This picture taken on October 4, 2012 shows rescuers searching for victims after a landslide, triggered by sustained rains, buried a school and three farmhouses in Yiliang, southwest China's Yunnan province.
Landslide Buries Children — Rescuers dig out 18 bodies of elementary school children killed by a landslide in southwest China, according to CNN. Though Thursday was a national holiday, the students in Yunnan province were studying to make up for the days they had missed during a September earthquake, which killed at least 80 people. A rescuer said that by the time his team arrived, an avalanche of mud had hid the school from plain sight. By Friday afternoon, the body of a missing villager was found in the landslide, totaling the number of death to 19.
Abortion on Board — The Moroccan authorities barred a ship that provides abortion services from entering into its port, reports BBC. A Dutch group called “Women on Waves” has been traveling in a ship to countries — such as Spain, Portugal, Ireland and Poland — where abortion is illegal. The group anchors the ship in international waters near these countries to give women abortions or advice. Its visits have sparked protests from anti-abortion groups. Morocco is the first Muslim country the group tried to enter.
Gunfire Exchanged — An American tourist in Israel stole a gun from a security guard and started firing shots in a hotel in the city of Eilat, killing one man on Friday, according to The Associated Press. The police cornered the shooter in the hotel’s kitchen and killed him there. The man has been identified as an American Jewish man in his 20s. The hotel spokesman said the man had worked in the hotel kitchen in the past. Some Israeli news sources report that the shooter had a personal dispute with the man he killed.
Jordan’s King Dissolves Parliament – King Abdullah of Jordan has decided to dissolve the country’s chamber of deputies and will call for early elections before the end of the year. The announcement was made 24 hours before the Muslim Brotherhood, the country’s main opposition group, holds a rally in Amman, the capital city, reports Aljazeera. A demonstration to be held in favor of the king has been called off amid fears of clashes between the two protests. Numerous demonstrations have taken place in Jordan since January 2011 calling for political and economic reforms and an end to corruption.
South African Strikes – Shell in South Africa has announced that it cannot guarantee the delivery of fuel around Johannesburg. The statement signals the start of a two-week strike by more than 20,000 truck drivers, writes Reuters. “There is fuel available across the country, so the issue is not fuel supply, but the challenge is delivering it safely to our retail sites,” Shell said. The country’s mining sector, which makes up about 6% of the GDP, has been hit by numerous strikes and walk-outs in recent weeks. Reports have also surfaced overnight of the death of a miner in clashes with police in the platinum belt of the mining sector.
Turkey and Syria Clash – Turkey has fired across the Syrian border after a mortar shell killed five people in a Turkish border town on Wednesday, reports the Associated Press. The Turkish government has approved future reprisals in such circumstances, but Turkey has assured its neighbor that this is not a declaration of war and Syria has offered a rare apology. Hundreds of thousands of Syrians have sought refuge in neighboring countries since the conflict began in early 2011.