The U.S. military said on Saturday a U.S.-led coalition strike had hit an Islamic State-held area of Iraq’s Mosul where residents and officials say as many as 200 civilians may have been killed as result of an air raid. The American confirmation followed a decision by Iraqi government forces to pause their drive to recapture west Mosul on Saturday because of the high rate of civilian casualties, a security forces spokesman said, a move apparently motivated by the incident. With fighting intensifying to recapture Mosul, around half a million civilians remain in Islamic State-held areas in the west of the city, complicating use of airstrikes and heavy artillery to drive the hardline militants from their last major stronghold in Iraq. (Reuters https://yhoo.it/2n6yUGW)
Six aid workers ambushed and killed in South Sudan…Six aid workers were ambushed and killed in South Sudan, the deadliest attack on humanitarian workers since the East African nation’s civil war began in 2013. The attack took place Saturday on the road from Juba, the capital, to Pibor, where there have been recent reports of fighting, said Eugene Owusu, the top U.N. humanitarian official in South Sudan in a statement issued Sunday. He did not identify the nationalities of the aid workers or their organization.“At a time when humanitarian needs have reached unprecedented levels, it is entirely unacceptable that those who are trying to help are being attacked and killed,” said Owusu.” (Seattle Times http://bit.ly/2o6w5HH)
An out of control measles epidemic in Romania…” The ongoing measles outbreak in Romania has infected 3,446 people by March 10 this year, killing 17 children, according to data from the National Institute of Public Health, cited by local Agerpres.” (Romania Insider http://bit.ly/2o6FkYi )