News Headlines - 28 December 2019

▽Bolton Criticizes Trump Over Moves on North Korea - WSJ

President Trump’s former national security adviser, John Bolton, has criticized the administration’s efforts to broker the denuclearization of North Korea, saying they have been “more rhetorical” than real policy.
In remarks on Twitter on Monday and in media interviews in recent days, Mr. Bolton said the administration isn’t doing all it can to pressure North Korea.

▽US mass killings hit new high in 2019, most were shootings

A database compiled by The Associated Press, USA Today and Northeastern University shows that there were more mass killings in 2019 than any year dating back to at least the 1970s, punctuated by a chilling succession of deadly rampages during the summer.
In all, there were 41 mass killings, defined as when four or more people are killed excluding the perpetrator. Of those, 33 were mass shootings. More than 210 people were killed.

▽Somalia Bombing Kills Nearly 80, Raising Fears of Resurgent Militancy - The New York Times

An explosives-laden truck blew up at a busy intersection in the Somali capital on Saturday and killed at least 79 people, the latest sign of resurgent militant activity in a country plagued by an enduring strain of violent extremism.
A bus carrying university students to their campus was struck by the blast, which left the streets littered with bodies and the mangled frames of vehicles. The attack, which the government said also injured 149 people, was the worst in Somalia in more than two years.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but suspicion immediately fell on the Shabab, a terrorist group linked to Al Qaeda which controls large parts of the country and raises considerable funds through local taxation and extortion.

▽Russian Journalist Fired After Asking Putin a Question at Presser - The Moscow Times

A Russian state journalist who asked President Vladimir Putin a question during his end-of-year press conference last week has been told to resign, the Znak.com news website reported Monday, sparking speculation about the causes for her dismissal.
At the press conference on Thursday, Alisa Yarovskaya, a Yamal-Region television channel correspondent, had asked Putin to help speed up construction of a bridge in her republic that would increase shipments to Russia’s Arctic.

▽'World's oldest' rhino dies in Ngorongoro sanctuary in Tanzania | The Guardian

A black rhino believed to be the oldest in the world has died in Tanzania at the age of 57, according to authorities in Ngorongoro where the animal was living.
The female rhino, named Fausta, died of what is believed to be natural causes on 27 December in a sanctuary, after living most of her life in the wild, the Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority said in a statement on Saturday.