ABUJA, Nigeria (AFP) — Nigerian forces have killed 78 gunmen, known locally as bandits, during military operations including air strikes in northwestern Zamfara state, the air force said. Heavily-armed bandits have wracked northwest and central Nigeria for years, but the groups have recently stepped up attacks on schools, kidnapping hundreds of students for ransom and prompting a military response. “On 2 August 2021, Nigerian Air Force… locked on armed bandits on bikes moving into Kwiambana […]
International
Coronavirus: Latest global developments
PARIS, France (AFP) — Here are the latest developments in the coronavirus crisis: Sydney’s new daily record Australia’s hope of returning to “Covid zero” suffers a fresh blow as Sydney reports another record number of new infections and authorities warn residents to brace for worse to come. Manila lockdown The Philippine capital Manila returns to lockdown as authorities seek to slow the spread of the hyper-contagious Delta variant and ease pressure on hospitals while trying […]
UN warns of growing hunger in Myanmar
GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — The United Nations said Friday it urgently needed funds to feed people in Myanmar amid fears that up to 6.2 million could be plunged into hunger by October. The UN’s World Food Programme said it was 70 percent short of the $86 million needed over the next six months, as the country goes through multiple crises. A major wave of Covid-19 infections is surging through Myanmar, compounding hunger, rising food and […]
New York police charge man over ‘Gone Girl’ actress death
NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — New York police have arrested and charged a man in connection with the two-wheeler hit-and-run death of “Gone Girl” actress Lisa Banes, a force spokesman said Friday. Brian Boyd, 26, was apprehended on Thursday and charged with failing to yield to a pedestrian and leaving the scene of a deadly accident, the spokesman told AFP. Banes, who was visiting New York from Los Angeles, suffered a head trauma in […]
Four hurt in Tokyo train stabbing: media
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Four people were injured on Friday in a stabbing attack on a train in Tokyo, with the suspect captured after fleeing the scene, leaving his weapon behind, local media said. Violent crime is vanishingly rare in Japan, and the reported attack comes with the capital on heightened security alert as it hosts the Olympic Games. The attack took place on an evening commuter train in Tokyo’s Setagaya ward, in the west […]
US gains 943,000 jobs in July, unemployment falls to 5.4%: govt
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The recovering US economy added 943,000 new jobs in July, according to government data released Friday, as hard-hit industries continued to return to normal. The result was shy of the million jobs some economists had been expecting, but enough to push the unemployment rate down a half a point to 5.4 percent, the Labor Department reported. With widespread vaccinations allowing economic activity to return to normal, hiring has begun to […]
Greece, Turkey battle fierce fires as heatwave continues
by AFP bureaus ATHENS, Greece (AFP) — Hundreds of firefighters battled a blaze on the outskirts of Athens on Friday as dozens of fires raged in Greece in what the prime minister dubbed a “critical situation,” while neighboring Turkey came under increasing pressure over its handling of wildfires. Greece and Turkey have been fighting blaze upon blaze over the past week, hit by the worst heatwave in decades, a disaster that officials and experts have […]
Australia’s ‘Covid zero’ days may be numbered
by Andrew BEATTY SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Australia’s coveted status as a haven from the pandemic could be at an end, with experts warning that a sustained Delta outbreak makes a return to “Covid zero” unlikely. After long stretches with zero local cases — what Australians once jokingly referred to as “doughnut days” — a Sydney outbreak has now grown to 4,610. Record numbers of new cases are being reported each day despite widespread lockdowns. […]
Virus surge overwhelms Barcelona hospital staff
by Rosa SULLEIRO BARCELONA, Spain (AFP) — Staff in the intensive care unit at Barcelona’s Hospital del Mar are battling exhaustion as they grapple with a new surge in Covid-19 patients that is straining the region’s health system. Ten new intensive care beds have been added at this one hospital alone, bringing the total to 30. All of them are full — and it is overwhelmingly unvaccinated, and younger, patients who are occupying them. Nurses […]
Taliban assassinate head of Afghan government media department
KABUL, Afghanistan (AFP) — The Taliban shot dead the head of the Afghan government’s media information centre Friday at a mosque in the capital, the ministry said, days after warning they would target senior administration officials in retaliation for increased air strikes. “Unfortunately, the savage terrorists have committed a cowardly act once again and martyred a patriotic Afghan,” interior ministry spokesman Mirwais Stanikzai said of the death of Dawa Khan Menapal. The Taliban claimed responsibility […]
Wildfire levels historic California town as residents flee blaze
by Josh EDELSON WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The largest wildfire in California has razed a small town, warping street lights and destroying historic buildings hours after residents were ordered to flee. Greenville, an Indian Valley settlement of a few hundred people dating back to the mid-1800s Gold Rush, was engulfed by flames as winds whipped the inferno towards the community, turning the sky orange. “I’d say the majority of downtown Greenville is completely destroyed,” […]
Moderna says Covid vaccine durable for at least six months
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Moderna said Thursday that protection from its Covid-19 vaccine remained strong for at least six months, and the variant-specific boosters shot it is testing generated a “robust” antibody response to Delta. In a final analysis from its Phase 3, or final stage, clinical trial, Moderna’s Covid vaccine showed 93 percent efficacy at six months following the second dose. The company is also carrying out clinical trials on three different Covid-19 […]
