Province
Militants attack US-NATO base in Afghanistan
Militants on Saturday struck a main U.S.-NATO base in Bagram district of Afghanistan’s Parwan province, north of Kabul, with five rounds of rocket fires, a provincial government spokesperson confirmed. There was no immediate report on casualties or extent of damage. “Five rounds of rockets were fired onto Bagram Airfield from an abandoned truck parked in Qalandar Khil locality of Bagram district roughly at 5:50 a.m. local time on Saturday,’’ Wahida Shahkar told reporters via a text message. She said seven rockets failed to be fired and were defused by Afghan security forces. Further details about the incident are still forthcoming. The Bagram Airfield, some 50 km north of the Afghan capital of Kabul, has been serving as a main U.S. and NATO military base in Afghanistan over the past 19 yea...
Mozambique jihadists push masses to Pemba
The population has soared in Pemba, a northern Mozambique port known for its wide bay, but rather than tourists coming for a swim, the newcomers have fled Islamic extremists. In the past few months, boatloads of people with little but the clothes they wear have landed under the palm trees after their homes fell prey to Al-Shabaab gunmen swearing allegiance to the Islamic State group (IS). In October, the violent rebellion entered its fourth year and has reportedly killed more than 2,400 people and displaced half a million, according to the government. Their villages were torched, many men killed and many young women kidnapped. After seizing coastal zones that host natural gas installations, Islamist fighters have begun to push to the inland districts of Cabo Delgado province. The last offi...
Canada approves Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine
Canadian health officials have authorised the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, hailing the development as a “critical milestone” and paving the way for the inoculant to be administered across the country. The authorisation on Wednesday comes a day after the United Kingdom became the first country to begin giving the vaccine to the public. Emergency use authorisation (EUA) is also pending in the United States, with officials saying the first doses could be administered as early as next week. The US Food and Drug Administration is scheduled to consider its EUA on Thursday. Bahrain has also authorised the vaccine for public use. “Canadians can feel confident that the review process was rigorous and that we have strong monitoring systems in place,” Health Canada, the department responsible fo...
Six killed in Burundi gun attack, weeks after similar incident
Unidentified attackers shot and killed six people in northern Burundi, an official said on Friday, weeks after a similar attack was reported in a southern province. The group launched the attack in Kayanza province on Thursday night from the Kibira forest, the regional governor said, and fled to the same area after the attack. “They arrived at a small centre … killed six people including two kids studying in primary school II and V,” Remy Cishahayo, army colonel and governor of Kayanza province, said on state-owned National Radio Television of Burundi. The forest in the past has served as cover for the ruling CNDDFDD – The National Council for the Defence of Democracy, Forces for the Defence of Democracy party – during its rebellion. Two people were wounded and were receiving treatment, wh...
Nearly 100 teachers, 1,800 students test positive for coronavirus in South Africa
At least 98 teachers and 1,800 learners in South Africa’s Covid-19 epicentre province, the Western Cape, have tested positive for the Covid-19 coronavirus, forcing 20 schools to close. The schools will be disinfected this week. The southern African nation allowed schools to reopen from June 1. Education MEC Debbie Schafer, however, said the cases had not spiked due to the reopening of schools. “Of this number, 1,537 cases were reported before the schools were reopened,” Ms Schafer said. The provincial Education Department had spent R280 million (US$16.3 million) on hygiene supplies. Pupils and teachers were given two masks each, while schools were equipped with digital thermometers, hand sanitiser, liquid soap, and cleaning supplies. Opposition leader Mmusi Maimane, a former Democratic All...
- 1
- 2
