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Norwegian aid organization freezes programs in 21 countries

One of Europe's largest humanitarian organizations, the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), is freezing all its programs funded by American aid, writes NRK. The stoppage affects operations in 21 countries.

In a press release, the organization writes that it lacks 200 million Norwegian kroner in payments from the American aid agency USAID.

US President Donald Trump has decided to freeze USAID's work and has announced severe cuts to the agency.

Last year, the US accounted for just under 20 percent of NRC's funding.

Several dead after bridge collapse in South Korea

Three people have died and six people are seriously injured after a bridge at a highway construction site collapsed in South Korea on Tuesday, reports the South Korean news agency Yonhap.

Several slabs fell to the ground and landed on people working under the bridge. One person is still trapped under the rubble.

The accident occurred in the city of Anseong, about 65 kilometers south of the South Korean capital Seoul.

Over 50 dead from previously unknown disease in Congo

Over 50 people in northwestern Congo-Kinshasa have died from a previously unknown disease, writes AP. The course of the disease seems to be very rapid, often people have died just 48 hours after the first symptoms. In total, over 400 cases of the disease have been confirmed since January 21.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the outbreak started with the death of three children after eating bats.

The disease causes symptoms similar to hemorrhagic fever, but tests have shown that it is not a previously known virus such as Ebola or Marburg.

WHO has long warned of the risks of diseases that jump from animals to humans. In Africa, the number of such outbreaks has increased by 60 percent in the past decade.

Huge power outage in Chile – state of emergency declared

A massive power outage has hit large parts of Chile, from the northern to the southern parts of the 4,300-mile-long coastline, AFP reports.

A total of 14 out of 16 regions are affected, and 90 percent of the population of 20 million.

The capital Santiago, with almost seven million inhabitants in the metropolitan area, is among those affected. The subway stopped and hundreds of passengers were evacuated.

The authorities have declared a state of emergency and a curfew between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. local time in the affected areas. This is reported by Reuters.

Chile has one of the region's most stable power systems and has not had a similar outage in 15 years. The authorities suspect a system failure, not sabotage.

There is still no forecast for when power is expected to be restored.