Uganda landslides destroy three villages

Massive landslides induced by torrential rains destroyed three villages in the mountainous district of Bududa in eastern Uganda, killing scores of people but possibly hundreds, officials said today. Disaster Preparedness Minister Stephen Mallinga said it was still too early to say how many had been killed in today's landslides, but officials from Bududa said the final death toll would likely be in the hundreds. "We are sending a rescue team down there," Mallinga said. "It's very difficult to estimate how many have been killed, but two villages are affected, and maybe more." Witnesses said the landslides were unexpected, happening several hours after a torrential overnight downpour that at first seemed to have done little damage. David Wakikona, a lawmaker from the region, said most people were likely indoors when huge blocks of mud and rocks started to roll down hills, toppling homes, killing livestock and burying people alive. "We...

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Iraq faces painful legacy of mass graves

Iraq wants to put the legacy of murderous dictator Saddam Hussein behind it, but faces a huge need for specialists to excavate mass graves thought to contain at least half a million unidentified victims. The...

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Heavy Rains Kill at Least 16 in China

BEIJING (AP) — Chinese state media say torrential rains have killed at least 16 people and affected 1 1/2 million people in southern and northern parts of the country.  The official Xinhua News Agency said Monday that the heavy rains over the past three days had affected 450,000 people and wiped out crops in the southern Guangxi region. Another more than 730,000 people were affected in the southern province of Jiangxi, and 312,000 were affected in the adjacent manufacturing powerhouse province of Guangdong. Xinhua quoted a local government official as saying the direct economic losses so far were $20.3 million, and that water levels in 10 reservoirs and several major rivers had risen above warning levels. Xinhua said rainstorm-triggered floods have also hit areas of Inner Mongolia in the north of China. Monday 25 June 2012 http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2012/06/24/world/asia/ap-as-china-rain-storm.html?_...

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Identification of boat victims 'long and complex'

Police say the grim task of identifying victims of the Christmas Island boat tragedy will be long and complex. Twenty officers have been sent from Perth to assist with the coronial investigation. Seventeen bodies have been recovered and are being stored in a makeshift morgue on the island while about 70 people remain unaccounted for. WA Police are identifying the dead on behalf of the coroner and Deputy Commissioner Chris Dawson says it is likely to take at least two weeks. "Dealing with tragedy and a major loss of life is not easy for any individual to deal with," he said. "What I can say is that the agencies are working very closely together and West Australian police are just part of a national effort that's taking place."  A total of 110 asylum seekers were rescued and transferred to a high security detention facility on the island. The Australian Maritime Safety Authority says all of the survivors were rescued on the night...

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Mexico ravine bus crash kills 26

At least 26 people were killed in Mexico on Sunday after the bus they were traveling in turned over on a wet road in the southwestern state of Guerrero, a Red Cross official said. At least seven people...

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