Indonesian residents hunt for food and water after deadly floods. 193 dead in Sri Lanka

MEDAN, Indonesia (AP) — Some residents of the flood-hit Indonesian island of Sumatra have resorted to stealing food and water to survive, authorities said Sunday, while Sri Lankan officials said deaths from floods and mudslides in that island nation have risen to 193.

The floods, which hit Indonesia nearly a week ago, have killed 442 people — with the number expected to rise as more bodies are recovered — and displaced 290,700 people as nearly 3,000 houses damaged, including 827 that were flattened or swept out by floods.

The deluges triggered landslides, damaged roads, cut off parts of the island, and downed communication lines, prompting officials and limited communities using Starlink satellite internet for relief operations.

Another 402 people are missing in Indonesia's three provinces of North Sumatra, West Sumatra and Aceh, according to the National Disaster Management Agency.

The challenging weather conditions and the lack of heavy equipment also hampered rescue efforts. Aid has been slow to reach the hardest-hit city of Sibolga and Central Tapanuli district in North Sumatra.

Videos on social media showed people scrambling past crumbling barricades, flooded roads and broken glass to get their hands on food, medicine and gas. Some waded through waist-deep floodwaters to reach damaged convenience stores.

The spokesperson for the police, Ferry Walintukan, said they received reports of people breaking into shops on Saturday evening, and that regional police had been deployed to restore order.

“The looting happened before logistical aid arrived,” Walintukan said. “(Residents) didn’t know that aid would come and were worried they would starve.”

Eleven helicopters were deployed from Jakarta to the affected areas the day after the disaster for ongoing logistics distribution operations, especially to areas where land access was cut off, Cabinet Secretary Teddy Indra Wijaya, said on Sunday, “but unpredictable weather often hampers aid operations.”

The Cabinet Secretariat released footage of the military airdropping supplies to the affected areas. In the village of North Tapanuli, survivors waved frantically to the helicopters carrying aid. Meanwhile, four navy ships docked at a port to support aid distribution.

Satellite internet service Starlink on Saturday wrote on X that it would provide free service through the end of December for those affected by floods in Indonesia and Sri Lanka.

Authorities in Sri Lanka said the death toll there from floods and mudslides has risen to 193, with 228 others still missing.

Nearly 148,000 people have been displaced from their homes and are housed in temporary shelters.

Sri Lanka has been battered by severe weather since last week. Conditions worsened Thursday, with heavy downpours that flooded homes, fields and roads and triggered landslides mainly in the tea-growing central hill country.

A military vehicle carries flood victims through a submerged area to safety in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Sunday, Nov. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

A car stuck in the mud at a village affected by flash flooding, in Agam, West Sumatra, Indonesia, Sunday, Nov. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Ade Yuandha)

Rescuers carry the body of a flood victim, in Agam, West Sumatra, Indonesia, Sunday, Nov. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Ade Yuandha)

Landslide survivors clean the debris in Hanguranketha, Sri Lanka, Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Lakshmen Neelawathura)

People wade through a submerged area of Colombo, Sri Lanka, following flooding on Sunday, Nov. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

Flood victims wade through a submerged area of Colombo, Sri Lanka, on Sunday, Nov. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

People use flood water to remove mud from clothings at a village hit by a flash flood in Batang Toru, North Sumatra, Indonesia, Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025. (AP Photo)

LJUBLJANA, Slovenia (AP) — Slovenia’s parliament on Friday appointed right-wing populist politician Janez Jansa as the new prime minister, in a shift for the small European Union country that was previously run by a liberal government.

Lawmakers backed Jansa in a 51-36 vote in the 90-member assembly. The new prime minister will need to come back to Parliament within the next 15 days for another vote to confirm his future Cabinet.

Jansa's appointment concludes a postelection stalemate in Slovenia after a parliamentary ballot two months ago ended practically in a tie. Former liberal Prime Minister Robert Golob's Freedom Movement won by a thin margin but he was unable to muster a parliamentary majority.

Jansa and his populist Slovenian Democratic Party signed a coalition agreement this week with several right-wing groups. The new government also has the backing of a nonestablishment Truth party that first emerged as an anti-vaccination movement during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The new term in office will be the fourth for the veteran Slovenian politician. Jansa, 67, is an admirer of U.S. President Donald Trump and was a close ally of former populist Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who was defeated in a landslide election last month.

Jansa in a speech listed the economy, fight against corruption and red tape, and decentralization as key goals of the future government. He has promised to lower taxes for the rich and support private education and healthcare.

Critical of the previous government's alleged “inefficiency," Jansa said the new government will turn Slovenia into “a country of opportunity, prosperity and justice, where each responsible citizen will feel safe and accepted."

Like Orban, Jansa was staunchly anti-immigrant during the huge migration wave to Europe in 2015. Also like Orban, Jansa has faced accusations of clamping down on democratic institutions and press freedoms during a previous term in 2020-2022. This led to protests at the time, and scrutiny from the European Union.

Golob in his speech described Jansa as “the greatest threat to Slovenia’s sovereignty and democracy."

Alleging that Jansa had threatened to arrest him, Golob said Jansa's "idea of democracy is that anyone who dares speak a word against you deserves only the worst.”

Jansa, a supporter of Israel, also has been a stern critic of the Golob government's 2024 recognition of a Palestinian state.

The vote on March 22 was marred by allegations of foreign influence and corruption. The around 2 million people in the Alpine nation are deeply divided between liberals and conservatives.

Janez Jansa, center, addresses the Slovenian Parliament during a session in Ljubljana, Slovenia, Friday, May 22, 2026, before appointing him as prime minister, ending a political deadlock after tight elections in March. (AP Photo/Igor Kupljenik)

Janez Jansa arrives for a session of the Slovenian Parliament in Ljubljana, Slovenia, Friday, May 22, 2026, before appointing him as prime minister, ending a political deadlock after tight elections in March. (AP Photo/Igor Kupljenik)

Janez Jansa addresses the Slovenian Parliament during a session in Ljubljana, Slovenia, Friday, May 22, 2026, before appointing him as prime minister, ending a political deadlock after tight elections in March. (AP Photo/Igor Kupljenik)