More than 500 feared dead after boats
carrying refugees sink off Myanmar: UN
RAKHINE, July 16: Two boats carrying more than 500 people may have capsized off Myanmar's coast in recent days, UN agencies said on Thursday, as refugees from the war-torn country make perilous maritime journeys in search of safety and better lives. The two vessels left Myanmar's Rakhine State in late June carrying mostly ethnic minority Rohingya passengers, reportedly including some from refugee camps in Bangladesh, the International Organization for Migration and the UN's refugee agency said in a joint statement, citing preliminary information. More than 500 were feared dead, it said. — Reuters
Escalating Israeli strikes kill five in Gaza
CAIRO, July 16: Israeli strikes killed at least five Palestinians in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, Palestinian health officials said, as a US-based research group reported a surge in Israeli attacks to levels not seen since the latest truce took effect in October. Medics said an Israeli airstrike killed two people near the Tuffah neighbourhood in the north of the enclave, while a third person was killed in Israeli tank shelling in the Zeitoun suburb in eastern Gaza City. — Reuters
Algeria orphanage fire kills 11, injures 19
ALGIERS, July 16: A fire burning at an orphanage in a suburb of the Algerian capital has killed at least 11 people and injured 19, the country's civil defence said Thursday. The civil defence was "continuing efforts to put out the fire" in the Mohammadia district of Algiers, with the cause of the blaze unknown. "The provisional toll is 11 dead," it said, without specifying the age of the victims. — AFP
Italy court sentences 32 persons over
deadly Genoa bridge collapse
July 16: An Italian court sentenced 32 defendants on Thursday, including the former head of motorway operator Autostrade, for their role in a deadly bridge disaster eight years ago that killed 43 people. Autostrade's former chief executive, Giovanni Castellucci, was found guilty of vehicular homicide and negligence related to the collapse of the bridge in Genoa -- one of the country's worst infrastructure disasters. The crowded courtroom was packed with relatives of those who plunged to their deaths when the Morandi Bridge -- part of a key highway connecting France and Italy -- gave way in torrential rain on August 14, 2018. — AFP
Fears for Indian activist's life after
18 days of hunger strike
NEW DELHI, July 16: A New Delhi court ordered government doctors on Thursday to monitor activist Sonam Wangchuk's health daily, as supporters fear for his life after nearly three weeks of hunger strike to protest India's examination system. Wangchuk, 59, has been fasting since June 28, demanding the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over alleged irregularities in medical entrance, and other reforms. — Arab News
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