Bolivians go to polls to elect president
LA PAZ, Bolivia -- Bolivians voted Sunday in a high-stakes presidential election meant to end a year of political turmoil -- a vote that could bring a return of socialism at a time when it is struggling with a raging pandemic and protests over last year's annulled ballot.
Bolivia, once one of the most politically volatile countries in Latin America, experienced a rare period of stability under former President Evo Morales, the country's first indigenous president who resigned and fled the country late last year after his claimed election win was annulled amid allegations of fraud.
Protests over the vote and later his ouster set off a period of unrest that caused at least 36 deaths. Morales called his ouster a coup and a nonelected conservative government has ruled ever since.
Initial voting appeared to be peaceful on Sunday, with long lines at some polling places but little of the hustle and bustle of past election days. Voters appeared to be wearing masks and following physical distancing restrictions.
But it may be days before Bolivians have a good idea who won. While some independent groups will operate selective quick-count surveys, the country's Supreme Electoral Court announced late Saturday that it had decided unanimously against reporting running preliminary vote totals as ballots are counted.
Council President Salvador Romero promised a safe and transparent official count, which could take five days.
16 on bus killed in Pakistan landslide
ISLAMABAD -- A landslide in northern Pakistan on Sunday buried a minibus under tons of mud and rock, killing all 16 people on board, police said.
Rescue workers dug for hours in hopes of finding survivors, but called off the search late Sunday after recovering 16 bodies, including the driver and four soldiers traveling to their posts, said local police officer Wakil Khan.
The bus was pushed into a deep ditch and buried along a mountainous road while traveling to the scenic town of Skardu in the Gilgit Baltistan region from the city of Rawalpindi in Punjab province, he said.
Local administrator Miraj Alam said the bodies were being transferred to the district hospital, and that the Jaglot-Skardu road in the Tangos area where the landslide took place was being cleared.
Road accidents are common in Pakistan, mainly due to insufficient enforcement of safety standards and poor infrastructure, particularly on battered mountain roads. In March, a passenger bus tumbled off a winding mountainous road and into a ravine in northern Pakistan, killing at least 19 people and injuring several others.
Landslides after heavy monsoon rain are also common in the country and cause widespread damage mountainous areas.
Skardu is around 150 miles north of the Pakistani capital of Islamabad.
Landslide in Vietnam buries 22 people
HANOI, Vietnam -- A landslide in central Vietnam on Sunday buried at least 22 army personnel, just a week after another landslide killed 13 people as heavy rains continued to pound the region, state media reported.
The latest landslide sent rock and earth crushing into an army camp at the foot of a mountain after a week of incessant rain in Quang Tri province, the official Vietnam News Agency reported.
Eight people were able to escape while the 22 others are believed to be trapped underneath the rubble.
Three bodies have been retrieved as about 100 rescuers dug through the mud in search of the missing.
On Thursday, rescuers recovered 13 bodies, 11 of them army officers, from a landslide in Thua Thien-Hue, Quang Tri's neighboring province.
The team was on its way to another landslide that was reported to have buried 16 workers at a hydroelectric plant construction site, which remains inaccessible.
Torrential rains have caused widespread floods in central Vietnam since last week and weather forecasters say more rain is on the way.
Scots approve 2nd Trump golf course
LONDON -- Authorities in Scotland have approved plans by President Donald Trump's family business to build a second golf course in Aberdeenshire, despite campaigning from environmental activists.
The Aberdeen council published documents Friday showing it gave full planning permission for the development, subject to some conditions such as measures to minimize the flooding risk at the site, located on Scotland's northeast coast.
The 18-hole golf course, to be named MacLeod after Trump's mother, Mary Anne MacLeod, would be built next to the original Trump International golf resort on his Menie Estate, north of Aberdeen, which opened in 2012.
Local district officials had already approved the plan for the second course in September. Friday's decision came from the larger Aberdeen council and is expected to be final.
Environmentalists have criticized the first Menie golf course for partially destroying the coastal sand dunes in the area, and say the second course could cause the dunes to further erode.
-- Compiled by Democrat-Gazette staff from wire reports