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Flash floods sparked by a tropical storm in the southern Philippines have killed at least 180 people and left scores missing, officials say.

Many of the victims were asleep when it struck Mindanao island, killing many in Iligan City and Cagayan de Oro.

Tens of thousands of people have fled to higher ground, the authorities say.

Benito Ramos, head of the national disaster rescue agency, said reports were still coming in and the casualty figures could rise.

Mr Ramos said the floodwaters had risen alarmingly fast overnight as people slept.

“Massive flooding had been reported over the region, especially in Iligan City and Cagayan de Oro City,” he said

Many people in Cagayan de Oro were trapped in their homes as floods rose rapidly

(Source: currenteye)

Flash floods sparked by a tropical storm in the southern Philippines have killed at least 180 people and left scores missing, officials say.

Many of the victims were asleep when it struck Mindanao island, killing many in Iligan City and Cagayan de Oro.

Tens of thousands of people have fled to higher ground, the authorities say.

Benito Ramos, head of the national disaster rescue agency, said reports were still coming in and the casualty figures could rise.

Mr Ramos said the floodwaters had risen alarmingly fast overnight as people slept.

“Massive flooding had been reported over the region, especially in Iligan City and Cagayan de Oro City,” he said

Many people in Cagayan de Oro were trapped in their homes as floods rose rapidly

Congress in the Philippines has voted to impeach the country’s Chief Justice Renato Corona for allegedly betraying public trust.

He will be put on trial before the Philippine Senate next year.

Mr Corona has been accused of showing bias towards the country’s former president, Gloria Arroyo, who originally appointed him and is now facing charges of electoral fraud.

The chief justice denies violating the constitution.

Mr Corona’s appointment by Mrs Arroyo was controversial from the start.

It happened weeks before she left office in June 2010 and was immediately questioned by her successor, current President Benigno Aquino.

Mr Aquino has since accused the chief judge of repaying his appointment by trying to block efforts to investigate corruption allegations against Mrs Arroyo.

Libya’s National Transitional Council is claiming to have captured the former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. The report comes after officially declaring Gaddafi’s hometown of Sirte, loyalists’ last stronghold, under the control of transitional forces. The rumor quickly spread throughout Libya. In Tripoli, car and ship horns blare and celebratory gunfire can be heard.

Various media organizations are now reporting Gaddafi’s capture, some even claiming his death. Many of them are also making note of the fact that NATO has not confirmed his capture or death.

BBC News:

The [Palestinian Authority] wants UN recognition of an independent, sovereign state within the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem, occupied by Israel since the 1967 Six Day War.

The vote would be largely symbolic but the Palestinians say it would strengthen their hand in negotiations with Israel and force a re-start of the peace talks, which stalled more than a year ago over the issue of Israeli settlement building in occupied territories.

But the bid is strongly opposed by Israel and by the US, which has veto power on the Security Council.

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