NEW DELHI, India (AFP) — India recorded more than 45,000 cases of the deadly “black fungus” over the last two months, the health ministry said, as a nationwide outbreak sweeps through Covid-19 patients. The country’s junior health minister Bharati Pravin Pawar told parliament on Tuesday that over 4,200 people had died of the fungus — scientific name mucormycosis. The infection was previously considered very rare but cases have ballooned during the pandemic, usually striking patients […]
Asia
Horror on ‘Line 5’ as Chinese subway floods
by Beiyi SEOW / Laurie CHEN BEIJING, China (AFP) — A manicured hand touches the train carriage window as a brown swirl of floodwater squeezes up against the tunnel outside — one of many scenes of desperation from an underground tragedy shared Wednesday across a stunned Chinese social media. At least twelve died and five others were injured in the subway flood, according to city authorities, as water coursed below ground on Tuesday evening in […]
Severe rainstorms kill 16 in central China
by Beiyi SEOW / Laurie CHEN BEIJING, China (AFP) — At least 16 people have died after torrential rains caused landslides and flooded a city in central China, with shocking images showing passengers struggling against chest-high water inside a train carriage. As river embankments were breached in record downpours across Henan province, President Xi Jinping described the situation as “extremely severe” with flood control measures entering a “critical stage”, state media reported Wednesday. Around 200,000 […]
Nearly 200,000 evacuated in central China flooding
BEIJING, China (AFP) — Nearly 200,000 people have been evacuated from a flood-hit city in central China, local authorities said Wednesday, as dams burst and rivers bulged across Henan province under torrential rains. “As of 7am on July 21, almost 200,000 people were evacuated in an emergency and 36,000 city residents were affected by the disaster,” authorities in Zhengzhou city, Henan province said. © Agence France-Presse
Tehran imposes curbs as Iran’s Covid cases hit all-time high
by Amir HAVASI TEHRAN, Iran (AFP) — Iran sought to contain a new record surge in Covid cases, with government offices, banks and many businesses shut in the capital Tehran on Tuesday. Already hit by the deadliest outbreak in the Middle East, the Islamic republic has been gripped by what authorities warned would be a “fifth wave” driven by the aggressive Delta variant. To contain it, the national virus taskforce ordered government offices and banks […]
Covid cases surge in Asia as Delta wreaks havoc worldwide
by Agnes Anya, with AFP bureaus JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) — Indonesia, Iran and France were suffering alarming surges in coronavirus cases Tuesday, as governments raced to vaccinate populations in a bid to outpace the highly-contagious Delta variant wreaking havoc across the globe. The new cases come as the head of the Olympics admitted Tuesday he suffered “sleepless” nights leading up to the Tokyo Games, due to open Friday and already marred by outbreaks. Nearly 3.7 […]
Chinese army warns dam battered by storms could collapse
BEIJING, China (AFP) — The Chinese army warned that a stricken dam in the centre of the country “could collapse at any time” after being severely damaged in torrential storms that killed at least three people and brought the region to a standstill. Weather authorities have issued the highest warning level for central Henan province as downpours caused widespread disruption and the evacuation of residents of flooded streets. On Tuesday evening the regional unit of […]
Iraq reels as 36 killed in IS suicide blast on eve of Eid festival
by Salam Faraj BAGHDAD, Iraq (AFP) — Iraq was in mourning on Tuesday for at least 36 people killed when a bomb ripped through a crowded Baghdad market in what the Islamic State group’s jihadists claimed as a suicide attack. The bloody carnage Monday evening, one of the deadliest attacks in years in the war-scarred country, killed mostly women and children on the eve of Eid al-Adha, the Muslim festival of sacrifice. It sparked revulsion […]
India’s Covid deaths 10 times higher than reported: study
by Glenda KWEK Agence France Presse NEW DELHI, India (AFP) — India’s coronavirus death toll is up to 10 times higher than the nearly 415,000 fatalities reported by authorities, likely making it the country’s worst humanitarian disaster since independence, a US research group said Tuesday. The Center for Global Development study’s estimate is the highest yet for the carnage in the South Asian nation of 1.3 billion people, which is emerging from a devastating […]
Mudslides in Tajikistan leave at least 10 dead
DUSHANBE, Tajikistan (AFP) — Mudslides in Tajikistan have left ten people dead and two missing, officials said Tuesday, in the latest fatal mass flow of earth caused by downpours in the impoverished ex-Soviet region. Fatal landsides affect mountainous Central Asia every year, mostly around springtime, blocking off roads in a region lacking transport infrastructure and forcing families to rebuild homes from scratch. “There has been torrential rain in the north of Tajikistan and a fatal […]
Indonesians gather to pray for Eid al-Adha despite virus surge
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) — Indonesians prayed outside mosques and slaughtered goats to commemorate a sombre Eid al-Adha festival on Tuesday despite efforts to stop mass gatherings as coronavirus deaths skyrocket. This week marks the second time during the pandemic that the world’s biggest Muslim-majority nation has celebrated the Feast of Sacrifice, which signals the end of the annual pilgrimage to Mecca. Authorities have banned large crowds, including at traditional events that feature the sacrifice […]
Russia’s S-500 missile system hits test target
MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Russia said Tuesday it had successfully test-fired its new S-500 air defence missile systems at a southern training range and hit a high-speed ballistic target. Russia says the S-500, which is expected to have a maximum firing range of 600 kilometres, is the most advanced anti-missile system in the world and is capable of countering attacks from space. Its development however is years behind schedule. The military had previously said the […]





