by David FOX KABUL, Afghanistan (AFP) — The Taliban warned Monday there would be “consequences” if the United States and its allies try to remain in Afghanistan beyond next week, as Washington ramped up its efforts to evacuate tens of thousands of people desperate to flee. Thousands of troops have poured back into the country to oversee the chaotic airlift of foreigners and Afghans from Kabul airport, and pressure is mounting on US President Joe […]
International
16,000 evacuated from Kabul airport in past 24 hours: Pentagon
by Paul HANDLEY WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Around 16,000 people were evacuated over the past 24 hours from Afghanistan through the Kabul airport, the Pentagon said Monday, as the US works toward completing its airlift by an August 31 deadline. General Hank Taylor told reporters that 61 military, commercial and charter flights involving a number of countries flew out from Hamid Karzai International Airport in the 24 hours to 3:00 am Monday (0700 GMT) […]
Israel to offer Covid jabs in schools to avoid closures
JERUSALEM, Undefined (AFP) — Israel said Monday it would offer Covid-19 vaccinations to students on school grounds as it announced the school year would open on time next week, despite surging coronavirus cases. “Pupils… will be vaccinated on school grounds during school hours, subject to parental approval,” a government statement said, confirming classes would begin on September 1. Israeli leaders say they are trying to avoid repeating disruptive school closures amid the Covid-19 pandemic. The […]
Kabul evacuation flight arrives in Belgium
MELSBROEK, Belgium (AFP) — A charter flight arrived at a Belgian air base outside Brussels on Monday carrying 193 people escaping the chaos in Kabul. The Air Belgium jet brought the escapees — including Belgians and Afghans who worked for international missions — from an Islamabad base acting as a staging post for Belgium’s military airlift from the Afghan capital. AFP and other media at the Belgian air base saw people disembarking from the plane […]
People evacuated as new wildfire hits Greek island
ATHENS, Greece (AFP) — Scores of firefighters backed by water-dropping aircraft battled a forest fire that broke out early Monday on the southern part of Greece’s Evia island, less than two weeks after an inferno decimated its northern part. The fire was burning near the village of Fygia where two neighborhoods have been evacuated and was moving toward the coastal tourist village of Marmari, where authorities were preparing boats to evacuate people if needed, according […]
Deadly firefight at Kabul airport as US boosts airlift
by David FOX KABUL, Afghanistan (AFP) — Western security forces were involved in an exchange of fire with unidentified gunmen Monday at Kabul airport, as US President Joe Biden sought to speed up the chaotic evacuation of tens of thousands of people from Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. One Afghan was killed and three others were injured in a dawn firefight that according to the German military erupted between Afghan guards and unknown assailants. German and American troops […]
New Zealand to stay in lockdown, outbreak ‘yet to peak’
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AFP) — New Zealand extended a national Covid-19 lockdown Monday, with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern saying a Delta variant outbreak has yet to peak. Ardern said the rapid spread of the highly transmissible variant meant it was too early to lift restrictions imposed last week after a virus cluster emerged in Auckland, ending a six-month run of no local cases. “Delta had a head start on us and we’ve needed to catch […]
China reports zero local virus cases as Delta outbreak retreats
BEIJING, China (AFP) — China reported no new domestic coronavirus cases Monday, and Beijing appears poised to bring to heel the pandemic’s most serious resurgence in months — driven by the highly contagious Delta variant — with mass testing and targeted lockdowns. The latest outbreak, which began in mid-July when cleaners at a Nanjing airport tested positive, is the most severe since Covid-19 first surfaced in the central city of Wuhan. Over a thousand people […]
At least 21 dead in flooding in US state of Tennessee
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Devastating floods in the southern US state of Tennessee have left at least 21 people dead and dozens missing, local officials said Sunday in what they warned was a preliminary toll. Tennessee was hit Saturday by what meteorologists called historic storms and flooding, dumping 15 inches (38 centimeters) or more of rain. Rural roads, state highways and bridges were washed out and widespread power outages affected thousands of […]
Rare tropical storm lashes northeastern United States
by Peter HUTCHISON NEW YORK, United States (AFP0 — Tropical Storm Henri slammed into Rhode Island on the US east coast Sunday, knocking out power to thousands of Americans, uprooting trees and bringing record rainfall before weakening as it moved across New England. The storm — earlier downgraded from a Category 1 Hurricane — hit land near the town of Westerly at approximately 12:15 PM (1615 GMT), the National Weather Service said. Henri is a […]
Lightning cuts short NYC Homecoming Concert
By Joanne Soriano EBC New York Bureau (Eagle News) — The much anticipated “We Love NYC: The Homecoming Concert” in Central Park was cancelled halfway through the five-hour program due to lightning. An announcement was made for attendees to quickly and calmly exit due to approaching severe weather. The show was initially suspended with attendees asked to find a safe place to shelter, then cancelled. Before the concert, Mayor Bill De Blasio had also […]
Covid-19 cases in Seattle area increase regardless of vaccination status
By Janice Mejica Garcia EBC Seattle Bureau (Eagle News) — Nearly a year and a half has passed since the world went into lockdown to slow the transmission of Covid-19. Even though vaccines have been developed to help protect individuals, the virus mutated to the ‘Delta variant.’ This variant’s impact is being felt in the Seattle area, a place some consider as ground zero of the Covid-19 infections in the U.S. According to the […]





