NEWS OF THE DAY
From Around the World
1 Somalia flooding: Floods in central Somalia have affected nearly 1 million people, with about 400,000 displaced, the United Nations said Monday, warning of possible disease outbreaks because of crowding in temporary shelters. At least 24 people have died in the flash floods that hit Beledweyne and Jowhar, two agricultural centers, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. The area is still recovering from floods last year that displaced more than 500,000 people. Residents in Beledweyne, a city of more than 400,000, waded through flooded streets to escape waters that are still rising from the Shabelle River.
2 Cyprus fire: Two aircraft dispatched by Cyprus’ internationally recognized government for the first time helped to fight a wildfire in the breakaway north of the ethnically divided island nation. A fixedwing aircraft and a helicopter helped to battle the blaze Sunday following a request by Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci. The wildfire has scorched hundreds of acres of forest near the tip of Morphou Bay in the north and has forced the evacuation of dozens of people while some needed medical care. Cyprus was split in 1974 when Turkey invaded following a coup by supporters of union with Greece.
3 Croatia politics: Lawmakers on Monday voted to dissolve parliament and pave the way for a general election amid an easing of the coronavirus outbreak. Croatia’s president must now formally schedule the election, likely in late June or early July. Croatia is a European Union member of some 4.2 million people. The country has been easing its lockdown measures against the new coronavirus and has experienced a drop in new cases. Croatia’s ruling conservatives are facing a challenge from a liberal opposition alliance after losing the presidential election in January. A few dozen people protested outside during the parliament session, angry over slow repair work in the capital, Zagreb, following an earthquake nearly two months ago.
4 Taiwan diplomacy: Taiwan will not press for participation at the World Health Assembly that began Monday, but will continue to donate medical supplies abroad and protest China’s “twofaced behavior” that excludes it from such forums, the island’s foreign minister said. Taiwan agreed with suggestions that the issue of its participation in this year’s WHA be discussed instead at meetings later this year once the coronavirus outbreak is better contained, Foreign Minister Joseph Wu said. Taiwan’s United Nations seat was handed to China in 1971 and Beijing insists the selfgoverning island republic it claims as its own territory has no right to diplomatic relations or membership in U.N. bodies. China has taken a hard line since the 2016 election of independenceleaning Taiwanese President Tsai Ingwen.
5 Birthday tribute: St. John Paul II was honored on the centennial of his birth Monday with Masses at the Vatican and in his native Poland. From the small town of Wadowice, Poland, where Karol Wojtyla was born on May 18, 1920, to the Vatican, Catholic faithful honored the man who was pope from 1978 until his death in 2005. To Poles, John Paul is best remembered for using the papacy to shake the foundations of an oppressive communist system that was toppled across Eastern Europe 11 years into his papacy. “Karol Wojtyla was one of the most important figures of the 20th century,” Polish President Andrzej Duda said in a letter to worshipers. But John Paul’s legacy has been stained by his failure to address sex abuse in the church, which was well known at the Vatican during his papacy.