SOUTH AFRICA: Rescue teams in South Africa forged ahead with efforts today to find any survivors still trapped under rubble a week after an apartment building that was under construction collapsed. 

One of the construction workers was found alive over the weekend after six days without food and water.

Authorities said 24 construction workers who were on the site when the unfinished five-storey building collapsed have been confirmed dead, while another 28 are missing.

BRAZIL: River levels have continued to rise in the flood-hit Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul today.

Some 145 people are known to have already died in the floods and more than half a million have been displaced. 

Rescue workers are continuing to search for those missing.

INDONESIA: Rescuers recovered more bodies today after monsoon rains triggered flash floods on Indonesia’s Sumatra Island, bringing down torrents of cold lava and mud, killing 43 people and leaving another 15 missing.

The deluge, which tore through mountainside villages along four districts in West Sumatra province just before midnight on Saturday, swept away people and submerged hundreds of houses and buildings, while forcing more than 3,100 people to flee to temporary government shelters in Agam and Tanah Datar districts.

UNITED STATES: Nevada’s largest trade union concluded a 48-hour strike on Sunday meant to pressure Virgin Hotels Las Vegas to agree to a five-year contract on wages and benefits.

More than 700 workers with Culinary Union Local 226 walked off the job at the 1,500-room hotel-casino near the Las Vegas Strip on Friday morning. Contract talks are set to resume tomorrow.