Egyptian journalist says his home raided, brother arrested
AP, Cairo
An Egyptian journalist known for his critical views of the government said on Thursday that police raided his parents’ house the previous night and arrested his brother.
Mohamed el-Garhy tweeted that the police came to the home of his parents, who live in a village northeast of Cairo, and asked his father for his whereabouts. When they were told that he was in the city, the police woke up his brother and took him instead.
Baghdad embassy attack prompts Pompeo to delay Ukraine visit
AP, Washington
The breach of the U.S. Embassy compound in Baghdad has prompted Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to postpone his trip to Ukraine and four other countries.
Pompeo was to arrive in Ukraine late Thursday in his first visit to the country at the center of President Donald Trump’s impeachment, then on to Belarus, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Cyprus.
Indonesia New Year flood death toll doubles to 18
AFP, Jakarta
The death toll from floods that hit Indonesia’s capital region jumped to 18, authorities said Thursday, as torrential rains on New Year’s Eve caused landslides and left vast swathes of the megalopolis submerged.
Tens of thousands of residents have been evacuated to temporary shelters, and the Southeast Asian nation’s disaster agency warned the number killed could increase.
Five fishermen believed dead in Alaska shipwreck: Coast Guard
Reuters, Anchorage
Five commercial fishermen were believed to have died after their crabbing vessel sank on New Year’s Eve in the Gulf of Alaska, the U.S. Coast Guard said after ending a search and rescue operation amid high winds and heavy seas.
There were two survivors: crewmen who took refuge in a lifeboat and were rescued by a Coast Guard helicopter. The two were taken to a hospital in Kodiak and were reported to be in stable condition, the Coast Guard said.
