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QUITO, Ecuador (AFP) — Scientific experts sent to the Galapagos Islands to count a critically endangered lizard species estimate there to be just 211 pink iguanas left, local authorities said Friday. Around 30 scientists and Galapagos park rangers took part in the expedition this month on Wolf Volcano, in the north of Isabela Island — the largest on the archipelago. “In the census, 53 iguanas were located and (temporarily) captured, 94 percent of which live […]
KINSHASA, DR Congo (AFP) — Former DR Congo health minister Eteni Longondo was detained on Friday over the alleged misappropriation of funds allocated to the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, official sources said. Longondo “was placed under a provisional arrest warrant this evening” following lengthy questioning, a government source said. The former health minister, who was in office until April, was taken to the Makala prison in the capital Kinshasa, according to a prison official […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The US military said Friday it had carried out a drone strike against a “planner” of the Islamic State-Khorasan, the group which claimed credit for the deadly suicide bombing at Kabul airport. “The unmanned airstrike occurred in the Nangahar Province of Afghanistan. Initial indications are that we killed the target,” said Captain Bill Urban of the Central Command. “We know of no civilian casualties,” he added in a statement. © […]
by Laurence Benhamou BAGHDAD, Iraq (AFP) — French President Emmanuel Macron is among leaders set to attend a regional summit Saturday in Iraq, with the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan and a deadly jihadist attack in Kabul overshadowing the meeting. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Jordan’s King Abdullah II are due at the Baghdad summit, while the foreign ministers of arch-foes Iran and Saudi Arabia will also be present. Organizers have been tight-lipped on the […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — An unvaccinated teacher at an elementary school in California spread the coronavirus to at least 26 other people, including 12 students in their classroom, a new study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Friday. The health agency said the case highlights the importance of vaccinating school staff in order to protect young children who are not yet eligible for vaccines, as schools reopen amid a new […]
by Issam AHMED WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — President Joe Biden said Friday that China was withholding “critical information” on the origins of Covid-19 after the US intelligence community said it did not believe the virus was a bioweapon — but remained split on whether it escaped from a lab. The United States, however, does not believe Chinese officials had foreknowledge of the virus before the initial outbreak of the pandemic that has now claimed […]
by Marlowe HOOD PARIS, France (AFP) — The Delta variant of the virus that causes Covid-19 doubles the risk of hospitalization compared to the Alpha variant it has supplanted as the dominant strain worldwide, researchers reported Saturday in The Lancet. Only 1.8 percent of the more than 43,000 Covid cases assessed in comparing the two variants were in patients who had been fully vaccinated. Three-quarters were completely unvaccinated, and 24 percent had only received one […]
HAVANA, Cuba (AFP) — Hurricane Ida made landfall Friday as a Category 1 hurricane on the southwestern coast of Cuba, the local meteorological service reported. Ida struck the town of La Coloma, in the province of Pinar del Rio, around 0030 GMT, with sustained winds of 80 miles (130 kilometers) per hour, Cuba’s meteorology institute Insmet. It is expected to reach the United States Sunday as an “extremely dangerous” Category 4 storm, according to the […]
(Eagle News) — A 3.6-magnitude earthquake struck off Davao Oriental on Saturday, Aug. 28. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said the quake was an aftershock of the 7.1-magnitude earthquake that hit Governor Generoso on Aug. 12. The quake’s epicenter was located 121 kilometers southeast of the area. The depth of focus was one kilometer. According to PHIVOLCS, the earthquake was tectonic in origin. No damage to property nor aftershocks were reported.
(Eagle News) — The Department of Transportation inaugurated on Thursday, Aug. 28, the expanded and improved Siquijor Seaport as part of the government’s infrastructure development program. In a statement, the DOTr said the port expansion project covers the construction of an RC Wharf with Ro-Ro ramp and a back-up area. Twenty-five units of solar lights were also installed in the port. “With its improved facilities, the port now allows for faster vessel turnaround time and […]
(Eagle News) — Over P40 million worth of marijuana plants were destroyed in Kalinga on Thursday, Aug. 26, the Philippine National Police said. According to the PNP, the 203, 500 fully-grown marijuana plants were found in five different sites in Barangay Loccong. They had an estimated total value of P40,700,000. “Ipagpatuloy lamang natin ang mga ganitong operasyon para sa patuloy nating pagsupil sa ilegal na droga,” PNP Chief Guillermo Eleazar said. He said a follow-up […]
(Eagle News) — Over 200 more COVID-19 cases have been reported among police personnel. The Philippine National Police said the 234 additional cases pushed the PNP COVID-19 total to 34,188. Of these, 1851 are active. Recoveries also climbed–now at 32234–with the addition of 264 recoveries. The PNP COVID-19 death toll is now at 103 with the addition of one death. President Rodrigo Duterte has said the police should be among the priorities in the country’s […]
