33 killed in Congo ethnic unrest

AFP, Bunta

Thirty-three people were killed in a new outbreak of ethnic violence overnight in the Democratic Republic of Congo's troubled Ituri province, the interior minister said yesterday. The latests killings were part of a cycle of unrest between the Hema and Lendu communities in the northeastern province, the minister Henri Mova told AFP in an email.

Europe cold wave kills 60 people

AFP, Paris

Europe's deep freeze, which has cost some 60 lives over the past week, showed little sign of ending yesterday. After heavy snowfall and deadly blizzards lashed Europe across Thursday, conditions marginally improved in some regions - but temperatures generally remained sub-zero, forcing more major delays on roads, railways and at airports.

Venezuela election pushed backto May AFP, Caracas

Venezuela on Thursday postponed its presidential election until May 20, as President Nicolas Maduro seeks a second six-year term despite the oil-rich country's widespread economic woes. Under new agreement with opposition, United Nations chief Antonio Guterres will be invited to send an observer mission to monitor "all phases of the process" of the election.

Dozens of parties registerforThai polls AFP, Bangkok

Nearly 40 new Thai political parties submitted names and logos on the opening day of party registration in Bangkok yesterday, an early step in the junta-ruled kingdom's halting return to democracy. Thailand has been under army rule since a 2014 putsch toppled an elected government and installed the country's most autocratic regime in a generation.