death toll from last week’s earthquake to 14. Taiwan’s Central Emergency Operation Center announced that rescuers workers found the bodies at the Beauty Inn. They are believed to belong to a family of five Chinese tourists who rescuers had been searching for since a magnitude 6.4 quake struck Tuesday in the Pacific off the coast of Hualien county, a popular holiday destination. Three people remain missing.
5 Russia opposition: Russia’s communications oversight agency is moving to block access to an investigation published online by opposition leader Alexei Navalny alleging that Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Prikhodko received lavish hospitality from billionaire Oleg Deripaska. The tycoon has been linked to President Trump’s former campaign chairman Paul Manafort, who has been indicted in U.S. special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. election. The agency, Roskomnadzor, said Saturday it has placed the investigation, which was published on the website of Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation, on its register of sites containing information not to be distributed in Russia, according to news agencies. The sites have three days after the notification to remove the material before being blocked. Foundation lawyer Ivan Zhdanov says the move would be appealed in court. Navalny is the most prominent foe of President Vladimir Putin.