BEIRA, Mozambique (AP) — Cholera cases among cyclone survivors in Mozambique have jumped to 271, authorities said, a figure that nearly doubled from the previous day.

The Portuguese news agency Lusa cited national health director Ussein Isse, who declared the outbreak of the acute diarrheal disease on Wednesday with just five cases.

ISTANBUL (AP) — Voters in Turkey began casting ballots in Sunday’s municipal elections, which are seen as a barometer of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s popularity amid a sharp economic downturn in the nation that straddles Europe and Asia.

Baghpat/Kairana (UP), Mar 31 (PTI) Tractors loaded with cane waiting to be crushed line the roads across swathes of western Uttar Pradesh, telling the bitter story of sugarcane farmers caught in a pincer trap of unpaid dues and low prices.

With posters, buntings and rallies, the clamour of poll-time campaigning is all around in the area famed as the country's sugar bowl but the very word election strikes a sour note for many farmers.

TASHKENT, March 31 (Xinhua) -- Uzbekistan is drafting a government decree that will order brick, cement and lime factories, as well as enterprises with boiler equipment to use alternative fuels instead of natural gas.

New measures are required due to high energy intensity of the domestic economy and need for diversifying energy use, said the decree, which was published on the government website for public discussion.

These enterprises would be recommended to use alternative types of fuel, including coal, coal briquettes and pallets, biogas and others.

KAMPALA, March 30 (Xinhua) -- Hundreds of people on Saturday took part in a run in Uganda's capital Kampala aimed at popularizing China's proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

China in 2013 proposed the BRI which refers to the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, and aims to build a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe and Africa through the ancient trade routes of the Silk Road.

BACOLOD, Philippines (AP) — Philippine police said Sunday 14 suspected communist rebels were killed after they opened fire during raids in a central province but rights groups countered the men were farmers and the latest victims of extrajudicial killings.

Banihal/Jammu, Mar 30 :  A CRPF vehicle suffered slight damages when a private car exploded after one of its gas cylinders caught fire on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway on Saturday, police said.

There were no casualties in the incident that occurred near the Jawahar Tunnel in Jammu and Kashmir's Ramban district around 10.30 am.

The incident triggered memories of the February 14 vehicle-borne suicide attack on a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) convoy in Pulwama that claimed the lives of 40 personnel.

ATLANTA (AP) — Watchful eyes now turn to Georgia’s Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, wondering when he might sign a “heartbeat” abortion ban that he supported and helped push through.

The Georgia House gave final approval Friday to legislation outlawing abortions after a fetal heartbeat can be detected, sending the bill to Kemp. If enacted, it’d be among the strictest abortion bans in the U.S.

Signing the toughest abortion law in the country was a campaign pledge of Kemp’s during his run for governor last year.

CAIRO, March 30 (Xinhua) -- An Egyptian court sentenced on Saturday 30 defendants up to 25 years in prisons over terrorist charges and affiliation with the Islamic State (IS) militant group, official MENA news agency reported.

Cairo Criminal Court sentenced 18 defendants to 25 years, eight to 15 years and four others to 10 years for being convicted of joining the IS, possessing explosives and attempting to blow up a church in the seaside province of Alexandria.

UNITED NATIONS, March 29 (Xinhua) -- United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday called for strengthening efforts to address the root causes of instability and insecurity in Mali.

The root causes should be addressed "through humanitarian aid and support for sustainable development, including programs on climate change mitigation and adaptation," Guterres said at Friday's Security Council meeting on Mali held in New York.

"Security in Mali has an impact on the entire Sahel (region), which, in turn, affects global stability," he said.

KANPUR: The Self-finance college association has waged war against the fee hike at Chhatrapati Sahu Ji Maharaj University. The office-bearers registered their strong protest condemning the move vehemently on Saturday. 

Putting their points before the university registrar Vinod Kumar they said it was good if the university administration should have listened to them. 

Thane,Mar 31 (PTI) A court in Thane district of Maharashtra has awarded three years' rigorous imprisonment to a 47-year-old man for molesting a Dalit woman.

Special Judge G P Shirsat in his order issued last Friday also imposed a fine of Rs 2,000 on the convict Prakash Andhere.

According to the prosecution, the woman, a widow (age not specified), was sleeping along with her children at their house in Ganeshpuri village on October 20, 2008 when the accused came there and molested her.