Page 8 - ARUBA TODAY

A8 WORLD NEWS
Thursday 18 april 2019

Bus carrying Germans crashes, kills 29 on Portugal’s Madeira

By BARRY HATTON said. She said at a news
Associated Press conference that two of the
LISBON, Portugal (AP) — A injured were Portuguese
tour bus carrying German and the rest were foreign,
tourists crashed on Portu- but she declined to give
gal’s Madeira Island on further details.
Wednesday, killing 29 peo- The mayor said the bus was
ple and injuring 28 others, carrying a group of Ger-
local authorities said. man tourists.
The bus, which was car- The German foreign min-
rying 55 people, rolled istry, in a tweet, expressed
down a steep hillside after “great shock” at the ac-
veering off the road on a cident. “We must unfortu-
bend east of the capital, nately assume that victims
Funchal, and struck at least are from Germany,” it said.
one house, local mayor Fil- Portuguese Prime Minis-
ipe Sousa told cable news ter Antonio Costa said in
channel SIC. a tweet that he had sent
Local television showed condolences to German
bodies scattered over a Chancellor Angela Merkel.
rural hillside next to the At- “I learned of this tragic
lantic Ocean. Madeira, off accident in Madeira with
northwestern Africa, is a deep sorrow,” he said.
popular vacation destina- Rescue officials attend the scene after a tour bus crashed in Canico on Portugal’s Madeira Island, Portugal’s air force said
tion for Europeans due to its Wednesday, April 17, 2019. it had three aircraft on
mild climate and lush, hilly Associated Press standby in case any injured
landscape. preliminary reports he had the dead. a hospital. He did not say needed to be taken to hos-
The dead included 18 received indicated all the Pedro Calado, vice presi- whether anyone who was pitals on the Portuguese
women and 11 men, one dead were German. But dent of Madeira’s region- not on the bus, including mainland, almost 1,000 ki-
of whom died later at a Tomasia Alves, head of the al government, said at a people on the roadside at lometers (600 miles) away.
hospital, Sousa told public Funchal hospital, said not news conference that the the time of the accident, But Funchal hospital’s clini-
broadcaster RTP. all the victims had been injured, including the Por- were among the victims. cal director, Dr. Pedro Frei-
Portuguese Foreign Minister identified and refused to tuguese driver and a local No children were among tas, said transfers were not
Augusto Santos Silva said confirm the nationality of tour guide, were taken to the dead and injured, Alves necessary.q

Israel’s president formally nominates Netanyahu as PM

Associated Press The move was widely ex- time, and in a certain way,
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s pected after Netanyahu’s even more than the first
president on Wednesday Likud party and its right- time.”
formally nominated Benja- wing allies captured a ma- In a post-election ritual,
min Netanyahu for a fourth jority of seats in parliamen- Rivlin hosted consultations
consecutive term as prime tary elections last week. with party leaders this week
minister, officially launching In a joint appearance af- to hear their recommenda-
a process that is expected ter the two leaders signed tions for who should serve
to result in a new govern- and presented the official as the next prime minister.
ment dominated by reli- nomination, Rivlin called Netanyahu’s right-wing
gious and nationalist par- on Netanyahu to “heal the bloc — made up of Kula-
ties in the coming weeks. wounds and rifts” laid bare nu, the Union of Right Wing
In one of the president’s in Israeli society by the bruis- Parties, Yisrael Beitenu and
few non-ceremonial roles, ing election campaign. the ultra-Orthodox Shas
President Reuven Rivlin Netanyahu said he was and United Torah Judaism
tasked Netanyahu with as- “moved” to accept his fifth — now commands a 65-
sembling a governing co- nomination as prime minis- 55 majority in the 120-seat Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu chairs the weekly
cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, Sunday, April 14, 2019.
alition within 42 days. ter “as though it’s the first parliament. q Associated Press