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KOCHI, India (AFP)–The death toll from major floods in India’s tourist hotspot Kerala has jumped to 164, state chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said Friday, issuing a fresh heavy rainfall warning for the battered region. Kerala’s government has described the crisis — one of the worst in decades — as “extremely grave” and rescue operations are underway to help thousands who remain trapped by floodwaters. “The chief minister has confirmed 164 deaths. Around 100 people died […]
BEIJING, China (AFP) – China’s Communist Party has sacked a dozen provincial and local officials and vowed to punish a pharmaceutical firm over a vaccine scandal that inflamed public fears over the safety of domestically produced drugs. The government has been struggling to shore up public confidence in the pharmaceutical sector following the revelation last month that a major Chinese manufacturer of rabies vaccines was found to have fabricated records and was ordered to cease […]
KONCHI, India (AFP)–The official death toll from major floods in India’s tourist hotspot of Kerala hit 86 on Thursday with media reporting even higher numbers amid warnings of more torrential rainfall. With a major rescue operation launched to help thousands of people trapped by the floods, Kerala’s chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the state now faces an “extremely grave” crisis. Kerala, famed for its pristine palm-lined beaches and tea plantations, is battered by the monsoon […]
MARACAIBO, Venezuela (AFP)–Venezuelans are concerned over the safety of a “twin” viaduct of the collapsed Morandi bridge in Genoa, Italy, after a fire on the concrete structure caused a major blackout. The 8.6 kilometer (five mile) General Rafael Urdaneta viaduct links second city Maracaibo with the rest of Venezuela. Designed by Italian structural engineer Riccardo Morandi, it predates by five years his 1967 bridge in Genoa that collapsed this week causing the death of 39 […]
KOCHI, India (AFP) – Hundreds of troops led a desperate operation to rescue families trapped by mounting floods in India’s Kerala state Thursday as the death toll reached 106 with nearly 150,000 left homeless. Helicopters airlifted stranded victims from rooftops and dam gates were thrown open as incessant torrential rain brought fresh havoc to the southern state that is a major international tourist draw. Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the state now faces an […]
NEW DELHI, India (AFP) – Three-time Indian prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee died Thursday, sparking tributes from across the political spectrum as current leader Narendra Modi mourned the “irreplaceable loss” of the respected statesman. The 93-year-old had battled poor health for years but his condition deteriorated sharply in recent days, with doctors placing him on life support. The sudden turn sparked a flurry of visits from top dignitaries, including Modi, who credited Vajpayee with laying […]
by Jennie Matthew Agence France Presse NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — A US report revealing that 300 priests sexually abused at least 1,000 children, facilitated by a Catholic Church cover-up, has increased calls to tighten laws and hold bishops accountable. The two-year investigation estimated that the real number of victims was “in the thousands” in Pennsylvania, the most comprehensive report into abuse in the US church that was first exposed in Boston in […]
NEW YORK, United States (AFP) – New York University said Thursday it would offer all its current and future medical school students free tuition in an effort to tackle soaring debt levels and encourage more applicants. The move — which it said was financed by the generosity of the university’s “trustees, alumni, and friends,” amounts to a reduction of $55,018 in annual fees, regardless of financial needs or academic merit. It does not cover living […]
by Remi Banet with Terry Daley in Rome Agence France-Presse GENOA, Italy (AFP) — Italy’s populist government intensified its attacks Thursday on the bridge operator it blames for the viaduct collapse that killed dozens of people in Genoa, as rescuers picked through rubble on the third day of desperate efforts to find survivors. Anger is mounting over the tragedy and the structural problems that have dogged the decades-old Morandi bridge, which buckled without warning […]
CANADA (Eagle News) — Smoke from wildfires in British Columbia, Canada has drifted east towards the Canadian province of Alberta. Haze is visible from Vancouver to as far as Edmonton and Calgary. The smoke is affecting air quality and is expected to remain for several days according to Environment Canada. (Eagle News Service)
KOCHI, India (AFP) — Helicopters airlifted stranded families from rooftops and dam gates were thrown open as incessant torrential rain brought fresh havoc Thursday to the Indian state of Kerala where about 100 people are feared dead. Hundreds of extra troops were deployed in the southern state, a major tourist hotspot, as the government issued a “red alert” over the region’s worst floods in decades. State authorities said the confirmed death toll was 72 […]
https://youtu.be/hzHhk8iNv-Y GENOA, Italy (AFP) — Italian prime minister Giuseppe Conte declared Wednesday a 12-month state of emergency in Genoa following the collapse of a motorway bridge that killed at least 39 people. “A cabinet meeting took place in which we have decreed a 12-month state of emergency and made available a first allocation worth five million euros ($5.7 million) for the national emergencies fund,” Conte said in a press conference in the northwestern port […]
