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A6 WORLD NEWS
Saturday 14 November 2020
Strong typhoon leaves 42 dead, 20 missing in Philippines

Associated Press outages and loss of internet
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — access.
Thick mud and debris coat- Videos of Marikina showed
ed many villages around a thick coat of muddy wa-
the Philippine capital on Fri- ter covering roads and
day after a typhoon killed staining houses and cars.
at least 42 people and Residents carried applianc-
caused extensive flooding es and furniture from their
that sent people fleeing to homes and used pails and
their roofs, officials said. shovels to remove the mud
Troops, police, coast guard after the water receded.
and disaster-response In a televised meeting of
teams rescued tens of Cabinet and disaster-re-
thousands of people, in- sponse officials Friday, a
cluding many who flooded reporter asked where Presi-
radio and TV networks and dent Rodrigo Duterte was,
social media with desper- prompting an annoyed re-
ate pleas for help. sponse from his spokesman.
Floodwaters receded and "The president's where-
the weather cleared in abouts should not be
many areas after Typhoon asked. That's foolishness
Vamco blew out into the coming from the opposi-
South China Sea on Fri- A policeman carries his belongings across debris and muds at the typhoon-damaged Kasiglahan tion. The president is not
day, but the military said village in Rodriguez, Rizal province, Philippines on Friday, Nov. 13, 2020. missing, he is always with
it was still rescuing people Associated Press us," presidential spokesman
trapped in some flooded Harry Roque said, without
communities. risen to at least 42 with 20 said. In hard-hit Marikina city in offering any further details.
Amphibious assault vehi- missing. The government's After slamming into north- the capital region and the More than 400,000 people
cles usually used in coun- main disaster-response eastern Quezon province, towns of Rodriguez and were evacuated to higher
ter-insurgency operations agency, which waits for Vamco gained strength Cainta in nearby Rizal prov- ground before the typhoon
were deployed for the res- provincial reports and fol- with sustained winds of 155 ince, several villages were hit, mainly residents of vul-
cue work, military chief of lows a laborious process of kilometers (96 miles) per inundated by water that nerable coastal and low-
staff Gen. Gilbert Gapay verifying casualties, report- hour and gusts of up to reached the second and lying areas.
said in a meeting with di- ed a much lower death 255 kph (158 mph). It blew third floors of many houses, At least 3.8 million house-
saster-response officials. count, causing confusion. north of metropolitan Ma- prompting hundreds of resi- holds lost power in the cap-
"We'll continue to look for Among the dead were nila overnight Wednesday, dents to flee to their roofs ital and outlying provinces,
the missing, help in dam- at least 12 villagers who toppling trees and power and call TV and radio net- but crews later restored
age assessment," Gapay were dug out from mud poles, swelling rivers, flood- works or post desperate electricity in many areas.
said. and rockslides in the north- ing residential communities messages on social media. Government offices were
The national police report- ern provinces of Cagayan and setting off landslides The panic was exacerbat- closed and most classes
ed that the death toll had and Nueva Vizcaya, police and storm surges. ed by widespread power were suspended Friday.q

French forces kill al-Qaida-linked commander in Mali

tions list and was believed on whether allied forces according to Malian mili-
responsible for multiple at- including the U.S. contrib- tary officials. The Malian
tacks on Malian and inter- uted intelligence to the op- army accused him of or-
national forces in the coun- eration. chestrating attacks against
try, French military spokes- A statement from the Malian forces in Diabaly,
man Col. Frederic Barbry French defense minister Nampala and Dioura that
told reporters Friday. said Moussa was in charge killed dozens of troops.
Surveillance drones helped of training new jihadi re- France has thousands of
French forces in Mali iden- cruits. It was the latest of troops in a force called
tify Moussa's truck in the multiple French actions Barkhane in West Africa to
Menaka region of eastern in Mali recent weeks that help fight extremist groups.
Mali, which was then tar- killed suspected extremists. After the Islamic extrem-
geted by the helicopters Moussa was a Tuareg rebel ist rebels were forced from
and 15 French commandos fighter close to jihadi com- power in northern Mali in
sent to the scene, Barbry mander Iyad Ag Ghaly 2013, they regrouped in the
said. All five people in the when extremists and rebel desert and now launch fre-
In this May 19, 2017 file photo, a French soldier stands inside a
military helicopter during a visit by French President Emmanuel truck were killed after they forces took control of north- quent attacks on the Ma-
Macron to the troops of Operation Barkhane. ignored warning shots and ern Mali 2012. That prompt- lian army and its allies.
Associated Press fired on the French forces, ed a French-led military op- The French military an-
he said. eration in 2013 keep Mali nounced its latest opera-
PARIS (AP) — French tary said Friday. He described it as an act from falling apart. tion on the fifth anniversary
ground forces and military The operation Tuesday of "legitimate defense" Moussa became a promi- of Islamic extremist attacks
helicopters killed a jihadi targeted Bah ag Moussa, and said the bodies were nent jihadi leader in central that killed 130 people in Par-
commander linked with al- military chief for the RVIM Is- handled "in conformity with Mali in recent years, and a is, targeting the Bataclan
Qaida in Mali along with lamic extremist group, who international humanitarian liaison with extremist groups concert hall, cafes and the
four others, the French mili- had been on a U.N. sanc- law." He wouldn't comment in his native northern Mali, national stadium.q