Barack Obama has scaled back plans for a big 60th birthday party this weekend, paring down a guest list of the rich and famous numbering in the hundreds due to the spread of the Delta variant of the coronavirus, a spokeswoman said Wednesday. 

-The outdoor event was planned months ago in accordance with all public guidelines and Covid safeguards in place- Hannah Hankins said in a statement issued a day after the planned bash drew criticism, mainly from conservatives.
-Due to the new spread of the Delta variant over the past week, the president and Mrs Obama have decided to significantly scale back the event to include only family and close friends- Jenkins said.
The celebration is to take place Saturday on the upscale island of Martha's Vineyard, and it had been expected to draw hundreds of former Obama administration officials, Democratic donors and celebrities, reportedly including George Clooney, Steven Spielberg and Oprah Winfrey, according to The Washington Post.
It is to be held outdoors at an oceanside estate in full compliance with guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, with all guests needing to be vaccinated and test negative for the virus, news reports said.
Still, conservatives lashed out at Obama. 
Republican congressman Jim Jordan, a loyalist of Obama's successor Donald Trump, took to Twitter to joke that "if this was President Trump's birthday," Democrats would be saying "How can someone be so reckless?" or "They're killing people."
-Is there an exception for parties attended by rich liberal celebrities?- demanded Ronna McDaniel, the Republican National Committee chairwoman.
The Trump administration made headlines on numerous occasions for organizing maskless events in the White House or in government departments, or holding campaign rallies, including at the height of the pandemic and before vaccines were widely available. 
In particular, a ceremony in honor of Amy Coney Barrett, whom Trump appointed to the Supreme Court, was suspected of being a superspreader event that led to the infection of a dozen people, including Trump himself. 
Eighteen Trump campaign rallies were the source of more than 30,000 coronavirus cases and likely led to more than 700 deaths, according to a December 2020 study by researchers at Stanford University.
President Joe Biden -- who served as Obama's vice president -- was not expected to attend the Obama party.

The celebration is to take place Saturday on the upscale island of Martha's Vineyard, and it had been expected to draw hundreds of former Obama administration officials, Democratic donors and celebrities

Obama scales back 60th birthday bash over surging Delta variant

Russia on Tuesday declared a staff member of the Estonian diplomatic mission in Moscow a "persona non grata," asking him to leave the country.

Russia's Foreign Ministry said it summoned Estonian Ambassador Margus Laidre and gave him a note asking for the diplomat's departure within a week.
The ministry pointed out that this was a retaliatory move to the expulsion of a Russian diplomat from the Estonian capital Tallinn, where he was stationed, in response to the arrest and banishment of the Estonian consul in Saint Petersburg, Mart Latte, over spying allegations.
-We offer our Estonian partners to stop, not to further complicate the situation that they have already aggravated to the limit. Otherwise, a new decisive response from the Russian Foreign Ministry will follow. At the same time, the entire responsibility for the deterioration of bilateral relations will fall entirely on the Estonian side- the ministry said.
On July 6, the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) said it detained Latte "red-handed," trying to obtain classified information.
Latte was declared a persona non grata the following day and given 48 hours to leave Russia.​​​​​​​

Moscow, Tallinn locked in diplomatic row after tit-for-tat expulsions

Russia's Foreign Ministry said it summoned Estonian Ambassador Margus Laidre and gave him a note asking for the diplomat's departure within a week

Russia expels Estonian diplomat

The Turkish president on Tuesday thanked the countries and organizations who supported Turkey's fight against wildfires that have ravaged the country for almost a week.

-I thank on my nation’s behalf all the friendly countries and organizations that have extended their support, sent wishes and condolences, voiced their readiness to help, and provided aid in our fight against the forest fires- Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Twitter.
-We will Inshallah overcome these difficult times as soon as possible- he added.
The image he shared with the post includes flags of 73 countries and 10 international organizations.
Separately, Erdogan thanked Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Spanish Prime Minister Spain Pedro Sanchez, for providing full support from the very first moment.
-I would like to express my gratitude to our neighbor Iran's President Ebrahim Raeisi, Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim (bin Hamad Al-Thani), Croatian President Zoran Milanovic, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenski for their strong solidarity- he added.
The Turkish government has said that a vast majority of forest fires have been contained. At least eight people have been killed, with firefighters, locals, and volunteers working tirelessly to bring the blazes under control.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan says Turkey will overcome these difficult times 'as soon as possible' Seda Sevencan   |

Turkish president thanks countries for supporting fight against forest fires

At least 16 people were knifed to death weeks after being taken hostage in the Democratic Republic of Congo's east, in bloodletting blamed on armed Islamists, military and local sources said Tuesday.

According to local civilian sources, the victims, who included two women, had been held by members of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), which the US says is linked to the Islamic State group.
The hostages were killed along a main highway near Idohu, in the restive Ituri province, according to local official Dieudonne Malangai.
Ituri's military governor Johnny Luboya Nkashama speaking in Komanda, some 40 kilometres (25 miles) from the slaughter, condemned the killings.
-We will reinforce our presence in the region- he told a meeting with local residents.
-Helicopters are already on the scene and other military personnel are on their way with trucks and munitions to assure security in the region and to organise safe convoys along this road- the governor added.
He promised to return in a month to reevaluate the situation in the area, where thousands have fled their homes to avoid the violence.
-The objective is to clean up the area completely and allow the population to return to the villages- Nkashama told a sceptical crowd at a public meeting.
-It was hoped that the state of siege would restore security but people continue to die every day- he added.
The vast central African country's government placed Ituri and the neighbouring North Kivu province under a state of siege in May, in a move aimed at stepping up the fight against armed groups.
The ADF is the deadliest of scores of militias operating in the region. 
It began as an armed Ugandan Muslim group, and has been active in mineral-rich eastern Democratic Republic of Congo for 30 years. 
The DRC's Catholic Church says the ADF has killed around 6,000 civilians since 2013, while a respected US-based monitor, the Kivu Security Tracker (KST), blames it for more than 1,200 deaths in the Beni area alone since 2017.

According to local civilian sources, the victims, who included two women, had been held by members of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), which the US says is linked to the Islamic State group

Soldiers with the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC) on patrol during the Ituri conflict in 2015.

16 hostages killed in DR Congo's restive east

Wildfires in east Russia have spread over a territory of over 1 million hectares, the Russian Federal Agency for Forestry said on Tuesday.

As of Tuesday, the firefighters are trying to extinguish 222 wildfires, the agency said, adding that about 5,000 people, 732 units of equipment, and 14 aircraft are engaged in firefighting.
The authorities announced an “emergency situation” in nine affected regions and a “special fire protection regime” in 62 regions, it added.
The agency asked people to report any case of wildfire and warned of action for setting fires.
Heavy smog from some of the worst wildfires to ever hit northern Siberia has blocked the sunlight and turned day into night, footage aired by local televisions showed.
The Yakutia region, Russia’s largest and coldest region, has for the past five months seen wildfires sweep through forests.
Authorities declared a state of emergency for the region, where over 1 million hectares of forestland have gone up in flames as efforts are still underway to put out the fires.

Fires in eastern Russia spread over territory of over 1M hectares, says Federal Agency for Forestry

The authorities announced an “emergency situation” in nine affected regions and a “special fire protection regime” in 62 regions

Russia fighting 222 massive wildfires

At least 16 people have been killed and a quarter of a million people displaced from their homes after heavy monsoon rains lashed eastern India, officials said Tuesday, as the air force joined rescue efforts.

The latest deaths in West Bengal came a few days after 11 people were also killed in the state as the torrent of water swept away homes and triggered landslides.
Flooding and landslides are common during India's treacherous monsoon season from June to September and causes widespread devastation. 
The annual downpours have been worsened by climate change, experts say.
Two river banks were breached and flooding affected at least half a million people in six districts in West Bengal over the past two days, the state's disaster management minister Javed Ahmed Khan told AFP.
Five of the 16 people killed were swept away in the flood and the rest died when their mud houses collapsed, officials said.
Dozens of people were plucked from the rooftop of a submerged building with military helicopters, including a 100-year-old woman and a nine-month-old baby, Khan added.
Panicked residents had to flee for higher ground after water from a nearby dam was released, causing sudden flooding.
-We fear scores of people are still marooned. Indian Air Force helicopters and disaster management personnel are struggling to rescue them- he added.
Villager Samir Nandi, 65, said he had "never witnessed such a flood".
-Many people in (my) village took refuge on the roof of the buildings and they are waiting to be rescued.-Authorities have set up more than 40 relief centres for the displaced in the flood-affected districts, senior state official Harekrishna Dribedi, said.
This year's monsoon, which had earlier inundated the western coast, has claimed the lives of at least 250 people so far.
Last month, at least 200 people died in the western state of Maharashtra after landslides sent torrents of mud onto villages.
The northern Himalayan states, including Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, have also reported several deaths.

The latest deaths in West Bengal came a few days after 11 people were also killed in the state as the torrent of water swept away homes and triggered landslides

Flooding in West Bengal has displaced a quarter of a million people and killed over two dozen people

Sixteen more killed, dozens rescued in India's monsoon deluge

A puppy that was rescued from a fire in Manavgat district in Turkey’s southern province of Antalya has become the mascot of disaster teams working to save lives from massive blazes that erupted last week in parts of the country’s south.

Ekrem Tekin, a youth center worker who went to support the teams in the district where firefighting efforts were being carried out from the air and land, told Anadolu Agency that the pup, who has been named "Yanik" (burned), was discovered by rescuers while they were saving an elderly woman in the Gebeci neighborhood.
Tekin said they brought the puppy to the Manavgat Youth Center, which serves as a disaster coordination center.
-We were in an area of Gebeci where the fire was extinguished. A volunteer doctor went there to pick up an elderly woman. We saw the dog there, and we couldn't bear to let it go. We brought it to the center- Tekin said.
-He was exhausted and tired yesterday. We gave him food and water, and he recovered. Our young people here are also interested.&nbsp;He looks healthier. He became the mascot here. We called him 'Yanik' because we found him close to the flames- he added.Berkay Kose, a 17-year-old 11th grader who participated in volunteer work at the center, said he supports charity activities at the youth center, of which he is a member, and said they found their morale with a puppy brought from the fire zone.
-When he came yesterday, he was very timid and scared. He got used to us. He jumps on us and tries to bite our hands. He's so cute. It's been a source of morale in this environment. We also have cats. They get along well together- Kose recalled.
In Manavgat, authorities are fighting to control the fire, which erupted in four locations on July 28, through aerial and ground operations. Local people have joined forces with the brigades to put out the fires.
Turkish Agriculture and Forestry Minister Bekir Pakdemirli said on Twitter that 119 of 126 fires across 32 cities that erupted since Wednesday are under control.
Efforts to contain the remaining fires are underway in Manavgat and Gundogmus districts of Antalya, along with Marmaris, Koycegiz and Milas districts of Mugla, he added.

'Yanik' has been source of morale in this environment, says volunteer

The pup, who has been named "Yanik" (burned), was discovered by rescuers while they were saving an elderly woman in the Gebeci neighborhood

Puppy rescued from forest fire becomes disaster teams' mascot

India on Sunday assumed the presidency of the UN Security Council (UNSC) for the month of August, taking over from France.

-India has just assumed the presidency of the UN Security Council on Aug. 1. India and France enjoy historical and close relations. I thank France for all the support they’ve given us during our stint in the Security Council- T S Tirumurti, India’s ambassador to the UN, said in a video message.
-The Security Council will have on its agenda several important meetings, including on Syria, Iraq, Somalia, Yemen, and the Middle East. The council will also be adopting important resolutions on Somalia, Mali, and the UN Interim Force in Lebanon- he added.
According to officials, India will organize three high-level meetings focusing on priority areas such as maritime security, peacekeeping, and counterterrorism initiatives.
Syed Akbaruddin, New Delhi’s previous UN envoy, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi may also address the UNSC this month.
-A first in the making… With India as President of @UN Security Council in August, an Indian Prime Minister may perhaps preside, albeit virtually, a Council meeting for 1st time on 9 August 2021- he said on Twitter.
India began its 8th term as a non-permanent member of the UNSC on Jan. 1 this year, which will run for two years.
The country’s last term as non-permanent UNSC member was in 2011-12, which was preceded by stints in 1991-92, 1984-85, 1977-78, 1972-73, 1967-68, and 1950-51.

After years of absence, India began 8th term as non-permanent UNSC member this January

According to officials, India will organize three high-level meetings focusing on priority areas such as maritime security, peacekeeping, and counterterrorism initiatives

India takes over UN Security Council presidency for August

The UK and Israel have blamed Iran for carrying out a deadly drone attack last week in the Indian Ocean on an oil tanker owned by an Israeli magnate's company.

-The UK condemns the unlawful and callous attack committed on a merchant vessel off the coast of Oman, which killed a British and a Romanian national. Our thoughts are with the friends and family of those killed in the incident- UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said in a statement.
-We believe this attack was deliberate, targeted, and a clear violation of international law by Iran- he said, urging Tehran to end such attacks.
-The UK is working with our international partners on a concerted response to this unacceptable attack- he added.
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett blamed Iran for the attack at a Cabinet meeting in Jerusalem. He claimed to have evidence that Tehran was behind the deadly tanker assault, warning that his country could “send a message” in retaliation.
-The intelligence evidence for this exists, and we expect the international community will make it clear to the Iranian regime that they have made a serious mistake- Bennett said.
Two crew members of the oil tanker Mercer Street, which is owned by Israeli billionaire Eyal Ofer’s Zodiac Group, were killed in the attack in the Indian Ocean while the vessel was en route from Tanzania to the United Arab Emirates, the company said Friday.
The attack blasted a hole through the top of the tanker’s bridge, where the captain and crew were located.
The US aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan and the guided missile destroyer USS Mitscher escorted the Mercer Street to a nearby port.
In recent months, many attacks on commercial vessels have been reported and linked to ongoing heightened tensions between Israel and Iran.

2 crew members of oil tanker owned by Israeli magnate’s company killed in drone attack in Indian Ocean

The attack blasted a hole through the top of the tanker’s bridge, where the captain and crew were located

UK, Israel blame Iran for deadly ship attack

Turkey’s agriculture and forestry minister announced on Monday that 125 of 132 forest fires in the country are under control.&nbsp;Efforts to put out the remaining blazes are underway, Bekir Pakdemirli told reporters at a fire coordination center in Milas district of southwestern Mugla province.
A total of 16 aircraft, nine drones, 51 helicopters, one unmanned helicopter, 850 water sprinklers, and 150 construction machines have been used to tackle the fires, the minister said, adding over 5,000 personnel are on duty.
At least eight people have lost their lives in the wildfires, which started on July 28 and were fanned by strong winds.
Turkey's Communications Director Fehrettin Altun has asked people not to fall for misinformation regarding the fires on social media. "Please let's rely on the official authorities' statements," he said, adding that Turkey is strong and will make up for all its losses.

125 of 132 fires across country under control, says agriculture and forestry minister

A total of 16 aircraft, nine drones, 51 helicopters, one unmanned helicopter, 850 water sprinklers, and 150 construction machines have been used to tackle the fires

Turkey’s fight against forest fires continues at full pace

Firefighters were battling two large wildfires in Greece on Monday, as the prime minister said the country was suffering its worst heatwave in more than three decades.

Fires have also raged across Turkey, Spain and Italy over the weekend with experts warning climate change was increasing both the frequency and intensity of such blazes.
More than 3,000 hectares (7,400 acres) of pine and olive groves have been torched by a fire that broke out on Saturday near the city of Patras, 200 kilometres (125 miles) west of Athens, according to the National Observatory of Athens citing EU satellite images.
And the authorities were rushing to bolster crews fighting a blaze on the island of Rhodes near Turkey.
-We are facing the worst heatwave since 1987- Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said, adding that the authorities were doing "everything possible" to deal with the situation.
After meeting electricity providers, he warned that the brutal heat was putting a strain on the power network and asked for Greeks to limit their consumption in the early afternoon and during the night.
Deputy Civil Protection Minister Nikos Hardalias said that there had been 1,584 fires across Greece in July compared to 953 in 2019, and that there had been 116 new blazes in just the last 24 hours.
-We are no longer talking about climate change but about a climate threat- he told Star TV.
The fire near Patras was not fully under control on Monday, the country's weather service told the ANA news agency.
And temperatures of up to 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit) have been forecast for nearby areas, posing new risks for land already parched by the heatwave.
Officials have evacuated five villages and a seaside town and eight people have been hospitalised with burns and respiratory problems.

However, officials were optimistic that a fire on the island of Rhodes, near the Turkish coast, was on the back foot after more firefighters and resources were deployed overnight.

-Dawn finds Rhodes much better than the day before- South Aegean Governor George Hatzimarkos said in a statement.
He added that the fronts of the fire were receding and "almost under control".
More than 100 firefighters, helped by 20 vehicles, three planes and six helicopters, were sent to Rhodes on Monday morning, officials said.
Dozens more firefighters and 14 vehicles were due to arrive from Athens later in the day.
Firefighters evacuated a central area on the island known as "the Valley of the Butterflies" popular with hikers and tourists on Sunday.
Temperatures of between 40 and 42 degrees Celsius have been forecast for the island in the coming days, with the heatwave expected to peak on Monday and Tuesday.
Nearby Turkey is suffering its worst fires in at least a decade, claiming the lives of eight people and forcing hundreds to evacuate in southern areas popular with tourists.

More than 3,000 hectares (7,400 acres) of pine and olive groves have been torched by a fire that broke out on Saturday near the city of Patras, 200 kilometres (125 miles) west of Athens

A car destroyed by flames east of Patras in the Peloponnese as Greece battles fires during a punishing heatwave

Greece fights fires during 'worst heatwave since 1987'

Hong Kong civil servants, teachers and healthcare workers must get vaccinated against the coronavirus or pay for regular testing, the city's leader announced Monday, as her administration adopted a push into mandatory inoculations.

The finance hub is one of the few places in the world to have secured ample supplies of the coronavirus vaccine, but public take up has been lacklustre. 
After six months, only 36 percent of the city's 7.5 million residents are fully vaccinated with two jabs while 48 percent have received one dose.
But infections have remained low as Hong Kong has been all but closed to non-residents for most of the last 18 months and all arrivals must undergo lengthy quarantine in designated hotels.
On Monday, chief executive Carrie Lam announced a new push to raise the city's vaccination rate by making jabs compulsory for four sectors: civil servants, healthcare workers, care home staff and school teachers.
Vaccination rates vary between those sectors -- from 70 percent among civil servants to just 47 percent among teachers. 
-There is much room for improvement- Lam said.
Those who refuse vaccinations will have to be tested twice a week and pay for the cost out of their own pocketsunless they have a valid medical reason not to be inoculated. 
-If people are refusing to get vaccinated for reasons that are not health related, I don't think a responsible government should tolerate that- Lam said. 
The city's virus measures have kept infections down with around 12,000 cases and 200 deaths. No local infections have been recorded for more than 50 days.
But the zero Covid strategy has imposed tough economic costs on the city, once a major international transport hub, and added to a sense of complacency among the public.
Swirling distrust of the government as authorities carry out a sweeping crackdown on dissent has also compounded poor vaccine take up. 
Steered by Beijing, Hong Kong's government has swung authoritarian in response to huge and often violent democracy protests two years ago.
Public gatherings and protests have been banned throughout the pandemic while scores of critics have been jailed. 
Wearing masks in public is compulsory. But until now, Lam's administration stayed away from doing the same for vaccines.
Relations with some of the sectors affected by Monday's announcement are also tense.
The mandatory vaccines for teachers come two days after the government said it was severing all ties with the city's largest teaching union because its members supported the democracy movement.
Healthcare workers also played a key role in 2019's democracy protests.

After six months, only 36 percent of the city's 7.5 million residents are fully vaccinated with two jabs while 48 percent have received one dose

The finance hub is one of the few places in the world to have secured ample supplies of the coronavirus vaccine

Hong Kong announces compulsory vaccines for key sectors

A blaze at a massive Tesla battery site in Australia that started three days ago was brought under control on Monday, firefighters said.

Emergency services were first called to the Victoria Big Battery project -- built by French renewable energy firm Neoen using Tesla batteries -- on Friday morning.
A 13-tonne lithium battery inside a shipping container had caught fire at the site near Geelong, about an hour's drive from Australia's second city Melbourne, the Country Fire Service (CFA) said.
-There was one battery pack on fire to start with, but it did spread to a second pack that was very close to it- incident controller Ian Beswicke said in a statement.
Images released by the CFA showed a cloud of smoke rising from one of the units at the site.
The fire service said the incident had been declared "under control" just after 3 pm (0500 GMT) on Monday.
-Firefighters have successfully completed the operation of opening all doors to the container of the battery, with no sign of fire- the CFA said in an update.
Fire authorities said the cause of the blaze was unknown.
-A smaller number of firefighters and fire trucks from CFA will remain on scene for the next 24 hours as a precaution in case of reignition, the update added.&nbsp;The will continue taking thermal temperature readings two-hourly to monitor damaged units.-The battery site -- one of the largest in the world -- is designed to store energy produced by renewables and send power to the grid.
Local residents were initially warned about the possibility of toxic smoke but the Environmental Protection Agency said monitoring had shown "good air quality" near homes.
Neoen Australia managing director Louis de Sambucy said no one was injured in the incident, and with the site disconnected from the grid, there had been no impact on electricity supply.
-Investigation preparations are underway and physical inspections will commence once the CFA have completed their procedures- he said.

Emergency services were first called to the Victoria Big Battery project on Friday morning

Specialists are on site at the Telsa big battery fire near Geelong, Victoria which continues to burn several days after it started

Australia Tesla battery blaze under control after three days

At least 79 Palestinians were wounded as Israeli soldiers cracked down on protests in the occupied West Bank on Friday.

Israeli forces fired live and rubber bullets, as well as tear gas, at Palestinians gathered in the town of Beita for protests against Israel’s illegal settlement activity, witnesses said.
They said the unarmed Palestinians responded by throwing stones at Israeli soldiers.
Five people were shot with live bullets and 24 others were wounded by rubber bullets, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent.
Some 40 more people suffered various injuries, including burns and wounds from falling, the agency said in a statement.
At least 10 more Palestinians were hurt when Israeli soldiers fired rubber bullets at protesters in the town of Bayt Dajan in Nablus, it added.
Every Friday, Palestinians organize marches and demonstrations in the occupied West Bank against Israel’s illegal settlements and the separation wall.
Israeli and Palestinian estimates indicate there are about 650,000 settlers living in 164 settlements and 116 outposts in the West Bank, including in occupied Jerusalem.

Israeli soldiers fire live, rubber bullets, tear gas at Palestinians protesting against illegal settlements

Palestinians respond to Israeli forces' intervention in a protest over the death of 12 year old Palestinian Mohammad al-Alaami, who was shot by Israeli soldiers near the West Bank town of Beit Ummar, in Hebron, West Bank on July 29, 2021.

Scores of Palestinians hurt as Israeli forces attack West Bank protests

Azerbaijan’s president on Friday extended his condolences to his Turkish counterpart for the losses of life in forest fires in Turkey this week.

Addressing Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Ilham Aliyev voiced his deep sorrow over the ongoing blazes in various provinces of Turkey as well as their consequences.
In a statement, he said he hoped that the Turkish nation would soon overcome the fires with the help of decisive steps by the government.
-The Azerbaijani government and nation stand in solidarity with the fellow Turkish nation, as always- Aliyev said.
Extending his condolences to the families of those who died in the fires, he also wished a quick recovery to the injured.
Aliyev also gave instructions to dispatch teams to support Turkey in extinguishing the fires and getting them under control, his adviser Hikmat Hajiyev said in a written statement.

Dozens of fires that broke out in at least 21 provinces of Turkey, including several Mediterranean provinces, have been plaguing the country since Wednesday.

Three people lost their lives and 138 others were affected by wildfires in the Mediterranean coastal city of Antalya, including one who was seriously injured, said the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD).
Erdogan said the state is mobilizing all means to bring the blazes under control.

Ilham Aliyev voices deep sorrow for dire consequences of fires, dispatches aid to stand with Turkey

Azerbaijani president sends condolences for losses in Turkish fires

Monsoon floods and landslides have cut off more than 300,000 people in villages across southeast Bangladesh and killed at least 20 people including six Rohingya refugees, officials said Friday.

The region along the Bangladesh-Myanmar border where nearly one million Rohingya refugees from Myanmar are in camps has been battered by torrential rain since Monday.-The floods have stranded some 306,000 people in Cox's Bazar district. At least 70 villages have been submerged by floods- Mamunur Rashid, the district administrator, told AFP. 
-At least 20 people have died in floods and landslides including six Rohingya refugees- he added.
About 36,000 people have been moved into schools and cyclone shelters, officials said.
-Many homes are waterlogged. Thousands of people have not been able to get out for the last three days. The roads are all blocked- Tipu Sultan, a councillor in remote Jhilwanja Union, told AFP by telephone.
Earlier this week Bangladesh evacuated 10,000 Rohingya from around refugee camps in Cox's Bazar because of the storms.
Aid workers said a coronavirus lockdown in the camps, following a major spike in cases, has affected rescue work as access is restricted.
About 740,000 Rohingya fled Myanmar's Rakhine state in 2017 after security forces launched a clampdown that the UN has said may amount to genocide.

Obama scales back 60th birthday bash over surging Delta variant

Russia expels Estonian diplomat

Turkish president thanks countries for supporting fight against forest fires

16 hostages killed in DR Congo's restive east

Russia fighting 222 massive wildfires

Sixteen more killed, dozens rescued in India's monsoon deluge

Puppy rescued from forest fire becomes disaster teams' mascot

India takes over UN Security Council presidency for August

UK, Israel blame Iran for deadly ship attack

Turkey’s fight against forest fires continues at full pace

Greece fights fires during 'worst heatwave since 1987'

Hong Kong announces compulsory vaccines for key sectors

Australia Tesla battery blaze under control after three days

Scores of Palestinians hurt as Israeli forces attack West Bank protests

Azerbaijani president sends condolences for losses in Turkish fires

20 dead, 300,000 stranded in flood-hit Bangladesh region

World

Obama scales back 60th birthday bash over surging Delta variant

Russia expels Estonian diplomat

Turkish president thanks countries for supporting fight against forest fires

16 hostages killed in DR Congo's restive east

Russia fighting 222 massive wildfires

Sixteen more killed, dozens rescued in India's monsoon deluge

Puppy rescued from forest fire becomes disaster teams' mascot

India takes over UN Security Council presidency for August

UK, Israel blame Iran for deadly ship attack

Turkey’s fight against forest fires continues at full pace

Greece fights fires during 'worst heatwave since 1987'

Hong Kong announces compulsory vaccines for key sectors

Australia Tesla battery blaze under control after three days

Scores of Palestinians hurt as Israeli forces attack West Bank protests

Azerbaijani president sends condolences for losses in Turkish fires

20 dead, 300,000 stranded in flood-hit Bangladesh region