toll exceeds 400
KINSHASA, July 02: The official death toll in an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo now exceeds more than 400, according to official figures released on Thursday. The highly contagious disease has claimed 438 lives, with 1,406 people infected since the outbreak was declared in northeastern Ituri province on May 15, the National Institute of Public Health said in its latest report. — AFP
Nine Thai monks killed after 11-year-old
driver collides with procession
BANGKOK, July 02: Nine Buddhist monks were killed and several others in their procession injured when they were hit by an 11-year-old boy driving his parents' pickup truck in north-east Thailand, police said. The group of 35 monks and five lay followers were walking along a road in Mukdahan province during a pilgrimage when the incident occurred. Footage posted online shows saffron robes and belongings scattered by the roadside, and a wrecked vehicle. — BBC
UK PM 'deeply sorry' for decades
of forced adoptions
LONDON, July 02: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Thursday formally apologised for the forced adoption of an estimated 185,000 babies born to unmarried mothers in England and Wales between 1949 and 1976, calling it "a stain on our history". The scandal saw the mothers, including many who were teenagers, coerced into giving up their children with social, institutional and family pressures used to persuade them that adoption was their only option. — AFP
Damascus cafe blast kills five, wounds 16
DAMASCUS, July 02: A bomb blast at a crowded cafe in central Damascus killed at least five people and wounded 16 others on Thursday, Syrian state media reported. Syrian state TV said a bomb had been planted at the cafe, which is near the Palace of Justice in the centre of Syria's capital. — Arab News