News Headlines - 30 September 2018

▽At least 832 dead in Indonesia quake-tsunami disaster: Official - Channel NewsAsia

The death toll from Indonesia's quake and tsunami disaster has soared to 832 and could climb higher, the disaster agency said on Sunday (Sep 30).
So far, it said, almost all the deaths had been recorded in Palu, two days after waves 1.5 metres (five feet) high slammed into the city of 350,000 on Sulawesi island... Earlier reports said 400 people were killed as hospitals struggled to cope with hundreds of injured and rescuers scrambled to reach the stricken region.

▽Typhoon pummels Japan, flights canceled, trains shut down - The Washington Post

A powerful typhoon ripped through Japan on Sunday, forcing cancellations of flights and trains, including in the Tokyo area as authorities warned of strong winds and torrential rain.
Farms and homes in Miyazaki on the southern main island of Kyushu were flooded as Typhoon Trami swept across southwestern Japan. Evacuation orders were issued for tens of thousands of people over a widespread area, including more than 250,000 people in the city of Tokushima on the island of Shikoku, the national broadcaster NHK reported.

▽Latam nations, Canada ask ICC to probe Venezuela government | Reuters

A group of Latin American countries and Canada said on Wednesday they had asked the International Criminal Court to investigate Venezuela’s government over allegations of crimes against humanity in using force to repress political opponents... The presidents of Peru, Argentina, Chile, Colombia and Paraguay and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday signed a letter and sent it to the court based in The Hague on Wednesday, Peruvian foreign minister Nestor Popolizio said.

▽Gay penguin couple in zoo video 'kidnapped' chick to become parents

A zookeeper in Denmark said two male penguins recently "kidnapped" a penguin chick from its parents.
Odense Zookeeper Sandie Hedgegard Munck said the zoo's male penguins, who she said are gay, took the chick while its parents where away, Denmark's broadcaster DR reports. The chick's mother was allegedly bathing at the time.
Munck told the station the male couple could have thought the chick's parents were neglectful and believed they could be better parents. So, the same-sex couple nestled the chick and cared for it as if it were their own.

▽Joe Masteroff, story writer for the musical 'Cabaret,' dies at 98

Joe Masteroff, the Tony Award-winning story writer of the brilliant, edgy musical "Cabaret" and the touching, romantic "She Loves Me," has died. He was 98.
Masteroff died Friday at the Actors Fund Home in Englewood, New Jersey, said The Roundabout Theatre Company, which produced recent revivals of his best-loved shows.