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17 Missing in Indonesia Fishing Boat, Cargo Ship Collision

A rescue team evacuates locals on an inflatable boat during a flood after heavy rain in Bekasi, near Jakarta, Indonesia, Jan. 1 2020. (Antara Foto/Saptono/via Reuters)
A rescue team evacuates locals on an inflatable boat during a flood after heavy rain in Bekasi, near Jakarta, Indonesia, Jan. 1 2020. (Antara Foto/Saptono/via Reuters)
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17 Missing in Indonesia Fishing Boat, Cargo Ship Collision

A rescue team evacuates locals on an inflatable boat during a flood after heavy rain in Bekasi, near Jakarta, Indonesia, Jan. 1 2020. (Antara Foto/Saptono/via Reuters)
A rescue team evacuates locals on an inflatable boat during a flood after heavy rain in Bekasi, near Jakarta, Indonesia, Jan. 1 2020. (Antara Foto/Saptono/via Reuters)

A collision between a cargo ship and a fishing boat left 17 people missing off Indonesia’s main island of Java, officials said Sunday.

The fishing boat with 32 aboard capsized after hitting the Indonesian bulk carrier MV Habco Pioneer late Saturday off Indramayu district, said the head of the Search and Rescue Agency, Deden Ridwansyah.

Fifteen were rescued from the fishing boat and local fishermen and the navy were searching for the others, said Wisnu Wardana, a spokesperson for the sea transportation directorate general.

The cargo ship, which was loaded with crude oil from Borneo island, was moored after its propeller got caught in the fishing net, Ridwansyah said.

Also Sunday, rescue officials said that at least 23 people were killed and two are still missing after flash floods swept an island in Indonesia's easternmost province.

Hours before people woke to celebrate Easter, torrential rain unleashed flash floods in the Catholic-majority Flores Island.

Mud inundated homes, while bridges and roads in the eastern end of the island were destroyed, according to National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesperson Raditya Jati.

Rescuers are struggling to reach the remote and worst-hit area in East Flores regency.

"The only access there is by the sea from Adonara Island, but the rains -- as well as strong waves -- have prevented any crossing," Jati told AFP on Sunday.

Extreme weather is expected to continue in the coming week, he added.

Separately on Sunday, major floods also killed two people in Bima city in the neighboring province of West Nusa Tenggara, according to the disaster agency.

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Trudeau Says He Will Step Down after New Liberal Party Leader Named

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks during a news conference at Rideau Cottage in Ottawa, Canada on January 6, 2025. (AFP)
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks during a news conference at Rideau Cottage in Ottawa, Canada on January 6, 2025. (AFP)
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Trudeau Says He Will Step Down after New Liberal Party Leader Named

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks during a news conference at Rideau Cottage in Ottawa, Canada on January 6, 2025. (AFP)
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks during a news conference at Rideau Cottage in Ottawa, Canada on January 6, 2025. (AFP)

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on Monday that he will step down as leader of the ruling Liberals after nine years in office but will stay on in his post until the party chooses a replacement.

Trudeau, under heavy pressure from Liberal legislators to quit amid polls showing the party will be crushed at the next election, said at a news conference that parliament would be suspended until March 24.

That means an election is unlikely to be held before May and Trudeau will still be prime minister when US President-elect Donald Trump - who has threatened tariffs that would cripple Canada's economy - takes office on Jan. 20.

"This country deserves a real choice in the next election, and it has become clear to me that if I'm having to fight internal battles, I cannot be the best option in that election," Trudeau said.

Trudeau, 53, took office in November 2015 and won reelection twice, becoming one of Canada's longest-serving prime ministers.

But his popularity started dipping two years ago amid public anger over high prices and a housing shortage, and his fortunes never recovered.

Polls show the Liberals will badly lose to the official opposition Conservatives in an election that must be held by late October, regardless of who the leader is.

Parliament was due to resume on Jan. 27 and opposition parties had vowed to bring down the government as soon as they could, most likely at the end of March. But if parliament does not return until March 24, the earliest they could present a non-confidence motion would be some time in May.

Trudeau said he had asked Canada's Governor General, the representative of King Charles in the country, to prorogue parliament and she had granted that request.

Trudeau had until recently been able to fend off Liberal legislators worried about the poor showing in polls and the loss of safe seats in two special elections last year.

But calls for him to step aside have soared since last month, when he tried to demote Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, one of his closest cabinet allies, after she pushed back against his proposals for more spending.

Freeland quit instead and penned a letter accusing Trudeau of "political gimmicks" rather than focusing on what was best for the country.

"Removing me from the equation as the leader who will fight the next election for the Liberal Party should also decrease the level of polarization that we're seeing right now in the House and in Canadian politics," Trudeau said.

The Conservatives are led by Pierre Poilievre, a career politician who rose to prominence in early 2022 when he supported truck drivers who took over the center of Ottawa as part of a protest against COVID-19 vaccine mandates.