displace
d by the floods. And the government estimates that in the next six months, about half a million women in the affected areas will give birth. They pledge to get more than 40,000 hygiene kits, including many specially designed for women, out into the field. They are also planning psychological counseling for some of the most traumatized victims, especially women and children.
Chinese media say 43 people died when a passenger plane
burst into
flames while trying to land at an airport in the northeast of the country. The Chinese news agency yingyu.chazidian.com said 53 people were rescued and taken to hospital.
Islamist insurgents in the Somali capital Mogadishu say they carried out an attack on a hotel in which more than 30 people died, including 6 members of parliament. At least 70 people have died in two days of fighting between al-Shabab militants and government forces backed by African Union troops. This report from our correspondent Peter Greste.
Even by Somalia's standards, Tuesday's attack was shocking. A group of gunmen stormed the Muna Hotel inside what is supposed to be a safe zone
secure
d by the transitional government's own troops and an African Union force. The attackers made their way to the compound, dressed as government security guards before they began shooting. The government says at least 30 people were killed, including 6 parliamentarians. The rebels who said they were behind the attack claimed as many as 60 may have died. Either way, the incident dramatically