30 killed, 17 missing in record Brazil rainstorms
AFP, Belo Horizonte
At least 30 people have been killed in two days of intense storms in southeastern Brazil, the Minas Gerais state Civil Defense office said Saturday.
Seventeen people are also missing, seven injured, and some 3,500 have been forced out of their homes following a series of landslides and building collapses, Civil Defense officials said.
Pompeo to visit UK ahead of Brexit, then to Ukraine
AFP, Washington
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo heads to Britain next week ahead of its exit from the European Union and will then travel to Ukraine, the country at the heart of President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial.
Pompeo arrives in London on Wednesday, meeting with Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab to “discuss ways to broaden and deepen trade ties” after Brexit at the end of the month, the State Department said.
French defence chief heads to US to press Sahel case
AFP, Paris
France’s defence minister departs for Washington on Sunday hoping to convince officials to keep US soldiers in West Africa, where French authorities are under pressure after years of trying to bolster local forces against Islamic extremists.
Florence Parly’s visit comes just days after her tour of the Sahel region, a vast arid expanse where states have little more than nominal control, allowing jihadist fighters to flourish.
Israeli aircraft strike Gaza sites after balloon launches
AP, Gaza City
Israeli aircraft struck several sites for Gaza militants late Saturday in response to incendiary balloons launched from the Palestinian enclave.
The Israeli military said the sites belonged to Hamas, the Islamic group ruling the territory, and included weapons manufacturing and intelligence-gathering facilities. There were no reports of injuries from the airstrikes in southern Gaza Strip.
