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by Hélène COLLIOPOULOU Agence France-Presse ATHENS, Greece (AFP) — At least 79 people died in huge wildfires around Athens, Greek authorities said Wednesday, as rescuers scoured scorched homes and burned-out cars for survivors of one of the deadliest fire outbreaks in Europe’s modern history. Scores of locals and holidaymakers fled to the sea to try to escape the flames as they tore through towns near Athens stoked by 100-kilometre-per-hour wind gusts, devouring woodland and hundreds […]
QUETTA, Pakistan (AFP) — At least 30 people were killed and dozens more wounded in a suicide attack on a polling station in the southwestern Pakistani city of Quetta, officials said, as millions voted in a nationwide election Wednesday. “(The bomber) was trying to enter the polling station. When police tried to stop him he blew himself up,” a local administration official in Quetta, Hashim Ghilzai, told AFP. Dr Wasim Baig, spokesman for the Sandeman Provincial […]
CHAMPASAK, Laos (AFP) — The bodies of 17 people have been recovered after flash floods caused by a dam breach in southern Laos, a Thai consular official at the scene told AFP Wednesday. A wall of water was unleashed Monday after parts of the dam were washed away, sending floods surging downstream, sweeping away homes and leaving an unknown number of people missing. “There are 17 bodies recovered so far, but we can not estimate […]
by Hélène Colliopoulou Agence France Presse ATHENS, Greece (AFP) — Greece was in mourning Tuesday following some of the worst wildfires this century, with fears the toll — at least 74 dead and 187 injured so far — could rise, as rescuers search for people trapped in their homes or burned-out cars. The fires, which broke out on Monday afternoon, devoured homes and forests, forcing terrified residents to flea into the sea for safety, while […]
BANGKOK, Thailand (AFP) – Hundreds of people are missing and an unknown number believed dead after a partly-constructed hydropower dam in southeast Laos collapsed, sending flash floods surging through six villages, state media reported Tuesday. Communist Laos is traversed by a vast network of rivers and there are several dams being built or are planned in the impoverished and landlocked country, which exports most of its hydropower energy to neighbouring countries like Thailand. Laos […]
by Kyoko Hasegawa Agence France Presse TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — An “unprecedented” heatwave in Japan has killed at least 65 people in one week, government officials said Tuesday, with the weather agency now classifying the record-breaking weather as a “natural disaster.” In the week to Sunday at least 65 people died of heat stroke while 22,647 people were hospitalized, the Fire and Disaster Management Agency said in a statement. Both figures are “the worst-ever […]
ATHENS, Greece (AFP) – At least 20 people have died and more than 100 injured after wildfires tore through woodland and villages around Athens, as Greek authorities rushed to evacuate residents and tourists stranded on beaches in coastal areas early Tuesday. The majority of victims were found in their homes or cars in the seaside resort of Mati, 40 kilometres (25 miles) northeast of the capital, government spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos said. Eleven people were seriously […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) – North Korea appears to have started dismantling key facilities at a rocket-engine test center, a group of experts said Monday, potentially marking a significant step after last month’s summit between Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump. According to the respected 38 North group, commercial satellite imagery of the Sohae satellite launching station indicates Pyongyang has begun taking down a processing building and a rocket-engine test stand that had […]
LOS ANGELES, California (AFP) -The fire threatening Yosemite National Park in California raged through the weekend, growing in size to nearly 34,000 acres, authorities said Monday. “Weather forecasts are calling for hotter and drier air throughout the week as conditions align for critical and extreme fire weather in the coming days,” InciWeb, an inter-agency incident reporting site, said. InciWeb said the so-called Ferguson fire was 13 percent contained, an improvement over Friday when it was […]
by Usman Khan with Clement Sabourin in Montreal Agence France-Presse TORONTO, Canada (AFP) – The 29-year-old man who opened fire on restaurant goers and pedestrians on a Toronto street overnight, killing two people and wounding 13, had “severe” mental health issues, his family said Monday. Police identified the gunman as Faisal Hussain of Toronto. He was found dead near the scene of the shooting after an exchange of gunfire with police. Toronto Police Chief Mark […]
KABUL, Afghanistan (AFP) — AFP driver Mohammad Akhtar, a 31-year-old father of four who was among 23 people killed in a suicide attack in Kabul, was a “great friend” known for his kindness and honesty, colleagues said Monday. Sunday’s attack, which was claimed by the Islamic State group, happened as supporters of Afghan Vice President Abdul Rashid Dostum were leaving the capital’s international airport after welcoming home the former warlord from exile. Akhtar’s death […]
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) – Japanese officials issued new warnings Monday as a deadly heatwave blankets the country, producing record high temperatures in Tokyo just two years before the city hosts the 2020 Summer Olympics. Officials said last week that the heatwave had killed at least 15 people and forced the hospitalisation of over 12,000 others in the first two weeks of July. But the death toll may be more than double that, with Kyodo News […]
