Slovak PM Pellegrini cancels schedule due to illness
Reuters, Prague
Slovak Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini cancelled his agenda because of sudden illness, his office said on Sunday, just one week ahead of a parliamentary election in which his party might lose power.
Pellegrini was due to appear in a televised debate later on Sunday with leaders of all other parties taking part in the European Union member country’s Feb. 29 vote.
Togo counts votes as challenger claims ‘fraud’
AFP, Lome
Togo tallied ballots Sunday after a key challenger insisted he could cause a shock upset despite what he claimed was “fraud” in an election President Faure Gnassingbe was widely expected to win.
Troops briefly surrounded the homes of opposition candidate Agbeyome Kodjo and one of his main allies shortly after voting ended on Saturday in a move the authorities said was for their “own safety”.
Earthquake kills eight in Turkey
AP, Ankara
Eight people were killed in Turkey in a magnitude 5.7 earthquake that struck western Iran early Sunday morning, Turkish Interior Minister Suleiman Soylu said. The quake centered on the Iranian city of Khoy and affected villages in the Turkish province of Van.
Soylu told a news conference in Ankara that three children and four adults were killed in Turkey’s Baskule district. He later said another person had died. Some of the wounded remain trapped under the debris of fallen buildings, he added.
Israeli fire kills Palestinian at Gaza border
Reuters, Gaza
Israeli forces killed a Palestinian trying to plant explosives near Israel’s border security fence with the Gaza Strip on Sunday, the Israeli military said. The Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad said the man was one of its members, but it did not disclose what he was doing in the area. In a statement, the Israeli military said soldiers opened fire at two Palestinians placing an explosive device next to the fence in the Hamas Islamist-run enclave.
