NEWS OF THE DAY
_1 Deadly collapse: Heavy rains caused the partial collapse of a huge mound of garbage in Mozambique’s capital Monday, killing as many as 17 people who were buried by debris. Authorities believe more bodies could be buried at the Hulene garbage dump on the outskirts of Maputo. The garbage in the poor, densely populated area rose to the height of a three-story building, according to the Portuguese news agency Lusa. Half a dozen homes were destroyed, and some residents in the area fled for fear of another collapse.
_2 Volcano erupts: Rumbling Mount Sinabung on the Indonesian island of Sumatra sent billowing columns of ash soaring more than 16,000 feet and hot clouds down its slopes Monday. There were no fatalities or injuries from the eruption, the National Disaster Mitigation Agency said. The volcano, one of three currently erupting in Indonesia, was dormant for four centuries before exploding in 2010, killing two people. The regional volcanic ash advisory center in Darwin, Australia, issued a “red notice” to airlines. About 30,000 people have been forced to leave homes around the mountain in the past few years.
_3 Monastery fire: A weekend fire at the sprawling Jokhang monastery in Tibet did not affect the main chapel at the 1,300-year-old religious site, considered the spiritual heart of Tibetan Buddhism, the self-declared Tibetan government-in-exile said Monday. The main Jokhang chapel houses many Tibetan cultural treasures. No injuries were reported from Saturday’s blaze, and the cause of the fire remains under investigation.
_4 Mexico quake: A 5.9-magnitude earthquake shook the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca on Monday, days after a more powerful temblor struck the same area. Emergency officials said there were no reports of significant damage from the latest shake, but schools were canceled across the state Monday. The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake was centered 69 miles southwest of the state capital, Oaxaca city, at a depth of 25 miles. It appeared to be an aftershock of a 7.2-magnitude earthquake that struck near the same area Friday. That quake caused no deaths, though 13 people were killed in the crash of a helicopter sent to assess the damage.
_5 Egypt offensive: Three troops, including an officer, were killed in Egypt’s restive Sinai in fighting with militants, the military said Monday. They are the first casualties Egypt has announced from an offensive Cairo began Feb. 9. Military spokesman Tamer al-Rifai said two other officers and a conscript were wounded in the fighting, part of the sweep seeking to end a yearslong insurgency by Islamic militants. He said four militants were also killed. The operation covers north and central Sinai and parts of Egypt’s Nile Delta and the Western Desert, along the porous border with Libya. It involves land, sea and air forces, and the army claims to have destroyed hundreds of targets and killed dozens of fighters. _6 Chickenless KFC: Fastfood chain KFC has been forced to close many of its 900 outlets in Britain and Ireland because of a shortage of chicken. The company is blaming “teething problems” with its new delivery partner, DHL. The company first apologized for the problems on Saturday. In an update Monday, it listed almost 300 stores as open, but did not say when the rest might reopen. DHL, which recently took over the KFC contract, said that “due to operational issues a number of deliveries in recent days have been incomplete or delayed.”