Covid-19: Australian police call for military to enforce lockdown in Sydney

       SYDNEY, July 29 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Police in Australia’s largest city have requested military help to enforce a coronavirus lockdown as infections in Sydney reached a new record Thursday. Commissioner Mick Fuller said New South Wales police had asked for 300 Australian Defence Force personnel to be deployed “to boost…

Lithuania reports record number of migrants at Belarus border

Migrants apprehended by Lithuanian authorities on a forest road near the Belarusian border VILNIUS, July 29 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The EU country Lithuania has registered a record number of migrants who illegally crossed the border from neighbouring Belarus within one day.In the past 24 hours, 171 unauthorized border crossers were apprehended,…

South Africa ‘appalled’ by AU decision to grant Israel observer status

South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa PRETORIA, July 29 (NNN-AGENCIES) — South Africa vehemently objected to last week’s “unilateral” decision by the African Union Commission to grant Israel an official observer status at the continental organisation.In a strongly worded statement, the continental powerhouse, which last year held the annually rotating AU…

8.2 magnitude earthquake off Alaskan peninsula, tsunami warning

 WASHINGTON, July 29 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A shallow 8.2 magnitude earthquake struck off the Alaskan peninsula late Wednesday, the United States Geological Survey said, prompting a tsunami warning. The earthquake hit 91 kilometers southeast of the town of Perryville, the USGS said, with a tsunami warning in effect for south Alaska…

Five Iraqi crew killed in helicopter crash on ‘combat mission’: military

 BAGHDAD, July 29 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Five Iraqi troops were killed Thursday when their helicopter crashed on a “combat mission” north of Baghdad, the military said, as a security source confirmed it had been hit by ground fire. The helicopter came down near Amerli in Salaheddin province, the military said, in…

Covid-19: Olympic organisers defend coronavirus measures as cases rise

TOKYO, July 29 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Tokyo Olympics organisers dismissed any link to rising coronavirus cases in Japan on Thursday after reporting 24 infections among Games participants, the highest yet.    At least 193 athletes, media and Olympic employees and contractors have now tested positive for the virus, according to Tokyo…

Monsoon flooding affects thousands in lower part of Myanmar

People walk through the flood water in Myitkyina, Myanmar YANGON, July 29 (NNN-Xinhua) — Monsoon flooding has hit the lower part of Myanmar following heavy rainfall since the third week of July, according to state-run media reports on Thursday. The floods have affected thousands of residents in the country’s Kayin,…

Afghan forces operations kill 23 militants in northern Faryab

MAIMANA (Afghanistan), July 29 (NNN-Xinhua) — A total of 23 militants were confirmed dead and three others injured as Afghan government forces backed by air power stormed Taliban hideouts in Pashtunkot and Almar districts of the northern Faryab province on Wednesday, army spokesman in the northern region Mohammad Hanif Rezai…

Covid-19: India’s tally rises to 31,528,114 with over 40,000 new infections

NEW DELHI, July 29 (NNN-Xinhua) — India’s COVID-19 tally rose to 31,528,114 on Thursday as 43,509 new cases were registered during the past 24 hours across the country, showed the federal health ministry’s latest data. Besides, as many as 640 deaths from the pandemic were reported since Wednesday morning, taking…

Covid-19: Tanzania launches mass vaccination drive

Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan shows a vaccination card after receiving the COVID-19 vaccine in Dar es Salaam DAR ES SALAAM, July 29 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan launched the country’s COVID-19 vaccination drive and received a jab of Johnson & Johnson vaccine in the commercial capital Dar…