Fire at Bangladesh factory kills at least 52

At least 52 people were killed, 20 injured and many more feared trapped after a massive fire raged through a juice-making factory in Bangladesh, officials said on Friday, the latest industrial fire accident in the country.

Foreign hit squad killed Haiti’s president: Police

Haiti’s national police force has claimed that two Americans and 26 Colombians were responsible for the assassination of President Jovenel Moise, while Taiwan has confirmed that 11 arrests were made at its diplomatic compound.

Taliban capture key border crossing as Biden defends Afghan withdrawal

The Taliban said Friday they had captured a key border crossing with Iran, hours after President Joe Biden issued a staunch defence of the US military withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Haiti police battle gunmen who killed president, amid fears of chaos

Haiti’s security forces were locked in a fierce gun battle on Wednesday with assailants who assassinated President Jovenel Moise at his home overnight, plunging the already impoverished, violence-wracked nation deeper into chaos.

Olympics bans spectators after Tokyo declares COVID-19 emergency

The Tokyo Olympics will take place without spectators, organisers said on Thursday, as a resurgent pandemic forced Japan to declare a coronavirus state of emergency for the capital that will run throughout the event.

Haitian president assassinated at home

Haitian President Jovenel Moise was shot dead by unidentified attackers in his private residence overnight in a “barbaric act”, the government said on Wednesday, stirring fears of escalating turmoil in the impoverished Caribbean nation.

Taliban fighters storm capital of northwestern Afghan province

Regional officials in northern Afghanistan said on Wednesday they had recaptured government buildings in a provincial capital after Taliban fighters stormed it overnight, taking over the police headquarters and sparking panic among residents.

Bangladesh extends lockdown as virus surge continues

Bangladesh is extending its current nationwide shutdown for seven more days to counter a rise in coronavirus infections, the government said on Monday.

Hundreds of Afghan security personnel flee into Tajikistan as Taliban advance

More than 1,000 Afghan security personnel fled across the border into Tajikistan on Sunday after Taliban advances in northern Afghanistan, the Tajik border guard service said, while dozens of others were captured by the insurgents.

Next 2 days “critical” in Sydney’s struggle to quell Delta COVID outbreak

Australian authorities trying to stamp out an outbreak in Sydney of the highly infectious Delta variant of COVID-19 said on Monday that the next two days would be “absolutely critical” in deciding whether to extend a stay-home order beyond July 9.

Indonesia ramps up oxygen output, dozens die amid scarcity

Indonesia has ordered oxygen makers to prioritise medical needs amid growing demand from COVID-19 patients, the government said on Sunday, following more than 60 deaths in a hospital where supply of the life-saving gas was almost exhausted.

Military aircraft with 85 passengers crashes in the Philippines

A Philippines military plane has crashed in Sulu province. So far, 40 people have been rescued, and 17 bodies have been recovered from the wreckage.

Two feared dead, twenty missing after deadly Japanese landslide

Rain hampered Japanese rescuers seeking 20 missing people on Sunday after landslides triggered by torrential rains hit the central city of Atami, killing at least two, Kyodo news agency said.

UAE bans citizens from travelling to India, Pakistan

The United Arab Emirates announced on Thursday a travel ban on citizens to India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Namibia, Zambia, Congo, Uganda, Sierra Leone, Liberia, South Africa and Nigeria, state news agency (WAM) reported.

US forces quit Bagram base in Afghanistan: Official

American troops pulled out of their main military base in Afghanistan on Friday, a US defence official said, under an agreement with the Taliban allowing for the withdrawal of all US forces from the country after a two-decade war.

Canadian village wiped out by fire amid extreme heat

An entire village in British Columbia, Canada was devoured by fire, which ignited shortly after the country’s all-time high temperature record was smashed amid a heatwave in the western part of the country.

Australia tightens lockdown amid Delta virus outbreak, vaccine chaos

Australia reported a slight rise in COVID-19 infections on Tuesday, while officials in several states tightened movement curbs and pushed for vaccinations to limit flare-ups of the highly infectious Delta variant.

Tigray forces seize regional capital, Ethiopian-led troops on the run

Tigrayan forces said they had Ethiopian government troops on the run around the regional capital Mekelle on Tuesday after taking full control of the city in a sharp reversal of eight months of conflict.

Indian map without Kashmir lands Twitter official in hot water

The head of Twitter in India is facing criminal charges after the internet service displayed a map of India that showed disputed regions as being separate from the country.

Bangladesh opens probe into deadly Dhaka building explosion

Authorities have launched an investigation into a deadly explosion that killed seven people in Dhaka, officials said on Monday.

Australia on edge over new Covid-19 clusters

Australian leaders were holding emergency talks on Monday as states and territories sought to stamp out new clusters of coronavirus infections.

Seven militiamen killed in US strikes on Iraqi-Syrian border

At least seven pro-Iranian Iraqi militiamen were killed in US airstrikes on the Iraqi-Syrian border, a Britain-based monitoring group said on Monday.

Death toll climbs to five at collapsed Florida building

The death toll rose to five on Saturday at the site of the Florida building collapsewhere rescue workers methodically searched for more than 150 missing residents whilefirefighters made progress in battling a smoldering fire in the mountain of debris.

Sydney and Darwin in lockdown as COVID-19 cases pop up across Australia

Australia reported on Sunday one of the highest numbers for locally acquired coronavirus cases this year, triggering lockdowns in the cities of Sydney and Darwin and forcing tighter restrictions in four states. Sydney began a two-week lockdown on Sunday as the Bondi neighbourhood cluster of the highly infectious coronavirus Delta variant rose to 110 in Australia’s largest city, while an outbreak in the northern city of Darwin prompted a hard two-

UK Health Secretary resigns after Covid rule-breaking kiss

British Health Secretary Matt Hancock has resigned. Hancock was caught on CCTV footage released this week kissing an aide, in breach of his own social distancing guidelines and his marital vows.

Four dead, 159 missing in Miami building collapse

Rescue workers scouring the debris of a collapsed condo building in a Miami suburb said they heard sounds in the rubble overnight, as officials on Friday raised the number of people unaccounted for to 159 and the confirmed death toll to four.

Antibodies triggered by Chinese COVID-19 shots less effective on Delta variant: Researcher

Antibodies triggered by two Chinese COVID-19 vaccines are less effective against the Delta variant compared with other strains but the shots still offer protection, a Chinese disease control researcher told state media.

End of pandemic out of reach thanks to Delta variant: Merkel

Despite progress in many Western countries’ vaccination campaigns and falling infection rates, it is too soon for the European Union to drop its guard against the spread of the coronavirus, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Friday.

Hong Kong pro-democracy paper Apple Daily to print last edition

Hong Kong’s most vocal pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily said it will print its last edition on Thursday after a stormy year in which it was raided by police and its tycoon owner and other staff were arrested under a new national security law.

Air strike kills at least 43 in Ethiopia’s Tigray

An air strike killed at least 43 people in the town of Togoga in Ethiopia’s Tigray region on Tuesday, a medical official told Reuters, after residents said new fighting had flared in recent days north of the regional capital Mekelle.