Several people including a police officer were wounded late Monday when a mortar attack targeted the city of Dhusamareb in central Somalia, local media reported.

Dhusamareb, the capital of Galmudug State, is hosting a major conference on the country's next elections. Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble, senior government officials and regional leaders arrived in the city earlier in the day.

"Fear in Galmudug capital, Dhusamareb as mortar shells rain down on the city tonight shortly after PM Roble arrived. The city is set to host high-level talks between the country's political elites to discuss a pre-poll stalemate," said Radio Garowe.

Residents who spoke to Anadolu Agency by phone said they heard at least 10 explosions from the attack.

No group has yet claimed responsibility, but it comes a day after an attack by the al-Shabaab terrorist group in the Somali capital Mogadishu which killed at least 10 people, including retired army general and former defence minister Mohamed Nuur Galal.

Earlier this week following pressure from the international community, President Abdullahi called on regional leaders to attend a three-day consultative summit in the city to attempt to resolve outstanding issues over the holding of timely and credible elections in the country.

The president’s mandate will expire on Feb. 8, and the country has already missed the deadline for parliamentary elections twice./aa

The US northeast is in the midst of a massive snow storm Monday with some areas expected to receive up to 2 feet (60 cm) of snow. 

The Nor'easter storm has ground travel to a halt, and prompted many previously scheduled COVID-19 vaccination appointments to be postponed. New York City and New Jersey declared states of emergency ahead of the storm's arrival.

The highest level of accumulation has been recorded in Bridgewater, New Jersey and Byram, Pennsylvania, where 19 inches (48 cm) of snow has piled up, according to the National Weather Service.

The service expects as much as 2 feet (60 cm) of snow in some major metropolitan areas before the slow-moving storm clears the region, heading inland where it will continue to dump heavy amounts of snow, and bring gusty winds through Wednesday.

"As the Nor'easter departs late Tuesday, we shift our focus to a pattern change coming to the Northern Plains/Upper Midwest by the weekend," the agency said on Twitter. "A lot of uncertainty remains, but most models are hinting at an arctic airmass diving south bringing well below normal temperatures. Brrrr!"/aa

Turkey rescued at least nine asylum seekers pushed back by the Greek Coast Guard into Turkish territorial waters in the Aegean Sea, a security source said Monday.

Acting on a tip-off, a Turkish Coast Guard team was dispatched off the coast of Ayvacik in the northwestern Canakkale province to rescue asylum seekers on life boats, said the source who asked not to be named due to the restrictions on talking to the media.

A total of nine asylum seekers were brought ashore, it added.

After routine checks, the asylum seekers were sent to the provincial migration authority.

Turkey has been a key transit point for asylum seekers aiming to cross into Europe to start new lives, especially those fleeing war and persecution.

Turkey has repeatedly condemned Greece’s illegal practice of pushing back asylum seekers, saying it violates humanitarian values and international law by endangering the lives of vulnerable migrants, including women and children./aa

For the third week in a row, the number of new COVID-19 cases reportedly fell globally, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday, advising continued vigilance against the lethal virus.

“There are still many countries with increasing numbers of cases, but at the global level, this is encouraging news,” WHO Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus said at a twice-weekly webinar from the health body’s headquarters in Geneva.

“It shows this virus can be controlled, even with the new variants in circulation. And it shows that if we keep going with the same proven public health measures, we can prevent infections and save lives,” said Tedros.

The Johns Hopkins University of Medicine in the US said Monday that the number of confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus worldwide was just over 103 million, with more than 2.23 million deaths and more than 10.4 million recoveries.

Tedros noted: “We have been here before. Over the past year, there have been moments in almost all countries when cases declined, and governments opened up too quickly, and individuals let down their guard, only for the virus to come roaring back.”

“As vaccines are rolled out, it’s vital that all of us continue to take the precautions to keep ourselves and each other safe. Be a role model.”

He said that it is vital that governments enable people to make the right choices, whether it is making quarantine easier to adhere to or making workplaces safer.

Tedros said that controlling the spread of the virus saves lives now and will save lives later by reducing the chances of more variants emerging.

“And it helps to ensure vaccines remain effective,” said the WHO chief./aa

Myanmar's ambassador to London was summoned to the British Foreign Office following a coup in the Southeast Asian country, a statement said on Monday.

Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Minister for Asia Nigel Adams "condemned” the military coup and "unlawful imprisonment of civilians," including Aung San Suu Kyi, the statement added.

Adams requested "assurances of the safety of all those detained and called for their immediate release," from Ambassador Kyaw Zwar Minn.

"The Minister for Asia made clear the democratic wishes of the people of Myanmar must be respected, and the National Assembly peacefully re-convened," the FCO statement said.


"He also said that the UK would work with like-minded partners and pursue all necessary diplomatic levers to ensure a peaceful return to democracy."

Earlier, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson also condemned the military coup.

"The vote of the people must be respected and civilian leaders released," he wrote on Twitter.


Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab tweeted that the UK would use its power to raise the issue.

"We will use our leadership of the G7 alongside our UNSC and@ COP26 presidencies to bring countries together to tackle the unprecedented challenges we face globally," he wrote.

"Tomorrow we are convening an urgent @UN Security Council meeting on the current situation in Myanmar."

Myanmar’s military seized power earlier in the day and declared a one-year state of emergency. Besides State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, President Win Myint, and other senior members of the ruling National League for Democracy party, which won a landslide victory in the November 2020 elections, have been detained.

The military's move came just hours before the scheduled start of the first session of the new parliament.

The US, UK, and the EU have also condemned the move, calling for a reversal of the military's actions./aa

The 2022 World Cup will be held in stadiums full of spectators, FIFA President Gianni Infantino said on Monday.

The coronavirus will be defeated or we will have learned to live with it, Infantino said in a virtual meeting in Geneva alongside WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

“I am very, very confident [it] will be incredible, will have the same magic, uniting the world. We will be back to where we have to be,” he added.

The 2022 World Cup is supposed to take place in Qatar between on Nov. 21-Dec. 18, 2022./aa

UN Security Council will meet on Tuesday to discuss the situation in Myanmar after the military seized power in the country, according to a schedule shared Monday by the international body.

On Sunday, Myanmar's military declared a state of emergency hours after detaining de facto leader and State Counsellor Suu Kyi, and other senior members of the ruling National League for Democracy (NLD).

The coup took place hours before the first session of the country's new parliament was set to convene following November's elections in which the NLD made sweeping gains. The military claimed the coup was staged due to "election fraud" in the polls that it said resulted in the dominance of the NLD in parliament.

UN Spokesman Stephane Dujarric on Monday called the coup "a serious blow to the democratic reforms."

"There are about 600,000 Rohingyans those that remain in Rakhine State, including 120,000 people who are effectively confined to camps," Dujarric told reporters in a virtual meeting. "They cannot move freely and have extremely limited access to basic health and education services."

"So our fear is that the events may make the situation worse for them," he added./aa

ISTANBUL 

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday attended the test drive of the first locally manufactured driverless electric bus -- Karsan Atak Electric -- on Monday.

Autonomous bus producers will promote Turkey and Turkish brands globally, he noted.

Mustafa Varank, the Turkish industry and technology minister, was also present at the event.

Atak Electric has a range of 300-kilometer (186.4 miles) without interruption thank to its BMW 220-kWh Li-Ion batteries, according to Karsan's website.

"Atak Electric can charge its battery in 5 hours by AC or in 3 hours by DC," it added.

The 8.3-meter-lenght (27.2 feet) bus has a capacity of more than 50 passengers.

The firm has already started the mass production of the bus.

Another Turkish automotive firm Otokar also tested an autonomous electric bus last month./aa

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Gunmen on two motorcycles burst into a weekend party and robbed those at the house, then returned a few minutes later and opened fire, killing six men and one woman, authorities in north-central Mexico reported Sunday.

Jalisco state prosecutors said the attack occurred late Saturday. Jalisco has long been home to the cartel of the same name, but the attack occurred close to the border with Zacatecas state, where several drug gangs have been fighting for territory.

A shooting attack on anther party in the neighboring state of Michoacan wounded several people. State police said three assailants opened fire at partygoers in the city of Uruapan. Local media reported there were children at the party and among the wounded.

While authorities in most states in Mexico have discouraged holding parties during the coronavirus pandemic, there has been little enforcement. Mexico's federal government has discouraged states from arresting or fining people for such behavior.