U.S. finishes troop pullout in Somalia
NAIROBI, Kenya -- The U.S. military says its troop withdrawal from Somalia is complete, in one of the last actions of President Donald Trump's presidency.
Some experts have warned that the withdrawal of an estimated 700 U.S. military personnel comes at the worst possible time for Somalia, as the al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab extremist group improves its bomb-making skills and continues to attack military and civilian targets. The withdrawal comes less than a month before Somalia is set to hold a national election.
The U.S. personnel trained and supported Somali forces in counterterror operations. They are being moved to other African countries such as neighboring Kenya and Djibouti, home of the only permanent U.S. military base in Africa, but U.S. Africa Command spokesman Col. Chris Karns would not say how many are going where.
Asked whether the administration of President-elect Joe Biden will reverse the withdrawal, Karns replied in an email: "It would be inappropriate for us to speculate or engage in hypotheticals."
The withdrawal was announced late last year, with a Jan. 15 deadline. The U.S. military, which has carried out a growing number of airstrikes against al-Shabab and a small band of fighters linked to the Islamic State group during Trump's administration, says it will continue to pressure al-Shabab. The extremist group has an estimated 5,000 to 10,000 fighters.
Those Somali forces, even U.S. assessments have said, are not ready to take over responsibility for the country's security, especially as a 19,000-strong multinational African Union force is also set to withdraw by the end of this year.
2 Afghan judges die in Kabul car attack
KABUL, Afghanistan -- Gunmen fired on a car in northern Kabul on Sunday, killing two women judges who worked for Afghanistan's high court and wounding the driver, a court official said. It was the latest attack in the Afghan capital during peace talks between Taliban and Afghan government officials in Qatar.
Supreme Court of Afghanistan spokesman Ahmad Fahim Qawim, said the women were judges who worked for the high court but he did not identify them by name.
No one claimed responsibility for the attack and Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the insurgent group wasn't responsible.
The Afghan government has repeatedly blamed the Taliban for targeted killings in recent months and the insurgent group accuses the government of staging the killings to spoil the peace process.
The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for multiple attacks in the capital in recent months, including on educational institutions that killed 50 people, most of them students.
The Taliban and the Afghan government earlier this month resumed peace talks in Qatar. Negotiations were off to a slow start as the insurgent group continues attacks on Afghan government forces while keeping its promise not to attack U.S. and NATO troops.
Ship sinks in Black Sea; 3 people dead
A cargo ship sank off Turkey's Black Sea coast near the northern province of Bartin on Sunday, leaving at least three people dead, according to Turkish state media.
Emergency workers have rescued at least six of the 12 crew members from the ship, the Arvin, according to Sinan Guner, the governor of Bartin, who was quoted by the state-owned Anadolu Agency. Helicopters were dispatched to help with the efforts, Guner said.
Civilian ships had been asked to help with rescue efforts near the Inkumu district, Guner said, but the operation was complicated by bad weather. The Defense Ministry also said that it had dispatched a vessel to help evacuation efforts, local media reported.
Guner told the private news agency DHA that the ship, which was 46 years old, had broken in two and sunk around 12:20 p.m.
The ship had been bound for the port of Burgas in Bulgaria, Anadolu said, citing the Turkish Transport Ministry. It had left Poti, Georgia, days earlier.
The ship flew the flag of Palau and was Ukrainian-owned, local media reported, and its crew consisted of 10 Ukrainians and two Russians.
The ministry said the ship was anchored in the port of Bartin on Friday because of bad weather.
China recalls covid-tainted ice cream
BEIJING -- The coronavirus was found on ice cream produced in eastern China, prompting a recall of cartons from the same batch, according to the government.
The Daqiaodao Food Co. Ltd. in Tianjin, adjacent to Beijing, was sealed, and its employees were being tested for the coronavirus, a city government statement said. There was no indication anyone had contracted the virus from the ice cream.
Most of the 29,000 cartons in the batch had yet to be sold, the government said. It said 390 sold in Tianjin were being tracked down and authorities elsewhere were notified of sales to their areas.
The ingredients included New Zealand milk powder and whey powder from Ukraine, the government said.
-- Compiled by Democrat-Gazette staff from wire reports