Italy scours new area in bridge disaster
GENOA, Italy -- Excavators began clearing large sections of the collapsed highway bridge in the Italian city of Genoa on Friday, searching for people still missing three days after the deadly accident that one survivor said ended with an "unreal silence."
The search entered a new phase as heavy equipment removed a large vertical section, clearing a new area to probe. Rescuers have been tunneling through tons of jagged steel, concrete and crushed vehicles that plunged as many as 150 feet when the bridge suddenly fell during a downpour Tuesday.
Officials say 38 people are confirmed killed and 15 injured. Prosecutors say 10 to 20 people might be unaccounted for and the death toll is expected to rise.
The first funerals were held Friday, ahead of a state funeral in Genoa today to be officiated by Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco.
The collapse occurred about midday Tuesday, the eve of Italy's biggest summer holiday, when traffic was particularly busy on the 51-year-old span that links two highways -- one leading to France, the other to Milan -- from this northwestern port city.
Ex-cricket star chosen to lead Pakistan
ISLAMABAD -- Cricket star-turned-politician Imran Khan was chosen Friday as Pakistan's next prime minister, elected on a promise to change a system rife with corruption and traditionally controlled by the country's powerful landowners.
In the vote by lawmakers at the National Assembly, Khan secured 176 votes, defeating the opposition's candidate, Shahbaz Sharif of the Pakistan Muslim League party, who got 96 votes.
Khan's populist Tehrik-e-Insaf party won the most seats in the July 25 elections but fell short of securing a majority in the 342-seat house. He is to be sworn in as prime minister today.
Khan's supporters celebrated across the country when Speaker Asad Qaiser announced Friday's result.
In his first speech to lawmakers as premier, Khan dismissed allegations of election fraud and vowed to enforce "ruthless accountability" to combat corruption.
A graduate of Oxford University, Khan formed his party in 1996 in the eastern city of Lahore, vowing to forge a corruption-free "new Pakistan."
He challenged the parties of three-time Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and former President Asif Ali Zardari over the past two decades, but was not able to make a strong showing until 2013 when his became the third-largest party in the lower house of parliament.
2 Palestinians die in clash with Israelis
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip -- Two Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire and another 60 injured at a protest along the Gaza border amid ongoing Egyptian efforts to broker a cease-fire, Gaza's Health Ministry said Friday.
The protesters threw rocks and firebombs from behind clouds of black smoke of burning tires at Israeli troops, who responded with tear gas and sometimes live fire.
Israel's military said some Palestinians also threw improvised explosives and firebombs at the fence and that several were spotted briefly crossing into Israeli territory. It said troops "fired live rounds selectively according to standard operating procedures."
Hamas officials have been meeting with Egyptian officials in Cairo for days, hammering out details of a possible truce with Israel.
Israel and Hamas have come close to serious conflict in recent weeks after four months of violence along Gaza's border. In several instances Gaza militants fired rockets and mortars at Israel, which responded with airstrikes on Gaza.
Hamas has led weekly border protests aimed in part at drawing attention to the Israeli-Egyptian blockade imposed after Hamas took control of Gaza.
220,000 flee deadly flooding in India
NEW DELHI -- Rescuers used helicopters and boats on Friday to evacuate thousands of people stranded on their rooftops after unprecedented flooding in the southern Indian state of Kerala that killed more than 320 people, officials said.
"Kerala state is facing its worst flood in 100 years," the office of top state elected official, Pinarayi Vijayan, tweeted.
With heavy rains stopping after a week, rescuers moved quickly to take those marooned by floods to 1,500 state-run camps. They used more than a dozen helicopters and about 400 boats across the state, relief officials said.
Vijayan told reporters that at least 324 people had died and more than 220,000 had taken refuge in the camps.
Heavy rains over the past eight days triggered flooding, landslides and home and bridge collapses, severely disrupting air and train services in Kerala state, a popular tourist destination with scenic landscapes, waterfalls and beautiful beaches.
The New Delhi Television news channel reported that the state was facing a new crisis with some hospitals facing shortages of oxygen and gas stations running short of fuel.
Monsoon rains kill hundreds of people every year in India. The season runs from June to September.
A Section on 08/18/2018