ISTANBUL, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) -- Heavy snowfall in northwestern Turkey have caused flight delays and cancellations in Istanbul on Monday.

In a warning issued on its website, Turkish Airlines, the national flag carrier, called on its passengers to regularly check their flight details before arriving at airports, citing "expected adverse weather conditions in Istanbul."

Manila, Jan 6 (AFP) The death toll from a storm that devastated the Philippines shortly after Christmas rose to 126, authorities said Sunday, adding landslides caused by torrential rain were the top cause.

The storm hit central and eastern Philippine islands on December 29 and caused massive flooding and landslides.

More than 100 people died in the mountainous Bicol region southeast of Manila, regional disaster officials said.

06 Jan 2019; DW: At least 30 people were killed and seven injured on Sunday when a gold mine collapsed in northeastern Afghanistan, officials said.

The victims were villagers who were mining for gold illegally, according to officials in Badakhshan province. The villagers had dug a 60-meter (200-foot) deep shaft in a river bed and were inside when a landslide caused it to cave in.

About 50 miners were inside when the incident occurred during heavy snowfall. Two rescue teams have been deployed to the scene.

Sydney, Jan 7 (PTI) Indian cricket got its new seminal moment after talismanic Virat Kohli led the country to a maiden series victory on Australian soil, ending a 71-year wait to script a golden chapter in the game's history.

The fourth and final Test match at the SCG petered to a barren draw due to inclement weather but not before providing India with a 2-1 series win and the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

It is a rare first Down Under for India since Lala Amarnath's side visited the country back in 1947-48 months after independence to face Sir Don Bradman's 'Invincibles'.

New Delhi, Jan 6 (PTI) Asserting that there was growing frustration among NDA members with the "one-man show" at the Centre, senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor has said it was a "telling sign" that some friends of the BJP were beginning to "desert the sinking ship".

Tharoor also said the BJP must realise that when even "your friends are unhappy with you, the rest of the country will be even more negative about your performance".

SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- Nearly half of the 11,466 federal employees in Alaska have been furloughed or working without pay because of a partial government shutdown in Washington, local news outlet said Sunday.

About 5,624 people who are in unappropriated status are waiting for President Trump to strike a deal with Congress on any solution that facilitates re-opening of the federal government, so that they can get paid in time, the Must Read Alaska reported.

Karimnagar, Jan 6 (PTI) A Naxal was arrested Sunday in Kodimial area of neighbouring Jagtial district in Telangana, police said.

An official said Vavilala Saikumar alias Bharath alias Mahesh (26), a resident of Ganeshnagar in Rajanna Sircilla town, was a member of the Communist Party of India (Marxist Leninist) Janashakti group.

The arrested man has three earlier cases of extortion against his name, he said, adding that a revolver and 19 live cartridges were recovered from him.

Lucknow, Jan 6 (PTI) Amid reports that the CBI is likely to quiz Akhilesh Yadav in the illegal mining case, the Samajwadi Party chief Sunday said he is ready to face the probe agency, but people are also ready to answer the BJP.

Talking to reporters in Lucknow, he said the BJP is leaving a "culture", which may be used against it in the future.

MOSCOW, January 6. /TASS /. NASA's cancellation of the visit by the head of Roscosmos Dmitry Rogozin to the United States could lead to the disruption of a joint Russian-American scientific mission to Venus, said Lev Zeleny, Deputy Chairman of the Council of the Russian Academy of Space and scientific director of the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences on Sunday.

Srinagar, Jan 6 (PTI) Militant outfit Hizbul Mujahideen commander Riyaz Naikoo Sunday condemned waving of ISIS flags inside Jamia Masjid here last month.

In an audio message, which went viral on social media on Sunday, Naikoo purportedly said linking the Kashmir militancy with the dreaded ISIS was a ploy to "defame our struggle".

07 Jan 2019; DW: Shots were heard in Gabon's capital Libreville on Monday morning, as was an unusual state radio broadcast: Soldiers came on air to say a recent speech had "reinforced doubts" in President Ali Bongo's ability to rule.

Soldiers came on Gabon's state radio early on Monday, saying that a "national restoration council" had been formed in the country, with President Ali Bongo (pictured above) convalescing in Morocco after a stroke.

New Delhi, Jan 6 (PTI) Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg will arrive here on Monday on a three-day visit during which she will hold talks with her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi on a host of issues with an aim to expand the multi-faceted bilateral partnership.

Solberg will deliver the inaugural address at the Raisina Dialogue and address India-Norway Business Summit during her visit.

She will also call on President Ram Nath Kovind and Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu, besides holding talks with Prime Minister Modi.