BERLIN (Xinhua) – Germany’s education system is facing the “biggest shortage of teachers in 50 years” as a result of education policy failures, the country’s teachers’ association says. The problem is largely “self-made,” association president Heinz-Peter Meidinger told the Rheinische Post newspaper. The number of new teachers has been continually declining in recent decades. There are currently 12,000 vacant teaching positions in Germany, according to a survey among the state ministries of education and cultural affairs, conducted by Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (RND). According to the teachers’ association, the figure could be as high as 40,000. At many schools, lessons have been cancelled in advance due to the shortage of teachers, leading to significant under-reporting. Due to its aging population, Germany is also lacking skilled workers in other areas, according to a study published by the German Economic Institute (IW) on Friday. This shortage is set to increase in the near future, IW said. “We have to make attractive offers, above all to older people, so that they voluntarily work longer -- also part-time if they wish,” study author Alexander Burstedde said. “Otherwise, work will be left undone more and more often in the future.”

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WELLINGTON (AP) – Authorities said Saturday that three people had died and at least one was missing after record levels of rainfall pounded New Zealand’s largest city, causing widespread disruption. Prime Minister Chris Hipkins flew to Auckland on a military plane after a state of emergency was declared in the region. Friday was the wettest day ever recorded in Auckland, according to weather agencies, as the amount of rain that would typically fall over the entire summer hit in a single day. On Friday evening, more than 15 centimeters (6 inches) of rain fell in just three hours in some places. The rain closed highways and poured into homes. Hundreds of people were stranded at Auckland Airport overnight after the airport stopped all flights and parts of the terminal were flooded. Police said they found one man’s body in a flooded culvert and another in a flooded carpark. They said fire and emergency crews found a third body after a landslide brought down a house in the suburb of Remuera. One person remained missing after being swept away by floodwaters, police said.

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UNITED NATIONS (AP) – Mali’s foreign minister has defended the military government’s cooperation with Russia and rejected three options proposed by the UN chief to reconfigure the UN peacekeeping force in the West African country where Al-Qaeda and Daesh terrorist groups are driving insecurity. Abdoulaye Diop told the UN Security Council that security is the country’s top priority and Mali will not continue to justify its partnership with Russia, which is providing training and equipment to the military. Mali has struggled to contain an extremist insurgency since 2012. Terrorists were forced from power in Mali’s northern cities, but they regrouped in the desert and began launching attacks on the Malian army and its allies. Insecurity has worsened with attacks on civilians and UN peacekeepers in central Mali as well.

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LIMA (AFP) – Peru’s Congress rejected on Saturday a request by embattled President Dina Boluarte to bring forward elections to December 2023, as protests that have killed dozens rage on against her leadership. The South American country has been embroiled in a political crisis with near-daily protests since December 7 when former president Pedro Castillo was arrested after attempting to dissolve Congress. Demanding that Boluarte resign and call fresh elections, Castillo supporters have erected roadblocks on highways, causing shortages of food, fuel and other basic supplies. The government said it will soon deploy police and soldiers to clear the roadblocks. Lawmakers already agreed last month to bring forward elections from 2026 to April 2024. In the face of relentless protests, Boluarte on Friday urged Congress to call the vote for December, describing the political crisis as a “quagmire.” But in a plenary session held during Saturday’s early hours, Congress rejected the proposal, with 45 votes in favor, 65 against and two abstentions.

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NEW DELHI (AFP) – Two Indian Air Force fighter jets crashed Saturday, killing one pilot and injuring two others, in an apparent mid-air collision while on exercises south of the capital New Delhi. The crash is the latest in a string of military aircraft accidents at a time when the government is trying to modernize its armed forces and meet India’s complex security challenges. It involved a Sukhoi Su-30, carrying two pilots, and a French-built Mirage 2000, operated by a third, and was reported by witnesses to police at around 10:00 am (0430 GMT). Both aircraft took off from the Gwalior air base, around 50 kilometers (30 miles) east of where they came down. “The aircraft were on routine operational flying training mission,” the country’s air force said in a statement, adding that one of the three pilots was fatally injured. An investigation was underway to determine the cause of the crash, it added.

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Former U.S. president Donald Trump swings through New Hampshire and South Carolina in the first two stops of a presidential campaign that has largely idled since he launched his new White House bid in November. Trump will speak first at the New Hampshire Republican Party’s annual meeting in Salem before heading to Columbia, South Carolina’s capital, where he will unveil his leadership team in the state. Both states are seen as potential kingmakers, as they are among the first to hold their nominating contests. How a candidate performs there often makes or breaks their campaign. Political observers in both the Republican and Democratic parties will be keenly watching to see who shows up to support Trump at the events. Once the undisputed center of gravity in the Republican Party, an increasing number of elected officials have expressed concerns about his ability to beat Democratic President Joe Biden, if he decides to run again, as is widely expected.