PAKISTAN
Afghan travel resumes
The normal trade and movement of people with Afghanistan fully resumed yesterday after the two sides reopened a key border crossing that was shut nearly a week ago by the Taliban, stranding people and thousands of trucks carrying food and essential items. The Afghan embassy in Islamabad announced the reopening of the Torkham border yesterday on Twitter. Pakistani officials and Afghanistan’s Taliban-appointed administrator in Afghanistan’s Nangarhar Province also confirmed that the border crossing is open to passengers and trade.
SPAIN
Possible Marburg case found
The government has detected its first suspected case of Marburg disease, a deadly infectious disease that has led to the quarantining of more than 200 people in Equatorial Guinea, health authorities in Valencia said yesterday. A 34-year-old man, who had recently been in Equatorial Guinea, has been transferred from a private hospital to an isolation unit at the Hospital La Fe in Valencia while tests are carried out, regional health authorities said. Marburg virus can have a fatality rate of up to 88 percent, according to the WHO. There are no vaccines or antiviral treatments approved to treat it.
NEW ZEALAND
Thirteen still missing
The number of people still unaccounted for in the wake of Cyclone Gabrielle nearly two weeks ago has fallen to 13, authorities said yesterday, as heavy rain overnight prompted evacuations on North Island. Gabrielle struck the island’s northernmost region on Feb. 12 and tracked down the east coast causing widespread havoc, leaving at least 11 dead and displacing thousands. “Getting in touch with those remaining 13 remains a priority for police and we are working as fast as we can,” police said in a statement.
UNITED STATES
Biden to announce 2024 run
President Joe Biden on Friday indicated that he would be announcing a bid for a second term — only not right away. Speculation has been mounting over Biden’s plans. At 80, he is the oldest person in the presidency, and while he has repeatedly said he intends to run again, he has yet to commit. In an interview with ABC News’ David Muir, he said “my intention is ... has been from the beginning, to run.” Asked about an earlier interview on Friday in which his wife, first lady Jill Biden, said that the time and place of a campaign announcement was all that remained to decide, Biden quipped: “As my mother would say, ‘God love her.’”
UNITED STATES
Zoo bear escapes again
St Louis Zoo officials said they are working to find a way to keep an Andean bear named Ben inside his enclosure after he escaped on Thursday for the second time this month. The bear was outside for less than an hour and was found about 30m away from his habitat, zoo officials said in a statement. The four-year-old bear, who weighs about 136kg, was tranquilized and returned to the enclosure. Visitors and zoo staff were kept inside zoo buildings during Ben’s escapade. The bear escaped on Feb. 7 by tearing apart clips that were attached with a stainless steel mesh to the frame of the enclosure’s door. He did not wander far and was outside for about 90 minutes before being returned. In response, the zoo added stainless steel clips with 204kg of tensile strength to the mesh. Ben managed to snap those clips on Thursday.
Tunisian President Kais Saied yesterday condemned a European Parliament resolution on human rights calling for the release of his critics as “blatant interference.” The EU Parliament resolution, voted by an overwhelming majority the day before, called for the release of lawyer Sonia Dahmani, a popular critic of Saied, who was freed from prison on Thursday, but remained under judicial supervision. “The European Parliament [resolution] is a blatant interference in our affairs,” Saied said. “They can learn lessons from us on rights and freedoms.” Saied’s condemnation also came two days after he summoned the EU’s ambassador for “failing to respect diplomatic rules.” He also
Tropical Storm Koto killed three people and left another missing as it approached Vietnam, authorities said yesterday, as strong winds and high seas buffeted vessels off the country’s flood-hit central coast. Heavy rains have lashed Vietnam’s middle belt in recent weeks, flooding historic sites and popular holiday destinations, and causing hundreds of millions of dollars in damage. Authorities ordered boats to shore and diverted dozens of flights as Koto whipped up huge waves and dangerous winds, state media reported. Two vessels sank in the rough seas, a fishing boat in Khanh Hoa province and a smaller raft in Lam Dong, according to the
Sri Lanka made an appeal for international assistance yesterday as the death toll from heavy rains and floods triggered by Cyclone Ditwah rose to 123, with another 130 reported missing. The extreme weather system has destroyed nearly 15,000 homes, sending almost 44,000 people to state-run temporary shelters, the Sri Lankan Disaster Management Centre (DMC) said. DMC Director-General Sampath Kotuwegoda said relief operations had been strengthened with the deployment of thousands of troops from the country’s army, navy and air force. “We have 123 confirmed dead and another 130 missing,” Kotuwegoda told reporters in Colombo. Cyclone Ditwah was moving away from the island yesterday and
‘HEART IS ACHING’: Lee appeared to baffle many when he said he had never heard of six South Koreans being held in North Korea, drawing criticism from the families South Korean President Lee Jae-myung yesterday said he was weighing a possible apology to North Korea over suspicions that his ousted conservative predecessor intentionally sought to raise military tensions between the war-divided rivals in the buildup to his brief martial law declaration in December last year. Speaking to reporters on the first anniversary of imprisoned former South Korean president Yoon Suk-yeol’s ill-fated power grab, Lee — a liberal who won a snap presidential election following Yoon’s removal from office in April — stressed his desire to repair ties with Pyongyang. A special prosecutor last month indicted Yoon and two of his top
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