PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AFP) — Haitian authorities announced Thursday they will delay the start of the school year in aftermath of last month’s devastating earthquake. Initially scheduled for September 6, schools will open September 21 for the majority of Haitian children in kindergarten through high school. In the three southern departments that were ravaged by the August 14 quake, classes will start on October 4. Prime Minister Ariel Henry said authorities need time to rebuild the […]
Tag: school
18 killed, 16 injured in fire at China martial arts school
by Laurie CHEN Agence France Presse BEIJING, China (AFP) — At least 18 people were killed and 16 injured when a fire broke out at a martial arts school in central China in the early hours of Friday, according to the local government. Local media reported that most of the victims were boarding pupils aged between seven and 16. The fire had been extinguished and authorities were investigating the cause of the blaze, a […]
Canada PM urges Catholic Church to ‘take responsibility’ for school abuses
OTTAWA, Canada (AFP) — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday urged the Catholic Church to “take responsibility” and release records on indigenous residential schools under its direction, after the discovery of remains of 215 children in unmarked graves. And he warned that his government was prepared to take “stronger measures,” possibly including legal action, to obtain the documents demanded by victims’ families if the church fails to comply. Canada has been convulsed by the […]
At least seven dead in Russia school shooting
by Jonathan BROWN Agence France Presse MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — At least seven people were killed Tuesday, most of them children, in a shooting at a high school in the central Russian city of Kazan, officials and news agency reports said. Officials said at least one gunman had been involved and detained, though there were unconfirmed reports of two attackers including one who had been killed. A police spokesman said officers were dispatched to […]
Stabbing attack at Brazil daycare kills three children, two staff
SAUDADES, Brazil (AFP) — An 18-year-old attacker armed with a samurai-style sword burst into a daycare center in Brazil Tuesday and killed three children and two staff, local police said, leaving the small southern town in shock. The attacker then turned his weapon on himself, gashing his own neck, abdomen and torso, said authorities in Saudades, a town of 10,000 people in Santa Catarina state. “He was taken to the hospital in critical condition,” police […]
At least seven killed in blast at Pakistan religious school
PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AFP) — At least seven students were killed and scores more wounded Tuesday in a bomb attack on a Koran study class at a religious school in northwestern Pakistan, officials said. More than 60 people had been taking a lesson when the explosion tore through the madrassa in Peshawar, about 170 kilometres (around 100 miles) west of Islamabad, said Waqar Azim, a senior police official. “The blast took place in a seminary […]
Wuhan, Ground Zero for coronavirus epidemic, re-opens all schools
BEIJING, China (AFP) — Students in face masks returned to class Tuesday in Wuhan, the central Chinese city where the coronavirus first emerged last year, as the city opened schools and kindergartens for the first time in seven months. Nearly 1.4 million students resumed classes at some 2,800 kindergartens, primary and middle schools across the city, following the re-opening of high schools in May. State media broadcast images of thousands of students hoisting the Chinese […]
Seoul schools go back online over virus fears
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — South Korea on Tuesday ordered all schools and kindergartens in the greater Seoul region to switch to online classes as authorities battle multiple coronavirus clusters. The country’s “trace, test and treat” approach to curbing the virus has been held up as a global model, but it is now trying to contain several outbreaks, mostly linked to Protestant churches. South Korea reported 280 new infections on Tuesday, taking the country’s total […]
Pupils in England to go back to school in Sept: govt
LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — All children in England will have to go back to school in September, the government said Thursday, after weeks of wrangling as coronavirus restrictions are lifted. The government initially intended pupils to return before the summer break later this month but was forced to revise its plans after concerns from teaching unions and parents. Local authorities said it would be difficult to enforce two-metre (six feet) social distancing with children, […]
Knife attack in Chinese primary school wounds 39
BEIJING, China (AFP) — A knife-wielding attacker wounded 37 students and two adults at a primary school in southern China on Thursday, officials said, with local media identifying a security guard as the perpetrator. All the victims, including teaching staff, were sent to hospital but were not in a life-threatening condition, authorities in Cangwu County, Guangxi region, said. The incident at the Wangfu Central Primary School happened at 8:30 am when children would normally arrive […]
Thousands of schools reopen as France eases virus lockdown
by Andrea GRAELLS TEMPEL et Maryam EL HAMMOUCHI avec les bureaux de l’AFP en région Agence France Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — Thousands of schools reopened throughout France on Tuesday as the government eases its coronavirus lockdown rules despite some fears of a second waves of infections. According to official figures there were 348 new COVID-19 deaths on Tuesday, bringing the national total to 26,991. Primary and nursery schools reopened however, with teachers wearing face […]
Students in China’s virus centre Wuhan return to school
BEIJING, China (AFP) — Chinese youngsters in the global virus epicenter of Wuhan filed back to class on Wednesday, wearing masks and walking in single file past thermal scanners. Senior school students in 121 institutions were back in front of chalkboards and digital displays for the first time since their city — the ground zero of the coronavirus pandemic — shut down in January. “School is finally reopening!” posted one user of Weibo, China’s Twitter-like […]





