KABUL, Afghanistan (AFP) — At least 32 people were killed and 53 wounded when explosions hit a Shiite mosque in the Afghan city of Kandahar on Friday, a hospital spokesman told AFP. “Thirty-two bodies and 53 wounded people have been brought to our hospital so far,” the medic in the southern city’s central hospital said. The cause of the blasts was not immediately identified, but it came exactly a week after a suicide bomb attack […]
International
South Africa to start jabs for kids as young as 12
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (AFP) — South Africa will begin vaccinating children as young as 12 next week and also offer Covid-19 boosters against certain immune disorders, the health minister announced Friday. With a large youth population and the world’s biggest HIV caseload, the announcement affects millions of people and marks a significant scaling up of South Africa’s pandemic response. “We ready to open up vaccination for children between 12-17 years of age, and a majority […]
Argentina agrees to three-month price freeze with businesses
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AFP) — Argentina’s government on Thursday announced it had reached an agreement with the private sector to freeze prices on more than 1,200 goods in a bid to slow soaring inflation. The country’s statistics institute announced that inflation since January was 37 percent while the figure over the last 12 months was 52.5 percent, one of the highest in the world. “These 1,247 goods with their prices frozen will provide an anchor […]
Sydney to scrap quarantine, readies to welcome overseas visitors
by Andrew BEATTY SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Sydney will scrap all quarantine requirements for travellers from next month, officials said Friday, an abrupt step toward reopening Australia’s long-shuttered borders. In a surprise announcement, Premier Dominic Perrottet of New South Wales said that from November 1 vaccinated travellers would be allowed to enter the state without quarantine of any kind. “For double vaccinated people around the world, Sydney, New South Wales, is open for business,” Perrottet […]
Anguish and anger after Taiwan building blaze kills 46
KAOSHIUNG, Taiwan (AFP) — Taiwanese residents voiced anguish and outrage on Friday after 46 people perished in an inferno that tore through a dilapidated housing block as investigators searched for what sparked the island’s deadliest fire in decades. The blaze is the latest tragedy to highlight concerns over lax safety standards in Taiwan and has exposed the poor living conditions of many elderly in a society that is rapidly ageing. The fire broke out in […]
JUST IN: Former US President Bill Clinton in hospital with non-Covid infection
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Former US president Bill Clinton has been hospitalized with a non-Covid-related infection, a spokesman said Thursday evening. Clinton, 75, was admitted to a hospital in Irvine in southern California on Tuesday evening, Angel Urena tweeted. He gave no details other than to say the infection was not Covid-related. “He is on the mend, in good spirits and is incredibly thankful to the doctors, nurses, and staff providing him with […]
Biden promises more vaccines, ties for Africa as Kenya leader visits
by Aurelia End and Shaun Tandon WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US President Joe Biden on Thursday announced a major new Covid vaccine donation for Africa and promised greater commitment to the continent as he welcomed his first African leader, Kenya’s Uhuru Kenyatta. Meeting at the White House, Biden and the Kenyan president promised to work together on climate change and ending violence on the Horn of Africa, although there appeared to be no headway […]
Paris mayor Hidalgo wins Socialists’ presidential nomination
PARIS, France (AFP) — Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo has been nominated as the presidential candidate of France’s Socialist party, partial party vote results showed Thursday, despite her languishing in the race to unseat incumbent Emmanuel Macron. The 62-year-old politician, who announced her plans to run for president a month ago, aims to revive the fortunes of the beleaguered Socialists in April’s election with a campaign stressing environmental and social issues. She won more than 72 […]
Severe child malnutrition increasing in Tigray: UN
by Robbie COREY-BOULET ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AFP) — The number of young children admitted to hospital suffering from severe malnutrition in Ethiopia’s war-hit Tigray region has doubled this year over 2020, the UN said Thursday, as escalating fighting thr, eatens to further hamper the aid response. “Some 18,600 children under the age of five in Tigray have been admitted for treatment for Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) from February to August this year compared to 8,900 […]
Russia reports record daily virus cases, deaths
MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Russia on Thursday reported a pandemic high for both new coronavirus infections and fatalities over 24 hours, with the country’s vaccination drive at a snail’s pace and few restrictions in place. Officials registered 31,299 new infections and 986 deaths from Covid-19 over 24 hours, bringing Russia’s total fatalities to 220,315 — the highest toll in Europe. The surging outbreak has come with just 31 percent of Russians fully inoculated, according to […]
Gunfire kills six, wounds 30 at Beirut protest
BEIRUT, Lebanon (AFP) — Gunfire killed six people and wounded 30 at a Beirut rally organised by the Shiite Hezbollah and Amal movements Thursday to demand the dismissal of the lead investigator into last year’s port blast. Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi told a press conference that the death toll had climbed to six. He said that some of the victims where shot in the head. The deaths include a 24-year-old woman who was hit in […]
Taiwan building inferno kills 46, dozens injured
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AFP) — An overnight fire tore through a building in the southern Taiwanese city of Kaohsiung on Thursday, killing 46 people and injuring dozens of others in the island’s deadliest blaze in decades. The fire broke out in the 13-storey, mixed-use building in the small hours of Thursday morning, according to officials, raging through multiple floors before firefighters finally got it under control. Pictures published by Taiwan’s official Central News Agency showed […]
