Author: AFP

Rescuers comb muddy riverbanks for flood victims

WAJIMA (Japan): Rescuers combed the debris-strewn banks of a river in central Japan on Monday, searching for drowning victims after homes were swept away in flooding and landslides that claimed at least seven lives. The river on the Noto Peninsula — an area still reeling from a devastating earthquake in

Kenya school dorm fire kills 17 boys

ENDARASHA (Kenya): Seventeen boys were confirmed dead and 70 missing after a fire tore through a primary school dormitory in central Kenya, officials said Friday, leaving distraught relatives desperate for news of their loved ones. The blaze at the Hillside Endarasha Academy in Nyeri county broke out around midnight, engulfing

Tropical storm leaves 11 dead

MANILA: Floods and landslides killed 11 people after a fierce tropical storm dumped heavy rain on the Philippines for a second day, officials said Monday. Tropical Storm Yagi brushed past the Bicol region southeast of Manila overnight Sunday and was expected to make a landfall later Monday on the northeast

Indonesia scraps plan to change election rules

JAKARTA: Indonesian lawmakers scrapped a controversial plan to change election rules, a parliament official announced on Thursday, after thousands rallied in the capital over a move seen to help the outgoing president build a political dynasty. Parliament was preparing to reverse a constitutional court ruling upholding candidate age requirements, which

Flood deluge worsens with millions affected

FENI (Bangladesh): Flash floods wrought havoc in Bangladesh on Friday as the country recovers from weeks of political upheaval, with the death toll rising to 13 and millions more caught in the deluge. The South Asian nation of 170 million people, crisscrossed by hundreds of rivers, has seen frequent floods

First treaty targetting cybercrime approved

UNITED NATIONS (United States): UN member states on Thursday approved a treaty targeting cybercrime, the body’s first such text, despite fierce opposition from human rights activists who have warned of potential surveillance dangers. After three years of negotiations and a final two-week session in New York, members approved the United

Israel agrees to resume truce talks

PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES: Israel has agreed to resume Gaza ceasefire talks on August 15 at the demand of US, Qatari and Egyptian mediators, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said on Thursday, as regional tensions skyrocket over the war. Gaza’s Hamas-controlled civil defence agency said Israeli bombardment killed more than 18 people

30 dead, dozens missing after torrential rain

BEIJING (China): Torrential rains in China have killed at least 30 people and left dozens more missing, state media said on Thursday, as the country grinds through another summer of extreme weather. Confirmation of the deaths came the same day that weather authorities said July was China’s hottest month since

Heat claims 175,000 lives a year in Europe

COPENHAGEN (Denmark): Heat kills over 175,000 people a year in Europe, where temperatures are rising quicker than the rest of the globe, the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) European branch said on Thursday. Of the some 489,000 heatrelated deaths recorded each year by the WHO between 2000 and 2019, the European

Japan’s Sado mines added to World Heritage list

NEW DELHI: A network of mines on a Japanese island infamous for using conscripted wartime labour was added to UNESCO’s World Heritage register Saturday after South Korea dropped earlier objections to its listing. The Sado gold and silver mines, now a popular tourist attraction, are believed to have started operating