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by Jay DESHMUKH KABUL, Afghanistan (AFP) — Outside the main iron gate of the Indian embassy in Kabul, a group of Taliban fighters waited — armed with machine guns and rocket-propelled grenade launchers. Inside the compound were 150 Indian diplomats and nationals — growing increasingly nervous as they watched news of the Taliban tightening their grip on the capital, which they took a day earlier without a fight. Their position was a precarious one. Pakistan […]
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AFP) — New Zealanders must brace for additional Covid-19 cases from an outbreak that has plunged the previously virus-free country into a snap lockdown, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern warned Wednesday after six more positive tests. Ardern confirmed New Zealand was dealing with the highly transmissible Delta variant linked to the outbreak in Australia that authorities have so far been unable to contain. Ardern said the rapid rise to a total of seven […]
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AFP) — The International Criminal Court expressed concern Tuesday about reports of crimes in Afghanistan that may amount to violations of “international humanitarian law”. “I have been closely following the current developments in Afghanistan and am most concerned by recent reports of escalating violence in the country,” said chief prosecutor Karim Khan. “These reports include allegations of extrajudicial executions in the form of revenge killings of detainees and individuals who surrendered, persecution […]
SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Australian airline Qantas said Wednesday it would make Covid-19 vaccines mandatory for staff, as the company bids to get planes back into the skies. The national carrier is one of the first major Australian firms to mandate vaccines for employees, saying the rule would also apply to its budget offshoot Jetstar. Pilots, cabin crew and airport staff must be fully vaccinated by November 15, with other staff members given until March […]
JERUSALEM, Undefined (AFP) — Wildfires that have ravaged woodland in the hills west of Jerusalem since noon on Sunday have finally been brought under control, the Israeli fire service said on Tuesday. “After 52 hours battling the flames, all of the fires around Jerusalem have been brought under control,” a statement said. Hundreds of families had been evacuated from 10 villages west of the city over the three days. The firefighters said there were no […]
GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — The UN health agency said Tuesday that a second suspected case of infection by the deadly Ebola virus had been detected in Ivory Coast. World Health Organization (WHO) spokesman Tarik Jasarevic said that as of Monday, there had been one confirmed and one suspected case, with nine contacts identified so far. No deaths have been reported. He said the WHO was “very concerned” about the ability of the virus to spread […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The US military has evacuated more than 3,200 people from Afghanistan so far, including 1,100 on Tuesday alone, a White House official said. “Today, US military flights evacuated approximately 1,100 US citizens, US permanent residents, and their families on 13 flights,” the official said, adding: “Now that we have established the flow, we expect those numbers to escalate.” The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, also said that the […]
by Paul HANDLEY Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The White House said Tuesday that the Taliban had promised that civilians could travel safely to the Kabul airport as the US military stepped up its airlift for Americans and Afghans fleeing the Islamist group. Some 11,000 people with US nationality remain inside the country, including diplomats, contractors and others, according to the White House, most waiting to be evacuated after the Taliban […]
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AFP) — The death toll from a 7.2 magnitude earthquake that struck Haiti has risen to 1,941 with more than 9,900 wounded, the Caribbean nation’s civil protection agency said on Tuesday. More than 60,000 homes were destroyed and 76,000 damaged, while many public buildings were also damaged or collapsed in Saturday’s quake, the agency said. The powerful tremor struck about 100 miles (160 kilometers) to the west of the capital Port-au-Prince. Thousands of […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The US Air Force said Tuesday it was investigating how civilians were killed as they tried to cling to an aircraft departing Kabul’s airport amid chaotic scenes sparked by the imminent seizure of the Afghan capital by the Taliban. Investigators are reviewing footage of what appears to be at least two Afghans plummeting from an airborne C-17 transport Monday as well as videos and social media posts related to […]
by Amelie BARON LES CAYES, Haiti (AFP) — The death toll from a 7.2 magnitude earthquake that struck Haiti has risen to 1,941, the Caribbean nation’s civil protection agency said Tuesday, as a tropical storm brought torrential downpours on survivors already coping with catastrophe. More than 9,900 people were wounded when the quake struck the southwestern part of the Caribbean nation on Saturday, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) to the west of the capital Port-au-Prince, […]
LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Britain on Tuesday announced a resettlement scheme for Afghans fleeing the Taliban after their return to power, offering an initial 5,000 places in the first year, rising to up to 20,000 in the long term. The announcement came on the eve of an extraordinary session of parliament on Wednesday, where MPs recalled from holiday will discuss the collapse of the Afghan government, so soon after the withdrawal of Western forces. […]
