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NARAYANGANJ, Bangladesh (AFP) — The death toll from a gas explosion that tore through a Bangladesh mosque has risen to 24, officials said Sunday, as rescuers described how survivors jumped into a nearby open sewer to escape the flames. Worshippers were at Friday evening prayers when the blast sent a ball of fire through the mosque in the central district of Narayanganj near the capital Dhaka, emergency services said. Eight more people — including […]
by Joe JACKSON, with Phil HAZLEWOOD in London Agence France Presse BIRMINGHAM, United Kingdom (AFP) — Detectives in Britain’s second city of Birmingham on Sunday launched a hunt for a knifeman who killed one and critically injured two in a series of random stabbings over several hours. Five others suffered minor injuries in the attacks, which happened at four separate locations in the busy city centre between 12:30 (2330 GMT Saturday) and 2:30 am. […]
by Sunghee HWANG with Charly TRIBALLEAU in Kagoshima, JAPAN SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — A powerful typhoon lashed South Korea on Monday after smashing into southern Japan with record winds and heavy rains that left four people missing in a landslide. Half a million people were without power after Typhoon Haishen roared past Japan’s southern-most main island of Kyushu, ripping off roofs and dumping half a metre (20 inches) of water in just a day. […]
LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — More than 200 people were airlifted to safety after being trapped by a fast-moving wildfire near a popular recreation area in northern California, officials said Sunday. The evacuees climbed aboard military helicopters after the blaze, in bone-dry conditions, cut off ground escape routes from Mammoth Pool Reservoir in the Sierra National Forest, about 45 miles (70 kilometers) northeast of Fresno. Flames moved in so fast that at one point […]
KAGOSHIMA, Japan (AFP) — Powerful Typhoon Haishen approached South Korea on Monday after slamming southern Japan with record winds and heavy rains that prompted evacuation warnings for millions. On Monday morning, initial assessments suggested the storm had done less damage than feared, though hundreds of thousands of homes were left without power across much of Japan’s southern Kyushu island. At 7 am, the typhoon was 30 kilometres (around 20 miles) north of Tsushima island and […]
by Charly Triballeau, with Hiroshi Hiyama in Tokyo Agence France Presse KAGOSHIMA, Japan (AFP) — A powerful typhoon that officials warned could bring record rains and gusts strong enough to flip cars slammed into southern Japan on Sunday, prompting authorities to urge millions to seek shelter. Typhoon Haishen has weakened somewhat as it neared Japan’s mainland, and shifted further west out to sea, but it remained a “large” and “extremely strong” storm. After lashing […]
SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Amazon has banned sales of imported seeds in the United States after thousands of Americans said they had received packets of seeds they had not ordered, mostly from China. “Moving forward, we are only permitting the sale of seeds by sellers who are based in the US,” the e-commerce giant said in a statement Saturday. In late July the Department of Agriculture reported that packages of seeds had […]
MELBOURNE, Australia (AFP) — Australian officials on Sunday extended a strict virus lockdown of the country’s second-biggest city by two weeks, saying new cases had not dropped enough to prevent another spike. Melbourne residents were due to exit a harsh six-week lockdown next weekend but face continued restrictions for months to come, with Victoria state premier Daniel Andrews saying the current lockdown would remain in place until September 28. “If we open up too […]
KAGOSHIMA, Japan (AFP) — A powerful typhoon headed toward southern Japan Sunday, bringing violent winds and heavy rains with officials warning it could be strong enough to snap power poles and flip vehicles. Typhoon Haishen, categorised as “large” and “extremely strong”, was expected to move through the Amami region of small islands near Kyushu that separate the Pacific Ocean and the East China Sea in the afternoon. At 8:00 am (2300 GMT Saturday), Haishen […]
DHAKA, Bangladesh (AFP) — A suspected gas explosion tore through a Bangladesh mosque killing at least 12 people while dozens suffered life-threatening burns, police said Saturday. Worshippers were at Friday evening prayers when the blast sent a ball of flames through the mosque in the central district of Narayanganj, emergency services said. Investigators suspected a spark from an air conditioner — which came on after a power cut — set off the gas. “Leaked gas […]
BERLIN, Germany (AFP) — A 27-year-old German woman is suspected of smothering five of her children as she was feeling “emotionally overwhelmed”, investigators said Friday, a day after the lifeless bodies were found in their family apartment. The suspect then attempted suicide by throwing herself under a train, before being rescued with serious but not life threatening injuries, said lead investigator Marcel Maierhofer. She is believed to have “carried out the act while she was […]
TEHRAN, Iran (AFP) — The explosion of a chlorine gas canister being transported by a truck in western Iran has injured 217 people but caused no deaths, state news agency IRNA reported. The blast struck late Friday in Chardavol county in Ilam province, the news agency said. The head of the province’s medical university, Mohammad Karimian, told IRNA driver “carelessness” was suspected. The incident is the latest in a series of fires and explosions that […]
