Thirteen members of the same family have died in Namibia after eating porridge that authorities believe became toxic when it was mixed with a fermented substance left over from a homemade alcoholic beverage, the state broadcaster reported. The Namibian Broadcasting Corporation said another four people are in a criticial condition in the hospital. NBC, quoting the Namibian health ministry, said at least 20 people consumed the "poisonous or toxic" porridge after it was mixed with sediment from a homemade beer. The victims ranged in age from 2 to 33, NBC said. The incident happened in the Kavango East region in the far northeast of the country.  

At least 24 migrants trying to make their way to Europe died over two days when their fragile, overloaded boats sank, the prosecutor's office of the coastal port city of Sfax said Saturday. The Tunisian Coast Guard pulled the bodies of four sub-Saharan migrants from the waters off the coast of Sfax on Saturday, while 36 migrants were saved and three others were missing, according to Faouzi Masmoudi, spokesman for the prosecutor's office in Sfax. A day earlier, 20 sub-Saharan migrants drowned when their boat went under about 35 miles (about 56 kilometers) from Sfax, and 17 others, including three children, were saved, Masmoudi said. He added that two of the survivors pulled from the water were reported in critical condition. The numbers of migrants launching from Tunisian coastal waters and aiming to reach the shores of Italy have skyrocketed this year. The Coast Guard intercepted numerous other boats loaded with migrants on Friday and Saturday, Masmoudi said. According to the Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights, 132 migrants have died or disappeared in the first three months of this year while trying to reach Europe, reflecting the numbers of attempted and successful crossings. Nearly two weeks ago, the Coast Guard recovered the bodies of 29 migrants in several boat sinkings. The prosecutor's office in Sfax, one of the main regions for migrants to launch their perilous expeditions, is trying to find those who provide desperate migrants with small unseaworthy vessels to make voyages onward to Europe. People fleeing conflict or poverty routinely take boats from Tunisian shores toward Europe, even though the central Mediterranean is the most dangerous migration route in the world, according to the International Organization for Migration. Many migrants are from sub-Saharan Africa.

Two workers inhaled toxic air and died as they were working inside a septic tank without adequate protective gear - a common occurrence across the country, this time at an under-construction building in Hathazari upazila of the district on Tuesday. The deceased were identified as Md Yeasin, 27, and Md Badsha, 26. Their details could not be known immediately. Md Shamim, an official at the upazila Fire Service and Civil Defence department, said three workers entered the septic tank to clean it at Dakshin Madarsha village around 4.30pm. Two of the workers fell sick due to inhalation of toxic gas in the tank, Shamim said. On information, they rushed to the spot and pulled the workers out of the tank around 5pm, he said, adding that they were rushed to a hospital where physicians declared them dead upon arrival.   Md Alamgir, a sub inspector of Madunaghat police outpost under Hathazari police station, also confirmed the deaths.  

Bangladesh recorded two more Covid-linked deaths with 278  fresh cases in 24 hours till Thursday morning. With the latest numbers, the total fatalities reached 29,300 while the caseload 2,006,646, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS). The daily case positivity rate dropped to 5.14 per cent from Wednesday’s 6.53 per cent as 5,404 samples were tested. The deceased included a man and woman from Sylhet division. The mortality rate remained unchanged at 1.46 percent. The recovery rate rose to 96.97 per cent from Wednesday’s 96.95 per cent. Read: Global Covid cases top 585 million In July, Bangladesh reported 142 Covid-linked deaths and 31,422 cases, the highest death toll and cases in the last five months since March this year, as per DGHS. Among the deceased, 57 were unvaccinated while seven received the first dose, 52 the second dose and 26 the third dose, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS). Besides, 34,901 patients recovered from the disease during this period. Bangladesh reported its first zero Covid death on November 20 last year since the pandemic broke out here in March 2020. The country registered its highest daily caseload of 16,230 on July 28 last year and daily fatalities of 264 on August 10 in the same year.

Eighty-four people are known to have died from the heat wave that has struck Spain since July 10, the Carlos III Health Institute, which reports to the Spanish Ministry of Health, said on Friday. All the deaths, which were reported on July 10-12, could be attributed to the scorching heat exceeding 40 degrees Celsius in large parts of the country. Temperatures even rose above 45 degrees Centigrade in the south and southwest of the country. Also read: Heat wave, flooding leave multiple people dead in China The heat wave is predicted to continue into next week, and the death toll is feared to rise. This is the second major heat wave of the year in Spain. The first one lasted from June 11 until June 20 and claimed the lives of 829 people nationwide, the Ministry of Health said. Back then, temperatures peaked at 44.5 degrees Celsius. The authorities recommend that people drink plenty of water, refrain from excessive exercise and stay indoors as much as possible. Also read: Wildfires scorch parts of Europe amid extreme heat wave

Cholera outbreak has claimed the lives of five persons from a single district in India's western state of Maharashtra and another 181 people have fallen sick, state government officials said Thursday. The water-borne disease outbreak was found in four villages in Amravati district of the state, 669 km east of Mumbai. Read: 6,789 people infected with cholera in Ethiopia: UN Maharashtra's state government has deployed a team to investigate the outbreak and provide guidance, and the state's public health department has sounded alert across the state asking all districts to take adequate steps to curb the spread of the disease amid rains and floods.  

Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal here on Thursday sentenced three people to death for raping a girl in front of her mother 19 years ago. The tribunal also fined the convicts  Tk 2 lakh each. The convicts are—Abul Kashem, son of Fakir Ahmed, Md Latu, son of Abdur Rashid and Jahangir Alam, son of Abul Kalam from Nababpur union under Feni’s Fulgazi upazila. Also read: Female UP member ‘gang-raped’ in Faridpur, one held Mohammad Faruk, another accused in the case, was acquitted by the court as charges against him could not be proved. Public Prosecutor Farid Ahmed Hazari said that all the convicts except Faruk were tried in absentia. According to the case statement, Abul Kashem, Latu, Jahangir Alam and Mohammad Faruk abducted the victim and her mother on the night of May 13, 2003. Later, they raped the girl keeping her mother at gunpoint. Also read: Man to hang for killing wife, daughter in Khulna The victim’s mother logged a complaint with Fulgazi police station in this regard the next day.

The United Arab Emirates' long-ailing ruler, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, died Friday, the government announced in a brief statement. He was 73. Khalifa, the president of the UAE, oversaw much of the country’s blistering economic growth and his name was immortalized on the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa, after bailing out debt-crippled Dubai during its financial crisis over a decade ago. The UAE’s Ministry of Presidential Affairs announced a 40-day period of mourning and a three-day suspension of work across the government and private sector, including flags to be flown at half-staff. He had long ceased having involvement in the day-to-day affairs of ruling the country. His half-brother, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed, was seen as the country's powerful de-factor ruler and the decision-maker of major foreign policy decisions, such as joining a Saudi-led war in Yemen and spearheading an embargo on neighboring Qatar in recent years. There was no immediate announcement about a successor, although Mohammed bin Zayed is anticipated to claim the presidency as Abu Dhabi’s crown prince. There has been only one other transition of presidential power, following the 2004 death of Sheikh Khalifa’s father, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, who is widely revered by Emiratis as the country’s founding father. The country was founded in 1971, having recently marked its 50-year-anniversary. Sheikh Khalifa suffered a stroke and underwent emergency surgery a decade after he became president. He has largely been out of public sight since. In 2017, 2018 and 2019, Emirati state media published rare photographs and video of Sheikh Khalifa. In the latest images, he wore white sneakers and a white traditional robe as he greeted Sheikh Mohammed and other rulers in the Emirates. “The Emirates lost its righteous son, the leader of the ‘period of empowerment’ and the trustee of its blessed journey,” Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed wrote on Twitter after news of his brother's death was officially announced across state media. “Khalifa bin Zayed, my brother, my mentor and my teacher, may God bestow his vast mercy on you, his pleasure and his paradise,” he added. The late president, who is the eldest son of the UAE’s first leader since its formation in 1971, held the most powerful position among the seven semi-autonomous city-states stretching along the shores of the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. His role as president derived from his standing as hereditary ruler of Abu Dhabi, the UAE’s largest and richest emirate. Abu Dhabi serves as home to the federal capital. READ: Bangladesh announces one-day mourning for Bahrain PM Sheikh Khalifa Historically, the president of the UAE is from Abu Dhabi and the prime minister is from Dubai, with the two overseeing the country’s affairs. The country's regional power and influence emanates from Abu Dhabi, which has most of the country’s oil and gas reserves. Dubai, however, provides the UAE with a swirl of publicity and headline-grabbing lifestyle and entertainment stories that rights groups say distracts from controversial policies decided in Abu Dhabi. Despite its size and wealth, Abu Dhabi often finds itself overshadowed by the glitzy neighboring emirate of Dubai, the Middle Eastern commercial hub that showcases both the UAE’s bold visions and, at times, debt-fueled pipe dreams, including a massive palm-shaped man-made island that sits empty years after its creation. As Dubai’s fortunes began to falter along with the global economy in 2009, Khalifa led efforts to protect the federation by pumping billions of dollars in emergency bailout funds into Dubai. The two emirates do not always see eye-to-eye on foreign policy decisions and compete commercially with one another. In 2003, he called for the creation of a new airline, Etihad Airways, which competes with Dubai’s successful and much larger carrier Emirates Air. Khalifa increasingly used Abu Dhabi’s oil wealth to attract cultural and academic centers, such as a branch of the Louvre museum and satellite campuses of New York University and the Sorbonne. He also presided over efforts to move the OPEC country beyond its reliance on petrodollars with investments in renewable energy research, including plans for a futuristic low-carbon desert city known as Masdar. The UAE announced last year its goal to reach net-zero emissions by 2050, even as it expands investments in oil and gas for export. Abu Dhabi’s big spending overseas during Khalifa’s rule also helped push the emirate, which controls the bulk of the UAE’s oil reserves, out from Dubai’s shadow. In 2007, the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority came to the rescue of an ailing Citigroup Inc. with a $7.5 billion cash injection. It is one of the world's largest sovereign wealth funds with close to $700 billion in assets, according to estimates by the Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute. Khalifa also helped boost the UAE’s regional profile by sending warplanes to the NATO-led mission against Moammar Gadhafi’s regime in Libya in 2011. Questions were raised during Khalifa’s rule about the UAE’s use of foreign military contractors, including one linked to the founder of the former Blackwater security firm, Erik Prince, who moved to Abu Dhabi in 2009. Prince was involved in a multimillion-dollar program to train troops to fight pirates in Somalia, according to an official who spoke to The Associated Press in early 2009. But Khalifa’s name is perhaps most familiar around the world for its connection to the world’s tallest building, a nearly half-mile (828-meter) glass-and-steel spire in Dubai. The name of the tower was unexpectedly switched from the Burj Dubai to the Burj Khalifa at its official opening in January 2010 following his decision to funnel billions of dollars to Dubai to save it from a full-scale financial meltdown. Khalifa’s image was ubiquitous, gracing every hotel lobby and government office across the country. But unlike Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the federation’s vice president and prime minister, he's rarely been seen at public events since his stroke. A U.S. diplomatic cable made public by WikiLeaks in 2010 uncharitably described the president as “a distant and uncharismatic personage.” The final years of his presidency are likely to be associated with his half-brother, Mohammed bin Zayed, who is also supreme commander of the armed forces. Khalifa was born in 1948 in the inland oasis of Al Ain, near the border with the sultanate of Oman, and named after his great grandfather, Sheikh Khalifa bin Shakhbout. In 1969, while the area was still a British protectorate, Khalifa was named as Abu Dhabi prime minister and chairman of the emirate’s Department of Defense, which later became the core of the UAE’s armed forces. After independence in 1971, he became defense minister along with other roles. Although the UAE’s ruling sheikhs hold near absolute power, Khalifa began an experiment with elections by allowing limited voting — by a hand-picked electorate — for half the members of a 40-seat federal advisory body in 2006. Subsequent rounds of elections in 2011 and 2015 failed to attract even two out of five of those given a chance to vote. The UAE saw none of the Arab Spring street protests that shook other parts of the region, though in the wake of that unrest, Khalifa oversaw tightening crackdowns on Islamists and other activists, drawing criticism from international rights groups. The UAE, which views Islamist movements as a threat to its ruling system, also supported efforts in the region to quash the Muslim Brotherhood, including in Egypt. Under his presidency, the UAE joined Saudi Arabia in sending forces to Bahrain to quell an uprising there by the country's majority Shiite population demanding greater rights from the island-nation's Sunni leadership. He was believed to be among the world’s richest rulers with a personal fortune estimated by Forbes magazine in 2008 at $19 billion. He built a palace in the Seychelles, an island-chain nation in the Indian Ocean, and faced complaints there about causing water pollution from the construction site. In 2007, Khalifa made a major gift to the Johns Hopkins Medicine complex in Baltimore. The size of the donation was not disclosed, but it was described as “transformational.” After his stroke, it fell upon Mohammed bin Zayed to handle many of Khalifa’s duties, often in conjunction with Dubai’s Sheikh Mohammed. The transition went largely unnoticed, as many Emiratis and foreign diplomats long assumed that the crown prince was a central power broker in the UAE’s leadership. In September 2014, the Emirates became one of the most prominent Arab participants in U.S.-led airstrikes against the Islamic State militant group in Syria, deploying its first female air force pilot on the initial raid. Those sorties were followed by a muscular intervention into Yemen as part of a Saudi-led coalition on the side of the impoverished country’s internationally recognized government against Houthi rebels who had seized the capital of Sanaa. The UAE deployed thousands of troops, 52 of whom were killed in a September 2015 missile attack on their base — the heaviest military loss in the country’s history. Khalifa’s personal life was not much in the public eye. Like many in the Gulf, he was passionate about the traditional sport of falconry and was said to enjoy fishing. He is known to have had eight children — two sons and six daughters — with his first wife, Sheikha Shamsa bint Suhail Al Mazrouei. He is also survived by several grandchildren.

Two youths were killed and another was injured when their bike collided with a motorised three-wheeler on the busy Barisal-Patuakhali highway in Jhalakathi district early Wednesday The deceased were identified as Nirob, 25, son of Shahjahan Mridha, and Limon, 20, son of Nasir Howldar. Both were residents of ward 29 area in Barishal city. The accident occurred around 12pm near the Kather Ghor area of Nalchity upazila on the Barisal-Patuakhali highway. Also read: 2 killed in Chattogram road crash According to witnesses, Nirob with his two friends -- Limon and Sumon -- were travelling towards Barishal on a motorcycle when it collided with the three-wheeler. Nirob dead on the spot in the impact. Limon died of his injuries at Barishal Sher-e-Bangla Medical College and Hospital, while Sumon is battling for his life at the medical facility, said Abul Kalam, ward master of the hospital. Ataur Rahman, officer-in-charge of Nalchity police station, said the injured was taken to hospital by locals. “We are looking into the matter,” he said. Also read: NGO officer killed in Khulna road crash

A Pirojpur court on Monday sentenced a man to death for murdering his wife in 2012. The convict was identified as Kamal Hawladar, 45, son of Rashid Hawladar of Mathbaria upazila. Read: Raihan’s custodial death: Trial of ex-SI Akbar, 5 others from May 10 The court also fined him Tk one lakh and asked him to provide the money to the family members of the victim. According to the prosecution, the convict strangulated his wife Shahinur Begum to death as she refused to provide dowry following his demand on July 22, 2012. Shahinur’s maternal uncle lodged a complaint with Mathbaria Police. Read: Facebook shopping scammers held in city Police filed the murder case under Woman and Child Repression Prevention Act. After examining records and witnesses, Woman and Child Repression Prevention Tribunal Judge Mizanur Rahman handed down the verdict.