NEWS OF THE DAY
Indonesia quake: The death toll from the devastating earthquake and tsunami on Sulawesi island neared 2,000 on Monday, but thousands more are believed unaccounted for. The official toll hit 1,948, mostly in the hard-hit city of Palu. Willem Rampangilei, head of the National Board for Disaster Management, said there could be as many as 5,000 victims still buried in Balaroa and Petobo, two of Palu’s hardest-hit neighborhoods. The magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck Sept. 28.
Fuel spill: French and Italian maritime authorities on Monday began cleaning up a fuel spill that has spread over about 12 miles in the Mediterranean after two cargo ships collided north of the island of Corsica. Italy’s coast guard said it’s recovering some of the polluted material and monitoring the spill. A Tunisian cargo ship pierced a hole in the hull of a Cypriot container ship in Sunday’s collision, causing the fuel leak. No one was injured. A spokesman for the regional French maritime authority said French and Italian ships and oil spill experts are dragging a floating barrier to contain the oil then will use a skimmer to suck up the fuel.
Reporter killed: Bulgarian police are investigating the rape and slaying of a television reporter whose body was dumped near the Danube River. Authorities discovered the body of Viktoria Marinova, 30, in the town of Ruse on Saturday. Police said she had been brutally beaten, raped and strangled. Journalist groups and officials in other countries have called for an independent investigation into her death. Interior Minister Mladen Marinov said Monday there was no evidence to suggest the killing was linked to Marinova’s work. But a Bulgarian investigative online site owner, Assen Yordanov, called for an independent inquiry, noting her recent work tackled “very sensitive investigation into the misuse of (European Union) funds.”
Blasphemy case: Pakistan’s Supreme Court postponed its ruling Monday on the appeal of a Christian woman who has been on death row since 2010 after being convicted of blasphemy against Islam. The judges listened to Asia Bibi’s defense lawyer challenge statements by those who accused her of insulting Islam’s prophet, an allegation punishable by death. The three-judge panel did not say why they reserved their judgment or when they would announce their decision. Bibi’s case has generated international outrage but, within Pakistan, it has fired up radical Islamists, who use the blasphemy law to rally supporters and intimidate mainstream political parties.
Refugee crisis: Several hundred asylum-seekers camped outside a police station in Greece’s second-largest city, Thessaloniki, and lined up Monday to be arrested and formally processed, as a surge in illegal migration in northern Greece has overwhelmed authorities. The migrants formed a line outside a police station, seeking a place at a migrant camp before the winter. Greece is struggling to cope with a high number of asylum-seekers due to political resistance to settlement agreements within the European Union and ongoing arrivals from neighboring Turkey.
Bangladesh bill: President Abdul Hamid on Monday signed a bill into law that has been criticized as stifling freedom of speech. The country’s leaders have said the Digital Security Act is aimed at eliminating propaganda. But journalists’ and human rights groups in and outside Bangladesh had protested the bill, saying it could be wielded arbitrarily against government critics.
Chronicle News Services