International

Bird flu kills almost 14,000 pelicans, seabirds in Peru

Photo: Carlos Mandujano / AFP

| By AFP |

The highly contagious H5N1 avian flu virus has killed thousands of pelicans, blue-footed boobies and other seabirds in Peru, according to the National Forestry and Wildlife Service (SERFOR).

The current bird flu outbreak began in Canada and spread to the United States, which has seen a record 50 million avian deaths, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Peru first issued a health alert last Thursday after confirming three cases of H5B1 in pelicans, and since then thousands have been found dead in coastal areas.

“The latest official report carried out at a national level shows more than 13,869 wild seabirds killed by the dangerous H5N1 avian flu virus,” said a SERFOR statement released late Tuesday.

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This number includes 10,257 pelicans, 2,919 sea boobies and 614 blue-footed boobies, among other species.

Meanwhile, the national agricultural health agency SENASA said it had quarantined the town of Gallito in the northern coastal Lambayeque region to control the first bird flu outbreak on a poultry farm.

SENASA said the health alert was a precaution because the virus arriving from North American migratory birds could spread to “backyard birds,” such as ducks and chickens, as well as to commercial farms.

The United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) earlier this year warned countries in South and Central America to be on “high alert” for the virus spreading via migratory birds.

There is no treatment for bird flu, which spreads naturally between wild birds and can also infect domestic poultry. Avian influenza viruses do not typically infect humans, although there have been rare cases.

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International

Death toll from southern Spain train crash rises to 40

The death toll from the train accident that occurred on Sunday in southern Spain has risen to 40, according to investigative sources cited by EFE on Monday afternoon.

Since early Monday, search operations have focused on the damaged carriages of a Renfe train bound for Huelva, which collided with the last derailed cars of an Iryo train traveling from Málaga to Madrid after it left the tracks.

The crash has also left more than 150 people injured. Of these, 41 remain hospitalized, including 12 in intensive care units at hospitals across the Andalusia region.

More than 220 Civil Guard officers are working at the site, searching the railway line and surrounding areas for key evidence to help identify victims and determine the causes of the accident.

The tragedy has revived memories of the deadliest railway disasters in Europe in recent decades. In Spain, the most severe occurred on July 24, 2013, when an Alvia train derailed near Santiago de Compostela, killing 80 people and injuring 130 others.

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At the European level, the worst rail disaster took place on June 3, 1998, in Eschede, northern Germany, when a high-speed train struck a bridge pillar at 200 kilometers per hour, resulting in 98 deaths and 120 injuries.

International

Spain’s Prime Minister pledges transparency after train crash kills at least 39

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez pledged on Monday to ensure “absolute transparency” regarding the causes of a train crash that killed at least 39 people on Sunday in southern Spain, warning that the death toll could still rise.

The fatal accident occurred in the Andalusia region, where the number of confirmed deaths reached 39 by Monday morning, according to a spokesperson for the Ministry of the Interior.

Authorities were preparing to deploy heavy machinery to lift several derailed train cars. “We are waiting for cranes to be installed this morning to lift cars one, two and three of the Alvia train, which suffered the most damage,” said Andalusian regional president Juanma Moreno Bonilla on regional television. “It is likely that once they are lifted, we may find more victims,” he added.

The disaster also left more than 120 people injured. As of Monday afternoon, 43 victims remained hospitalized, including 12 in intensive care, according to emergency services.

International

Over 160 christian worshippers kidnapped in Kaduna Church attacks

More than 160 Christian worshippers were abducted on Sunday during coordinated attacks carried out by armed gangs on two churches in a remote village in Kaduna State, northern Nigeria, according to a cleric and a United Nations report accessed by AFP on Monday.

Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, has witnessed a renewed surge in mass kidnappings since November, prompting the United States government to carry out military strikes on Christmas Day in the northwestern state of Sokoto.

U.S. President Donald Trump accused Nigerian armed groups of targeting Christians, describing the violence as a form of “genocide” against the religious community.

According to Reverend Joseph Hayab, president of the Christian Association of Nigeria in the north, the attackers arrived in large numbers, blocked access to the churches, and forced worshippers to flee into nearby forests.

“The attackers came in large numbers, sealed off the entrances to the churches, and drove the faithful into the bush,” Hayab told AFP.