3 h. ago Afghanistan earthquake live: ‘There is death in every home’, families say, after at least 800 killed in quake in east of country

Several villages in Kunar province ‘completely destroyed’, says public health ministry, as rescue operations take placeMagnitude 6 earthquake hits eastern AfghanistanHow have you been affected by the earthquake?One resident in Afghanistan’s Nurgal district, one of the worst-affected areas in Kunar, said almost the entire village had collapsed under the force of the earthquake. “Children are under the rubble. The elderly are under the rubble. Young people are under the rubble,” the villager, who did not give his name, told the Associated Press.“We need help here,” he pleaded. “We need people to come here and join us. Let us pull out the people who are buried. There is no one who can come and remove dead bodies from under the rubble.” Continue reading...

Events

7 h. ago Afghanistan earthquake live: more than 800 dead after shallow quake strikes country’s east, state media reports

Several villages in Kunar province ‘completely destroyed’, says ministry for public health, as rescue operations take placeAt least 250 dead after 6.0 magnitude quake near JalalabadHow have you been affected by the earthquake in Afghanistan?One resident in Afghanistan’s Nurgal district, one of the worst-affected areas in Kunar, said almost the entire village had collapsed under the force of the earthquake. “Children are under the rubble. The elderly are under the rubble. Young people are under the rubble,” the villager, who did not give his name, told the Associated Press.“We need help here,” he pleaded. “We need people to come here and join us. Let us pull out the people who are buried. There is no one who can come and remove dead bodies from under the rubble.” Continue reading...

Events

9 h. ago Afghanistan earthquake live: more than 600 dead after shallow quake strikes country’s east, state media reports

Several villages in Kunar province ‘completely destroyed’, says ministry for public health, as rescue operations take placeAt least 250 dead after 6.0 magnitude quake near JalalabadHere is a summary from Afghanistan, where hundreds of people have been killed after an earthquake struck the country’s mountainous eastern region late last night. This is what we know so far:At least 622 people have been killed and more than 1,500 others injured in the earthquake, Afghanistan’s Taliban-run interior ministry said on Monday morning.The earthquake struck the rugged province of Kunar at 11.47pm on Sunday and was centred 27km north-east of the city of Jalalabad in Nangarhar province, the US Geological Survey said.Jalalabad is about 119km (74 miles) away from the capital city, Kabul. A 4.5 magnitude quake occurred 20 minutes later in the same province.The Kunar Disaster Management Authority said deaths and injuries had been reported in the districts of Nur Gul, Soki, Watpur, Manogi and Chapadar...

Events

9 h. ago Afghanistan earthquake UPDATES: Entire villages destroyed as 6.0 tremor kills 622

The massive earthquake struck eastern Afghanistan and destroyed villages and shook buildings from the capital Kabul all the way toward Pakistan's capital Islamabad

Events

3 w. ago ‘I don’t expect to live a normal life’: how a Leeds teenager woke up with a Chinese bounty on her head

After speaking out about the suppression of Hong Kong’s protests, Chloe Cheung was targeted by Beijing, followed on the street and abused online. Yet she remains defiantIt was Christmas Eve 2024 and 19-year-old Chloe Cheung was lying in bed at home in Leeds when she found out the Chinese authorities had put a bounty on her head. As she scrolled through Instagram looking at festive songs, a stream of messages from old school friends started coming into her phone. Look at the news, they told her.Media outlets across east Asia were reporting that Cheung, who had just finished her A-levels, had been declared a threat to national security by officials in Hong Kong. There was an offer of HK$1m (£94,000) to anyone who could assist in her arrest or capture. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago Home Office reveals how people will be chosen to come to UK from France under ‘one in, one out’ scheme – UK politics live

People will be chosen via three-stage process, with government expected to accept around 50 migrants a week when scheme startsRushanara Ali, the homelessness minister, is facing criticism for hiking rent on a property she owns by hundreds of pounds, reportedly just weeks after the previous tenants’ contract ended, PA Media reports. PA says:Four tenants who rented a house in east London from Ali were sent an email last November saying their lease would not be renewed, which also gave them four months’ notice to leave, the i newspaper reported.Ali’s property was then re-listed with a £700 rent increase within weeks, the newspaper said. Continue reading...

Society

3 w. ago Reeves confirms Treasury reviewing gambling taxes – UK politics live

Gambling tax reform is being strongly promoted by Gordon Brown, the former Labour PM who also spent 10 years as chancellorRushanara Ali, the homelessness minister, is facing criticism for hiking rent on a property she owns by hundreds of pounds, reportedly just weeks after the previous tenants’ contract ended, PA Media reports. PA says:Four tenants who rented a house in east London from Ali were sent an email last November saying their lease would not be renewed, which also gave them four months’ notice to leave, the i newspaper reported.Ali’s property was then re-listed with a £700 rent increase within weeks, the newspaper said. Continue reading...

Politics