Some 5,000 Rhode Islanders will lose their jobless benefits after congress failed to renew the emergency unemployment compensation program before leaving for the holidays. Head of Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training Charles Fogarty says the agency is working to inform affected individuals of resources they may need. 

 

We had discussions with folks at the United Way, letting them know this is coming down NNN and even alert the individuals. We sent materials about the snap program, some folks may be eligible for other programs and also some people quite frankly is going to need touch base with their friend and relatives about getting else to get through.

 

Benefits will run out for about 9,000 more Rhode Island residents in the coming month. The state is tied with Nevada for the highest unemployment rate in the country at 9%. For NPR News, I am John Bender in Providence.

 

It has been weeks since a powerful ice storm swept across the Great Lakes in New England and thousands of residents are still without power. In Maine, 4,000 homes and businesses are in the dark and major snow storm is again bringing down on the region. Bangor Hydro Electric spokeswoman Susan Faloon says that will make restoring power even more difficult.

 

The crew is just reporting that it is a real mass. They are just experiencing extreme challenges. Those customers would not all be back on until Wednesday.

 

In Michigan, at latest count, some 16,000 utility customers are waiting for the power to come back on. That is down from 600,000 a few days ago.

 

The government in South Sudan says it will attack rebel fighters if their leaders do not agree to a ceasefire. More than 1,000 people have been killed in two weeks of clashes. The government proposed the ceasefire after retaking the city of Malakal. It is the country’s richest oil state. But as NPR’s Gregory Warner reports from Malakal the political crisis is now sparking a humanitarian one. 

 

In the compound for UN peacekeepers on the outskirts of Malakal, 10,000 to 20,000 South Sudanese who fled the fighting are sleeping wherever they find the space under bushes in fields without water to drink or latrines. The UN humanitarian coordinator for South Sudan said it was far worse than he could have imaged. Children are getting malaria and diarrhea. Medics warn of impending cholera epidemic. But people are afraid to return to their homes for fears the fighting will resume. Humanitarians hope the peaceful hold long enough to bringing supplies. Gregory Warner, NPR News, Malakal.

 

This is NPR.

 

Secretary of State John Kerry heads back to the Middle East next week for more talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders. He is due to arrive just days after Israel is scheduled to free more Palestinian prisoners. Kerry travels to Jerusalem and Ramallah Wednesday for talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

 

The head of Afghanistan’s Crime Investigation Department says crime has increased dramatically in Kabul in the past months. From Afghan capital, NPR’s Sean Carberry reports the rise is attributed to a growing population and to uncertainty about foreign aid in the future. 

 

Sayed Gul Aqa Hashimi says that over the last month there was a spike in murder, kidnapping, assault, car theft and a number of other categories of crime. He says that 238 people were arrested in connection with 110 cases. Anecdotally many Afghans in capital also say they have noticed increasing crime over the last year. In addition to the uncertainty over whether international troops will remain in the country after next year and whether foreign aid withdraw, Hashimi says the persistent high levels of unemployment poverty and illiteracy are also major drivers of crime in capital. Sean Carberry, NPR News, Kabul.

 

The international mission to get rid of Syria’s chemical weapon says it is unlikely to meet the December 31st deadline to transport the most critical materials out of country. The organization for the prohibition of chemical says security concerns caused by Syrian civil war are limiting movement. Still the UN-backed organization says preparations are advancing.