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This is VOA news. I'm Marissa Melton.
A huge vehicle bomb exploded in the Somalian capital, Mogadishu, today. According to AP, at least 80 people were killed in the blast at a busy intersection. AP correspondent ??? reports. It was one of the deadliest attacks in Mogadishu in recent memory. The toll is likely to rise as scores of people are rushed to hospitals. University students were among those killed. Police said the dead also included two Turkish nationals. Officials said the blast targeted a tax collection center during the morning rush hour as Somalia returned to work after its weekend. Images from the scene showed the mangled frames of vehicles and bodies lying on the ground. There is no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast. The al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabab often carries out such attacks. I'm ???. A Taliban force today raided an army base in southern Afghanistan, killing at least 10 soldiers. The Afghan military says the pre-dawn bomb and gunfire attack happened in mainly Taliban-controlled Helmand province. An insurgent spokesman claimed Taliban fighters overran the army post and killed 26 Afghans. The insurgents this week have carried out repeated attacks against government forces in different provinces. An assault Monday killed an American special forces member in Kunduz province. More than a week after the U.S. House of Representatives impeached Donald Trump on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, the Senate remains deadlocked over how to proceed with the trial. Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says he wants it to start soon as lawmakers are back in session in January. Democrats are demanding an agreement in advance to subpoena witnesses and documents. Meanwhile, Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has yet to send the articles of impeachment to the Senate. You're listening to VOA news. As usual, a major New Year's Eve focus on the United States will be on Times Square in New York City. Police there say there are no credible terror threats, but that they are taking no chances. AP's Julie Walker has more. Thousands of police officers, 175 blocker vehicles, heavy weapons teams, bomb-sniffing dogs, radiation detectors, drones, helicopters and even boats. NYPD chief of Intelligence and Counterterrorism John Miller: "Times Square is probably gonna be the most safest place on the planet Earth on New Year's Eve because nobody else puts that kind of effort into an event like this." Police Commissioner Dermot Shea: "We commonly have no specific, credible threats directed toward any of our events. Still I'm gonna ask that members of the public as always remain vigilant." Julie Walker, New York. Kazakhstan is observing a national day of mourning a day after 12 people died when a passenger jet crashed shortly after takeoff from Almaty Airport. The plane carrying nearly 100 passengers was operated by budget carrier Bek Air and was torn apart when it slammed into a building. In the capital Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan's largest flag was at half-staff while officials made urgent appeals for blood donations to help injured survivors. An investigation of the tragedy is underway and for now all Bek Air flights have been suspended. An American astronaut has set a new mark for the longest spaceflight by a female. AP correspondent Shelley Adler. NASA officials say Christina Koch's broken the 288-day record set by former space station commander Peggy Whitson. The 40-year-old Koch, who is an electrical engineer from Montana, has been in space since March 15. She is expected to spend a total of 328 days on board the space station. Before breaking the endurance record for a woman in space, Koch set another milestone as part of the first all-female spacewalking team in October. I'm Shelley Adler. In Hong Kong today, police fought with protesters who marched through a shopping mall demanding that mainland Chinese traders leave the city in another weekend of anti-government tension in the Chinese semi-autonomous territory. The demonstration near Hong Kong's boundary with the mainland was part of efforts to pressure the city's government by disrupting economic activity. Police in civilian clothes with clubs tackled and handcuffed some protesters. Government broadcaster RTHK reported 14 people were detained. And Russia's Defense Ministry says it has deployed its first intercontinental hypersonic nuclear-capable missiles. President Vladimir Putin has boasted the weapon which can travel 27 times a speed of sound puts Moscow in a weapons class of its own. The United States says it "will not characterize the Russian claims." Marissa Melton, VOA news. |