Japan moved Wednesday to expand a virus state of emergency to eight more regions, a day after the Paralympic opening ceremony, as rising infections put hospitals under pressure.

The step comes with summer school holidays ending and top infection experts suggesting delaying the start of classes to reduce infection risks.
The country has been recording more than 20,000 new infections a day in recent weeks, and in urban areas like Tokyo patients in serious condition have been left waiting for hours or travelling long distances in ambulances to find available hospital beds.
Government spokesman Katsunobu Kato said a panel of experts had approved a plan to place eight more regions under the emergency already in place in 13 areas including Tokyo.
The decision is expected to become official later in the day, when Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga convenes a special meeting of ministers.
The measure largely limits the sale of alcohol by restaurants and bars and asks them to close early, while urging the public to work from home and avoid non-urgent outings.
-This puts further burden on the Japanese people, but we ask for their continued efforts to prevent infections- Kato told a regular briefing.
The government also plans to bring four other regions under a less strict measure that already affects eight regions.
In all, the planned move will mean 33 of Japan's 47 regions are under heightened anti-infection rules as the country hosts the Paralympics after the Olympics.
Organisers say their countermeasures have stopped infection spreading from participants to the Japanese public but some experts argue holding the events has undermined government messaging on the virus and encouraged people to go out. 
A top adviser to the government on the virus told lawmakers Wednesday that municipalities should be able to consider extending the summer vacation for school children to prevent infections.
The government has so far ruled out blanket school closures, and is proceeding with a vaccination programme that began slowly but has picked up speed, with around 40 percent of the population now fully inoculated.
So far Japan has recorded around 15,500 deaths in the pandemic.

The step comes with summer school holidays ending and top infection experts suggesting delaying the start of classes to reduce infection risks

Thirteen areas including Tokyo are already under a state of emergency due to rising infections

Japan expands virus emergency after Paralympics open

At least 22 people were killed while search and rescue efforts continued Sunday for 45 missing after flash floods swept through the US state of Tennessee, according to local authorities.

The highway in the city of Waverly was inaccessible due to heavy rains, and there were power outages in Hickman, Houston and Humphreys counties.
An 8 p.m. curfew is in effect in the flood-affected areas as helicopters and aid teams sent to the region continue their search and rescue efforts.

Search and rescue efforts continue for dozens missing

The highway in the city of Waverly was inaccessible due to heavy rains, and there were power outages in Hickman, Houston and Humphreys counties

At least 22 dead in flash floods in Tennessee

The death toll in Haiti from a powerful earthquake earlier this month has risen to more than 2,000, the country’s civil defense agency said Sunday.

At least 2,207 people are dead and 12,268 injured after a 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck the country on Aug. 14.
With over 100,000 homes destroyed or damaged from the quake, search and rescue efforts remain underway for more than 344 missing.
The epicenter of quake was 12 kilometers (7.5 miles) northeast of Saint-Louis-du-Sud at a depth of 10 kilometers (6 miles).
The country, which has suffered huge devastation and tremors, has called for international help.
One of the world’s most deadly earthquakes in the last century occurred in Haiti on Jan. 12, 2010. 
According to official figures, 316,000 people died and 300,000 were injured in the magnitude-7.0 quake that struck the south of the country.
Around 1.3 million people were left homeless in the aftermath.

More than 12,200 injured after 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck country on Aug. 14

With over 100,000 homes destroyed or damaged from the quake, search and rescue efforts remain underway for more than 344 missing

Death toll in Haiti from powerful earthquake rises to 2,207

The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) said on Monday it detained a Ukrainian citizen for spying.
A man, whose name was withheld, was caught "red-handed while gathering classified information about research and development in small arms” production, the FSB said in a statement.
According to the FSB, "a foreigner on the instructions of the intelligence services of Ukraine was searching for employees of Russian defense enterprises having access to classified information."
-His goals were to recruit Russians and obtain from them legally protected information about promising developments in the field of small arms- it said.
A criminal case was opened against the Ukrainian on espionage charges, entailing imprisonment for a term from 10 to 20 years.
As of filing this report, Ukraine was yet to make an official statement about the arrest of its national.

Russian Federal Security Service says Ukrainian citizen was caught red-handed while gathering classified information

A man, whose name was withheld, was caught "red-handed while gathering classified information about research and development in small arms” production, the FSB said in a statement

Russia detains Ukrainian national for spying

Iraq on Monday launched a security operation to hunt down Daesh/ISIS militants north of the capital Baghdad.

-From here, I announce the launch of a security campaign in cooperation with the families of Tarmiyah district, north of Baghdad, to eliminate Daesh/ISIS sleeper cells- Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi said during a visit to the office of the Operations Command in Tarmiyah.
-Terror-combat is a collective responsibility where all must take part in [...] we have to revisit our security plans to face such sleeper cells- al-Kadhimi added in his remarks cited by a cabinet statement.
Daesh/ISIS militants have an active presence in Tarmiyah district, 50 kilometers north of Baghdad, from where they launch attacks inside the Iraqi capital.
On Friday, four people were killed and eight others injured in a twin attack targeting a position of the pro-government Hashd al-Shaabi militia in Baghdad.
Daesh/ISIS terrorists have in recent months escalated their attacks, especially in the area between Kirkuk, Salahuddin, and Diyala, known as the Triangle of Death.
In 2017, Iraq declared victory over Daesh/ISIS by reclaiming all territories the terrorist group controlled since the summer of 2014 which was estimated to be about a third of the country’s territory.
The group, however, still maintains sleeper cells in large areas in Iraq and occasionally launches sporadic attacks.

Operation targets Daesh/ISIS sleeper cells north of Baghdad

Daesh/ISIS militants have an active presence in Tarmiyah district, 50 kilometers north of Baghdad, from where they launch attacks inside the Iraqi capital

Iraq launches security operation against Daesh/ISIS

Ukraine on Monday blocked the websites of several prominent Russian media outlets in its latest round of sanctions against neighbouring Russia which it has accused of spreading propaganda.

Ties between the ex-Soviet countries have deteriorated sharply since Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula in 2014 and threw its weight behind armed separatists in eastern Ukraine.
Ukraine and its Western allies have accused the Kremlin of sending troops and weapons to reinforce the separatists and also say Russia is leveraging media as a propaganda tool to stoke the conflict.
A decree from President Volodymyr Zelensky published Sunday ordered the websites of 12 Russian media organisations to be blocked in Ukraine.
They include the Vedomosti business daily, which was recently taken over by Kremlin-friendly editors, and the Moskovsky Komsomolets newspaper, among others.
The decree also ordered the organisations' local bank accounts to be frozen.
The Kremlin criticised the move, describing Ukraine as being on a path towards "strangling freedom of speech" and limiting "unwanted and uncomfortable" information.
Vladimir Soloviev, the head of the Russian Union of Journalists, described the move as the "final cleansing" of Russian media in Ukraine.
But Moskovsky Komsomolets editor-in-chief Pavel Gusev said the decision would not impact on the work of its Ukraine bureau "in any way".
-There are modern ways of bypassing these restrictions, if necessary- he told the Russian news agency, Interfax.
The measures are just latest wave of penalties Ukraine has imposed against Russian companies and businessmen.
In June, Kiev imposed sanctions on dozens of individuals and enterprises with links to Russia's defence sector.
Ukraine in February blocked three pro-Russian television channels in a move the presidency said was aimed at staving off Kremlin propaganda.
Ukraine's approximately 40 million people are mostly bilingual and most of the people who live in the east of the country, where the fighting is concentrated, speak Russian as a first language.
The conflict between Kiev forces and Russian-backed separatists has already claimed more than 13,000 lives.
Ukraine's military said Monday that one of its soldiers was killed in an attack from separatist-held territory over the past 24 hours.
Separately, Russia's FSB security service announced it had detained a Ukrainian national it said was collecting secret information on new weapon systems.

Ukraine and its Western allies have accused the Kremlin of sending troops and weapons to reinforce the separatists and also say Russia is leveraging media as a propaganda tool to stoke the conflict

A decree from President Volodymyr Zelensky published Sunday ordered the websites of 12 Russian media organisations to be blocked in Ukraine

Ukraine blocks access to popular Russian news sites

Turkey on Monday sent 16 tons of humanitarian aid to Haiti after the Caribbean nation was hit recently with a 7.2 magnitude earthquake.

The aid, containing 222 boxes of food and 270 boxes of hygiene products, was prepared upon the direction of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey's Disaster and Emergency Management Agency (AFAD) said in a statement.&nbsp;The aid will be shipped to Haiti by a Turkish Air Force cargo plane and will be distributed by a AFAD team, the statement added.
The death toll in Haiti from the powerful earthquake earlier this month has risen to more than 2,000, the country's civil defense agency said on Sunday.
At least 2,207 people are dead and 12,268 injured after the 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck the country on Aug. 14.
With over 100,000 homes destroyed or damaged from the quake, search and rescue efforts continue for more than 344 people still missing.

16 tons of food, hygiene products airlifted to Caribbean nation after devastating earthquake that left at least 2,207 dead

The aid will be shipped to Haiti by a Turkish Air Force cargo plane and will be distributed by a AFAD team

Turkey sends humanitarian aid to quake-hit Haiti

Indonesia's ex-social affairs minister was jailed for 12 years on Monday after being convicted of taking $1.2 million in bribes linked to food aid for poor families hit by the coronavirus pandemic.

A Jakarta court handed out the stiff sentence to Juliari Batubara following his December arrest and a sting operation that turned up suitcases, backpacks and envelopes stuffed with cash.
-The court sentences the defendant to 12 years in prison and orders him to pay 500 million rupiah ($35,000) in fines or serve six more months in prison- presiding judge Muhammad Damis told the hearing, which was held virtually for virus safety reasons.
The former politician was also ordered to pay the equivalent of about $1 million in restitution, or face an additional two years in prison, the court said.
Batubara would take cash from two contractors hired to supply basic food packages for Indonesians hit hard by the health crisis, the court heard earlier.
President Joko Widodo vowed not to protect corrupt officials in the wake of Batubara's arrest and described the stolen funds as "the people's money".
Graft remains a big problem in Indonesia, where politicians are widely seen as among the most corrupt.
The country's anti-corruption agency has arrested scores of public officials in recent years, including ex-fisheries minister Edhy Prabowo who last month was jailed for five years in a graft case linked to baby lobster exports.
The Southeast Asian nation is among countries worst hit by Covid-19 with nearly four million confirmed infections and more than 126,000 deaths, although the official tally is widely thought to be a severe undercount due to low testing and patchy data collection.

A Jakarta court handed out the stiff sentence to Juliari Batubara following his December arrest and a sting operation that turned up suitcases, backpacks and envelopes stuffed with cash

A journalist uses his mobile phone to take pictures of a large screen showing the live-streaming of the sentencing hearing of former Social Affairs Minister Juliari Peter Batubara, left, held virtually amid coronavirus outbreak, at the Corruption Eradication Commission building in Jakarta, Indonesia, Monday, Aug. 23, 2021. Indonesia's anti-graft court sentenced Batubara to 12 years in prison for his involvement in a bribery case pertaining to the government's COVID-19 aid distribution.

Indonesian ex-minister jailed for 12 years in virus graft case

Two flights arrived at a Belgian air base outside Brussels on Monday carrying 226 people -- mainly Afghan employees of international missions and their families -- escaping the chaos in Kabul.

The flights came from Islamabad, the hub for Belgium's Operation Red Kite rescue mission, which is acting as an air link to Kabul. 
Four military flights from Kabul were due to ferry more Belgium-bound escapees to the Pakistani capital later in the day. 
The mission's first flight back to Belgian soil brought 193 vulnerable people at Melsbroek base, home of Belgium's 15th Air Transport Wing, in a chartered civilian Air Belgium Airbus jet. 
Families, many with small children and carrying only hand luggage to begin their new lives in Europe, were led to four grey buses to be taken to the Peutie military base under police escort for health checks and immigration processing.
Many of the arrivals huddled under red blankets as they queued for their buses under the rain and grey skies. One, a woman in a headscarf, waved to reporters as she disembarked. 
A second flight, this one on a Royal Netherlands Air Force military A330 transport, arrived shortly afterwards with 33 passengers, including at least one diplomat, according to officers at the air base. 
Only one bus was needed for the second flight, which was far from full. 
Foreign Minister Sophie Wilmes said Operation Red Kite has already brought 400 people from Kabul's airport, which was being secured by US and allied troops, and out to Islamabad for onward travel to Belgium.
-The situation remains volatile. Thank you to everyone for their tireless efforts- she tweeted.
Belgium is one of several NATO and EU member states that are scrambling to rescue vulnerable foreign staff and Afghan allies from Afghanistan since the Taliban overran the capital just over a week ago.

Planes were carrying 226 people, mainly Afghan employees of international missions and their families

People disembark the MRTT T-055 military plane arriving from Afghanistan at Melsbroek Military Airport, in Melsbroek, Belgium, 23 August 2021. The plane, the second to land on 23 August, carried 33 Belgian citizens and Afghans who helped the Belgian mission in Afghanistan.

Kabul evacuation flights arrive in Belgium

German and US forces joined in a gun battle Monday at Kabul airport after Afghan guards and unknown assailants exchanged fire, with one guard killed, the German army said.

-This morning at 4.13am, there was an exchange of fire between Afghan guards and unknown assailants at the North Gate of Kabul airport. An Afghan guard was killed, three others injured- said the German army on Twitter.
-American and German forces participated in further exchange of fire- it said, adding that no German soldiers were injured.
Kabul airport has seen chaotic scenes as tens of thousands of foreigners and Afghans seek to flee Afghanistan after the Taliban swept back to power more than a week ago.
The German army has since flown more than 2,500 people out using military planes.

Three others injured, said the German army on Twitter

Kabul airport has seen chaotic scenes as tens of thousands of foreigners and Afghans seek to flee Afghanistan after the Taliban swept back to power more than a week ago

Kabul airport gunfight leaves Afghan guard dead

At least two policemen were killed and nine people were injured in a roadside blast in southwestern Pakistan on Sunday, police said.

The explosion – latest in a slew of terrorist attacks on security forces – occurred in a busy street in Quetta, the capital of southwestern Balochistan province.
The bomb, planted in a motorbike parked along Zargon road, was detonated through remote control, targeting a police patrol van, Balochistan's Interior Minister Mir Zia Langov told Anadolu Agency.
The injured, including five cops, were transferred to the hospital. Among them, at least two are critically injured, according to the police.
No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack, however, security agencies point a finger of blame at Baloch separatists, who have been fighting for cessation of the mineral-rich province.
The large Balochistan province has been plagued by violence for over six decades, with separatists claiming it was forcibly incorporated into Pakistan at the end of the British rule in 1947.
The province is a key route of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, a $65 billion project aimed at connecting China's strategically important northwestern Xinxiang province to Balochistan’s Gawadar port through a network of roads, railways, and pipelines to transport cargo, oil, and gas.

9 people, including 5 policemen, injured when bomb explodes in Quetta city

The injured, including five cops, were transferred to the hospital

Roadside blast kills 2 policemen in southwestern Pakistan

Thousands of homes have been damaged in Sudan after torrential rains caused heavy flooding, with many streets in the capital Khartoum deep in water, AFP correspondents said Sunday.

Heavy rains usually fall in Sudan from June to October, and the country faces severe flooding every year, wrecking properties, infrastructure, and crops.
In Atbara, a city in Sudan's north-east, the official news agency SUNA reported that a number of houses had "collapsed" due to the heavy rains.
On Thursday, the UN's humanitarian agency OCHA said some 12,000 people in eight out of the country's 18 states had been affected.
-Over 800 homes have reportedly been destroyed and over 4,400 homes damaged- the UN said.
Last year, heavy rains forced Sudan to declare a three-month state of emergency, after flooding affected at least 650,000 people, with over 110,000 homes damaged or destroyed.
In 2020, the Blue Nile -- which joins the White Nile in the Sudanese capital Khartoum -- floodwater swelled the river to its highest level since records began over a century ago.

Heavy rains usually fall in Sudan from June to October, and the country faces severe flooding every year, wrecking properties, infrastructure, and crops

Torrential rains caused flooding in Sudan, including here in the capital Khartoum

Floods in Sudan damage thousands of homes

A Thai man was charged with the murder of a Swiss woman whose body was found near a waterfall on the tourist island of Phuket, police said Sunday.

The body of Nicole Sauvain-Weisskopf, 57, was found covered with a sheet on Thursday.
She had travelled to Phuket under a "sandbox" pilot scheme that allows vaccinated tourists into Phuket without a two-week quarantine.
Thai national Theerawut Tortip, 27, was arrested and charged with murder and robbery causing death, Deputy National Police spokesman Kissana Phathanacharoen said.
-The cause of death is yet to be confirmed as the autopsy report has yet to be released by authorities- Kissana said during a press conference.
Theerawut, who attended the press conference via a phone-in accompanied by his lawyer, said he had taken roughly 300 baht ($9) after strangling Sauvain-Weisskopf.
-I would like to apologise to the family of the tourist and plead for all Thais to forgive me- he said.
Police Major General Nantadej Yoinual, who oversees the southern region, said Theerawut confessed following an interrogation.
He said Theerawut was detained after reviewing nearby CCTV footage, and narrowing their search to the owner of a motorbike seen around the same time that Sauvin-Weisskopf travelled to the waterfall.
-The victim, the family of the victim, and all the people of Thailand deserve a swift investigation of this crime- a Swiss embassy official said.
The case has cast a pall over Phuket's sandbox scheme, touted as a way to reopen Thailand's coronavirus-hit tourism sector after more than a year of strict travel curbs.
More than 16,000 people have arrived in Phuket since the July 1 launch of the scheme.

Theerawut Tortip, 27, was arrested and charged with murder and robbery causing death

The Swiss woman had travelled to Phuket under a pilot 'sandbox' scheme allowing vaccinated tourists to enter the island without undergoing the usual two-week mandatory hotel quarantine

Thai man charged with murder of Swiss tourist in Phuket

Haiti's justice system is still struggling to find a judge willing to investigate the assassination of President Jovenel Moise a full month after he died, as magistrates fear for their lives if they take on the murky and explosive case.

-It is a sensitive, political dossier. Before agreeing to investigate it, a judge thinks about his own safety and that of his family- one judge told AFP.
-For this reason, investigating magistrates are not too enthusiastic about accepting it- this judge told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Several magistrates have told the dean of the Court of First Instance in Port-au-Prince that they are not interested in working on the shocking July 7 assassination of Moise at the presidential residence by a commando team, this judge said. Moise's wife Martine was wounded but survived.
Senior magistrate Bernard Saint-Vil has sought to reassure these judges, telling them he has asked the government to guarantee their safety and has requested bodyguards.
Saint-Vil said early this week he would announce Thursday the name of the investigating magistrate chosen to take on the case, but in the end he could not because no judge wanted the job.
Police say they have arrested 44 people in connection with the killing, including 12 Haitian police officers, 18 Colombians who were allegedly part of the commando team and two Americans of Haitian descent.
The head of Moise's security detail is among those detained in connection with the plot allegedly organized by a group of Haitians with foreign ties. 
Moise, an unpopular leader, had been ruling the impoverished and disaster-plagued nation by decree, as gang violence spiked and Covid-19 spread.
Police have issued wanted-persons notices for several other people, including a judge from Haiti's highest court, a former senator and a businessman.
Prosecutors have also issued summons for an opposition party leader, the head of Moise's own party, and two Haitian preachers who had spoken out publicly against the late president.

Police say they have arrested 44 people in connection with the killing, including 12 Haitian police officers, 18 Colombians who were allegedly part of the commando team and two Americans of Haitian descent

A portrait of late Haitian president Jovenel Moise is seen at a ceremony in his honor in Port-au-Prince on July 20, 2021

Haiti still seeking judge to probe president's assassination

Egypt has transported the Pharaoh Khufu's intact solar boat dating back some 4,600 years to the country's soon to be unveiled grand museum, the antiquities ministry said on Saturday.

Solar boats were buried in pits next to royal burial chambers in the belief that they would transport the departed into the afterlife.
Cairo's Great Pyramid -- also known as the Pyramid of Cheops -- is the largest of the three Giza pyramids and houses Khufu's tomb.
-After... crossing the streets of Giza on a smart vehicle, the first boat of King Khufu discovered in 1954 at the southern corner of the Great Pyramid has terminated its long journey to the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM)- a ministry statement said.
The boat was commissioned by Khufu, a Fourth Dynasty monarch who ruled during the Old Kingdom.
The ministry boasted that the 42-metre (138-foot) long and 20-tonne solar boat is "the biggest and oldest organic artifact made of wood, in the history of humanity".
Its journey on a special remote-controlled vehicle imported from Belgium began late on Friday and took 10 hours, the official MENA news agency reported. 
Egypt has touted the anticipated opening of the GEM at the Giza plateau, home to the famed pyramids, as an important archaeological landmark housing its most precious antiquities.
The vessel was transported intact on its 7.5-kilometre journey, and is set to be one of the star exhibits when the new museum opens.
It had been on display near the Great Pyramid.
Egypt has pinned its hopes on a series of recent archaeological discoveries to revive its vital but ailing tourism sector which has suffered multiple shocks, from the 2011 uprising to today's coronavirus pandemic.
In April, authorities moved the mummified remains of 22 pharaohs from Cairo's iconic Egyptian Museum in a grandiose ceremony to the National Museum of Egyptian Civilisation in the city.
In a carefully choreographed televised event, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi greeted the coffins that included the mummies of Ramses II and Queen Hatshepsut.

Solar boats were buried in pits next to royal burial chambers in the belief that they would transport the departed into the afterlife

Khufu's solar boat on its journey to the new Grand Egyptian Museum

Ancient pharaonic boat taken to Egypt's grand new museum

The Taliban Saturday captured Sheberghan city in Jawzjan, the deputy governor said, the second Afghan provincial capital to fall to the insurgents in less than 24 hours.

-The (government) forces and officials have retreated to the airport- Jawzjan deputy governor Qader Malia told AFP.
The city is home to notorious warlord Abdul Rashid Dostum, who only returned to Afghanistan this week from medical treatment in Turkey.
The Taliban have gained vast parts of rural Afghanistan since launching a series of offensives in May to coincide with the start of the final withdrawal of foreign troops.
On Friday, Zaranj city in Nimroz fell to the Taliban "without a fight", according to its deputy governor, becoming the first provincial capital to be taken by the insurgents.
There was more resistance in Sheberghan, several sources told AFP, but an aide to Dostum confirmed the city had been taken.

The city is home to notorious warlord Abdul Rashid Dostum, who only returned to Afghanistan this week from medical treatment in Turkey

Afghan militia fighters keep watch at an outpost against Taliban insurgents in the northern Balkh province on July 15, 2021.

Japan expands virus emergency after Paralympics open

At least 22 dead in flash floods in Tennessee

Death toll in Haiti from powerful earthquake rises to 2,207

Russia detains Ukrainian national for spying

Iraq launches security operation against Daesh/ISIS

Ukraine blocks access to popular Russian news sites

Turkey sends humanitarian aid to quake-hit Haiti

Indonesian ex-minister jailed for 12 years in virus graft case

Kabul evacuation flights arrive in Belgium

Kabul airport gunfight leaves Afghan guard dead

Roadside blast kills 2 policemen in southwestern Pakistan

Floods in Sudan damage thousands of homes

Thai man charged with murder of Swiss tourist in Phuket

Haiti still seeking judge to probe president's assassination

Ancient pharaonic boat taken to Egypt's grand new museum

Taliban capture second Afghan provincial capital in 24 hours

World

Japan expands virus emergency after Paralympics open

At least 22 dead in flash floods in Tennessee

Death toll in Haiti from powerful earthquake rises to 2,207

Russia detains Ukrainian national for spying

Iraq launches security operation against Daesh/ISIS

Ukraine blocks access to popular Russian news sites

Turkey sends humanitarian aid to quake-hit Haiti

Indonesian ex-minister jailed for 12 years in virus graft case

Kabul evacuation flights arrive in Belgium

Kabul airport gunfight leaves Afghan guard dead

Roadside blast kills 2 policemen in southwestern Pakistan

Floods in Sudan damage thousands of homes

Thai man charged with murder of Swiss tourist in Phuket

Haiti still seeking judge to probe president's assassination

Ancient pharaonic boat taken to Egypt's grand new museum

Taliban capture second Afghan provincial capital in 24 hours