Santiago, Chile Chilean police on Monday arrested a former fireman for allegedly contributing to a massive blaze that killed 137 people and destroyed thousands of homes in February because he wanted to be a “hero” by helping put it out. The arrest of Elias Salazar, 39, adds to those of another volunteer firefighter and a forestry official...
Tegucigalpa, Honduras Honduras vowed Wednesday to withdraw from an extradition treaty with the United States that has been used to imprison drug traffickers, accusing Washington of meddling in Honduran-Venezuelan relations. “The interference and interventionism of the United States, as well as its intention to manage the politics of Honduras through its embassy and other representatives, is...
Kolkata, India Thousands of protesters clashed in India’s eastern city of Kolkata on Wednesday, where demonstrations seeking justice for a murdered doctor spiralled into violent street skirmishes between political rivals. The discovery of the 31-year-old doctor’s bloodied body at a state-run hospital in Kolkata on August 9 stoked nationwide anger at the chronic issue of violence...
Kinshasa, DR Congo Mpox cases and deaths are rising in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) as the central African country awaits vaccines from the United States and Japan, the health minister said on Monday. The toll this year has risen in a few days from 16,000 cases and 548 deaths to 16,700 cases and “a little more...
Goma, DR Congo An ever-growing number of patients have been flocking to a Goma hospital in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, where a rapidly-spreading epidemic of mpox has erupted in recent months. Five to 20 people are walking each day into Nyiragongo General Referral Hospital in North Kivu to consult overburdened medical teams at an outdoor...
Stockholm, Sweden Sweden on Thursday announced the first case outside Africa of the more dangerous variant of mpox, which the WHO has declared a global public health emergency. The country’s public health agency confirmed to AFP that it was the same strain of the virus that has surged in the Democratic Republic of Congo since September...
Paris, France At least 1.4 million girls in Afghanistan have been denied access to secondary education since the Taliban returned to power in 2021, with the future of an entire generation now “in jeopardy”, the United Nations’ cultural agency said Thursday. Access to primary education has also fallen sharply, with 1.1 million fewer girls and boys...
Susques, Argentina Anahi Jorge, 23, works for a lithium extraction company in Argentina, earning four times the salary of a local government worker in her village of Susques. And while she welcomes the income of about $1,700 per month — a fortune for most in economic-crisis-riddled Argentina — she laments the impact on critical water resources...
Kolkata, India India has arrested nearly a dozen Bangladeshis attempting to cross the border to escape violence and political tumult following deadly protests that led to the ouster of prime minister Sheikh Hasina, border officials said Monday. Hundreds more are waiting along the frontier pleading for permission to cross, India’s Border Security Force (BSF) said. Hindus...
Athens, Greece Greece on Sunday ordered thousands of people to evacuate as firefighters battled a spate of wildfires, and experts warned of more extreme weather to come next week. Firefighters were battling a “dangerous” fire near Athens on Sunday night, with smoke covering parts of the capital in a dark haze. The emergency services issued evacuation...