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Kenyan landslide kills 21 after heavy rainfall
The Kenyan government has confirmed that 21 people have died following a landslide in the western part of the country after heavy rainfall.
Interior Minister Kipchumba Murkomen said the bodies had been transferred to a nearby airstrip after the landslide in Marakwet East late on Friday night.
He said on X that more than 30 people were still unaccounted for after being reported missing by their families while 25 people with serious injuries had been airlifted to receive further medical attention.
The Kenyan Red Cross, which is helping to coordinate rescue efforts, said that the most affected areas are still not accessible by road due to mudslides and flash flooding.
The Kenyan government paused the search and rescue operation on Saturday evening but said it would resume on Sunday.
“Preparation to supply more food and non-food relief items to the victims is underway,” said Murkomen, adding: “Military and police choppers are on standby to transport the items.”
Kenya is in its second rainy season when it usually experiences a few weeks of wet weather compared to a heavier, more prolonged period earlier in the year.
The government has urged people living near seasonal rivers as well as areas that experienced landslides on Friday to move to safer ground.
Meanwhile, flash flooding and landslides in Uganda, near the border with Kenya, have killed a number of people since last Wednesday.
On Saturday, the Uganda Red Cross said another mudslide had occurred in Kapsomo village in the east of the country, destroying a house and killing four people inside.
The Red Cross said floods had severely affected most villages near riverbanks in the Bulambuli District.
It said continuous heavy rainfall had caused the River Astiri and the River Sipi “to overflow, resulting in widespread destruction of homes, crop fields, and community infrastructure”.
[BBC]
The computer system at the Department of Registration of Persons has been rectified and the services are back to normal.
Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has lost a key referendum on a constitutional reform which had turned into a vote on her government.
The result gives around 54% to the “No” campaign and 46% to the “Yes” vote which Meloni had backed.
In a video posted on social media even before all the ballots were counted, Meloni said Italians had voted “with clarity” and she would respect their decision, but she regretted a “lost chance to modernise” the country.
It is the first significant defeat for Meloni and her right-wing coalition, which has overseen a rare period of political stability for Italy. Opposition parties are hailing the result as a sign that voters are looking for change, with a general election due next year.
When the two-day referendum ended on Monday afternoon, exit polls initially showed the “No” vote leading by a small margin, but that grew to a substantial lead as the count progressed.
Despite the complex question on the ballot paper, turnout was almost 60%. A high figure had been expected to favour the government, but it was not enough to swing the vote.
The reform voters rejected would have inscribed a firm separation between judges and prosecutors into the constitution. It also proposed distinct bodies to govern them and a new disciplinary court.
The government argued the change was critical to improving judicial independence.
The opposition countered that it would shatter a careful balance of powers established following the defeat of fascism, and increase political influence over the courts.
Many Italians struggled to understand the technical details – perhaps a communication failure by Team Meloni – and the vote quickly morphed into a plebiscite on her near-record three and half years in office.
[BBC]
US President Donald Trump announced that discussions are ongoing with Iran to “determine whether a broader agreement can be reached”, saying that “this time, Iran means business; they want to settle. They want peace”.
But Teheran denied that talks with the US are taking place, with Iran’s parliamentary speaker saying such claims are “fake news” and being “used to manipulate financial and oil markets”.
Oil prices dropped by about 11 percent after Trump announced a delay to attacks on Iran’s power plants for five days amid his claims of talks.
Despite Trump’s comments, US Central Command says US forces “continue to aggressively strike” targets in Iran, as Iranian missiles and drones continued to target Gulf countries – including Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait – overnight.
Israeli warplanes bombed Beirut’s southern neighborhood as the Lebanese Health Ministry said the death toll from Israel’s attacks on the country had reached 1,039 people, with 2,786 people injured, since March 23.
[Aljazeera]
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